The Skinny on Garcinia Cambogia

From: <[email protected]>

Date: May 6, 2013 9:23:55 AM EDT

To: <—>

Subject: Imagine… Fitting into your favorite clothes

Hey, (…):

Weight Loss Experts Cant Believe This

http://direct.smartgenerous.org/t/axxytxaad/r86aamaatatxwyyyyxtwtyayitxmmtwt

The link in the e-mail above brings you to a site selling Garcinia Cambogia supplements that are marketed as means to lose weight. But a close look at the site reveals some problems.

Not really free

The site advertises that you can “Get Started for Free,” but once you get to the order page, you find out that the only way to get anything for free is by purchasing at least a two-month supply for $98.

Not proven

The site claims that Garcinia Cambogia “causes significant weight loss, lowers food intake and body weight gain as well as tackling factors such as cholesterol, low-density lipoproteins, triglycerides and serum leptin levels. There were no side effects reported.”

The site suggests these claims are supported by three different studies, but scientific reports call the validity of those studies into question.

The Journal of Obesity Research conducted a systematic review of 23 trials of hydroxycitric acid (HCA), which is a derivative of citric acid and is the extract from Garcinia Cambogia that is touted for weight loss.  The review found that all 23 studies, including all three of the ones cited by the site selling the supplement, “had one or more methodological weaknesses.” The conclusion of the review was that there was not enough evidence to suggest that Garcia Cambogia is effective for weight loss.

Possible side effects

Not only is HCA not proven to aid weight loss, it has been associated with gastrointestinal problems and hepatoxicity (liver toxicity) in several cases. A letter from Ann Lobb, a public health consultant, to the editor of The World Journal of Gastroenterology states:

Each case report has similarities both in reported liver screening abnormalities and symptoms reported by patients, all of who [sic] were otherwise healthy and experienced normalized hepatic function once they stopped taking the supplement.

The letter also criticizes the FDA for its lax supplement regulation, saying “consumers in effect become unwitting subjects in a large scale post-marketing trial of a product’s safety.”

Not interested in becoming an unwitting subject? Avoid this expensive and unproven weight loss supplement.