Making Weight-Loss Supplements Work for You
Science has proven that dietary supplements can play a significant role in accelerating weight loss. However, sometimes a good weight-loss regimen involving supplements that should help you reach your weight-loss goals fails to live up to your expectations. Here are three things to remember before you begin taking supplements for weight loss:
1. Only purchase supplements from a trusted manufacturer. There are several reasons why this is important. In the U.S., dietary supplements are subject only to loose manufacturing and labeling regulations, and therefore statements on a product’s label may not accurately reflect the product’s active contents. Hoodia, a well-publicized weight-loss herb, is a perfect example. Many people in the nutrition field are aware that much of the hoodia being sold now is actually counterfeit. Also of great importance is that the active ingredient in a product is in a form that is bioavailable, which means that it’s easily absorbed and functional within the body. HCA (hydroxycitric acid) supplements made with an HCA compound containing only calcium are poorly absorbed when compared to ones that replace much of the calcium with potassium. Super Citrimax, for example, the brand-name calcium/potassium HCA compound used in SynergySlim, has been shown in clinical studies to be highly bioavailable and thus more effective than generic HCA.
2. Use the proper dose. If the directions say to take two pills three times a day, that’s what is needed — not one or two twice a day. Dosing recommendations can change, so don’t rely on old information. For many years, the accepted dose for HCA was derived from an early scientific paper showing success. In many cases, poor results were found when this dose was used. We conducted further research to reexamine the original dosing recommendation and found that the HCA compound we studied was consistently effective only at higher doses, so the usage directions were changed.
3. If you don’t comply, don’t complain. Assuming you have a high quality dietary supplement and know the proper dosing, do you have the willpower to follow directions and take it correctly? In a recent clinical study, we found at its end that only 40% of the people had taken the right dose at the proper time. It is important to know whether your supplement should be taken on an empty or full stomach. Interestingly, that compliant group (those who took the pills at the right time, in the instructed amount), lost between five and six pounds of fat over two months, while the non-compliers actually gained some fat poundage while taking a perfectly good supplement!
The Anti-Aging Bottom Line: Being overweight can detract from your quality of life and put you at risk for many negative health conditions and diseases, especially as you age. You can set the proper conditions for fat loss with a variety of natural weight-loss supplements. In order for your supplement to be effective, the ingredients in the product must be bioavailable and taken in the proper dose according to instructions. You can have the best product in the world and if you don’t take it properly, it will perform like a dud.
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Written exclusively for Stop Aging Now, the authority on anti-aging research, anti-aging nutrition, and anti-aging supplements.
