CortiCarb 3000™ Fat Burner Review: Block Carbs, Lower Stress & Boost Metabolism?
Brought to you by the makers of Cortidrene, CortiCarb 3000™is designed to boost metabolism, lower stress levels, and block the absorption of carbohydrates.
Although not labeled as such, CortiCarb 3000 contains a series of ingredients that fall naturally into segments…
1. Blood sugar moderators: Both chromium and alpha lipoic acid are present in this formula, and both are great blood sugar moderators — great for balancing out vacillating insulin levels that lead to cravings.
2. Green tea, l-tyrosine, guggul: these three ingredients have benefit as metabolism boosters…
i. Green tea: is a welcome addition to any fat burner because of its demonstrated ability to elevate the metabolism and inhibit the action of the enzyme amylase.
ii. L-tyrosine: because tyrosine is a precursor to the thyroid hormone thyroxine, retailers have assumed that supplementation might boost thyroid levels. However, there is no clinical data to validate this claim.
iii. Guggul: several studies validate this ingredient’s thyroid-stimulating activity (Planta Med 1988;54:271-7, Curr Ther Res 1999; 60:220-7). It is thought guggulsterones increase the synthesis of T3, by the conversion of T4 to T3.
3. White Kidney Bean Extract: Also known as Phaseolus vulgaris extract, this ingredient is often included in fat burners for its “supposed” ability to inhibit the activity of the enzyme alpha-amylase, which is needed to break down starches into simple sugars. Unfortunately, a UCLA clinical study on Phaseolus vulgaris concluded…
“Clinical trends were identified for weight loss and a decrease in triglycerides, although statistical significance was not reached.”
In other words, while white kidney bean extract does show some promise, but its effects are hardly earth-shattering.
4. Valerian root, St. John’s Wort: these two ingredients are included as the “stress relief” element of the CortiCarb 3000™ formula. Unfortunately, there’s only 50 mg of each ingredient here — for these ingredients to be effective, there should be 300 mg of St John’s Wort, and at 150 mg of valerian root. At this lower dose, it’s unlikely you’ll realize much of an effect.
5. Selenium: A trace mineral, selenium is a powerful antioxidant, an immune-system booster, and a cancer-fighter. And yes, it does play a role in thyroid function. According to Dr. Atkins’ Vita-Nutrient Solution…
“Selenium is important for thyroid function because the enzyme that activates the main thyroid hormone (T4) depends on it.”
Also included in this formula is citrus aurantium, which is standardized for synephrine, ephedra’s “chemical cousin. At one point, it was originally thought synephrine could replace ephedra as the premier thermogenic in most fat burner compilations (this based on promising animal studies). Unfortunately, human-based studies have been less than exciting.
Bottom line?
Although citrus aurantium and white kidney bean extract are pretty much a bust, this product does contain some worthwhile ingredients. On the other hand, it would also be nice if the amount of the stress reducing ingredients was increased dramatically. Regardless, don’t expect CortiCarb 3000™ to work miracles… it’s not a miracle pill and it won’t do anything for you unless you make the appropriate changes to your diet and lifestyle.
