When the word ‘supplements’ is spoken, what readily comes to mind is pills or capsules that contain the necessary nutrients needed in synthetic form. There is a broader scope to the word though. It is understood that you want to lose weight, you are working towards this aim and you want to possess all the help you can afford in the battle for weight loss. Supplement can be a huge factor in any weight loss regimen by their ability to fix, reset and boost or if required, lower the levels of hormones in your body as this indirectly affects how hormones work on weight loss. They can work as appetite suppressants, and boosters when needed depending on where fat is stored in your body and where it’s work is needed. Long-term weight loss will take time, and while that can be discouraging, the only healthy way to lose weight is slowly and consistently, changing habits and regulating hormone balance with the help of the right natural supplements.

Weight loss can be a complex task with a variety of factors involved to achieve your desired goal. Hormones simply play a huge role, even more than diet in weight loss or gain and supplements are huge factors in controlling how these hormones act or react.

One of the first steps to take is informing your doctor or personal physician of your decision to undergo a weight loss regimen. A medical practitioner is your best bet when it comes to creating a program that entails a disciplined dietary plan, exercise plan to lose weight significantly in a healthy way without any hormonal imbalance. Supplements are mostly always recommended and for good reason. A lot of pills on the market that can be ingested go directly into the bloodstream without any breakdown, making them very effective. Don’t be fooled though. Not every hormone has a supplement, an example of which is Leptin. Whatever supplement taken to boost this ‘starvation’ hormone in pill form will be broken down by the body and that’s no different from consuming natural foods with an even better taste.

Supplements work by acting on the hormones that dictate appetite, fat storage and parts of the brain that causes cravings for sugary and high-carb foods. Below is the top 10 supplements reviewed by science that are the best for weight loss. These supplements are tried and trusted with positive feedback from numerous places around the world:

  • Garcinia cambogia: a small green fruit shaped like a pumpkin, it’s skin contains hydroxycitric acid an active ingredient in the Garcinia cambogia extract which is currently a marketable pill.
  • Orlistat: This weight loss pill works by inhibiting the breakdown of fat in the gut, making you take in fewer calories from fat. Its other benefits are reduced blood pressure and reduction in symptoms of Type 2 diabetes.
  • Raspberry Ketones: In isolated fat cells from rats, raspberry ketones increase breakdown of fat and increase levels of adiponectin related to weight loss.
  • Caffeine: Caffeine is the most commonly consumed psychoactive substance in the world, it is almost always found in commercial weight loss supplements.
  • Hydroxycut: One study showed that it caused 21 lbs (9.5 kg) of weight loss over a 3 month period. That’s pretty amazing.
  • Glucomannan: Glucomannan absorbs water and becomes gel-like. It “sits” in your gut and promotes a feeling of fullness, helping you eat fewer calories.
  • Meratrim: It is claimed to make it harder for fat cells to multiply, decrease the amount of fat that they pick up from the bloodstream, and help them burn stored fat.
  • Conjugated linoleic acid: referred to as CLA boosts metabolism and stimulates the breakdown of body fat. A review study from 2012 showed that CLA can make you lose about 1.3kg of weight compared to dummy pills.
  • Green Tea Extract: Green tea extract is believed to increase the activity of norepinephrine, a hormone that helps you burn fat especially in the belly area. All the benefits associated with green tea can also be found in it’s extract as well.
  • Green Coffee Bean Extract: are coffee beans that have not been roasted. They increase fat burning and the chlorogenic acid in them can slow down the breakdown of carbohydrates in the gut which helps immensely with weight loss.

Out of the above listed supplements, the best for weight loss have to be Glucomannan, Orlistat and Alli. Caffeine and Green tea extract on the other hand work best on fat burning.

Supplements like Progesterone cream, Black Cohosh, Dong Quai, Chaste Berry are great additions into the market as they have shown they are the real deal. Prescription pills like Contrave, Belviq, Phentermine and Qsymia have proven to be effective as well but you need to understand that they can only truly work well when combined with a weight loss diet. They are ineffective on their own and hardly a solution to obesity. Loading up on diet pills only will lead to liver failure if care is not taken. Stay away from ephedrine  which has been banned as a weight loss ingredient by the FDA because of serious side effects even though it guarantees short term weight loss. Long term is always better, no?

Note that even though pills can give your metabolism an added boost, Cutting carbs and eating more protein are still the best ways to lose weight, and work better than all the diet pills combined. So be careful of using them on their own, working on your diet is always the best way to go. Regardless, this shouldn’t discourage you from taking supplements. When taking supplements of any kind, stick to the guidelines provided on the supplement’s packaging or follow the instruction of a physician. When you consume food or supplements that contain chemicals or compounds that are unrecognizable, you could be ingesting things that will significantly alter your hormone balance, affecting your ability to lose weight. Read labels and stick to the foods and supplements that are familiar to you. If you have questions, consult your doctor, who will be able to help you make an informed decision.

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