A large number of people are spending lots of money each year on weight loss supplements, mostly on thermogenics or fat burners. These supplements increase body temperature so it can give more energy to burn fat cells quickly to promote weight loss. Thermogenics stimulate the thyroid gland and the central nervous system to speed up the metabolic fat burning process. The body’s energy levels are increased and thermogenic capabilities speed up the burning of calories which in turn are utilized as energy and not stored as fat.
Fat burners are usually used by: 1.) individuals who are just starting to lose weight and planning on a diet and exercise program; 2.) dieters who need help to break the weight loss plateau periods; and 3.) people who are excessively overweight or obese. These supplements contain ingredients like caffeine and green tea extract and helps suppress appetite, promote healthy insulin metabolism, and enhance mental focus. Thermogenic fat burners improve the weight loss effect combined with a healthy diet and an exercise program.
Categories of the Best Thermogenics:
Weight loss supplements that are designed to burn fat are also called thermogenics. Thermogenics helps your body’s ability to increase the amount of calories burned. Below are the categories of the most effective thermogenics:
Appetite Suppressants
These thermogenic fat burners include ingredients that reduce your calorie intake and burn more fats. They help rlessen your cravings for food by making you feel full longer. The active ingredients are Konjac root fiber, 5-HTP (5-Hydroxytryptophan), simmondsin (jojoba plant extract), and glucomannan.
Brain and Mood Boosters
Calorie deprivation can negatively affect our mood. Fortunately, there are fat burners that contain ingredients to help boost your mood and improve the mental capacity. These ingredients are caffeine, phenylethylamine (metabolite of the amino acid phenylalanine), vinpocetine (periwinkle extract), and the amino acid tyrosine.
Diuretics
Taking fat burners with natural diuretics can help to get rid of extra water that is usually stored under the skin. These diuretics contain dandelion extract, uva ursi (also known as bearberry), or horsetail extract.
Fat and Carb Blockers
These fat burners help you control your fat or carbohydrate intake. The best carb blocker ingredient is white bean extract which controls the amount of carbs the body absorbs. With fat blocker, chitosan is an active ingredient that binds with and removes fat before the body absorbs and stores it.
Fat Transporter
This ingredient makes sure that the fats released from the fat cells are burned away for good. Carnitine helps to transport the released fats into the mitochondria of cells. Mitochondria are essentially the body’s microscopic furnaces that are responsible for burning fat and converting it to energy.
Insulin Control
Another effective method of losing weight is by maintaining low insulin levels. This is because high insulin levels can shut down fat burning resulting in fat storage. Insulin-lowering ingredients include alpha lipoic acid (an antioxidant), mineral supplement chromium, cinnamon extract, and evodiamine.
Lipolytic Agents
Lipolysis is the release of fat from the fat cells of the body. The lipolytic agents increases the body’s lipolysis and helps in burning fat as fuel and eventually cause the fat cells to shrink, giving you a leaner body. Caffeine, yohimbe, forskolin, and HCA (hydroxycitric acid, an extract from the fruit of garcinia cambogia) are some of the active ingredients of lypolytic agents.
Stimulants
Stimulants can come in the form of caffeine anhydrous (fights fatigue, burns more calories and fat, enhances mood, reduces hunger, and even boosts muscle strength), caffeine from green tea extract (the active ingredient, epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG, increases the amount of calories burned), synephrine (bitter orange extract that also leads to more calories burned), capsaicin (natural chemical from cayenne peppers), or guarana (its chemical name is known as methylxanthine).
Thyroid Stimulators
The thyroid glands produce hormones that boost the metabolism. There are thermogenic ingredients that stimulate the thyroid glands and improve the production of thyroid hormones and these are: 7-Keto DHA or simply listed as 7-Keto and guggulsterones (plant sterols).
Thermogenic Weight Loss Supplements:
Bitter orange
The fruit and peel of the bitter orange (Citrus aurantium), also called Seville orange or sour orange, are used for weight loss, and the active ingredient found is synephrine, a chemical that stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, making it a sympathomimetic agent.
Caffeine Anhydrous
Caffeine is one of the common ingredients found in weight loss supplements. It is a chemical compound found in plants used to make coffee, tea, and chocolate. Caffeine is a diuretic.
Capsaicin
Capsaicin, or capsicum, is responsible for the heat effects of hot peppers. It stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, thereby boosting the production of proteins inside fat cells that encourage thermogenesis to prevent fat storage natupro oficial.
Green Tea Extract
Green tea is made from Camellia sinensis plant leaves and its main active ingredients are the antioxidant epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and caffeine. Green tea extract allows you to have higher levels of norepinephrine ((hormone that attaches to beta-receptors on fat cells which causes a chain of events leading to thermogenesis) for a longer time, which boosts thermogenesis and speed up the basal metabolic rate (BMR).
Guarana
Guarana, also called Brazilian cocoa, is made from the seeds of the Brazilian plant Paullinia cupana and contains 3 to 5 percent caffeine which is the main ingredient known to promote the weight loss benefits.
Yohimbine
Yohimbine is a stimulant derived from the ground bark of a tall evergreen native to Central Africa. It works by blocking alpha-receptors on fat cells from receiving norepinephrine, and as a result beta-receptors receive yohimbine instead. This increases thermogenesis inside the body.
How Thermogenic Weight Loss Supplements Work:
Thermogenic weight loss supplement do not burn fat by itself. They are dietary supplements that raise the metabolic functions of stored calories or fats by increasing the temperature of the body and therefore convert these burned fats into energy. This process is known as oxidative phosphorylation.
All the ingredients in thermogenic weight loss products stimulate the body, to swiftly burn the fat stored in the body by boosting the metabolic process which increases the amount of heat the body produces. The fat burning process happens as the stimulants are able to affect internal bodily functions even without exercise. Thermogenic supplements also work as diuretics, which is another method of short-term weight loss.
Ingredients of Thermogenic Weight Loss Supplements:
Caffeine
Synephrine (from bitter orange extract)
Guarana (methylxanthine)
Green tea extract
Kola Nut
Yerba Mate
7 Keto (or 7-Oxo-Dehydroepiandrosterone)
Guggul (from the resin of the Commiphora mukul tree)
Recommended Dosage:
Take thermogenic weight loss supplements starting with smaller or half dose than is recommended so you can assess your body’s tolerance to the new formula. You will gradually find your level of consumption, adjusting it to adapt to the changes in the happening inside your body.
If you experience a decrease in appetite and an increase in your energy level, then you are taking the right dosage. However, if you feel some discomfort, it is not a signal for you to stop using the product at all but rather you need to make the necessary adjustments in your dosage schedule such as the time of the day, taking it every other day or once a week, with or without meals, etc. You might need to experiment for several days to find out the right dosage for you.
Take the supplement with a large glass of water to help dissolve the ingredients of the product in the stomach and also to prevent any discomfort especially for people who are just starting to use the product.
For maximum effect on stored fats, take the supplement 30 minutes before and after meals.
To effectively prevent fat from being stored in your body. Take the supplements with your meals. This is especially helpful during the holidays when people cannot avoid eating more food.
Side Effects:
Stimulants in thermogenics are addictive and usually abused
Caffeine produces mild nervousness, anxiety, and other stronger stimulants might cause severe panic response
Caffeine can interact with various other supplements and medications, especially other stimulants
Thermogenics can accelerate heart rate and raise blood pressure
Thermogenics can upset the digestive tract causing abdominal discomfort,diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal problems
Restlessness and insomnia are common side effects caused by stimulants like caffeine
People with pre-existing health conditions who are taking thermogenics may experience severe reactions like seizures, heart attack, coma, and even death
The main ingredient in bitter orange is synephrine and side effects include high blood pressure, increased heart rate, irregular heart rhythm, heart attack, stroke and sudden death
Long-term use of capsaicin, especially in high doses, may cause kidney, liver and gastrointestinal damage.
Summary:
Thermogenic supplements are designed to promote weight loss by increasing thermogenesis, a process where the body turns energy to heat causing an increased in body temperature and metabolic rate. Most of these supplements contain ingredients that act as stimulants which help in enhancing energy levels and improving blood flow. They are generally proven effective when taken moderately and with proper guidance of a doctor. Always check with your doctor first before taking any thermogenic weight loss supplements.
For best results, always use the product as indicated and combine it with a healthy lifestyle plan such as a healthy, balanced diet and regular physical activity. A healthy weight loss should be your goal when using thermogenic weight loss supplements.