Dr. Oz’s Weight Loss Supplements: 7-Keto DHEA
Dr Oz, as you probably know, has a popular television show upon which he occasionally discusses weight loss supplements—like 7 Keto, which we will review today. Sometimes he recommends them, sometimes one or more of his guests speaks favorably of them, and so on.
Anyway, any time he does so, we see an increased interest in that product here at UltimateFatBurner.com. And, because sometimes Dr. Oz gets it right, and sometimes wrong, we like to present the complete story here; providing all the clinical evidence either for or against the supplement featured on his television show.
Sacrilege! Dr. Oz wrong? He’s a T.V. celebrity and a doctor, how can he be wrong? Unfortunately, like it or not, we don’t always agree with esteemed doctor. He recently featured and discussed raspberry ketones, for example, but the human-based clinical studies performed on this ingredient show almost insignificant results. The glowing testimonials featured on his show from one guest or another are not evidence—they are anecdotal commentary. As a doctor, Dr. Oz is well aware of this, and of the placebo effect—the well documented phenomenon where products “work” for no other reason than that we believe they do.
On another occasion, Oz spoke favorably of African Mango, its weight loss potential, and the clinical evidence supporting its effectiveness. What Dr. Oz neglected to mention was that all the studies performed on African Mango were all done by the same person, and that person has a patent on African Mango for weight loss. This financial conflict of interest calls the studies’ results into question. That’s inarguable. We highly doubt Oz hid this from his audience on purpose—we suspect he simply didn’t know. And while the blame probably lies with one of his research staff, it’s Dr Oz’s name on the show, and the buck, as they say, stops with him. So yes… he gets it wrong on occasion.
So let’s get back to 7-Keto, which was featured recently on Dr. Oz’s show.
What is 7 Keto?
From our full review…
“7-Keto DHEA is a metabolite of DHEA (a steroid hormone that occurs naturally in the body and is produced in the adrenal glands). However, supplementing with 7-keto does not effect hormone levels, as it does not convert into testosterone or estrogen, and has no effect on the sex hormones.”
Most importantly, there are some published credible clinical studies (*see here and here) that indicate 7-Keto helps with weight loss by boosting levels of the T3 thyroid hormone. In fact, this study concluded…
“The results of the study suggest that 7-oxo-DHEA combined with moderate exercise and a reduced-calorie diet significantly reduces body weight and body fat compared with exercise and a reduced-calorie diet alone. In addition, 7-oxo-DHEA significantly elevated T3 levels but did not affect TSH or T4 levels, indicating that it does not adversely affect thyroid function in the short term.”
There’s also evidence that 7-Keto may play a role in reducing levels of the stress hormone cortisol, although the supporting evidence in this regard is quite preliminary.
So where does that leave 7-Keto?
Well, 7-Keto is well worth a try, as long as you…
- Combine it with proper diet and exercise, and do not expect miracles.
- Take the dose proven helpful in the clinical studies; 100 mg, twice daily.
One thing that may be of interest is that 7-Keto does not have stimulant properties like most fat burners, which means that it may be useful may for individuals who are sensitive to stimulants, or experience an underlying medical condition (high blood pressure, heart disease, etc) that prevents them from experimenting with them. Of course, please do check with your doctor before using any product, regardless of your health status.
How should you take 7-Keto or where should you buy it?
Optimally, your best bet is to buy it in isolation, so that you can be sure your chosen product contains the ideal amount of 7-Keto (we recommend the Now brand 7-Keto from BodyBuilding.com; take one of these twice a day!). Do not buy brand name 7-Keto based products as they can be very expensive.
Another option is to buy quality products that contain 7-Keto in their formulations. Both Lean System 7 and Maximum Strength Lean System 7 from iSatori do, although we can’t confirm that they contain an optimal dosage due to proprietary labeling. At the same time, both of these products are backed by a money back guarantee (if purchased direct), which is why we feel comfortable in recommending them.
In this case, it appears, Dr Oz got it right!
