People who are looking to lose weight quite often (and
totally understandably) want to explore the easiest option for shedding excess
weight and it is not just the obese and overweight who are attracted to the prospect
of popping a pill and watching the pounds melt away; gym bunnies are also
desperate to get that perfect physique and want to lose the last few pounds
that will give them killer abs.
A quick flick through almost any health and beauty magazine
will alert you to the large number of competing products, all offering you the
perfect body if you shell out for these so-called “fat burners”. It is hardly
surprising then that we get a lot of questions from people about these
products. The fact is that most of the products that are advertised as fat
burners contain nothing more than high doses of caffeine. Some other products
contain green tea extract and there is some evidence to suggest that the polyphenols in green tea have moderate thermogenic (metabolic stimulation)
properties.
There are other compounds that undoubtedly assist with lipolysis
and some of them are produced naturally by the human body, but if introduced in
an unnatural way in large quantities, can produce very serious side effects.
Another favourite ingredient of these fat burners is
ephedrine. The metabolic effects of ephedrine are well documented but the side
effects of taking this product in high dosages and for a sustained period can
be very serious indeed, so its use in clinical practice as a weight management
tool is not feasible. It is also illegal to sell ephedrine without a pharmacist
being present, so apart from any health consideration, anyone selling this
product who is not a pharmacist is actually breaking the law.
You also need to be careful about consuming compounds that
have not been subjected to exhaustive clinical trials as we just don’t know
what sort of impact they are likely to have at particular dosages. There was a tragic
case of Claire Squires in the London marathon last year who died after taking a
product that contained DMAA, which is actually quite a powerful amphetamine.
There
is one really great fat burner that I am more than happy to recommend. The results
that you get are amazing. The name? Oh yes: It is called EXERCISE!