The Diet Patch

You’ve seen the advertisements on late night TV, popping up on the Internet, in the back of fitness magazines, and in the line at the check out; despite heated controversy, it seems Diet Patches are here to stay. Oral supplements have been around for years, and the Diet Patch seems poised to give them a run for their money. These products, that claim to melt your fat for you as you go about your day, have been steeped in controversy almost from their introduction to the diet industry in the Nineties.

What does it do?

Oral supplements deliver ingredients into your body that are supposed to have a beneficial effect in your quest to shed pounds, be it increased metabolism resulting in burning more calories, higher energy levels for longer work outs, blocking the absorption of fat by your body, or modulating your blood sugar levels. Diet patches claim all the same benefits (many times all at once), but have a different method of delivery; rather than taking a pill or liquid, you are supposed to apply the patch to a clean, smooth patch of skin and let it begin transferring it’s ingredients to your blood stream through skin absorption.

How effective are they?

Many of the ingredients of the typical diet patch do have some basis to their claims. Popular ingredients include Guarana, Chromium, and Brown Seaweed, or Fucus Vesiculosis. Guarna is a stimulant, similar in effect to caffeine, with the purported benefit of increasing the metabolism, which in turn should deliver more energy and calorie burning effectiveness. Chromium is supposed to manage a person’s blood sugar levels, preventing spikes that would lead to energy-crashes and calorie-hoarding behavior. Unfortunately for the hopeful dieter, both ingredients’ effects are too minor to provide any real benefit without useful diet and exercise changes.

The seaweed is used in order to impart it’s high iodine content into the body. The effects of iodine on poorly performing thyroid glands is accurate, helping to increase performance to normal levels and avoid energy crashes and weight gain. However, these benefits are only useful to those who have a thyroid problem to begin with.

What’s the verdict?

It is important to note that the FDA has leveled fines exceeding $1,000,000 against manufacturers of some diet patches, while other products put under testing have been proven to have no active ingredients at all. Speaking with a physician, whose concern is a healthy body, as opposed to a company bent on selling you a product, seems like a wise choice when it comes to planning out an effective weight loss program.