On November 27, 2013, the National Advertising Division (NAD) recommended HealthyLife Sciences, LLC, modify or discontinue the use of certain claims made about the company's weight loss supplement Healthe Trim.

Healthe Trim contains green leaf tea extract, Hoodia gordonii, Caralluma fimbriata stem extract, coix seed, Garcinia cambogia and resveratrol. The supplement is sold as part of the Healthe Trim weight loss program, which includes a nutritional guide, lifestyle changes such as restricted caffeine intake, and weekly telephone coaching sessions.

(See ConsumerLab.com's Reviews of Weight Loss Supplements, Garcinia Cambogia Supplements, Green Tea Supplements and Resveratrol Supplements for tests of related products.)

The NAD reviewed evidence for HealthyLife's claims, including a 12 week clinical study that compared the use of Healthe Trim and the recommended Healthe Trim lifestyle changes with the use of the American Dietetic Association diet, and concluded that a number of the claims were not supported by the study (which found no statistically significant differences in weight loss between the two groups).

The NAD recommended claims that "Healthe Trim ... can help you achieve your weight loss goals and gain the body you’ve always wanted," and "Healthe Trim gets you started losing unwanted pounds," be modified to include nutritional and lifestyle changes. It also recommended that a number of claims be discontinued, including:

• "Healthe Trim safely suppresses your appetite and speeds your metabolism so you can lose weight without feeling hungry or deprived."
• "It also boosts your energy so you can: go to the gym-and not think about food, be more productive – and not think about food, enjoy life – and not think about food!"
• "Using only natural ingredients, Healthe Trim ...makes you feel great by supplying you with a LONG-LASTING ENERGY BOOST!"
• "The secret to Healthe Trim’s success is its natural ingredients. These ingredients work together to curb your appetite and increase your energy so that eating less and enjoying a more active lifestyle will come naturally, without hunger pangs or listlessness other diets can induce."
• "Some dietary supplements may leave you hungry, feeling low on energy or with impaired digestion. Healthe Trim's advanced formula includes thermogenic appropriateties [sic] to promote fat loss without irritability."
• "When used as part of a calorie controlled diet that includes moderate exercise, Healthe Trim will help promote fat oxidation."
• "Our supplement works to promote fat loss while making you feel great."

The NAD reviewed the claims as part of a collaborative initiative with the Council for Responsible Nutrition to expand NAD's review of advertising claims for dietary supplements.

For more information about the NAD's recommendations, use the link below.