Beware of Weight-Loss Supplements

Several patients have been asking my opinion about some of the different weight-loss supplements that are on the market. There has definitely been an explosion of this stuff lately. It seems like just about everyone has jumped into the market, and they all claim to have the formula for success.

My first word of warning is: there is no such thing as a supplement that is going to make you lose weight. If you read the fine print, it always says, "In combination with exercise and a healthy diet." The trick is, you can combine anything with exercise and a healthy diet and you will lose weight. It is kind of like Stone Soup (great little book by the way, a good one to read).

Secondly, most of these supplements have substances that work on two different physiological effects that in theory will help you lose weight faster. One, they contain stimulants that boost your metabolism and blood pressure; Two, they contain diuretics, which cause water loss. I say "in theory" because all of these substances are tested in a lab in what is called "in vitro", which means in a test-tube. Scientists are able to study the exact processes that happen, and then they apply these processes to the human body. They do not actually know 100% what happens to these substances "in vivo" or in the body, but most studies suggest that most if not all of the oral (by mouth) stimulants are metabolized (or destroyed) before they ever reach the blood stream. This could mean that most of these supplements rely heavily on the placebo effect.

Let's say, purely for the sake of argument that the stimulants actually do what they are supposed to, what happens next. So you are taking these supplements and your metabolism is artificially boosted and you are losing water weight. The minute you stop taking them, your metabolism is going to drop back down to where it was before, and you are going to gain you water weight back. What have you gained?

A better way to boost your metabolism is thru the natural process of exercise. It takes much longer to permanently change your metabolism, but it is also much easier to maintain once you get there. The higher your metabolism and the better your physical condition, the less you are going to have to worry about the number of calories you eat. Take a look at Michael Phelps (the Olympic Swimmer); while in training, he consumes over 12,000 calories a day! His body needs that much just to keep up with demand.

As far as water weight, the better way to control that is by cutting back on salty foods and foods that cause bloating (dairy for example).

There are weight-loss supplements out there that are safe and legitimate, but you have to do due diligence and get beyond the hype in order to figure out which ones are which. If you have specific questions about a supplement, bring it to my attention and I will help you do the research to find out the details. If you have other questions about weight loss, give me a call or come by and we can talk.