FitRight = Green tea extracts + L Carnitine + Ampalaya extracts

My friend Raech introduced me to this product, FitRight, that her mom is selling. It's supposed to aid weight loss. I got a box (which I haven't paid for) of 60 capsules, to be consumed twice daily before meals.

I took it for about four days, stopping for the past two because I've been having migraine headaches. I'm sure it was not the food supplement that caused the migraines, but I stopped taking them nonetheless. I also wanted to research on what these three naturally occurring substances could really do to my body. No matter what I learn though, I'm pretty sure I'd be popping those again.

Green Tea extracts
The Chinese have been drinking tea for centuries and it has been said that tea can remedy many ills, as well as prevent others. There are claims that Green Tea can help cure/prevent cancer, and there is also interest now in how Green Tea can be helpful in AIDS research.

I also remember that Body Shop has a product line with green tea as the main/active ingredient. Of course drinking it may not have the same effect as applying it on your skin.

The Wikipedia article also mentioned lab tests that showed positive results for preventing rheumatoid arthritis with regular intake of green tea. That's one good reason for my mom to drink up on green tea I guess.

Specific to weight loss, here's what I read:

In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial done by Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, 240 adults were given either theaflavin-enriched green tea extract in form of 375mg capsule daily or a placebo. After 12 weeks, patients in the tea extract group had significantly less low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and total cholesterol (16.4% and 11.3% lower than baseline, p<0.01)> A study published in the January, 2005 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded "Daily consumption of tea containing 690 mg catechins for 12 wk reduced body fat, which suggests that the ingestion of catechins might be useful in the prevention and improvement of lifestyle-related diseases, mainly obesity

It seems that Green Tea extracts may aid the body in burning/oxidizing fat.

L-Carnitine
Filipinos are very familiar to this by now, thanks to Fit &Right, and Juday's Fitrum. Those two products are being marketed as weight-loss products and they use L-Carnitine as the main ingredient that makes them effective.

Apparently, there is no scientific proof to these claims. I guess, there's no published/accepted study yet that proves that it's the L-carnitine that directly causes the weight loss. What it really does though, is help the body convert fatty acids to usable energy.

I guess with L-carnitine pumped into your body, one's energy could be boosted enough to go through a regimen of exercises.

Amapalaya
Food supplements rich in Amapalaya have been around in the Philippines longer than L-Carnitine. Usually though, the target market for those products are diabetics and their families who may have the predisposition for the condition too.

It is most noted for its role in lowering blood sugar levels.

I didn't find (or I probably didn't look hard enough) any article showing Ampalaya's role in weight loss though.

I guess I can't go wrong with these three ingredients active in one capsule. Even if I don't lose weight in the end, at least I won't have high blood sugar and energized. I'll be at less risk for heart conditions too.

Still, I do hope it helps me shed off weight.