Thermadrol Fat Burner Review

Thermadrol is a fat burner sold exclusively via the Internet and a 1-800 number. According to BigNutrition.com, who sells Thermadrol at Thermadrol.com...

"Due to our extreme amount of active ingredients, our products are not found in retail stores."

This, unfortunately, is not a valid reason for not selling a product in an off-line environment, especially this product contains a perfectly ordinary ingredient profile. The "our product is so strong we dare not make it readily available to the public" argument pretty much disintegrates when you consider the incredible potential for sales any product will obtain by being stocked in every Wal-Mart in North America, for instance.

This is marketing 101. Plain and simple.

While I have yet to receive any negative feedback regarding Thermadrol, their customer service and their willingness (or unwillingness) to honor their guarantee, I have become very wary of supplement manufacturers who only do business online or via telephone orders. I've recently written an article on the best fat burner purchasing strategies, and I suggest you read it if you're in the habit of buying products from companies that do not make their stock available in stores.

You can read that article here!

Thermadrol promises weight loss of 10 pounds in 7 days. This is the equivalent of a caloric expenditure of 35,000 calories, or 5,000 calories per day. While caloric requirements vary by weight and body composition, most men require fewer than 2,500 calories per day, women less than 2,000. The guarantee is, of course, totally bogus, since it is physiologically impossible to lose 10 pounds of fat in 7 days (unless you spend the next 7 days running non-stop).

Thermadrol's claim to fame is that is contains 21 active ingredients, making it "way" more powerful than any other fat burner on the market. And while Thermadrol's ingredient list is a comprehensive one, it suffers from two problems...

1. The science showing the majority of ingredients to be effective as weight loss agents is either nonexistent, or ambiguous at best.
   
   
2. In a formula boasting this large an ingredient profile, it's physically impossible to include a decent dosage of any but a few of the more prominent ingredients into a manageable capsule and/or serving size. Tiny doses of ingredients look impressive on the label, but since they are not present in amounts large enough to elicit any effect, they constitute little more than "label dressing."

Thermadrol contains significant amounts of...

1) Green tea: One of the few "bright lights" in weight loss supplements world. Catechins like EGCG and caffeine (also present in this formula) are largely reposnsible for green tea's positive effect on weight loss.

However, we're not informed what the green tea is standardized for in the Thermadrol formula.

This makes it difficult to assess just how potent it is—how much of the critical polyphenols and catechins are included in this formula?

2) Citrus aurantium (standardized for synephrine): Once thought to be a credible alternative to ephedra as a fat burner, recent clinical studies suggest otherwise. This study (Am J Cardiol. 2004 Nov 15;94(10):1359-61) on the "Safety and efficacy of citrus aurantium for weight loss" concluded...

"An extensive search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, BIOSIS, and the Cochrane Collaboration Database identified only 1 eligible randomized placebo controlled trial, which followed 20 patients for 6 weeks, demonstrated no statistically significant benefit for weight loss, and provided limited information about the safety of the herb."

3) Hydroxycitric acid or HCA: This ingredient's carb blocking effects have for the most part been discredited. An early study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA. 1998 Nov 11;280(18):1596-600) indicated that hydroxycitric acid has no positive weight loss effects, concluding...

"Garcinia cambogia failed to produce significant weight loss and fat mass loss beyond that observed with placebo."

Of course, there are 18 other ingredients included in the Thermadrol fat burner. Let us take a look at a couple to illustrate the "label dressing" problem I outlined earlier...

4) 5-HTP: The Thermadrol ingredient profile indicates it contains 5 mg/serving of this compound. The good news is that there is a small body of evidence showing 5-HTP can help with weight loss (see Am J Clin Nutr. 1992 Nov;56(5):863-7).

The bad news is that this study used 900 mg of ingredient. Obviously then, the amount included here is simply label dressing (a daily serving contains 1/90th of the amount shown effective in the study). It does nothing to improve the efficacy of this product.

5) L-Carnitine: Data indicating carnitine's effect on weight loss are contradictory. Some suggest it may have a positive effect, others suggest otherwise. One positive study, performed with 3,000 mg of l-carnitine daily, did show positive results (see Metabolism. 2004 Aug;53(8):1002-6). How much carnitine does Thermadrol contain? 150 mg per serving, or 300 mg per day. That's exactly 1/10 the amount shown effective in the study.

6) Cayenne powder: Probably standardized for for capsaicin, a chemical that gives chile peppers their "heat." The theory is that capsaicin "revs" up your metabolism by creating heat, thus burning off extra calories. However, this study (Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2007 Jan;292(1):R77-85. Epub 2006 Jul 13) says it best...

"Capsaicin has been shown to be effective, yet when it is used clinically it requires a strong compliance to a certain dosage, that has not been shown to be feasible yet."

As for the other ingredients?

Licorice root and ginger root aid in digestion, and bioperine increases the effectiveness of the ingredients. B vitamins are essential for fat metabolism, and caffeine is well known and proven thermogenic. Chromium and Gymnemia Sylvestre may help balance blood sugar levels and regulate insulin response, even at this dosage.

When you boil it all down, there are only a few ingredients included in this formula that are both proven to be effective, and present in a potent dosage.

Thermadrol's saving grace is its relatively low price, although I would argue there are better products available for the money. Should you decide to try it, please share your comments and tell us what you think.

Shortly after posting this review I was contacted by Steve Paglianite, President of BigNutrition.com, the exclusive distributor for Thermadrol. Click here to learn what Steve had to say...

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