Crevax is an herbal weight loss supplement that assures you results in as few as six days. According to the manufacturer, the efficacy of two natural ingredients in Crevax are supported by clinical research. However, an important fact to keep in mind is that Crevax and other herbal weight loss supplements are classified by the FDA as dietary supplements — not drugs for weight loss.

Know Your Supplements

As a dietary supplement, the maker and marketers of Crevax are prohibited by law from making specific claims. It cannot purport to treat, prevent or cure any health problem. For example, Crevax cannot legally be marketed as a weight-loss aid. This is because by virtue of their classification as dietary supplements, you have no assurance that weight loss supplements are effective — or if they’re even safe. Dietary supplements require no pre-market approval from the FDA; the FDA only takes regulatory action if a supplement is proven to be harmful. Weight-loss drugs and other medications, on the other hand, go through a rigorous approval process before they’re made available to consumers.

Crevax Claims and Instructions

According to the manufacturer, the two active ingredients in Crevax are hoodia and green tea. Purportedly, Crevax increases your metabolism and causes your body to burn fat without making you feel shaky or jittery. Additional benefits of taking Crevax are improved skin tone and better overall health. The product’s label instructs you to take two Crevax capsules on an empty stomach before breakfast for three days, dropping down to one capsule at the same time on the fourth day. On days five and six, you’re not to take the supplement. The directions then instruct you to repeat this cycle beginning on the seventh day.

Ingredients

Crevax contains seven natural ingredients, including hoodia, green tea, red sage, barbary wolfberry fruit, peony root, taurine and a Chinese herb called jiaogulan. According to the supplement facts label, each serving of Crevax contains 6 mg hoodia and 160 mg green tea extract; however, other ingredients are specified on the label, including 200 mg caffeine and 200 mg guarana seed extract, which contains 50 percent caffeine.

Effectiveness

Hoodia and green tea are two common ingredients in over-the-counter weight loss supplements, according to MayoClinic.com. Claims made for green tea are that it increases the number of calories and amount of fat your body burns while decreasing your appetite. Hoodia is another ingredient that purportedly has appetite-suppressing qualities. However, MayoClinic.com indicates that there’s not sufficient evidence to indicate that either ingredient results in weight loss. Hoodia supplements in particular are suspect; according to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and MayoClinic.com, some weight loss products that claim to contain hoodia actually do not — the South African cactus-like plant, Hoodia gordonii, from which it is harvested, is protected by international conservation laws.

Caffeine and Weight Loss

Like many weight-loss supplements, Crevax contains caffeine, which also purportedly results in weight loss. According to Mayo Clinic nutritionist Katherine Zeratsky, some studies suggest that caffeine can prevent you from gaining weight — but there’s no evidence to indicate that the weight loss is anything but temporary. Side effects associated with caffeine consumption include anxiety, nervousness, insomnia and the caffeine jitters.

Wise Weight Loss

It pays to read claims carefully when considering a weight-loss supplement. In 2007, the FTC took action against four weight-loss supplement manufacturers for making misleading or unsubstantiated claims, one of which had the backing of celebrity Anna Nicole Smith. Two ingredients in the questionable supplements were hoodia and green tea extract. “You won’t find weight loss in a bottle of pills that claims it has the latest scientific breakthrough or miracle ingredient,” said Deborah Platt Majoras, who was the FTC chairman at the time of the action. “Paying for fad science is a good way to lose cash, not pounds.”