Ingredients

Infinergy DiCaffeine Malate (250mg) – While DiCaffeine Malate isn’t any better or more effective than regular caffeine, caffeine has been proven to increase the metabolic rate, thus aiding in weight loss. You can read our caffeine review here or our DiCaffeine Malate review here.

Humulus Lupulus (100mg) – While I wasn’t able to find much research about this ingredient, the little that I did find suggested that Humulus Lupulus can have a calming effect. The inclusion of this ingredient is likely to offset the effects (jitters) of the stimulants in Phenphedrine.

Chocamine (50mg) – A “patent pending” cocoa extract that’s suppose to have the good benefits of chocolate without the sugar. It contains caffeine and hence, is another stimulant.

Razberri-K (50mg) – Raspberry Ketone is believed by some to help in fat buring, but evidence is lacking.

Ginger (50mg) – While there’s not much research out there on the effects of ginger on weight loss in humans, it’s believed by some to help with arthritis pain and heart disease. Don’t plan on it doing much in terms of weight loss.

Phenylethylamine (20mg) – Having been shown to increase feelings of well-being, Phenylethylamine has been called by some the “Love Drug.” It’s likely put into Phenphedrine to counteract some of effects of the stimulants.

Synephrine (20mg) – Has been proven to be an effective stimulant in weight loss. The inclusion of synephrine means that the weight loss pill will be more effective, but also that those who don’t do well with stimulants should look elsewhere.

Evodiamine (15mg) – Has been shown to contribute to weight loss.

Sclareolide (15mg)

Dimethylamylamine (15mg) – Another powerful stimulant.

Yohimbine (3mg) – Has been shown to contribute to weight loss by mobilizing fatty acid.

The ingredients in Phenphedrine are, for the most part, pretty effective ingredients. It is very stimulant heavy, so those that don’t do well with stimulants should consider something else. The ingredient profile in Phenphedrine is very similar to that of Fenphedra. Phenphedrine has added a couple of other ingredients, but not many of them are anything to shout about.

Phenphedrine’s Marketing

Blatantly put, the Phenphedrine website is almost a direct copy of the Fenphedra website. They both use the same CART vs NPY sales copy, which makes sense since they contain much of the same ingredients.

While I can’t be sure if the testimonials on the website are legitimate or not, I don’t like that the photos are obviously stock photos (seen all over the internet) and not photos of the actual person giving the testimonial.

Phenphedrine’s Price

Phenphedrine costs $69.95 per bottle. This is an average price for an effective diet pill. If it wouldn’t work, I’d say this is too much, but if Phenphedrine can deliver results (like Fenphedra), than the price is reasonable.

Lifetime Guarantee

One thing that I really like about Phenphedrine is that they offer a lifetime money back guarantee. They don’t let you return any opened bottles, but this is somewhat common in this industry.

Conclusion

The ingredients in Phenphedrine are strong. As such, this stimulant heavy diet pill is likely to help you with weight loss. Because of the stimulants, however, the diet pill won’t be for everyone. All things considered, Phephedrine gets a green light.

“Decrease body fat

Instant Response

Control Appetite

Lasting Energy” (TFuel Hardcore package).

This TFuel Hardcore review finds TFuel Hardcore is a waste of your time and money; there is NO reason to believe it will lead to weight loss.

TFuel Hardcore Ingredients

• Vitamin B3 does not cause weight loss.
• Vitamin B12 does not cause weight loss.
• Pyridoxine HCL
• Chromium (from Chromium Polynicotinate) has shown varying results in clinical trials.
• Pantothenic Acid (as d-calcium pantothenate)
• Thiamin has healthy benefits but does not cause weight loss.
• Caffeine Anhydrous does contribute to weight loss, but TFuel Hardcore fails to list how much caffeine it contains.
• Synephrine HCL is an effective diet pill, but the important aspect with Synephrine is the concentration contained (the higher the concentration the better). TFuel Hardcore diet pills do not reveal the concentration contained.
• Vinpocetine helps treat age-related memory problems; it does not cause weight loss.
• Rhodiola Rosea (Rosavins) is a mood enhancing ingredient; it does not cause weight loss.
• L-Tyrosine contributes to weight loss when taken in doses of 500 to 1500 mg per day. It is highly unlikely that TFuel Hardcore contains enough Tyrosine to cause weight loss.
• Schizandra Chinensis
• L-Taurine is supposed to increase energy, but research has failed to back up this claim.
• St. Johns Wort
• Ginger Root
• Magnolia Bark (Honokiol)
• Green Tea Leaf (Polyphenols) is an effective diet pill ingredient, but the amount contained is hidden.
• L-Phenylaline is a good diet pill ingredient, but again TFuel Hardcore fails to list how much Phenylalanine it contains.
• Valerian Root
• Passion Flower
• Octopamine HCL has not been proven to cause weight loss.
• Glucoronolactone
• 5 HTP (5 Hydroxy-L-tryptophan) is a mood enhancer; it does not directly contribute to weight loss.
• Evodiamine has been shown to contribute to weight loss in rodents, but more human research is needed.
• Hoodia Gordonii, despite what many diet pill companies claim, does NOT contribute to weight loss.
• Resveratrol
• Chocamine needs more research to determine if it is an effective weight loss ingredient.

Do not be impressed by this excessive list of ingredients. TFuel Hardcore diet pills do contain some effective ingredients, but they fail to mention how much of each ingredient is included. This is usually because there is just a trace amount of each ingredient included. There is no reason to believe TFuel Hardcore will actually cause weight loss.

The TFuel Hardcore package claims it contains “patented ingredients.” The truth is that these ingredients are included in dozens of diet pills; TFuel Hardcore is nothing special.

TFuel Hardcore Price

TFuel Hardcore diet pills cost $59 for 120 capsules. If you take the recommended dose of 6 capsules per day, one bottle will last 20 days. This is very expensive for a diet pill.

Who is behind TFuel Hardcore?

After searching online, the only place we found to buy on TFuel Hardcore diet pills was on Ebay. There is no mention of who manufacturers TFuel Hardcore. It is not even listed on the packaging. This is a huge red flag. There is no guarantee with TFuel Hardcore. Don’t bother with this product; there are just too many unknowns, including manufacturer and ingredient amounts.

TFuel Hardcore Conclusion

This TFuel Hardcore review finds TFuel Hardcore is nothing more than another diet pill out to get your money. Not only does TFuel Hardcore hide how much of each ingredient is included, they do not even disclose the name of the manufacturer. If you really want to lose weight, go with a diet pill that includes proven ingredients in the necessary amounts.

This Leptorexin review will look into their ingredients to see if it is all that they claim.

Leptorexin Ingredients

Vitamins & Minerals

Vitamin C (60 mg)
Vitamin B12 (60 mcg)
Vitamin B6 (5 mg)
Chromium Polynicotinate (200 mcg)
Selenium (50 mcg)

Euphoric Fat Burning Matrix (715 mg)

Chocamine
DiCaffeine Malate
Rhodiola Rosea
St Johns Wort
L-Tyrosine
Picamilon
Phenylethylamine
Synephrine
Ginkgo
Siberian Ginseng
Ginger
5-HTP
Vinpocetine

Superfood Matrix (400 mg)

Barley
Garlic
Cayenne
Buckwheat
Soybean
Flaxseed
Lactobacillus Acidophillus
Wheatgrass
Acai
Alfalfa

Lean Muscle Matrix (480 mg)

L-Glutamine
Creatine
L-Arginine
Avena Sativa
Mucuna Pruriens
Ipriflavone
Ecdysterone
Coleus

Cellular Detox Matrix (400 mg)

Dandelion Root
Milk Thistle
Licorice
Cranberry
Uva Ursi
Sage

Anti-Aging Matrix (150 mg)

Green Tea
DMAE
L-Carnitine
Alpha Lipoic Acid

For full reviews of each ingredient, click on its link above.

Leptorexin’s ingredient profile contains both quality, proven ingredients as well as some that aren’t likely to do much.  Often when we see a long list of ingredients such as this our first reaction is to assume that they aren’t able to fit enough of each ingredient in the pill to be effective.  With Leptorexin, however, this may or may not be the case.  They use proprietary blends, which is a big turnoff.  But the amounts of those blends (or at least a couple of the blends) appears to possibly be sufficient to be effective.  With all proprietary blends, however, it’s extremely difficult to give a solid answer as to its probable effectiveness.

Leptorexin Marketing

The first that we noticed is that Leptorexin looked incredibly familiar.  Well if you look at PatenTrim, you may feel the same way.  It looks like Leptorexin has copied many of the design features of PatenTrim.  I’m not sure what exactly their strategy was for such a move, but it’s possible that they are trying to borrow from some of PatenTrim’s credibility.

Aside from that, the website is quite open about the ingredients (although they do use proprietary blends) and has some basic details about most of them.  We like that.  They do, however, use the overly abused TV logos, trying to make you think that they’ve been featured on them.  That’s highly unlikely.

The Leptorexin Guarantee

They have a 100% lifetime money back guarantee.  You can only return unopened bottles, but this is still much better than almost all of the other guarantees out there.

Leptorexin Cost

For one bottle it’s $59.99.

Leptorexin Conclusion

The ingredient profile in Leptorexin contains a myriad of ingredients.  Some are good, some are mediocre.  We like their great guarantee and if the pill is effective, the price isn’t too bad.  It’s always hard to fully recommend something that uses proprietary blends, so Leptorexin gets a pretty average review.  There may be better solutions out there, but it is likely to help you lose weight.

• “Lose Weight
• Have Blemish Free Skin
• Increase Sexual Desire & Sensation
• Increase the Size and Firmness of Your Breasts”

This CurvaTrim review will explore the ins and outs of CurvaTrim and help you determine if this is the product you have been looking for.

CurvaTrim diet pill ingredients

Proprietary Blend 757.5 mg

• Green Tea (50% caffeine)
• Soy Isofavones 40% extract
• Chocamine
• Cinnamon
• Ginger root
• Kelp
• L-Tyrosine
• Dong quai
• Damiana leaves
• Wild yam root
• Avena sativa
• Motherswort
• Blessed thistle
• Fennel seed
• Magnolia bar
• Fenugreek seed
• Elderberry
• Passion flower
• Razberi K

Green tea–this ingredient has been proven to contribute to weight loss. However, CurvaTrim includes it in a “Proprietary Blend”; they do not disclose exactly how much green tea is in the formula. Thus, it is impossible for this CurvaTrim review to determine if the amount of green tea contained in CurvaTrim diet pills is enough to be effective.

Chocamine–I’m neutral, leaning positive on this ingredient. Cocoa itself is effective for endurance, but Chocamine’s has such a deluge of ingredients inside it, it’s tough to really zero in on effectiveness.

Cinnamon–it has been used for years to help regulate blood sugar. Does it directly help you lose weight? That question still remains. With little to no research supporting it, the jury is still out on cinnamon’s efficacy.

Damiana–When combined with yerba mate and guarana, damiana has been shown to be effective in promoting weight loss. However, on its own damiana has not been shown to cause weight loss.

Razberi K–Studies show raspberry ketones induced weight loss in mice with a diet containing 2% of the total diet as raspberry ketones. No studies have been done on humans. Note: in order to take in 2% of raspberry ketones as your total diet you would have to take a ton of these CurvaTrim diet pills. Once again, Methyl Ripped does not disclose how much of this ingredient is included. This makes it impossible to determine whether or not the amount of raspberry ketones in CurvaTrim is enough to be effective in promoting weight loss. ((http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15862604))

CurvaTrim Guarantee

The CurvaTrim policy is as follows: “Return your one empty bottle (we want you to use all of our fine product) within 60 days of purchase plus all other bottles purchased in undamaged, unopened, and resalable condition for a prompt refund less s&h.” (website)

CurvaTrim and the breast enhancement pill controversy

Breast enhancement pills are controversial. One company, Bloussant, was sued by the FTC for false claims. ((http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2003/07/wellquest.shtm))
While CurvaTrim claims it will help with breast enhancement, none of the ingredients in CurvaTrim diet pills have been proven to contribute to breast enhancement. This shouldn’t be too surprising–why would so many people opt for surgery if you could get the same results from a pill?

How much does CurvaTrim cost?

You can get 90 capsules of CurvaTrim diet pills for $39.99. If you take the recommended dose of 4 capsules per day, it will cost over $53 per month. This is very expensive for a product that hides how much of each ingredient is included and has lofty, unsubstantiated claims.

CurvaTrim Conclusion

This CurvaTrim review finds CurvaTrim is a mediocre product. It includes ingredients in undisclosed amounts. There is no scientific evidence to prove the ingredients in CurvaTrim diet pills will lead to breast enhancement. Spend your money on a diet pill that actually works–one that uses proven ingredients in proven amounts.

• “Increases stamina and energy
• Suppress appetite
• Increase calorie expenditure
• Improve long term performance
• Improve mental focus”

This Venom Hyperdrive review will reveal the truth behind these claims and give you the information you need to determine if Venom Hyperdrive diet pills are right for you.

Notice: Venom Hyperdrive has been changed to Hyperdrive 3.0.  Hyperdrive 3.0 was recently been flagged by the FDA and is warning that people not purchase the product. It seems as though the FDA found some sibutramine, which is a controlled substance with many dangerous side effects.  The fact that Hyperdrive had a dangerous ingredient that wasn’t listed on their label is downright wrong.  We, like the FDA, advise you to steer clear of Hyperdrive.

Venom Hyperdrive Ingredients

Unique Proprietary Matrix 300mg

• Cocoamine™
• Guarana extracts
• Hoodia gordonii
• 5-HTP
• ALA (Alpha Lipoic Acid)
• Vitaberine (thiamine trisulfide analog)
• B-12 (as cyanocobalamin)
• Guggul Extracts (2.5% Guggulsterones)
• Rhodiola rosea root extract
• Capsiate

Cocoamine is trade marked and patent pending proprietary unique cocoa extract that provides the health benefits of chocolate without any of the unhealthy ingredients (you know, like sugar and fat).

Guarana has been proven to contribute to weight loss but ONLY when combined with damiana and yerba mate. Venom Hyperdrive does not contain either of these ingredients. There has been no research to determine the effectiveness of guarana by itself.

Hoodia gordonii is nothing more than an over-hyped diet pill fad. There is NO scientific evidence to show that Hoodia actually contributes to weight loss.

5-HTP is an amino acid, a precursor to serotonin (serotonin modulates anger, aggression, body temperature, mood, and appetite, among other things). The main purpose for 5-HTP to be included in a diet pill is for its mood enhancing effects. Much of the excessive calorie consumption causing obesity is due to mood-induced eating.

Gugglesterones are supposed to increase thyroid function to promote weight loss. However, studies have had varying results.

All of the ingredients in Venom Hyperdrive are included in the “Proprietary Matrix”, which means they do not disclose how much of each ingredient is in the formula. This Venom Hyperdrive review finds that none of the ingredients in Venom Hyperdrive diet pills have been proven to contribute to weight loss, no matter how much is included.

Side effects of Venom Hyperdrive

The side effects of Venom Hyperdrive diet pills include nausea, dehydration, jitters, anxiety, and headache.

Cost of Venom Hyperdrive

One bottle of 90 capsules of Venom Hyperdrive costs $28.95. If you take the recommended dosage of 4 capsules per day, one bottle will last about 22 days. This is not especially expensive for a diet pill, but considering there are no proven ingredients included, it is infinitely too expensive.

Venom Hyperdrive Conclusion

This Venom Hyperdrive review finds that Venom Hyperdrive diet pills are not worth taking. None of the ingredients included have been proven to contribute to weight loss, not to mention they do not disclose how much of each ingredient is included. Look for a diet pill that includes proven ingredients in proven amounts.

Leptitrex is a weight loss supplement that claims by taking it you will “Lose 7 Pounds Every 7 Days Effortlessly”. The first thing you will notice about Leptitrex is lengthy list of ingredients; there are about 50 ingredients in this supplement. Leptitrex claims it will not only help you lose weight but it will also detox your body, eliminate acne, feel euphoric, suppress appetite, and build muscle. That is great if you are looking for all of those things, but what if you just want to lose weight?

Just what is in Leptitrex?

The list is long and we could probably write a book with information on each ingredient. Leptitrex contains 6 “Keys” which, according to their website, are:

1. Vitamins & Mineral blend – Vitamin C, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B6, Chromium Polynicontinate, Selenium

2. Motivation & Hunger – Chocamine, Di-Caffeine Malate, Rhodiola Rosea, St. John’s Wort, L-Tyrosine, Picamilon, Phenylalanine, hops, Phenylethylamine (PEA), Synephrine, Ginkgo, Siberian Ginseng, Ginger, 5-HTP, and Vinpocetine

3. Superfoods – Barley, Garlic, Cayenne, Buckwheat, Soybeans, Flaxseed, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Wheatgrass, Acai, and alfalfa. These ingredients supposedly help in eliminating acne.

4. Lean Muscle Matrix – Forslean, L-Glutamine, Creatine Monohydrate, L-Arginine, Avena Sativa, Mucuna Pruniens, Ipriflavone, Ecdysterone

5. Body & liver detox – dandelion root, milk thistle, licorice, cranberry, uva ursi, and sage

6. Anti Aging matrix – green tea, DMAE, acetyl-L-Carnitine, and alpha lipoic acid

While the ingredients are all listed, there are no specific amounts listed for any of the ingredients. This is your standard “proprietary blend” that we see a lot in the diet pill industry. It’s completely out of the ordinary for companies not to use a proprietary blend these days, so we have a hard time making it count against anyone. (That being said, there are a few companies that disclose everything, so we do give special consideration to those).

Because Leptitrex contains a whole slew of ingredients, you’re going to be dealing with multiple pills. Don’t let this be a huge deterrent to you unless you have a hard time swallowing pills. What would worry me more is if Leptitrex were to list all of these ingredients and then only require one or two pills as the dosage…that would smell like a scam.

What does the Research say about Leptitrex?

Well, there has been no research done on Leptitrex itself, only on some of the individual ingredients. Several of the ingredients have been proven effective in weight loss, specifically Forslean and green tea. However, many of the ingredients are a bit disputed in their effectiveness, including 5-HTP and DMAE. Many of the other ingredients have not been researched enough to determine their effectiveness. Although some ingredients do have clinical backing, it is impossible to say whether or not these ingredients are effective in Leptitrex because the amounts of the ingredients are not disclosed.

Several ingredients are included as mood enhancers (including PEA and DMAE). PEA has been clinically proven to promote energy and elevate mood. ((http://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/7/1/6))

The Leptitrex Website Claims:

“Recent Clinical studies prove the Effectiveness of 2 ingredients in the Leptitrex Lean Muscle Matrix:

1) Seventy-eight highly trained athletes were given either placebo, protein, or a key ingredient in Leptitrex + protein. The combination of Leptitrex’s ingredient and protein resulted in up to a 13% reduction in body fat and a 6% to 7% increase in muscle tissue. This was within a period of only 10 days.

2) University study on another PATENTED ingredient in Leptitrex shows test subjects lost 9.9 lbs of body FAT on average in the course of 12 weeks. They were also able to GAIN Lean Muscle Tissue thus greatly increasing their metabolic rate and likelihood of long term success.”

It is interesting that not only does Leptitrex fail to say which ingredients were tested, but they also fail to give any concrete evidence on when the studies were done or who conducted the studies.

Leptitrex Marketing

Leptitrex does most of the marketing by word of mouth. This is actually a very positive sign, since you can be assured that consumers won’t refer their friends to an ineffective product. They do not have a customer service phone number, only an email address. On the up side, they do have a “Lifetime Money Back Guarantee”. All you have to do is return your empty bottle (because they want you to try an entire bottle before returning it) and any unopened bottles for a “quick refund” minus shipping and handling.

How Much Does Leptitrex Cost?

Leptitrex normally costs $99.95 per bottle (a one month supply), but if you “BUY NOW before it’s Too Late!” you can get a discount.

Leptitrex Review Conclusion

Leptitrex is trying too hard to cover all the bases. By focusing on fewer ingredients they could do more research and be sure to include proper amounts of effective ingredients. They may have spread themselves a bit thin. With a lifetime moneyback guarantee, it may be worth a shot but, of course, that’s ultimately up for you to decide.

Xyphedra’s Name

Has absolutely nothing to do with ephedra. It only shares two syllables. Ephedra was banned in 2004 and won’t be coming back. People died. I’ve never really felt it was totally fair that ephedra was banned. People were abusing it. I think we could find a lot of things that should be banned because they pose health risks when consumed to excess (like McDonald’s). But things are the way they are and ephedra’s no longer available so companies look to present alternatives.

It’s important to recognize that diet pill companies, with Xyphedra being no exception, often use popular syllables (phed-ra) to leverage when launching a new diet pill product. You should never judge a diet pill by its name — only by its ingredients — and to an almost-equal extent, the business practices of the company behind it.

Xyphedra contains some very effective ingredients, let’s dig in.

Xyphedra’s Ingredients

• Green Tea – this is an effective diet pill ingredient. Green tea has mounds of research supporting it as an effective metabolic booster with minimal side effects.
• Chocamine – I’m neutral, leaning positive on this ingredient. Cocoa itself is effective for endurance, but Chocamine’s has such a deluge of ingredients inside it, it’s tough to really zero in on effectiveness.
• Phenylethylamine – I’m also neutral, but leaning positive on phenylethylamine. Yes, there’s a bunch of it in chocolate, and some people anecdotally report a “high” when taken in large doses, but I’d like to see some more research before I give it the go-ahead.
• Picamilon – an effective anti-anxiety ingredient, combining Niacin and GABA. Effective dosage needs to be 1mg per kg of bodyweight according to one study — though a lower dosage may provide benefits as well.
• L-Tyrosine – a strong contender with lots of research backing it up mainly in relation to its ability to aid patients under stressful situations and in human performance. Hopefully you’ll recognize the benefits of exercise when supplementing with a diet pill. A pill like Xyphedra will go a long way in motivating you to step it up one or two notches. L-Tyrosine plays a big role in this.
• L-Theanine – also an anti-stress ingredient, there to counteract the possible jitters from Green Tea.

Unfortunately we don’t know how much of these ingredients is included in a single pill of Xyphedra. On their supplemental facts they use a proprietary blend (which a lot of diet pill companies do, to apparently avoid being copied so quickly), but then they don’t disclose how much their proprietary blend is in total. That leaves consumers wondering what exactly they’re getting.

UPDATE 3/15/08: I actually contacted Xyphedra and mentioned that I found it somewhat strange to list the supplement facts but not show even the aggregate amount of the proprietary blend. I ended up speaking with the owner (one advantage of dealing with up and coming companies is that you get this type of attention) and he cited it as an oversight of the web designer and said it would be fixed immediately. You can now see that the Xyphedra proprietary blend is 500 mg.

Needless to say, from that interaction with the owner I’ve become quite the Xyphedra fan. That type of responsiveness is impressive. Most of the time when I deal with diet pill companies it seems they just go down a laundry list of excuses to try and avoid any type of responsibility. My experience certainly allows me to recommend Xyphedra with confidence, knowing they’ll honor their moneyback guarantee.

Is Xyphedra Recommended?

There are two reasons I will happily recommend Xphedra:

1. Their responsiveness to an error I pointed out is admirable.
2. Their ingredient lineup is strong. They’re not providing anything revolutionary with what they’re offering, but they also didn’t cut any corners.

Xyphedra is geared toward quick fat loss and has certainly has potential. Criticalorie gives it the thumbs up.

Who Makes Fenphedra?

Fenphedra Inc. apparently. These types of sites are popping up everywhere. The diet pill industry is rife with mud-slinging (think politics, but everyone’s hyped on caffeine pills). As it has become easier and easier to sling mud at your opponents, one strategy to avoid the mud (as much as possible) is to simply brand and distribute your pill under its own name. So if you created a pill named Fenphedra, you’d create a site named Fenphedra.com and most likely a company named Fenphedra Inc. or Fenphedra LLC. This a defensive maneuver that’s become almost a necessity (unless you’re a company like Muscletech and have tens of millions of dollars to pour into marketing and building a brand — ever heard of Hydroxycut? Exactly).

A Test of Fenphedra’s Customer Service

Simple Product Inquiry. So when a company has a single site to sell a single product, I don’t blame them. I do however make sure they haven’t cut any corners. In the case of Fenphedra, I emailed them and asked about how effective Fenphedra is. No, I wasn’t expecting an unbiased answer in return, I just wanted to make sure that a human’s on the other end. I received an email reply back the same day citing their guarantee if I wasn’t satisfied, and that most people do lose weight. The only thing important to me was that I received a response.

Semi-Rude Customer. However, it’s easy to be responsive when you have a potential sale. How responsive was the Fenphedra customer service team when I emailed them the following?

Here is the fake email I sent Fenphedra:

I ordered my product two weeks ago and still haven’t received it. This is bordering on ridiculous. It shouldn’t have taken this long!

Notice I didn’t threaten with the BBB or a cadre of lawyers. That wouldn’t have been a good test because a prompt response would have been expected. Fenphedra’s customer service rep responded:

I am so sorry that you haven’t received your order! If you would please provide me with your full name, I’ll be happy to check on the status for you. I could not find an order under your ****@******.com email address, so perhaps you used a different email. At any rate, we’ll get to the bottom of this and make sure you receive your product plus a free bottle for your troubles.

I didn’t respond. But guess what? Three days later I received the following from the same rep:

Hello Cal. I’ve forward the email I sent to you a few days ago and just wanted to make sure you received it. I hadn’t heard back from you yet.

I responded that I was mistaken and had ordered from a different company with a similar sounding name. But needless to say I have never seen customer service like this from a diet pill company. Fenphedra’s reps, whoever they are, should probably be paid more. My whole test was to see if I even got a response and to measure, to a degree, how helpful/polite they appeared to be. The Fenphedra reps (this one in particular) passed the test with flying colors.

But great (unbelievable in the diet pill industry) customer service doesn’t necessarily mean you have a great product. So we’ll dive into Fenphedra’s ingredients.

Fenphedra Ingredients

I’m happy to report that Fenphedra doesn’t use a proprietary blend. That’s also an unusual pheonomenon in the diet pill industry. Kudos to them for staying transparent.

Fenphedra contains:

• DiCaffeine Malate is a fancy caffeine. Fancy meaning that it has a Di in front of it and a Malate at the end (DiCaffeine Malate review here). There is no research supporting that it is any more effective than standard caffeine. Caffeine (caffeine review here) has been proven time and again to increase the metabolic rate so another version of caffeine being included in Fenphedra doesn’t surprise me at all. This ingredient passes the sniff test.
• Chocamine is simply a fancy (trademarked) cocoa extra ingredient that also contains some amino acids and essential minerals. I reviewed Chocamine extensively and don’t like that the amounts of these various components aren’t disclosed. While the health benefits of cocoa are largely undisputed, Chocamine doesn’t give us the information we need to truly evaluate it. Neutral.
• Phenylethylamine I’ve reviewed extensively. Research shows it is connected to feelings of well-being (there’s quite a bit of Phenylethylamine in chocolate). It is most likely included in Fenphedra to counteract the jitters that you would most likely feel from the DiCaffeine Malate and Synephrine.
• Synephrine (Synephrine reviewed in depth here) has research to back up that it is, indeed, an effective stimulant. After ephedra was banned by the FDA diet pill makers scrambled to find an equivalent. They thought they had found it with Synephrine and, while Synephrine is effective, there is no research that points to ephedra and Synephrine being equatable.
• Humulus Lupus is well-known in “folklore” medicine as having a calming effect. I found more information on it at Purdue University’s website, and an extensive amount written about it on encyclopedia.com (including references to actual studies — how rare). It is used to treat insomnia so it’s no surprise that it’s included in Fenphedra. Like Phenylethylamine (PEA), it appears to be a counter-agent to the stimulative effects of the caffeine, chocamine, and Synephrine.

I mentioned at the beginning of this review that the Fenphedra and Nuphedragen (my Nuphedragen review) products appear to be exactly the same and that Nuphedragen probably existed first. While I always favor the original (for fairness if nothing else), I can’t overlook Fenphedra’s inclusion of Humulus Lupus. That ingredient gives Fenphedra the edge.

Fenphedra’s Detox Combination

Also, while Fenphedra is about $10 more expensive at the time of this writing, they’re including a product called FEN-72. Unfortunately, they don’t disclose the supplement facts of FEN-72. I imagine it includes the same ingredients that most detox pills include. They’re sometimes effective for the short term but should not be used over any long period of time and should be cycled if you use detox pills at all.

I don’t particularly subscribe to the whole detox idea, but some people swear by it. I’ll let you decide if that’s something you care about or not.

Fenphedra’s Marketing

Fenphedra uses the same hype-it-up-make-claims type of approach that most (all) diet companies make. No points against them, but I’d certainly commend their product if they perhaps cited research validating why they’ve included such ingredients (instead of having me do all the legwork in finding and reading the studies). I do give them kudos for not using a proprietary blend.

Their ingredients are stimulant-heavy, counteracted with some calming ingredients. This approach appears sound. From the anecdotal evidence I gathered on the internet, there were more cases of the jitters being reported by users of Nuphedragen than Fenphedra. This is purely anecdotal and completely unscientific in how I gathered the data, but take that for what it’s worth. It would appear to me that the humulus lupus has an effect toward its intended end.

All in all, and I don’t do this very often, I’d give Fenphedra a thumbs up. And no, I don’t think that’s just because their customer service blew me away. Their ingredient profile is sound.

Nuphedragen’s Ingredients

My hat goes off to Nuphedragen for not using a “proprietary formula” to mask actual amounts of included ingredients.

Nuphedragen contains:

• DiCaffeine Malate (200mg). This is basically fancified caffeine. You can read my review on DiCaffeine Malate if you’d like. Just bear in mind that it really isn’t anything special and that no research exists to substantiate that it is any more effective than normal caffeine (read my caffeine review) as a stimulant (stimulants such as caffeine do work in aiding weight loss).
• Chocamine (200mg). You can read my review of Chocamine at length. Chocamine is too much of a black hole for me. We don’t know exact amounts of all the ingredients and the makers of this trademarked ingredient are experts at vagary. Chocamine is basically a cocoa extract. There has been a fair amount of research showing positive health benefits of cocoa. I wouldn’t necessarily say that a trademarked ingredient is any better though.
• Phenylethylamine (PEA) (20mg). Phenylethylamine is included in chocolate and is sometimes called “the Love Drug”. It’s connected with the neurotransmitters that deliver dopamine and adrenaline. I suppose these feelings could lead to more motivation to eat right and exercise. Phenylethylamine is reviewed extensively also.
• Synephrine (20mg). While some have called Synephrine an ephedra equivalent, there isn’t any research to back that claim up. There is research showing Synephrine’s thermogenic properties, which may translate into weight loss. I reviewed Synephrine extensively and classify it as a strong stimulant.

Overall, Nuphedragen’s ingredient lineup is pretty stacked. I don’t see any Green Tea (not to say that’s a bad thing if Nuphedragen had green tea as well, it’s just that it’s a cheap ingredient and a lot of time diet pills will include that as their main ingredient…they’re just cutting corners to increase margins).

I’m impressed with Nuphedragen’s ingredients.

Is Nuphedragen also Fenphedra?

The Nuphedragen and Fenphedra (my Fenphedra review) sites are spitting images of each other. Again, using the wayback machine, it appears that Nuphedragen, as it looks now, existed first. Knowing that, my tendency would be to favor the original creators of the design (again, this is conjecture, but based on the information I had available that’s what I’m thinking), but Fenphedra contains an ingredient that caught my eye: Humulus Lupus (which likely explains why Fenphedra is slightly more expensive than Nuphedragen. I couldn’t find much research on it, but I did find some stats from Purdue university saying that it’s well known that this plant has an almost sedative effect. When taking a pill with Synephrine and DiCaffeine Malate, a nice counter-balancing sedative is probably fairly welcome. Gathering feedback online which, admittedly, is purely anecdotal, it seems less people reported problems with the jitters when they used Fenphedra verses Nuphedragen. Again though, that is purely anecdotal so take that for what it’s worth.

Nuphedragen’s Claims

I’ve got to hand it to the copywriter at Nuphedragen. I loved their “Good Guy” vs. “Bad Guy” approach to selling Nuphedragen. I also loved their play on caffeine being the replacement for cocaine…they’re not claiming it is cocaine but they’re giving you the impression that this DiCaffeine Malate is strong stuff! It’s just caffeine and it’s a stimulant. Will it help with weight loss? As I’ve said before, caffeine is one of the few ingredients that actually does have research supporting its ability to aid in weight loss. Just don’t get overly excited about Nuphedragen. It’s a stimulant-loaded diet pill and that’s it. It’s not that Nuphedragen is bad per se…there are just better alternatives out there.