A close look at LG 365 Forskolin

Coleus forskolii is one of the newest 'wonder drugs' that TV personalities and websites are pushing to help with weight loss. The box claims it will boost metabolism, that it's a powerful fat burner and will increase NRG levels. As with almost all supplements, these statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.

The close look at LG 365 Forskolin is going to be short and sweet unlike some supplements which contain everything but the bathroom sink. There are only three ingredients.

The capsule itself is made of vegetable cellulose. These are good capsule options for people who want to keep vegetarian or vegan. A quick test in vinegar confirmed that the capsule will dissolve easily once it hits the stomach. The pH of vinegar is a bit weaker than stomach acids.

Now for the contents of the capsule.

Rice flour is the inactive ingredient filler. It's a gluten free filler; there's nothing good or bad about it.

Forskolin is what you're really paying for here as it's the only other ingredient. It's what's being pushed as a weight loss miracle by TV personalities like Dr. Oz. But is there any science to back up his touting of this 'miracle'? The short answer is no.

The more complex answer is that very few small studies have been done on forskolii looking at its ability to help with weight loss. Neither showed any weight loss, but the only peer-reviewedstudy so far was done on only 30 males. It did show that there was a positive change in body composition following 12 weeks of use. This included increasing bone mass and increasing testosterone levels though the amount of testosterone increase was incredibly minor.

A similar study done on women resulted in no significant changes in weight, metabolic markers, blood lipids, muscle and liver enzymes, electrolytes, red cells, white cells, hormones (insulin, TSH, T3, and T4), heart rate or blood pressure.

Because the results from the second study did not replicate the results from the first, more testing is definitely needed.

It has been more heavily tested on animals and is used for researching birth defects by inducing birth defectsin zebrafish. It removes the midline of the fetus in certain doses.

After looking at the ingredients, it's not really clear if this will help with weight loss or not. One study says yes, one study says not really, neither study was large enough to really trust singularly. It does appear to be safe for adults over 12 week periods, but should definitely be avoided by women who are pregnant or intend to become pregnant.