Ghreleptin: Is Ghreleptin Really A Scientific Approach To Weight Loss?
Ghreleptin claims to be the “most scientifically advanced weight loss pill” and reports users can lose 35 lbs. using Ghreleptin as directed.
Interesting.
Because despite the “most scientifically advanced” claim, there’s isn’t a shred of science to be seen anywhere on the Ghreleptin web site. And trust me; if you have any real evidence your product works as directed — even from a “slightly out of context” journal reference — you parade it, front and center.
In fact, the one page Ghreleptin sales page is a classic example of what you should avoid in any sales page; it’s awash in unsubstantiated (and plain ridiculous) claims, unverifiable testimonials, and material that is, frankly, just plain wrong.
Let me step back for a second and explain why this is so.
The name of the product “Ghreleptin” is actually the combination of the names of two hormones involved in appetite and weight management; leptin and ghrelin.
Leptin plays a critical role in both appetite and weight loss/gain. In 1995, it was discovered that leptin supplementation could trigger weight loss in mice.
Mice found to have low levels of this hormone ate and ate and ate and became obese. When scientists injected these mice with leptin, they stopped eating and lost weight.
But when scientists tried the same thing with humans, they found quite different results — leptin turned out to be completely unimpressive in the clinical trial. What they found was that because leptin is produced by fat cells, overweight people already had elevated levels of leptin. And it did not help them to lose weight.
Ghreleptin claims to be able to “normalize” leptin levels (whatever that means). But clinical studies have shown that the manipulation of leptin levels does not lead to weight loss. And this was with injections of the hormone itself — not some blend of “leptin elevating” herbs.
Ghrelin is a peptide hormone that stimulates hunger and the release of growth hormone. Typically, levels of ghrelin rise prior to a meal, and fall shortly after. Early studies also show that low levels of this hormone is associated with insulin resistance, diabetes and hypertension (Diabetes 52:2546-2553, 2003).
Although ghrelin is described as “an exciting potential target for antiobesity drugs“, how it works exactly, and with which other hormones it interacts is a matter of some speculation.
It is a gross simplification of matters, therefore, to state simply that “normalizing” (an ambiguous term which means pretty much whatever you want it to) the levels of either one of these hormones has a dramatic effect on weight loss.
And there’s another critical fact that cannot be ignored…
There isn’t any evidence that either one of these two blends of herbal ingredients has any effect on the regulation of either hormone.
And of course, there have been no peer-reviewed clinical studies performed on this product to verify its “effects.”
When I was discussing Ghreleptin with Elissa, she summed it up best…
“If it was really this simple, “Big Pharma” would have locked it down a long time ago.”
Ghreleptin does contain indeterminate amounts (i.e., the ingredients of the formula are revealed, but how much of each, is not) of guarana, bitter orange, raspberry ketones and bitter melon. None of these are rip-roaring fat burning successes however.
For instance, bitter orange is typically standardized for synephrine. Once thought to be a credible alternative to ephedra, clinical studies have shown synephrine’s effects to be subtle at best. Guarana is usually standardized for caffeine, which has well-established thermogenic properties. Of course, you don’t need to spend $30 to get an indeterminate dose of caffeine — you can buy 100 200mg capsules at BodyBuilding.com for less than $5.
Also included are bitter melon, which may play a role in blood sugar management, and raspberry ketones which are similar in structure to capsaicin and synephrine — two compounds thought to enhance weight loss via the stimulation of norepinephrine (although real evidence to validate this theory is in short supply). One study performed on rodents (you can view the specifics of the study here) did show that raspberry ketones prevented fat synthesis as well as the rise of blood triglycerides and overall, helped prevent obesity.
What you’re left with, quite frankly, is not much. Ghreleptin may contain a nice blend of antioxidants and superfoods, but since the dosage is not revealed its hard to attribute any real value to the remainder of this formula. One thing is for certain though…
“The most scientifically advanced fat burner” it most certainly is not.
