Bitter orange fat burners - do they work and are they safe? (part 1)

There are numerous weight loss supplements and pills on the market that claim miraculous results for losing weight often with no or little effort or other dietary changes.  This post looks into the effectiveness and safety of a popular herbal thermogenic fat burner and in particular Bitter Orange.

 

What is a Thermogenic Fat Burner

Thermogenic fat burners are drugs or herbal supplements that are meant to increase our basel metabolic rate such that our bodies burns more energy causing us to shed (or burn) body fat.

Ephedrine is such a substance and occurs naturally in Ephedra Sinica ( or Ma Huang) it now more commonly made synthetically for various medicines.

Ephedrine Recent History and Health Dangers

Ephedrine is combined with caffeine and asprin to create ECA stack. Dietary supplements including ECA were popular in the 1990s and early 2000s for people who wanted to lose weight.

As of 2004 the US Food and Drug Administration had 18,000 reports on Ephedrine's adverse effects on people's health. It has since been banned to be sold as part of dietary supplements. In many other countries is use is strictly controlled. The adverse health effects are serious and some are as follows:-

• Cardiovascular: tachycardia, cardiac arrhythmias, angina pectoris, vasoconstriction with hypertension
• Dermatological: flushing, sweating, acne vulgaris
• Gastrointestinal: nausea
• Genitourinary: decreased urination due to vasoconstriction of renal arteries, difficulty urinating is not uncommon,
• Nervous system: restlessness, confusion, insomnia, delusions, paranoia, hostility, panic, agitation
• Respiratory: dyspnea, pulmonary edema

The linked news paper article Michelle's story tells the story of one 46 year old woman who after taking diet pills containing Ephedrine has developed a heart and lung condition with which she had only had a life expectancy of 10 years left.

Bitter Orange

After the banning of Ephedrine many thermogenic dietary supplements and pill formulations replaced Ephedrine with Bitter Orange. The active ingredient in Bitter Orange is Synephrine.

Fat burners containing Bitter Orange Synephrine are legally sold today April 2015 in many countries both in stores and online as is the case in US and UK.

They are sold in a multitude of different guises. The specific quantities of Bitter Orange and other ingredients vary and if you do intend to buy any of these products you would be well advised to investigate the individual contents in detail and not just follow the advice of the retailers.


There is much controversy about Bitter Orange and its safety for use. The health dangers of Bitter Orange and it's active ingredient Synephrine have been claimed
to be similar to that of Ephedrine. Is that a reasonable conclusion or is it a kick back from the Ephedrine problems.  

What Do the Expert Studies and Professional Scientific and Health Authorities Say about Bitter Orange

Is Bitter Orange safe and Does it Work?

Continued.....Bitter orange fat burners - do they work & are they safe Pt2