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Hydroxycut—What it is, How it Has Changed, and Can it Help With Weight Loss

 
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Hydroxycut is a weight loss formula that claims to help suppress hunger while also boosting metabolism. It also is supposed to increase our energy levels while keeping our blood sugar on an even keel. As is the case with just about every other diet formula or pill, users are supposed to also eat a healthy diet and make sure they are keeping up with their exercise routines, which allegedly will help shed extra body fat.

Hydroxycut is also, quite frankly, a rather confusing product to research as it has gone through at least two reformations, and it’s difficult at times to determine if articles and reviews are referring to old or new ingredient combinations. Hydroxycut originally contained ephedra but once this ingredient was banned the company came out with a new formula. It has since been changed again due to issues last year involving potential liver damage (we’ll get to this later in the article).

Basically, there are and/or have been numerous forms of Hydroxycut over the years, ranging from capsules to drink packets, all with different names.

According to the Dietspotlight website, a site that reviews popular diet pills, the main ingredients of Hydroxycut’s second formula were green tea, Garcinia cambogia, and gymnema sylvestre. Green tea is said to promote weight loss by helping to burn calories, and Garcinia cambogia are herbal remedies that may help stabilize blood sugar.

Hydroxycut has billed itself as the number one selling weight loss drug in the United States. Dietspotlight concluded that Hydroxycut’s three chief advantages are that it is easily found in drugstores, the main website supplies a lot of information about the product, and that it is easy to take.

The disadvantages listed by Dietspotlight’s website include that the product claims to be effective for weight loss only when users also follow a healthy diet and exercise plan, some people who try Hydroxycut actually gain weight instead of losing it, and that some people have had a bad reaction to certain ingredients in the formula.

Speaking of which, in May of 2009 CNN ran a story on Hydroxycut and how the product has been linked to liver damage. The story said that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was looking at 23 reports that Hydroxycut led to serious liver injuries and one death in 2007 of a young man living in the Southwest. CNN reported that the FDA was recalling 14 of the Hydroxycut products, and the company voluntarily went along with it, adding that these cases are relatively rare when you consider how many people have used Hydroxycut with no ill effects.

Now once again, Hydroxycut has released yet another new formula, and from what I can tell from my research, it contains things like Goji extract, blueberry concentrate, pomegranate and caffeine. Reviews so far are mixed and it seems the new formula does not contain any ingredients that claim to burn fat.

Have you taken Hydroxycut? If so, which formula did you take—the original with ephedra, the second one with gymnema sylvestre, or the newest one with blueberry concentrate? Did you have good results with it or did the caffeine make you feel too jittery? I look forward to reading your reviews.

References:

www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=99882

www.fatburner.ws/fat-burners/thermogenic-hydroxycut-advanced-review/

www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/05/01/hydroxycut.fda.recall/index.html

www.dietspotlight.com/hydroxycut-review/

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We value and respect our HERWriters' experiences, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice, although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.

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