Hydroxycut Review: Does it work?

Intro: What is it?

Hydroxycut is a weight loss pill claiming to boost energy and decrease fat by providing a thermogenic stimulant formula. There’s also the claim that this brand is America’s number 1# weight loss supplement.

The company boasts that within 60 days with diet and exercise, Hydroxycut lead to a 10.95 pound drop in weight. There are also reports of it increasing overall energy, improving metabolism, and that it provides an “advanced weight loss” pill. So are all these claims true? What can you really gain from using Hydroxycut? To find out the truth you can read this in depth review.

Hydroxycut Ingredients

Here are the ingredients to the Hydroxycut Pro Clinical supplement:

Some ingredients to observe further:

Robusta Coffee Extract: A varietal of coffee bean which is more acidic and bitter than most coffee beans.  The Chlorogenic acid is similar to caffeine, though according to Examine.com, the weight loss benefits are only due to the added caffeine.

Saffron Extract: A plant that is used as a spice for many intended health benefits. It can produce the following issues according to Web MD:

• Fatigue.
• Nausea
• Headaches.
• Allergic reactions.
• Anxiety
• Dry mouth.
• Yellowing of the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes.
• Bloody diarrhea, bleeding from the nose, lip, and eyelids.
• Various other serious side effects.

Also, according to the same group:

“isn’t enough information to know how saffron might work.”

In high amounts this has been shown to lead to death.

Caffeine Anhydrous: There’s 200 milligrams of this dehydrated form of caffeine. This is most commonly used in supplements since it’s easier to manage and mix with other ingredients. This is used as a way to increase metabolism and to reduce overall calories. Studies show caffeine is only effective in the short term, and it isn’t a long term solution for weight loss. Possible side effects may include:

• Anxiety and feelings of paranoia.
• Agitation.
• Ringing in the ears.
• Rapid and uncomfortable heart rate.
• Nausea and vomiting alongside digestive issues.
• Nervousness and restlessness.
• Chest pain and tingling in the lower extremities.
• Sleep disorders and insomnia. Long term effects can lead to sleeplessness.

Maqui Berry: A fruit used due to its rate of antioxidants.  There’s yet to be any human clinical studies which show this berry has any positive effects.

Indian Gooseberry: The fruit of this tree have been used in ancient Indian Ayurvedic medicine as a way to reduce cholesterol.  Clinical studies have shown that this additive may cause liver damage.

Hydroxycut Quality of Ingredients

For unknown reasons the company fails to list the benefits of using these ingredients. It’s unknown what the added papaya and blackberries were intended to do. They are part of a weight loss matrix, but without evidence it’s unknown what kind of weight loss benefit is intended.

The brand relies heavily on caffeine in order to produce results, which unfortunately can be short term and not at all safe.

Overall, many of these ingredients have serious potential side effects, and there’s no reason to believe they’re safer in Hydroxycut. The company makes it seem as if they have clinical studies performed on Hydroxycut, but really the study was done on a patented form of one similar ingredient found in this blend.

The Price and Quality of Hydroxycut

The company has a few online retailers which sell their brand. The list price for one 72 capsule bottle is $29.99.

Since the full dose is 4 capsules a day, this means the daily price would be:

$29.99/18= $1.66 for a full daily serving.

The added caffeine can be found in much cheaper sources such as coffee and tea. Chlorogenic acid is also found in coffee beans as well.

The rest of the ingredients have not been proven to be effective for weight loss, and in fact they may produce side effects such as organ damage and even death.

This brand is a highly caffeinated pill which has added fruits to it, and there’s no evidence provided by the company to reveal what the other ingredients besides caffeine are meant to do.

Use of Caffeine

A recommended 4 capsules a day provides 400 mg of caffeine.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the average person’s limit for caffeine a day is 400 mg. So Hydroxycut just hits this maximum allowed limit. This is equal to about 4 cups of coffee, or 10 cans of soda.

In some people daily doses of caffeine can lead to side effects.  The Mayo Clinic also mentions that the following may increase the risk for side effects:

“body mass, age, medication use and health conditions”

The daily use of caffeine according to Examine.com will:

“only benefit will be (sic) caffeine’s anti-sleep effect.”

Therefore, the long term effects of Hydroxycut will be largely reduced to only a lack of sleep. For some people this may come sooner than others. Without proof that the added fruits have any benefit, it’s unknown what the full effects are of this brand.

Clinical Studies

The company does add 2 clinical studies, but they were only performed on one of the ingredients.

According to this study, taking a patented form of green coffee bean with a low calorie diet and exercise lead to:

10.95 pounds lost, while the placebo group lost 5.40 pounds.  This means it lead to 5.55 pounds of weight loss in 60 days that weren’t attributed to just a placebo effect.

However, with the added diet and exercise it’s possible this lifestyle change lead to the weight loss stated.  It’s unknown how many calories these people cut, or how much exercise was implemented.  Losing 5.55 pounds in 60 days with diet and exercise is possible, since it’s advised one can lose a pound a week safely. Water weight can also lead to a 10 pound difference.

Also, this was only for one ingredient which has caffeine. Caffeine is known to produce an increase of metabolism, but its effects are only short lived.

The study published by the company also showed that:

“no significant difference was seen from the placebo and Vitol”

This means that in the clinical study cited the company failed to see a difference in weight between those given a fake dose, and those given real amounts. This keeps the study from being a useful showcase of weight loss.

The clinical study also used 200 mg of their patented green coffee bean, Hydroxycut has untold amounts mixed into a proprietary blend. Getting the right dosage is important in order to determine if an effect is at all possible. Without the exact amount, it’s unknown if any effect will occur.

Business of Hydroxycut

The brand is owned by Iovate Health Sciences. They can be found below:

Phone Number: (888) 334-4448

Address: 381 North Service Road W

Oakville, Ontario L6M 2R7, Canada.

They’ve had a history of issues:

• They paid $5.5 million for making false health claims about their supplements. This lead to refunds for people who purchased any of the 5 brands the company lied about.
• The FDA mentioned that people should stop taking this brand due to concerns over liver damage and even one death. The company recalled all brands of Hydroxycut in order to prevent any future issues. The FDA confirmed 23 different effects of jaundice and liver damage requiring liver surgery.
• Old batches of Hydroxycut lead to seizures, cardiovascular disorders, muscle damage, and several other serious symptoms.
• The World Journal of Gastroenterology concluded that Hydroxycut products were a product of:

“conflicted or low quality research”

This same group also mentioned that many of the clinical studies used by the company fail to measure how safe their brands really are. Due to the company having to have 2 major recalls, it’s suggested they don’t put enough effort to secure their customers safety.

Customer Opinions of Hydroxycut

Here are some of the common reviews left by customers:

“No weight loss at all”

“abdominal pain and felt like my stomach was on fire”

“Just made me use the restroom a lot”

“essentially caffeine pills”

The common concerns are that this brand produces a high amount of negative effects. There are also complaints about the lack of any positive benefits. A few people reported they had extra energy, which is likely due to the added caffeine.

Overall, there’s a major focus from customers that reveals this brand has produced side effects in some.

Conclusion

Some important things to consider about Hydroxycut:

• The company has had several major lawsuits: There have been million dollar lawsuits and major recalls over the company’s brands. The Hydroxycut label was forced off the shelves after the FDA realized there were major cases of liver failure. One person died from using this product, and several others had severe health effects. The company has been fined in the past for making false health claims over the use of their supplements. Another study went into a more recent batch of Hydroxycut; these studies showed it had additives which could cause ulcers. The company has since stopped marketing this product, but it’s unknown how many faced side effects.
• Only one of the ingredients is explained in detail: The coffee bean added has a clinical study performed on it. However, the company does not explain why the other ingredients are added. There are many kinds of fruits such as papaya which aren’t explained as to what kind of benefit they have exactly. There’s also no full clinical studies provided by the company to prove these ingredients are at all effective. Without knowing the intended purpose, it’s hard to know what can be expected. Also, the clinical study offered was done in 200 mg amounts, it’s unknown if Hydroxycut offers the same amounts of coffee bean.
• It’s possible for there to be major side effects. Due to the high amount of caffeine added, the company mentions you should only take up to 2 pills a day to start off with. They then recommend to those that can handle it another additional 2 pills. This provides a high amount of caffeine which customers have mentioned has given some side effects. This can be seen though anxiety, rapid heart rate, sweating, tremors, muscle twitches, and uncomfortable sensations. Caffeine in some is not recommended, and it’s advised only to take it during the day to avoid side effects. Long term use of caffeine has been linked to sleeplessness without any positive effects.
• Customers have complained about a lack of weight loss: Many customers have mentioned they failed to see any benefit. The company does mention that the key active ingredient showed weight loss with diet and exercise. However, some customers mentioned they counted calories and exercised without any effect. Some mentioned they did feel an increase in energy; still many were disappointed to find they didn’t lose any weight. These effects may be felt due to the caffeine, which is known to be only effective in the short term.
• It has been criticized by organizations over a lack of evidence: The World Journal of Gastroentology which is highly respected has criticized this brand. They claim that the company uses unsupportive clinical studies, and that not enough research shows a safe or useful benefit to Hydroxycut. They also mention that the company uses biased clinical studies which wouldn’t be supported by legitimate scientists.  They’ve also been criticized for releasing products without sufficient studies performed on safety. Many of the problems with ulcers, liver disease, and even death could have been avoided according to these groups.

Due to the numerous customer complaints, the lack of information on all the ingredients, and the high amounts of caffeine, this brand isn’t the most well rounded weight loss supplement.

Caffeine may produce a short term effect, but the body adapts and it loses any weight loss benefits. Also, the clinical study offered is only on one ingredient, of which the amounts provided aren’t shown. Without these key details, it’s unknown what kind of an effect Hydroxycut will truly have.