The science of topical fat loss 2

The science of topical fat loss 2

Lets face it almost everyone has some spots of fat he or she wants to get rid off. This is called spot-reduction. I wrote about it here //juicedmuscle.com/jmblog/content/helios-injectable-liposuction

This particular item was and is very popular and thats why the lab asked me to develop a lotion or cream. Because it became also very popular by females. A beauty clinic that also bougt phosphocholine (meso) products, wanted it for its female clients, that didn't want to inject on a daily basis and wanted to continue at home with a non-injectable alternative.I made a few different ones with a different formula. First of course the topical version of the injectable. Later a version with Glycyrrhetinic acid, becuase scientific research showed some stunning succes in fat loss with this active ingredient.. The lab later stopped production of creams and lotions due to the high price of the active ingredients and the big amount of work. They conciddered production in China, but decided to stick to their core business. I would really loved it to create new  topical products and tried them on female friends to messure the results as i used to, but...

*** Slimming Gels and Fat Burning Creams ***

You have all heard talking about slimming gel or fat burning creams. Do they really work and what is it all about?

The action of the creams on the skin are divided into three different phases:

1. First of all you need to massage! The massage causes an increase in circulation promoting a ‘good sweat’ and helps drain the skin of excess water.
2. The ingredients then penetrate into the skin
3. This results in loss of inches, the skin is more hydrated (and ‘active’ from all the vigorous massage!) and looks now a lot tighter and smooth (no direct fat loss has been proven!)

**Creams typically contain several thermogenic ingredients like:

- Andiroba extract (slimming cream from the Yves Rocher Plant Biology laboratories) which is said to block 88 % of the activity of the    enzymes responsible for forming lipids

- Caffeine and Kola which promote elimination of fatty cells

- Aminophylline, similar in fat burning action to ephedrine and clenbuterol

- Yohimbine, another potent compound also similar to ephedrine and clen.

- Forskolen, a compound that activates thermogenic enzymes and DMAE, a precursor to acteylcholine, another powerful thermogenic.

"With these ingredients and from the heat of the massage, the cream ‘speeds up’ the metabolism in the area that it is rubbed and provokes a chemical reaction that change fat cells into fatty acids that will slip through cell membranes and into the bloodstream to be burned" (Quote from Contour Magic Cream).

"Because the creams are topical, the active thermogenic components are not degraded by stomach acids like oral thermogenics! In other words, the cream does not have to go through the digestion process that all oral supplements must go through. During digestion, oral supplements loose close to 95% of their active ingredients" (Quote from DermaLEAN).

And, what's more, they are claimed to be time released so will maintain both site-specific and overall fat burning processes virtually all day! Couldn't be any better, huh?

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (1982) advised one of the distributors of the Fat burning cream "La Crème" that, based on the product's labelling, it should be regulated as a drug because it claimed to alter the size, shape or conformity of the body; a drug function as defined by the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. When the distributor contended that "La Crème" was a cosmetic and therefore not subject to safety and efficacy requirements, FDA replied that claims of even temporary reduction of body measurements were not appropriate to a cosmetic. The company never replied to FDA's comments, but quickly disappeared from the market.

** Side effects?
Although uncommon, as all other thermogenic products it is important to use the cream only as directed and not to exceed 12 weeks of continuous use to reduce the possibility of side effects. Side effects which may occur are loss of appetite, tremors, dizziness, nervousness, restlessness, irregular heart beat, nausea, excessive sweating, diarrhoea and it is also possible to experience other complications due to the weight or body-fat percentage loss that results from its use.

** Recommendations
It is recommended that you apply it correctly (twice a day), keep a healthy diet and maintain a consistent workout regimen. Also stacking it with other weight-loss products will help enhance its effects.

All this sounds as if the fat burning creams and cutting gels are true wonder products for spot reduction, but before you go out and spend a fortune, know that these claims have been written by the companies wanting to sell their products. No one has ever done a scientific study proving that a cream really is able to burn away any fat. "Rub-on gels and creams have not been proven to work, and won't increase your metabolism or help eliminate food cravings" (Dr Chris Lydon from Muscletech); "Just another entrepreneurial activity in the lucrative business of weight-loss and ‘fat-burner’ fraud" (Tim Gorski, MD 1993)

A magical solution for spot losing or waste of money? Well nobody really can tell.

Glycyrrhetinic acid, the active principle of licorice, can reduce the thickness of subcutaneous thigh fat through topical application.
Armanini D, Nacamulli D, Francini-Pesenti F, Battagin G, Ragazzi E, Fiore C.
Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences-Endocrinology, University of Padua, Via Ospedale 105, 35100 Padua, Italy. decio.armanini@unipd.it

Cortisol is involved in the distribution and deposition of fat, and its action is regulated by the activity of 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase. Glycyrrhetinic acid, the active principle of licorice root, blocks 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1, thus reducing the availability of cortisol at the level of adipocytes. We evaluated the effect of topical application of a cream containing glycyrrhetinic acid in the thickness of fat at the level of the thigh. Eighteen healthy women (age range 20-33 years) with normal BMI were randomly allocated to treatment, at the level of the dominant thigh, with a cream containing 2.5% glycyrrhetinic acid (n=9) or with a placebo cream containing the excipients alone (n=9). Before and after 1 month of treatment both the circumference and the thickness of the superficial fat layer of the thighs (by ultrasound analysis) were measured. The circumference and the thickness of the superficial fat layer were significantly reduced in comparison to the controlateral untreated thigh and to control subjects treated with the placebo cream. No changes were observed in blood pressure, plasma renin activity, plasma aldosterone or cortisol. The effect of glycyrrhetinic acid on the thickness of subcutaneous fat was likely related to a block of 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 at the level of fat cells; therefore, glycyrrhetinic acid could be effectively used in the reduction of unwanted local fat accumulation.
PMID: 15894038 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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