Nutritional and herbal weight loss supplements to consider
If you have a weight loss success story with a supplement, please contact us. Countless herbal weight loss products are sold that contain some of these supplements. It is difficult to know which weight loss pill, if any, will be helpful for you. Sometimes it may take trial and error to find out which weight loss pill is best suited for your particular situation. It is preferable not to take any of these for more than one month before taking a break for a few days. There are many weight loss supplements on the market that have a combination of the following herbs and nutrients. Some of them do work. If you would like an extremely effective appetite suppressant, consider Diet Rx, a product that I have formulated and tested on my patients with significant results.

Green tea extract may be effective in some people as a weight loss pill.
Hoodia is a cactus plant extract from the Kalahari desert in South Africa that has been getting a lot of attention lately as a weight loss pill.
Citrus Aurantium is a thermogenic appreciated by some people although it can increase body temperature and in very high doses can increase heart rate.
Caffeine is often found in weight loss pills but I personally don't like my patients taking extra caffeine since it can cause increased heart rate and anxiety. Most people already consume enough caffeine through coffee, tea, sodas, and chocolate.
Chitosan has not been found to be very helpful as a weight loss pill.
Konjac is also known as glucomannan
Coleus forskohlii is an herb.
Chicory extract
Evodiamine has been promoted as a weight loss pill.
Kola Nut is the seed kernel of a large African tree grown commercially around the world. It's chief constituents are caffeine, theobromine, tannins and phenolics, kolatin, and kolanin. Kola nut has thermogenic and stimulant properties.
Pyruvate in high doses, such as 20 to 40 gm a day, have been shown in some studies to lead to weight loss, but these high doses are impractical and expensive.
Alpha lipoic acid may also reduce appetite but it is primarily used as an antioxidant.
5-HTP is a nutrient that helps curb appetite in some individuals . 5-HTP, by converting into serotonin, can be used temporarily to improve will power and decrease the urge to eat until more established weight loss habits are in place.
Acetyl-l-Carnitine is a weight loss pill that may reduce appetite in some individuals.
 

Subscribe to a FREE Supplement Research Update newsletter. Twice a month we email a brief abstract of several studies on various supplements and natural medicine topics, including effective weight loss programs and natural supplements for weight loss, and their practical interpretation by Ray Sahelian, M.D.

Tips for a healthy Weight Loss plan
You don't have to finish your plate.
Eat more at breakfast and less later in the day. Shifting a greater proportion of a day's total calorie intake to breakfast time decreases weight gain over time.
Reduce the quantity of late night meals and snacks, and this will help with rapid weight loss.
Snacking may cause weight gain if snacks are consumed in a non-hungry state.
Reduce calorie dense foods, they are the most likely source of weight gain. Substitute Stevia -- the no calorie natural sweetener -- for sugar. Reducing dietary energy density, particularly by combining increased fruit and vegetable intakes with decreased fat intake, is an effective strategy for managing body weight while controlling hunger.
For quick weight loss, reduce any sugared drinks, such as iced teas and soft drinks. Dilute fruit juices with water.
Add a teaspoon of sugar-free psyllium powder (found in all grocery stores) to a glass of water and drink it with each meal. Psyllium absorbs a lot of water and gives you a sense of fullness.
Eat more protein during the day and reduce intake of simple carbohydrates.
Find activities, hobbies, sports, games, or work that you enjoy doing, so you won't be thinking about food as a primary source of pleasure and this can lead to weigh loss.
Walking for weight loss - Exercise is one of the best things you can do for weight loss. Find an activity that you enjoy that you can stick to.

The Weight Loss Dilemma
Weight loss is difficult and the prevalence of obesity in the United States is increasing. Overall, 32 percent of men and 36 percent of women are obese. This leads many frustrated, overweight people to search for a fast weight loss pill or drug, a weight loss diet or program, or any type of weight loss product. Some search for an herbal weight loss supplement. The answer may not lie in a fast weight loss program, but rather in a long term, healthy weight loss lifestyle change. Here's one tip: if you eat slowly, you will eat less -- and you will enjoy the meal more.
   Those attempting weight loss are quick to embrace the latest popular diet but are almost as quick to abandon it. Case in point is the rise and the apparent recent decline in the popularity of low-carbohydrate, high-fat diets in the United States. The public seems ready to abandon these weight loss diets, despite some evidence of their effectiveness. Several studies have shown that these diets are effective in producing weight loss and metabolic improvements. The problem seems to be that the greater weight loss achieved with these diets is not maintained over time. It is not clear whether this is due to the waning effectiveness of the diet or to the inability of most people to maintain this weight loss diet.
   There is no one and only weight loss diet that works for everyone. It may take trial and error until you find one that works for you. In the meantime, there are some natural weight loss pills that could help reduce appetite. One such product is Diet Rx. For weight loss diet or weight loss recipe information, see diet page.

Different Weight Loss Programs For Different People - all types of diets work, just reduce the number of calories
I have presented several options for weight loss diets. You may try different weight loss programs to see which work best for you. No one weight loss program will work for everyone since each person is unique and has different food preferences and budgets. Will power and motivation vary significantly between individuals.
    In 2009, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and the Pennington Biomedical Research Center put four popular diets -- high carb, high fat, low-fat and high protein -- to the test to see which of the weight loss regimens resulted in more success. After two years of monitoring the participants, "all the diets were winners," said study co-author Dr. Frank Sacks, a professor of cardiovascular disease prevention at the Harvard School of Public Health. "All produced weight loss and improvements in lipids, reduction in insulin. "The key really is that it's calories. It's not the content of fat or carbohydrates, it's just calories," said Frank Sacks.

Intuitive Weight Loss diet
Stop dieting. Become an "intuitive eater." It's a better way to maintain a healthy weight and reduce the risk of heart disease. Intuitive eaters don't diet -- they recognize and respond to internal hunger and fullness cues to regulate food intake. The basic premise of intuitive eating is, rather than manipulate what we eat in terms of prescribed diets -- how many calories a food has, how many grams of fat, specific food combinations or anything like that -- we should take internal cues, try to recognize what our body wants and then regulate how much we eat based on hunger and satiety.

Combination Weight Loss diet
Combining the best components of low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets could be an effective weight loss program. Low carbohydrate diets such as Atkins, which largely exclude fruit, vegetables and grains, produce a greater weight loss initially than reduced-fat plans but in the long-term they are no better and may have side effects. Combining some of the good things from the low carb with the good things from the low fat diets seems to be satiating and also to enhance weight loss.

High Protein diet
A high-protein diet induces sustained reductions in appetite, ad libitum caloric intake, and body weight despite compensatory changes in diurnal plasma leptin and ghrelin concentrations.
   The ever-popular low-carbohydrate diets appear to work because they force people to eat more protein, which consequently suppresses the appetite, most likely not because of a lower carbohydrate intake. Protein appears to encourage people to eat fewer calories overall. Low-calorie diets rarely work. This has encouraged researchers to consider that changing the ingredients of the diet, but not its calories, makes a difference in people's waistlines. A high protein diet could be combined with plenty of fresh vegetables.
   Research September 2005 - Women who follow a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet may lose more weight and body fat, particularly when they engage in regular exercise, than those whose diets are low in protein and high in carbohydrates. A growing body of research points to the benefits of low-calorie diets that are low in carbohydrates and high in protein. Regular exercise is also known to be both a necessary component of any effective weight loss strategy and key to the maintenance of that weight loss.
   Research March 2009 - People lose weight when they cut calories, but a diet with some extra protein may be especially effective at trimming body fat and improving blood fats. Over a one year period, a moderate-protein diet was better than a standard high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet at helping overweight adults shed body fat. Journal of Nutrition, March 2009.

Long Term Weight Loss
There is a general perception that almost no one succeeds in long-term maintenance of weight loss. However, research has shown that approximately 20% of overweight individuals are successful at long-term weight loss when defined as losing at least 10% of initial body weight and maintaining the loss for at least 1 y. The National Weight Control Registry provides information about the strategies used by successful weight loss maintainers to achieve and maintain long-term weight loss. National Weight Control Registry members have lost an average of 33 kg and maintained the loss for more than 5 y. To maintain their weight loss, members report engaging in high levels of physical activity ( approximately 1 h/d), eating a low-calorie, low-fat diet, eating breakfast regularly, self-monitoring weight, and maintaining a consistent eating pattern across weekdays and weekends. Moreover, weight loss maintenance may get easier over time; after individuals have successfully maintained their weight loss for 2-5 y, the chance of longer-term success greatly increases. See also Causes of obesity.

Weight Loss Drugs
Pharmacotherapy for the management of obesity is primarily aimed at weight loss, weight loss maintenance and risk reduction, and has included thyroid hormone, amphetamines, phentermine, amfepramone (diethylpropion), phenylpropanolamine, mazindol, fenfluramines and, more recently, sibutramine and orlistat. These agents decrease appetite, reduce absorption of fat or increase energy expenditure. Primary endpoints used to evaluate anti-obesity drugs most frequently include mean weight loss, percentage weight loss and proportion of patients losing >or=5% and >or=10% of initial bodyweight. Secondary endpoints may include reduction in body fat, risk factors for cardiovascular disease and the incidences of diseases such as diabetes mellitus. Most pharmacotherapies have demonstrated significantly greater weight loss in patients on active treatment than those receiving placebo in short-term (<or=1 year) randomised controlled trials of pharmacological treatment in conjunction with a calorie-controlled diet or lifestyle intervention. The evidence of long-term efficacy is limited to sibutramine (2 years) and orlistat (4 years).

Weight Loss Surgery - As a last resort, if nothing else has worked
Weight loss surgery - gastric bypass - is an option for the morbidly obese. I am not thrilled about the prescription weight loss medications since many have serious side effects. There may be some weight loss centers that could offer help, but not all of them are worth the money and not all quick weight loss centers can be trusted.
     Weight-loss surgery works not just by restricting the amount of food absorbed by the body, it seems. In part, at least, it leads to weight loss by causing hormone changes that reduce appetite and improve sugar metabolism. Patients who undergo stomach bypass have increased levels of two hormones, PYY and GLP-1, which would be expected to produce sensations of fullness after eating. In addition, patients have changes in their insulin response that would lead to improved blood sugar levels. By contrast, patients who lose a comparable amount of weight through gastric banding, a procedure in which the size of the stomach is restricted but it's not actually bypassed, do not show these hormonal changes. Substantial weight loss after gastric bypass surgery is associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease.
     The risk of complications after weight loss or "bariatric" surgery increases for each additional year over age 60. A "duodenal switch" operation is more likely to result in complications than the more commonly performed stomach bypass operation. The stomach bypass results in weight loss by surgically "bypassing" the stomach, while the duodenal switch involves removing most of the stomach and reconfiguring the digestive tract to limit the amount of fat and calories that can be absorbed by the intestines.

Weight Loss Research Update
When it comes to carbohydrates, it's not how much you eat, but which kind, that makes a difference to your bathroom scale. People who are overweight do not appear to eat more carbohydrates overall than people who weigh less, the researchers report in the American Journal of Epidemiology. However, they found that overweight people tend to eat more refined carbohydrates, such as white bread and pasta, which cause a rapid spike in blood sugar. "Total amount of carbohydrate is not related to body weight. It's the type of carbohydrate that's important for weight loss. Refined carbohydrates are often found in processed foods that contain a lot of sugar. This type of carbohydrate has what's called a high glycemic index, meaning it causes a rapid increase in blood sugar. The body stores that sugar in muscle, but if it is not used, it becomes fat, he noted. In contrast, whole grains, fruits and vegetables have carbohydrates that don't have such high glycemic index.

Foods with a low-glycemic index, which are digested relatively slowly and cause smaller increases in blood sugar, may protect the heart and blood vessels better than low-fat fare. Researchers in Boston found that when obese people consumed as many carbohydrates with a low-glycemic index as they wanted, they had weight loss in 12 months as people who stuck with a conventional, calorie-restricted low-fat diet. Carbohydrates with a low glycemic index include foods such as nonstarchy vegetables, fruit, legumes, nuts and diary products. Dieters who watched their glycemic indices also experienced a larger decrease in fatty substances in the blood linked to heart disease and had a drop in levels of a protein that interferes with the body's ability to break down blood clots. In contrast, low-fat dieters had an increase in levels of the same protein, which may put them at higher risk of heart attack.

People who cut carbohydrates for weight loss do equally well whether they compensate with increased amounts of animal protein or plant-based fats. Australian researchers found that a low-fat, high-protein diet and a high-fat, moderate-protein diet were equally successful in weight loss over a three month period.

A comparison of four popular weight loss plans finds that the key to losing weight may not be which weight loss diet plan a person picks, but sticking with the plan that is chosen, according to a study in the January 5 issue of JAMA. The study also found that popular diets can be effective for modest weight loss and reducing several cardiac risk factors, but overall adherence rates were low.

An Atkin's-type weight loss diet that is low in carbohydrates produces much greater weight loss than the low-calorie, low-fat diet currently endorsed by the US National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP). As reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine, Dr. Charles H. Hennekens, from the Agatston Research Institute in Miami Beach, Florida, and colleagues assessed weight loss in 60 people who were put on a modified low-carbohydrate diet or the NCEP diet for 12 weeks. Roughly 36 percent of subjects in each group were considered overweight or obese. With the NCEP diet, the percentage of calories from fat, carbohydrate, and protein held steady throughout the study at 30, 55, and 15 percent, respectively. On the modified low-carbohydrate diet, the percentages fluctuated during the study, but the percentage from carbohydrates never exceeded 28 percent. The average weight loss achieved with the modified low-carbohydrate diet was 13.6 pounds, nearly double that achieved with the NCEP diet. Moreover, the low-carb diet was linked to favorable changes in all cholesterol levels, whereas the NCEP diet produced more limited improvements.

CortiSlim weight loss pill and CortiStress marketers have been assessed with a $4.5 million penalty. California-based Pinnacle Marketing Concepts, Inc. and its president, Thomas F. Cheng, and Shawn M. Talbott, Ph.D., have agreed to pay a total of $4.5 million in cash and other assets to settle FTC charges stemming from their roles in the marketing of CortiSlim and CortiStress. The FTC claims that the defendants made false or unsubstantiated product claims and used deceptively formatted infomercials in pitching the dietary supplements. Litigation continues against three other defendants who were part of the scheme. The FTC's complaint charged that CortiSlim was marketed with false or unsubstantiated claims that it would cause rapid, substantial, and permanent weight loss in all users.

Alpha-Lipoic acid, a weight loss agent?
Expert Opin Investig Drugs. 2004 Dec;13(12):1641-3.
Obesity shortens life expectancy and is a risk factor for hypertension and Type 2 diabetes. When added to the standard chow of Sprague-Dawley or Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty rats, alpha-lipoic acid (0.5% weight/weight) reduced body weight and food intake. alpha-Lipoic acid also increased whole-body energy expenditure. It exerts its effects by suppressing hypothalamic AMP-activated protein kinase. Long-term studies to determine whether these weight loss effects are maintained in animals are required before alpha-lipoic acid is considered for clinical trial in human obesity.

Eating half of a grapefruit three times per day before meals appears to help people with weight loss. Moreover, regular grapefruit-eaters experienced a decrease in insulin, which in excess can increase the risk of weight gain and cardiovascular problems.

Modifying the consumption of different food-groups may keep body weight from creeping up over time, new research suggests. The six-year study found that adults who boosted their intake of fruit during the research period put on less weight and body fat than those whose fruit consumption dipped. The same benefit was seen among men and women who started drinking more skim or low-fat milk, or who cut back on fatty foods. Although high-fat, Atkins-style diets have been advocated for weight loss, the new study provides evidence that over the long-term, relatively high fat intake promotes weight gain, according to lead author Vicky Drapeau. The findings support the standard public health recommendation that adults eat more fruits and vegetables and limit fat intake, noted Drapeau, a researcher at Laval University in Quebec, Canada. SOURCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, July 2004.

Making the switch from a regular meat-and-dairy diet to an all plant-based, vegan diet may be easier than it would seem, and could lead to weight loss. Among a group of overweight, postmenopausal women, most of those who followed a vegan diet -- which contains no animal products such as dairy, meat or eggs -- said they enjoyed the diet. Most women also said they were mostly or completely used to the vegan diet after 14 weeks, and planned to continue it, for the most part at least, in the future. Moreover, women eating only vegan foods had a weight los of an average of 13 pounds, more than women who followed a standard low-fat diet.

If animal studies apply to humans, people taking the weight loss drug Xenical might have an increased likelihood of developing kidney stones, especially if they have a high intake of oxalate-containing foods. Researchers from the Federal University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and the Karolinska Institute, Sweden, tested the effect of Xenical (known generically as orlistat) in 39 adult rats that were given a diet rich in oxalate alone or combined with fat (soy oil). With Xenical, oxalate levels in the urine were four to eight times higher than the baseline value, "elevating the risk of stone formation," the team reports in the August 2004 issue of Kidney International.

After reviewing data from 29 studies of the weight loss pill sibutramine, US researchers have concluded that there is still not enough evidence to accurately evaluate the long-term risk-benefit profile of the drug. A report of the findings, which appears in the Archives of Internal Medicine, indicates that sibutramine is effective at promoting weight loss. However, it is unclear whether the drug actually helps reduce obesity-associated illness and death. Also, the net effect sibutramine has on the risk of developing cardiovascular disease remains to be determined.

Caffeine, carnitine and choline supplementation of rats decreases body fat and serum leptin concentration as does exercise.
Hongu N, Sachan DS. Department of Nutrition and Agricultural Experiment Station, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
J Nutr 2000 Feb;130(2):152-7
The effect of a combination of caffeine, carnitine and choline with or without exercise on changes in body weight, fat pad mass, serum leptin concentration and metabolic indices was determined in 20 male, 7-wk-old Sprague-Dawley rats. We conclude that the indices of body fat loss due to dietary supplements were similar to those due to mild exercise, and there were no interactive effects of the two variables.

Weight loss and delayed gastric emptying following a South American herbal preparation in overweight patients.
J Hum Nutr Diet. 2001 Jun;14(3):243-50.
Obesity and overweight may soon affect more than half of the population in some regions of the world and are associated with diabetes, hypertension and other diseases that cause morbidity, mortality and high health-care expenditure. No one approach, whether dietetic management, medication, or commercial weight loss programme, can alone solve the problem--all potential treatments need to be investigated and exploited. Among the herbal preparations known to non-western cultures are materials which may have applications in modulating physiological processes which influence gut motility, food intake and energy balance. One such mixed herbal preparation is 'YGD' containing Yerbe Mate (leaves of Ilex paraguayenis), Guarana (seeds of Paullinia cupana) and Damiana (leaves of Turnera diffusa var. aphrodisiaca). AIMS: This study had two distinct aims: to determine the effect of a herbal preparation 'YGD' containing Yerbe Mate, Guarana and Damiana on gastric emptying; to determine the effect of the same preparation on weight loss over 10 days and 45 days and weight maintenance over 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: The herbal preparation, YGD capsules, significantly delayed gastric emptying, reduced the time to perceived gastric fullness and induced significant weight loss over 45 days in overweight patients treated in a primary health care context. Maintenance treatment given in an uncontrolled context resulted in no further weight loss, nor weight regain in the group as a whole. The herbal preparation is thus shown to be one that significantly modulates gastric emptying. Further clinical studies with dietetic monitoring of energy intake, dietary quality, satiety ratings, body weight and body composition are now indicated, and examination of the active principles contained in the three herbal components may prove.

Children and Weight loss
Overweight children can get in shape by spending part of their summer at a weight-loss camp. Breastfeeding babies often leads to leaner kids.

Weight loss surgery
Gastric banding, a popular type of weight loss surgery, can interfere with the normal motion of the esophagus and, in some cases, worsen acid reflux disease, which occurs when stomach juices flow back into the esophagus.

Natural Weight loss pill questions
Q.  What is best weight loss product or best weight loss supplement?
   A. I am often asked what is the best weight loss product or pill. There are literally thousands of over the counter weight loss products and It is difficult to pick the ones that are most effective and safest since very few studies have been done with natural weight loss products. Furthermore, different people have different preferences. In my opinion, the best weight loss product is a good combination of several natural herbs and supplements.

Q. I am searching for an herbal weight loss program since phentermine gave me bad heart problems. How do I know which is the best weight loss pill to start with?
   A. There is no easy way to know which would be the best herbal weight loss pill for you. A good option is to choose one of the natural products and try it for a week or two, if not effective try another one. You may be lucky to find one that works for you quite soon, or it may take a trial of several herbal weight loss pills until the you come across the right one for you. Have a medical checkup before starting a weight loss diet pill program.

Q. Is there a weight loss vitamin that works?
   A. If by the word vitamin you mean strictly vitamins A, B, C, D, and E, then I would not consider these to be weight loss vitamins since they don't help with appetite suppression. Except if the B vitamins are taken in massive dosages, but that would not be the best way to approach a weigh loss dietary supplement program. There are many effective herbal weight loss pills and reliance on the vitamins is not necessary.

Q. What are some FDA approved weight loss pill options?
   A. There are several FDA approved weight loss pills. Some of these include fenfluramine, dexfenfluramine, phentermine, orlistat, and sibutramine.

Q. Are natural weight loss herbs safe?
   A. In my opinion, natural weight loss herbs are much safer that FDA approved prescription weight loss pills.

Q. Is 5HTP helpful as a weigh loss supplement?
   A. 5HTP is a weight loss supplement that can help some people by increasing serotonin levels. Not everyone responds to 5HTP and it can lead to reduced sex drive in high doses.

Links of interest
aphrodisiac herbs that work
female libido enhancers
horny goat weed sexual herbal product
maca herb from South America
tongkat ali herb from Malaysia
ahcc immune extract
carnosine antioxidant amino acid combination
dmae for mental concentration