Bodybuilders spend hours a day lifting weights and doing aerobics. They pay careful attention to what and when they eat.

During competition, their goal is to make their muscles visible through their skin. In order to do that, they sometimes take diuretics or other methods that will cause their bodies to lose any excess water. They also do whatever they can to reduce their body-fat. Generally speaking, most bodybuilders have very little body-fat anyway. But when they are competing, a small amount can make a big difference. They all have great bodies. Everyone is just looking for an “edge” to set them apart from everyone else.

For those of you that have more than a few pounds to lose, fat burners are not the ultimate solution. They could help a little, but if you read the fine print on any bottle produced by a reputable manufacture you will see this. “This product may promote weight loss when used in conjunction with healthy diet and regular physical activity”.

In the best case scenarios, results vary. The dietary supplements work by increasing the body’s cellular metabolism, which has the effect of increasing its core temperature.

Cellular metabolism has to do with the amount of energy the cells use to perform various activities. Energy burned is equivalent to heat in this context.

There are naturally occurring compounds proven to stimulate or increase cellular metabolism. The proof comes mostly from studies conducted on laboratory animals, although some have been conducted by sports medicine researchers.

The fat burners with the most supportive scientific evidence are most likely to be effective. Those include:

• Ephedra
• Ma huang
• Bitter orange
• Capsicum
• Ginger
• Caffeine
• Aspirin
• Green tea

Ephedra is actually a plant family, but the word has come to be used to describe the active alkaloid within those plants. Other names you might see include ephedrine and pseudo-ephedrine. The ingredient may be naturally occurring or synthetically produced. Both ma huang and bitter orange belong to the ephedra plant family.

Prescription drugs containing ephedra were banned due to numerous adverse events including dangerously high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes. Several deaths have been attributed to the weight loss drugs.

Fat burners containing capsicum or ginger could cause stomach upset, but they are basically safe. Capsicum is found in peppers and other spicy foods. Ginger is a spice. It contains gingerol, which is believed to be accompanied by numerous health benefits.

The benefit of caffeine is questionable. The first diet pills contained it and many still do today. Increased heart rate and blood pressure are some of the negative side effects.

Aspirin can cause ulcers and liver damage. Green tea is safe for most people to drink, but the extracts could be harmful.

Our Conclusion about Fat Burners

Adding peppers, spices and other safe fat burners to your diet is a good idea. Taking a fat-burning dietary supplement could be bad for your health.