subject: The Skinny on Supplements [print this page] The Skinny on Supplements The Skinny on Supplements
The Skinny on Supplements that Make You Lose Weight: Are They for Real and What You can Realistically Expect
Remember the days when we used to be fit and thin? Those were the days when we didn't have video games that make us sit like zombies for hours on end or video and audio equipment with a remote control. Those were the days when our kids didn't sit all day in front of the TV or a computer monitor and instead spent their time playing, jumping rope and running race.
It wouldn't be a surprise if it's a distant memory to you or if you feel you saw it somewhere in a movie. Things have changed and while many things made our lives easier, they have also made our waistlines wider.
Apart from diet and exercise, we have always turned to weight loss pills and supplements to help us out when nature and effort can no longer push the bar lower. And why not? Weight loss supplements are part of a billion dollar industry and if they work as well as manufacturers claim, why not try them?
To know which type of weight loss supplement you should be looking at, let's categorize the thousands of brands into three categories: fat burners, carb blockers and ephedra-free supplements.
Fat burners
Essentially supplements that increase energy and metabolism in an individual, allowing him to burn more fat and process the excess more efficiently. Fat burners rely heavily on herbal components, the most common of which is Ephedra, already considered a no-no in diet circles. Other common fat burner ingredients include Chitosan, HCA and Pyruvate.
Chitosan is a substance which originates from the skeletons (yes, the bones) of marine animals. When processed and turned into a weight loss supplement, Chitosan prevents the absorption of vitamins such as A, D, E and K by binding with them. When the body processes Chitosan, all these vitamins are washed off with it.
Hydroxycitrate or HCA is a chemical that is extracted from the fruit of the Garcina Cambogia tree. Its claim to fame is that it helps block our appetites and increases our body's capacity to store glycogen. This is the active ingredient in many popular weight loss supplements, but some experts doubt its efficacy in promoting weight loss.
Pyruvate is a product of sugar that has been processed by our bodies. It is supposed to help bodies lose fat and reduce cholesterol. For now, it has no reported untoward side effects, although some experts believe that the very tiny amounts of pyruvate found in weight loss supplements barely deliver. While promising, pyruvate needs further study to prove its safety and true contribution to weight loss.
Carb Blockers
Carb blockers inhibit carbohydrates from being stored in the body as fat. The logic being, that if the body does not store fat, we won't gain an inch and every time we take in carbohydrates, our bodies will process it more quickly and it will leave our system without leaving any fatty residue behind.
Ephedra-free supplements
Ephedrine is a substance that is extracted from a Chinese herb called ma huang. In traditional medicine, ephedrine is often used to prevent incidents of bronchial asthma. When ephedrine or its diet supplement called 'ephedra' first came out years ago, it was hailed as the answer to the weight loss challenge.
Later, ephedra lost a lot of its promise when it was linked to side effects such as high blood pressure, insomnia, heart attacks, strokes and even death. Probably its claim to fame is that it reduced appetite while increasing alertness.
Ephedra-free weight loss supplements feature a substitute called synephrine, which is extracted from a citrus fruit known as bitter orange. It was considered an ideal replacement for ephedra because it had chemical similarities with the ma huang derivative.
Synephrine functions as a stimulant, producing bursts of energy and causing an increase in a person's metabolic rate. Not only does it help a person burn calories with no sweat, it also suppressed the appetite. Sounds like a dream?
Don't celebrate yet. In animal studies, synephrine and extracts from the bitter orange fruit caused an increase in blood pressure, which makes synephrine a bad choice for individuals suffering from hypertension.
The bottomline
Consumers cannot be completely sure about the safety and efficacy of OTC weigh loss supplements. A lot of people wanting to lose weight have not had the kind of results promised by these pills. With those that experienced some positive results, however, some very unfavorable side effects occurred, with some cases leading to major health concerns.
There are also no reliable studies made to prove a product's efficacy sufficiently. What's usually published as literature for a certain supplement is more often a thinly-disguised promotional tool paid for by the manufacturer.
For now, there are no magic solutions to weight loss and if there were such a miraculous pill, it comes with a high price: risk to your health. If some weight loss supplements seem to work, there's a huge possibility that this will only last for a short period. Long-term weight loss caused by supplements will plateau, after which its efficacy will no longer be evident.
There is nothing wrong if you decide to take weight loss supplements, as long as they come from a reliable manufacturer and have no risky side effects. But don't rest all your hopes on them. Weight loss supplements work best with the tried and tested combination of proper diet and regular exercise. Whatever results these supplements can offer are really just a bonus.
