Hydroxycut is one of the most well-known, weight loss supplements in the last decade. We’ll use this Hydroxycut review to dig in to its ingredients, and track record.

*Update: Hydroxycut Recall

On May 1, 2009 the FDA issued a warning to consumers to stop taking Hydroxycut-branded products. Over more than 7 years they have received 23 reports of health related issues with those taking Hydroxycut-branded products. The main health concern appears to be serious liver-related problems. Iovate Health Sciences Inc., the makers of Hydroxcut, have voluntarily recalled all of the products under question in the FDA’s report. In light of this new report, Hydroxycut-branded products are no longer recommended on this site.

Considering the millions of people who have taken Hydroxycut products, 23 accounts of health complications is a relatively low number. Nevertheless, you should never place yourself in any unnecessary risk. Symptoms of liver problems include: jaundice (yellowing of the skin), brown urine, light colored stools, unusual tiredness, stomach pain, itching, loss of appetite, weakness, and vomiting. You can see the full FDA report here.

The products that are currently being recalled by Iovate include:

• Hydroxycut Regular Rapid Release Caplets
• Hydroxycut Caffeine-Free Rapid Release Caplets
• Hydroxycut Hardcore Liquid Caplets
• Hydroxycut Max Liquid Caplets
• Hydroxycut Regular Drink Packets
• Hydroxycut Caffeine-Free Drink Packets
• Hydroxycut Hardcore Drink Packets (Ignition Stix)
• Hydroxycut Max Drink Packets
• Hydroxycut Liquid Shots
• Hydroxycut Hardcore RTDs (Ready-to-Drink)
• Hydroxycut Max Aqua Shed
• Hydroxycut 24
• Hydroxycut Carb Control
• Hydroxycut Natural

You can also see Hydroxycut’s informational page about the recall for more information.

Also, according to the FDA, “The agency has not yet determined which ingredients, dosages, or other health-related factors may be associated with risks related to these Hydroxycut products. The products contain a variety of ingredients and herbal extracts.” Some believe, however, that the health problems stem from the ingredient Hydroxycitric Acid, also known as HCA. Further study and research is needed to confirm this theory, but until proven otherwise any products that contain HCA are no longer recommended on this website.

Hydroxycut’s Marketing

• Hydroxycut’s Success Stories – Hydroxycut uses Before and After photos masterfully (some diet pill companies don’t do it so well) to encourage the potential customer to give Hydroxycut a try. Each of the stories talks much more about how the person changed their eating/exercising habits and very little about the assistance of the Hydroxycut supplement in their transformation. I don’t doubt that some of these success stories are legitimate (35 pounds in 20 weeks is a lot, but it’s not crazy. Usually you’ll see a large amount of weight loss and then have the rate of weight loss taper off as times goes on).
• Other Resources – Hydroxycut.com’s website is far and away one of the better diet pill websites out there. They boast a serious amount of information about everything from leading an active lifestyle to recipes to a body mass index calculator. My hat’s off to them for providing so much useful information.

Become a Celebrity with Hydroxycut?

I had to laugh when I saw their advertisment to become a Hydroxycut Celebrity. It’s an interesting gimmick. They offer a person “an endorsement contract” worth $5,000 and the person supposedly will become famous because they’re featured on late-night informercials. A stretch to say the least. Considering the revenue that Hydroxycut obviously brings in for the company, to drop even several hundred thousand dollars on these endorsements is nothing for them. They still have very, very juicy margins.

What About the Actualy Hydroxycut Product? Does it Work? Absolutely.

I suppose that is the real question. Let’s dig in.

• Calcium – good for the bones, a vital mineral, but nothing to be crazy about when it comes to weight loss.
• Chromium (see full Chromium Picolinate review) – it’s up in the air about Chromium’s efficacy when it comes to weight loss. Some studies support it, others don’t.  We’re mostly a fan.
• Potassium – also healthy, but not a lot to do with weight loss.

The real potency with Hydroxycut comes from its trademarked Hydroxagen Plus ingredient. At 1.32 grams, that’s quite a bit of ingredient, which gets us excited.  Most companies proprietary blends are 300-500 mg (small enough to not do anything basically):

• Garcinia cambogia, at 60% of HCA. Hydroxycut’s form of HCA is 10 times more expensive than their competitor’s form of HCA. Is that true? There’s honestly no way to tell. According to this study HCA “was also shown to exhibit concentration-dependent release of serotonin in isolated rat brain cortex, which may explain its appetite suppressive action.” This is key.
• Green Tea (see my Green Tea review) is also a component of their proprietary Hydroxagen blend. I can stand behind Green Tea as it’s backed by mounds of research showing that it does increase your metabolic rate, which increases the amount of calories you burn, which burns fat. This ingredient is effective.
• Gymnema sylvestre is meant to be an appetite suppressant specific to control sugar cravings. There has been some scientific evidence to support this claim.

Hydroxycut Review Conclusion

I’ll reiterate that I like Hydroxycut’s website for its information specific to exercise, eating habits, and lifestyle changes. The site’s also extremely well done. The company has a strong track record, and isn’t fly-by-night — which you’ll see a lot of these days.

The Hydroxycut ingredient profile is strong, so with a proven track record and a reasonable price, it’s currently a product we can recommend.

***Update: Please see the Hydroxycutr review update at the top of the page for recent information about Hydroxycut.