SlimQuick Weight Loss Supplement Review

“SlimQuick is the world’s first advanced fat burner designed specifically for a woman’s body”. Well, that’s at least what the SlimQuick website says. I thought SlimQuick was interesting because the product targets only women rather than everybody. I was also interested in SlimQuick because the website claims that SlimQuick is “clinically proven to cut body fat on women” .

That is a powerful statement to make so in this review I had two main goals:

1. I wanted to review SlimQuick and see if I can discover any proof that it lives up to its claims
2. I wanted to see if I could find any good proof that “SlimQuick itself is a fat burner or if SlimQuick had been shown to burn fat or promote weight loss n woman – or any human.

According to the SlimQuick website, SlimQuick is actually a family of weight loss supplements.

But, rather than reviewing all of these products, I want to look at the main SlimQuick – the product that’s being touted on TV, radio and the internet.

If, after reading this, you want me to review one of the other SlimQuick products let me know and I’ll take a look at it for you.

SlimQuick Ingredients

The SlimQuick website (slimquickonline.com) claims that the product is composed of the following ingredients

Nutratherm Thermogenic Complex composed of:

• Micronized Green Tea Leaf Extract (caffeine containing stimulant)
• Caffeine (stimulant)
• Cocoa bean extract (caffeine containing stimulant)
• Yerba mate extract (caffeine containing stimulant)
• Clary Sage extract (herb. No known stimulant effect)

Nutratherm

The Nutratherm Thermogenic Complex appears to be mostly made up of caffeine. Most fat burners and weight loss supplements include caffeine and/or caffeine containing ingredients because caffeine pulls fat from fat cells to be used for energy. Caffeine also seems to reduce feelings of pain. Caffeine also might cause people to do more exercise – and obviously use more calories.

Estrotrim Hormone Balancing Complex

This is composed of:

• Soy isoflavones (hormone-like compounds from soy )

• Vitex agnus-castus . Vitex agnus-castus is also known as chasteberry. This herb have components that appear to have estrogen-like activity and seem to impact various hormones such as prolactin and other menstrual cycle hormones. Some have speculated that this herb may reduce the effectiveness of birth control pills.

Estrotrim

I could not find any peer-reviewed research that any of the ingredients in the estrotrim hormone balancing complex promotes weight loss.

Cortifem

Composed of:

• Beta-sisosterol . I could be wrong but I think they meant to say “beta sitosterol, which, most men have heard of because of evidence that it may help enlarged prostate glands (women don’t have prostate glands). Beta sitosterol also might reduce “bad cholesterol” (LDL). I could find no evidence that this compound impacts weight loss in women or anyone. I may be wrong in my assumption about what they are referring to but I have never seen “beta sisosterol” anywhere in the literature of supplements. Is it a typo on the website? I am not sure.
  

• Phophatidylserine. A fat that’s important in cell membranes and the brain. Some research finds that this compound may help people with Alzheimer’s disease. I could find no study linking this compound to weight loss in women, men or animals.
• Rhodiola Rosea root extract. A couple of studies have noted that rose wood seems to reduce anxiety and fatigue. These studies used specific extracts of rose wood at dosages of between 100-340 mg a day. The SlimQuick website does not say what extracts of rose wood they use or the amount of this compound it contains. I could find no research that rose wood promotes weight loss in humans or animals.
• Theanine. This is an amino acid. Theanine is of interest to researchers because it appears to reduce feelings of anxiety. This is interesting because being anxious or stressed might cause people to overeat. That being said I could not find any research on theanine and weigh loss in humans or animals. Theanine also appears to lower blood pressure in some studies and as such will may be found in supplements marketed for heart health.

The name “Cortifem” makes reference to the hormone cortisol which is released during times of stress. However I see no scientific proof for any of the ingredients in cortifem or the combination of ingredients in cortifem block or reduce cortisol levels. Likewise I don’t see any peer reviewed proof that the ingredients foster weight loss.

Aquaplex Water Removal Complex

Composed of:

• Dandelion leaf and root. Dandelion appears to have an anti-inflammatory effect and has been studied for possibility helping reduce urinary tract infections. Dandelion also appears to act as a diuretic and this is probably where “Aquaplex” is getting its name from. Inflammation is a popular topic with research suggesting that a low grade body-wide inflammation of the blood vessels may increase the odds of heart disease. Visceral fat also is known to release chemicals that increase inflammation. Because of this some wonder if inflammation causes people to gain weight. Because of its anti-inflammatory properties, I’m guessing this (and because it’s a diuretic) may be a reason for the incorporation of dandelion. Whether or not I’m correct, I’m aware of no research that proves inflammation causes weight gain or obesity. Because it’s a diuretic, dandelion may help foster fluid loss and thus some short term weight loss especially when combined with caffeine which is also a diuretic.
• Horse tail. Like dandelion, horse tail is also diuretic. Some research suggests that horsetail may reduce levels of the B vitamin, thiamine which is needed to process and use carbohydrates. People with type II diabetes may be taking a medication called glucophage (also known as metformin) which might also reduce thiamin levels. In theory this might be a problem but I’m not aware of any research to confirm this. I thought I would mention this because most people with type II diabetes are overweight.
• Uva Ursi extract. At least one study from the early 1990’s found that Uva Ursi helped urinary tract infections, possibly, at least in part, due to its reported ability to act as a diuretic. This fruit is composed of many compounds. Some of these appear to have antibiotic effects, which again may help explain its role in reducing urinary tract infections. Other, older, research hints that large amounts of uva ursi (much more than is found in SlimQuick) may be toxic to the liver.
• French maritime pine extract. The more familiar name for this ingredient is pycnogenol. This ingredient is an antioxidant (it reduces free radicals). Pycnogenol has been studied for a wide range of conditions ranging from erectile dysfunction and high blood pressure to heart disease and diabetes, to name a few. I could not locate any peer reviewed proof that pycnogenol helps weight loss in humans or that it works as a diuretic. That being said, because of its possible helpful effects on conditions that may plague overweight individuals (diabetes, heart disease etc.) in theory, there may be a reason to incorporate it into a weight loss product.

However, the amount of pycnogenol found in SlimQuick is probably less than what research indicates may help these other conditions. For example, the SlimQuick website indicates that SlimQuick contains 40 mg of the Aquaplex compound. Research finds that much more than this may be needed to help blood pressure in those with hypertension. Also, of that 40 mg of Aquaplex, pycnogenol is only one of several ingredients which probably means the amount of pycnogenol is likely to be less than 40 mg.

Xtend Absorption Complex

• Cellulose ethers. This is essentially fiber. Cellulose makes up the indigestible portions of plant cell walls. We can’t digest it and we do not get any energy from it. Cellulose is basically “roughage” as my mom used to say. Research finds that people who eat more fiber in their diet (fruits and vegetables) tend to be healthier and lose weight and keep that weight off for the long run.

• Piper nigum. This is the fancy name for black pepper. Weight loss products often contain spicy foods or ingredients in the hopes that the spicy food will increase metabolism (how fast we burn calories). There is probably very little black pepper in SlimQuick. That being said people should know that black pepper might interact with various medications such as those used to treat seizures.

• Vitamin D (as Cholcalciferol). We make vitamin D when we are exposed to sunlight. Research finds many people may not get enough vitamin D-including those who are overweight. Vitamin D helps us absorb calcium and may also help with a variety of conditions such as MS, diabetes and maybe even heart disease. Several studies find vitamin D can help reduce falls in older adults as well. I was unable to locate any research that vitamin D promotes weight loss. SlimQuick contains 2000 IU of vitamin D. That is a lot.  People who take a multivitamin, drink milk or use dairy products are getting vitamin D from these sources also.  While vitamin D is considered pretty safe some worry if too much of a good thing is not so good. Just to be safe, have your doctor check your vitamin D levels before taking this much vitamin D.

• Vitamin B-6 (as Pyridoxine Hydrochloride). Some research has found that vitamin B 6 may help PMS but the amount used is a lot more than that found in SlimQuick. I could find no peer previewed proof that vitamin B 6 helps weight loss.

• Folic Acid. I could locate no peer-reviewed evidence that folic acid helps weight loss. Yes, folic acid helps reduce birth defects but a concern is brewing that folic acid supplements and folic acid fortified foods may increase the risk of colon cancer and prostate cancer. Unless you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant, I think it’s best to get folic acid naturally from food (which is in the form folate). Good sources of folate are fruits and vegetables. Based on the research linking this vitamin to cancer, my opinion is that folic acid  should not be used in any weight loss supplement until we know more.

• Vitamin B-12 (as Cyanocobalamin). Many weight loss supplements use vitamin B 12 because people think it gives them more energy. Some also think this vitamin helps weight loss. It doesn’t. Read my vitamin B 12 and weight loss review .

• Calcium (as Calcium Hydroxide/Carbonate). Some research finds calcium from dairy sources might help weight loss. Other research finds that it doesn’t. As such nobody is really sure if it works or not but of the research that says yes, all of it says its best to use low fat dairy products rather than calcium supplements. Calcium is needed for strong bones and women may not be getting enough. One 8 oz cup of milk has 300 mg of calcium, which is double the amount that is found in SlimQuick.

The SlimQuick website and advertisements say that the product is supposed to work specifically with a “woman’s body” but I could not find any peer-reviewed research that any of the ingredients in SlimQuick were found to promote weight loss in a woman. Likewise when I searched the National Library of Medicine for “SlimQuick“, no peer-review studies on the product could be found. I could also find no peer-reviewed studies comparing SlimQuick to other weight loss products. The website does say that SlimQuick is most effective when combined with diet and exercise but I could not find any study on the SlimQuick website that compared how effective it is when diet and exercise were used vs. when diet and exercise were not used.

What do you think?

Tagged as: Slimquick