Cortislim

I’ve been meaning to write an article on this weight loss product for some time now. The marketing dollars that are being spent to promote it are huge, as are the mis-truths being used in the marketing. However, like any issue I write about, I always research it thoroughly before I write about it. There’s a difference between identifying an obviously fraudulent product, and actually being able to dig up the facts as to why. I recently came upon a couple of articles by Phil Kaplan on the subject. Since he has done the research, I figured I’d include sections of his articles here. I’m doing this because the actual articles are longer than necessary, and include details that you probably don’t care about, as well as some anecdotes that really don’t contribute much. If you want to read the original articles go to:

http://www.philkaplan.com/thefitnesstruth/update_08-05-04.htm

Start of Phil Kaplan excerpts:

Cortisol is called "The Stress Hormone," and a new product, Cortislim, promises to combat the fat-accumulating effects of this hormone. Cortisol is not "a bad hormone." It has an important role. In times of trauma, it is vital in facilitating survival.

In regard to the product's marketing, it is 100% accurate that the hormone cortisol leads to increased accumulation of midsection fat, but that doesn't mean that a supplement can reverse the process. Fat loss is a two step process. It must first be released into the bloodstream from an adipose cell, and then it must be transported into the mitochondria of a muscle cell where it can be burned as fuel. Even if stress induced cortisol elevation contributed to the problem, the solution is in all likelihood going to lie in alterations in nutrition and exercise, even if you're already training intensely and "eating right." I don't see anything magical in Cortislim. It's ingredients include a relatively tiny dose of Vitamin C, a small dose of calcium, and an almost insignificant dose of chromium. It also contains magnolia bark, which according the Chinese Herbal medicine has application in treating some digestive issues (not related to cortisol) and gastric bloating. Despite clever marketing, the most prominent ingredients appear to be green tea extract (caffeine) and bitter orange (synephrine).

….synephrine, (is) an isomer of the compound used in Neo-Synephrine nasal spray. Is it safe? Who knows? It's only recently been integrated into thousands of weight loss formulas to replace ephedrine when the FDA pulled it from the shelves. Together with caffeine it can work to alter neurotransmission resulting in decreased appetite (remember, eating less and flushing the body with water is an old and misleading diet trick). Is there reason to suggest that synephrine may be potentially harmful? Absolutely.

…..(the guy in the ad) also says it's important to drink lots of water when you take Cortislim. OK, let's stop there. Why should you drink a lot of water? If CortiSlim did in fact act upon the endocrine system, the glandular system responsible for producing hormones, if it went right to the adrenal gland to limit the production of cortisol, what does ingestion of water have to do with the supposedly hormone-adjusted weight loss? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

"Drinking lots of water" is certainly important, and most Americans fall short on the old rule of eight glasses a day. Products such as the 24-hour miracle diets facilitate water loss by asking users to drink the product, and . . . drink lots and lots of water. Oh, and these diets also suggest that for two days you avoid food. If, for two days, you fail to eat, and you literally flush your body with water, two things happen. One, you go to the bathroom a lot. Two, you lose water weight. The scale may tell you "it's working," but water loss is a common trick used by diet sellers. Take an individual who does not drink even a modest amount of water and start increasing water intake. I guarantee some pounds will drop. Water loss. Temporary and meaningless in the quest of long term weight reduction. If people take a supplement and the scale tells them the pounds are going, they falsely believe the supplement is "working."

One of the ingredients in Cortislim is green tea. Green tea contains alkaloids of our old friend caffeine. I can't find caffeine content on the bottle so I have no idea how much is in there. Caffeine, aside from being a stimulant, is diuretic which further aids in water loss. Interestingly, green tea also contains L-theanine, an amino acid that seems to facilitate relaxation. This can balance out the stimulant effect without impacting the diuretic effect of caffeine.

Elevations in cortisol can lead to increased abdminal adiposity (body fat) but once that fat is stored, it is simply bodyfat, indistinguishable from any other adipose material stored in the body's adipose cells. In order to burn fat, you first have to release it, and the body releases fat systemically, proportionately from all over the body. I don't see how a supplement can target fat that was stored as a direct or indirect result of stress. Do you?

Legal Action
On July 12, 2004, the Superior Court of the State of California, Orange County, initiated a class action suit against the marketers of Cortislim. 27 disappointed customers from 26 different states banded together to begin taking actions to halt the proliferation of what they believe to be fraudulent and deceptive information. The action seeks redress for "fraudulent, deceptive, and otherwise improper advertising." The claimants feel they were deceived into buying a product promoted under the guise of "Scientific Research" when, according to the claimants, the claims are unsubstantiated and the product just "doesn't work."

The California lawsuit documents use some pretty strong language directed at Dr. Talbott. "Talbott has misused the corporate form of Window Rock (the corporation that controls Cortislim) to commit an intentional fraud upon the public, and in an effort to defeat the ends of justice and otherwise evade the law . . . "

End of Phil Kaplan excerpts:

So, to summarize, Cortislim is just an inferior version of the ephedra based weight loss supplements that were banned by the FDA this year. Several other ingredients were added to confuse the consumer and try to add credibility to the claims that the product is actually causing a reduction in body fat by decreasing cortisol levels. If you are losing weight from this product, its from water loss, coupled with the mild appetite suppression and CNS stimulation provided by the possibly dangerous effects of the synephrine and caffeine. Just like with the various Ephedra products, once you stop taking this product, any weight you lost, you will just regain once the stimulant effects disappear. Also, as with the ephedra based products, if you take them long enough, your body will actually decrease it’s own thyroid output, causing you to regain even more weight than you originally lost.