What Are the Ingredients in Lipozene?


 by Jill Corleone, RDN, LD

It sure would be nice to simply pop a pill to lose the weight. And since it has only one active ingredient, Lipozene may sound like a safe way to go. But when it comes to weight loss, it's never that simple, and there's no pill that makes pounds drop effortlessly.

It sure would be nice to simply pop a pill to lose the weight. And since it has only one active ingredient, Lipozene may sound like a safe way to go. But when it comes to weight loss, it's never that simple, and there's no pill that makes pounds drop effortlessly. Before you spend your hard-earned money on a weight-loss supplement, talk to your doctor about what might work best for you.

What's in Lipozene

There's only one active ingredient in Lipozene, and that's amorphophallus konjac, also known as glucomannan, which is a type of soluble fiber that comes from the root of the konjac plant. This soluble fiber is used as a laxative and may help improve blood sugar and cholesterol levels. Although the root vegetable is most often found in supplements, it's also used to make a low-cal, low-carb noodle called shirataki noodles.

Lipozene also contains the inactive ingredients gelatin, magnesium silicate and stearic acid. Gelatin offers no nutritional value or weight-loss benefit and is used to add bulk to the supplement. Magnesium silicate is added during manufacturing to help prevent the other powdered ingredients from caking. Stearic acid is a fatty acid that also acts as an anti-caking ingredient.

The makers of Lipozene suggest you take two capsules up to three times a day with an 8-ounce glass of water, about 30 minutes before each meal.

Can the Ingredient Help You Lose?

The main ingredient in Lipozene helps fill you up, which is supposed to help you eat less and lose weight. As a soluble fiber, glucomannan absorbs water in the stomach to form a type of gel, which can help you feel more full. The fiber also slows the digestion of food, including sugar, which may also aid in appetite control.

However, though all this might be true about the active ingredient in the weight-loss supplement, the evidence to support its benefits for truly helping you lose weight is lacking, according to a 2014 review published in Journal of the American College of Nutrition. An analysis of eight studies on glucomannan and weight loss showed that people who used glucomannan lost only about 0.5 pound more than those who took a placebo. Therefore, the authors concluded that the supplement was no better at helping you lose weight than a placebo and that more rigorous studies are needed to further evaluate the fiber.

Things to Consider With Lipozene

When you're considering a diet supplement for weight loss, you also need to think about the possible side effects. You shouldn't take any diet pill containing fiber such as glucomannan, specifically in a tablet form, if you have any disorder of the esophagus, according to the University of Michigan Health Center. Because glucomannan absorbs water, it has the potential to expand in the esophagus or intestines, causing an obstruction. In addition, because it slows stomach emptying, glucomannan can affect blood sugar levels, so anyone with diabetes who is taking the supplement should be monitored by a doctor.

As a source of soluble fiber, Lipozene may cause abdominal pain and gas due to the fermentation of the fiber by the friendly bacteria in your gut. Some people may also experience diarrhea or constipation.

Try Diet and Exercise

Weight loss is never as easy as many supplement makers suggest. Weight loss takes work on your part. It requires a change in how you eat and exercise so that you're creating a caloric deficit, forcing your body to burn fat for fuel.

A pound of fat contains 3,500 calories, which means creating a 500-calorie deficit every day for one week should help you lose 1 pound. The easiest way to create this deficit so you don't feel deprived is by eating less and moving more. Find easy ways to cut 250 calories from your usual intake such as swapping the half-and-half in your morning coffee for low-fat milk to save 15 calories per tablespoon, drinking seltzer with a spritz of lemon instead of your usual can of soda at lunch to eliminate another 150 calories and adding 2 tablespoons of fat-free salad dressing to your greens instead of your regular salad dressing to save another 60 calories at dinner.

Being active can help you burn the other 250 calories. A 155-pound person burns 250 calories taking a 30-minute high-impact aerobics class or gardening for 45 minutes. Jumping rope or swimming laps for 20 minutes can help a 185-pound person burn 250 calories.

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