Dealing with our growing waistlines*

This past year hasn’t been the ideal circumstance for our metabolisms. Being home with unusually full access to comfort food, coupled with less physical activity, spells trouble. Many say they’ve embraced elastic waistlines, but obviously, this is not the ultimate solution.

It is not breaking news that excess weight can cause many health problems such as heart issues, diabetes, depression, cancer, sleep issues, osteoporosis, liver and kidney disease, and many other severe conditions. However, these dangers can pale compared to the constant low energy and frustration we may experience when we are not in our target weight zone. 

FGF USA is proud to have two foundational products, BeeFIT and SLIM, available to help with metabolism concerns. The nutrients in these products also offer many other health benefits we won’t have time to go into in this article. We’ll have to save that for another day. 

Here are some of the metabolism-stimulating and nourishing ingredients that are in our new products. This brief review of some of the ingredients will give you a good idea of how beneficial these product could be for your waistline.

BeeFIT

Designed to be taken before meals to help us, among other things, control the quantity we consume. Main ingredients include:

Apple Cider Vinegar
When taken regularly at mealtimes, it appears to reduce fasting blood glucose, help with A1C values, and positively impact lipid profiles and weight.

Garcinia Cambogia
This Southeast Asia fruit is also known as Malabar tamarind or Brindle berry. It has long been touted in Asia to be beneficial for appetite reduction, weight loss, cholesterol and intestinal issues, and for exercise endurance. It contains phytochemicals that appear to inhibit an enzyme that contributes to the body’s fat storage, and helps the body burn calories instead of storing them. Additionally, Garcinia Cambogia can increase serotonin, an appetite suppressant, in the brain.  

Bee Pollen
Bee pollen, a widely respected medicine in China and Germany, aids the metabolism and is used to help with microcirculation, regulating immune cells, enhancing athletic performance, improving allergies and asthma.

SLIM

Designed to be taken after meals to increase maximum metabolic performance. Main ingredients include:

Garcinia Cambogia (see above)

Bee Pollen (see above)

Astragalus
This herb, derived from an ancient root, has been used for centuries in Chinese medicine and is believed to have immune and metabolism-boosting properties. Its blood sugar regulation benefits have made it China’s #1 prescribed herb in diabetes management. Studies have shown encouraging reductions in blood sugar levels and the weight of some subjects.

White Kidney Bean Extract
Proponents of White Kidney Bean Extract’s health benefits say it can fight the effects of the enzyme alpha-amylase, involved in breaking down carbohydrates into sugar by slowing down the enzyme’s activity. Acting as somewhat of a “starch blocker,” this is thought to prevent the body from turning excess sugar (glucose) into fat. White bean extract have been shown to reduce the absorption of carbohydrates in study participants. Less sugar produced into fat spells less weight gain and more energy.

Acetyl L-Carnitine
This amino acid derivative transports fatty acids into your cells so they can produce energy. 

Organic Broccoli
Broccoli, a superfood, has amazing nutritional content. One of the antioxidants it contains is vitamin C, which helps the body produce collagen (the primary support system for body cells and organs, including the skin). The antioxidant value of vitamin C also can help prevent skin damage, premature aging, and wrinkling.

Due to the sulforaphane content in broccoli, research suggests it may help those with Type 2 Diabetes maintain healthy blood sugar levels. Blood sugar levels, when under control, help us not to overeat. Broccoli is also great for weight loss because it’s high in fiber. For this reason, all you have to do is google weight loss diets and find a long list of broccoli diet variations.

Aloe Vera
Aloe Vera is traditionally a blood sugar remedy in Latin America and the Arabian Peninsula, and many other parts of the world. Today, even in the Western World, many have experienced not only blood sugar and cholesterol level improvement but weight loss as well.

Arabinogalactan
Arabinogalactan is a natural compound found inside many plants. In addition to widespread claims that it helps the immune system and calms down allergies, some research suggests that it may positively affect blood glucose levels and insulin sensitivity.

Organic Bladderwrack leaf
Bladderwrack is a type of brown algae that is native to the North Atlantic which contains iodine. Bladderwrack has been used for decades in many European countries for weight loss. In large part, the weight loss benefits, according to experiments by Hunt and Seidell (J. P. Ex. T., 1910, ii, p. 15), are thought to be because it is a powerful stimulant to the thyroid gland which can strongly impact weight. 

Organic Dandelion root
Fat digestion is impacted by the critical enzyme pancreatic lipase. Researchers believe that dandelion’s inhibitory activities may help control this enzyme, which may be an effective way to alter fat absorption.  

Non-GMO Soy Lecithin
Lecithin potentially aids the body in its breakdown of blood fats into fatty acids. This breakdown makes it much more likely the body won’t store the fat but rather use it as energy.

Kelp Powder
Directly from the marine environment, kelp absorbs all the vitamins, minerals, and trace elements from the sea’s rich biodiversity, including iodine, one of the essential components in thyroid hormone production. If we lack iodine in our system, we can experience metabolism issues, low energy, and brain fog. So, this supplementation can make a big difference.

Green Coffee Bean Extract
The bioactive components like caffeine and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) in green coffee can have potent effects on our metabolism. Due to the increase in hormones that other compounds in green coffee trigger, fat cells are encouraged to break down rather than stubbornly storing themselves. Additionally, encouraging studies indicate that green coffee can help burn 304% more calories in a day by boosting metabolism!

As you can see, these ingredients were chosen carefully to support you with your blood sugar and weight loss struggles. 

FGF USA is proud to support you in putting the elastic waistline pants aside and being the best, most healthy version of yourself this spring.

Reference 

Health Risks of Being Overweight, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, February 2015

Dan Brennan, MD, Apple Cider Vinegar Pills: Are There Health Benefits?, Webmd, 12 Nov 20

Eleni, Petsiou, Panayota, Mitrou, Rapis, Dimitriadis, Effect and mechanisms of action of vinegar on glucose 

metabolism, lipid profile, and body weight, National Library of Medicine, 28 Aug 2014

Susan York Morris, How Garcinia Cambogia Can Help Your Lose Weight and Belly Fat, 6 June 2019

Reviewed by Dan Brennan, MD, Health Benefits of Garcinia Cambogia, WebMD, 6 Nov 2020

Susan Morris, 29 Things You Didn’t Know About Garcinia Cambogia, Healthline, 6 June 2019

Updates on Antiobesity Effect of Garcinia Origin (-)-HCA, Evid Based Complement Alternative Medicine, 6 Aug 2014

Jérôme Salles, et al, Bee Pollen Improves Muscle Protein and Energy Metabolism in Malnourished Old Rats through Interfering with the Mtor Signaling Pathway and Mitochondrial Activity, PMC4276980, 6 Dec 2014

Kolesarova et al, Bee Pollen, Trends in Food Science & Technology, 2018.

Cathy Wong, Health Benefits of White Bean Extract, Very Well Fit, 3 Feb 2020.

Bin Ke et. al., Astragalus polysaccharides attenuates TNF-A-induced insulin resistance via suppression of miR-721 and activation of PPAR-y and PI3K/AKT in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, Am J Trnsl Res. 15 May 2017

Ho-Chun Choi, et. al., Metabolic effects of aloe vera gel…, PMID: 23735317, Sept 2013

Meika Foster, et. al., Evaluation of the Nutritional and Metabolic Effects of Aloe Vera, NCBI, 2011 

Naoko Oki, et. al., The effects of an arabinogalactan-protein from the white-skinned potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) on blood glucose in spontaneous diabetic mice, PMID: 21389600, 7 Mar 2011

Bladderwrack weight loss remedy gets first German approval, Nutraceutical Business Review, 7 Jun 2019

Jian Zhang, et. al., Pancreatic lipase inhibitory activity of taraxacum officinale in vitro and in vivo, PMID: 20016719, 31 Dec 2008

Gene Bruno, MS, MHA, Lecithin & Lipotropics, Huntington College of Health Sciences, 2004

Iodine Fact Sheet for Health Professionals, National Institutes of Health, 16 Sept 2020

A G Dulloo, et. at., Efficacy of a green tea extract rich in catechin polyphenols and caffeine in increasing 24-h energy expenditure and fat oxidation in humans, PMID: 10584049, Dec 1999

Hong Lu, et. al., Enzymology of methylation of tea catechins and inhibition of catechol-O-methyltransferase by (-)-epigallocatechin gallate, PMID: 12695345, May 2003Judith L Flanagan, et. al., Role of carnitine in disease, PMID: 20398344, 26 Apr 2010

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.