Super CitriMax™

Super CitriMax^™

Losing weight is a simple equation--burn off more calories than you take in. A reasonable diet combined with an exercise program yields results.  Unfortunately, most people trying tolose weight face obstacles along theway and could use supplemental support. Hydroxycitric acid (HCA) is one ingredient that has been studied for its abilityto reduce appetite and inhibit fat production without stimulating the central nervous system.

HCA, an organic acid extracted from the fruit Garcinia cambogia, affects blood sugar stored in the liver that can be metabolized into fat by the enzyme ATP-citrate lyase. HCA inhibits this enzyme, thereby decreasing fat synthesis and prompting biochemical changes in the liver that promote fat burning. Linked to this effect is HCA's ability to reduce appetite and food intake by stimulating the "fullness" signal to the brain. HCA, including CitriMax™ from InterHealth Nutraceuticals Inc., has become a popular ingredient in diet formulas for its impact on fat burning and appetite without the side effects often associated with stimulant ingredients.

Human and animal studies have shown the ability of CitriMax to treat obesity. In one double blind, placebo-controlled study, obese subjects consuming HCA had significantly greater weight loss than subjects consuming a placebo.¹ The weight loss was primarily due to loss of fat. Appetite scores were also reduced in the HCA group, but not in the placebo group. In this 1996 study, participants took 1,320 mg/d of HCA for eight weeks.

Some later studies questioned the effectiveness of the compound. Harry Preuss, M.D., said the problem might not be the ingredient itself, but the effective dosage. "The first paper that showed a lot of success with HCA used a certain dose, so everyone assumed that was the right dose," he said. "However, people in the field observed that it took higher doses to get results." To combat this problem, InterHealth is introducing Super CitriMax™. This is a patent-pending form of HCA that is bound to the minerals calcium and potassium. According to InterHealth's studies, this results in total solubility and higher bioavailability. In addition, Super CitriMax contains 60 percent HCA, making it a more concentrated extract, with a recommended dosage level of 1,500 mg of Super CitriMax, three times per day, delivering a daily total of 2,700 mg of HCA. Research has shown that Super CitriMax is absorbed and retained by obese subjects, with blood levels of HCA peaking two hours after ingestion and remaining in the blood for between four and nine hours after ingestion.^2,3 These studies also showed that the product was more bioavailable taken on an empty stomach at least an hour before eating.

The data on time and dosage level were put to a test in a publication-pending study conducted at Georgetown University Medical Center. The double blind, placebo-controlled HCA clinical trial broke subjects into three groups--placebo, Super CitriMax and Super CitriMax Plus, a combination of Super CitriMax, ChromeMate® niacin-bound chromium and Gymnema sylvestre extract. Preuss noted that at the end of the study there were 25 subjects in the placebo group, 28 in the Super CitriMax group and 29 in the Super CitriMax Plus group. The weight loss in both CitriMax groups was significantly different from the placebo group. Subjects on Super CitriMax lost approximately 10 pounds and subjects on Super CitriMax Plus lost 12 pounds, compared to four pounds for the placebo group. Both treatment groups also showed a reduction in low-density lipoprotein ("bad") cholesterol and an increase in high-density lipoprotein ("good") cholesterol, as well as a decrease in serum leptin levels.

Another benefit of Super CitriMax is its ability to increase the release and availability of serotonin from brain tissue. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that has been linked with appetite suppression. A study on rat brains found that HCA elicited a concentration-dependent increase in serotonin levels.⁴ "Many weight loss drugs are designed to increase serotonin levels," Preuss said. "When serotonin levels go up, you lose your appetite."

InterHealth noted that Super CitriMax is virtually tasteless, odorless and, in solution, colorless, permitting its use in a range of nutritional products. It is also available as Super CitriMax FES (flavor enhancement solids), which contains the flavor of the Garcinia fruit. Super CitriMax FES also delivers 70 percent HCA and is 100 percent soluble.

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