Disclaimer: None of the information in this article constitutes medical advice, and is just the opinion of the writer(s) and published for informational purposes only. We recommend that patients follow their doctor’s guidance in regard to weight loss supplements.
Green Tea Fat Burner is a supplement sold by a brand called Applied Nutrition that’s used for weight loss. The product is sold at many large retailers such as CVS, Rite Aid and more.
In this article we’ll review the ingredients in Green Tea Fat Burner based on published medical research to give our determination of whether these pills are likely to be effective and safe for weight loss, or if the product is a waste of money.
Stimulant Ingredient Review
Green Tea Fat Burner contains two stimulatory ingredients: green tea extract and caffeine.
Green tea extract may be an effective weight loss ingredient, but its efficacy is irrelevant because we don’t recommend its use due to toxicity concerns. A medical review published in the Journal of Nutrition analyzed data on green tea extract and weight loss.
The study authors found that in all animal studies examined, high-dose green tea extract was toxic and could even cause death. We do not believe the dose in Green Tea Fat Burner is high enough to cause any significant side effects, but its safety is unclear if used over long periods of time.
As the researchers in the linked study state, there isn’t enough human research to definitively say what a safe dose of this ingredient is: “These findings suggest that caution should be exercised in the use of green tea-based dietary supplements and that further studies are needed to determine the upper limit of safety for bolus dosing with tea polyphenols as well as the underlying mechanisms of toxicity.”
We consider it illogical to take a weight loss ingredient with potential safety concerns when there exist weight loss supplements without any questionable safety data.
Caffeine is also an effective weight loss ingredient. A meta-study from 2019 examined clinical trials on the anti-obesity effects of caffeine, and found that its intake is associated with weight loss in a dose-dependent manner. This means that the more caffeine consumed (within reason), the greater the weight loss: “For every doubling in caffeine intake, the mean reduction in weight, BMI, and fat mass increased 2 Beta-fold.”
We consider the 160 milligram (mg) dose in Green Tea Fat Burner to be effective, and should be safe for most healthy adults, however patients with anxiety or high blood pressure should speak with their doctor before using caffeine at this dose (which is equivalent to around 1.5 cups of coffee).
Prop Blends Review
This supplement has two separate proprietary (“prop”) blends called “Antioxidant Blend” and “Vitality Boost.”
We disagree with the use of prop blends, because they only list the total dosage of the blend, rather than the individual dose of each ingredient. We believe this is a consumer safety issue, and also that generally consumers deserve to know the dose of each ingredient in a supplement so that they can make an informed purchase decision.
The “Antioxidant Blend” has a total dose of 100 mg, and contains exotic botanical ingredients like bilberry powder and pomegranate powder. While we have no issues with any of the ingredients in this blend, we do not believe this blend is likely to have any weight loss effect and we want to highlight a comparative example to show how small of a total dose 100 mg is.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), one cup of apples is 100 grams (mg), which equates to 100,000 mg. This means that one cup of apples has a total dose 1,000x higher than the entire “Antioxidant Blend” in this product.
Dietary supplement manufacturers often add small amounts of exotic ingredients to make the Supplement Facts label look more impressive.
The “Vitality Blend” is even lower-dosed. It has a total dose of 86 mg, which equates to an average dose of 17.2 mg per ingredient. This equals a per-ingredient dose which is 1 / 5,814 the dose of one apple.
We do not believe that either of these prop blends is likely to be effective for weight loss, nor does Applied Nutrition cite any research on their product page (which we don’t want to link to because we do not support their business) suggesting that any of these ingredients are effective for weight loss.
Inactive Ingredients Review
Green Tea Fat Burner contains the inactive ingredient titanium dioxide which we recommend avoiding. This ingredient is banned in the European Union (E.U.) for use as a food additive over toxicity concerns. The E.U. has much better consumer protections in our opinion than the U.S., and we figure it’s logical to avoid this ingredient given that it has no nutritional value.
We also want to note that we had to source the inactive ingredient list on a third-party retailer’s website (Vitacost), because at the time of writing this article, Applied Nutrition does not publish the inactive ingredients on their product page.
We find this to be entirely unacceptable for consumer safety. Manufacturers are required to publish both active and inactive ingredients on their Supplement Facts label. If a consumer is allergic to an ingredient, they could die from consuming a supplement which failed to list the ingredient.
We strongly urge Applied Nutrition to update the Supplement Facts label on their site, and we consider this a red flag as to the quality control of the brand.
Our Weight Loss Supplement Recommendations
There are several dietary supplements we consider safe and effective for promoting weight loss. The first is dietary fiber, which is actually a food product rather than a supplement, but it has impressive research backing.
An extensive medical review published in The Journal of Nutrition analyzed data from 345 patients and found that fiber intake directly predicts weight loss. The reason fiber may be so successful for weight loss is because it fills up the stomach with zero-calorie, indigestible plant matter. This makes individuals feel full faster, and end up consuming fewer calories overall.
The reason it's much easier to eat 2,000 calories of a highly processed meal like pizza rather than 2,000 calories of rice and beans is because the latter meal is high in fiber.
We recommend SuperGut Fiber Mix for supplemental dietary fiber. It contains a clean and effective formulation: a blend of three different types of dietary fiber and zero additive ingredients. Interested consumers can buy SuperGut fiber at this link.
Medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil is another dietary supplement with impressive early research backing for weight loss.
MCT oil is quickly absorbed by the body and increases metabolic rate, which causes fat loss. A meta-study on MCT oil and weight loss analyzed data from 13 individual clinical trials on the topic. The average trial duration was 10 weeks, and the researchers documented an average weight loss of 0.51 kilograms (kg), which equates to 1.12 pounds (lbs). This equates to a potential annualized weight loss of 5.84 pounds with a simple dietary modification.
We recommend Bulletproof MCT Oil as our top MCT oil product, because it contains zero questionable additive ingredients. The only ingredient is MCT oil derived from coconuts. Interested consumers can buy Bulletproof MCT Oil at this link.
Exposé on Green Tea Extract Safety
One of the most popular YouTube videos on green tea extract and weight loss is published by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and has over 400,000 views at the time of writing this article.
The broadcaster does extensive investigative journalism to determine whether green tea supplements are safe:
