Label Review: Hollywood 48 Hour Miracle Diet®
November 2000; Volume 2; 87-88
With Comments by Adriane Fugh-Berman, MD
Package Information
"Lose up to ten pounds in 48 hours!"
"Lose weight while you cleanse, detoxify and rejuvenate your body!"
"Congratulations on taking the first step! You are just 48 hours away from looking and feeling better. I know, I created this product to help me with my own weight problem. It worked for me and it can work for you too." Jamie Kabler, "The Diet Guru"
Suggested Usage
Day one: Mix one four ounce serving of concentrate with four ounces of bottled water. Sip over the next four hours. Repeat this three more times during the rest of the day. Day two: Repeat above. For best results use once a month.
Important: Do not eat food, alcohol, caffeine or tobacco while on " Hollywood 48 Hour Miracle Diet." Drink eight glasses of water each day. Shake well before each use. Refrigerate after opening. Use before the expiration date on the top of the cap. Always consult physician before beginning any weight loss program.
Supplement Facts
Serving size: 4 fl ounces (237 ml)
Servings per container: 8
Amount per serving
calories: 100 (energy)
calories from fat: 0
% daily value
total fat 0 g 0%
Cholesterol 0 mg 0%
sodium 20 mg 2%
Total Carbohydrates 25 9%
Sugars 22 g
Protein 0 g
Vitamin A 75%
Vitamin C 75%
Vitamin D 75%
Vitamin E 75%
Thiamin 75%
Riboflavin 75%
Niacin 75%
Vitamin B6 75%
Folic acid 75%
Vitamin B12 75%
Biotin 75%
Pantothenic acid 75%
Ingredients: purified water, pineapple, apple, orange and grapefruit concentrates, apricots, peach and banana purees, vitamin palmitate, vitamin D, vitamin E acetate, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), thiamin mononitrate (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2) pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12), niacin, folic acid, pantothenic acid, biotin and a special blend of essential oils of bergamot, tangerine, lemon, orange, and lavender.
The statements contained herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Manufactured by Aspen Products, Inc., 1800 E. Sahara Blvd., Ste. 107, Las Vegas, NV 89104
Price: 32 fl. oz. (1 qt; 947 ml), $19.90
Comments
This was the ultimate sacrifice. After unsuccessfully trying to palm this product off on various friends, colleagues, or anyone I met who mentioned that they wanted to lose a few pounds, I came to the grim conclusion that I would have to try this product myself. In the spirit of experimentation I actually consumed nothing but this juice for 24 hours. (My friends, on reading this, are frantically dialing 911; I have never voluntarily skipped one of my five, preferably hot, meals a day.) No, I am not overweight, and, yes, everyone hates me. This background is provided not only to ensure that the readers understand what an enormous sacrifice I have made for you, but also to point out that I have an atypical metabolism, and results from this extremely sloppy experiment should be interpreted in light of that fact.
The product tastes mainly of pineapple and apricots; it is not very sweet, especially diluted with water. It’s not bad. It does seem to have an appetite suppressant effect; I did not feel all that hungry. Homicidal, yes, but not particularly hungry. Apologies to anyone I snapped at during the National Women’s Health Network board meeting. I ignored the restriction on caffeine (sacrifices have their limit) but I didn’t eat for 24 hours. According to the bathroom scale in the building where the meeting was held, I lost four pounds. However, skipping a day of food probably would cause me to lose four pounds even without magic juice. (I have no data to back that statement up and, no, I’m not going to find out!) I believe the weight was regained within a few days, but I don’t really know because the meeting ended and I don’t own a scale on the grounds that scales are evil devices whose threat to women’s self-esteem is rivaled only by fashion and beauty magazines. So, in summary, efficacy was demonstrated in an uncontrolled, n-of-1 study with a noncompliant, metabolically atypical patient using a (literally) unvalidated scale.
So, did I risk anything besides the lives of my fellow meeting-goers? Probably not. This product contains essential oils of bergamot, tangerine, lemon, orange, and lavender, in unspecified amounts. Species names are not given, so one can’t tell, for example, whether the "orange" referred to is bitter or sweet. This isn’t a specific criticism of this product; citrus oils are considered GRAS (generally recognized as safe) and commonly are used as food flavorings and additives. Manufacturers are not required to state the amount present nor the botanical name (in fact, the only clue on some labels that essential oils are present may be the term "natural flavoring").
Bitter orange (Citrus aurantium) contains synephrine and octopamine, sympathomimetic phenolamines that probably are the active ingredients in this drink.1 Bitter orange also contains 89-96% d-limonene. Bergamot orange (Citrus bergamia), the flavoring in Earl Grey tea, contains linalyl acetate 36-45%, limonene 28-32%, and linalool 11-22%. Lemon (Citrus limon) contains primarily d-limonene 70%. Tangerine (Citrus reticulata) contains tangaretin. Lavender contains linalool, linalyl acetate, and camphor; true lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is low in camphor. Other lavender species (L..intermedia, L. stoechas) can contain up to 30% camphor, but, according to Alternative Therapies in Women’s Health board member Tieraona Low Dog, MD, camphorous lavender generally is not sold because it smells bad! A good thing, since camphor is notably epileptogenic.
None of the other ingredients are particularly toxic. D-limonene, the most common isomer of limonene, is nontoxic in humans and most animals (toxicity has been demonstrated only in one strain of male rat). Several compounds could cause photosensitivity. The psoralens bergapten is found in some preparations of bergamot and lemon oil (however, most companies use bergapten-free oil), and bitter orange contains phototoxic oxypeucedanin.
Linalool is known to have some sedative effects. Besides synephrine and octopamine, no other compounds in this mixture have been linked to appetite suppression or weight loss to my knowledge (and no information on such an effect was identified in a MEDLINE search).
Little is known about the effects of synephrine or octopamine in humans. One trial of a weight loss product containing synephrine has been published.2 Sympathomimetics would be expected to increase heart rate and blood pressure, and cannot be presumed safe in those with cardiovascular disease. Products containing synephrine or octopamine should at least be labeled with the amount. Short- and long-term safety of these amines should be established before we can recommend their use by patients
References
1. Tisserand R, Balacs T. Essential Oil Safety. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone; 1995.
2. Colker CM, et al. Effects of Citrus aurantium extract, caffeine, and St. John’s wort on body fat loss, lipid levels, and mood states in overweight healthy adults. Curr Ther Res 1999; 60:145-153.
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