Nutraceuticals for Weight Loss

Pills for weight loss!? Most don’t work. Some that do work, work in ways that are not good. But there are some things that really can help. We know this from high quality placebo controlled studies on actual people.

Nutraceuticals can safely help people lose more weight and keep it off longer. They work in several ways including: 

    • Increase basal metabolic rate with thyroid disease
    • Lower appetite
    • Break down stored liver fat
    • Reduce the absorption of fat and carbohydrate

The nutraceuticals with the greatest amount of evidence include:

    • Choline
    • Nigella
    • White Kidney Bean Extract

These are combined with other synergistic ingredients in a blend called Metabolism Boost. It is made to improve weight loss among those with thyroid disease or adrenal dysfunction. You can learn more about it here

Following are some details about how these ingredients can help weight loss.

Choline

It may soon be considered one of the b-vitamins! Choline is a conditionally essential nutrient chemically related to the B-Vitamins folate, pyridoxine, and B12. It can be synthesized by the body and found in dietary sources. 

Many diets lack sufficient choline and many individuals are unable to metabolize the amounts they require. Thyroid disease has been shown to impair the body’s ability to produce choline.1

Choline is an essential nutrient related to the water-soluble B-complex vitamins, folate, pyridoxine, and B12, and to the essential amino acid, methionine. It is synthesized in the body as well as consumed in the diet.

Representative Study

In a double blind human clinical trial, 21 female athletes were given supplements with choline or placebo for seven days. None were instructed to undergo dietary modifications. 

Compared with those on placebo, those taking choline had lower leptin levels, saw a 3% reduction in body fat. These changes came without the loss in performance typical of weight loss.2

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1 Reduced myo-inositol and total choline measured with cerebral MRS in acute thyrotoxic Graves’ disease
T.V. Elberling, E.R. Danielsen, Å.K. Rasmussen, U. Feldt-Rasmussen, G. Waldemar, C. Thomsen
Neurology Jan 2003, 60 (1) 142-145; DOI: 10.1212/01.WNL.0000038911.07643.BF

2 Elsawy G, Abdelrahman O, Hamza A. Effect of choline supplementation on rapid weight loss and biochemical variables among female taekwondo and judo athletes. J Hum Kinet. 2014;40:77-82. Published 2014 Apr 9. doi:10.2478/hukin-2014-0009

Nigella

Nigella sativa, also known as black cumin, is a culinary seed. In many parts of the world it is considered a cure-all, and for good reason.

It has been used for thousands of years as a traditional medicine and source of cooking oil in the Middle east. Its main medical properties have been as an anti-inflammatory and immune regulator. Since it has a long history of use as a food, nigella is considered safe for general usage over a wide range of dosages.

Evidence shows that Nigella helps weight loss through an improvement in the breakdown of fat within liver cells and an increase in insulin sensitivity by muscle cells. It also may act as a lipase inhibitor, lowering the absorption of fat from the diet. 

Nigella is known to block the production of fatty acids. It is considered one of the strongest known botanical medications for reducing the formation of triglycerides (fats) and blocking lipase, the enzyme that forms them.3

Representative Studies

In a recent clinical trial, people with thyroid disease were randomly distributed to receive a supplement containing either nigella or a placebo. Those receiving nigella saw significant improvements in body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, and hip circumference.

Despite the fact that there were no significant dietary differences between those taking nigella and those on placebo, none of these weight loss benefits were observed in participants in the placebo group.4 The beneficial effects of nigella appeared to be independent of any dietary changes. 

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3 Mollazadeh H, Mahdian D, Hosseinzadeh H. Medicinal plants in treatment of hypertriglyceridemia: A review based on their mechanisms and effectiveness. Phytomedicine. 2019 Feb;53:43-52. doi: 10.1016/j.phymed.2018.09.024. Epub 2018 Sep 5. PMID: 30668411.

4 Farhangi MA, Dehghan P, Tajmiri S, Abbasi MM. The effects of Nigella sativa on thyroid function, serum Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) – 1, Nesfatin-1 and anthropometric features in patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2016 Nov 16;16(1):471. doi: 10.1186/s12906-016-1432-2. PMID: 27852303; PMCID: PMC5112739.

WKBE

Not the same as the red kidney beans in chili. These have lots of data proving they help people lose weight.

White kidney beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) are similar to the common cannellini bean and are a rich source of resistant starch. Extracts of white kidney beans have been shown to slow the absorption of carbohydrates into the bloodstream. 

A recent review of multiple clinical trials on white kidney bean extract (WKBE) showed that:

    • “This particular dietary supplement has demonstrated its potential and ability to cause weight loss in numerous clinical trials in humans”5
    • It appears to help by lowering the activity of the enzyme amylase which breaks complex carbohydrates into simple carbohydrates. They also reduce the rate at which carbohydrates leave the stomach and enter the small intestines. 
    • WKBE also improves the gut microbiota. Some of these improvements have direct benefits to weight management, others can help the recovery of autoimmune diseases.6

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5 Udani J, Tan O, Molina J. Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of a Proprietary Alpha-Amylase Inhibitor from White Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) on Weight and Fat Loss in Humans. Foods. 2018;7(4):63. Published 2018 Apr 20. doi:10.3390/foods7040063

6 Nolan R, Shannon OM, Robinson N, Joel A, Houghton D, Malcomson FC. It’s No Has Bean: A Review of the Effects of White Kidney Bean Extract on Body Composition and Metabolic Health. Nutrients. 2020;12(5):1398. Published 2020 May 13. doi:10.3390/nu12051398

Representative study

In a typical study, 62 overweight and obese adults took a supplement containing white kidney bean extract or a placebo for 9 months. 

Compared to placebo, those taking WKBE experienced numerous health benefits including loss of  body weight, loss of body fat, a lower waist circumference, lower blood pressure, and lower total cholesterol.7

These ingredients are combined with other synergistic ingredients in a blend called Metabolism Boost. It is made to improve weight loss among those with thyroid disease or adrenal dysfunction. You can learn more about it here

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7 Birketvedt GS, Travis A, Langbakk B, Florholmen JR. Dietary supplementation with bean extract improves lipid profile in overweight and obese subjects. Nutrition. 2002 Sep;18(9):729-33. doi: 10.1016/s0899-9007(02)00831-6. PMID: 12297207.