Phosphacore Fat Burner Review: Is It Really #1 For Weight Loss?

Phosphacore, claims the advertising copy, is a new "medical weight loss miracle that is helping thousands of men and women lose pounds of excess body weight... some as much as 25 pounds in only two weeks."

The advertising copy then goes on to talk about the recently discovered extract of "Carthamus tinctorius" that has received world-wide media attention. It talks authoritatively of clinical research performed in Norway, and promises that Phosphacore is clinically proven for weight loss—it melts 1.12" of belly fat per month, apparently.

The advertising even advises against cheap imitations, indicating that "only Phosphacore was named 2009 Diet Of The Year by Applied Nutritional Research Magazine."

This seems like it's a good enough place to start deconstructing the Phosphacore sales pitch.

First of all, it seems a little premature to proclaim Phosphacore as "the 2009 Diet Of The Year." After all, it's only May (at the time of this writing).

Secondly, it's hard to attribute a whole lot of credibility to such a recommendation when it's made in your own magazine. Yes, that's correct; Applied Nutritional Research is the company that sells Phosphacore (it's also brought us such "winners" as MoyoJava, reviewed here!). They awarded their own product the "diet of the year" award.

Go figure. Can you say "conflict of interest"?

Second, the miraculous "Carthamus tinctorius" is better known as safflower. It's a pretty common plant harvested for its oil.

But "Carthamus tinctorius" seems more scientific, and a heck of a lot more illustrious-sounding than safflower.

It also disguises the main ingredient, since safflower is used as a source of CLA, or conjugated linoleic acid, which has been used as a weight loss aid for—oh, I don't know, since dinosaurs roamed the earth.

I guess that maybe they didn't want you to know that?

Is CLA the miracle belly fat melter, as claimed by the makers of Phosphacore? Does it "break up and flush away unhealthy adipose cells?"

Hardly.

However, at a high enough dosage, CLA seems to help with moderate weight loss. For example, one study (Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 May;85(5):1203-11) stated...

"Given at a dose of 3.2 g/d, CLA produces a modest loss in body fat in humans."

Other evidence does indicate that CLA is a decent, if not revolutionary weight loss supplement (see Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Jun;79(6):1118-25, Br J Nutr. 2007 Mar;97(3):550-60, Int J Obes (Lond). 2007 Mar;31(3):481-7. Epub 2006 Aug 22, Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 May;85(5):1203-11), although I've never ever heard from anyone who has experienced ground breaking results with it. It is, however, a viable alternative for individuals who cannot handle caffeine or other stimulant-based fat burners. And CLA on it's own is certainly cheap enough (Phosphacore is a different story altogether), so it won't break the bank if you want to experiment with it.

Phosphacore also contains interminable amounts of...

1) Vitamin C: A common antioxidant, more information on Vitamin C can be found here.

2) Phosphatidylserine: According to the makers of Phosphacore, this ingredient is responsible for a 30% reduction in the stress hormone cortisol—which is responsible for fat storage, especially in the abdominal region. In reality, the only study I could find indicated...

"The findings suggest that PS is an effective supplement for combating exercise-induced stress and preventing the physiological deterioration that can accompany too much exercise."

Did you get that? That's "exercise-induced" stress, and at a daily dose of 600 mg. If you're over-training, it's hardly likely that being overweight is a serious issue for you. The advertising doesn't address the correct context of this study. Nor is it revealed how much phosphatidylserine is included in the product to determine whether supplementation might offer some benefit—even if it's only to athletes.

Now that we know what's in it, let's sum up the problems with Phosphacore...

It is extremely expensive (a single bottle sells for $40).While the ingredients are revealed (if you look hard enough) the dosages are not. This makes it impossible to assess the true value of this formula. Phosphacore is not "clinically proven." There have been no published studies performed on the Phosphacore formula. While CLA shows some promise, it certainly doesn't exhibit the sort of dramatic results promised by the sales copy.

If you like the "sound" of CLA, go ahead and try supplementing with it (in fact CLA is one of the few products we recommend on our "recommendations page"), but buy a readily available version. There's no need to spend $40 on Phosphacore.

For example, at BodyBuilding.com, you can buy 180 caps of PrimaForce Max CLA for just under $16. At three caps per day, that's a two month's worth supply.

Studies indicate that CLA is most effective when consumed in the 3.2 to 4.7 grams per day range. Most CLA supplements (including the PrimaForce Max CLA) contain 1,000 mg of safflower oil per serving, usually standardized for about 70% CLA per serving.

That means to obtain the ideal dosage for weight loss, you need to consume between 5-7 caps per day, instead of the recommended 3 (which will only provide you with 2.1 grams of CLA). That means a 180 capsule bottle will last you between 25 and 35 days. But at $16, it's still a good value.

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