The Newest Weight Loss Scam

I'm fat because I'm stressed??!!

By now I'm sure you've seen one of these products - CortiSlim, Relacore, CortiDrene and others - a class of pills called cortisol blockers.

Rather than increasing metabolism or attacking fat buildup and deposit as other supplements on the market try to accomplish, cortisol blockers act by regulating your cortisol levels, which increase as a result of stress.

Manufacturers claim that the increase in cortisol levels in the body as a result of stress is what's causing you to be fat, since increased cortisol can result in fat deposits. Therefore, taking CortiSlim or another product that helps regulate cortisol will help you lose weight.

However, according to medical research, this statement is completely misleading! Here's why:

Although increased cortisol levels can stimulate fat deposit, it only occurs when huge amounts of cortisol are produced, which only happens as a result of medication you may be taking or as a result of a hormonal imbalance.

In other words, a normal, healthy "stressed-out" individual does not produce nearly the amount of cortisol to trigger fat deposit, making a cortisol blocker not only unnecessary but potentially dangerous.

The main reason that people gain weight is because of the lifestyle they lead, including poor dietary habits and lack of exercise, not because they are overwhelmed by stress as the manufacturers of Relacore, CortiSlim and other product would like you to believe.

Following are some more alarming facts about cortisol blockers:

1) According to several experts, there is no scientific evidence that any of the ingredients in CortiSlim actually regulate cortisol levels at all. So not only is the science behind the product inaccurate, but it may not even do what it claims to!

2) The FDA took action earlier this year (Aug '04) against CortiSlim marketers for misbranding and a violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The regulatory action cites unsubstantiated health claims.

3) The FTC recently filed a claim (Oct '04) against the makers of CortiSlim and CortiStress for making false, unsubstantiated claims about their product, including exaggerated weight loss and disease prevention promises.

So you can see that there are many reasons to steer clear of cortisol blockers, especially CortiSlim, as a weight loss option.

Not only is the science behind the product false, but these products might not even have an effect on cortisol levels at all.

More disturbingly, both the FDA and FTC have charged the manufacturer of the leading cortisol blocker diet pill with making false, misleading and unsubstantiated claims about their product.

It will probably be a while before these products are taken off the market, and by then the manufacturers will have made their millions off of unsuspecting dieters.

But hopefully we can enlighten one dieter at a time, and at least slightly effect the bottom line of these unscrupulous marketers!