Do Supplements Help Weight Loss

A question posed to Dr. Michael Wald on Experts.com

Hello Bud:

Question:

Can Certain Supplements Help Promote Weight Loss?

Dr. Wald’s Response:

Your question is one that I hear often. “Which supplements are best for weight loss?”  Well, the answer is that NO supplements are effective for weight loss…at least, not by themselves. Raspberry ketones, green coffee bean extract, African mango and even many of the nutrients found within my product Thermogenic Factors, will not by themselves, CAUSE weight loss in a person. I also have many other products, some of those you have asked about, provided by my company Blood Logic, Inc., but I would never promote them alone for weight loss.

Sure, you will have people claim that they have experienced weight loss from various nutritional supplements, but when I speak with some of these people, and investigate their claims, I have found without exception, that they have misunderstood how the weight loss has occurred or even if there was weight loss at all!

There are many influences upon weight loss including, but not limited to, genetics, stress levels, type and extend or lack of exercise, pollution/toxicity, hormonal imbalances, inflammation and weight gain as a result of loss of lean body mass from hundreds of various health problems and diseases (lean body mass is where fat is burned). Read on…

If a person is overweight, but is sensitive to gluten, then the supplements that have been mentioned above are just wrong!  If a person is overweight and has a blood sugar problem, they need more healthy proteins, chromium and low glycemic foods – and the supplements for “weight loss” will not work. Get the picture? I’m sure that you do. Here are some other important considerations:

Hormonal Imbalances: Deficiencies of testosterone, DHEA, thyroid hormones, hormone and/or progesterone for example can and often do slow or prevent weight loss efforts. Blood, urine and/or salivary hormone tests may all be required to get a complete handle on your hormonal problems. Keep in mind that foods and exercise affect hormone levels! However, if hormone levels are imbalanced, the effects of even the most carefully planned out diet calorically and exercise plan will be blunted.

Toxicity: Many toxins are fat soluble, which means that they are stored by the body in fatty tissues such as the breast tissue and the fat around organs. Weight loss efforts are often slowed or prevented when the issue of toxicity is not adequately handled. Not all detoxification programs are the same, and they should not be!! Our detox plans are toxin-based which means that tests are done to identify some predominant toxins in your body and a food, exercise, supplement and lifestyle plan invented for your health, detoxification and long term weight loss needs.

Exercise: So you think you exercise enough and exactly as you should? Maybe or maybe not. Exercises should be based on your overall health and weight loss goals, and not all exercises will affect you and your metabolic rate the same. If you have never heard of muscle confusion or lactic acid threshold, then you are probably not exercising correctly. Also, your exercise, food and nutritional supplement plan must all be coordinated together in a way that is, “do-able”, relatively enjoyable and results ultimately in the desired weight loss from fat and water weight and not from lean body tissue.

Hope that this all helps,
Dr. Michael Wald, DC, MD, CDN, DACBN, CNS, CCN
Blood Detective
Integrated Medicine of Chappaqua
29 King St. 2nd Flr.
Chappaqua, NY 10514

914-552-1442
www.intmedny.com
www.BloodDetective.com