Natural weight loss supplements have become quite popular, thanks to celebrity medical professionals like Dr. Oz who keeps recommending many of them on his TV show.
While there are many supplements that are being promoted by celebrities and health product companies for weight loss, people who are interested in healthy weight loss seem to be slightly partial and hence more attracted towards plant based or herbal supplements sourced directly from Mother Nature.
One such natural weight loss supplement is the Acai berry supplement.
Types of Acai Berry Based Weight Loss Supplements
There are mainly 2 different types of supplements that are sourced from this plant, namely Acacia Fiber and Acacia Rigidula leaves.
Acacia Fiber
Acacia fiber is a water soluble polysaccharide that is sourced from the gum of trees in the Acacia family. It is not digested in the stomach or intestines, but is fermented by natural microorganisms in the colon.
This fiber promotes healthy digestion, increases beneficial flora in the gut and also helps to reduce the distressing symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).
Acacia fiber is claimed to promote a healthy digestive system through proper bowel function and increased proportion of natural gut microflora. In general, this Acacia fiber is known to help in regulating loss of extra body weight by stabilizing blood glucose levels, by reducing hunger pangs and also by aiding in peristaltic movement of food through the digestive tract in an efficient and helpful manner.
Claims for these benefits are well supported by research. The minimum recommended dose of fiber is 35 g per day.
Research results help believe that acacia fiber supplement is indeed an effective natural weight loss supplement. Moreover, natural plant based fiber is an important ingredient for maintaining proper digestive health and aids in creating a feeling of easy and early satiety, which helps people lose weight by eating lesser amounts of food each time. Acacia fiber has extra probiotic benefits as well.
Acacia Rigidula
Acacia Rigidula, also called black brush and black bush, is a perennial tree from the family Fabaceae. It grows in canyons and on hills in areas of the United States and Mexico. The leaves of this tree contain trace concentrations of the amphetamines methamphetamine, dimethamphetamine, 4-hydroxyamphetamine and 4-methoxyamphetamine. Amphetamines can affect neurotransmitters in the brain to decrease appetite.
Acacia Rigidula is publicized as a natural weight loss supplement because it is a natural source of amphetamines. Proponents claim that is will help affect neurotransmitters in the brain to suppress appetite and increase weight loss.
The weight loss activity of amphetamines is well known and supported by clinical research and for that reason it is indeed a safe and useful weight loss supplement.
Need for Natural Weight Loss Supplements
Many people often wonder that if the ingredients in these type of weight loss supplements are indeed natural, then why is there a need to package them and present them in tablet or pill form. Well, there are many explanations to this.
First of all the amount of active weight loss ingredients in these plants or herbs is usually less or limited and one needs to eat a huge amount of plants or herbs to obtain adequate amounts for effective weight loss.
When the supplements are commercially prepared it is possible and feasible to extract the active weight loss ingredients from enormous amounts of raw material and then present it in a concentrated form. So now you need to just pop in 2 or 3 tiny pills per day instead of eating gigantic amounts of the original herbs.
Secondly the commercially prepared form ensures palatability of all kinds of plants and herbs even if they are bitter or taste horrible in natural form.