The most popular weight loss products are the ones that do not require any work. Today, the shelves are full of products they claim to help consumers lose anywhere from 5 pounds to over 100 pounds. In many of these products consumers will find large doses of caffeine. According to a recentLos Angeles Times article caffeine can be found in most all of the get thin quick products. C. Michael White, a professor of pharmacy at the University of Connecticut in Storrs says that, to his knowledge, there are no well-designed studies showing that caffeine works better than a placebo when it comes to weight loss. White notes that caffeine is a diuretic, which means that people taking large doses might shed some weight through water loss, but that’s not the kind of slimming most users are looking for. Caffeine does seem to enhance the weight-loss powers of some other ingredients, White says. For example, green tea contains antioxidants that encourage cells to burn extra calories, and caffeinated green tea seems to promote more weight loss than decaf versions. Even this combination has very mild results similar to 2.5 pound weight loss instead of the 40 pounds reported by many diet products. Consumers should be leery of any product that has excessive amounts of caffeine. Dr. Kim explains to patients who are considering plastic surgery procedures that it is imperative that they give full disclosure in terms of any medications including diet supplements that they are taking prior to surgery. Even for what may appear to be routine procedures such as breast augmentation orliposuction it is critical that Dr. Kim is aware of any diet supplements that are being taken. Excessive amounts of caffeine can cause a person to be agitated and increase blood pressure. This is not an ideal situation for a patient prepare to have surgery. Dr. Kim typically asks patients to stop any and all medications a minimum of two weeks prior to surgery.
