Phentemine 37.5 Review: It’s Not Phentermine, Either, Folks!
Not surprisingly, the name of the Phentemine 37.5 weight loss supplement makes me think of “Phentermine” – the prescription weight loss drug. This is no accident: we’re meant to think that they’re equivalent… except that “alternatives” like Phentemine 37.5 are much safer and easier to obtain.
The retailers of Phentemine 37.5 milk this confusion for all it’s worth, by claiming…
“No prescription required, and no need to visit a doctor.”
“Since Phentemine is made of all natural substances it’s risk free – no addicting materials, no unhealthy chemicals and no side effects.”
This last statement is especially funny, when juxtaposed with this disclaimer further down:
“Do not take Phentemine 37.5 if you are pregnant or breast feeding. Phentemine 37.5 should not be used by anyone under the age of 18. If you have a history of heart problems or high blood pressure, it is advisable to consult with your physician before taking Phentemine 37.5. If you have any doubts as to possible contraindications concerning any of the ingredients or the formula as a whole, you should contact your physician. If you notice side effects, contact your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist.”
Emphasis mine. Doesn’t sound so “risk free” to me!
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg, with respect to the contradictory, confusing and unproven claims made for this product. Consider this, for example:
“Phentemine 37.5 is a cutting-edge, top-rated diet pill that contains a combination of highly powerful ingredients designed to get quickly absorbed into your body and increase your energy, suppress your appetite and greatly accelerate weight loss.”
As you will see in a minute, there’s nothing “highly powerful” about Phentemine 37.5.
So, what is in Phentemine 37.5?
Well, the product sales site does reveal its ingredients, but not how much of them are included, which makes it difficult to predict what sort of results users might get from the product. “Nutraceuticals” are no different from pharmaceuticals that way. Being “natural” does not imbue them with some sort of magical power.
At any rate, they are…
1. Either Vitamin B6 or Vitamin B3
Either? Seriously, it’s hard to tell. This is how the description on the site reads:
“Vitamin B6: Niacin (vitamin B3) is a basic vitamin that can be found in many types of food. Niacin acts in the body to dilate capillaries causing the blood circulation to the peripheries to increase. Vitamin B3 also influences the synthesis of the sex hormones. Overall the human body uses Vitamin B3 in more than 50 chemical reactions.”
So which one is it? It probably doesn’t matter… unless you happen to be deficient, taking more of either vitamin won’t help you lose weight.
The confusion between B3 and B6, however, says something about the care and attention the marketers have given the “Ingredients” section of the Phentemine 37.5 web site. Guess they figured that very few people will bother reading it.
2. Yerba Mate bark
Yerba mate (sometime labeled as mate, or Ilex paraguariensis) is a South American shrub of the holly family. It is commonly used to create a “tea like” infusion called “maté.” Both dried leaves and twigs can be used in the infusion, and it may be served hot or cold.
Yerba mate contains a range of bioactive components, such as xanthine alkaloids (caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline), which have a stimulating effect. It also contains chlorogenic acid, which has antioxidant and anti-obesity effects.
Does yerba mate help with weight loss? Perhaps… but there’s not a lot of good data to back it up at the moment. Studies in mice suggest that it can reduce weight gain caused by high fat diets. The “delayed gastric emptying” noted in the Phentemine 37.5 description refers to a study in which yerba mate was one of three ingredients (the other two were guarana and damiana) – thus, it’s unclear how much it contributed to the results. A recent study on a proprietary, green yerba mate extract demonstrated very slight (0.5kg – about a pound) fat loss in overweight subjects, relative to placebo. That’s certainly better than nothing, but it’s hardly the stuff that weight loss dreams are made of.
3. Green Tea Leaf Extract
There’s some real evidence green tea is good for weight loss (see Mol Nutr Food Res. 2006 Feb;50(2):176-87, Am J Clin Nutr; 81:122-129, Journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity. 2000 Feb;24(2):252-8, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1999 Dec;70(6):1040-5).
Studies show green tea’s weight loss benefits are a result of several mechanisms.
These include an increased metabolism, a positive effect on blood sugar and insulin regulation, and possibly the inhibiting of the enzyme amylase, which is required for the processing of carbohydrates. It also has been shown to lower LDL levels (that’s the “bad” cholesterol) as well as triglyceride levels.
Of course, the most promising research was done on green tea extract standardized for catechins – particularly one known as EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate). Is the green tea extract in Phentemine 37.5 standardized?
No idea… the site doesn’t say. And in my experience, what supplement retailers don’t say is often as significant as what they do.
4. White willow “barge” [sic]
Sigh… it really does say “barge” instead of “bark.”
White willow bark extract contains salicin, an aspirin precursor (you can learn more about white willow here). In the old herbal ephedra stack, white willow bark was used as the “aspirin” part of the ephedra + caffeine + aspirin combination… but it plays no such role here. Needless to state, it has no independent effects on fat loss.
5. Hordenine
Hordenine is a biogenic amine found in a number of plants, including barley and several species of cacti. It’s alleged to be beneficial for fat/weight loss, due to its ability to stimulate the release of norepinephrine, although there is no research to confirm this claim.
The chemical name for hordenine is N,N-Dimethyltyramine. Hordenine is also found in trace amounts in Citrus aurantium (bitter orange). It’s often found in formulas containing phenethylamine (PEA – a mood-elevating chemical found in chocolate), as it helps inhibit its breakdown.
6. Forslean®
The description of this ingredient on the Phentemine 37.5 web site is priceless:
“Forslean Coleus STD 10%: Coleus Forskohdivi, or more known as Forskodivn has a few efficient attributes – it can increase the body’s communicative abidivties that are essential in feedback for hormone regulation. Furthermore, Forskodivn works divke a vasodilator – meaning that it mainly increases the diameter of blood vessels and helps to lower high blood pressure. Other studies have indicated that Forslean produces lean body mass, while lowering your intake of calories by appetite suppression.”
The fail is strong with this one…
I’ve posted in-depth reviews of both Coleus forskohlii and Forslean– a standardized, proprietary extract, but I’ll give you the short version here… Coleus forskohlii is an Ayurvedic medicinal plant and a source of forskolin, an ingredient that has modest, but not earth-shattering effects on weight loss.
For instance, one study (which was funded by the Sabinsa Corporation, which holds the patent) did not find any significant changes in lean mass or fat, although the researchers did conclude that ForsLean “…may help mitigate weight gain.”
Another study, (Journal of Obesity Research August 2005, “Body Composition and Hormonal Adaptations Associated With Forskolin Consumption In Overweight and Obese Men”) found that forskolin was helpful, but did not yield overwhelming results.
7. Acacia gum
Also known as “gum arabic,” it’s a fairly well-known food additive. Certainly, the (semi-literate) description on the Phentemine 37.5 web site rings true, but begs the question of why it was included in this formula. Sure, some recent research suggests that it could boost satiety, and thus, caloric intake, but a minimum dose of 5g is needed – much more than Phentemine 37.5 could possibly provide.
8. Citrine
More fail… “citrine” is a gemstone. While various alternative “healers” might agree with the makers of Phentemine 37.5 that citrine is…
“Proven by varies of researches to be helpful in maintaining the health gastric system.”
…these claims have exactly zero scientific validity.
At any rate, I have a hard time believing that the mineral “citrine” is an actual ingredient in Phentemine 37.5. I imagine that they actually mean “citrin,” which is another term used to describe Garcinia cambogia extract – a source of hydroxycitric acid (HCA). This is yet another ingredient that needs to be taken in fairly large amounts in order to be effective. For example, doses of over 4.6g (4667.7mg) were used in one of the (very few) positive studies on a proprietary extract (Super CitriMax).
And there you have it; the Phentemine 37.5 formula. As you can glean from the above, there’s a lot less to it than meets the eye.
Additionally, this product is hugely expensive—a whopping $99 for 60 tabs (a 2 – 4 week supply, if taken as directed). To give you an example of just how expensive that is, you can buy a month’s worth of green tea extract and Forslean (the only 2 ingredients in this formula worth experimenting with for dieters) for under $30.
There is absolutely nothing special about this product.
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