Cortislim’s whole marketing spin was to reduce the amount of cortisol in a person’s body. Cortisol is a hormone related to high levels of stress. The idea was that stress causes weight gain, and if we can lower the cortisol hormon (decrease stress) then the person could also lose weight. Setting aside the fact that exercise is a great stress reliever, does Cortislim really do what it claims?

Cortislim’s Claims Challenged by FTC

Based on a press release from October 5, 2004, the FTC wasn’t too happy with the marketers of Cortislim (and CortiStress), saying they had made false or unsubstantiated claims:

The FTC alleges that the defendants promoted cortisol control as “the answer” for anyone who wants to lose weight, especially abdominal weight. According to the FTC’scomplaint, the defendants’ broadcast ads, print ads, and Web sites claimed that persistently elevated levels of cortisol, the “stress hormone,” are the underlying cause of weight gain and weight retention and also claimed that CortiSlim effectively reduces and controls cortisol levels and thereby causes substantial weight loss. The FTC alleges that the defendants claimed that CortiSlim: (1) causes weight loss of 10 to 50 pounds for virtually all users; (2) causes users to lose as much as 4 to 10 pounds per week over multiple weeks; (3) causes users to lose weight specifically from the abdomen, stomach, and thighs; (4) causes rapid and substantial weight loss; (5) causes long-term or permanent weight loss; and (6) causes weight loss. The FTC also alleges that the defendants claimed that the effectiveness of CortiSlim and its ingredients is demonstrated by over 15 years of scientific research. According to the FTC’s complaint, these claims are false or unsubstantiated.

The FTC also reached far and wide, contacting multiple websites hawking CortiSlim with this this letter.What was the end result with the FTC’s complaint against CortiSlim? While the Final Agreement is stipulated according to the FTC, wikipedia states that Cortislim eventually paid $1.2 million (in conjunction with many other diet pill makers for false or unsubstantiated claims) ((http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CortiSlim)) ((http://www.barryyeoman.com/articles/weight.html)).

Cortislim Also Gets Mixed up with the FDA

On August 19, 2004 the FDA sent a letter to Stephen Cheng and Window Rock Enterprises, makers of CortiSlim and CortiStress. The FDA stated the following in their warning letter:

the dietary supplement CortiSlim is misbranded and violates the provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act). According to the FDA’s letter, CortiSlim’s label and accompanying information make unsubstantiated claims that CortiSlim “eliminates cravings,” “controls appetite,” “burn[s] calories more efficiently and naturally through thermogenesis,” and “diminishe[s] hunger and stress eating.” The FDA also asserts that claims that CortiSlim “supports healthy cortisol levels” or “supports weight maintenance efforts” would be unsubstantiated.

But Does CortiSlim Work? Maybe the Cortislim Peeps Just got Claim-Trigger Happy?

According to an article in O, The Oprah Magazine by Barry Yeoman, the connection between Cortisol and weight gain is “loose at best”:

Experts remain unconvinced that the product works at all. For one, they say the stress-cortisol-weight relationship is a loose one at best. “Not everyone who reports high stress is producing a lot of cortisol,” says Elissa Epel, PhD, assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. And while some investigations have linked excess cortisol with weight gain, the New England Research Institutes, which conduct trials for government agencies and commercial enterprises, recently found that obese men had significantly lower amounts of the hormone than normal-weight guys. “Despite popular claims that reducing cortisol levels could lead to weight loss, we find little evidence,” wrote the study’s authors.

So what we’re unsure of here is whether the hormone cortisol is connected to weight gain.The next question goes one step further — does CortiSlim even affect cortisol levels? According to the same article, the unfortunate news (if you sell CortiSlim) goes something like this:

A thorough review of the medical literature on each of its ingredients found little to suggest that it would. “I don’t think there is remotely sufficient support for the claim,” says Stanford University neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky, PhD. “Certainly not support of a type that would satisfy the vast majority of metabolic endocrinologists.”

CortiSlim Ingredient Profile

• Vitamin C and Calcium - a vitamin and a mineral with undisputed healthy benefits and very little to do with weight loss through cortisol reduction.
• Chromium (see the Chromium review) is a bit up in the air with research falling on both sides of the fence. CortiSlim’s 50 mcg dose is far too little to effect any weight loss result.
• Proprietary Blend: Cortiplex Cortisol Control Blend
  • Magnolia Bark
  • Licorice Root PE
  • Beta-SitosterolL-Theanine

• Leptiplex Thermogenic Blend
  • Green Tea
  • Orange Peel (Citrus Aurantium)

Insutrol Glucose Control Blend

• Banaba Leaf
• Vanadyl Sulfate

The vast majority of these ingredients are simply eye candy and, as was mentioned above, with thorough medical research done on each of them, there was little to no evidence showing the cortisol hormone being affected. As a diet pill stands, cortisol aside, CortiSlim is weak weak weak. The Themogenic proprietary blend is a total of just 125mg, clearly not enough to have much of a weight loss effect - even when both ingredients used have been shown to be excellent at metabolic enhancement.

CortiSlim Review Conclusion

There are several things I don’t like about CortiSlim:

• They made unsubstantiated and false claims in their advertising, misleading consumers. Even if CortiSlim were an effective weight loss supplement, I wouldn’t recommend it for that very reason.
• The connection between the cortisol hormone and weight is weak — very weak.
• CortiSlim’s ability to reduce cortisol levels isn’t proven — at all. The creator himself said that in this industry, clinical studies aren’t necessary…

There are many other better alternatives when you’re looking to lose weight. Stay away from CortiSlim.

Recommended Diet Pills