Are there all natural supplements to speed metabolism and weight loss?
There are plenty of natural supplements that promise to help you lose weight -- but are they safe and effective? Nutrition and weight management specialist Caroline Apovian, MD, talks about what researchers know so far.
Transcript
Even if a natural substance is safe, the next question you have to ask, is it actually effective?
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That's an interesting question, the question about other natural substances for weight loss.
The problem with natural substances is that many research institutions don't do studies on these substances, at least
long term, because these studies are very expensive to do. In the studies that have been done,
there have been some side effects regarding natural substances like garcinia, for example,
or chitosan for weight loss. Chitosan is a substance, for example, that can bind fat that you ingest from being absorbed.
And so you malabsorb some of the fat. Chitosan is safe, however, there's another product on the market called
orlistat which is actually more effective than chitosan to bind fat.
And so even if a natural substance is safe, the next question you have to ask, is it actually effective?
So we look at safety and effectiveness for natural substances. And of course, the first thing we want to make sure of
is that these substances are safe. And I can tell you that while some are safe, we really need to do longer term studies.
weight management
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