Although the low-carb craze has subsided, it has changed the way many think about their diets. Bread and other carbohydrate-based foods no longer are enjoyed with the abandon of the "low-fat" days.

Consumers drink functional beverages such as Slim-Lite or Skinny Water between meals for appetite suppression and to reduce the conversion of excess carbohydrates into fat, and to promote weight loss and appetite reduction. Super CitriMax® is a proprietary form of Garcinia cambogia that supplies the active ingredient hydroxycitric acid (HCA). Super CitriMax is the first soluble form of HCA on the market that is perfect for functional beverages and foods, notes InterHealth Nutraceuticals Inc., which produces the ingredient. Super CitriMax is GRAS self-affirmed for beverages and does not contain stimulants that can cause nervousness, sleeplessness or rapid heart rate.

Although some human clinical studies have had mixed results, many argue that the conditions in these studies were not optimal to demonstrate HCA's effects. Positive results were obtained from a recent 90-patient, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled human clinical study conducted by researchers at the Georgetown University Medical Center. Using Super CitriMax as the source of their novel HCA component, the researchers found that the ingredient promoted weight loss and appetite suppression, maintained healthy cholesterol levels and also decreased body mass index (BMI). It was also shown to increase serum serotonin, a neurotransmitter, possibly lending effectiveness for binge-eaters or overweight people with a depressed mood.1

The proposed mechanism by which HCA works is that it inhibits citrate lyase, an enzyme in cells that is required to convert carbohydrates into fat. Upon digestion, carbohydrates are metabolized to citrate. Citrate lyase is needed to convert citrate into the main building block for fat synthesis, acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA).

Super CitriMax possesses an excellent safety profile and does not stimulate the central nervous system.

According to Dan Murray, vice president of sales for food and beverage at InterHealth, "We are continually investing in research on Super CitriMax, because we believe it is ideally positioned to capture a significant portion of the growing $26 billion functional food and beverage market, which includes sales of functional drinks such as water and sports and energy beverages. Moreover, Super CitriMax has the potential to truly help the estimated 127 million adults who are overweight within the U.S., and the millions more overseas." NS

References:

1 Preuss HG, et al., 2005. Efficacy of a novel calcium/potassium salt of (-)-hydroxycitric acid in weight control, Int J Clin Pharmacol Res. 25:133-44.

For more information:
InterHealth Nutraceuticals Inc., Benicia, Calif.
Dan Murray • 800-783-4636
dmurray@interhealthusa.com
www.interhealthusa.com