Archive for February, 2008

Stimerex

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

Stimerex

Can Stimerex Help You Lose Weight?

Stimerex is one of the latest weight loss supplements to hit the market. It is made by Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals and claims to be “America’s strongest energizer” as well a fat burning machine. Is this claim valid? Let’s take a closer look.

Ingredients in Stimerex
The ingredients in Stimerex are all fairly common. Stimerex doesn’t contain any medical breakthroughs by any means. It is composed of a proprietary blend, which raises an automatic red flag. Companies sometimes use proprietary blends as a way to mask ineffective or cheap ingredients.

There are some effective ingredients in Stimerex, namely caffeine and synephrine. Caffeine has been shown to increase both physical and mental outputs. Synephrine essentially acts like the now banned Ephedra but without the side effects.

Something that is missing from Stimerex that is essential to an effective weight loss supplement is an appetite suppressor.

Stimerex also contains Yohimbe (an extract from an African tree). It seems harmless but there are numerous side effects associated with it such as renal failure, seizures and death, have been reported to FDA with products containing Yohimbe and are currently under investigation.

Price of Stimerex

Stimerex is available for around $25. This is a little higher than the standard for similar weight loss supplements.

 

No Satisfaction or Money Back Guarantees

 

With Stimerex there are no satisfaction or money back guarantees. They only return money for unopened bottles. This shows a lack of confidence in their own product.

 

Pros

  • Contains Caffeine and Synephrine

Cons

  • No Appetite Suppressors
  • Relatively Expensive
  • Cheap Ingredients
  • No Satisfaction or Money Back Guarantees

Final Conclusion

Stimerex is a weight loss product that doesn’t really have anything that would make it standout.  Unfortunately there is more fiction than fact to the claims of Stimerex. The top diet pills ranked below excelled in several categories including: efficacy (does it work!), safety, company reputation, return policies and guarantees, and price.

 

 

StarCaps

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

Starcaps

Do Starcaps Work?

Starcaps were invented by Nikki Haskell. If there ever was a weight loss supplement that belonged in a science-fiction book it is this one. According to the makers by taking Starcaps you can lose anywhere from 10 to 125 pounds. That sounds really good but you know what they say about things that sound too good to be true, they usually are. But let’s put that notion aside and examine Starcaps.

Ingredients In Starcaps

It is evident from the ingredients in Starcaps that there wasn’t a lot of scientific research done in creating them. The main ingredients in Starcaps are garlic and papaya. Although these two ingredients are great for overall health, they have no links to weight loss.

What Starcaps are missing in the ingredient mix are the two things that are essential for a weight loss supplement, mainly an effective fat burner and a appetite suppressor.

Pricing

The retail price for Starcaps is $100. This is an outrageous price for some papaya and garlic. If you actually believe that garlic and papaya can lead to weight loss, you should save some money and go to the grocery story and get some for $5. We are just guessing that the manufactures of Starcaps think you are crazy enough to buy their pills, you’ll be crazy enough to pay $100 for them.

No Satisfaction or Money Back Guarantees

Not surprisingly there are no satisfaction or money back guarantees for Starcaps. This shows a lack of confidence in their own product.

Starcaps Pros

  • Contains Ingredients that promote overall health

Starcaps Cons

  • Not Backed By Science
  • No Fat Burners
  • Very Expensive
  • No Guarantees
  • Doesn’t Contain Appetite Suppressors

Starcaps Conclusion

Starcaps claims are about as believable as the Easter bunny and their effectiveness for weight loss has no basis in common scientific knowledge.

 

 

Stackerdrene

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

Stackerdrene

Does Stackerdrene Work?

Stackerdrene is latest product from the Stacker series. The original Stacker was full of the now banned Ephedra. So far the manufacturers of Stacker haven’t been able to find an effective replacement for Ephedra. Can they finally get over the hump with Ephedra? Let’s take a closer look and see.

Ingredients in Stackerdrene

Stackerdrene came out as a line extension to the Stacker 2 and is essentially the same thing as the Stacker 2 but with some vitamins and minerals. Although the addition of the vitamins and minerals are great for overall health, the focus of a weight loss supplement should be to lose weight and the vitamins and minerals have no effect on weight loss.

The Stackerdrene is comprised of a proprietary blend. Most of the ingredients that comprise the proprietary blend are fairly common in most weight loss supplements. There are some ingredients that we like in the Stackerdrene such as caffeine and gugglusterone. Caffeine has been shown to increase both mental and physical output. While gugglusterones have been linked to increasing your metabolism.

What is missing from Stackerdrene seems to be a common theme for the Stacker series. There are no fat burners.

Side Effects of Stackerdrene

Stackerdrene has several side effects. Some of the side effects include dizziness or light-headedness, headaches, and increased heart rate or blood pressure. 

Price of Stackerdrene

The retail price of Stackerdrene is $30. This is very high considering the amount of side effects and the quality of the product.

Stackerdrene Pros

  • Contains Caffeine and Guggulusterones

Stackerdrene Cons

  • There are no fat burners
  • Expensive
  • Cheap Ingredients

Stackerdrene Conclusion

Although there are a few good ingredients in Stackerdrene, it doesn’t have the effectiveness to help you lose weight.

 

 

Stacker 2

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

Stacker 2

Is the Stacker 2 an Effective Fat Burner?

Stacker 2 is the sequel to the original Stacker. If you remember the original Stacker was mainly comprised of Ephedra. But now that Ephedra has been banned because of health concerns they have had to reconstruct their ingredient formula. Let’s take a closer look at the Stacker 2.

Ingredients in the Stacker 2

The ingredients in the Stacker 2 are comprised in a proprietary blend. This raises a red flag. Sometimes companies use proprietary blends to mask ineffective and cheap product mixes.

Most of the ingredients that comprise the proprietary blend are fairly common in most weight loss supplements. There are some ingredients that we like in the Stacker 2 such as caffeine and gugglusterone. Caffeine has been shown to increase both mental and physical output. While gugglusterones have been linked to increasing your metabolism.

What the Stacker 2 is missing is an effective fat burner

Side Effects of Stacker 2

Stacker 2 has several side effects. Some of the side effects include dizziness or light-headedness, headaches, and increased heart rate or blood pressure.  Yikes!

No Satisfaction or Money Back Guarantees

There are no satisfaction or money back guarantees with the Stacker 2. This shows a lack of confidence of the manufacturers towards their own product.

Pricing of the Stacker 2

It appears like a lot of people are trying to unload the Stacker 2 and it can be purchased for as low as $8.

Pros

  • Cheap
  • Contains Gugglusterones and Caffeine

Cons

  • No Effective Fat Burners
  • Side Effects
  • No Satisfaction or Money Back Guarantees
  • No Appetite Suppressors

Conclusion

Although the Stacker 2 contains some quality ingredients, it doesn’t contain enough to enough effective ingredients to overcome all of its negative aspects.

 

 

 

SlimFX

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

Slim FX

Slim FX is a product based in the UK which offers itself as a great option for those looking to lose weight.  Having done some research on the product, I can tell you that there just isn’t a lot of information on Slim FX.  The company selling it doesn’t really give you much information on the product and makes few significant claims as to its effectiveness.  It is as if it is just there, hoping you’ll buy it for some reason.

Well, what reasons might you have to buy this stuff?

For its active ingredients includes Garcinia Cambogia, Bitter Orange, Green Tea, and Fisetin. These are almost all of them pretty common inclusions in weight-loss supplements, but the real question is over the concentration.  Garcinia cambogia contains hydroxyl citric acid which has been touted as an effective appetite suppressant and fat burner, but these claims are unsubstantiated by science and one chemical rarely does both of those things. 

Bitter orange is a natural source of synephrine and has been compared in its effects to ephedra, while green tea is a powerful antioxidant that is pretty much a staple in the world of diet supplements.  Fisetin has been linked to improved memory, but has no evidence as it relates to weight loss.

Aside from this half-promising mix, you will consider that it will be near impossible to get a refund as this product must be shipped over-seas.

Pros

  • Includes synephrine
  • Green Tea

Cons

  • Overseas shipping
  • Questionable ingredients

Conclusion

There is really nothing to make this product stick out other than the use of fisetin, which apparently has no application to weight loss.  The cost is about $30 per bottle and would be pretty much impossible to return as the company ships from overseas.  I recommend you look locally and for a product with more science behind it.

To find the highest-rated products, check below…

Slimage

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

Slimage

Slimage, the oh-so cleverly named diet supplement made by CalComp Nutrition, claims to be the “first ever diet pill to deliver rapid weight loss and fight the visible signs of aging.”  Looking beyond its extremely clever name and audacious claims, I offer you a closer look at the pros and cons of Slimage.

The main basis for their claim of anti-aging qualities is the inclusion of ingredients such as vitamin E, alpha-lipoic acid, and vitamin A, which are antioxidants.  Most if not all diet pills include some antioxidants and so the claim that Slimage is the “first ever” to offer anti-aging qualities is ridiculous. In any case, these are good ingredients.

To help you lose weight, Slimage offers a mixture of Green Tea, White Tea, Oolong Tea, Caffeine, and Hoodia.  This combination includes more antioxidants and a combined dosage of caffeine that might be considered a little less than healthy.  Hoodia is an ingredient that has very little science behind it and was reported to have been dropped from Pfizer’s development program because of ineffectiveness and some health risks.

Pros

  • Green Tea
  • Antioxidants and vitamins

Cons

  • Doesn’t justify $35 price tag
  • Little evidence for Hoodia

Conclusion

This product, despite the hype, lives up to neither its claims nor its price-tag.  The vitamins and other ingredients are not that expensive and don’t justify the price.  It is simply another basic weight-loss product disguised to look original.  I see nothing here to suggest that it is really your best option and I would not recommend it to the person seriously looking to lose weight.

 

Slenderite

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

Slenderite

Slenderite is a supplement made by Natrol which claims to improve your mood and “may help increase metabolism” according to the company site.  With its name sounding like a member of some arcane sect of weight-loss fanatics and its claims as bold as it “may help” you, I must say I’m only slightly skeptical.

Slenderite’s claim to fame is the relatively new advent of White Bean extract to the diet world.  This extract has been shown in some studies to be a significant starch neutralizer.  This basically means that it keeps your body from breaking down starch into sugar as quickly and therefore should prevent weight-gain.  The studies on white bean extract are pretty convincing, but possible adverse side-effects have yet to be determined.  Other ingredients include Green Tea, caffeine, and chromium picolinate, which are widely used though chromium picolinate has little evidence of being effective.

The website is pretty vague about the rest of the possible ingredients in Slenderite.  My biggest issue with the product is that it is entirely a “proprietary blend” which means that the company does not disclose the precise concentration of its ingredients, making it impossible for you to actually determine the effectiveness of the product.  You can be assured that it includes the ingredients claimed (otherwise they would be straight up lying to you), but there is no guarantee that they are included in an effective concentration. 

Pros

  • Promising evidence behind white bean extract
  • Relatively inexpensive

Cons

  • Proprietary blend
  • Includes some useless filler ingredients

Conclusion

For $20, this is certainly not the most expensive product on the market, but there are no guarantees that it includes enough of the effective ingredients to even be worth the packaging it comes in.  The bottom line - I don’t recommend you buy Slenderite.  Look for a product that actually gives you some insight on its ingredients and how it works.

Check below for the highest-rated and most effective weight-loss products.

Skinny Fast

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

Skinny Fast

First of all, let me just say that I am not impressed with the product name.  With all due respect, let’s think of something at least a little more professional, please.   I am willing to concede that even with a silly name, a product can still pack a punch, so let’s take a look at Skinny Fast to see if its ingredients are as good as its name is lame.

Active Ingredients:

  • L-Carnitine - 250 mg
  • Chitosan - 250 mg
  • Garcinia Cambogia - 300 mg
  • Bitter Orange - 334 mg (20 mg of which is synephrine)
  • Chromium - 200 mcg

The first two ingredients, L-carnitine and chitosan are disappointing.  There is no clinical evidence to suggest L-carnitine as an effective weight-loss aid and chitosan, though effective, must be consumed in massive quantities (much higher than is included here) in order to make any difference.  Garcinia Cambogia, a source of hydroxycitric acid (HCA) has a good amount of evidence to suggest that it can be effective as an appetite suppressant, though the effective dosage is unclear.

I was encouraged by the inclusion of bitter orange extract, which is a source of synephine and a widely used metabolism booster.  However, Skinny Fast only guarantees 20 mg of synephrine.  An effective dose ought to be at least 30-35 mg.  The inclusion of 200 mcg of chromium is unnecessary as the recommended dosage is only 25-35 mcg. 

Pros

  • Includes synephrine
  • Inexpensive

Cons

  • Contains some useless ingredients
  • Low concentration of synephrine

Skinny Fast sells for only $16, but to be honest you are hardly getting that much bang for your buck.  I do not see significant amounts of effective ingredients and just because a product is inexpensive does not mean it is good value.    The bottome line is, don’t stop your search for a diet-supplement here.  I do not recommend Skinny Fast.

Keep reading to check out the top-rated products on the market…

SesaMAX

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

SesaMax

SesaMax is a diet supplement which is marketed both as a weight-loss aid and for muscle fitness.  It is basically a high dose of sesame seed oil. 

Sesame seed oil contains a compound known as sesamin which is a type of lignan, or a hormone which is considered to increase fat oxidation and reduce fat storage.  Sesamin is used in a variety of weight loss products and there is considerable hype about the stuff.

Having done a bit more research, I found what is so often the case with weight-loss products -  that there is very little research about sesamin and no significant evidence to prove its effectiveness in helping people lose weight. Other ingredients include flax seed oil and omega 3, 6, and 9 acids.   Flax seed oil is another source of lignans and the omega fatty acids are great supplements for your general health. 

SesaMax essentially claims to help you to lose fat and increase your lean muscle mass, which suggests that its users will be working out and focusing on building muscle.  Therefore, if you are looking to lose pounds by forms of aerobic exercise (jogging, other cardio workouts) then this product will not make sense for you.

Price

You can buy SesaMax for about $20 a bottle, which regardless of its effectiveness is too much.  The ingredients such as sesame seed oil do not cost near this much to produce and the company seems to be looking for an outrageous profit margin. 

Pros                                                        

  • Includes lignans and omega 3 fatty acids
  • No health risk

Cons

  • Not much research on sesamin.
  • Targeted more toward muscle gain.

Conclusion

The ingredients in SesaMax are by no means dangerous and by all accounts should improve your health to some degree, but there is just not enough evidence to suggest that they will significantly help you to lose weight. I do not recommend SesaMax.

Quickfire Review

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

QuickFire Review

QuickFire is a weight loss supplement made by ProLab. Having not found it on the ProLab company website, it appears to have been discontinued but it can still be purchased elsewhere online. The fact that it was discontinued immediately raises concern as to this products effectiveness or safety. In any case, ProLab is generally known as a trustworthy company, so lets take a look at QuickFire…

Does QuickFire Work?

The active ingredients for QuickFire include Green Tea Extract, Caffeine, EGCG, Rhodiola Extract, Banaba, L-Tyrosine, 5-HTP (5-Hydroxytryptophan), Chromax Chromium Picolinate, and Biotin.

The Green Tea and Caffeine combination is always good for boosting metabolism. Banaba contains corosolic acid, which has been used to treat diabetics but has limited application in weight-loss. As for L-Tyrosine and 5-HTP, they may help to improve mood and boost the sense of well-being. It is used sometimes for therapeutic purposes or as an antidepressant, but again has little application in actually help you burn fat and lose weight.

QuickFire Cost

QuickFire can be purchased in various places online from $18 - $30 for a 30-day supply.

QuickFire Pros

  • Relatively inexpensive
  • Contains some good ingredients

QuickFire Cons

  • Apparently Discontinued
  • Includes unnecessary ingredients
  • No money-back guarantee

QuickFire Conclusion

This is by no means the worst product I have investigated and includes a few solid ingredients, but it is by no means the best. Its formula has a few big holes in it. Aside from the jolt you may get from the caffeine, this product offers few other potent ingredients for weight loss. I do not recommend QuickFire.

To see the best products on the market, check the following reviews…