Best ingredients for weight management

Whey filtered to 90% or more protein by weight, with most lactose and fat removed.

Typical: 20–30 g

Purified, dehydrated caffeine — the standard stimulant in pre-workouts, energy, and focus products.

Typical: 100–200 mg

An isoquinoline alkaloid isolated from plants such as barberry, goldenseal, and Coptis, supplied as the hydrochloride salt.

Typical: 900–1,500 mg

A leaf extract of Camellia sinensis concentrated for catechins, especially EGCG, with a small amount of naturally occurring caffeine.

Typical: 300–500 mg

Trivalent chromium chelated with three picolinate ligands, the form used in most human trials and the best seller in blood-sugar and weight-management formulas.

Typical: 200–500 mcg

MCT oil is a clear, flavorless oil made by fractionating coconut or palm kernel oil to isolate the medium-chain fatty acids caprylic (C8) and capric (C10) acid as triglycerides.

Typical: 5–15 g

Psyllium husk is the seed coat of Plantago ovata, a soluble, gel-forming fiber that holds many times its weight in water.

Typical: 5–10 g

Apple cider vinegar powder is liquid vinegar spray-dried onto a carrier such as maltodextrin or cyclodextrin so it can be used in capsules and gummies.

Typical: 500–1,500 mg

The predominant protein in milk, which forms a gel in the stomach and releases amino acids slowly over several hours.

Typical: 20–40 g

A stable, highly soluble salt of L-carnitine with tartaric acid, the form most used in exercise-recovery research.

Typical: 1,000–2,000 mg

The immediate precursor to serotonin, extracted commercially from Griffonia simplicifolia seeds.

Typical: 50–300 mg

Guarana is the seed of Paullinia cupana, an Amazonian vine whose seeds contain more caffeine by weight than coffee beans, along with theobromine and tannins.

Typical: 100–400 mg

MCT oil powder is MCT oil spray-dried onto a carbohydrate carrier, most often acacia gum or maltodextrin, to produce a free-flowing powder that disperses in water.

Typical: 5–10 g

An extract of the dried stigmas of Crocus sativus, the world's most expensive spice, standardized to crocins or safranal and used in mood, appetite, and eye formulas.

Typical: 30 mg

Green coffee bean extract is made from unroasted coffee beans, which retain far more chlorogenic acid than roasted coffee.

Typical: 200–400 mg

Bitter orange extract is made from the immature fruit or peel of Citrus aurantium and is standardized to p-synephrine, a protoalkaloid structurally related to ephedrine but with much weaker cardiovascular activity.

Typical: 200–500 mg

Conjugated linoleic acid is a family of linoleic acid isomers found naturally in ruminant fat and dairy.

Typical: 3–6 g

Lactobacillus gasseri is a human-origin lactic acid bacterium found in the gut and vaginal microbiota.

Typical: 1–10 B CFU

Resistant starch is starch that escapes digestion in the small intestine and is fermented in the colon, where it is a preferred substrate for butyrate-producing bacteria.

Typical: 10–20 g

Capsimax is a branded red pepper extract from OmniActive standardized to 2% capsaicinoids and coated in a beadlet designed to release in the intestine rather than the stomach, limiting the burning sensation of plain cayenne.

Typical: 100 mg

Gymnema sylvestre is a climbing vine from India whose leaves contain gymnemic acids, triterpene saponins that temporarily blunt the perception of sweet taste on the tongue.

Typical: 200–400 mg

White mulberry leaf contains 1-deoxynojirimycin (DNJ), an iminosugar that inhibits alpha-glucosidase in the gut and slows the breakdown of starch and sucrose.

Typical: 250–500 mg

Bitter melon is a tropical vine fruit eaten as a vegetable across Asia and used traditionally for blood sugar.

Typical: 500–2,000 mg

Yerba mate is the leaf of Ilex paraguariensis, brewed as a tea across South America.

Typical: 500–1,500 mg

White kidney bean extract is a protein fraction of Phaseolus vulgaris that inhibits alpha-amylase, the enzyme that digests starch.

Typical: 500–1,500 mg

Trivalent chromium bound to niacin (nicotinic acid), marketed as a food-like glucose-tolerance-factor form and sold under trade names such as ChromeMate.

Typical: 200–400 mcg

A branded water-soluble extract of cinnamon bark concentrated for type-A polyphenol polymers and largely free of the fat-soluble coumarins and volatile oils found in whole bark.

Typical: 250–500 mg

Garcinia cambogia is a small tropical fruit whose rind is rich in hydroxycitric acid (HCA).

Typical: 1,000–3,000 mg

Banaba is a Southeast Asian tree whose leaves have been used in Philippine folk practice for blood sugar.

Typical: 16–48 mg

Grains of paradise are the seeds of Aframomum melegueta, a West African plant in the ginger family.

Typical: 30–40 mg