In 2024, the Legends have updated their powdered fat-burning drink named Ghost Burn, and it now has the novel fat-burning ingredient MitoBurn L-BAIBA!
Ghost Burn – Continued innovation in the fat-burning market!
Citizens of PricePlow Nation are undoubtedly familiar with Ghost — as they sponsor many of the top fitness YouTube personalities like Christian Guzman and Maxx Chewning. Their products are well-developed and generous with clinical doses, and done in their unique branding. When we get our hands on a Ghost product, we expect excellence.
A powdered fat burning drink.. with some sour and some spice!
Ghost Burn is a powdered fat burner built to help amplify the results for individuals with dialed-in weight-loss routines.
While gym-goers once thought of fat burners as a capsule-dominated industry, powdered products have become a better option thanks to their larger, more customizable dosages. Consumers can decide how much they should take, which is advantageous for those with low stimulant tolerances or afternoon users. Lifters that have greater stimulant tolerances can also taper dosages up, allowing for intensified fat burning when they adapt to the recommended serving size.
Ghost Burn V3 (2024): Now with MitoBurn
Fat burning drink powders have become commonplace since Ghost Burn originally launched in 2019, but they’ve made it even better with Ghost Burn V3 in 2024, thanks to the inclusion of MitoBurn from NNB Nutrition.
Before we get into this intense thermogenic formula, make sure you’re subscribed to PricePlow’s Ghost news updates and alerts for any supplement deals, news, and reviews you’re interested in, especially those related to Ghost products!
GHOST Burn – Deals and Price Drop Alerts
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Ghost Burn Ingredients (2024 Update)
We’re about to break down everything going on inside Burn. If you’re in the mood for watching a video review of the label instead, don’t worry – we’ve got you covered! We were lucky enough to get our hands on Burn shortly after its release, and spoiler alert – it lives up to the hype!
The label lists both 1-scoop and 2-scoop dosages, but we’re going to assume a full 2-scoop serving for our analysis. Here’s what each 2-scoop, 12g dose delivers:
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L-Carnitine Tartrate – 1.5g
Burn delivers two distinct forms of carnitine. L-carnitine L-tartrate (LCLT) is the carnitine athletes want for performance improvements. Research suggests that LCLT may enhance muscle building while also reducing muscle soreness after exercise.[1,2] A study from 2002 tested the effects of carnitine on resistance-trained men, with those conducting the experiment specifically interested in potential changes in signals of muscle soreness. After 3 weeks of supplementation, they found that LCLT decreased muscle tissue disruption by 43%,[1] thus concluding that LCLT treatment can significantly enhance recovery. Burning fat is highly dependent on how intense your training sessions are, and when you can recover better and faster, you can keep your daily expenditure elevated!
Fresher muscles, hotter burn!
Beyond its ergogenic qualities, carnitine is an essential player in fat metabolism. By providing more carnitine, LCLT supplementation may help you lose body fat.[3,4] Researchers have identified the mechanisms that allow carnitine to help burn fat, and it goes far beyond muscle recovery. Carnitine can increase fatty-acid oxidation,[3] meaning it helps free up long-chained fatty acids within the body for energy use. In other words, LCLT slightly alters the metabolism’s main fuel source, shifting from incoming calories to stored energy, otherwise known as body fat!
The one downside to LCLT is that it doesn’t cross the blood-brain barrier, so it loses out on the nootropic benefits that other forms of carnitine supplementation offer. However, Ghost has accounted for that, delivering another, slightly different form of carnitine in Burn!
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Acetyl-L-Carnitine HCl – 1.5g
While LCLT cannot cross the blood-brain barrier, acetyl l-carnitine (ALCAR) can. In providing two forms of carnitine, Ghost bypasses the downsides of ALCAR and LCLT, while heightening their upsides. LCLT delivers the performance punch in Burn while ALCAR provides the nootropic uppercut. Acetyl groups are lipid-soluble, allowing for the carnitine it is complexed with to get into the brain. ALCAR in high doses may increase focus and memory recall while also protecting the brain from oxidative damage.[5-7] In fact, research has shown that ALCAR acts as a precursor to acetylcholine once it surpasses the blood-brain barrier.[5] Acetylcholine, as we’ll get into shortly, is crucial for overall cognitive strength. This can leave your mind more focused, making it easier to keep your fat-burning goals a priority!
Thankfully, Ghost went with a massive 3g serving size of total carnitine here. This ensures you’ll receive both the mental and physical benefits. That being said, if you decide to stick to the lower end of the serving recommendation, 1.5g is still more than enough to help out your diet.
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Choline Bitartrate – 1g
Choline is an ingredient that we at PricePlow feel is underappreciated outside of sports nutrition circles, where we commonly include it. Choline is a building block of acetylcholine, dubbed “the learning neurotransmitter” due to its involvement in muscle contraction and memory formation.
Supplementing with choline appears to increase the amount of acetylcholine present in the body,[8,9] which can in turn improve focus and muscle force in athletes. Essentially, choline helps create the chemicals the brain needs to function properly. Combining this ingredient with the blood-brain barrier-crossing ALCAR, Burn delivers a nootropic effect quite unique to fat burners.
In terms of weight loss, a 2014 study on female judo athletes demonstrated that 2g choline bitartrate helped reduce body mass without any side effects or loss of strength.[10] The subjects that received choline dropped body fat by 10.23% (~18.76% to ~16.84% on average), leading the researchers to conclude that the ingredient can improve lipid metabolism.
It’s important to note that the study’s participants received twice the dose as what’s in Ghost Burn, but we do expect some fat oxidation effect on top of the improvements in focus.
Choline’s synergy with carnitine
One thing we’ve learned since originally publishing this article in 2019 is how well choline synergizes with carnitine, since choline increases carnitine retention.
A few studies have demonstrated how pairing the two together has an additive property, but it must be noted that 2g of choline bitartrate was used in some of the studies. A few quotes from three of these studies:
“We conclude that supplementary choline maintained serum carnitine concentrations by conserving urinary carnitine. Moreover, these observations merit additional investigation to determine metabolic and functional consequences of choline and carnitine interactions in humans.”[11]
“We conclude that the choline-induced decrease in serum and urinary carnitine is buffered by carnitine preloading, and these supplements shift tissue partitioning of carnitine that favors fat mobilization, incomplete oxidation of fatty acids and disposal of their carbons in urine as acylcarnitines in humans.”[12]
“These studies demonstrated that choline supplementation results in decreased urinary excretion of carnitine in young adult women, that guinea pigs are a suitable animal model for studying the effect of choline supplementation on carnitine status in humans, and that choline results in a conservation of carnitine in guinea pigs and perhaps in humans.”[13]
So while bitartrate is a cheaper form of choline and is less bioavailable than its brethren like Alpha-GPC, there’s some solid research using it, and it does have a higher choline yield, so you get more of it per gram. While we wish Burn capped out at 2g as the highest label dose – 1g is still enough to give most an acetylcholine boost and retain at least a little more carnitine than otherwise!
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L-Tyrosine – 1000mg
We’ve already touched on one nootropic ingredient, but Burn doesn’t stop there! Tyrosine is the building block of the catecholamines – dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine.[15] These brain-based chemicals are sometimes referred to as the “feel-good” neurotransmitters, and are responsible for controlling the “fight-or-flight” systems within the body. Supplementing with tyrosine encourages the body to produce more catecholamines, which may improve focus and general motivation.
Despite working mostly through sympathetic mechanisms, tyrosine supplementation appears to mitigate stress.[16] In a meta-analysis from 2015, 14 different studies testing tyrosine and its possible stress-relieving abilities were assessed. Each study looked at showed a positive effect in terms of alleviating cognitive stress,[16] likely through the compound’s catecholamine-inducing behavior.
The 1000mg dose is upgraded from the original 500mg dose, which was around where we start to “feel” L-tyrosine. This is even better! This euphoric experience can help maintain your mood during your weight-loss journey – nobody wants to be around a cranky dieter!
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KSM-66 Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) Root Extract – 600mg
Let’s be honest – dieting isn’t easy. It can be extremely difficult on our bodies, as well as our mind. In fact, dieting can really elevate stress levels through cortisol production. This hormone is the enemy when it comes to weight loss – stress-induced eating can destroy even the most disciplined of dieters!
Thankfully, Burn includes one of PricePlow’s favorite stress-crushing plant extract. Ashwagandha appears to reduce stress via modulation of the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol levels tend to rise as caloric intake falls. Since ashwagandha appears to reduce serum cortisol levels, it is a good option for those that experience more stress on a diet.[17,18] Research from 2012 found that subjects supplementing with ashwagandha for 60 days improved scores on depression-anxiety tests by 71.6%, compared to only a 5% improvement found in placebo.[17] Keeping cortisol levels, and thus stress, minimized is extremely advantageous in a weight-loss journey. It can be the difference between sticking to your diet or falling off the rails!
Affects another hormone, too…
There is also preliminary research suggesting that ashwagandha may keep testosterone levels regular in men.[20] In 2010, 75 infertile men with faltering hormone levels were administered ashwagandha. The root induced significantly higher serum testosterone and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels, while also decreasing markers of poor testosterone levels.[20] This is relevant in terms of dieting, as well – restricted caloric intake can severely affect testosterone levels. Keeping all of your hormones in check throughout this process is crucial, and luckily, Ghost realizes that!
We also love Ghost’s decision to utilize KSM-66. While ashwagandha itself is already the gold standard of mood-enhancing ingredients, the KSM-66 extract is the gold standard of the gold standard.The 600mg dose of ashwagandha in Burn matches the common clinical dose. The decision to use a top-quality ingredient at its proven dose should come as no surprise – this is Ghost we’re talking about, after all!
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MitoBurn (L-BAIBA) – 500mg
A key differentiator in Ghost Burn V3, MitoBurn is a novel ingredient that we call “the exercise molecule”. It consists of stabilized L-BAIBA, which is a myokine (muscle messenger) that’s transmitted when the body undergoes physical activity and breaks down the branched-chain amino acid L-valine[21] (yes, the same L-valine in BCAA/amino acid supplements like Ghost Amino and Ghost BCAA).
When L-BAIBA (also known as L-β-aminoisobutyric acid) is transmitted, it alerts the rest of the body that exercise is underway,[22] and they begin to facilitate exercise-related circuitry such as fat oxidation and bone preservation.
Upon this discovery, researchers tested what would happen if they supplemented more of it in animals – with or without them exercising – and the data was incredible. What they found is that it boosted this “exercise signal” and led to more browning of adipose tissue into more mitochondria-dense, metabolically-active cells.[23]
There is now a great deal of preclinical research supporting BAIBA for numerous reasons:
- Better fat oxidation[21,23-26]
- Improved ketone body production (measured as BHB, or beta-hydroxybutyrate)[27]
- Browning of adipose tissue[23,25]
- Better blood sugar tolerance and reduced insulin resistance[21,26,28]
- Decreased inflammation[25]
- Improved lipid profiles[21,26]
- Increased bone mineral density[29]
- Protective effects from kidney disease[30]
Why put MitoBurn into a multivitamin?
The bone preservation, anti-inflammatory, and renal protective aspects are why it’s in this multivitamin — it’s not just about enabling better fat oxidation.
We’ve been covering L-BAIBA for nearly a decade now, but it was always hard to source because the L-isomer is the one that’s biologically active with the results we want. L-BAIBA comes from valine while D/R-BAIBA comes from thymine,[21,24] which doesn’t have these effects.
When NNB Nutrition solved this problem with a pure L-BAIBA ingredient in MitoBurn, Ghost waited to see how well it works – and you can see how that ended up! Now it’s available for everyone in one of the industry’s most popular fat burners. You can learn much more on the mechanism in our article titled BAIBA: New Weight Loss Ingredient Generates Exercise in a Pill?!
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Natural Caffeine – 300mg
Ghost does natural caffeine right with Burn. While this feels like a strange statement, it is exactly how we felt when we saw the label. The two-scoop serving delivers a whopping 300mg of caffeine – equivalent to what you’d find in modern pre-workouts. Caffeine, simply put, is here to wake you up.[31] It will also help you keep the weights heavy in the gym and your feet fast on the treadmill – allowing you to hold onto more muscle as the fat falls off.[32,33]
This stimulant actually packs a potent thermogenic punch. Research from 1990 tested multiple caffeine doses (100mg, 200mg, 300mg, and 400mg) in healthy test subjects. They found that caffeine can significantly increase caloric expenditure via triglyceride oxidation.[33] In addition, it seemed to do so in a dose-dependent manner, meaning a higher dose of caffeine, such as the 300mg we have here, is more effective in enhancing your metabolism.
That being said, 300mg is not for everyone. It’s a pretty serious energy-boosting hit, and some may find that it’s simply too much for them. That’s ok – because Burn is a powder, you’re free to experiment a bit and find the dose that works for you. If not the full 2-scoop serving, maybe it’s a scoop, or perhaps 1.5 scoops is your sweet spot. Regardless, you’ll benefit greatly from the cognitive-boosting, fat-burning jolt Burn will deliver!
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CapsiAtra – 130mg
CapsiAtra is a trademarked sweet pepper extract developed by Glanbia Nutritionals. It’s standardized to contain 2.3% dihydrocapsiate by weight, and was developed to compete with capsaicin-standardized extracts.
Capsaicin has been an industry mainstay for a long time and has been shown to support fat loss by increasing thermogenesis.[34] But it comes with some concerning adverse effects in susceptible individuals. Among them are higher blood pressure and faster heart rate.[35] Capsaicin is also pungent, which understandably turns some consumers off — and Ghost used this to replace another spice, grains of paradise.
Dihydrocapsiate has similar effects,[35,36] helping increase caloric expenditure in those who take it, but without the adverse cardiovascular effects associated with capsaicin.[34]
It apparently works to increase body temperature, in part, by stimulating vanilloid receptors.[37]
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Cocoa Bean (Theobroma cacao) Seed extract (20% Theobromine) – 100mg
While we associate cocoa beans with chocolate, these seeds also contain theobromine. Theobromine can be thought of caffeine’s weaker cousin – it’s a stimulant that provides an experience that feels damn good.[38] That being said, it actually functions better as a weight-loss agent!
Blunts appetite
A review from 2014 identified a key effect of theobromine. Oddly enough, doing so was not the main focus of the study. Initially, these scientists were concerned with identifying undisclosed ingredients in different supplements, but after some interesting findings, decided to dive a bit deeper.
Upon further inspection, these researchers found that theobromine reduces feelings of hunger.[39] When consuming a calorie-restricted diet, hunger can be problematic for staying on-track. Being able to feel less hungry can make it significantly easier to stick to a diet!
Helps target fatty acids
Theobromine’s stimulant-based nature somewhat drives how the body processes it. In fact, it actually helps free up fatty acids for use, similar to other ingredients on this label!
A study from 2006 found that theobromine can induce weight loss due to changes in lipid profile.[40] As with LCLT, this compound shifts the body’s attention a bit, encouraging the metabolism to burn stored body fat! When taking a fat burner, there really aren’t enough ways you can go about attacking body fat stores. Burn does so through multiple angles, making sure your fat-burning efforts are well-focused!
Unfortunately, the dose here is much lower than other fat burners on the market. The clinical dose of theobromine is approximately 150mg, substantially higher than the 20mg in Burn. While we wish Ghost had sprinkled in more some more of this appetite-blunting stimulant, we’re happy to see it included nonetheless.
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NeuroFactor Coffee (Coffea arabica) Fruit extract – 100mg
NeuroFactor is a trademarked coffee bean extract fromFutureCeuticals. It’s relatively new to the scene, but the early research involving NeuroFactor is extremely promising. Research suggests that NeuroFactor may acutely raise levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) by as much as 144%.[41,42]
BDNF is a growth factor for neurons and may improve neurogenesis and brain cell repair. It’s also related to aging – increased BDNF may slow neuronal decay. In theory, more BDNF means better learning, moods, well-being, metabolism…it may just improve every aspect of life.[41-43] We aren’t 100% sold on NeuroFactor just yet – the research is new and we aren’t the guys that jump at the results of a few trials. It’s so new that a clinical dose hasn’t yet been identified. However, we typically see around NeuroFactor comes in around 100mg in products containing the brain-booster. Burn falls right in line with that common dose, so for the time being, we’ll suggest that’s fair!
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Bitter Orange (Citrus aurantium) Fruit extract – 60mg (yielding 30mg synephrine)
Synephrine is a primary constituent of bitter orange extract. It acts as a metabolic booster and stimulant through beta-receptor agonism – much like ephedrine.[44,45] Specifically, it acts as a beta-2 and beta-3 adrenergic receptor agonist, which helps free up fatty acids for use. Research also shows that it can increase metabolism and suppress appetite,[45] deeming it an all-encompassing fat-burning ingredient! However, you may question its use here, especially if you know anything about ephedrine. Ephedrine is actually a bit more powerful than synephrine, but lacks in a more crucial respect.
Synephrine is a safer alternative
Ephedrine may be more effective than synephrine, but the former has actually been under question in recent years. It’s even been banned in some countries, and is currently under review in the U.S. Thus, while it is weaker than ephedrine, synephrine is significantly safer.[46] Ghost prioritizes the safety of their customers, and using synephrine here speaks volumes to how much they care!
Looking at the side of the label, you can see that Ghost Burn delivers 30mg of synephrine from a 60mg dose of citrus aurantium (50% extract strength). That dose is in line with what we’d want in a mainstream fat-burning product, and is one of the reasons why it gets users so amped!
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Chromium (as Chromium Picolinate) – 1000mcg
In Ghost Burn V2, they quietly replaced chromium nicotinate glycinate chelate with a high 1000mcg chromium picolinate, and that makes great sense since a major 2014 review of 25 studies determined that chromium supplementation significantly improves blood glucose levels, and that the strongest results came from chromium picolinate![47,48]
Chromium is a trace mineral that works to improve insulin secretion.[50-52] Research consistently shows that it improves insulin sensitivity and blood sugar levels, especially in insulin-resistant users.[47] In these types of users, studies have shown that it improves body composition, and those results come from 200-400mcg doses[53,54] — a fraction of what we have in Ghost Burn!
Why the high dose? Appetite suppression!
The effects above are great, but why did Ghost go with 1000mcg instead of a standard 200-400mcg? The answer is appetite. In 2008, a placebo-controlled study conducted on overweight men and women used 1000mcg and showed that it led to lower food intake, reduced hunger, and even less cravings for fatty foods![49] Later on, an even larger study on 113 adults using 600mcg showed fewer carbohydrate cravings and significant improvements in appetite and food consumption.[55] Along with those effects came some minor fat loss.[49]
We theorize that these effects are due to the body not craving “food”, but craving actual minerals and nutrients — chromium being just one that we don’t ever want to be deficient in. So if you’re deficient in it, your body may be sending general hunger signals, unable to send you “mineral” signals. This is why nutrient density is so important in a diet.
At this large dosage, you can rest assured that chromium deficiency shouldn’t be a thing, even if only using one scoop of Ghost Burn!
Flavors – a Ghost specialty!
Burn has a unique leg up on its competition through flavor. Utilizing previous partnerships Ghost has built and cultivated, Burn provides flavors officially sponsored by WarheadsⓇ and has also expanded with tropical drinks as well:
Ghost is fulfilling their promise…
At the beginning of 2019, Ghost promised a huge year from their brand. We always hear promises like this, but it’s not too often a brand can fully live up to their own hype. When it comes to Ghost, they practically never fail to do so.
Ghost Burn is the latest release to get the upgrades. It was one of their most innovative formulas of 2019, and in 2021, they boosted it with a better spice… and then in 2024 they added MitoBurn! This fat-scorching formula not only sits in its own category in Ghost’s profile, but finds itself in a world of its own when compared to other fat burners on the market!
Conclusion – Burn incinerates fat, and burns the competition!
When discussing Ghost products, there’s often two takeaways we expect to have – the use of effective ingredients and an incredible taste. These are lofty expectations, but they’re the kind of expectations that come when a company has, time after time, raised the standard. Ghost has done just that, and when we heard their first fat-burning product, Burn, would hit the shelves, we assumed excellence was on the way.
Simply put, Burn is a fat burner that literally checks off all of our boxes. The label is nearly entirely comprised of fat-burning, energizing workhorses – these are the type of ingredients that generally lead fat-burning formulas, and Burn utilizes all of them. For the individual that wants to buy a safe fat burner that works — Burn is a great option.
Ghost has reached new, incredible heights, and seems to do so every year. Burn is yet another win in a year seemingly full of them. Stay tuned, because these guys aren’t done yet – we’ll have much more coming from Ghost in the near future!
GHOST Burn – Deals and Price Drop Alerts
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Disclosure: PricePlow relies on pricing from stores with which we have a business relationship. We work hard to keep pricing current, but you may find a better offer.
Posts are sponsored in part by the retailers and/or brands listed on this page.
This article was originally published July 26, 2019.
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