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KSL Newsradio's Danielle Wood reportingIt's a drug that melts fat and builds muscle fat. The drug was created for animals suffering from the horse version of emphysema. Utah State University veterinarian Clell Bagley said it opens up airways and treats congestion in horses.
"They press really hard on expiration, trying to get the air out, and they build muscles enough from that effort that it's called a 'heave line,'" said Bagley. "You can actually see an increase of muscles along the ribs."
The drug quickly found many illegal avenues to go down, starting with building muscle for racing horses, then for cattle and pigs. Body builders and now Hollywood are grabbing onto the drug to slim down. The same thing in Clenbuterol that opens a horse's lung to breathe opens humans' fat cells to release fat.
"You get lots of energy, your brain works really well, your fat's released into your blood stream for fuel," explained University of Utah nutrition professor Bryan Haycock.
After about three weeks the drug stops working, and discontinuing the use reverses effects.
"You have no energy. Your heart beats slowly," Haycock said. "Your heart beats slowly. Your fats don't release fat, instead they store fat. It's hard to concentrate. What goes up must come down."
Not only will you gain the weight back, but your fat cells become immune, making it even harder to lose weight. Haycock said it also can really mess up the heart.
"It can actually change the heart cells, the muscle cells, the cardiac cells, so they don't contract the same way."
It also increases the risk of stroke, heart arrhythmia, and raises blood pressure. Plus, the weight doesn't stay off for more than three weeks.
