Containing the ever popular hottest ingredient (literally!) at the moment Capsicum Extract (found in red hot chilli’s), Meratol contains a total of 4 weight loss ingredients, they claim are clinically proven to help you eat less and burn more calories. Let’s find out if Meratol stands up to scrutiny!
Meratol is developed by Advanced Health who produces a number of very popular and successful weight loss supplements in the UK. Like most of their products they have a strikingly well designed and well written website that certainly impresses.
There is also a “Customer Support” page that gives both the UK and International customer service numbers, along with email address and web form. They claim they also provide 24 hour customer support with queries replied within 24 hours!
So far, it’s looking good.
We contacted Meratol and requested a sample and as we have come to expect with Advanced Health they were all too happy to send one to us.
We did our usual searches for scams and rip offs and found no consumer reports of scams. We did find an upheld complaint made by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the UK. The ASA challenged previous claims on the Meratol website that suggested ingredients in the product could reduce the absorption of carbohydrates.
The ASA found:
[we] had not seen sufficient evidence to substantiate the claim that the product could aid weight loss by reducing the absorption of carbohydrates we concluded that the claim was misleading.
As a consequence the claims on the website had to be removed.
Previously Meratol claimed it worked to block the absorption of up to 82% of carbohydrates consumed. With the ASA adjudication the claims have changed so that now Meratol claims it is the only supplement you need to:
Meratol is a supplement that aims to keep you focused whilst dieting and…
…may also reduce calorie intake, block carbohydrate intake, burn calories and reduce food cravings.
Initially marketed as mostly an effective carbohydrate blocker the ASA adjudication means these claims have been removed. This means that references to reducing carbohydrate intake have been downplayed.
Even still, Meratol aims to address both sides of the dieting equation, increasing the number of calories burnt and reducing the amount of calories consumed. Such an approach has shown to be the most successful way to lose weight and recommended by health professionals.
So let’s take a look at in the ingredients, each Meratol capsule contains 885mg of the following:
It would seem that Meratol contains a number of good ingredients that have some scientific data to suggest weight loss is possible.
The effectiveness of such ingredients will depend on the amounts used and without a full ingredient profile this is impossible to tell.
It’s worth highlighting that the studies referenced were conducted using one of the ingredients in isolation. We are not aware of any research that has combined these 4 ingredients (and caffeine) together to prove positive weight loss results.
The ingredients in Meratol are 100% natural and should not cause any negative side effects.
Consumers who have experienced positive and negative results whilst taking Meratol have not reported any side effects.
Concerns: If you are suffering from a heart condition, are pregnant or breast feeding you are advised to consult a doctor before taking this supplement.
Meratol consumers reviews have been somewhat mixed with reports of “minimal difference” and “bit of a disappointment for me” to “This product really does work you just take the tablets and then carry on as normal”.
Apart from the official website, which will of course only show the positive reviews, there tend to be more negative reports than positive ones!
There are references to 3 clinical studies to back up the weight loss claims made, these look to show the effectiveness of some of the ingredients in Meratol.
Whilst the studies do show positive results, no clinical studies have been undertaken using Meratol. The effectiveness of Meratol is therefore based solely on these few studies.
With this in mind, we would suggest that consumers may lose weight whilst taking Meratol but without any clinical data it is difficult to confirm one way or another!
Lauren Goodger, actress in UK reality show “The Only Way is Essex” (TOWIE) featured heavily in the UK media endorsing Meratol after she lost 1 stone in 4 weeks.
In an interview first featured in New! magazine (followed up by features in Daily Mail), Lauren revealed she had used Meratol with a diet and exercise programme to lose the weight.
I started at 11st 4lbs and now I’m 10st 4lbs, so I’ve lost a stone in four weeks. I was a size 10-12 and now I’m a healthy 10. Ideally, though, I would want to get down to an 8-10.
Lauren Goodger quoted in the Daily Mail
It’s worth keeping in mind that during this time Lauren had a personal trainer who kept her on a fairly intensive exercise and diet regime! This without doubt contributed a lot of the changes seen in many of the before and after pictures (see right).
Recent pictures of Lauren do appear as if she has put some weight back on again!
Meratol is available directly from the official website and costs from £34.95 ($56) for 60 capsules. Better value for money can be had by purchasing the “Buy 4 get 1 Free” package, which reduces the cost to under £20 ($32) per bottle.
Prices on the website are displayed in pounds sterling, Euros and USD and a 24 hour order line is clearly displayed. There is also worldwide delivery.
Meratol has a slick looking website and has captured the media limelight in the UK thanks mostly to the upcoming celebrity status of Lauren Goodger, actress in the UK reality show “The Only Way is Essex”.
With the significant change in the claims for Meratol, the number of negative consumer reviews and uncertainly over ingredient amounts means that we unable to approve Meratol diet pills.
Advanced Health are behind some of the most popular and successful diet pills on the market; even still we believe Meratol falls short of our criteria and have no choice but to reject it!
Thousands of customers have cut the fat with this fast and powerful thermogenic fat burner. Can suppress appetite, boost energy levels and elevate mood without the jitters.
Disclaimer: Our reviews and investigations are based on extensive research from the information publicly available to us and consumers at the time of first publishing the post. Information is based on our personal opinion and whilst we endeavour to ensure information is up-to-date, manufacturers do from time to time change their products and future research may disagree with our findings. If you feel any of the information is inaccurate, please contact us and we will review the information provided.
@ abbigail,
how was Meratol….any results?
Just ordered Meratol before seeing this review… anyone else tried them? Do they work?
@ abbigail, I was thinking about ordering it….it was over 2 years ago but what did you think of the product/results?
Thanks in advance