Phentramine Review

Phentramine BottlePhentramine, (not to be confused with Phenhermine, another rip-off product) is attempting to carve out its niche by capitalizing on the popularity of the prescription drug Phentermine, which is prescribed by doctors as an appetite suppressant. Don’t be confused by all the variations on the name. The gist of it is that you have to look at the ingredients.

Phentramine’s Ingredients

Phentramine’s ingredients are outlined on their website, but the supplement facts aren’t given, so the dosage amount is unknown. This makes it tough to evaluate. Many diet pill companies these days mask the dosage in a “proprietary blend” and Phetramine is no different. It would be nice if they at least listed their ingredients from greatest to least amount so we could get a general idea.

  • Hoodia Gordonii is a fad diet pill ingredient where the claim that it suppresses the appetite. The little research that has been done on Hoodia has shown that it would most likely be impossible to ingest enough Hoodia to make it worthwhile, since most of the active ingredient (P57) is metabolized by the liver. Notice how the Phentramine website tries to legitimize Hoodia by simply quoting media outlets about it. The media is in the same business of selling hype — they do it all day long — so it’s no surprise that their quote about Hoodia sounds mysterious and amazing. They’re trying to sell a story. How exciting would the story be if they simply reported what I just mentioned above?
  • Guarana, in conjunction with Yerba Mate and Damiana (sometime seen as GYD, or GDY) has been shown in research to aid in fat loss. However, Phentramine went the less effective (less expensive) route and didn’t include the Y and D of this effective equation. The result is that Guarana stands alone in Phentramine — not having nearly the weight loss effect it would have if it were formulated properly.
  • Cha de Bugre – is an ancient herb known for its appetite suppressing abilities. Hard and fast research related to Cha de Bugre, however, is extremely limited.
  • Ginseng – an herb popularly used for energy and its ability to aid in lowering blood glucose levels, there could possibly be some merit to it1, though some researchers are demanding more research before being able to recommend it2.
  • Phentramine also contains Citrus Aurantium. The active ingredient in Citrus Aurantium is Synephrine. Synephrine has been shown to be an effective stimulant. This doesn’t mean Phentramine can be recommended however, since we have no idea hos muc Synephrine is actually present. The level of synephrine in Citrus Aurantium can vary wildly from selection to selection. It would have been much better for the Phentramine group to purchase Synephrine as an extract, so the inclusion could be measured.
  • Both Magnolia Bark and Piper Nigrum are more label eye candy than anything else.

A Call with Phentramine’s Customer Service

I contacted Phentramine’s customer service at 1-877-445-1034 and was pleasantly surprised that a person answered the phone after just one right — not a machine, but an actual person. Kudos to them for that.

Of course, the call went downhill from there. The rep told me where I could find a list of ingredients but admitted they didn’t provide the amounts. He also was excited about Hoodia, which is unfortunate, since it’s a scam. (The “thing” he mentions when he’s trying to explain the 20:1 ratio idea is the P57 extract that I mentioned above).

Finally, the best part about the call was the fact that I discovered they don’t offer a moneyback guarantee. A shame. At least 90% of diet pill companies will offer a moneyback guarantee so it’s suspect that Phentramine won’t do this.

You can listen to the call here if you’d like: Phentramine Review Phonecall

Phentramine Review Conclusion

Phentramine just doesn’t have an ingredient profile that I can be excited about. Their inclusion (and excitement) about Hoodia Gordonii means they’re hawking a product whose flagship ingredient is absolutely worthless. Their pricing is extremely high for what their ingredients could possibly bring. The one upside is that their customer service was quick to answer the phone. It’s extremely unfortunate that Phentramine won’t stay by its product enough to be able to offer a moneyback guarantee. I won’t recommend a product unless the guarantee is in place.

Phentramine’s simply trying to capitalize on the confusion with the similar name of Phetermine. It’s a common ploy, but they don’t have nearly the ingredient profile needed to be even comparable. I do not recommend Phentramine.

  1. J Food Sci. 2007 Oct;72(8):S590-4 [↩]
  2. Am Fam Physician. 2004 Nov 1;70(9):1731-8. [↩]

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