Orovo Detox Fat Burner & Detoxification Product Reviewed:

Orovo's Detox product claims it can eliminate toxic build up and help you lose weight -- 7 pounds every 7 days. Yup... it says so right on the Web site.

According to the Orovo advertising, this is thanks to the "10 Orovo SuperFoods" (found in the original Orovo, reviewed here), plus 31 other "natural detoxifying agents."

Before I begin discussing the product formula or the extremely silly "lose weight through detoxification" craze that seems to be sweeping the Internet and the offline world as well, let's discuss the "7 pounds every 7 days" claim.

While it's entirely possible to lose 7 pounds of weight in a week, it is impossible (short of acquiring some dehabilitating sickness or having liposuction) to lose 7 pounds of fat in such a short period. Any dramatic weight loss that occurs in such a short period is merely water weight.

Any product with a decent natural diuretic formula (Orovo Detox contains several natural diuretics) can cause this, as can the reduction of simple carbs from the diet -- which also has a diuretic effect.

A pound of fat is the equivalent of approximately 3,500 calories of stored energy. An average sized, sedentary man or women requires anywhere from 1,000-2,000 fewer calories than this on a daily basis to sustain themselves (this number will vary according to body weight).

Obviously therefore, the "lose 7 pounds every 7 days" claim can only refer to water loss (it's ridiculous to claim that blend of "SuperFoods" will burn off an additional 24,500 calories per week, especially when you consider an hour of fairly strenuous activity on a treadmill will only burn 600 or so).

This doesn't do you any good -- you end up being a slightly less hydrated version of yourself... with the same bodyfat percentage (And you won't lose 7 pounds of water weight every 7 days. Maybe in the first 7, but after the diuretic does its work, you'll see no more results on the scale (You can learn more how to really track your weight and progress by reviewing this blog post!)

Now let's talk a little bit about this "toxic buildup" that's keeping you fat and this whole "detox" thing that everyone is talking about.

Detox diets and detoxing are a pretty popular fad. You can find diet books on Amazon, and pills on the Internet and in your local health food store. The claims justifying the use for detox products vary...

1. Toxins and environmental poisons are keeping you both ill and fat.
2. People who don't experience regular bowel movements risk illness, obesity and a whole string of maladies as the "trapped waste rots inside." (This is based on the popular misconception that regular, daily bowel movements are an indicator of perfect health. Fact is, bowel movements are a very individual thing -- it's perfectly healthy to have one every other day or even every couple of days).
3. Regular "detoxes", including fasting and occasionally some rather bizarre eating habits can help your body function more efficiently.
4. Your body is being overrun by a nasty array of creepy-crawlies that are keeping you fat and unhealthy (this outrageous and unsubstantiated claim is addressed by Elissa in this blog post).

Considering how dire the situation appears, you'd think medical professionals would be encouraging detoxing as both a general health solution and an option for losing weight (if detoxing is really so effective in this regard). And are they? Hardly. Check some of these quotations from this Sense About Science Detox Press Release...

“The body’s own detoxification systems are remarkably sophisticated and versatile. They have to be, as the natural environment that we evolved in is hostile. It is remarkable that people are prepared to risk seriously disrupting these systems with unproven ‘detox’ diets, which could well do more harm than good.” (Professor Alan Boobis OBE, Toxicologist, Division of Medicine, Imperial College London).

"The only thing that loses weight on a detox diet is your wallet.”
(Dr John Hoskins, Environmental Toxicologist, Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry)

"The concept of ‘detox’ is a marketing myth rather than a physiological entity. The idea that an avalanche of vitamins, minerals, and laxatives taken over a 2 to 7 day period can have a long-lasting benefit for the body is also a marketing myth." (DR Catherine Collins, Chief Dietician, St George’s Hospital Medical School, London)

“‘Detox’ is a meaningless term that is used all the time. And because it hasn’t been defined, it’s impossible to say if it’s worked or if it hasn’t.” (Ursula Arens, Registered Dietician, British Dietetic Association)

“Detox diets and products may not do harm, except, perhaps, to your wallet, but neither do they do you much good. Your natural bodily functions are effective at clearing out harmful substances and there is little you can do to enhance these. Patience and a proper diet are more valuable than detox products and supplements.” (DR Paul Illing, Chartered Scientist, Registered Toxicologist and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry)

"The detox fad - or fads, as there are many methods - is an example of the capacity of people to believe in (and pay for) magic despite the lack of any sound evidence. This is a trend that should worry us all.” (Professor Martin Wiseman, Visiting Professor of Human Nutrition, University of Southampton).

Also of interest is this video of a study performed by the BBC, where the effectiveness of various popular "detox" diets were tested on the liver and kidney function of a group of healthy young women. The results? Nien. Nyet. Nada. Nothing.

In fact, there isn't a single piece of real scientific evidence validating any of the detox claims, or even the detox diets (Dr. Ed Zimney, M.D., calls one popular diet, "the Master Cleanse Diet" a "Master Scam").

Sure, if you eat too much tuna, there's little doubt you could end up suffering from mercury toxicity. But as Dr. Zimney says in his review of The Master Cleanse Diet...

"And if you think the Master Cleanse or any other cleansing procedure is going to remove mercury from your body, you are 100 percent wrong."

So there's no evidence of any sort -- anywhere -- that "detoxes," "cleanses", or detox diets do anything useful.

A few people have written to me suggesting the "medical establishment" is involved in some vast conspiracy (in collusion with Big Pharma) to keep us all sick and fat, and that I'm a complete idiot for buying into their ploy (this is a common argument, and the main one used in Dr. Suzanne Gudakunst's Top Weight Loss Secret).

This argument fails on a bazillion levels, but let me just start with a couple of points...

1. The idea that ten's of thousands of medical professionals worldwide (most of whom are decent ordinary folks with families and loved ones) are keeping a secret that contradicts the very oath they swore to uphold (the Hippocratic oath) to keep a few fat cats in Big Pharma happy is ludicrous.
   
   
2. If Big Pharma can't be trusted because they are "for profit" companies, why on earth would supplement companies -- also "for profit" entities -- be immune from the same sort of critiques we levy on Big Pharma? Because they sell "natural" products?
   
   Hello?
   
   If there's a conflict of interest involved in selling products to your audience -- either natural or pharmaceutical -- surely a supplement company is no less removed from this conflict?
   
   Fact is, we know supplement companies aren't necessarily benign, customer focused companies, striving to deliver effective, natural alternatives in the face of "suppression" by the drug companies.
   
   The Federal Trade Commission web site is riddled with hundreds of examples of supplement companies who have lied, fabricated the truth, and in short misrepresented their product(s) in order to pad the bottom line. In fact, because the supplement industry is in large part unregulated, it could be argued that it is guilty of far more "scummy" behavior than the FDA-regulated pharmaceutical industry.
   
   If you really think all those involved in the sale of "all natural" products are 100% committed to the customer and his/her best interests, you really need to spend some time on the Federal Trade Commission's web site ("all natural" is a ridiculous, "feel good" term used in the marketing of many supplements -- to read why you should be suspicious of this term, click here!)

Frankly, if the only thing a company has to validate its claims is a "conspiracy theory", it is on pretty thin ice indeed. That company would be far further ahead to provide some real evidence that its product does something, wouldn't it?

OK, but what of the Orovo detox product formula itself? Well, it's based on the 10 SuperFoods in the Orovo formula plus "31 other natural detoxifying agents."

As I said in the Orovo review...

"The ten superfoods do indeed offer a myriad of benefits -- when taken at the appropriate dosage, or eaten as a whole food. No one is disputing this as they are rich in vitamins, antioxidants, minerals and phytonutrients.

But no evidence exists to justify the claims of rapid weight loss, acne, weight or age reduction -- there is absolutely no basis in fact for any of these claims.

As far as the "31 other natural detoxifying agents?"

Well, many of these ingredients do offer health benefits (see reviews for grape seed, grapefruit seed, aloe vera, licorice root, juniper berries, and uva ursi for example). One in particular, milk thistle, contains a liver protector called "silymarin" and is useful for treating alcoholic liver disease, although in doses much stronger than present in this formula.

The real problem, however, is logistics. It's simply not possible to jam enough of each of the ingredients into a 4-capsule serving for each of them to be present in large enough doses to elicit much of an effect. This is what Elissa and I call "label dressing." In other words, it looks impressive on the label, but there really isn't enough there to do anything at all.

Retailers often argue that lower dosages of certain ingredients are acceptable when they are combined with the correct combination of other ingredients in a "precise matrix." This "unique blend" of ingredients work together, they say, "in a synergistic fashion" providing benefits up and above the sum of their respective parts.

That's a typical response to criticisms such as mine.

The only problem is that there is no clinical, scientific evidence that this is the case. And unless there is, this is mere speculation. And, since the retailer's mandate is to sell us products, it's not hard to see there's a very significant conflict of interest here.

Orovo Detox is also an MLM (multi level marketing) product, and you know how I feel about those.

Bottom line?

There's absolutely nothing resembling evidence that the "10 Orovo SuperFoods" in conjunction with 31 "natural detoxifiers" will do anything dramatic for you. And the only weight you'll lose on this program is water weight as a result of its diuretic content.

I suggest that for those of you wishing to experiment with the product, track your bodyfat percentage... and gauge your results in that manner.

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