10 heavyweights for weight management-Part 1

By Bill Sardi June 22, 2010

Weight management remains one of the leading reasons consumers turn to supplements. Bill Sardi investigates ingredients that should find their way into your next product launch — be it a supplement, beverage or food

Dietary supplements are frequently utilized by adults seeking to control their weight. A survey of 3,500 people trying to lose weight found 70 per cent attempt to lose weight on their own without a doctor's assistance and weight-conscious adults prefer to use supplements rather than drugs to control weight. One third of those surveyed used supplements only and just 15 per cent used prescription drugs for weight-loss management.

Some supplements users are rightly concerned about the safety of weight-loss drugs, while doctors appear to be more concerned about the safety of supplements. The withdrawal of the herbal stimulant ephedra from the marketplace gave a bad name to all supplements used for weight management or blood-sugar control.

There are more than 100 supplements that are suggested for weight loss, including natural diuretics, such as uva ursi, juniper berries and dandelion root, or other remedies that work in a variety of ways, such as chitosan, guar gum, ginseng, green tea, chromium, conjugated linoleic acid, hydroxycitric acid, psyllium, fiber and many others.

In general, dietary supplements are not highly regarded, but neither are weight-loss drugs. In fact, the short list of approved weight-loss drugs, all of which are fraught with undesirable side effects, prompts many people to search for safer alternatives.

Chromium: Chromium is a trace mineral involved in the production of glucose tolerance factor. There is considerable interest in chromium as a weight-loss remedy, but chromium supplements have often produced disappointing results in published studies.1

Most weight-loss studies last no more than a year, and after a dietary or supplement regimen is completed, patients often go back to their old habits and regain weight. But a study recently published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine investigated the slong-term use of 14 dietary supplements marketed as weight-loss aids. The results of this study are noteworthy.2

Among overweight or obese men and women, long-term use of chromium and vitamins B6 and B12 was associated with modulating effects on weight. For example, weight gain over a 10-year period for obese men was 11.7 pounds among chromium nonusers whereas chromium users (150mcg or more per day) lost 3.1 pounds. Among obese women, chromium produced a 3.2-pound weight gain vs 14.1 pounds for the non-users.

In another recent study among overweight depressed patients, 600mcg/day chromium picolinate reduced carbohydrate craving and overall appetite increase.3

Among five obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome, 1,000mcg/day chromium picolinate given without change in diet or activity levels caused a 38 per cent improvement in the glucose disposal rate, which measures insulin sensitivity.4

References
1. Pittler MH, et al. Chromium picolinate for reducing body weight: meta-analysis of randomized trials. Int J Obes Rel Metabol Disord 2003;27:522-9.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12664086
2. Nachtigal MC, et al. Dietary supplements and weight control in a middle-age population. J Alt Compl Med 2005;11:909-15.
3. Docherty JP, et al. A double-blind, placebo-controlled, exploratory trial of chromium picolinate in atypical depression: effect on carbohydrate craving. J Psychiatric Prac 2005;11:302-14. http://www.functionalingredientsmag.com/content/print.aspx?topic=10-weight-management-supplements
4. Lydic ML, et al. Chromium picolinate improves insulin sensitivity in obese subjects with polycystic ovary syndrome. Fertility Sterility 2006;86:243-6.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=16730719

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