Your Best Abs

We love pills in this country. If there is a way to take a supplement to augment ourselves, most of us would pt it in our mouths without a second thought. However, doing so without proper research is not only stupid, but it can also be dangerous. There are a number of products out on the market that make bold promises, and the most famous of these are “fat burners”. The question is: do they really work, and if so, are they safe?

Fat Burners work on a simple principle: use the body’s metabolism to burn calories. Most of these utilize specific compounds that are stimulants, so that a person is burning through their energy reserves, and thus encourage weight loss. The most common of these are based on a chemical called Ephedrine, most commonly used to aid in concentration (sometimes referred to as “pep” pill). This drug has the added benefit of being an appetite suppressant, effectively making it ideal for weight loss. However, these types of fat burners can cause serious side effects, increasing the risk of cardiovascular damage, respiratory problems, as well as can damage the nervous system. When used with certain prescription drugs, the risk of these problems occurring is greatly increased. Ephedrine is not illegal in the US, although it is highly regulated since it can be used by illicit drug makers for the production of Ecstasy.

The vast majority of fat burners use this drug to some degree, but a large number of them actually have only a tiny amount of the drug, thereby having no real effect. The other problem is that even though your body may be burning fat when you consume these types of pills, your body will often compensate by severely lowering your resting metabolic rate. This is because of a principle called “homeostasis”, which seeks to achieve a balance for our body. In other words, the more you try to change its characteristics chemically, the more it will compensate by lowering your metabolism.

Supplements are not heavily regulated in the US, since they do not fall under the category of food, and as such, there can often be dangerous additives that can be present in any pill form. This is why supplements should be carefully researched before being consumed, as they might present a health hazard.

I am not denying that fat burners work, but there is something to be said for achieving result the natural way. It’s not only far less dangerous, but the results will last far longer than if weight loss is achieved chemically rather than through hard work. The human body is highly adaptive, and as such, the effect of fat burners diminish over time, forcing a person to consume more and more of the drug to have the desired effect. It’s wiser to increase one’s metabolism the old fashion way: through rewarding workouts that make you feel good and that are good for your body. Like anything else, there are no shortcuts to great results: just hard work.