Update 1/20/20. Japanese Hokkaido Weight Loss Pills are another in a long line of weight loss supplements from Japan, China, Vietnam, etc. aimed predominately at Americans. I admit I'd never heard of these slimming pills until it was brought to my attention by one of the readers of my blog. At various websites, these pills are said to be “in high demand,” and when I checked eBay, I saw some people selling them for over $60! Do these slimming pills work? Let’s see what the research says. This review contains updated and new information, thanks to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), who tested Hokkaido weight loss pills and discovered what I suspected from the start… Also, see the review of Slim Trim U for more info.
Hokkaido Pills Ingredients
Hokkaido weight loss pills contain these ingredients.
- Dill Extract
- Chinese rose extract
- Trumpet Creeper extract
- Evening primrose extract
- Lotus
Is there any evidence that these ingredients help people lose weight? Let’s look at the research and see:
Dill Extract
They don’t tell you what “extract” they are talking about, but when I searched for weight loss research on dill, I found nothing. Dill does seem to have a diuretic effect so it may act as a natural water pill. I'm guessing that is why it’s in the ingredients.
Women who may be pregnant should avoid Hokkaido Weight Loss Pills. There is some speculation that dill may cause menstrual bleeding. I cannot find any research or case studies to substantiate this, however, but it is something to consider.
Chinese Rose Extract
Again, they do not tell us what specific extract they are talking about. What is the scientific name of the Chinese rose they are using? If anyone knows, let me know, and I will update this review.
Trumpet Creeper Extract
If you search for research on Trumpet Creeper, online, it can be a little difficult to find because its scientific name is Campsis radicans. Another name –albeit less scientific – is cow itch, which is a reference to how farm animals sometimes get a rash when they rub against it. This makes sense since the name “radicans” is the same classification as poison ivy (Rhus radicans).
That said, I could not locate any weight loss proof that Trumpet Creeper helps weight loss. When I googled Trumpet Creeper and weight loss, many sites that came up had to do with sites that sell weight-loss pills and that was no help. I then checked the National Library of Medicine and also couldn’t find anything. One problem with my search is that we are not told what extract of Trumpet Creeper is in Hokkaido weight loss pills.
Evening Primrose Extract
This is also called GLA, which stands for gamma-linolenic acid. The lack of evening primrose weight loss research makes me very skeptical. One study from the 1980s found evening primrose oil did not help weight loss.
Because evening primrose oil effects blood clotting, people taking blood thinners should avoid this product. There is also some perplexing cancer research hints that evening primrose oil might either reduce breast cancer growth or speed up breast cancer growth, depending on how much is used. The bottom line, if you have a history of cancer, talk to your doctor first.
The product Abdominal Cuts also has evening primrose oil. See that review for more info.
Evening primrose oil is sometimes used for PMS symptoms –with mixed results. Like Dill, women who may be pregnant should not use evening primrose oil.
It may be very dangerous. If you have my book on supplements see the chapter on evening primrose oil for more on its other uses.
Hokkaido FDA Update
In November 2012, The FDA alerted the public that Japanise Hokkaido Slimming Pills contained the weight loss drug called sibutramine, a weight-loss drug that was removed from the US market in 2010 because it posed significant health risks. Here is what the FDA said in their warning about Hokkaido pills:
“Sibutramine is known to substantially increase blood pressure and/or pulse rate in some patients and may present a significant risk for patients with a history of coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, arrhythmias, or stroke. This product may also interact, in life-threatening ways, with other medications a consumer may be taking.”
This explains the very strange symptoms people have been reporting in the comments.
Lotus
Human weight loss research on lotus cannot be located. I did locate one test-tube study where lotus and L carnitine reduced fat buildup inside fat cells. This is interesting but it’s a study of fat cells in test tubes. You are MUCH more complex than a test tube.
You may recall that lotus is one of the ingredients in Zi Xiu Tang Bee Pollen weight loss supplements.
On one of the websites that sell Hokkaido Pills, they spelled “primrose” wrong and there is broken English. Nobody is perfect but ingredient typos – and broken English on websites make me wonder about who put this website together.
Do Hokkaido Weight Loss Pills work?
Based on the research I can find, I say no, this stuff cannot possibly work – if these are the only ingredients in the pills. If people are losing weight, I am interested in hearing about it. Since I wrote this review, the FDA has confirmed what I thought all along – that Hokkaido slimming pills contained something not listed in the ingredients, a drug called sibutramine. Because of this, Hokkaido weight loss pills cannot be recommended.
What do you think?
for those of you who are taking the pill and it’s working for you guys, how can you tell If it’s real? is the inside of the pill a certain color? a friend told me that they were like a crystal white but I’m taking some and the inside of them were like a brown sugar color. can anyone please let me know?
Mine are pink capsules, i also lost the box so now i have no way of telling except if I purchase a new one
OH God!, I got 2 friends who took this pill. They really lose weight extremely fast! so I bought 1 bottle that I shared with my sister. After 3 days of taking it, we both started having bad dreams and then my sister began to feel so sad that her husband saw her just quietly sitting on the couch not moving at all just being sad with tears falling in her eyes. It has effects on your emotions. Some of my other friends who tried it stop too because they can’t take the effects on your brain/emotion… I think it makes you hallucinate ???
OH MY GOD!! I DID NOT REPLIED ON ANY OTHER COMMENT BUT THIS! I also thought that this pill might be a depressant (pardon my typos). i started taking the pills a week now and started feeling depressed. I called my relative and started crying, with no valid reasons! i just feel down and disturbed.
I have also been craving before for sweets and food every 3 minutes because of my eating disorders, but now , i have to remember the hours i have eat or else Ill be feeling full all day long and end up being dizzy.
Aside from depression, suppressed cravings, I also get the goosebumps and cold sweats every now and then.
On the contrary of others statements, I feel my pulse is slower than ever and I feel weak and less talkative.. Very weird..
well everyone has their own opinions, but for me I don’t find anything wrong with it cause I always see the doctor since Ive been using such pills and all my medical results are definitely okay.
JOE…u think there may be drugs inside the pill?let me know tnx 🙂
Angel, all I can say is that other than acting as a laxative, I don’t understand how people are seeing the results they are having with these pills. weight loss pills from china etc have had problem with customs because they contained weight loss drugs. It all just makes me wonder.
Hi Joe,
I have my two lady staff who are taking the pills. I can see that they are loosing inches. I wanted to try and i asked them to buy me one. But before i use it i was also skeptical as to the speedy weight loss, wherein it was claimed herbal. How did it work?
I soon found out that FDA banned a lot of Chinese weight loss pills because they do not disclose the true dangerous and deadly ingredients. And it was SALBUTRAMINE that makes it
work. Salbutramine causes cardiovascular cases such as heart attack, palpitations etc. it will make your mouth dry and it is also an appetite suppressant.
I did not use the bottle given to me. I also share to my lady staff and they stopped using. Please see banned Chinese slimming pills and its deadly content. Search about sibutramine as well. Hope this helps.
Hi Rose, Ive thought from the start that there was something suspicious in the product. If you found anything specific about these pills, please do share the link.
Hi, my cousin wanted me to research these pills before she bought them and I am here to say they are not good. Even if these new ingredients suppress your hunger at first and make you lose a little weight, the bottom line is it was created by a shady company that is pretending to be a Japanese company.
A lot of things in the world, taken orally, makes you feel less hungry,(which, like Joe said there is no evidence these pills do) but they could be doing more harm for you than good. The name of the company in Japan doesn’t really exist.
And it has been featured on some “scam buster” type of show in Japan. I am someone who struggles with weight control so I understand how everyone feels. If you can lose with these pills, you can keep going without the pills.
Sandee, thats very interesting what you said about the Hokkaido company not really existing. Was the
“scam buster” show in Japan, in English? guessing not but if it is, I’d love a link to the show if you have it.
I started on Sunday at 230 n i now weigh 224 🙂 n I’m not in the restroom any more than before but it does make me sweat n thirsty so far i luv em hope they help others like me
Hello I’m 17 and I’ve been taking these pills for 4 days now and it makes me thirsty and not hungry I’m not sure if I’ve lost weight I will check in 2 weeks
if all those extracts does not work…then why did i lost a lot of inches in just 3 months…from 39 to 31 that was february to may…and i continued using it and now my waist is down to 29, aside from that i don’t deprive myself from eating just to comprehend with the pill, i can eat almost everything & anything i like and not gain any weight just as long as i take these pills every morning before having my breakfast and it works for me. 🙂
here’s a link of my before & after use of Hokkaido slimming pills
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2250598201818&set=a.2250597721806.64373.1754151580&type=3&theater
December 2011: 39 inches
February2012: I started using these pills (39 inches)
May2012: 34 inches
and then here’s the link for my recent picture from August to September 2012: 29 inches
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2345141325337.67012.1754151580&type=3
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2292748415547.65468.1754151580&type=3
thanks! i just hope this won’t make any negative reactions on others cause I use this product and I just want to stand for what I am using specially when I know it really works.
Angel, I maintain that the ingredients in the pills cant possibly work (except for having a laxative effect) but the fact that people say they have amazing results raises my suspicions that something else may be in them. I really hope that I am wrong Angel.
Im on day two of these pills and ive only felt a lil thirsty n warm but i was told it makes u sweat. I really hope they work since i used to use oxyelite pro n it was awesome but expensive and these are a lot cheaper, i weigh 230lbs n need to get down to at least 180lbs since i am 5’9″ tall i still want to be curvy n not look like a stick ill see how this goes 😉
thanks Joe! I followed your advice and guess what? it’s the freakin’ pills! that’s why I stopped taking it. I really think it’s better to get a body you wanted in a hard but healthier way rather than have a sexy body immediately but taking your life slowly.
Joycee, fantastic! glad your feeling better 🙂
Hi Joe! Hi Girls!
Here are my updates and additional tips on taking Hokkaido Slimming Pills. After my last post, I decided to start taking them again.
Why? I recently just gave birth to a healthy baby boy, for my best friends, and during my pregnancy I regained all the weight (and a little more), that I had lost 4yrs ago.
I have been taking them now for more than a week, and have lost 5kgs so far. While taking them, I realized that there are a couple of things to watch out for, if you want to keep feeling healthy and energetic.
1) hydrate! hydrate! hydrate! – It’ll prevent dizziness and headaches.
2) take vitamins and eat loads of veggies! – Malnutrition due to loss of appetite is not cute.
3) if you are a smoker like me: try to cut down on those sticks! since the pills are putting your metabolism already in overdrive, try not to finish that entire pack of cigarettes. unless of course, you don’t mind those fun palpitations, which will leave you feeling like you’ve just finished a triathlon.
4) If you are one of us ladies in the early 30’s, and realizing that gravity is a B*. I highly recommend doing a combo of Lipo Cavitation (to get rid of those really stubborn love handles and jiggly inner thighs), and RadioFrequency Treatment (to firm the skin and get rid of cellulites).
What do you guys “partner” your Hokkaido pills with? Work out? Diet? 🙂
im taking these pills for 3 days now.. and my mouth is getting dry been drinking a lot
@D : it wont come out in the drug test ,I
took them for 4 months and I got a drug tested at
Work while I was still on it and I came out clean.
Hiya!
I used to take these pills 4yrs ago. I started taking them when I was weighing 85kgs, and got diagnosed as obese by my doc (I am only 158cm tall).
Paired with a healthy diet/portion control, not that you’ll have much of an appetite left, I lost a total of 20kgs in 60days.
Tip: Keep yourself hydrated! Drink at least 3L a day and you should be fine.
Cheers and Good Luck!
Sui
Hello everyone…I’ve been taking these pills since July 5,2012 and have lost 22 pounds so far. I weighed 422 when i started and im now 401..the pills do make me thirsty and i go to the restroom a little more but Thats it. No other side effects for me. Also im updating every week on YouTube with my weight loss journey…
How i ended up here? Well i had two of my concerned subscribers tell me they think my pills are FAKE! So im just trying to look more into it now. But i know 10 others Thats taking the pills before i started and thy are losing weight like crazy! But i always suggest people check with there doctor and use at your on discretion. I hope im taking authentic Hokkaido pills.. Fingers crossed.
If u take those pills will u come out dirty on drug test?
D, hard to say. If you search the comments, one person said nothing odd showed up when she tested it but others seem to feel it has some undeclared substances. I dont have any good answers for you on this issue.
Joe,
so I do have side effects…the bathroom is used more often (#2) dry mouth and I am getting light headaches but i believe the headaches are from not eating…I did loose 6lbs and I have been taking them for 4 days now…
Hey Joe,
I read some of the comments and I have been taking my pills for two days…dont feel much of a difference..still hungry…and dont have dry mouth….hmmmmm im starting to think they dont work!
Tawny, well Im glad you’re not having any weird side effects. I always thought that if they really did work because of those ingredients, its because its a laxative and nothing else.
Hello Everyone,
I just ordered these Pills, I weigh 309LBS right now, hoping these pills will take away some of this nasty fat!!! do they make u feel any jitters or speed up heart rate? I am very sensitive to meds!
Tawny, please do read through all the comments about these pills. There is a lot of information there. instead of the pills, Id also recommend seeing a registered dietitian who can recommend healthy foods to help you lose weight. you can find an RD in your area by going to their website and putting in your zip code. Here’s there website http://www.eatright.org/
Where can i get this pills without getting them on line?
Roxi there are distributors of the product (I wont let them advertise here) but they are not sold in-stores in the US. I’m not sure about other countries.