The desperation for credibility leads many diet pill, fat burner, appetite suppressant companies to resort to scientific mumbo-jumbo because the pill itself does not add value or actually do what the companies claim.  So, in the absence of any real value, diet pill and fat burner companies resort to confusing the customer into buying the product.

My description above describes Fenphedra perfectly.

What The Heck is It?

The headline on the Fenphedra website claims:

Introducing the World’s First Chemically Altered Diet Pill designed to stimulate the COCAINE AMPHETAMINE REGULATORY TRANSCRIPT (C-A-R-T) and Inhibit NEUROPEPTIDE-Y (NPY)!

Huh?

They go on and attempt to confuse the customer even more,

C-A-R-T Activators:

200 mg DiCaffeine Malate — When Coca-Cola first came out it actually contained Cocaine (true fact) and when cocaine was made illegal after World War I they scrambled to find an alterantive that would stimulate the mind and body and have similar effects. The ingredient they found was caffeine. But we don’t just use any old caffeine as our alternative to cocaine. We use an ultra potent multi-dimensional ingredient that combines all natural Caffeine with Malic Acid into an ionic bonded compound which optimizes energy, stimulates thermogenesis, and promotes mental focus. You haven’t experienced the full effects of caffeine until you’ve tried DiCaffeine Malate.

200mg ChocamineTM — A proprietary extract of the Colombian cocoa plant. It contains numerous constituents including methylxanthines (theobromine, caffeine, and theophylline), biogenic amines (phenylethylamine, tyramine, and according to one source, synephrine), amino acids (phenylalanine, tryptophan, tyrosine, others), minerals (with a high content of magnesium), numerous beneficial antioxidants, and possibly some non-psychoactive cannabanoid-related compounds.

20mg Phenylethylamine (PEA) — PEA is asubstance that’s related to our own catecholamine neurotransmitters and their amino acid precursors, tyrosine and phenylalanine. PEA has arousal properties similar to catecholamines and may be one of the pleasure substances in the brain. PEA has been called the “Love Drug”. It is extracted from chocolate and is responsible for what chocaholics call “Chocolate High”

20mg Synephrine HCl — 100% Synephrine hcl is the “chemical cousin” of the now banned substance ephedra. It can help burn fat, suppress appetite and increase energy. Synephrine HCl is derived from the Citrus aurantium fruit, which is used for a variety of purposes in traditional Chinese medicine.

NP-Y Inhibitor:

Humulus Lupus (standardized to.4% flavonoids) – Humulus lupulus is unique because it is one of only two plants in the family Cannabinaceae. The alkaloid extract in Humulus Lupus known as Lupulinum produces a mild stimulant effect at first, followed by a very agreeable, calming sensation… the perfect combination. Historically, it has been used in some cases of nervous irritability where opium/narcotics failed. Some say that Humulus Lupus has some anti-inflammatory/pain relieving capabilities.

Does that clear things up?  A few words stuck out to me:

Chocolate, Lupus, Citrus, Opium, Caffeine, World War I, Pea

In other words, eating an orange in a field full of California poppies while reading a book about war veterans and drinking chocolate milk might have the same effect on your weight loss diet plan than buying Fenphedra.  Is that enough to persuade you to buy it for $79.99 per bottle and try it?  I didn’t think so.

Around the Web

Here are some testimonials I collected from scouring the internet,

Let me just say I received the product fast. However I can’t really say if it works because every time I take it I get sick. It did not suppress my appetite or give me energy. Matter of fact it made me hungry and tired and I got a really bad headache and could not stop vomiting. Not sure what’s in it but it did not mix well with me. HUGE waste of my money!

More,

I have not tried Fenphedra and I am happy to say I don´t know anyone stupid enough to try it.  Have you tried making a google search about Fenphedra? It seem to be just another “diet pill” scam.  They are way more expensive than joining a Health Club/gym. And one substance in them: neosynephrine has serious side effects (strokes, pulmonary embolism and it has become forbidden to use in most European countries.

And,

Waste of money.  Buy a meal at McDonald’s instead.  Heck, for the price, buy 35 meals at McDonald’s.

Here’s a good comment found on a weight loss forum,

Fenphedra (obviously the name is a combination of fenfluramine and ephedra) is sold online — primarily on eBay. Although there’s certainly nothing wrong with selling via eBay, how many big, respected name-brand companies are using this as their only marketing venue? Point is, some of the most nefarious retailers use eBay as a way to market their products while at the same time isolating themselves from their customers.

Fenphedra is also outrageously priced. Apparently, it retails for US$179 (where exactly, does it retail for this?) but can be had for the bargain price of $77.

No refunds are offered, the web site claims, “to keep prices down.”

Of course that makes me ask… if the retailer suspects the refund rate would be significant enough to affect Fenphedra’s price, there must be a heck of a lot of people who would be returning it. Is it because the product does not live up to its claims? Is it because people would not get the benefits advertised? Otherwise, why would they return it?

And despite the claims of being “revolutionary”, the Fenphedra compilation is actually quite ordinary, with the exception of Humulus Lupus — which, despite its impressive sounding name, is nothing more than common “hops” — yes, the stuff you make beer with. Humulus Lupus has antibacterial qualities, and the dried female buds have a high content of methylbutenol — a natural alcohol that has sedating effects. Some small studies verify Humulus Lupus’ ability for sedation, but according to the Natural Database…

“There is insufficient reliable information available about the effectiveness of hops.”

And the rest of the compilation? Here’s what you’ll find…

1. Caffeine, a moderately effective thermogenic agent common to most fat burners on the market today.
2. Synephrine, derived from the citrus aurantium plant. Originally, this “chemical cousin of ephedra” was thought to hold great promise for weight loss. Unfortunately, research has not bourne this out. This excerpt from PubMed (Am J Cardiol. 2004 Nov 15;94(10):1359-61.) says it best…
3. “An extensive search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, BIOSIS, and the Cochrane Collaboration Database identified only 1 eligible randomized placebo controlled trial, which followed 20 patients for 6 weeks, demonstrated no statistically significant benefit for weight loss, and provided limited information about the safety of the herb.”
4. Chocamine™ and Phenylethylamine: Basically xanthines (caffeine-related compounds) derived from the cocoa plant. These ingredients are not new to fat burners. Phenylethylamine was included in Xenadrine’s EFX fat burner for its ability to increase attention and activity (in animals) and relieve depression (Source:J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci, 1996 Spr, 8:2, 168-71). Unfortunately, the FTC sued the makers of Xenadrine EFX for making false and unsubstantiated claims about the effectiveness of their product.

Bottom line — cocoa related compounds are certainly interesting, but there’s insufficient reliable data available to authoritatively claim they have any real benefit for weight loss.

In the end, there’s very little of anything much in this product — and certainly nothing that justifies the “30 lbs. in 30 days claim.” And there are no clinical references, no referenced studies — no evidence of any sort that this product does anything.

And of course, Fenphedra is marketed illegally via unsolicited bulk e-mail. So I highly recommend you give Fenphedra a wide berth.  So yet another scam to make money from overweight people who think there are easy quick-fix solutions to loose weight instead of doing some lifestyle changes that will be healthier in the long term. If you are lucky you will only loose your money and they will be ineffective. Or you may risk ending up in a nursing home, paralyzed from a stroke.

Conclusion

As always, you won’t get any spin from us.  Be wise and choose what makes sense for you and your body.  Don’t fall for quick and easy fixes to health and weight problems.

Choose well and take care of yourself today.