Fat Burners

Fat Burners Diet Pills, or Thermogenic Diet Pills, contain stimulants such as ephedrine or caffeine, and may also include other ingredients that can decrease fat absorption and/or increase muscle mass. Fat Burners are typically used by weight lifters and muscle builders who want to lean down before competition. Diet Pill developers claim that fat burners increase your metabolism, but the only proven and safe way to do this is through exercise.

Over the past decade, the most successful over-the-counter diet pills contained a combination of caffeine, ephedrine (now banned in the U.S.), and aspirin. This powerful fat burner diet pill combination is known as the ECA Stack (Ephedrine, Caffeine, Aspirin).

With the ban on Ephedra in the U.S., the majority of Fat Burners no longer contain ingredients such as Ma Huang and other ephedra alkaloids. The products that do not contain Ma Huang or Guarana usually contain ingredients like Chromium Picolinate, L-Carnitine, Choline and other ingredients that help your body to more efficiently use body fat as a source of fuel for energy. These types of weight loss products work best when you increase your body’s demand for fuel by exercising.

Common ingredients found in fat burners include:

• Green Tea – supplements that contain green tea usually list it as EGCG which stands for a compound called Epigallo Catechin Gallate. The exact amount which might help weight loss is still undergoing study and readers should be reminded that green tea is actually a combination of hundreds of diverse compounds, including caffeine, which also has a mild fat burner effect.
• L-theanine – is an amino acid found in green tea. Some evidence finds L-theanine may be of help to those with anxiety. Currently though there isn’t much evidence on L-theanine and weight loss.
• Garcinia Cambogia – also called HCA which stands for hydroxy citric acid, garcinia cambogia does have some preliminary but controversial evidence suggesting that it may decrease food intake in overweight people. More research is needed to confirm these findings but research has shown positive results with 300 mg a day used over the course of several weeks. Other evidence suggests that this supplement may help long duration aerobic exercise buy promoting the burning of stored fat over carbohydrates.
• Vanadyl Sulfate – the mineral vanadium (which is what vanadyl sulfate is derived from) acts like the hormone insulin in some sea dwelling animals by lowering blood sugar. Because of this effect, vanadyl sulfate is added to diet pills with the purpose of helping to regulate blood sugar levels, however there is still no clinical evidence to its effectiveness. Diabetics should see their doctor before using products containing vanadyl sulfate because of its blood sugar lowering effect.
• Banaba Leaf Extract – is another compound that has some preliminary evidence suggesting that it might lower blood sugar levels in type II diabetics. Other preliminary research finds banaba may reduce weight—in obese mice that have been genetically altered to be obese.
• Chromium (GTF Chromium/Chromium Picolinate) – this is a trace mineral that may help reduce sugar cravings and regulate appetite by stabilizing blood sugar levels. The evidence on chromium as a weight loss aid is still inconclusive, but some health practitioners do advocate it as part of an entire weight loss program. It won’t help you lose weight by itself, but if you take it along with changing your diet and adding exercise, it may be helpful. (Make sure to follow the recommended dosage, as an overdose of this mineral can lead to kidney damage.)
• Calcium – weight loss supplements are starting to add calcium to their list of ingredients. Some studies do suggest that calcium might help people lose weight, however, all of the studies to date showing a weight loss effect have used dairy products such as milk and yogurt, that naturally contain calcium.
• Bitter Orange (Citrus aurantium, synephrine) – is a common ingredient in most “ephedra free” weight loss supplements. Another name for bitter orange is synephrine. Synephrine is chemically similar to ephedra. Studies do show that synephrine can raise blood pressure and heart rate.
• Ephedra and Ephedrine Alkaloids – does have clinical evidence that it works with some research finding that it might promote an average of two pounds more weight loss per month than when nothing at all is used. Ephedra is also is associated with some very serious side effects. Because of this, in December 2003 the FDA banned ephedra from the US market. Read more about the ban here “Ephedra Ban“.

For more information about these products, go to the category Fat Burners Reviews.