Goliath Labs Thermoloid Review & Information

Posted By Paul on Sep 3, 2012 | 0 comments

Goliath Labs’ Thermoloid fat burner’s main claim to fame is the sheer number of ingredients packed into one near-1300 mg serving size. There are 16 in all. But does packing a ton of ingredients into Thermoloid really make it a better product?

In my experience, all this does is dilute the effectiveness of the better ingredients, and create a fat burner in search of an identity. Is it a thermogenic? A carb blocker? A fat blocker? A cortisol inhibitor? Who knows?

So… Is this the case with Thermoloid? Let’s have a look…

The Thermoloid formula contains two distinct elements…

1. Fat Burning Complex: A proprietary blend of 882 mg of ingredients including green tea (standardized for 45% ECGC), caffeine, yerba mate, guarana, citrus aurantium (6% synephrine), l-carnitine, white willow bark, alpha lipoic acid, guggulsterones and bioperine.

Of course, since this is a proprietary blend, we don’t know exactly how much of each ingredient is included in the formula. That makes it nearly impossible to accurately assess for efficacy.

However, since ingredients are listed in descending order (i.e., the ingredients present in the greatest amounts are listed first), we can safely assume that the bulk of the formula consists of green tea (standardized for ECGC) and caffeine (from caffeine, yerba mate, and guarana).

And that’s a good thing — there’s solid evidence that green tea (see the full review for verification and journal references) is a worthwhile fat burner.

Caffeine has been used in fat burners almost since the time when dinosaurs roamed the earth, and there’s good reason for that — evidence shows it too has benefits as a thermogenic (see Am J Clin Nutr. 1989 Jan;49(1):44-50, Am J Clin Nutr. 1980 May;33(5):989-97).

Even better, evidence suggests the combination of green tea and caffeine offers even greater fat burning benefits (Obes Res. 2005 Jul; 13(7): 1195-204).

What about the other ingredients in the Fat Burning Complex?

Well, in doses of between 100-300mg, alpha lipoic acid is a great blood sugar moderator.

On the other hand however, data validating synephrine‘s effectiveness as a fat burner (even in the most appropriate dosage) is less than conclusive. This study (Obes Rev. 2006 Feb;7(1):79-88) sums it up nicely…

“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.”

Guggulsterones too, can be a useful ingredient when present in large enough doses. Unfortunately, there’s just no way to know how much is in this product. Since it’s listed as the second last ingredient in the Fat Burning complex, I suspect there’s nowhere near enough of it in Thermoloid to provide anything more than “label dressing.”

L-Carnitine’s effect on weight loss has not been conclusively demonstrated — and it certainly won’t have any effect in this formula since it is not present in the multi-gram dosage require to generate any sort of response.

That takes care of the Fat Burning Complex. Now, let’s have a look at the second element of this ingredient profile…

2. Fat/Carb Blocking And Appetite Suppressing Blend: a 404 mg proprietary blend of…

i. White kidney bean: thought to interfere with the action of the enzyme amylase, which is required for the proper digestion of carbohydrates. In theory, white kidney bean extract prevents amylase from converting carbohydrates into sugar, thus effectively “blocking” a portion of those carbohydrate calories from inevitably being converted into fat and being deposited on your waistline.

Unfortunately, scientific studies don’t do much to validate these claims. A recent UCLA study on Phase 2® (the proprietary, clinically studied version of white kidney bean) concluded…

“Clinical trends were identified for weight loss, inches lost from the waist, energy, and decrease in triglycerides, although statistical significance was not reached. The reason that significance was not achieved was the small number of subjects who completed the study and the wide variability of the results within each group. Further studies with larger numbers of subjects are necessary in order to definitively demonstrate effectiveness.”

The other problem is that most quality white kidney bean / carb blocker products have recommended dosages of between 500-1,000 mg of extract — prior to each and every meal. That clearly rules out the minimal amount of white kidney bean extract in this formula from having much effect.

ii. Chitosan: derived from the shells of crustaceans, chitosan has been marketed in the supplement industry as a “fat blocker” for several years. Alas, clinical evidence has not been kind to chitosan, with most studies showing it has either none, or only minimal effects on weight loss.

And not surprisingly, the studies were performed with MUCH more of the active ingredient included in the Thermoloid compilation. (see Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2004 Sep;28(9):1149-56, Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2005 Jul 20;(3):CD00389, Singapore Med J. 2001 Jan;42(1):6-102, J Am Coll Nutr. 2006 Oct;25(5):389-94).

iii. CLA (conjugated linoleic acid): a non essential fatty acid, there’s some clinical evidence that CLA is an effect fat burner. Unfortunately, that’s at much higher dosages than present in Thermoloid — around 3 grams / daily (3,000 mg) seems to be the optimal amount (click here for the full CLA review).

iv. Evodiamine: a compound from a Chinese fruit that some claim burns fat by increasing the body’s production of heat, as well as reducing the body’s ability to store fat.

The claims are supposedly “scientifically” proven. The problem is, they haven’t been scientifically proven in humans. There have been some promising “in vitro” studies and some done on rodents, but the jury is still out on whether this product has positive weight loss effect for humans (see this PubMed extract for more details).

v. Hoodia gordonii (reviewed here): One of the most hyped appetite suppressants on the Net, there’s little real evidence that hoodia is good for anything. In this compilation, it’s only label dressing — the only positive feedback I’ve ever had for hoodia products were from people taking double to triple the dosage of a high quality hoodia product (like Hoodoba Pure).

Bottom line on Thermoloid?

When it comes right down to it, Thermoloid is a decent product.

Not because it contains 16 ingredients, and certainly not because it contains a “Fat/Carb Blocking And Appetite Suppressing Blend” — something which adds absolutely no value to this product.

It is so for two reasons.

First, it is reasonably priced — I found it at BodyBuilding.com for just under $17.

Second, the foundation of the product is solid. It’s based on the green tea / caffeine combination for which there is some decent clinical evidence for weight loss.

Revolutionary? Hardly.

Relatively inexpensive and decent? Sure!