It's amazing what the power of celebrity can do.
In the case of Dr.
Mehmet Oz, the trusted "Dr.
Oz" of TV fame, one recommendation can lead to a billion-dollar industry.
Dr.
Oz's latest "superfood" (mentioned on his show in March 2012) is raspberry ketone, a compound in the delicious fruit that's said to break down fat and lead to amazing weight loss.
Whenever a claim like this is made for a new natural supplement, both advocates and critics are quick to draw their pistols and take shots at each other.
So who's right? Are they effective in helping people lose weight or are they just the latest weight loss fad that will wither away? Before we get to that, let's first answer the question "what is raspberry ketone?" It is a naturally occurring compound found in a variety of berries, including raspberries.
The occurrence of raspberry ketone in fruits is actually quite low, making the natural compound expensive to acquire.
The ketones help give raspberries their distinctive, pleasant scent (and is why they're used in perfume and cosmetics, as well as to flavor foods).
Now ketones are being sold in supplement form as a catalyst to weight loss.
With that little bit of background, let's jump in and take a take a look at some of the claims made about raspberry ketone and what the experts, on both sides, have to say about them.
CLAIM #1: They help the body break down fat and has been proven to promote weight loss in laboratory experiments.
This claim is true.
In lab tests done on mice and rats, raspberry ketone given in large amounts led to an increased secretion of adiponectin, a hormone that fat cells secrete to help the body break down fat and turn fat stores into energy.
The rats that ingested ketones had less fat on them.
In a related study, rats were fed high-fat diets and ketones, and each rat was measured to see what impact they made on their fat accumulation.
The rats that received more ketones had indeed burned more body fat and gained less fat tissue.
Another study did not involve rats, but rather placed ketones in direct contact with fat cells.
This stimulated the breakdown of fat cells.
Even with all that research, just because a given drug or supplement works on rodents does not mean it will have the same effect in humans.
Even Dr.
Oz admitted that the early results in lab testing might not produce the same outcomes in humans.
The fact is that there has been no testing of any kind on the impact that raspberry ketones can make on human fat cells.
CLAIM #2: They will absolutely help anyone who takes them to lose weight.
This is a claim some manufacturers of the supplement are now making, based on the testing described above.
However, the solid research on weight loss in humans indicates that lifestyle changes must accompany drug or supplement intake.
You can swallow them all day, but if you fail to get up and exercise regularly while eating a high-calorie diet, you will not lose pounds for good.
In fact, you could still gain weight while taking a ketone supplement if you eat more and work out less.
Any weight loss program must have the twin engines of limited caloric intake and high amounts of exercise, especially as we age.
CLAIM #3: It is legitimate as a weight loss aid because it's readily available, not some secret potion sold only on the Web.
Unlike the acai berry craze of 2008-9, the excitement about raspberry ketone is not restricted to the Internet.
It's possible to purchase it at your local food or drug store, and it's not prohibitively expensive.
However, just because your local grocery store sells something to help with weight loss, it doesn't mean it'll be of great assistance in that battle.
No matter where a given supplement is available, it's important to remember that these pills and powders are not evaluated by the U.
S.
Food and Drug Administration.
Medications are tested rigorously by the FDA, but until they are packaged and sold as something other than a supplement, they cannot be backed by FDA testing results.
A WORD OF WARNING Given their low sticker price and the fact that science has proven that ketones do break down fat cells, raspberry ketone is understandably being packaged and sold at record rates.
One danger you should avoid is a product that's not 100% raspberry ketone, but instead is a less expensive knock-off that's diluted by other chemicals and substances.
Just because a product's packaging says that it's "all natural" doesn't mean it's entirely made of raspberry ketone.
If the product has other "natural" ingredients, it could well have so little raspberry ketone in it that it'll have no effect on your fat cells.
You'll also want to stay clear of synthetic versions that don't come from raspberries at all but are manufactured in a lab.
Little is known about their short term effectiveness in weight loss or long term effects on overall health.
Also, if you want the benefit of raspberry ketone, you want to avoid supplements that mix them with other alleged superfoods such as green tea, acai and mango.
Those products might sound delectable and could well tickle your taste buds nicely, but they don't have enough pure raspberry ketone in them to have a measurable impact.
Look for a product that is certified as 100% raspberry ketone.
Any of the samples used in lab testing that did help to break down fat were 100% pure raspberry ketone, not some other organic mix of elements.
So, if you want to try them, look for the "good stuff" - high-quality, all-natural raspberry ketone which can cost around $60 a bottle.
THE BOTTOM LINE Most objective analysts are reluctant to call it a miracle cure or a scam because there's just not enough evidence yet to know whether they work or not.
And many are asking people to take them in large quantities and then report whether or not they lost weight.
So the general consensus now is: 100% certified raspberry ketone is not likely to harm you, but no one is absolutely sure they'll help you lose weight.
Everyone wants to be a bit slimmer - trimmer around the belly, thinner thighs, smaller backside - and everyone wants the miracle cure to provide those things.
Perhaps taking it in conjunction with a diet and workout plan can help you achieve your weight loss objective.
And if a little raspberry ketone can give a bit of a boost to those goals and support your diet and exercise plan, it might just be worth giving it a try? What've you got to lose?