Are dietary supplements good for weight loss?

A new study published in the journal Obesity has found that dietary supplements do not cause dramatic weight loss as they claim. In fact, it is rare for people taking these supplements to lose a significant amount of weight, research showed. Tempting claims, but are the products compliant? Does it help you lose weight? Natural Medicines, an independent group that looks at research on supplements, says there isn't enough reliable evidence to qualify it. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health states that chitosan has not been shown to be effective in losing weight.

Chitosan usually does not cause side effects, but some people have an upset stomach or constipation. If you are allergic to shellfish, you should not take chitosan, as it is made from shellfish. Natural Medicines says there isn't enough evidence to assess how well glucomannan works for weight loss. Glucomannan can also make it difficult for the body to absorb medicines.

Therefore, take your medicine 1 hour before or 4 hours after using glucomannan. In 1994, the Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act relaxed the regulation of the dietary supplement industry. Chitosan, glucomannan, and conjugated linoleic acid produced statistically significant weight loss compared to placebo, but were too small to be of clinical importance. The Office of Dietary Supplements publishes fact sheets about these products and maintains a database of their ingredients and labels.

Until data from such trials become more available, claims about dietary supplements and weight loss should be treated with caution. That is partly why there is little scientific evidence to show that weight-loss supplements work. Alongside this trend, there has been an explosion in sales of slightly regulated and poorly researched dietary and herbal weight loss supplements. Although most supplements seem safe for short-term consumption, they are not going to provide clinically significant weight loss.

Here you will find healthy eating tips and recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner to help the person start their weight loss journey. So while vitamin D+ calcium isn't a magic formula for weight loss, at least according to this study, it might be healthy to make sure your diet includes enough of those nutrients or to talk to your doctor about taking supplements, if you're interested in that route. You may have read online about the weight loss powers of a combination of vitamin D and calcium supplements. Researchers write that many people turn to over-the-counter weight loss supplements in the belief that they are “natural” or “clinically proven.” You should also avoid bitter orange supplements if you take caffeine, certain medications (such as MAO inhibitors), or herbs or other supplements that speed up your heart rate.

Guar gum has been studied much more than other fibers for weight loss, and most researchers say it is not effective. When the adoption of lifestyle modifications, such as having a healthy diet and exercising regularly, did not produce the desired results, people turned to dietary supplements or pills to lose weight.