PAGG Stack Review and Comparison – Pareto Nutrition vs NewHealth Solutions vs Bodybuilding.com

Ever since the launch of the Four Hour Body, much attention has been lavished on the supplements that were recommended in the book for their effects on fat loss.

In the book, Tim Ferris calls them “The Four Horsemen of Fat Loss”. They are, Polisosanol, Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA), Green Tea Extract (EGCG) and Garlic Extract (Allicin), or PAGG for short.

Tim recommends the PAGG Stack over the famed ECA stack, consisting of Ephedrine Hydrochloride, Caffeine and Aspirin. This is because while the ECA stack worked, it has quite a few undesired side effects, as Tim himself has experienced (pg 115-116 of the book), whereas the PAGG Stack has little or no side effects.

As a result, some have created customised stacks, following the amounts outlined in the book, while some companies resorted to selling PAGG bundles.

Here is the PAGG Stack in a nutshell:

P – Policosanol               23mg
A – Alpha Lipoic Acid       ALA 100-300mg, or R-ALA 50-150mg (Why R-ALA)
G – Green Tea Extract     EGCG 325mg
G – Garlic Extract           200mg Aged Garlic Extract (Allicin Potential, S-Allyl Cysteine)

Additional Vitamin B is recommended when consuming PAGG.

In this comparison, we will compare 3 different solutions:

• Bodybuilding.com’s 4 Hour Body bundle (No Longer Packaged)
• Newhealth Solution’s PAGG stack (www.PaggSupplement.com)
• Pareto Nutrition’s PAGG Stack (www.ParetoNutrition.com)

Let’s find out which is the best PAGG Stack. It’s going to be quite detailed..so we’ll break it up into a few sections, mainly (click on name to jump to that section):

1. Ingredients and Dosage
2. Convenience
3. Manufacturing Quality and Relevence
4. Cost
5. Summary and Conclusion

 

1. Ingredients and Dosage

Policosanol, 23mg

Bodybuilding.com
Curiously, there isn’t any Policosanol in Bodybuilding.com’s bundle. Did they forget?

Newhealth Solutions (PaggSupplement.com)
On the homepage, it is stated that it has 30mg of policosanol. However, on closer inspection, it actually only has 25mg, which is stated on both the bottle label and manufacturing batch proof.

*Update – they have updated the homepage to correctly reflect it as 25mg.

Pareto Nutrition
It has 23mg of Policosanol extracted from the leaves of olive plants, the exact amount specified in the book.

 

Alpha Lipoic Acid, 100-300mg, or 50-150mg R-ALA

Why R-ALA is preferable and only requires half the amount: PAGG Stack – Alpha Lipoic Acid

Bodybuilding.com
MRM’s Alpha Lipoic Acid is used for the bundle. 100mg per capsule, 60 capsules….only enough for 15 days, less if you want to take more per dose. And, it’s standard ALA, not R-ALA.

Newhealth Solutions (PaggSupplement.com)
Newhealth’s stack contains 300mg of standard ALA.

While their home page claims that they have 300mg of R-ALA, I believe they have misrepresented that claim.. If this is true, then they have double the amount recommended as you only need 150mg of R-ALA. That, cost of R-ALA, and the fact that standard ALA is listed on their manufacturing proof, seriously questions the integrity of that claim.Just do a quick search and you’d notice that no supplement companies ever passes off R-ALA as standard ALA products.

Update – They have updated their products to use 150mg of R-ALA

Pareto Nutrition
As previously discussed, standard ALA is actually an equal mixture of S-ALA and R-ALA, with R-ALA being the natural, more active and bioavailable form.  As S-ALA actually hinders and competes with R-ALA, only half of R-ALA is required to have the same, if not better effect than standard mixed ALA.

Pareto Nutrition has the required 150mg of R-ALA.

Update – R-ALA has been updated to 215mg of stabilised na-R-ALA to prevent damage from heat. Similar, if not more effective than the recommended standard 300mg ALA.

 

Green Tea Extract, 325mg EGCG 

Just a note: I noticed that many people mix ‘Green Tea Extract’ with EGCG. EGCG is a component of the extract, and is always represented by a percentage of the entire extract. In this case, 325mg of EGCG is required.

Example: A 500mg Green Tea Extract with 40% EGCG will only give you 200mg of EGCG. So be careful when you just see ‘Green Tea Extract’ with no indicated % of EGCG…these are lower quality ones…and there has never been 100% EGCG extracts.

Bodybuilding.com
Life Extention’s Decaffeinated Mega Green Tea Extract is used for the bundle. This is the same one recommended by Tim on his website and it contains 326.25mg of EGCG.

Newhealth Solutions (PaggSupplement.com)
This is interesting. They say they have 325mg of decaffeinated green tea extract, not EGCG. If you check their manufacturing proof, the yield of the active ingredient, EGCG, is only 50%. In other words, while they have 325mg of green tea extract, in actual fact, they only have 162.5mg of EGCG per pill. Half of what’s recommended.

Update – They have increased the amount to 542mg with an upgraded green tea extract with 60% EGCG, for 325mg of EGCG.

Pareto Nutrition
Pareto’s stack contains 542mg of decaffeinated green tea extract, with a 60% yield for the full 325mg of EGCG.

 

Garlic Extract, 200mg Aged Garlic Extract (Allicin Potential, S-Allyl Cysteine)

Bodybuilding.com
Olympian Lab’s Gold Garlic is used for the bundle. Allicin yield at 7200mcg per 600mg capsule. You can probably take this once or twice a day, given that the daily recommended amount is 800mg total.

Newhealth Solutions (PaggSupplement.com)
200mg of aged garlic extract per pill.

Pareto Nutrition
200mg of aged garlic extract. Allicin is very fragile. It breaks down within a day at room temperature and is destroyed by our acidic digestive system. So, Pareto Nutrition’s garlic formula focuses on S-Allyl Cysteine (alliin), the precursor to Allicin which is readily absorbed by the body.

 

Additional Vitamin B

Bodybuilding.com
Bodybuilding added Bodyquick as it was recommended for the ‘Geek To Freak’ chapter where you learn how to put on lots of muscle in very little time. It contains Vitamin B, but it’s an overkill to be part of PAGG.

Newhealth Solutions (PaggSupplement.com)
100mcg of Biotin, a form of Vitamin B complex.

Pareto Nutrition
100mcg of Biotin, a form of Vitamin B complex.

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2. Convenience

Bodybuilding.com
The least convenient option. As mentioned in my DIY vs Pre-Packaged PAGG Stack comparison, it’s a bit of a hassle to carry around so many different pills. I guess it’s o-k for daily usage, but carrying even a few days worth of pills while travelling to stay on track is a bit of a pain.

Newhealth Solutions (PaggSupplement.com)
1 day tablet per meal, 1 day and night tablet just before sleep. Total of 5 a day. Small night policosanol pills can be differentiated from normal day pills when lumped together for travelling convenience.

Update – they have made a totally new night tablet, so you only need to take the night tablet alone before sleep. A total of 4 a day.

Pareto Nutrition
1 red day capsule per meal, 1 blue night capsule just before sleep. Total of 4 a day. Coloured pills makes it easier  to differentiate when lumped together for travelling convenience.

Capsules are also known to be a better form of supplement delivery because the contents are not compressed. It’s easier to swallow with no after taste as well.

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3. Manufacturing Quality and Relevance

A Brief Description of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)

Food Grade GMP
Due to the random nature of food, discrepencies in actual nutritional values allowed (2 oranges, same amount of Vitamin C each?)
Pharmaceutical Grade GMP
Standard used to manufacturing medicine, no deviations allowed. If the label says 5mg, it must be tested to have 5mg, no more, no less.

Bodybuilding.com
Unable to determine to determine GMP certification due to variety of brands. Not quite as well, because of the lack of Policosanol and the addition of BodyQuick and Super Cissus RX. Cissus RX is actually recommended for speeding up recovery of injuries (under ‘Reversing Injuries’, pg 294-324) and not for fat loss.

Newhealth Solutions (PaggSupplement.com)
Pharmaceutical GMP. Opaque bottles to protect ALA’s from exposure to light. With their recent update to remove EGCG from the night stack following the changes as outlined in Tim’s blog post, they’ve become relevant.

Pareto Nutrition
Pharmaceutical GMP. Opaque capsules to protect R-ALA from exposure to light. Very relevant. Made changes almost immediately following Tim’s blog post. They even did some of their own research and decided to use higher quality R-ALA and Garlic Extracts with high S-Allyl Cysteine potential, a precursor to the required Allicin.

Update – R-ALA has been upgraded to 215mg of stabilised na-R-ALA to prevent damage from heat. The ingredient is more expensive, yet there’s no change in price!

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4. Cost (US$)

Bodybuilding.com
$99 for the whole stack. Pretty good value for money when you consider some of the stuff you’re getting, like Super Cissus RX. However, in terms of the PAGG Stack, it’s pretty expensive, because 1. You can buy all the ingredients separately for about $70, (on their own site…) and 2. It’s not complete. You’ll need the missing Policosanol and add ALA because it’s not enough.

Newhealth Solutions (PaggSupplement.com)
1 month supply = 30 days worth

1 Month Supply – $60
2 Month Supply – $110  or  $55/mth
4 Month Supply – $210  or  $52.50/mth
(prices above not inclusive of delivery)

Delivery –  US : $6.95
Worldwide Standard: $10.95 (2-3 weeks)
Worldwide Express:   $42.95 (2-5 days)
Delivery rates are flat. Worldwide Standard only available for up to 2 months supply.
Includes US, UK, Canada, Australia, Singapore, etc

Pareto Nutrition
1 month supply = 26 days worth (minus 1 rest day each week)

1 Month Supply – $92
2 Month Supply – $153  or  $76.50/mth
3 Month Supply – $197  or  $65.67/mth
6 Month Supply – $348  or  $58/mth

Now with Free Worldwide Delivery for supplies of 2 months or more.
Includes US, UK, Canada, Australia, Singapore, etc

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5. Summary and Conclusion

Bodybuilding.com PAGG Review Summary

What they are actually selling is not just the PAGG, but the ‘4 Hour Body Stack’, so it has other components other than the PAGG.

But here’s the thing, even the PAGG component is not complete, and if your purpose is to solely purchase PAGG, then this is not the solution. On the other hand, feel free to get it If you also want Cissus, BodyQuick and if you don’t mind the inconvenience of swallowing, carrying a ton of pills and the fact that you’ll still need to top up to get the missing Policosanol and more ALA.

Newhealth Solutions (PaggSupplement.com)PAGG Stack Review Summary

In summary:

• Safe – Strict Pharmaceutical Grade GMP
• Affordable – Final cost with delivery – US: $67 to $54 per month. International: $71 to $61 per month (only up to 2 months). Similar, if not cheaper, than the DIY approach.
• Super Convenient – Great for everyday and travel use
• Initial Lack of understanding – As a result, you get half the EGCG and they misrepresented their ALA component last time. Quite scary for a supplement formulator. Newhealth did contact me initially to insist that their interpretation was right. However, thankfully, they came around after a long discussion.

It used to be that I’d advise you to stay away from Newhealth, with good reason. Now that they’ve made the correct adjustments however, I have to say that they have become a viable choice.

Pareto Nutrition PAGG Stack

In summary:

• Safe – Strict Pharmaceutical Grade GMP
• Affordable – $92 to $58 per month with free international delivery for 2 months or more. Similar, if not cheaper, than the DIY approach.
• Super Convenient – Great for everyday and travel use. Capsules, so no after taste and is easier to swallow.
• High Quality – Right amounts of high quality ingredients that are not compressed
• Relevant – Always updated and improving. Great understanding of products and ingredients. Claims are made with evidence.
• Professional – They got their facts right from the beginning and provides great customer service
• Therefore, in my opinion, the best choice

 

Winner – Pareto Nutrition

Click here to get Pareto Nutrition’s PAGG Stack
 Free Worldwide Delivery with Minimum 2 Month Supply 

Runner Up – Newhealth Solutions (www.PaggSupplement.com)

Click here to get Newhealth Solutions’ PAGG Stack

 

Where to get:
Pareto Nutrition’s PAGG Stack – Click Here
Newhealth Solutions PAGG Stack – Click here
Bodybuilding.com’s 4 Hour Body Stack – Click Here

Get the PAGG Stack Separately in the US – Click Here
Get the PAGG Stack Separately Worldwide – Click Here

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