Editor’s Note (June, 2015): A fruitless search for Zalestrim suggests that it’s been discontinued.
There’s a new advertising trend that I’m seeing online, and it’s being continued with Zalestrim. Seems that it’s “old school” to make one outrageous claim about your product. Now, two or three is becoming the norm.
Zalestrim, for instance, claims to be a potent fat burner, while at the same time ramping-up your libido, and increasing your breast size. If this were actually true, Zalestrim would be the medical breakthrough of the century. Since you are not seeing learned doctors and research scientists discussing Zalestrim on CNN, you can bet your you-know-what this product is a scam.
A few people find my negative reviews of eBay-based products offensive, pointing out that eBay’s feedback mechanism (and retailers proudly display tons of positive customer feedback) demonstrates the credibility and effectiveness of the product.
Not so.
I have already received reports that retailers of similar products are actively discouraging the posting of negative feedback. This leads to a decidedly positive bias of customer feedback, and not necessarily the true “picture” of the product’s effectiveness.
First, let me address the “breast enhancement” element of this pill. First and foremost, breast enhancement pills simply do not work. If they did, why would anyone undergo breast enhancement surgery?
The fact is, breast enhancement surgery is expensive, intrusive, and even dangerous, and available to only a select segment of the population. Pills like this one are appealing because everyone can afford them.
Breast enhancement products are not new. One popular product, “Bloussant” (advertised in Mademoiselle, Elle, and Allure) claimed to stimulate breast cells to “regenerate the breast growth process.” This apparently resulted in an increase in breast size by two cups in most women.
Unfortunately, the company manufacturing Bloussant (Wellquest International) was sued by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) and forced to pay $3.2 million in customer redress.
Seemed they had made false and unsubstantiated claims about their product, for which there was not one shred of evidence of effectiveness (you can read press release of the FTC action here!).
Here’s another good article on breast enhancing products.
What about the fat burning and libido-boosting elements of Zalestrim? Well, according to the eBay web site, Zalestrim contains a proprietary blend of…
- Green Tea Extract
- Ginger Root
- Black Cohosh
- Cinnamon Extract
- Dong Quai
- Damiana leaf
- Metabromine Chocolate extract
- Soy Isoflavones 40% Extract
- Magnolia Bark
- Passion Flower
- Wild Yam Root
- Barberry
A few of these ingredients may indeed be helpful for weight loss, including green tea (reviewed here), ginger root and cinnamon extract, and possibly metabromine. The problem is that even at best, these compounds deliver a subtle effect — and we don’t even know exactly how much of each ingredient is included in the formula, so it’s impossible to truly analyze the efficacy of the product.
And yes, there are a few ingredients that may have an effect on a woman’s libido — damiana, and certainly some that may positively affect menopausal as well as menstrual symptoms (wild yam, black cohosh, soy isoflavones and dong quai).
So it’s not like Zalestrim doesn’t offer some benefits to women. In fact, it may be this element of the formula that offers the greatest value.
Despite that, there are still a big problems with Zalestrim…
- The “benefits” are greatly exaggerated, or in the case of “breast enhancement”, completely fabricated.
- There are no clinical studies of any sort validating this product’s claims.
- The amount of each ingredient is not disclosed, so it’s impossible to accurately analyze the efficacy of this product.
- As far as I can tell, this product is only available on eBay. While I’m a big fan of eBay, why is this product not available in retail stores? Is it so the manufacturer can avoid accountability to the consumer?
Bottom line?
Some women may find some value in the Zalestrim formula — ingredients like wild yam, black cohosh, soy isoflavnoes and don quai can indeed prove useful in reducing extreme menopausal or menstrual symptoms.
But as a fat burner and a breast enhancer?
Save your money.
