The Dark Truth about Weight Loss Supplements: Debunking the Myths and Finding Real Solutions

The Dark Truth about Weight Loss Supplements: Debunking the Myths and Finding Real Solutions

Hello friends! According to the recently released Lancet Global Health Report, 50% of Indians in the country are physically unfit. The World Health Organization says that every person should do at least 2.5-3 hours of moderate exercise per week, which is not being done by half of the population in our country. Out of the 195 countries in the world, India is the 12th worst country in this regard. Because of this, millions of people in the country suffer from unhealthy weight gain, and many of these people try to take shortcuts to lose weight.

Some drink green tea every day, some drink apple cider vinegar, and some try one weight loss supplement after another. In today’s video, let’s find out the truth behind these. Should you take these supplements? If yes, then which ones? Which is the magical weight loss supplement that will reduce your weight overnight? Let’s find out in today’s video.

The Crony Capitalism of Junk Food and Weight Loss Products

Junk food refers to any food that has a lot of sugar, salt, or fat. These are harmful to our health. But do you know the monetary value of junk food? According to Fortune Business Insights 2020, the global market size of this junk food industry is $862 billion. According to another research firm, Straits, the global market size of this industry in 2022 was $731 billion. It is because of this junk food that obesity has now become a global pandemic.

Crony capitalism is the real reason for the growth of this industry globally. On the one hand, it creates this crisis, and on the other hand, it offers ‘solutions’. First, feed people junk food to make money, and when people suffer from obesity because of it, they sell weight loss products to earn money.

According to Research from Facts and Factors, the market size of the global weight loss and weight management industry is $224 billion as of 2021. According to MarketResearch.biz, in 2022, the market size was $260 billion. In this report, three categories of the weight loss industry were considered:

1. Diet: That includes supplements and products for consumption.

2. Fitness equipment and surgical equipment.

3. Services: That include fitness centres, gyms, and online weight loss programs.

It might sound like a good industry that would have a positive impact on the world if more and more people become fit. But a large portion of this weight loss industry is made up of weight loss products, the so-called ‘weight loss products’. That claim that they will magically reduce your weight. Such products advertise that you won’t need to exercise. And you can keep eating junk food because of their magical nutrition, you need to consume only a spoonful of it, and your fat will keep burning overnight.

The Deception of Weight Loss Products: Leptin Supplements, Fat Trappers, and Fat Burners

Sometimes it will be in the form of a syrup, sometimes it will be weight loss pills, sometimes it will be capsules, sometimes it may be called Tummy Tea, so that your belly fat is reduced. Some sell apple cider vinegar, and some sell herbal nutritious shakes. These ads may even claim that their products have been ‘clinically proven’ and is ‘backed by science’. Some products will claim to increase your leptin hormone, which will signal to your brain that you don’t need to eat anymore. These products will claim that they will reduce the absorption of fats, your metabolism will increase, your gut health will improve, and fat burning will be more efficient in your body.

If you have ever seen these ads, it might have sounded quite convincing. They use scientific-sounding words. These are available in the form of tablets and capsules as well, and are available in pharmaceutical stores too. If a pharmacy sells such a product, we get convinced even faster.

But the biggest difference between real medicines and such products is that real medicines are categorized as Medical Drugs, and these products are classified as Dietary Supplements. For a product to be classified as a Medical Drug, it needs to pass many rounds of trials and tests. There are numerous regulatory checks, but there aren’t as many rules to be a Dietary Supplement.

Often these companies show their own studies and rely on that research to prove that their product is safe and efficient. The sample size of these studies is often very small, and often, the studies are not done scientifically. Not only that, but sometimes they mock science.

Like, there is a category of supplements that is sold as “Leptin Supplement for Weight Loss.” This sounds quite sophisticated. If you look up Leptin on Google, you will find that Leptin is a hormone that is present in our fat cells. It tells our brain whether you need to eat more or not, it controls your hunger. If the leptin level is high, the brain is told that your body has sufficient fat stores, so you need to eat more. But if the Leptin levels are low, the brain thinks that the fat stores in your body is low, and you need to eat more.

If this is all you know about Leptin, it will make sense that since these supplements contain leptin, and if it increases the leptin levels of your body, it will signal to your brain that the fat levels of the body are very high, so the tendency to feel hungry will automatically decrease, and you will eat less, leading to weight loss.

But now let me tell you something that these companies will not tell you. The obese people, people fatter than a specified limit, their body fat is already quite high. This means that the leptin level is already quite high in their body, so the brain should already get this signal, they don’t need to eat anymore. But they still keep on eating, they keep feeling hungry.

Why is this? This is because the body develops Leptin Resistance. Constantly high leptin levels over a long time, the signals stop reaching the brain. The brain feels that it needs to keep eating more. The fat stores are insufficient, and so the person keeps eating more. So, in such cases, to lose weight, taking a leptin supplement, does it make any sense? It won’t affect your body.

The next category for weight loss are the Fat Trappers. They are also called Fat Binders. These products contain a chemical called Chitosan. It is made from powdered shells of creatures like shrimps, crabs, and shellfish. The shells of crabs are crushed and powdered to produce this chemical.

When you consume it, it sticks to the fat molecules in your body, which increases the size of these fat molecules, and your pancreatic enzymes cannot break down these fat molecules. As a result, the fat molecules are not digested by your body, and as undigested fat, they pass through your body and are then excreted.

This sounds like a convincing scientific way, a chemical sticking to our fat molecules, making the fat molecules undigestable, thus leading to no weight gain. But there is one tiny problem here. If Chitosan is preventing the fat molecules from being digested, then the body won’t be able to absorb the fat-soluble nutrients either: Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, many disease-fighting phytochemicals found in fruits and vegetables, our body won’t be able to digest these good nutrients either. Not only that, but its positive impact on weight loss is insignificant. According to some studies, you won’t even notice it.

The third category of weight loss supplements is Fat Burners. When you hear the phrase ‘fat burner’, you will often imagine a drilling machine burning the fat deposits of the body. But actually, the reason behind their effectiveness is said to be Caffeine. Caffeine is the same substance found in coffee.

And some research suggests that caffeine stimulates our nervous system, which sends a direct signal to the fat cells to break down the fat. Studies also show that caffeine increases our RMR, our Resting Metabolic Rate.

The Truth About Green Tea, Green Coffee, and Caffeine

Green coffee beans, which are the unroasted coffee beans, contain high levels of chlorogenic acid, giving us anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. There’s no doubt about it, that it is a good thing for the body. But the point here is that if we get the same caffeine from drinking a cup of coffee, then why should we take these weight loss supplements?

This is why, it is important that instead of chasing after weight loss supplements, we focus on our overall health. And to look after your health, it’s important to have a health insurance. Because the medical inflation in our country has reached 14%.

The Importance of Health Insurance and the Dangers of Herbalife

Look at this article from November 2023, one of the highest medical inflation rates in Asia is seen in India. According to the 2021 Finance Commission Report, 70% of expenditure on health by Indians is borne out of pocket, because of this, 60 million Indians are pushed towards poverty every year. Shockingly, 73% of Indians do not have a health insurance.

Health insurances will not protect you against health problems, rather, health insurance would provide financial support, gives you a peace of mind. In case of any health emergency, you won’t need to face any monetary problems.

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Now, back to our topic, some people may compare coffee and weight loss supplements, that even though both contain caffeine, weight loss supplements would have more caffeine, it would be in concentrated form, making the supplements the better option. Taking these supplements may deliver more caffeine to our body, and it’ll be more beneficial. But it is also worth noting that even beneficial things are good only in moderation. Similarly, a high amount of caffeine can actually produce negative effects in the body: like anxiety, insomnia, rapid heart rate, irregular heartbeat, restlessness, and even digestive problems. People who drink coffee excessively can notice these negative effects.

Most of the weight loss companies remain silent about the exact possible effects caused by their weight loss supplements. In the fruit juice video I talked about how these fruit juice producing companies will write on their juice packets, ‘Very rich in Vitamin C’, to show that their juice contains large quantities of Vitamin C. Which is not wrong, technically, but in reality, Vitamin C is very easy to get. A small, one-sixth small portion of Amla or gooseberry can meet your daily requirement of Vitamin C.

Similarly, green tea is marketed with the claims that it contains caffeine and a flavonoid called Catechin. These two compounds increase the metabolism of the body, and theoretically, it stimulates weight loss. But the question here is how much weight will you lose simply because of drinking green tea?

Look at this meta-analysis published in 2014. 14 different studies were compared to see how much does green tea cause weight loss. These 14 trials were conducted for 12 weeks. Normally, when we drink green tea, we put the tea bag in hot water and make a cup of tea. But in these trials, larger amounts of caffeine and catechin were used. These substances were used in a concentrated form, so that whatever the effect may be, it gets inflated out of proportion.

But do you know what the effect was? The weight loss seen among people was not statistically significant. To put it bluntly, the weight loss was almost zero.

Look at this 2011 meta-analysis on green coffee. It included three different trials. In conclusion, it was seen that green coffee promotes weight loss, but the magnitude, the amount of ‘weight loss’ it promotes, was quite insignificant.

Overall, the thing is that black coffee, green tea, or green coffee beans can help you a little bit in weight loss. But along with regular exercise, they can only be a supplement. They cannot substitute exercise. Don’t expect that you won’t need to exercise if you’re consuming these.

In 2021, a study was conducted in Spain that showed caffeine intake increases the maximum fat oxidation rate in our body. Studies have also shown that our performance in cardio exercises and strength training gets a bit enhanced by taking caffeine. So, it can be a good idea to drink black coffee or green tea about an hour before exercising.

But the issue with leptin resistance can also be seen with caffeine. If you regularly consume caffeine every single day, then your body will develop a caffeine tolerance. Due to this, even the small positive impact of caffeine on weight loss will stop happening. So, it is advised to drink caffeine in cycles: drink coffee for 2 weeks, and stop drinking coffee for the next 2 weeks. Then, resume drinking coffee for 2 weeks.

And it needs to be noted that coffee and green tea are things that can be easily made at home. But these companies won’t want you to adopt such easy solutions. How else can they get a profit? That’s why these companies come up with powder shakes, and their multivitamins, they sell their capsules to people to help them lose weight.

One such company is called Herbalife. They use a Multi-Level Marketing model for their business. In 2016, America’s Federal Trade Commission filed a court case against Herbalife, accusing the company of misleading people, into thinking that they could earn a lot of money by selling their products. Herbalife had to pay $200 million as compensation. The company also agreed to fundamentally restructure its business model so that it could not be labelled as an MLM or a pyramid scheme.

The Dangers of “Herbal” Products and the Importance of Real Solutions

Let’s look at Herbalife’s products. This is the ingredient list of its meal replacement shake. The packaging makes it seem like a healthy and nutritious product. It begins with Soy Protein Isolate, which is fine. But, on the second number is Fructose, which refers to sugar. Check out its nutritional information, 24 out of 100 grams is simply sugar. But they are marketing it as if it is the healthiest drink out there, that will help you in weight loss.

However, doing this has become very common nowadays. So-called ‘healthy’ breakfast cereals contain high levels of sugar. So-called ‘healthy’ packaged juices have high levels of sugar. ‘Healthy’ protein bars contain a lot of sugar. ‘Healthy’ muesli has a lot of sugar. ‘Healthy’ granola has a lot of sugar too.

There have been reports about Herbalife products that due to their weight loss supplements, there can be suspected liver damage. In some cases, people had to undergo liver transplants, and in some cases, people even died. These reports are not from only one country, such incidents were reported in India, Israel, Spain, Switzerland, Iceland, Argentina, the USA, and many other countries.

Why did this happen? After analysis, it was found that in some Herbalife products, there were significant quantities of heavy metals. There were undisclosed toxic compounds. And, at some places, highly pathogenic bacterial communities were found.

The biggest marketing trick of these companies is hidden in their names, and the names of these products. People think that if the company’s name contains the word ‘Herbal’, then surely they would not be selling chemicals. Herbal would refer to the natural ingredients that are good for our health. Some people will say that even if the product doesn’t cause weight loss, since it is a “herbal product” there would be no side effects. There must be some net benefit.

The thing to be noted here is that every natural thing doesn’t automatically become safe. There are many plants and fruits which are poisonous for humans. Several research papers have shown that many herbal medicines and herbal supplements can result in liver damage or kidney damage.

Dr Abby Phillips, whose username on Twitter is TheLiverDoc, he has highlighted many dangers that are hidden in “alternative” medicines and cures. One such danger is liver injury. Because he highlights such things on Twitter, he had to face several court cases, like this court case was filed by Himalaya Wellness Corporation. Why? Because TheLiverDoc posted a Twitter thread about their flagship product, Liv 52. The doctor talked to India Today and said that this company is behaving like a coward. Whatever he had posted, that company should have replied to the post scientifically.

Some people have such blind faith on these weight loss supplements that they start buying just about anything, literally anything.

The Real Solutions: Calorie Restriction, Exercise, and a Focus on Overall Health

Two companies in America had started selling caffeine-infused underwear. The company claimed that the micro-fibers of their underwear had micro-capsules of caffeine, that activated micro-circulation, and sped up fat breakdown. The Federal Trade Commission fined these companies $200,000 and $1.3 million.

So, the question is, which weight loss supplement is useful? Friends, the right answer is, none of them. There is no weight loss supplement that will help you lose weight magically.

Melinda Manore, a professor at Oregon State University, reviewed the evidence of hundreds of different weight loss supplements and concluded that there’s no research evidence that even a single product can cause a significant amount of weight loss. It may result in some minuscule weight lose, like we saw in the examples of caffeine and green tea. But you will not see any noticeable weight loss with these. On the contrary, they may have a negative health impact on you, like the examples I listed.

Registered dietitian Melissa Matteo says that no over-the-counter fat burner should be taken.

There are only two things that actually work for weight loss:

1. Calorie restriction: This means consuming fewer calories than your body burns.

2. Exercise: This helps to burn calories and build muscle, which increases your metabolism.

Look at the forms of exercise on the screen, these count as Moderate Intensity Physical Activity when done for specified minutes:

• Walking 3.5 km for 30 minutes.

• Climbing up and down the stairs for 15 minutes.

• Swimming for 20 minutes.

• Gardening for 30 minutes.

You have to ensure that every week you do these moderate-intensity activities for at least 3 hours. It is so easy to make yourself physically active. And this small difference can make the whole country physically active. I am talking about the same research I mentioned at the beginning of the video.

Now, if you really want to know the step-by-step plan to lose weight, then I have explained it in this YouTube video. You can click here to watch it.

Thank you very much!

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