“Science gives the thumbs up.” So said the internet summary for the weight loss supplement, Dietspotlight Burn, also known as Burn HD. What makes this weight loss pill interesting is that it's produced /marketed by a supplement review website (Dietspotlight). Really? Yep. In this unbiased review, I'll show you the evidence behind Burn HD and it's active ingredient Meratrim. Does this supplement really burn off fat? Does Burn HD work or is it a scam? Let's see…
DietSpotlight Burn Benefits
According to the company website (DietSpotlight.com), the ingredients in the product are touted to:
- Boost metabolism
- Spark fat loss
- Boost energy
Most weight loss supplements make similar claims. So lets look at the research on the product itself and then its ingredients and see what we can figure out about it.
DietSpotlight Burn Research
If there is clinical research on this weight loss supplement, it cannot be located.
I searched the following medical databases:
- Pubmed.gov (National Library of Medicine)
- ClinicalTrials.gov (lists clinical studies currently going on)
for “DietSpotLight Burn,” and “Burn HD” but found no clinical studies on this supplement.
Just to cover my bases, I also performed a Google search for “Dietspotlight Burn clinical research.” This also did not reveal any studies either.
Conclusion: For now, it seems Dietspotlight Burn (Burn HD) lacks clinical evidence it works.
But, lack of evidence doesn't necessarily mean something doesn't work. It does mean though we will have to look at the individual ingredients in Burn HD to understand it better.
Let's do that now.
Dietspotlight Burn HD Ingredients
According to DietSpotlight.com, 1 bottle has 60 capsules (a months supply). One capsule has the following ingredients:
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Green Tea Extract (to 70% EGCG) | 200 mg |
| Meratrim (sphaeranthus indicus) | 400 mg |
| ChromeMate (chromium polynicotinate) | 100 mcg |
| Natural Caffeine USP | 75 mg |
It's recommended to take 2 capsules per day – 1 capsule in the morning before breakfast and another capsule before lunch.
So, if you took 2 capsules / day you would be getting:
- 400 mg of green tea extract
- 800 mg of Meratrim
- 200 micrograms of ChroMate
- 150 mg of caffeine
For the most part, these are common ingredients found in MANY weight loss products you may have heard of. Let's take a brief look at each ingredient now as it pertains to weight loss. In fact, looking at the this list, I already know what the active ingredient is. Keep reading…
Green Tea
Green tea (it's scientific name is Camellia sinensis) is a healthy botanical I often add to smoothies. It contains a wide range of antioxidants and is highly studied for more conditions than you can shake a stick at.
But, when it comes to weight loss, I'm not convinced it helps. The research is split with some studies saying:
- it works (click to see study)
- it doesn't work (click to see study)
If green tea really does reduce body weight, I feel caffeine is needed for it to work. Decaffeinated green tea doesn't seem to work according to at least one study. Fortunately, DietSpotlight Burn does include caffeine so no worries there.
Supplement labels often tell us how much EGCG it has. EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) is one of many bio-active compounds in green tea known as catechins (pronounced cat-a-kins). In case you wondered, EGCG is pronounced “epi-galo-cat-a-kin gal-ate.” (Now ya know why they call it EGCG!)
As a rule, I prefer the whole plant to an extract. That's what I add to smoothies. I feel the tea provides a more broader spectrum of nutrients. Green tea extracts are not without controversy – including liver failure. See the side effects section below.
Here's my smoothie recipe in case you were curious.
ChromeMate
ChroMate is a trademarked name for chromium polynicotinate (chromium poly-nick-o-tin-ate). What's that? Basically, it's the mineral chromium bound to the vitamin, niacin. This is done to improve absorption of the mineral.
ChroMate is a supplement from a company called InterHealth Nutraceuticals (which is now owned by a Swiss company called Lonza. Its website is Lonza.com).
Chromium can reduce blood sugar levels. That's all fine and good, but can chromium help people lose weight? While the Diet Spotlight website does not specifically say chromium helps weight loss, they do list a weight loss study– from 1997.
Either way, I have to respectfully disagree.
The overwhelming majority of clinical studies show chromium does not help weight loss. (click to read review)
Niacin, which forms part of the type of chromium used in ChroMate, has been getting attention it might help slow down the aging process. See the The Nicotinamide riboside review for more on the anti-aging reputation of this vitamin.
Natural Caffeine
Caffeine is caffeine whether it's “natural” or made in a laboratory. Companies making weight loss supplements have been adding caffeine to their products for decades. The reasons for this include:
- caffeine might raises your metabolism (burn more calories)
- caffeine might spur you to do more stuff (like exercise)
- Caffeine promotes fat burning (called lipolysis)
- Caffeine seems to reduce hunger
Great. But, if caffeine really –significantly – helped weight loss, couldn't you just drink diet coke or cup of coffee? DietSpotlight Burn has 75 mg of caffeine per capsule (150 mg per 2 capsules).
I'd bet many people reading this drink more than 2 cups of coffee per day. Most people don't lose weight drinking coffee or diet soda. Because of this, I have doubts about caffeine containing supplements. Could caffeine be present to help the green tea work better? Maybe. But, I still feel green tea is iffy at best as a weight loss supplement.
What Is Meratrim?
This is the active ingredient in Burn HD. Meratrim is a supplement by a company called InterHealth Nutraceuticals (the same company as ChroMate, mentioned above). Meratrim is composed of 2 botanical ingredients:
- Sphaeranthus indicus
- Garcinia mangostana
Sphaeranthus indicus, also known as East Indian Globe Thistle is an herb used in Ayurvedic medicine. It's said to help blood sugar as well as many other things.
Garcinia mangostana is fancy name for mangosteen, which some may have heard about from other products it's been in such as Vemma. (click to read review).
Let's now look at the weight loss research on Meratrim.
MeraTrim Weight Loss Research
There are some studies on Meratrim as it pertains to weight loss.
In one study, published in 2016 800 mg of Meratrim (or a placebo) were given to 50 healthy, overweight people for 16 weeks. People were instructed to eat only 2000 calories per day and walk for 30 minutes per day, 5 days per week. Those getting Meratrim lost significantly more weight than those taking a placebo.
Prior tot this, a study also noted 800 mg of Meratrim helped people lose weight. This study involved 50 overweight people who took either Meratrim or a placebo for 8 weeks. In this study, people consumed 2000 calories per day and walked 5 days per week for 30 minutes.
The Diet Spotlight website also shows a graph which is said to be the results of an 8 week study showing how Meratrim improves weight loss by an average of 11.4 pounds. But, as is clearly shown on their site, this graph comes from a study that was “presented at 58th Annual Meeting of American College of Nutrition, 11/12/15, Orlando FL.”
Studies presented at scientific conferences may not be peer reviewed clinical studies. It may be a fine study, but until it is published in a medical journal for the world to see, I view it as less important than the other clinical studies.
Two capsules of DietSpotlight Burn provides 800 mg of Meratrim. That's good because it's got the amount the published clinical studies have used too.
But, what is interesting is that the published studies only used Meratrim. In other words, the studies didn't combine Meratrim with caffeine, green tea and chromium.
It was just Meratrim by itself.
There is no evidence Meratrim works better with the other ingredients in Burn HD. So, you can save money and just use Meratrim
Burn HD Active Ingredient
Based on the clinical studies summarized above, if Dietspotlight Burn really works, I believe it's because of Meratrim. I believe Meratrim is the key ingredient. Could the caffeine, green tea and chromium in the supplement promote greater weight loss?
Sure, it's possible, but that's speculation without research to prove it. Remember, the researchers conducting the Meratrim studies gave people Meratrim alone – and nothing else.
For the public, this is good news because Meratrim is LESS EXPENSIVE than DietSpotlight Burn HD.
Here's Meratrim and Here's DietSpotlight Burn. Compare their prices.
Burn HD Free Sample: Do You Qualify? YES…
On the DietSpotlight website, there is a form to complete to see if you qualify for a free, 15 day sample.
But, guess what?
EVERYBODY qualifies for the free sample!
Even if you don't enter ANY information and just click the “claim your Sample” button, you'll still qualify.
This is wrong for so many reasons. Shame on them!
For example, what if you were someone with an eating disorder? That person should never use a diet supplement – yet they would also qualify for the free sample of this product.
But, wait, there's more. The free sample really isn't free.
The free sample is really $3.95. I get they need to cover their costs, but you have to give them:
- your name
- your address
- your phone number
- your email
before you learn the cost of free sample. Why don't they just tell us up front the free sample is $3.95? By purchasing the free sample, you may be enrolled in an autoship program. See below for more on this.
More important than this, now they have your contact information, what will they do with it? I don't know. In this age of information gathering and Facebook scandals, I think this is a valid question to ask.
Buy Burn HD
This supplement is not sold in stores like Costco, Walmart, Target, Kroger, Kholes, Rite Aid, CVS or Walgreens. You can only get it from the Diet Spotlight website.
Remember Meratrim is LESS expensive!
DietSpotlight Burn HD Cost
The FAQ page of the product website tells us buying just a single bottle (1 month supply/ 60 capsules) costs $89.95. If you take advantage of the autoship program, then the cost is $59.95 plus shipping and handling.
Either way you slice it, I think this supplement is expensive.
Remember, Meratrim is the key ingredient. It costs a LOT less.
The Diet Spotlight AutoShip Program
If you decide to purchase the free sample of Burn HD, you must cancel within 14 days OR you'll be automatically enrolled in an autoship program called, Burn HD Member Program. If you do not cancel within 14 days, they will send a months supply at 14 days and every month after that, charging your credit card $59.95 plus $5.95 shipping and handling each month until you cancel. These terms are stated on the website.
DietSpotlight Platinum X
Those who call to order DietSpotlight Burn may be introduced to Platinum X. This is a year-long program which includes supplements as well as counseling with a health coach, online support and other tools to help people lose weight. The cost for Platinum X is $249 billed every 3 months ($996 per year).
I was told that for those who did not achieve at least 15%-20% of their weight loss goal would receive another year of Platinum X absolutely free. In other words, it doesn't look like they offer refunds.
Some studies have shown weight loss is improved when people get coaching. So, it's theoretically possible weight loss would be better with Platinum X than just using the supplements by themselves. Regardless, I think this is a lot of money. Weight Watchers is much less expensive.
Other DietSpotlight Supplements
Previously, the company website has sold other weight loss supplements. Those I have reviewed before include Leptigen and Avesil. Here's the ingredients in DietSpotlight Burn, Leptigen and Avesil side-by side.
| DietSpotlight Burn (1 capsule) | Leptigen (1 capsule) | Avesil (1 capsule) |
|---|---|---|
| Green Tea Extract (70% EGCG) | Green Tea Extract (70% EGCG) | Green Tea Extract (70% EGCG) |
| Meratrim 400 mg | Meratrim 400 mg | Meratrim 400 mg |
| ChromeMate 100 mcg | ChromeMate 100 mcg | ChromeMate 100 mcg |
| Natural Caffeine 75 mg | Natural Caffeine 75 mg | Natural Caffeine 75 mg |
These look like the same thing to me. To be fair, Avesil, once contained an ingredient called ashwagandha (osh-wa-gon-da). It appears ashwagandha was replaced by Meratrim, likely because of the better weight loss evidence.
Still, the question remains: Why has the Diet Spotlight company been putting the same ingredients in bottles and calling them different names?
What Is Burn HD?
As mentioned above, Diet Spotlight Burn is the same thing as Burn HD. They are the exact same thing with the same ingredients. Burn HD is the new name for this supplement. First Avisil, then Leptigen, then Burn and now Burn HD. Why do they keep changing the name of their weight loss supplement? This has been going on for years.
Who Makes DietSpotlight Burn?
The supplement is by the Diet Spotlight website. This is their supplement. As mentioned above, this website provids reviews of other supplements.
According to the Better Business Bureau, DietSpotlight.com is located at this address: 75 Valencia Avenue, Suite 1000
Coral Gables, FL 33134. An online search for this address (minus suite 1000) reveals an office building. The BBB gave this company a rating of “C+” when this review was updated.
According to Whois.com we see that the administrative person for DietSpotlight has an email address from greenbracket.com. This is the website of Green Bracket LLC.
Green Bracket LLC, located at 4135 Laguna Street, Coral Gables, FL 33146, shares this address with another company called Triton Web Properties (TritonCorp.com).
The founder/ CEO of DietSpotlight, Green Bracket and Triton Web Properties is the same person. So all three companies are the same.
According to this Bloomberg summary of the company, Triton Web Properties is involved buying websites, producing content for those websites and helping websites get ranked in search engines.
In other words, they own websites and create content for those sites to help them rank in search engines. This is called search engine optimization or SEO. They do it very well too. Dietspotlight often ranks at the top of Google results for many products.
What does this mean? The parent company of Diet Spotlight is Green Bracket LLC / Triton Web Properties – a website company. Why is a website company in the supplement business?
SupplementReviews.com has a very interesting review of the DietSpotlight company.
DietSpotlight: Pro & Con
Here's a quick summary of what I liked and didn't like about this supplement.
| What's Good | Whats Not So Good |
|---|---|
| Money back guarantee | Lacks clinical studies |
| Ephedra free | Very expensive |
| Has Meratrim | Everybody qualifies for a free sample |
| They keep changing the name of their supplement | |
| Autoship program |
One thing I did like about the company was their “Donate the Weight” initiative. Basically, when someone obtains one of their free samples, they donate 1 meal feed the less fortunate. I can appreciate that. I'm not sure how much they have donated. See the free sample section above for more info.
DietSpotlight Burn Side Effects
Even though the product seems to lack clinical research, I think DietSpotlight Burn (Burn HD) is safe for most healthy people. Based on the ingredients in the product, here are some things people should be aware of. Speak to your doctor if any of this applies to you. This list is not complete.
- Supplements containing green tea extracts have been associated with liver problems. While the risk appears to be very low, there have been some who needed liver transplants. What caused this? Was it the green tea or something in in these supplements? Obviously more research needs to be done to better understand what is happening. The risk seems to be associated with green tea supplements and not drinking green tea. See the review on supplements and liver failure.
- Dietspotlight Burn contains caffeine. This may lead to insomnia if taken close to bedtime. This is likely why they say to take the product with breakfast and lunch only.
- Stop taking Dietspotlight Burn at least 2 weeks before having surgery.
- The product is not intended for women who are pregnant breastfeeding.
- The product is not intended for those under 18.
For more personalized information on whether DietSpotlight Burn is right for you, speak to your doctor /pharmacist especially if you take ANY medications or have any health problems.
DietSpotlight Complaints
The Better Business Bureau has a variety of positive and negative reviews from people. Most of the positive comments mostly dealt with how well the product worked while the negative complaints dealt with how bad the company, bad customer service or about being enrolled in an autoship program.
Many of the positive comments seem to show up within a day of each other. I found it unusual so many people would go out of their way to go to the Better Business Bureau to say positive things at the BBB website.
Like the BBB, Amazon also has a combination of positive and negative reviews about this product. According to this article at NewBeauty.com, there are many fake reviews of products at Amazon.
Contact Diet Spotlight
The Better Business Bureau provides this contact number: 844-964-3258. To see their BBB ratings see the BBB site for updates and more information. Also see the BBB file for Green Bracket for more information.
Does Diet Spotlight Burn Work?
While DietSpotlight Burn (Burn HD) lacks clinical evidence to prove it helps people lose weight, this supplement does contain an ingredient called Meratrim which some research seems to show may work (when combined with eating fewer calories and exercise).
The good news is Meratrim is much less expensive than DietSpotlight Burn. My advice: Save money on Dietspotlight Burn / Burn HD and just get Meratrim.
Do You Have Any Questions?
Hi
I so appreciate your effort in putting up this awesome review article for this weightloss product. Its a great step towards creating awareness about what is – and what is not – Dietspotlight Burn for Weightloss.
While I’d like to burn some excess fats and look fit, I don’t think I can take any supplement that has no clinical recommendation or assertion. If after conducting researches on the National Library of Medicine and the list of clinical studies going on but couldn’t find any clinical study about the Dietspotlight, I personally think that I may not take such supplement.
However, it may be a good idea for some persons since the ingredients have been analysed.
Thanks for the information.
Hi Jessica, you are most welcome and I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts.
Thanks, Joe, for another straightforward, easy to understand, and informative post. Magic weight loss pills never work — but for our instant gratification society, they are always so alluring!
For me, I have finally been able to lose that dreaded last 5 pounds by using the secret, magic formula of exercise and portion control. It works — and it’s free! 🙂 Thanks again for the great article.
Hi Kelly, you are very welcome and I thank you for sharing what has worked for you too 🙂
I appreciate so much your detailed review, but as I have read so many lately, it only strengthens my personal resolve to simply make daily healthy food choices and get regular exercise to boost metabolism. This is not rocket science, but we are spending so much time trying to “make weight loss easy” instead of just doing the hard work of changing our lifestyles.
Truth be told, going on a supplement to lose weight tells me someone has not gotten past the “go on a diet” mentality. They will gain the weight as soon as they go off the diet because they have not committed to healthy eating for life. That’s a big shift in thinking, but one that has consistently been proven to work!
Hi Camille, thanks so much. I see Stacy is an isagenix distributor. Here is review of Isagenix you may find helpful
Huge fan Joe. As always great breakdown and thorough! Like Janice I am from the standpoint eat healthy foods, get healthy results. Love your work!
James, thanks so much. I really do appreciate you saying that!
Hi Joe, Since many people are interested in losing weight. I think they will find a study by Dr. Valter Longo on IF interesting. I believe the study was with 100 people with a control group and after the results were shown to be positive, they put the Control group on the program and they lost weight also.
I believe this study has been published but I don’t know the source. I believe Dr. Valter Longo is a professor at USC. The basis of the study was to fast 3 days and then eat normally. I’m just throwing this out there in case someone is curious. Thanks for your great information.
Hi Jay, yes I’ve seen studies on intermittent fasting (IF). Its quite popular in some circles. I’m still on the fence as to whether it works because it is another way to reduce calories or if there is some other hormonal thing at work. Ive experimented with it and lost about 8-10 lbs. Probably the easiest way to do IF is to just not eat past 7pm and then dont eat till lunch. That way most of the “fast” occurs when we are sleeping (no no thinking about what there is to eat)
I have been seeing my doctor regularly for skin issues so he was alarmed that, after years of low normal readings and only 4 days of using Dietspotlightburn, I suddenly had clinical hypertension (blood pressure over 140/90).
It took me a couple of days to remember what I had changed because I’ve used both ephedrine, when it was legal, and ephedra products with no alarming change in b.p. It took 5 days after ceasing to use Dietspotlightburn before my b.p. returned to normal levels.
Dietspotlightburn may work, although I lost nothing during the trial period (according to DS’s forms, I should have lost 2+ pounds per week, but I remained at the same weight I had been at for the previous month+).
It’s possible, but not likely, that my b.p. change was coincidence.
Michael, thanks for bringing this up. while I cant think of anything that would raise your blood pressure to those levels, it is very interesting that your BP returned to normal after you stopped taking DietSpotlight Burn.
Has anyone else noticed changes in blood pressure with DietSpotlight Burn?
Thank you for a well written and well researched review of this product. People need to know if these products live up to their claims before they invest money in them. Many also have harmful side effects which this article addresses.
It is unfortunate that consumers don’t realise that even the most effective and safe ingredients are just “supplements” to a healthy diet and exercise regimen and not a substitute for it. This review gives people some alternative supplements that can enhance weight loss based on published clinical studies but people still need to do their part with eating right and exercising.
I hope people will read this article, save themselves some money and aggravation.
Hi Susan, thanks for your compliements. I hope others benefit from this as well.
How can you list Meratrim as an “ingredient” in your product when Meratrim is the name of a similar trademarked product made by another company? Isn’t that like coming out with a new NSAID product & listing Advil as an ingredient? Just a thought.
Paul, that is an interesting observation. Since Meratrim is a product of a company called Interhealth (now owned by a company called Lonza) my guess is they license the name and proprietary blend to DietSpotlight for use in their product.
That could be but not sure why they would do that if Meratrim is a hot product – who knows!
Paul, another good question. I dont know the answer to that. Does anyone else?
Great article. As always, this site does an amazing job breaking down the important information to be easily understood. It is important to be in the know of what we are putting in our bodies for our health and well being.
But, what about REAL FOOD. for REAL RESULTS. Making wiser choices and eliminating sugar and processed foods for better weight loss goals, instead of a magic pill that is expensive. Getting back to nutrition 101 basics.
Thank you Joe for keeping it real.
Janis Saffell
http://www.4weekfatblaster.com
Thanks Janis, I’m a fan of real food myself.
Hi Joe,
I am a web developer who has struggled for years to lose weight and keep it off. I read your article with great interest because I’ve been noticing a large proliferation in these types of sites.
Let’s not mince words here: the entire Dietspotlight website is a scam.
As a person with knowledge of the internet and SEO, your article prompted me to do my own digging on Dietspotlight and their many deceptive tactics.
I noticed a number of glaring irregularities on the site which I think your readers should be made aware.
1)WHO IS DIETSPOTLIGHT CONTENT DIRECTOR SUMMER BANKS?
On the Dietspotlight website, many of the articles are written by a woman with the moniker Summer Banks. I read her bio and noticed something that is theoretically possible, but seems highly implausible. It states: “Over the last 10 years, Summer has researched and written over 5000 articles on diet, exercise, weight-loss, nutrition, and women’s health.”
Really? Basic math would indicate that she’s researched and written over 500 articles per year or 1.37 articles per day, every day, every year, for 10 years.
As a woman who knows a thing or two about content marketing, writing real content, valuable content that benefits readers, is not something that you just “whip up” and slap online. It takes work, serious work, and claiming to pump out 1.37 articles a day, every day, for 10 years is simply preposterous, absurd, and highly unlikely.
But Summer, think of Christmas? Think of the children, Summer! You spend all your time researching and writing articles, but the children need a mother, Summer!
For someone claiming to be so prolific as a health writer, she has barely any online footprint corroborating her claims of writing 5000 articles. If you do a Google search of Summer Banks, you’ll notice how few results appear, and virtually no results for any articles she’s written.
There is a link to a site called WikiNut which has six articles listed, only two of which relate to health and nutrition (only 4998 articles to go, Summer!)
Her Twitter account has a whopping 22 followers and the first post was in September of 2016. A writer without an active Twitter account? Hmmm
Her Dietspotlight bio claims she took coursework at Stanford, but her LinkedIn profile makes no reference of this, and for the other listed education items, there is no mention of degrees or titles. Nearly everyone I know with degrees will list them out in full on their LinkedIn profile.
2)POOR QUALITY CONTENT IS ACTUALLY JUST SALES COPY
In my opinion, the “review” content on Dietspotlight is very thin with no substantive level of depth as to actually be useful to anyone. Honestly, it looks like it was outsourced to some overseas Bangladeshi content mill rather than written by someone who claims to have nutrition and nursing qualifications.
Go ahead and read about 3 or 4 of their review articles and you will see how it is nothing more than formulaic marketing content engineered specifically to divert readers to their overpriced products (as you pointed out). And hey, if you have a BMI of 4.3, then yay, you qualify for a sample of Dietspotlight Burn! In fact, everyone qualifies! That’s just wrong, if not psychopathic and irresponsible, and is a danger to public health. But who cares if anorexic teenage girls are dying, as long as Dietspotlight makes money, right?
DIETSPOTLIGHT HAS A LONG HISTORY OF DEFRAUDING PEOPLE
You can go to this link here and see that as far back as 2010 Dietspotlight was running the same scam selling a product called Avesil:
https://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/avesil-miami-florida-c282452.html
People there complained about exactly the same deceptive tactics and the autoshipments and billing of credit cards against their will.
3) DIET SPOTLIGHT READER COMMENTS LOOK FRAUDULENT
The wording and phrasing seem a but suspect and tend to cast a wide net around latent semantic indexing (LSI) keywords. So while the content itself is useless, the hundreds of planted comments can make up for it and be indexed by Google just the same.
I also noticed that in the comments section of one of their posts that the star ratings on 12 consecutive posts were all three-star ratings. That seems a bit suspect and is highly unlikely to happen by chance.
On another “review” for Plexus Slim, I noticed that there were over 843 “reader” comments. Given how poorly written and useless the content was, it is extremely unlikely that the post would have evoked enough emotion to get people to leave 843 comments. Only a tiny portion of readers leave comments on blogs and this is an anomalously high number for such thin and poorly-written sales copy.
This a stark contrast to the comment count of zero (0) and a small share count of 40 on Facebook:
http://graph.facebook.com/?id=https://www.dietspotlight.com/plexus-slim-review/
If the article was legitimately making a splash online, it would have a LOT more than 40 shares and 0 comments.
3)FAKE DIETSPOTLIGHT FACEBOOK PAGE FANS
This one is glaringly obvious. Go to the Dietspotlight Facebook page and you’ll see their 25,000 Facebook fan count, but spend a few minutes scrolling through their posts and you see absolutely zero, and I mean ZERO, engagement. The only interaction I saw on posts was by a one Richard Banks, who is supposedly Summer Banks’ husband, and he works for Dietspotlight.com
What does this mean? It means they went on the dark web and purchased 25,000 fans. But it was obviously wasted money because it’s doing nothing for their bottom line. Is their Facebook page so pathetic that they can’t even get one of their fake followers to like their posts?
DIETSPOTLIGHT APPEARS TO PURCHASE PAID BACKLINKS
I found a number of high value .edu backlinks to Dietspotlight.com, but when I evaluated them further, it was evident they had paid to be listed in a directory with a bunch of other sites. Good money for the edu site selling the links, but not good for consumers because it games Google, violates their terms of service, and helps give sharks like Dietspotlight a strong trust signal to push them higher up the rankings.
I also noticed they claim to offer a scholarship. Who knows if they’ve actually ever given a scholarship, but one thing is for sure, it was able to get them a live backlink on USA Scholarships.com
BEWARE OF DIET SPOTLIGHT
Overall, Dietspotlight is a deceptive and unethical site clearly in existence for one reason and one reason only: to make money.
Taking on board what you’ve written above, Joe, and what I found when I analyzed their site, they clearly do not care about the health and well-being of their visitors.
All of the inconsistencies and irregularities I’ve pointed out above are highly unlikely to have happened by random chance.
In my opinion, there is obvious collusion on the part of Dietspotlight to game Google for profit.
I wonder how Dietspotlight founder Jesse Stein even sleeps at night. Sigh….
Hi Abby, wow, you obviously have some detective skills that I do not possess. I was not aware of much of what you mentioned including the scholarships (I have bookmarked the complaints board site and will be using it in the future, thanks). As for Summer Banks, I did notice the lack of credentials (and what I felt was thin content) but did not think of doing the fun with math calculation you did. Thanks much for bringing this extra info to the table.
Thanks Joe. Great review as always. Just another scam. Combining existing weight loss ingredients….stirring them together….promising the world….and gouging customers with a dramatic mark up in cost.
Frank, you are welcome. I appreciate you taking the time to share your opinions.
Great job with the research. Very interesting information. An Internet company posing as several weight loss supplement companies with all products containing identical ingredients.
Also, let’s not miss construe a lack of peer-reviewed research as an indication of safety and or effectiveness. Because Meratrim has been shown to benefit and weight loss, exactly how much is needed. In addition what are the side effects and or long-term risk associated with taking this supplement.
Let’s also not forget when people reduce the caloric intake and increase their physical activity they will lose weight anyway.
Joanne, thanks so much. I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts on the matter.
Great review Joe Cannon, just when I’m thinking of trying a weight loss supplement I am stalled by fright and rightfully so according to the review. I will look into Meratrim alone though. I have 15 stubborn pounds which may not sound like a lot to most people but stays on my mind and I do not want that number to rise to 20. Thank you so much for your insightful review.
Vicki, glad to help and I understand. the less we have to lose the harder it is. Check back and let me know how Meratrim works for you. If the studies are to be believed, you should start to see results in month or so -two at the most.
Joe as usual you are always sharing extremely important info. that most people NEED to know & miss reading the details that can put them into danger. I am sadly amazed out that fact that “just anyone” can get a free sample of a diet pill that can cause extreme health risk… without any personal exam to assure they are even capable of taking it.
I wish there were stricter guidelines to protect the public but this research is welcomed and I appreciate it. I’ll share with my viewers and clients
Thank you
Thanks Teresa, I’m glad you took some value from the review 🙂
When in doubt, read a Supplement Geek review! I have passed along these reviews to my family and friends. Sometimes it is so easy to get “taken in” with the marketing schemes and their blatant lies. This is a non-biased review that has the highest level of integrity and honesty (not sponsored by the supplement industry).
Priceless!
Hey Mary, thanks for saying that! I really appreciate you passing my reviews along to your friends and family too. That is quite a snazzy website you have as well! Much success with your meeting & event planning business 🙂
As always, great review Joe. This product seems shady to me on several fronts. First off – the price. $109/month? That’s where the weight loss is – your wallet! See, spot reduction does work! And the fact that everyone qualifies for a free sample is another red flag – but not a shock.
I especially like the fact that a supplement “review” site markets their own supplements right on the site. No bias there, huh? Good work Joe!
Thanks Paul, I appreciate the feedback.
I love the depth to which Joe Cannon will go to research a product and that he shares it with us! Not only do I learn more about supplements, but also about the research process so I know what to look for – and what to look out for. Because of Joe’s in-depth reviews it’s easier not to fall for “marketing hype”. Thanks Joe!
Hi Denise, you are very welcome. Im happy you found the review helpful. BTW, I like your website too 🙂
I know some don’t want to hear this… but screams regulations to me!
Free sample of a “weight loss” product to someone who is 55lbs.. 30lbs.. good grief.
Someone at that company needs to check their “calculator”!
Oh.. and different name but same ingredients? That has to save on costs.
Fortunately for Dietspotlight, Joe is kind enough to give you the plus’s and minus’s on the products he reviews and let’s the reader make their own.. now well informed decision.
Brian, thanks, yes I prefer to present both sides of an issue so people can make up their own minds. I appreciate you noticing that 🙂
Thank you! How insightful. I will be reading and sharing more of your investigations.
Thanks Melody, I appreciate that!
Joe Cannon always does a thorough investigation of all supplements. He addresses the questions we ask & follows up with even more information. He speaks a language that we understand.
Sandi, thanks for saying that! I really do appreciate it 🙂