Last Updated 3 years ago
That is a good question, and good questions seldom have short answers.
What is a Fat Burner?
The term “fat burner” is typically used for dietary supplements, that is nutrition supplements designed to boost the metabolism, decrease fat absorption and even induce or hasten fat burning.
Do Artificial Fat Burners Pose any Threat to Our Health?
Obviously, a substance that can do all that sounds like a dream, and that is exactly how it is usually promoted by the manufacturers; except, often these claims are exaggerated, void, or even plain false. Sometimes, they are more than that – they can pose danger to our health. For example, a study published in 2011 associated the use of certain fat burners with severe hepatotoxicity and acute liver failure.
Hence, the use of fat burners has stirred up controversy about their safety, mainly because they are not actually regulated by food regulatory authorities. For these reasons, many consumers try to discover natural fat burners, that could increase the metabolism and expedite fat loss, without side-effects or danger for their health.
Is this a vain quest, or do natural fat burners actually exist?
In fact, there are several natural substances with such traits. They cannot produce the desired results as fast as promised by artificial fat burners, but when coupled with proper exercise and an overall balanced diet, they can work.
Below, we present a list of five natural fat burners. Which one is actually “the best” is for you to find out, since each body reacts to them in a different way.
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Caffeine
Caffeine is a substance mainly associated with coffee beverages, but you can actually find it in several other natural products, like green tea and cocoa.
Several studies have shown that caffeine is indeed able to increase the metabolism by 16% for a period of 60 to 120 minutes, and induce fat burning – especially, and this is kind of odd, in lean people!
In addition, several studies have shown that caffeine can help your body burn more fat as fuel. However, this effect appears to be stronger in lean people than obese people. On the other hand, the effect is equally strong to men of different age.
On the downside, though, too frequent caffeine consumption makes the body more tolerant to these effects. So, the best way to make the most of caffeine’s fat-burning qualities is to drink a few cups of strong coffee within the week – but never overdo it.
Another alternative would be Green tea extract, that is concentrated green tea usually in powder or capsule form, is also very rich in caffeine, as well as in EGGG (epigallocatechin gallate), which is also proven to induce or hasten fat burning.
In fact, the combination of caffeine and EGGG induce and expedite a process known as thermogenesis, during which the tissues produce heat by burning calories.
A meat-analysis discovered that the consumption of green tea extract and caffeine caused a 16% increase in fat burn.
A study published at least twenty years ago focused on the effects of a combination of green tea extract and caffeine on fat loss against plain caffeine and discovered that it caused a considerable bigger calorie consumption.
How much green tea extra do we have to consume? Well, a rough estimation would be around 250 – 500 mg per day, which is equivalent to 3 – 5 cups of green tea.
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Protein Powder
Protein plays an important fact in fat burning because it boosts metabolism while making us feel full and preserving our muscle mass.
This is not just hearsay. A study that involved 60 overweight and obese persons discovered that a diet rich in protein-induced almost 100% more fat loss than a diet with moderate protein consumption.
Protein also induces satiation because it increases the amount of some related hormones, namely GLP-1, CCK and PYY while reducing, at the same time, the levels of the ghrelin hormone that is associated with the feel of hunger.
It is not actually easy to get great amounts of protein on a daily basis, so protein powder supplements are an easy way to do it. Whatever you may choose (and there plenty of options out there), make sure that is low in sugar, salt and other additives, and remember that protein powder supplements are designed to replace snacks and part of your daily food consumption, not be added to them.
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Soluble Fibres
Soluble fibre has the ability to absorb water while travelling through the digestive tract and form a viscous substance, which, in some way, induces satiation, according to several studies.
Soluble fibre is also proven to curb our appetite, by increasing satiation hormones, such as PYY and GLP-1, and reducing the ghrelin, the hunger hormone we already mentioned.
Furthermore, soluble fibre decelerates the nutrients passage to the gut, thus increasing the amount of time our body needs to digest and absorb them, which means you could feel satiated with far less food than usual, as well as absorb fewer calories from food.
One particular study involving 17 people, examined the effect of diets with varying amounts of fibre and fat and came to the conclusion those who ate more fibre absorbed less fat and fewer calories.
Note that, as with protein, there are soluble fibre supplements too, enabling you to consume the proper amount each day.
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Yohimbine
Yohimbine, also known as quebrachine, is found in the bark of Pausinystalia Yohimbe, a tree common in Central and Western Africa.
A famed aphrodisiac, yohimbine was recently found to be a natural fat burner, since it blocks the so-called alpha-2 adrenergic receptors, which, among other things, incommode fat burning.
A 2006 study that included 20 top-notch professional soccer players found that an intake of 10 mg of yohimbine twice a day contributed to an average 2.2% body fat decrease in just three weeks. Taking into consideration that these people were already in great shape, a 2.2% reduction seems all the more impressive.
On the other hand, scientists stress the lack of adequate information on the subject and most of them are quite reluctant in recommending yohimbine a fat burner supplement. In addition to that, yohimbine often causes some side-effects, including an adrenaline level rise, which often causes high blood pressure, nausea, anxiety, or even panic attacks. It has also been found not to mix well with certain blood pressure and depression medication.
Other Substances Known as Natural Fat Burners
There are numerous other natural substances that are associated with weight loss, but these claims are not backed by adequate or reliable research and are also known to have some negative side-effects. Some of the most important are:
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5-HTP
5-HTP is an amino acid and a serotonin precursor. Some have claimed that it induces fat loss by curbing the appetite, especially for carbs. Still, it is also known to interact with depression medications.
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Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA)
CLA is a group of omega-6 fatty acids that could induce fat loss, but there is no real research data behind this claim.
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Green Coffee Bean Extract
Similar claims have been made for the green coffee bean extract but from studies sponsored by the extract’s manufacturers.
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L-carnitine
L-carnitine is another amino acid associated with fat loss but lacks scientific back-up. the evidence behind it is mixed.
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Synephrine
Synephrine is not associated with side-effects and has more studies to support its claim as a natural fat burner, but still, nothing is truly verified beyond the shadow of doubt yet.
To Sum It Up
So, after taking all this information into account, what is the best natural fat burner?
The most decent answer would be that it depends. Caffeine, green tea extract, protein and soluble fibre are surely excellent for the job, with yohimbine and the rest we mentioned being much more dubious.
Surely, what you need to remember is that weight and fat loss is never the result of a magic potion. It is always the combination of a proper diet, physical exercise and the consistent use of a few of the natural burners we mentioned above.