Fenphedra Fat Burner Review: Are You Tired Of Fenphedra Spam?

I first heard of Fenphedra from a site visitor. She had received numerous spam e-mails all claiming it was possible to lose "30 lbs in 30 days" with Fenphedra. Obviously, she wondered if such claims were true.

Whenever I hear about a product that is marketed via unsolicited bulk e-mail (aka "Spam") I always say the same thing.

Don't.

Marketing via spam is illegal in U.S., Canada, as well as many other countries. Companies that use such marketing tactics are breaking the law, and therefore have neither ethics or credibility. If they are willing to break the law to market to you, what do you think their customer service is like? Their products are like?

Fenphedra (obviously the name is a combination of fenfluramine and ephedra) is sold online -- primarily on eBay. Although there's certainly nothing wrong with selling via eBay, how many big, respected name-brand companies are using this as their only marketing venue? Point is, some of the most nefarious retailers use eBay as a way to market their products while at the same time isolating themselves from their customers.

Fenphedra is also outrageously priced. Apparently, it retails for US$179 (where exactly, does it retail for this?) but can be had for the bargain price of $77. No refunds are offered, the web site claims, "to keep prices down."

Of course that makes me ask... if the retailer suspects the refund rate would be significant enough to affect Fenphedra's price, there must be a heck of a lot of people who would be returning it. Is it because the product does not live up to its claims? Is it because people would not get the benefits advertised? Otherwise, why would they return it?

And despite the claims of being "revolutionary", the Fenphedra compilation is actually quite ordinary, with the exception of Humulus Lupus -- which, despite its impressive sounding name, is nothing more than common "hops" -- yes, the stuff you make beer with. Humulus Lupus has antibacterial qualities, and the dried female buds have a high content of methylbutenol -- a natural alcohol that has sedating effects. Some small studies verify Humulus Lupus' ability for sedation, but according to the Natural Database...

"There is insufficient reliable information available about the effectiveness of hops."

And the rest of the compilation? Here's what you'll find...

1) Caffeine, a moderately effective thermogenic agent common to most fat burners on the market today.

2) Synephrine, derived from the citrus aurantium plant. Originally, this "chemical cousin of ephedra" was thought to hold great promise for weight loss. Unfortunately, research has not bourne this out. This excerpt from PubMed (Am J Cardiol. 2004 Nov 15;94(10):1359-61.) says it best...

"An extensive search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, BIOSIS, and the Cochrane Collaboration Database identified only 1 eligible randomized placebo controlled trial, which followed 20 patients for 6 weeks, demonstrated no statistically significant benefit for weight loss, and provided limited information about the safety of the herb."

3) Chocamine™ and Phenylethylamine: Basically xanthines (caffeine-related compounds) derived from the cocoa plant. These ingredients are not new to fat burners. Phenylethylamine was included in Xenadrine's EFX fat burner for its ability to increase attention and activity (in animals) and relieve depression (Source:J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci, 1996 Spr, 8:2, 168-71). Unfortunately, the FTC sued the makers of Xenadrine EFX for making false and unsubstantiated claims about the effectiveness of their product.

Bottom line -- cocoa related compounds are certainly interesting, but there's insufficient reliable data available to authoritatively claim they have any real benefit for weight loss.

In the end, there's very little of anything much in this product -- and certainly nothing that justifies the "30 lbs. in 30 days claim." And there are no clinical references, no referenced studies -- no evidence of any sort that this product does anything.

And of course, Fenphedra is marketed illegally via unsolicited bulk e-mail. So I highly recommend you give Fenphedra a wide berth.

Have you used Fenphedra?
Tell me what you think!

Want to learn more about fat burners? Industry professional Will Brink reviews dozens of top weight loss products in his superb "Fat Loss Revealed" Click here to read my review! Click here to visit the Fat Loss Revealed web site!

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