Coleus forskohli
(kō' lē us  fôrs' ko lī
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Introduction
to ForsLean®

 Dr. John C. Lowe

| What ForsLean Is | How Forskolin Works |
| What Studies Show| Benefits |
| How Much is Too Much | Recommended Dose |

Three years ago, my friend and research colleague Richard L. Garrison, MD suggested that we begin investigating forskohlin (fôrs' ko lin). I regret that I didn't listen to him sooner.

Knowing forskolin's biochemical and physiological effects, Dr. Garrison thought we could use it as a metabolic stimulate for hypothyroid and thyroid hormone resistant patients. It might be, he thought, that forskolin will compensate for the ineffectiveness of conventional thyroid hormone therapy. If so, then thyroid patients might get from forskolin the metabolic drive they need to be healthy despite their conventional therapy.  

Before we could gear up for this line of study, Richard unexpectedly passed away. Only now have I been able to delve deeply into the background research on forskolin and its health benefits. I now agree with Dr. Garrison: forskolin may very well substantially benefit people with too little thyroid hormone regulation. It also may benefit others whose metabolism is abnormally slow for reasons unrelated to thyroid hormone, such as man-made chemical contaminants associated with fat retention.

Having had time to experiment with ForsLean (the patented product that contains forskolin), I now believe, as Dr. Garrison thought, that forskolin will be of value to under-treated thyroid patients. And as the product's patent specifies, it's likely to be of most obvious benefit to those who haven't been able to reduce their body fat.

That ForsLean will reduce most patients' body fat is not to imply that thyroid patients should then settle for T4 replacement therapy. T4 replacement is ineffectual for too many patients, and it harms them in many ways other than causing them to accumulate and retain fat. Use ForsLean to your benefit, but then get effective thyroid hormone therapy, even if you have to treat yourself.

ForsLean. Sabinsa Corporation, the manufacturer of ForsLean, calls the product "a patented phytonutrient." It's manufactured by a high-quality-control proprietary process. The process standardizes ForsLean so that it provides a minimum of 10%, 20%, or higher percentages of  forskolin. The forskolin in ForsLean is an extract from the roots of the Coleus forskohli (kō' lē us fôrs' ko lī) plant.

The Coleus plant is a member of the mint family. It's a perennial plant, meaning that it regrows each year without reseeding, or that it grows for more than two years. Coleus forskohli has fleshy and fibrous roots, and it's the roots from which forskolin is extracted. The plant is native to Burma, Thailand, and India. But it's now grown around the world as an ornamental plant.

The Coleus plant is the only known botanical source of forskolin. Forskolin is a compound that sets off the cascade of chemical reactions in cells that hormones and neurotransmitters ordinarily trigger. This cascade of reactions have a variety of beneficial metabolic effects in humans.

Forskolin is classified as a "diterpene." Diterpenes are a variety of related compounds, and they form the basis of other biologically important compounds. One of the compounds is retinol, which is vitamin A. Another is retinal or vitamin A aldehyde. Retinal is a pigment released from the eye pigment rhodopsin when the eye takes in light. And a third compound is phytol, a component of the chlorophyll molecule. Various diterpenes are antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory.

Sabinsa's patent for ForsLean stipulates that ForsLean promotes fat loss and increases lean body mass. The patent also specifies that the product improves mood.

How Forskolin Works (for those who want the details). Forskolin activates an enzyme in cell membranes called "adenylate cyclase." This enzyme triggers a series of chemical reactions inside the cells that lead to forskolin's benefits to human.

ATP is a high-energy source for chemical reactions inside cells. The ATP molecule uses a tremendous amount of energy to bind each of its three phosphate molecules. The energy binds the phosphates to a backbone formed by a molecule called "adenosine." When an enzyme cleaves one of the phosphates from adenosine, a vast amount of energy is released. About 50% of the energy is released as body heat; the other 50% fuels some  close-by chemical reaction.

While ATP has three high-energy phosphate bonds, another molecule that ATP is converted to, "cyclic-AMP," has only one such bond. What converts ATP to cyclic-AMP is the enzyme I mentioned above, adenylate cyclose, that forskolin activates.

Because cyclic-AMP has only one phosphate bond as opposed to ATP's three, cyclic-AMP holds far less total energy than ATP.  Nonetheless, cyclic-AMP exerts powerful metabolic effects within cells. When hormones and neurotransmitters bind to receptors on the surface of a cell, adenylate cyclase becomes activate, and it converts ATP to cyclic-AMP. Cyclic-AMP then sets in motion a cascade of chemical reactions appropriate to the hormone or neurotransmitter that initiated the whole series of events.

The hormones and neurotransmitters, then, trigger the many-step biochemical process. The process that unfolds differs, however, due to the molecular structure of the particular triggering hormone or neurotransmitter. Because the chemical process differs and is appropriate to the particular hormone or neurotransmitter, we call hormones and neurotransmitters "first messengers." This term implies that the hormone or neurotransmitter carries a message in the form of its structure that tells cells exactly how to respond. Cyclic-AMP is the "second messenger" within cells; as such, it transmits to the various chemical processes inside cells the first messengers' instructions for how to respond.

By accelerating the rate of the chemical reactions, cyclic-AMP increases cells' expenditure of energy, and this can reduce the size of the body's fat tissues. What reduces fat-tissue size is a chain of chemical reactions that cyclic-AMP sets off.

At one point way down the chain of reactions, triglycerides in fat tissues break down. The breakdown releases fatty acids, and the fatty acids then become available in cells throughout the body as a source of energy. Cells get energy from the fatty acids by breaking their chemical bonds. This releases tremendous amounts of energy stored in the bonds.

Continue in right column

 

 

The statements made on this website have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, cure, or prevent any disease. The information provided by this website or the companies are for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. Please consult with a healthcare professional prior to starting any diet, exercise or supplemental protocol, prior to taking any medication or if you have or suspect you might have a health problem.

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You exercise regularly and have a light, wholesome diet. But you still can't get rid of your excess fat. You may, of course, need  thyroid therapy. If so, when you find your right daily dose of thyroid hormone, you're likely to produce more fat-decomposing ("lipolytic") enzymes. The enzymes should reduce your body fat, and your exercise and wholesome diet should then finally pay off.

But factors other than too little thyroid hormone can cause fat retention. Some factors are man-made chemical contaminants. We've long known that dioxins, PCBs, and organophosphates interfere with thyroid function, in fact, at almost every step in the thyroid system. Only recently, however, have researchers found that some of these same contaminants cause fat retention.


ForsLean®
Dr. John C. Lowe

Backordered

Lean and Fat Body Mass. A high enough lean body mass is vital for good health. A higher percentage  lean mass to fat mass relates to a higher level of physical fitness, better health status, and a lower risk for various diseases and early death.
The more abdominal fat we have, the higher our risk for cardiovascular disease. Decreasing our abdominal fat and increasing lean mass through exercise has a well-established benefit: it reduces our long-term risk of cardiovascular disease and early death from a heart attack or a stroke. ForsLean is likely to  increase the benefits of exercise by its documented reduction in the ratio of our lean  mass to our fat mass.

For people who have too little thyroid hormone regulation, using enough thyroid hormone will be essential to reducing body fat. And using ForsLean along with thyroid hormone should amplify the fat-reducing effects of thyroid hormone.


Summary of Documented or
Possible Benefits of Forskolin

Practitioners of Aurvedic medicine have long used forskolin extract as a medicinal herb. They used it to treat convulsions, intestinal spasms, insomnia, and heart and lung diseases. Some of these historical medicinal uses have been substantiated by modern studies of forskolin.

Studies have shown that forskolin or derivatives from it increase the rate and strength of heart contractions. It also dilates blood vessels, lowers blood pressure, relaxes muscles that line the GI tract, reduce body fat, and increase lean body mass.

Sabinsa's U.S. patent on ForsLean specifies that the product is ". . . for promoting lean body mass and treating mood disorders."[18] However, Sabinsa notes, "Based on its pharmacological actions, forskolin appears to be well indicated in conditions such as eczema (atopic dermatitis), asthma, psoriasis, cardiovascular disorders, and hypertension. . ."[18] They also list the following among forkolin's potential benefits: reduced inflammation, lower blood pressure, warding off of glaucoma, reduced platelet aggregation, and dilation of the bronchial tubes.

Studies with lab animals that I have read (see "What Studies Show") raise the possibility that forskolin has other beneficial cellular and physiological effects. These include improved cognitive function, increased secretion of thyroid hormone, inhibition of allergic reactions, and increased release of noradrenaline and acetylcholine in response to other stimuli. Other studies indicate that forskolin inhibits the pro-inflammatory substance called "platelet-activating factor (PAF) 6" and inhibits the spread of cancer cells.
 

Continuation:
Introduction to ForsLean

Bottom line: fat loss. From breaking the chemical bonds of fatty acids, cells have energy to fuel many of its chemical reactions. Some of the energy is also released as body heat. As a result of this use of fatty acids, the overall size of a person's body fat reduces.

Remember that the forskolin in ForeLean accelerates the series of chemical reactions that reduce body fat. It does so by activating the enzyme adenylate cyclase. By activating this  enzyme, ForsLean increases the conversion of ATP to cyclic-AMP. Then cyclic-AMP sets off the series of chemical reactions that mobilizes fatty acids and reduces the size of the body's fat tissues.

For the person using ForsLean, body fat can decrease so much that he or she sees a slimmer body when looking in a mirror. And scales will show a lower body weight. If we measured, we would also find a higher percentage of lean body mass. Not only is the person who's been retaining too much fat likely to feel better from the fat loss. In addition, he or she may have (as Sabinsa's patent for ForsLean indicates) improved mood from the same accelerated biochemistry that has reduced his or her body fat.

 

 

 

Q&As
Please submit your questions to
drlowe@ThyroidScience.us