With the New Year fast approaching, you can bet losing weight will be at the top of everyone's New Year resolutions list and health foods stores will be well stocked with weight loss pills in anticipation of the after holiday rush. But are people wasting their money on weight loss pills?
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?
Since ephedra was taken off the market, there really hasn't been anything that rivals its weight loss power (save for possibly one).
Green tea and Hoodia are currently two of the most popular weight loss supplements in stores today. There have been mixed reviews on both, but Green tea has more scientific studies to back its claims. Never the less, they both fall far short of the fat burning power of ephedra.
There is however one promising compound that seems to block fructose from converting to adipose tissue.
What's all the fuss 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 commonly referred to as Chinese skullcap and "Black catechu", which are derived from the roots of Scutellaria baicalensis and Heartwood of Acacia.
How does it work?
This natural compound works by substantially decreasing two key obesity markers TNFa and IL-6 circulating in the blood stream. These two cytokines are expressed in high levels in the chronically obese. These compounds have been shown to significantly decrease both of these obesity markers by inhibiting fat conversion from fructose pathways and down-regulating PPAR gene expression (fat accumulation) and up-regulating PPARa (fat breakdown) protein. To a lesser extent there is also a moderate down-regulation of lipoprotein lipase (which breaks down fat) on the gene level.
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.
Their results would likely have been much better if they combined an exercise program along with a sensible diet.
Although these compounds show a lot of promise (especially if you are addicted to sweets) and may very well hold the key to the obesity epidemic, it should not replace a healthy diet and sensible exercise program. - 17944
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?
Since ephedra was taken off the market, there really hasn't been anything that rivals its weight loss power (save for possibly one).
Green tea and Hoodia are currently two of the most popular weight loss supplements in stores today. There have been mixed reviews on both, but Green tea has more scientific studies to back its claims. Never the less, they both fall far short of the fat burning power of ephedra.
There is however one promising compound that seems to block fructose from converting to adipose tissue.
What's all the fuss 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 commonly referred to as Chinese skullcap and "Black catechu", which are derived from the roots of Scutellaria baicalensis and Heartwood of Acacia.
How does it work?
This natural compound works by substantially decreasing two key obesity markers TNFa and IL-6 circulating in the blood stream. These two cytokines are expressed in high levels in the chronically obese. These compounds have been shown to significantly decrease both of these obesity markers by inhibiting fat conversion from fructose pathways and down-regulating PPAR gene expression (fat accumulation) and up-regulating PPARa (fat breakdown) protein. To a lesser extent there is also a moderate down-regulation of lipoprotein lipase (which breaks down fat) on the gene level.
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.
Their results would likely have been much better if they combined an exercise program along with a sensible diet.
Although these compounds show a lot of promise (especially if you are addicted to sweets) and may very well hold the key to the obesity epidemic, it should not replace a healthy diet and sensible exercise program. - 17944
About the Author:
Author Deen Dragonovich has over 30 years in health and fitness and has studied fructose blockers along with weight loss supplements for many years. He also delivers valuable weight loss help with diet and exercise.
