Fat burners are dietary supplements or artificial ingredients that claim to burn stubborn fat from the body. These supplements are believed to help you slim down. Some fat burners are naturally found including caffeine and yohimbine. Over-the-counter fat burners seem to work magically to fight obesity and most people believe that their benefits outweigh the risks. Fat burner supplements may be neither safe nor effective, also getting any extra supplements can interfere with metabolism and overall health. Moreover, our body can burn fat naturally through diet and exercise.

Read this article to learn more about fat burner supplements, their uses, and side effects.

What Are Fat Burner Supplements?

Fat burner supplements work by triggering the resting metabolic rate. The presence of active compounds supports burning fat and shedding those stubborn kilos. However, more studies are needed to know about the impact of ingredients in fat burner supplements on your heart rate and blood pressure.

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Fat burners claim to impede fat or carbohydrate absorption, curb appetite, or speed up metabolism. But the effectiveness of these supplements is still debated. Though they are supposed to promote weight loss, there is not enough evidence to support this. Moreover, some of these supplements can also interfere with other medications a person is taking.

Also Read: 6 Ways To Boost Your Metabolism

How Do Fat Burner Supplements Work?

Fat burners work by increasing blood pressure and overall energy expenditure, which may in the long run result in weight loss. However, you should be cautious if you are hypertensive, as these supplements can elevate your blood pressure levels. Also, studies have shown that fat burners don’t magically disappear fat cells, instead, they can work by supporting weight loss in other ways including:

• Triggering metabolism
• Decreasing the amount of fat, the body absorbs
• Suppressing appetite

Well, fat burners work in theory, but it all depends on the ingredients. As fat burner supplements are not approved by the FDA, you wouldn’t know the elements it contain and they can claim without factual evidence to support the statements.

Also Read: Belly Fat Burners From Your Kitchen Shelf

Common Ingredients in Fat Burner Supplements

Fat burner supplements are usually available in the form of tablets or burn capsules, which comprise a broad range of vitamins, minerals, fiber, caffeine, herbs, and other plant compounds.

Natural Fat Burners

Five natural and most popular fat burners backed by science that you can have in many readily available forms include:

Caffeine

Caffeine is one of the most common ingredients used as fat burner supplements as it stimulates the nervous system and possibly helps burn calories. The natural caffeine in coffee and tea is safe when taken in moderate amounts. Also, coffee without added sugar or additives contains several antioxidants that deliver umpteen health incentives. Several pieces of evidence have revealed that caffeine can trigger the metabolism, promote body fat reduction, lower BMI and aid the body to use fat to produce more energy.

Green Tea Extract

Green tea extract is famed for its incredible health benefits including weight loss by burning fat. Green tea contains fair amounts of caffeine and potent antioxidant catechin that are known to trigger metabolism and burn fat. Also, studies reveal that catechins in green tea work together with caffeine to boost metabolism and promote thermogenesis, which lets the body burn fat to produce energy.

Also Read: Green Tea: Is There A Perfect Time To Drink This Healthy Beverage?

Protein Powder

Protein is a vital element needed to support weight loss and burn fat. Protein-rich foods help to trigger metabolism and suppress appetite by decreasing the hunger-stimulating hormone ghrelin.

Studies reveal that people who consumed a high-protein diet had remarkably reduced body weight than those who did not. Moreover, even those who did not regularly maintain a high-protein diet but had increased protein consumption lost weight.

Protein powders are available in several ranges that are sugar-free and low in artificial additives. So, try incorporating protein powder as a supplement to your diet and ensure that you’re constantly getting adequate amounts about 25 to 50 grams of protein powder per day.

Soluble Fiber

Soluble fiber is a type of fibre that forms a gel in the gut by absorbing water. This process facilitates to increase production of hormones like GLP-1 that make one feel satiated while suppressing the appetite hormone ghrelin. Complementing the diet with a natural source of soluble fibre may help the system to take in minimal fat and calories, thus helping to burn excess fat.

Yohimbine

Yohimbine is obtained from the bark of a tree called Pausinystalia. Yohimbe is a potent aphrodisiac and a powerful fat burner. This natural ingredient works by blocking alpha-2 adrenergic receptors to which adrenaline usually binds and lets the adrenaline stay longer in the system to burn fat and produce energy.

Fat Burning Foods

Including some of these fat-burning foods in your daily meal plan may have positive impacts. These foods are best known to increase metabolic rate modestly, burn fat, and augment overall well-being,

Fatty fish like salmon, sardines, and mackerel are an abundant source of omega-3 fatty acids which support burning fat and reduce inflammation. Also, laden with protein, adding fish in your meal plan helps one to feel satiated and triggers metabolic rate during digestion.

MCTs are readily absorbed for immediate use as an energy source. They also help to promote fat burning, curb appetite, and shield muscle mass during weight loss.

Eggs are a complete source of essential amino acids that reduce hunger, feel full, trigger fat burning and shield heart health.

Also Read: Eggs: Types, Nutrition, Health Benefits, Uses For Skin And Side Effects

Whey proteins are known to enhance muscle mass, lessen appetite, fee satiated and trigger metabolism more effectively than other protein sources.

Apple Cider Vinegar may support suppressing appetite, promote loss of belly fat, and control blood sugar and insulin levels.

Cayenne pepper bioactive compounds in chilies are known to ease inflammation, control hunger, and boost metabolism.

Are Fat Burner Supplements Safe?

Well, fat burners are not regulated by the FDA, thus you may be having a possible health risk by taking them. Also, you may not be able to know the list of ingredients in the supplements. A few studies have stated that ingredients added are not labelled on the bottle.

Since the supplement calls itself natural it doesn’t mean that it’s safe. Some fat burner supplements have been associated with problem like liver damage. Herbs like ephedra that were used as fat burners previously are now banned by the FDA, as they are known to raise blood pressure, mood change, tachycardia, stroke, seizures, and heart attacks.

It is advisable to talk to your healthcare provider before taking these supplements. As some of the ingredients may interfere with the medications you are taking. Fat burners can be harmful and can cause severe health problems if taken with the wrong drugs.

Side Effects And Precautions

Some of the side effects of fat-burning supplements and precautions you can take to avoid these effects include:

• Having caffeine regularly will make it less effective over a period
• Taking large amounts of caffeine in a short time can make you anxious, or exhausted
• Taking too much protein powder, mainly if it has added sugar or additives can lead to weight gain
• Taking several natural fat burners supplements, in the long run, can lead to acute liver failure
• Yohimbine supplements have been associated with nausea, anxiety, panic attacks, and high blood pressure