With obesity at epidemic levels in the United States, more and more people are turning to weight loss pills in hopes of losing those extra pounds. With the New Year approaching, you can bet that these weight loss pills will be flying off of shelves. But do they actually work?
Good weight loss pills work to some degree, but not as significantly as some may think. When ephedra was introduced back in the early 90's, many considered it a miracle pill. I was one of them. The combination of ephedra along with aspirin and caffeine, burned fat like no other compound since.
Unfortunately the side effects far out-weighed its fat burning power. There were a few cases where ephedra was blamed for people dying from heart attacks. The heart pounding stimulating affect was difficult for people to handle and ephedra is no longer available.
Are there any other products that work?
Ephedra was a one of a kind product and may never (save for possibly one) be duplicated for its fat burning power.
The most popular weight loss pills today are those containing Green tea and Hoodia. Green tea works through a process called thermogenesis (fat burning), while Hoodia is claimed to be an appetite suppressant. Both are said to be effective at shedding the fat, but nothing like ephedra.
There is however a natural compound that shows great promise in preventing fructose from converting to fat.
What's the big deal about fructose?
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition believes that fructose may well be the cause of obesity in America today. Here's what they had to say:
"evidence that a marked increase in the use of HFCS, and therefore in total fructose consumption, preceded the obesity epidemic and may be an important contributor to this epidemic in the United States."
For the past thirty years fructose has virtually replaced cane sugar as the sweetener of choice for most manufacturers because of its low cost to produce. During this period there has been a 300% increase in the use of high fructose corn syrup and a 40% drop in the use of cane sugar.
What is this new compound?
This all natural compound is derived from the roots of Scutellaria baicalensis and Heartwood of Acacia. There more common names are Chinese skullcap and "Black catechu".
What does this compound do?
There are two obesity markers in the blood stream that this natural compound substantially decreases. Chronically obese people have high levels of these two markers. These natural compounds inhibit fat conversion via fructose pathways by down-regulating fat accumulation and up-regulating fat breakdown, thereby decreasing these two obesity markers.
An independent double blind clinical study was conducted by scientist at JSS Medical Research, Inc., in Montreal, Canada. Subjects ranged in age from 40-75, typically the age group that has the most difficult time losing weight. Participants were not given any advice on diet or physical activity.
The results of the study were eye opening. Those that were not given the compound averaged zero pounds of weight loss, while those given the natural compound lost on average 7% of their body weight.
One can only imagine their results if they combined a sensible diet plan with a regular exercise program.
If weight loss is your goal, these natural compounds show a lot of promise. However, do not expect miracles. A sensible diet and exercise program is always the best way to keep the weight off. - 16083
Good weight loss pills work to some degree, but not as significantly as some may think. When ephedra was introduced back in the early 90's, many considered it a miracle pill. I was one of them. The combination of ephedra along with aspirin and caffeine, burned fat like no other compound since.
Unfortunately the side effects far out-weighed its fat burning power. There were a few cases where ephedra was blamed for people dying from heart attacks. The heart pounding stimulating affect was difficult for people to handle and ephedra is no longer available.
Are there any other products that work?
Ephedra was a one of a kind product and may never (save for possibly one) be duplicated for its fat burning power.
The most popular weight loss pills today are those containing Green tea and Hoodia. Green tea works through a process called thermogenesis (fat burning), while Hoodia is claimed to be an appetite suppressant. Both are said to be effective at shedding the fat, but nothing like ephedra.
There is however a natural compound that shows great promise in preventing fructose from converting to fat.
What's the big deal about fructose?
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition believes that fructose may well be the cause of obesity in America today. Here's what they had to say:
"evidence that a marked increase in the use of HFCS, and therefore in total fructose consumption, preceded the obesity epidemic and may be an important contributor to this epidemic in the United States."
For the past thirty years fructose has virtually replaced cane sugar as the sweetener of choice for most manufacturers because of its low cost to produce. During this period there has been a 300% increase in the use of high fructose corn syrup and a 40% drop in the use of cane sugar.
What is this new compound?
This all natural compound is derived from the roots of Scutellaria baicalensis and Heartwood of Acacia. There more common names are Chinese skullcap and "Black catechu".
What does this compound do?
There are two obesity markers in the blood stream that this natural compound substantially decreases. Chronically obese people have high levels of these two markers. These natural compounds inhibit fat conversion via fructose pathways by down-regulating fat accumulation and up-regulating fat breakdown, thereby decreasing these two obesity markers.
An independent double blind clinical study was conducted by scientist at JSS Medical Research, Inc., in Montreal, Canada. Subjects ranged in age from 40-75, typically the age group that has the most difficult time losing weight. Participants were not given any advice on diet or physical activity.
The results of the study were eye opening. Those that were not given the compound averaged zero pounds of weight loss, while those given the natural compound lost on average 7% of their body weight.
One can only imagine their results if they combined a sensible diet plan with a regular exercise program.
If weight loss is your goal, these natural compounds show a lot of promise. However, do not expect miracles. A sensible diet and exercise program is always the best way to keep the weight off. - 16083
About the Author:
About the author: Deen Dragonovich has over 3 decades in health and fitness and has studied fructose blockers along with weight loss supplements for many years. He also delivers valuable weight loss tips with diet and exercise.
