Lipoclen Fat Burner Review: Does Lipoclen Work?

I had a hard time choking back my laughter as I read the opening paragraph of the Lipoclen advertising copy...

"The reason for people gaining weight varies from person to person. This is the biggest reason why a certain diet pill works for some people but not for others. If a diet pill didn't work for you in the past, it could have been that you were taking a wrong diet pill for your body type."

Really?

The World Health Organization says otherwise...

"Increased consumption of more energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods with high levels of sugar and saturated fats, combined with reduced physical activity, have led to obesity rates that have risen three-fold or more since 1980 in some areas of North America, the United Kingdom, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, the Pacific Islands, Australasia and China."

In other words, the reason for gaining weight is pretty self explanatory; people are eating more (of the wrong types of foods), and doing less.

It ain't rocket science.

Sure, there are isolated cases where a health issue is the cause of weight gain, but these are the exception, rather than the rule.

So this argument, presented on the Lipoclen web site....

"Unlike other weight loss pills that focus on specific areas of weight loss (hence it might or might not work depending on the reason that you have gained that weight), LipoClen focuses on ALL AREAS of Weight Loss all in one easy to take capsule. LipoClen suppresses your appetite, burns fat, eliminates your water weight, detoxifies your body all at ONCE! Therefore, whoever you may be and whatever your cause of over weight is, WE GUARANTEE THAT IT WLL WORK FOR YOU!"

... is complete and utter nonsense. And really, I should capitalize Nonsense for emphasis. That's just how ridiculous this statement is.

With that out of the way, let's take a closer look at the ingredients. According to the folks retailing Lipoclen it contains...

• 12 powerful, all-purpose weight loss ingredients.
• The most powerful and clinically proven fat burning ingredients.
• 10 potent fat burners designed to incinerate fat stores.
• 4 all-natural appetite suppressants.
• 3 detox ingredients that cleanse and detoxify your entire body.
• 2 fat blockers proven to prevent the absorption of fat consumed.

Reading this, you'd assume LipoClen contains 32 ingredients, but the label only reveals 23. Obviously some ingredients are serving double duty here. Not exactly as you'd expected, correct?

Secondly, there's a real problem with products that contain large numbers of ingredients...

The medicinal plants, food compounds and herbs that are typically found in weight loss products are much like pharmaceutical drugs; they need to be present in a potent enough dosage to have any effect.

Products that contain a lot of ingredients are less likely to contain potent dosages of the individual ingredients than less complex formulas.

Why?

Because capsule size is limiting.

The largest capsule most people can tolerate (size 00) will hold a maximum of 600-1000 mg of ingredients or so (how much exactly depends on the density of the ingredients included).

A large, 3 cap dose will give you a maximum of 3,000 mg of ingredients to play with, and usually, a lot less—usually around 2,000 mg. When ingredients need to be present at doses of 200, 300 or even 500 mg to have any effect, you quickly run out of room.

Therefore, most ingredients in "clown car supplements" like Lipoclen can only serve as "label dressing." In other words, they make the label appear impressive, despite the fact that most ingredients are not present in a dose strong enough to actually do anything.

You'll see what I mean once I start dissecting the ingredients.

Two capsules of Lipoclen contain 1548 mg of the following...

1) Green tea: It's true; green tea offers some real, clinically-backed benefits for weight loss. A couple of caveats though...

1. The green tea needs to be of high quality and standardized for essential catechins (like EGCG) in the appropriate amount. Is it here? Who knows? Since the label doesn't indicate that it is, it is very unlikely.
2. Despite the positive data, green tea's effects are subtle. One study, for instance, shows that green tea can elevate the metabolism by 4%. That sounds pretty impressive until you recognize that it equates to around 100 calories for the average person. Obviously every little bit helps, but if you've got 10-20 pounds to lose, a supplement that helps you burn an extra 100 calories per day isn't going to make a whole heck of a lot of difference.

2) Coleus forskohlii: At the recommended 4 caps per day, Lipoclen delivers 250 mg of coleus forskohlii, an ancient Ayurvedic plant. On the plus side, there is some evidence this ingredient is moderately useful for dieters...

"Results suggest that CF (coleus forskohlii) does not appear to promote weight loss but may help mitigate weight gain in overweight females with apparently no clinically significant side effects."

As you can see, the results were hardly earth-shattering. On the negative side, the results were obtained with twice the amount of ingredient found in Liopclen.

3) Oolong tea: Like green tea, preliminary evidence indicates oolong (also called "wu long) tea offers weight loss benefits, and may even elevate the metabolism to a greater extent than green tea.

4) Cayenne: Cayenne (capsicum) is often used to improve digestion. Topically as a cream, it can be used to treat arthritis. However, it may improve the efficiency of the circulatory system, as well as elevating the internal body temperature, and increasing fat burning ability through thermogenisis.

There is a small body of evidence that indicates that cayenne consumption can indeed elevate the metabolism (Br J Nutr 1999;82:115–23, Br J Nutr 1998;80:503–10, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 84, No. 1, 63-69, July 2006).

Unfortunately, it's only at much higher doses (one study used 10 grams consumed along with meals!) that any effect is realized. In this formula therefore, it is largely useless.

5) Green Coffee: Although the label doesn't confirm this, the green coffee in fat burners and weight loss supplements is usually standardized for something called "chlorogenic acid."

It has been shown to be useful in animal studies, although no published, peer-reviewed evidence exits yet for humans.

Incidentally, a day's worth of Lipoclen boasts 200 mg of green coffee (it is not revealed if it is standardized to chlorogenic acid, and if so, how much).

In the referenced studies, mice received 100-200 mg/kg of green coffee bean extract. Consequently, it's obvious the green coffee in Lipoclen is seriously under dosed.

6) Dandelion, Uva Ursi and Buchu Leaves: These three ingredients are commonly used as diuretics. You'll also find them in products claiming to offer "detoxing" benefits, although there's absolutely no evidence any of these ingredients can "draw" deep seated environmental toxins from the body.

7) Ginger: Ginger contains gingerols, which are chemically related to capsaicin. It does demonstrate some mild thermogenic and metabolism-boosting characteristics, although compliance to high dosage is likely necessary.

Some small animal studies performed on zingerone (a component of ginger) have been positive for weight loss (Yakugaku Zasshi. 2008 Aug;128(8):1195-201) albeit the dosage used (170 mg/kg) is too high to be transferred into humans (a 180 lbs. person would need to take a ton to duplicate an effective dose).

Ginger also seems to accelerate gastric emptying... the opposite of the sort of thing dieters want (Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2008 May;20(5):436-40).

8) Phenylethylamine: Also known as PEA, this is the amphetamine-related chemical found in chocolate. Supplementing with PEA won't make you feel great, boost your energy levels, or help you lose weight; it is so easily and quickly metabolized by the enzyme monamime oxidase (MAO) that minimal amounts of consumed PEA actually enter the bloodstream.

Retailers that are serious about capitalizing on the mood-elevating characteristics of PEA stuff their products with a ton of natural MAOI's (monamine oxidase inhibitors) and even that doesn't guarantee anything.

9) Evodiamine: A Chinese fruit that weight loss supplement retailers claim burns fat by increasing the body's production of heat, as well as reducing the body's ability to store fat.

On the Lipoclen web site, you'll find this statement...

"A recent study revealed that Evodiamine was supplemented to test subjects consuming a high-fat diet, there was significant results showing a decrease in body weight when compared to control groups."

What they don't tell you is that they are referencing an animal-based study, the results of which are not necessarily applicable to humans. To date, there is no evidence to validate similar results in humans.

10) Guggulsterones: A plant sterol thought to be the active principal in guggul lipid - the resin of a medicinal plant, Commiphora mukul. A small body of evidence indicates these may also have value as a fat burner (see J Postgrad Med. 1995 Jan-Mar;41(1):5-7) specifically by increasing thyroid T3 hormone levels. Even so, it hardly qualified as a "miracle" ingredient.

Additionally, if you review the study referenced above, you'll see the positive results were attained with 1.5-3 grams of guggul daily. If this is standardized to a mere 6% active guggulsterones, that's between 90 and 180 mg of active ingredients. Lipoclen contains less than half of the lowest dose, and a mere quarter of the highest dose.

11) Synephrine: Back in the early days after ephedra was banned, retailers had high hopes for synephrine and used it liberally in their products, claiming weight loss miracles. Since then, some research has been performed, and it hasn't been kind to synephrine. For the most part, the benefits it offers are extremely modest, although anecdotal reports suggest it may offer some small appetite suppressing qualities.

12) Bioperine: Generally, this black pepper extract is added to supplements for its ability to improve the bioavailability of certain ingredients. And while there is some evidence to validate this use, there isn't any to validate its effects on the metabolism, as claimed by the Lipoclen sales copy.

13) Vinpocentine: Derived from periwinkle, this alkaloid offers no weight loss benefits, but is often found added to pre-workout supplements for its ability to improve focus, concentration and training drive.

14) Razberi K: Derived from red raspberries, this ingredient is included in fat burners for its ant-obesity effects, which have so far only been established in animal studies.

An unpublished pilot study on Razberi-K demonstrated it enhanced post-exercise fat oxidation, although the results were apparently not large enough to be statistically significant.

15) Yohimbine: The standardized extract of the bark of the African Yohimbe tree, there is some data showing yohimbine is a somewhat effective weight loss supplement (see Isr J Med Sci. 1991 Oct;27(10):550-6).

This is likely because of its action as an alpha 2-receptor antagonist. Evidence also validates its "lipid-mobilizing action."

Regardless, yohimbine delivers only modest results, and works better in theory than in fact.

16) Lipolide K™: Lipolide is a clary sage supplement, which is standardized for sclareolide. Theoretically, sclareolide is a cAMP stimulator (as is forskohlin). cAMP is what is called a "cellular regulator."

In other words, this compound is required to "spark" many intercellular processes. An increased concentration of cAMP can have such "total-body" effects as raised thyroid hormone levels and increased fat burning. Unfortunately, there's no published, peer-reviewed clinical evidence to validate either clary sage or Lipolide's weight loss effects.

And there you have it. Not too "miraculous", is it?

But, but, but... what about the assurance that Lipoclen contains the "most powerful and clinically proven fat burning ingredients."

Um... not really. Let's put the word "proven" into context as it pertains to the ingredients in Lipoclen. "Proven" means...

• It's NOT proven at all.
• A few, small preliminary animal studies show positive results for the ingredient in question.
• A few, small preliminary human studies show positive results for the ingredient in question.
• Numerous human-based clinical trials have been performed showing positive results. However, the dosage used in the studies is significantly larger than that present in the product.

Obviously then, "proven" has a fairly wide range of meaning—especially when loosely used by the makers of Lipoclen.

It certainly does not mean that you'll come anywhere near attaining your goal when supplementing with it, for instance.

It's not surprising to find that given its low-dosed ingredients, outrageous and inaccurate claims and vastly over-priced cost, Lipoclen isn't a product I'd recommend. There are simply much better, more competitively priced products on the market.

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