Zantrex Black Reviews

Will these weight loss diet pills help you to lose weight?

On initial inspection Zantrex Black impresses, with some ingredients that aren’t particularly popular mixing alongside proven powerhouses. Once you take a closer look however, things start to fall apart quite spectacularly, as Zantrex Black commits the cardinal sin of dietary supplements by including a proprietary blend.

We’ll get into what this really means later on, but suffice to say that even before looking deeper, this is enough of a reason to recommend you look elsewhere if you want a diet pill to help you lose weight fast. A personal favourite of ours is Instant Knockout Cut, a fantastic weight loss supplement that combines the most potent ingredients in every area and wears it’s formula on it’s sleeve with a completely transparent and honest labelling. This means you know how much of each individual ingredient, and don’t have to resort to the warning label to determine how much caffeine is present.

Shop Instant Knockout Cut Deals Here

Without any further delay let’s get into the Zantrex Black review proper.

Zantrex Black Ingredients Breakdown

Vitamin B3 – 30mg

The only ingredient to not be a part of Zantrex’s proprietary blend, Vitamin B3 (also known as Niacin) is a popular choice for many weight loss pills, though slightly less so than it’s brothers B6 and B12. This isn’t to say B3 isn’t worth having though, as with all B-vitamins, Niacin plays a substantial role in metabolism, being converted into a coenzyme that is the catalyst for over 400 enzyme reactions in the body [1].

As important a role as it plays however, it’s lack of popularity is largely because it has less evidence suggesting a link to obesity than the likes of B6 and B12. Where there is legions of clinical trials assessing these for a potential therapeutic affect for losing weight, there’s just a handful for B3 that usually come with stipulations, such as a 1999 study that found Niacin bound Chromoium induced faster weight less in “modestly dieting/exercising” women [2], which has a high probability of being almost entirely intitiated by the chromium content, an essential mineral with many trials advocating it’s use in weight loss supplements [3].

Proprietary Blend – 1,160mg

Now we get into the meat of it all, but before we do let’s look into exactly what proprietary blend even means and why it matters so much.

Basically speaking, a proprietary blend is a loophole that many brands choose to exploit as it enables them to obfuscate the dosing information from the general public, but you can learn to read them. This is because, though individual dosing can be avoided this way, the ingredients have to be listed and it has to be in order of quantity, so the higher up the list the ingredient is, the more space it takes up in the blend. You can use this information to determine on some level whether or not an ingredient is properly dosed, though it’s more of an educated guess than anything certain.

Now you might be wondering why a brand might want to hide this information from it’s customers, when often times dosing is a selling point for a weight loss supplement, and unfortunately speaking your intuition is likely correct here – it’s to hide the fact that most of their ingredients aren’t properly dosed. This allows brands to fill their products with minuscule amounts of the more effective (and more expensive) ingredients, so they can market their presence without having to commit to actually including an effective amount of the stuff.

If this all sounds terrible deceptive, it’s because it is, and it’s often a large red flag on what tends to be bland and uninteresting formula under the surface. Speaking of, let’s get this Zantrex black review under way and see how it fairs under scrutiny.

Yerba Mate Leaf Extract

Yerba mate is most typically consumed as a tea after drying the leaves over an open flame. It’s unsurprising then that it shares many qualities with other tea leaves, such as being high in polyphenols, antioxidants and even containing about 80mg of caffeine per cup. As a drink it’s risen in popularity around the world as many have claimed it has the strength of coffee alongside the health benefits of tea, but does it help promote weight loss?

Well yeah, the data is actually fairly conclusive on this. You can see the results are very cut and dry in most clinical trials, such as this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial we found. It’s results stated that after 12 weeks, the group supplementing Yerba Mate had significant decreases in body fat mass, percent body fat and waist-hip ratio. The catch? They were taking three pills a day that contain 3g of Yerba Mate extract each [4].

That’s basically three times the entirety of Zantrex Black, three times a day, and it’s for this reason alone that Yerba Mate isn’t a more common dietary supplement. It just takes up too much space to be viable, despite the data clearly being in favour of it’s ability to help people burn fat. Remember what we said as well, Yerba Mate is the most plentiful ingredient in this proprietary blend, so even though it’s clinically worthless, it’s taking up a hell of a lot of space from more useful ingredients in Zantrex Black.

Guarana Seed Extract

You may be most familiar with Guarana for being one of the big words on the side of energy drinks, and this is because it’s a bit of a cliché ingredient that basically boils down to “More caffeine” whilst making the drinks come across as more organic and natural sounding. That being said, for weight loss, caffeine is a fantastic ingredient that is consistent across the board, with the only downside being that some people are very sensitive to it, so it somewhat limits the reach of your weight loss supplement if you decide to include it.

For those who can metabolise caffeine effectively however, it’s something you should definitely take advantage of for it’s rapid weight loss effects. This is because it works in three different ways that are all effective for weight loss, such as bolstering resting metabolism by increasing thermogenic activity within the body [5], to reducing energy intake by working as a appetite suppressant [6], and finally it’s been known to increase the intensity of workouts without prompts from researchers due to it’s ability to boost energy [7].

Trimethylxanthine (Caffeine)

So here we are on our third source of caffeine in Zantrex Black so there’s not much to really say about it, but the fact this is a proprietary blend this means that these three ingredients are the most plentiful in the entire formula. This is worrying when on the label there is a warning that this formula has about 300mg of caffeine and caffeine-like stimulants per serving (2 softgels).

If we’re optimistic about things we can imagine these three ingredients are all quite similarly dosed and each take up about 100mg each, which doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for the rest of the ingredients but means there’s a chance one or two of them might be dosed effectively. If we’re more realistic about things however, it’s not unreasonable to assume that instead what they’ve done is included about 200mg of Yerba Mate and barely anything of the rest, as it’s far more common for a proprietary blend. Just think about it, if they dosed these ingredients properly, wouldn’t that be a selling point? Why hide the information, unless it makes the product look bad?

Damiana Leaf Extract

This ancient aphrodisiac has been used in traditional for many years, and is even thought of to be a drug used by indigenous humans of Mexico and Central America. In modern times it’s found it’s way in dietary supplements such as weight loss supplements for it’s supposed appetite suppressant effects and testosterone boosters for it’s libido boosting effect.

The problem is, these effects have not been shown to have any real significant impact under scientific conditions. It’s inclusion is likely due to the result of one trial evaluating the effects of a plant extract formulation containing Yerba Mate, Guarana and Damiana on weight loss that wasn’t placebo controlled, wasn’t double-blinded, and failed to disclose the dosing of both the extract as a whole or it’s individual constituent.

The results aren’t even even being impressive, as the researcher concluded: “YGD produces a short term effect on caloric intake” [8], which is more likely than not the result of the caffeine content from Yerba Mate and Guarana, as we discussed previously, leaving the inclusion of Damiana leaf extract as the fourth most plentiful ingredient in the entire formula to be a rather baffling choice.

Green Tea Leaf Extract

Undeniably the cultural drink of Asia, green tea is a beloved drink across the world and is widely known for it’s health benefits and calming effects. There are many things that can be extracted from green tea, such as amino acid L-Theanine, but despite not being disclosed the most likely extract we’re discussing here is EGCG’s.

ECGC’s are flavinoids, the most plentiful in green tea, and they’ve been found to help with weight loss in many different clinical trials, which can be seen in a fantastic systematic review which contains 20 humans studies alongside many laboratory studies, all of which a significantly positive [9]. This shows that the results are very conclusive and easily replicable under scientific scrutiny, but is this the shining light to pul Zantrex out of it’s stupor?

The answer is a resounding no. To replicate the results of these tests you want about 500mg of green tea leaf extract, and the most optimistic approximations leave a dosage of less than 100mg still, with it more likely being dosed lower at this stage.

Kola Seed Extract

Kola seed, otherwise known as kola nut, is the seed of the cola plant. It’s most widely known for it’s use in Nigerian and West African traditional and cultural ceremonies. The main active ingredient is caffeine, which at this point isn’t much of a shock. Ofcourse this means it comes with the aforementioned amazing weight loss potential that caffeine offers, but do you really need four sources for one thing? It just goes to show that what Zantrex are doing with this long ingredients list is tricking you into believing there’s lots of good stuff here. A veritable house of cards to fall under the limpest breeze of scrutiny.

Schizonepeta Extract

Despite it’s name reminding us of a dangerous mental illness, this wonderful plant is used widely for it’s medicinal potential, being used to treat the common cold, fever, sore throat, pain, psoriasis and many other conditions, despite a lack of evidence.

This same lack of evidence is carried over into today’s use case, as we were unable to find any evidence whatsoever for it’s use as a fat burning supplement.

Black Pepper Extract

Likely the only well dosed ingredient due to requiring between 5-10mg for it to be effective, black pepper extract is a sight for sore eyes for sure. The main active ingredient here is piperine, which is incidentally also responsible for the distinctive kick and flavour that black pepper is best known for.

What piperine does is it increases the bioavailability of all the other ingredients, which is a very fancy way of saying it increases their potency. This has made it a very popular ingredient across pretty much any dietary supplement you can imagine, including sleep aids and testosterone boosters. Unfortunately, though valuable as it is, this effect is slight, and won’t be enough to make up the difference for Zantrex’s poor dosing decisions.

Rhodiola Crentula Root Extract

Rhodiola rosea has a long history of use in traditional medicine, especially among Europe and Asia as it seems to grow best in the colder fringes these continents offer. It’s use cases are mostly for anxiety, but evidence is a bit here and there so it’s usefulness are debating.

For weight loss things don’t bode any better, though it’s worth noting that there seems to be a large community of people that swear by it, far more than you’d expect. The data just doesn’t support the anecdotal evidence however as, despite some positive results in animal trials, it’s yet to reach human intervention trials, meaning we have no idea how effective it actually is, as promising as it might be. This raises questions as to why exactly it would be included in a weight loss supplement at all, other than potentially trying to capitalise on this minority of people that believe in it?

Asian Ginseng Root Extract

Now this is more like it, as Asian ginseng (also known as red ginseng) is a popular ingredient among many weight loss pills. Similar to Guarana, you’ll probably recognise ginseng best as a common ingredient in energy drinks. This is less for any abilities to boost energy but instead because it aids circulation [10], bringing high blood pressure down and raising low blood pressure, which in turn can increase performance and energy expenditure during exercise.

It’s also proven to be effective for weight loss, with lots of evidence revealing anti-obesity effects, such as this 2014 study that simply stated “Ginseng exerted a weight loss effect and slight effects on gut microbiota in all participants” [11]. Ofcourse the main issue here is dosing, as we’re in all likelihood dealing with an approximate dosage of around 10mg with it following black pepper extract.

Maca Root Extract

Used for centuries as ancient medicine in the andes, maca root is more commonly know as a popular ingredient for testosterone boosters. It’s appearance here is quite perplexing, as it’s never been know for weight loss effects, or at least not potent enough ones to be considered. Seems to be another filler ingredient picked only to extend this ingredient list far beyond anything useful.

The only tests we could find with anything positive to say were a more overall sense of improved health as opposed to something that is strictly useful for weight loss. For example a high quality study we found concluded by saying: “The present study has demonstrated that consumption of red and black maca for 12 weeks resulted in an improvement of mood, energy, and health status.”[12].

Cacao Seed Extract

The humble beginnings of chocolate, something many would say is the antithesis of a weight loss product, being in a weight loss pill is something quite humorous to behold at first glance, but when you look deeper in you find that your instinct that this is maybe a bit of a silly choice is absolutely validated.

That being said there’s been legitimate studies done on this for genuinely good reasons, such as the very high polyphenol count in cacao seeds and high cacao percentage dark chocolates. We spoke about EGCG, but there’s other powerful polyphenols that have been found to be very useful such as even resveratrol from red wine being one of the most potent antioxidants we know of. With cacao however, though the idea was sound and it was definitely worth looking into, just didn’t deliver the same results.

We found a systematic review of the most relevant scientific papers released on this subject that found five of the studies reported not change in body weight or BMI, and two of the studies actually noted an increase in body weight [13]. Not ideal.

Black Tea Leaf Extract

A staple of British culture and popular the world over, black tea is often seen as a softer version of coffee, containing a lot less caffeine but a lot more antioxidants. It’s less commonly discussed as a potential weight loss product when compared to the likes of Green Tea and Yerba Mate, but it does get brought up from time to time.

Similar to green tea, the main base for black tea’s weight loss potential is the caffeine and polyphenol content held within. We found a study looking into the mechanisms of weight loss black tea has, and it explains the polyphenols present in black tea are capable of inhibiting lipid (fat) digestion, absorption and intake, thus reducing caloric intake [14]

The study also acknowledged that those these mechanisms have been recognised, more human intervention studies are needed to really discover the potential of black tea polyphenols.

Verdict

As we look back on this formula something strange becomes rather apparent, as all of the effects here (Or atleast anything dosed enough to have any effect at all) can be almost identically mirrored by popping a caffeine pill whilst drinking a cup of tea, or even delving into the deep, dark world of popping a tea bag in your morning coffee. Perhaps this is what inspired the name of the product, as the creator probably loves a black tea.

Jokes aside, this product is something we just can’t recommend. Not only is it ineffective as a weight loss product but their conduct as a business, such as the use of a propriatary blend obfuscating valuable information from the consumers, just leaves a sour taste in the mouth, leading us to question what’s really here that’s worth your time and money.

That’s why we’d much rather turn your attention to one of the best on the market right now, Instant Knockout Cut. It contains a reasonable amount of caffeine so if the benefits we spoke of left a good impression, this is something that will provide a similar edge. Much more than that though, as Instant Knockout Cut contains what are basically the most potent ingredients for every anti-obesity effect you can imagine. The best part is you don’t have to take our word for it, as all you have to do is turn the box around (or a quick google/ browse of their website) and there it is, every ingredient alongside it’s individual dosing.

We can’t recommend it highly enough, be sure to click the link below to get the latest deals.

Shop Instant Knockout Cut Deals Here

References

1 – https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Niacin-HealthProfessional/

2 – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11225649/

3 – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9763876/

4 – https://centertrt.org/blog/yerba-mate-weight-loss-does-it-work.html

5 – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6467726/

6 – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28446037/

7 – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8400708/

8 – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23207186/

9 – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7830344/