LiDa DaiDaihua Slimming Capsule

...
===Details===
Name: Lida daidaihua slimming capsules
Boxed-product Weight: 50 g
Promise: Lose weight fast
Usage & Dosage: 1 time/day, 1 capsule/time (before or after breakfast)
Storage: Store in cool (room temperature), dry and dark condition.
Shelf Life: 24 months
Approval Code: KWSZ Z[2004]No. 03-0240
Price: Amazon: £6.95 for one box, £26.95 for 3 boxes, £52.95 for 6 boxes. From manufacturers ...
.../>
===Basic===
Lida daidaihua slimming capsules are designed for those people who are overweight and cannot seem to shed that weight, these capsules are made using a formula of Chinese herbs which supposedly have been around for thousands of years and have been used by the Chinese people as weight loss ingredients. Their claim is that it will immediately help to suppress your appetite and get rid of the excess body fat, they are sold ... more

Now I know that this is one of those products that I just shouldn't be reviewing due tomy own background, but call it 'one of those months' and be done with it. Old habits are hard to shake, and I decided that considering I had been using it, I might as well review it as well...

Details

Name: Lida daidaihua slimming capsules
Boxed-product Weight: 50 g
Promise: Lose weight fast
Usage & Dosage: 1 time/day, 1 capsule/time (before or after breakfast)
Storage: Store in cool (room temperature), dry and dark condition.
Shelf Life: 24 months
Approval Code: KWSZ Z[2004]No. 03-0240
Price: Amazon: £6.95 for one box, £26.95 for 3 boxes, £52.95 for 6 boxes. From manufacturers sites it can be anything from $50 per box, which is far more expensive.

Basic

Lida daidaihua slimming capsules are designed for those people who are overweight and cannot seem to shed that weight, these capsules are made using a formula of Chinese herbs which supposedly have been around for thousands of years and have been used by the Chinese people as weight loss ingredients. Their claim is that it will immediately help to suppress your appetite and get rid of the excess body fat, they are sold in 30 day packets, and the reason for this is because you are only meant to take it for a month at a time because of the weight loss potential being harmful.

Product Description

(1) natural appetite-restraining vegetation materials (extracts) such as sweet potato fiber, cyamoposis gum powder, amor phallus konjac (extract from giant arum and jerusalem artichoke) and alfalfa.
(2) vegetation materials (extracts) that can reduce the body fat such as tuckahoe, kola, guttiferae plant, coleus scutellarioides, guarana, marumi kumquat and trigonella foenumm, etc. - "Lida Dali"
From http://lidadaidaihua.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=28

The company states that the product is made out of natural ingredients, is completely safe and has no side effects. They say that it is one of the most famous slimming capsules (although I'd never heard of it til I came across it on Amazon), and that it is suitable for people who wish to lose 30-35lbs of weight. This is because it breaks down the fatty tissues, increases the users metabolism and decreases their appetite.

How it works

The main part of this weight loss capsule is that it speeds up your metabolism, it is suggested that the increase could be as much as 18 times your normal metabolism. The key theory here is that extra weight will be lost due to heat production and other effects that increasing your metabolism has. Scientifically this increase in metabolism is due to the capsule restraining re-ingestion of norepinephrine, meaning that fat tissue energy consumption is increased. The other aim that this capsule has is to reduce your appetite so that the hunger feeling is controlled while not influencing the normal nutrition-ingestion process, this basically controls the ingestion of calories while ensuring that your physiological needs are satisfied.

How to take

You are advised to take one capsule a day wither before or after breakfast.
You may need to drink more water than you usually would want to, if this is the case do not refrain from drinking more. If you do not then the body's gluscose level may be reduced which will cause dizziness and weakness.
You are not meant to skip meals while taking these capsules, however much you may not feel hungry at the time. Considering the pills effect, the body needs some form of nutrition etc, and this is important to keep up.
If you consume alcohol while taking these then it may affect the effectiveness of the pill, because it both decreases metabolism and neutralises the slimming process.
These are capsules to be taken by the over 16's, who are not pregnant or breast feeding. An added warning is that people who have high blood pressure, cardio -vascular disease, apoplexy, kidney or liver dysfunctions are advised not to take this medication.

Ingredients

I know that lists are not usually appreciated, but firstly this is not a long list, and secondly, if I am going to take a pill which is made up of supposedly natural products and hasn't been prescribed to me by a registered doctor I like to know what is in it. This is for both natural paranoia, and the fact that I have seen the effects of pills that have wierd things in them on other people, and do not wish to replicate these effects.
DaiDaihua Extract - this is obviously the main ingredient and where the name comes from, all the research I have done into this product suggests that it is safe, although there seems to be precious little information on it.
Cassia Seed Extract - This is the dried ripe seed of Cassia obtusifolia L. What confused me is that this extract is meant to reduce heat in the liver, improve eyesight and relax bowels...the only one of these that I can see which would have an impact in weight loss is the bowels. However, it is a natural and harmless product which has been used to help cure other disorders.
Job's-tears (Coicis Extract) - is an all grain-bearing tropical plant of the family Poaceae (grass family) native to East Asia and peninsular Malaysia but elsewhere cultivated in gardens as an annual (Wiki). It is used as a cereal and grain product in China and East Asia, but is also often used for it's medical properties in Asia...although one of the main uses for it seems to be for stiff joints...hmm...what relation that has to weight loss I don't know! It is also used as a muscle relaxant, and has often been used in weight loss products.
Mulberry Leaf Extract - The mulberry leaf is often used in Chinese medicine as an antioxidant and a way of controlling blood sugar, often for the prevention and treatment of diabetes. There is also a suggestion, although this has not been proved that it may reduce cholestrol in arteries. This herbal extract has been proven to have weight loss effects by scientists as it seems to affect the absorbtion of calories into the system, because of this it is often an ingredient in weight loss teas and tablets.
Medical Amylum

My experiences

My experiences is going to have to be split into two sections, the dieting section and side effects, because officially there should be no side effects but this is not exactly how I found these capsules.

>>>Dieting>>>
By God, these pills are effective. They do everything that they say they will do. It is very rare to find a dieting pill that actually works on the first day that you take it, but these did. Immediately, there were pronounced changes, such as losing any appetite that I might have had and just not being hungry, feeling far more alert (much as if you've drunk 2 cans of red bull in quick succession), although no less tired as such. I was quite astouded, these are the only pills I have taken in which losing weight is actually easy and requires very little will power, and they also work a darn site quicker than most diet pills or diets. In a weeks worth of use I had lost just over 5lbs, which is quite a lot by anyones standards...particularly mine. One of the things that I really did note was that I had to increase the amount of water I was drinking, this was mainly because my throat felt very dry, and something I have noted from my past is that if you drink a lot of water then you feel full anyway - this may be at least part of the reason why these tablets are so successful. Weight loss wise, these are very effective and I would well recommend them.

>>>Side effects>>>
Yes, I know the manufacturers said there would be no side effects, but how many manufacturers say that when they don't really mean it!? I think one of the issues is that some people get side effects and others just don't. What I noticed while taking this is that firstly I was forever thirsty, I wasn't hungry at all, but I more than quadrupled my usual intake of water, and if I didn't drink that I would feel very uncomfortable.
My second issue would be sleep, and my guess would be that this is usual with any drug that raises your metabolism etc, but particularly for the first 4 or 5 days I was having hell getting to sleep. I mean, I would be averaging 2-3 hours a night, and this is from a girl who is usually comfortable at about 12 hours! I couldn't get to sleep, and I couldn't stay asleep. Granted, I wasn't tired the next day...and I actually got to see the morning light...which is unusual for me, but I can't see how this is particularly healthy. This effect did seem to wear off after while, although I would still find myself waking up much earlier than I normally would.
Another side effect and this I found far more disturbing was that I could actually feel the effect it had on my metabolism, and trust me, it is a darn site more powerful than red bull could ever be! This was quite a disturbing sensation at times...again this did seem to wear off after taking the pills for a couple of days.

What I found to be the most comfortable way of taking the pills was to take 1 a day for the first week, but then to alternate days, firstly to cut down on side effects, and secondly to ensure that weight loss wasn't too noticable and too quick...

Conclusion

A blumming effective and quick way to lose weight, and to lose weight in a way which makes it harder to put it back on again. I know I was using this for completely the wrong reasons, but for anyone who is interested in losing weight safely this could easily be one to try, providing you are willing to put up with a few days of side effects...but you would expect that with any medicaion. 

...less