Everywhere we go we see ads for the “new miracle fat burning pill” or fad shake. I am always sceptical about most supplements and am a firm believer that you can get most (not all but most) of the nutrients you need thru foods. The problem I see is that we have a nation with expanding waistlines and health shops and supplement companies are misleading people into buying things that will do nothing but lower their bank account and not their midsection.
I read many books/blogs/research and articles from health experts every week and one man whose work I look into the most is Sol Orwell who provides an excellent resource on what supplements actually work for fat burning. I recently read in depth about 3 supplements which seem all the rage and are pretty much in your face in health shops and on website newspaper ads. The results will surprise you.
You see most of these wonder supplements claim “scientifically proven” on the label but what does that actually mean ? Not a lot in many cases, many of these studies are done on rats. Often times these studies work great on 20/30 rats who are locked in a cage and do the tasks you want them to do all day – does this mean it will work the same on humans, NO! Often other studies are done with obese people, because these people are part of a health study then naturally they will drop weight due to changes in their dietary habits – will we see the same results in people with normal range weight and metabolism ?
So what I would say to you is that often the claims on these “miracle pills” are often VERY misleading and I am now going to give you Sol Orwell’s lowdown on 3 of these Fat Burning Supplements which I read from one of his articles.
Raspberry Ketones
The Claim: Of all the “doctor-recommended” fat burners, this is the most popular one. Extracted from raspberries, this compound is meant to promote lipolytic activity. In simpler terms, it’s supposed to cause fat breakdown.
The Reality: Raspberry ketones were found effective in rat studies, at a very high dosage. That’s it. There is literally zero legitimate research done in humans. Extrapolating from some rat studies and applying them wholesale to humans is disingenuous.
Even the results in the rat studies were pathetic! It was as effective as taking a car from 42 MPG to 42.1 MPG.
Other Notables: Its fame is exponentially greater than its efficacy. Raspberry ketones are the best example of what marketing and vague “backed by scientific research” claims can do. For those who have experienced fish burps, some people get raspberry burps when taking this supplement.
There is some evidence that applying raspberry ketone cream could help improve your skin and hair!
Green Coffee Bean Extract
The Claim: A “miracle” fat burner. It’s a source of chlorogenic acid, which gets lost when coffee beans are roasted. Chlorogenic acid is supposed to slow down your body’s absorption of glucose, which promotes weight loss.
The Reality: Green coffee bean was found to have a slight effect in obese people. For people who are merely overweight, it is unlikely to have any effect. Furthermore, the positive research was industry funded, so take that research with a grain of salt.
Other Notables: Surprisingly, green coffee bean extract could be a health supplement in itself! It could help with your cardiovascular system, and potentially cognition too. The research is far too early to make any proper recommendations.
Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA)
The Claim: CLA is supposed to interact with the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR) system in your body, which is related to fat metabolism inside your body.
The Reality: A common theme emerges – what works in rats does not work in humans. CLA barely interacts with the PPAR system, rendering it unreliable. The end result? No fat burning.
Other Notables: CLA was one of the first promising fat burners, and thus there is a lot of research conducted on it: over 20 human studies! Alas, while most of the other supplements listed here have some other interesting tidbit, CLA seems to be a very uninteresting and boring molecule.
So there you have a little bit more research on 3 of the common supplements new clients who come to me say they are taking. My advice to you is to exhaust all of your efforts on proper health, sleep, nutrition and and THEN bring supplements into your regime. Far too many people don’t want to do the hard work and are looking for a quick fix all the time. Guess where most of these people end up 99.9% of the time – SQUARE ONE! Don’t be one of these people, don’t be fooled, don’t be mislead and instead focus on working hard yourself.
We still have a couple of openings in our Balbriggan and Malahide Gyms on our 12 Week Male and Female Systems where we aim to educate you on how to eat, train and live for optimal health and fat loss. I have made it really simple for you to apply to get accepted onto our programmes. Men click the male photo below and ladies click the female photo below!!
