Science-Based Review: Isatori Lean System 7 (LS7)

Posted By Paul on Sep 8, 2012 | 5 comments

Lean System 7 (LS7) contains a proprietary blend of 7 fat burning herbal compounds (not surprising, considering its name!). The exact blend will differ slightly depending where you buy yours. The Canadian version for instance, contains weight loss winner green tea, but not 7-keto because of a difference in laws that regulate supplements.

Lean System 7 has been discontinued. Please click here to read our review for MX-LS7 (Maximum Strength LS7).

The U.S. formula also contains green tea — good news, since there is some evidence that real green tea is a great fat burning supplement (see Mol Nutr Food Res. 2006 Feb;50(2):176-87, Am J Clin Nutr; 81:122-129, and the full green tea review for further clinical references).

The foundation of this product, however, lies with old standby ingredients guarana and yerba mate.

Both of these ingredients contain high levels of caffeine (as well as other xanthines) which in itself is a decent thermogenic (see Am J Clin Nutr. 1989 Jan;49(1):44-50, Am J Clin Nutr. 1980 May;33(5):989-97).

Mate also displays diuretic properties, and, when combined with guarana and damiana, has been shown to delay gastric emptying and promote a feeling of satiety (fullness).

The combination of green tea and caffeine is especially helpful for weight loss, as shown in one study (see Obes Res. 2005 Jul; 13(7): 1195-204).

This product also contains Citrus aurantium or bitter orange (standardized for synephrine, ephedrine’s milder, gentler cousin, as well as octopamine and tyramine). Theoretically, citrus aurantium extracts should be decent fat burners since the active ingredients (synephrine and phenylephrine) are both sympathetic alpha agonists. However, real solid clinical data validating the effectiveness of this ingredient for weight loss is in short supply.

You’ll also find dandelion root/leaf included for its diuretic properties (a full reveiw of dandelion root can be found here!), and bioperine, an ingredient which increases the bioavailability of certain ingredients by enhancing absorption (a full review of bioperine can be found here!).

Besides that, there’s a much more interesting ingredient in this Lean System compilation, namely…

7-Keto.

7-Keto is a metabolite of DHEA. DHEA is a steroid hormone produced naturally by the bodies of both men and women.

The good thing about 7-Keto is that it displays no apparent side effects (i.e. no conversion to testosterone or estrogen, and no effect on the sex hormones). In other words, it doesn’t “act” like a typical steroid.

What’s promising about this ingredient is its positive effect on thyroid hormone levels in obese people — again, without any adverse effects of any kind. Supplementation does seem to encourage weight loss.

And yes, there is a small amount of clinical data to validate this! (see J Nutr Biochem. 2007 Sep;18(9):629-34. Epub 2007 Apr 5, Current Therapeutics, (7):435-442 2000). Unfortunately, because this is a proprietary formula, we can’t confirm if LS7 contains an effective dosage.

Unlike many fat burners currently on the market, Lean System 7 did not debut as an ephedra-based product, to be reformulated after the ephedra ban. In fact, Lean System 7 was not, and has never been an ephedra-based product.

The newest version of LS7 now sports two new ingredients…

1. Fucus nodosus (Standardized To 10% Fucoxanthan): Fucoxanthin is a carotenoid present in seaweed and other marine vegetables. I’ve reviewed several fat burners based almost entirely on this ingredient (see FucoTHIN™), and almost all claim Fucoxanthin can boost the metabolism and burn fat without causing the jitters.

The good news is there is a small amount of promising evidence that indicates Fucoxanthin is useful for weight loss (see Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2005 Jul 1;332(2):392-7, Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2008;17 Suppl 1:196-9). The bad news is that to date, any published material has been based on animal studies.

Additionally, there’s a possibility of low bioavailability of these compounds in humans. This study (see Br J Nutr. 2008 Aug;100(2):273-7) concluded…

“… results indicated that the plasma response to dietary epoxyxanthophylls was very low in humans even after 1-week intake of epoxyxanthophyll-rich diets.”

2. Pomegranate Extract: Although not revealed what this ingredient is standardized for, I suspect it is probably punicic acid—also known as conjugated linolenic acid. Again, preliminary animal studies show promising results for weight loss (see J Agric Food Chem. 2007 May 2;55(9):3741-8. Epub 2007 Mar 30, Nutrition. 2006 Jan;22(1):54-9. Epub 2005 Oct 12, Lipids Health Dis. 2004 Nov 9;3:24), but to date, no published human-based data exists.

On a more positive note, there is some newer study data that indicates the combination of these two ingredients does show positive weight loss effects, although the study was performed was a significantly larger dosage than that included in this formula (Lean System 7 contains a blend of 75 mg of these two ingredients).

Bottom line on the new ingredients?

I’d be surprised if they dramatically improved the effectiveness of this product.

That said, they are unlikely to hinder it’s effectiveness, and Lean System 7 is one of the few commercially available weight loss supplements that actually has a peer-reviewed, published clinical trial validating its efectiveness (see Nutrition. 2005 Feb;21(2):179-85).

Since the price of the product hasn’t changed, I would be hard pressed to argue that the addition of these two ingredients don’t increase the value of this product (even if their value is merely speculative at this time).

Although I have not experiemented with the new formula, I’ve had the opportunity to try both the Canadian and American versions of the product. Recognizing that my comments are anecdotal and do not represent a “scientific conclusion”, I found that LS7 worked far better than most ephedra-free products at suppressing my appetite.

I don’t know whether it was my imagination or not, but I thought I felt fuller for longer too. I found three capsules made me too jittery though — the perfect dose seemed to be two capsules three times a day, as opposed to the recommended 3 capsules 2X a day.

Will Lean System 7 work for you?

Well, that’s not an answer we can answer, since LS7 has been discontinued. Instead, Isatori’s focus has shifted to MX-LS7 (or Maximum Strength LS7). It’s a well-crafted product that deserves a look. Read our review here!