Thincinerator Fat Burner Reviewed: The Strongest Female Fat Burner?

Thincinerator, a fat burner marketed directly to women, claims to be the "strongest female fat burner." It apparently also contains a "one-of-a-kind blend of superior ingredients, engineered to quickly and effectively help you burn body fat." Thincinerator promotional material doesn't stop there, claiming you can burn up to 873 calories per serving.

First of all, this is definitely not the strongest female fat burner. Muscle Tech's Hydroxycut Max (reviewed here) is a much stronger product -- and it sells for $15 less per bottle.

Secondly, the ingredients in Thincinerator are hardly a "one of a kind" blend. They are common, everyday ingredients found in just about every fat burner under the sun. Worse still, the majority of them are only included in tiny amounts -- amounts too small to have any effect at all.

And 873 calories per serving? Forget it. This claim is being pulled directly out of the air... there is absolutely no clinical evidence upon which to base this claim.

That said, let's take a closer look at the ingredients in this product. What's in Thincinerator?...

1) Green tea: Green tea is one of the definite "bright lights" in the quest for an effective, healthful fat burner (you can find a complete review of green tea here). However, the Thincinerator formula contains a relatively small amount of green tea, and it's standardized for caffeine -- not the catechins and polyphenols shown to be so critical for weight loss. Quality green tea products (like EAS' Thermo Dynamx) are standardized for Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) and polyphenols.

In other words, if you really want to get the benefits offered by green tea, you should either drink a high quality green tea (learn more in the full green tea review) or experiment with a high quality tea-based supplement product like Thermo Dynamx (reviewed here).

2) Caffeine: Caffeine's thermogenic properties are well documented (see Am J Clin Nutr. 1989 Jan;49(1):44-50, Am J Clin Nutr. 1980 May;33(5):989-97, Am J Physiol. 1995 Oct;269(4 Pt 1):E671-8).

This formula contains 300 mg per serving, which is a hefty dose -- you'll certainly get a "lift" from Thincinerator. However, if you're sensitive to caffeine, you'll want to give this product a miss -- this will hit you "hard."

Studies also show that the combination of green tea and caffeine can be effective for weight loss (Obes Res. 2005 Jul;13(7):1195-204). One site reviewing Thincinerator uses this reference to justify its recommendation of the product. Unfortunately, if you review the study for yourself, you'll find that the green tea mixture contained 270 mg of the catechin EGCG -- one of the catechins so essential to green tea's weight loss benefits. Thincinerator, as I mentioned earlier, is not standardized for EGCG and very likely contains only a minimal amount of this critical ingredient. Regardless, with only 200 mg of green tea in this formula, there's nowhere enough EGCG present to make this a credible scientific reference.

Also included are a "pinch" (i.e., there's not enough to elicit a response; it just looks good on the label) of the following ingredients...

3) Xanthinol Nicotinate: a super-potent form of niacin (vitamin B3) it has been shown to improve short term memory, improve brain ATP levels and brain glucose metabolism.

4) Cayenne: probably standardized for capsaicin, a chemical that gives chile peppers their "heat." The theory is that capsaicin "revs" up your metabolism by creating heat, thus burning off extra calories. However, this study (Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2007 Jan;292(1):R77-85. Epub 2006 Jul 13) says it best...

"Capsaicin has been shown to be effective, yet when it is used clinically it requires a strong compliance to a certain dosage, that has not been shown to be feasible yet."

In other words, in order for capsaicin to have an effect on your metabolism, it has to be taken in doses much too high to make it practical. Thincinerator contains a mere 50 mg of cayenne -- it serves as "label dressing", and will not help you lose weight.

5) Ginger: may soothe stomach duress (ginger contains gingerols, which are chemically related to capsaicin. There's some who speculate ginger may also posses metabolism-boosting characteristics, but there's little data to support that theory at this time. Even if it were the case, it's doubtful this relatively insignificant amount of ginger could have such an effect).

6) Kelp: seaweed or kelp is found in many fat burners because of its iodine content. Iodine is used by the thyroid gland to make the various thyroid hormones necessary for optimal performance.
Low or sluggish thyroid performance can lead to low energy levels or overweight.

Of course, iodine supplementation is only helpful if you actually have low levels of thyroid hormone. If you are not iodine deficient, kelp may possibly induce hyperthyroidism. According to the Natural Database, "prolonged, high intake of dietary iodine is associated with goiter and increased risk of thyroid cancer.

7) Raspberry ketones: These are similar in structure to capsaicin and synephrine -- two compounds thought to enhance weight loss via the stimulation of norepinephrine (although real evidence to validate this theory is in short supply). One study performed on rodents (you can view the specifics of the study here) did show that raspberry ketones prevented fat synthesis as well as the rise of blood triglycerides and overall, helped prevent obesity.

8) Synephrine: The weight loss benefits of synephrine have been greatly exaggerated -- for more, see the complete synephrine review here!

9) Guggul: From what I can figure, it appears there 20 mg of the E & Z guggul isomers in this product (it's hard to tell from the rather unambiguous labeling). If so, it's a decent but not overly potent dose of useful ingredient; there is a small body of evidence indicating guggulsterones may have value as a fat burner (see J Postgrad Med. 1995 Jan-Mar;41(1):5-7) specifically by increasing thyroid T3 hormone levels.

10) Bioperine: Included for its ability to increase the bioavailability and absorption of certain ingredients.

Bottom line?

In the end, Thincinerator is a high-priced caffeine supplement (it seems to be selling for $49/bottle). Frankly, it's only the caffeine that's present in a high enough dose to do much. This formula would also benefit greatly from a increase in EGCG standardized green tea and a ramping up in the guggul content.

Unfortunately, there are simply much better, smarter-formulated products on the market for much less money for me to recommend Thincinerator.

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