Brazilian Phyre Review & Information: Does Brazilian Phyre Work?
Is Brazilian Phyre the “most effective, all natural fat burner ever developed”, as the advertising claims?
Uh, no. Not even close.
And is the Brazilian Phyre formula really developed by an overweight, recently-graduated medical student — who — in a fit of boredom, decided to move to Brazil, sample the local native fare, and — GASP — lost a ton of weight?
Um, I doubt it. If a real doctor — you know, one with credentials you could verify — formulated Brazilian Phyre, don’t you think the retailers would make the most of that fact by revealing his or her name? After all, the two most common statements retailers use to add some credibility to their claims are “doctor recommended” and “doctor formulated.”
The advertising even goes so far as to say that the creator worked for two years together with one of his or her med school professors in a large lab testing “the best possible extract.”
Again, if a learned medical school prof was involved in the formulating of the product, it seems odd the retailers would not use that to their best advantage.
And too bad they didn’t bother to conduct any clinical studies on the effectiveness of this product for weight loss. Because frankly, for most of the ingredients, there isn’t any. What with being medical professionals and all, you’d think they would recognize the importance of real double-blind, placebo-controlled peer-reviewed clinical studies to “credentialize” Brazilian Phyre.
I guess not.
So what’s in the Brazilian Phyre weight loss breakthrough? Well, it’s a four-ingredient blend of indeterminate strength and potency (i.e., the ingredients are revealed, but just how much and of what potency they are standardized, is not). The ingredients are…
1. Guarana: A very common ingredient in fat burners. It’s a diuretic and a decent source of antioxidants; and its fruit can yield as much as 10% caffeine content when processed.
And its weight loss properties?
Several studies have been conducted on herbal formulas that contain guarana (see J Hum Nutr Diet 14 (3): 243, Int J Obes (Lond). 2006 May;30(5):764-73), but none on guarana itself (and only one of the studies I’ve included here showed any positive effect).
Even still, it is impossible to attribute any benefit (or lack thereof) to guarana, since it could be any number of combinations of the various ingredients — or even single ingredients on their own — that yielded the benefits in the single positive study referenced above.
While it’s true caffeine is a decent thermogenic, it’s difficult to determine whether or not this ingredient is standardized to caffeine, and if so, how much.
If guarana does impart some weight loss benefit, it is not a dramatic one. For the majority of fat burners in which guarana is included, it plays only a supporting role to more potent ingredients.
2. Acaí: A species of palm that produces a small fruit. This fruit is consumed by the native population of the Amazon region of Brazil. The Acaí fruit has received some exposure from celebrities such as Oprah lately — as one of the 10 superfoods featured by Dr. Perricone. Rich in antioxidants, polyphenols and monounsaturated fatty acids, there’s no doubt that Acaí is a healthful food (not sure I’d call it a “superfood”) and does offer some benefit.
But as far as being a potent fat burner? No evidence exists.
3. Chá de Bugre: there’s really no evidence that Chá de Bugre does anything at all. Most web sites selling Chá de Bugre-based weight loss products are referencing Dr. C.L. Cruz’s book, “Dictionary of the Plants Used in Brazil”, which recommends chá de bugre as an “excellent diuretic and weight loss aid, as well as a good general heart tonic which can help stimulate circulation.”
Unfortunately, doctor or not, Dr. CL Cruz’s comments on Chá de Bugre mean relatively little without double-blind, clinical studies to validate his statements (we here in North America are all too familiar of doctors using their respected status to sell some useless weight loss product or another). And as far as I know, there do not seem to be any of those around.
4. Catuaba: A term used to describe an infusion of bark from any number of trees native to Brazil. It’s not revealed which tree this particular extract comes from. Typically these extracts are used as an aphrodisiac or as a nervous system stimulant. I was unable to locate any clinical references validating Catuaba’s effectiveness for weight loss. That said, if it does contain some caffeine-related stimulant compounds it may be mildly helpful for weight loss, although that is merely speculation on my part.
In the end, what you’re left with is a blend of 4 ingredients of indeterminable strength and potency — none of which have any specific benefits for fat loss as demonstrated in any clinical study.
Brazilian Phyre is definitely designed to capitalize on the popular misconception that if it “comes out of a rain forest” and has been used by the native peoples for ages, then it’s either a cure for just about every disease under the sun, or its some sort of weight loss panacea. Unfortunately, there’s no evidence that this is so.
Brazilian Phyre sells online for around $20 (the advertising claims it “retails” for $69, and I ask — “where does it retail for this?). But while it’s reasonably enough priced, it’s certainly no bargain when there’s no evidence it does anything.
You’d be far better off experimenting with one of the better products on the market today.
