Accuslim Fat Burner Review: How Effective Is Accuslim?

Posted By Paul on Aug 16, 2012 | 0 comments

You can be forgiven for thinking Accuslim is some sort of revolutionary fat burner. After all, if you read the marketing material, you’ll encounter statements that certainly give that impression. Maybe you saw this one…

“(Accuslim) contains some of the most well-known and most-effective—but hardly used— weight loss nutrients available today.”

Um… not really. Accuslim contains many of the “same-old same old” ingredients found in “run-of-the-mill” fat burners the world over. And contrary to the material contained on the Web site, many of the ingredients have shown little positive effects for weight loss. Or, the effects have not yet been demonstrated conclusively.

Worse still, the benefits of the ingredients are greatly exaggerated. The advertising material I read had this to say about the chromium included in the formula…

“It also helps the body’s insulin metabolize fat, convert protein into sexy muscle, and turn sugar into energy.”

Now hold on a minute. Chromium is a great addition to any fat burner because of its ability to moderate insulin function and balance blood sugar levels, but to give the impression supplementation will lead to increased muscle mass is downright misleading.

In fact, if you read the full review of chromium, you’ll see that studies have refuted chromium’s muscle and performance-enhancing abilities! In other words, chromium supplementation does not improve performance or build muscle!

Nevertheless, you can’t blame them for trying. After all, a single bottle of Accuslim costs $39.99 online. For the same money (or darn close to it) you can buy much more potent products (like BSN’s Atro-Phex, for example).

For less money, you can buy products like Lean System 7 (which comes with a money-back guarantee — I’ve reviewed it here) Gaspari’s new Cytolean (reviewed here), EAS’s Thermo Dynamx (reviewed here) or Lipo 6 (reviewed here).

So it’s really not surprising that the advertising material is a bit “over the top”.

With that said, what’s in Accuslim?

1. Chromium and vanadium: These ingredients are worthwhile ones, as both help with insulin function and the balancing of blood sugar levels.

2. Advantra Z™(citrus aurantium standardized for synephrine): Since the ephedra ban, many supplement makers (includes the marketers of Accuslim) have been using synephrine as an ephedra replacement, claiming it is “as or more effective than ephedra” without any of the side effects. Clinical research, however, fails to back these claims up. This study (Obes Rev. 2006 Feb;7(1):79-88) sums the situation up perfectly…

“While some evidence is promising, we conclude that larger and more rigorous clinical trials are necessary to draw adequate conclusions regarding the safety and efficacy of C. aurantium and synephrine alkaloids for promoting weight loss.”

A full review of synephrine can be found here!

3. American, Oriental and Siberian Ginseng: All are adaptogens that help the body cope with stress, there’s little doubt ginseng is a useful supplement. However, there’s no evidence to support this claim of the retailer…

“Siberian ginseng” is also considered to be a substance that may help individuals cope with physical and emotional stress thus reducing Cortisol the “stress hormone” which is known for increasing the storage of ugly belly fat.

4. Green tea: A welcome addition to any fat burner, recent studies have validated green tea’s ability to elevate metabolism as well as encourage weight loss through several other mechanisms (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).

Unfortunately, the ingredient label does not indicate to what percentage of crucial cathechins / polyphenols this green tea is standardized, which makes it difficult to asses the value this ingredient adds to this formula.

5. Rhodiola Rosea: Also a powerful adaptogen and antioxidant, there is some evidence that rhodiola supplementation can improve athletic performance (Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2004 Jun;14(3):298-307) and increase energy (Phytomedicine. 2000 Oct;7(5):365-71), and possibly even lipase activation, or the release of fatty acids.

However, the big problem with rhodiola studies is that there are significant inconsistencies between the results of studies performed in Europe and North America, and the majority of the positive studies, which were performed in Eastern Europe. What that means is that although rhodiola is a promising supplement, its benefits cannot yet be stated with any real authority.

6. Garcinia Cambogia (standardized for hydroxycitric acid HCA): A few years back, hydroxycitric acid held great promise as a carb blocker. Some also thought it increased feelings of satiety (fullness) as well. Unfortunately, research has not borne this out. This study (JAMA. 1998 Nov 11;280(18):1596-600) concluded…

“Garcinia cambogia failed to produce significant weight loss and fat mass loss beyond that observed with placebo.”

And this one (Physiol Behav. 2000 Oct 1-15;71(1-2):87-94) did not “support a satiety effect of HCA.”

While a newer, more potent version of HCA (called SuperCitrimax) does show some promise for weight loss, garcinia cambogia is not exactly a slam-dunk weight loss winner.

Bottom line on Accuslim?

As I indicated earlier, there’s really nothing in this formula to justify its relatively high cost. Accuslim does contain a few useful ingredients, but it also contains just as many useless ones. For less money, there are much better and more effective products available.