We are a nation that wants to lose fat. Do you want to lose fat? If you do, a whole slew of companies are willing to offer cutting edge supplements that will make fat loss a cinch.

But there is a catch. Said companies are NOT regulated by the federal government. In fact, they could literally put anything in a bottle and not get slapped by the FDA until someone got sick.

However, could it really be possible that most supplements are useless? The real truth is that very very few supplements actually work. And once you do find a supplement that works, you then have to find a company that can guarantee purity.

Nonetheless, here is my review of popular supplements for losing fat:

1. Supplemental amino acids. Proceed with caution here. If you take a massive amount of one amino acid, you can limit the absorption of another. Amino acids can compete for carriers. Also, extra amino acids will not help you get more energy.

2. Carnitine. This nutrient helps transport fatty acids across the cell membrane and into mitochondria, cells that produce energy. Supplementing with it is useless, however. Why? Because the body produces its own supply and does NOT need extra for optimal fat loss.

3. Chromium pills. There was some limited research showing the effectiveness of this supplement. And some research showed that chromium picolinate could be toxic, not good. I believe that supplementing with chromium will provide little, if any benefit.

4. Meal replacements. Often found in shiny packets, meal replacements should not be called meal replacements. Why? Because a packet of powder will never be able to replace a meal in its nutritional entirety. These powders have limited applications and remember that solid food will always outperform liquid food.

The gyrations supplement companies will go through to push their products are endless. And more often than not, it can be very hard for the average consumer to sift through all the hype without an advanced degree in exercise science. So stick to natural food and avoid all the enticing claims!

Highly regarded writer, Katherine Crawford MS, a Harvard exercise physiologist and former arm fat victim, is an expert on arm toning. Learn how to get sexy and toned arms right now by visiting her own blog on flabby arms.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 at 8:17 am and is filed under fat loss. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.