PhenGold is a weight loss supplement manufactured by a brand called Health Nutrition Limited. The brand claims that their supplement “enhances your body’s natural fat-burning abilities” and “reduces cravings” with their “clinically proven ingredients.”
But does PhenGold contain ingredients proven to cause fat burning? Does it contain any unhealthy ingredients? Why do we take issue with some of the claims on the brand's website? And is PhenGold better or worse than popular fat burners like Hydroxycut?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in PhenGold to give our take on whether or not it's likely to be effective for weight loss, and whether or not it's healthy.
We'll also discuss the risk of side effects, highlight some questionable health claims on the brand's website, and compare PhenGold to other popular fat burners to pick our winners (and losers).
Key takeaways:
- We consider majority of active ingredients to be underdosed
- Questionable health claims on brand's website
- We do not currently recommend PhenGold
Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in PhenGold are shown below:
Green tea was shown in a 2012 meta-study to cause modest weight loss ranging from 0.4 pounds to 7.7 pounds over the course of 12 weeks.
The dose in PhenGold is equivalent to the doses used in the lower range of the clinical trials analyzed, so we would expect any weight loss effect to be closer to 0.4 pounds than 7.7 pounds.
However, this compound, when extracted, can also cause liver injury, according to Health Canada.
Caffeine intake is also associated with weight loss, and the 225 milligrams (mg) in PhenGold is an effective dose.
A medical review published in the Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition journal found that caffeine causes weight loss and fat loss.
Green coffee may also be effective for weight loss.
As we documented in our review of another weight loss supplement called Truvy, clinical trials have shown this ingredient to have a dose-dependent effect on weight loss, and the 4:1 extract at a 100 mg dose is effectively dosed.
We can’t identify any other ingredients in this supplement that we consider effective for weight loss.
Cayenne pepper is included at what seems to be a strangely low dose of 200 mg.
This is 9x less than the amount in one single teaspoon of cayenne pepper, according to the USDA.
Overall we consider PhenGold to be potentially effective for weight loss given that it contains three research-backed ingredients which appear to be effectively dosed.
The inactive ingredients in PhenGold should be safe and non-toxic.
Overall, we consider PhenGold somewhat likely to cause weight loss, but we don't currently recommend it due to the inclusion of green tea leaf extract.
Questionable Health Claims on PhenGold Website
There are a number of questionable health claims on the PhenGold website, including the chart below which has no citation:
PhenGold does not appear to have been studied in any clinical trials, so what data is the manufacturer using to create this chart?
If this chart is just made up for illustrative purposes, with no data backing, that would be confusing and unfair to consumers. We hope that the brand clarifies this.
The brand also makes strange claims about some of the ingredients in their supplement.
They claim that the plant Rhodiola rosea burns fat:
We have not come across any medical studies suggesting that this plant causes fat loss, and the citation that the brand links to has nothing to do with fat loss – it suggests that rhodiola can reduce feelings of weakness.
The manufacturer also claims that l-theanine, which is an amino acid typically taken for stress reduction, “boosts metabolism.”
We haven’t come across any clinical evidence of this effect, and there are no citations on their website that prove it.
Will PhenGold Cause Side Effects?
PhenGold doesn't appear to have been studied in any clinical trials, which makes it challenging to determine for certain whether or not it causes side effects.
However, we can make an educated guess based on its active ingredients.
Caffeine is the only ingredient in this formulation we consider to have the potential for side effects.
It is included at a safe dose for healthy adults, but individuals sensitive to caffeine may experience side effects like anxiety from a 225 mg dose (equivalent to around 2.5 standard cups of coffee), and those individuals should probably avoid this supplement.
There are no other ingredients in this formulation that we consider likely to have side effects, and there are no ingredients overall that we consider a health risk. It’s also a good thing that the inactive ingredients are entirely safe and non-toxic.
Overall we do not consider PhenGold likely to cause side effects in healthy adults.
PhenGold vs. Popular Fat Burners
Here's how PhenGold compares to other popular fat burner supplements in terms of formulation quality, in our opinion:
ZipSlim
This weight loss lemonade brand contains chromium, a mineral which is clinically shown to cause weight loss.
However, it's included at a dose of nearly 900% of the Daily Value (DV), which can be a health risk with long-term supplementation.
ZipSlim also contains more ingredients overall that we consider to be unhealthy, so PhenGold has the overall advantage from a health perspective.
Winner: PhenGold
Hydroxycut
Potent formulations that can cause weight loss.
However, this brand was the subject of an FDA warning regarding liver toxicity, as we documented in our Hydroxycut review article.
PhenGold is the safer option.
Winner: PhenGold
Night Shred
This supplement from Inno Supps contains research-backed active ingredients for weight loss, and no unhealthy inactive ingredients (like PhenGold).
There is one active ingredient in Night Shred that we consider to be unhealthy, but not as much as the green tea extract in PhenGold, so we consider Night Shred to be the safer option.
Winner: Night Shred
Our Clean Weight Loss Picks
Ceylon cinnamon was described as "an effective anti-obesity agent" in a 2022 meta-analysis. The study authors concluded that effects were greater at doses at or over 3 grams daily.
Illuminate Labs Ceylon Cinnamon Extract is our standardized Ceylon cinnamon supplement which is third-party tested to ensure purity and potency.
Dietary fiber was shown in a medical review published in The Journal of Nutrition to cause 16 pounds of weight loss in 6 months when combined with moderate caloric restriction (750 calories per day below baseline).
MBG Organic Fiber Potency+ is our top fiber pick because it's certified organic, provides 7 g of fiber per serving and costs under $1.85 per serving at the time of updating this article.
Both of the products mentioned in this section are free of ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy.
PhenGold Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Contains research-backed active ingredients
- Should cause weight loss
- Unlikely to cause side effects
- No unhealthy inactive ingredients
- Healthier than some competitors
Cons:
- Doesn't appear to be clinically tested
- Contains green tea extract
- Highly questionable health claims on brand's website
