Supplement Clarity

ZXT Gold Review of Ingredients and Side Effects

Joe Cannon

Update 1/20/20. ZXT Gold is one of the hottest selling natural weight loss supplements on the web and If I'm any barometer, it also generates a lot of questions too. I've also heard of some strange side effects which got my attention. Does ZXT Gold work? I want to not only review ZXT Gold but look at it in relation to other ZXT supplements.  Hopefully, this ZXT Gold review will answer some of peoples questions. Also, see the review of Slim Trim U bee pollen supplements that also compares ZXT Gold's ingredients to the ingredients in Slim Trim U. Update: The FDA has found this product contained illegal weight-loss drugs.  See this FDA report for more info.

 

Who Sells ZXT Gold?

ZXT Gold is sold by Floyd Nutrition. Floyd Nutrition has the following websites:

When I first heard of Floyd Nutrition,  I thought it was a physical store—like a GNC or local health food store. It's not. The contact page of FloydNutrition.com lists a PO Box in Harrisburg PA as their address.

While it looks like Floyd Nutrition does most of their business online via their websites or by phone orders, I did some digging and discovered that they have a warehouse located at 1800 State Street in Harrisburg PA.

Products sold on their website can be purchased at their warehouse if you go there.  Floyd Nutrition doesn't make the supplements themselves. Companies in other countries and the US do. This is true for many health food stores too.

For more info about Floyd Nutrition

 

ZXT Gold Ingredients

Update: 7/25/12. Thanks to “Beth” one of the readers on this site, I became aware that Canadian health authorities have identified 2 hidden drugs in ZXT Gold. The drugs they found are:

Here is the FDA report dated April 15 2015

Here is the Health Canada update on ZXT Gold dated June 29 2012.

 

According to the Floyd Nutrition website, ZXT Gold is composed of these ingredients:

Here's the thing that makes me scratch my head about ZXT Gold —its ingredients are almost identical to the first 5 ingredients in the weight loss pill, Zi Xiu Tang. With the exception of green tea— in ZXT Gold —replacing barbary wolfberry fruit in Zi Xiu Tang, they look identical to me.

 

I can't tell how much of each ingredient is in ZXT Gold, so I concede there may be differences in the amounts of ingredients between ZXT Gold and Zi Xiu Tang as well as other ZXT supplements.

 

Here is the other thing about ZXT Gold that seems odd to me. Floyd Nutrition lists several other weight loss pills—and their ingredients— on their website, such as ZXT, ZXT Slim etc. I've copied the table below as it appeared on their website.

Notice how all 4 of these supplements appear to have almost the same ingredients.

 

ZXT ZXT Gold ZXT Slim Infinity
Ingredients Bee pollen Bee pollen Bee pollen Bee pollen
Chinese yam Chinese yam Chinese yam Chinese yam
Green tea Green tea Barberry wolfberry fruit Barberry wolfberry fruit
Lotus seed Lotus seed Lotus seed Lotus seed
Dietary fiber Dietary fiber Dietary fiber Dietary fiber
Dosage 2 capsules/day 2 capsules/day 2 capsules/day 1 capsule /day
Energy Moderate/strong Strong Extra strength Extreme extra strength
Suppresses appetite Strong Very strong Very strong Very strong
Remove toxins Very strong Strong Very strong Very strong
Supports the immune system Yes Yes Yes yes
See results in 1st week Yes Yes Yes Yes

adapted from floydnutrition.com

All of these products appear to have very similar ingredients. Also, see my review of Slim Trim U for additional comparisons.

I also noticed that most of the products in this table contain the letters ZXT. What do the letters ZXT stand for in ZXT Gold, ZXT Slim, ect? I can't find an answer to this question. I've been told that ZXT Gold, ZXT etc. are different than Zi Xiu Tang. If they are different, why are the letters ZXT in the names of these other products?

The obvious answer I guess would be that the letters ZXT, in the name, is an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of Zi Xiu Tang.

Does anybody have another answer?

I have not tried ZXT Gold so I will wait to read the experiences of others who have. What I can do is cite the research on the ingredients in ZXT Gold.  Below is a breakdown of the ingredients and relative research.

 

Bee Pollen

If you Google “bee pollen weight loss” you see several websites touting the benefits of how bee pollen weight loss pills can improve energy levels and help people lose weight. But, where is the proof?

None of the websites I looked at showed me any published peer-reviewed evidence that bee pollen helps people lose weight. As I did when I reviewed Zi Xiu Tang, I searched Pub Med, a database of millions of studies from around the world and searched for “bee pollen weight loss“— and no studies showed up.

 

After some further digging, I did locate one small study from 2002 where a bee pollen royal jelly supplement reduced premenopausal weight gain in 29 women. The product used in this study was called Femal. Could this be the basis behind putting bee pollen in weight loss pills?

Tip. reducing the gaining of weight is not the same thing as causing weight loss.

Other than this, I can't find any bee pollen weight loss proof.

Bee pollen has some protein, vitamins, and carbohydrates and that’s nice, but does that mean bee pollen alone peps people up or gives them more energy to get through a tough day? I don't see any studies to back up this claim.

Since I can't find any proof —other than the one small study mentioned above— for now,  I don't buy the claim that bee pollen has any special qualities that it promotes weight loss.

If anyone has a study of bee pollen promoting weight loss in humans, please show me and I will gladly update this review.

Chinese Yam

According to its Wikipedia page, Chinese yam can also be called Korean yam and nagaimo. This makes researching it difficult. Its scientific name is Dioscorea opposita. I searched pub med for studies of:

 

I found no research studies on these topics. It looks like nobody has ever thought of seeing Chinese yam works or not.

If that’s really so, what would prompt the makers of ZXT Gold to put it Chinese yam their product?

Yams are often said to be a source of the hormone DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) and there is some evidence that DHEA may help weight loss—at least in older men and women.

While this is interesting, yams do not seem to raise DHEA levels in humans.

There isn't much research on yams and DHEA levels in humans but I'd like to see some proof that it works before I give it credence (college students: this would be a great thesis project to do!)

 

Green Tea

A LOT of weight loss supplements have green tea. Just a few I've already looked at include:

And several others…

The reason is that green tea has caffeine. People who are more awake might move more and burn more calories. Caffeine also help us burn a little fat.

There is also some research that caffeine might help weight loss.  Note in this study, the supplement used contained 150 mg caffeine and 270 mg ECGC (one of the active ingredients in green tea) per day. How much caffeine and ECGC is in ZXT Gold? I can't tell from the product website.

 

Lotus Seed

Also called Nelumbo nucifera, I can't find any proof this stuff promotes weight loss in either humans or animals. So why is it in ZXT Gold?

Dietary Fiber. This is such a general term that it makes it impossible to know what specific fiber they are referring to. Do they mean soluble fiber or insoluble fiber? They don't tell us.

Looking at the ingredients in ZXT Gold as a whole, these ingredients:

all have something in common.  They ALL contain fiber. As such, if ZXT Gold really works, I believe it's because it acts primarily as a laxative. This was the same initial conclusion I reached when I reviewed Zi Xiu Tang.

I believe that its laxative effect is primarily responsible for any weight loss seen with ZXT Gold. That is the simplest and most logical answer.

As for bee pollen, I think it's mostly being used as a source of protein. Protein can help with weight loss but how much protein is in ZXT Gold? I don't know, but I suspect it's not much. I think bee pollen is really used because people have been saying amazing —yet unproven—things about it, since I was a kid.

 

Does ZXT Gold Have Senna?

The Floyd Nutrition website does not list senna as an ingredient in ZXT Gold, however one person who left a comment on my Zi Xiu Tang post on Jan 20, 2012, stated that Floyd Nutrition has added senna back into ZXT Gold. I have no proof to back this up,  so its best to call and check for yourself if you are concerned about this. Senna is a strong laxative and one case report linked senna to hepatitis.

I also highlighted that senna was a component in Bob Harpers 7 cleanse supplement.

 

ZXT Gold Side Effects

See the FDA report for side effects.

Sibutramine is a weight loss drug pulled from the US market because it increased the risk of heart attacks. Phenolphphthalein is linked to cancer. 

I believe that diarrhea and/or more frequent trips to the bathroom would be a common side effect of ZXT Gold. In fact, this has been reported by people who have used ZXT Gold who left comments in my post of Zi Xiu Tang Side Effects.

Diarrhea can lead to dehydration and losses of electrolytes, which can cause people to feel tired and weak. It can also lead to irregularities in the way the heartbeats.

 

By searching the comments left by others at previous posts I've written, I was able to generate this table of possible ZXT Gold side effects:

 

headache “weird feeling in head” diarrhea depression
Heart racing No appetite constipation Moodiness
Speech problems Very thirsty Sleeping problems Nausea
Increased urination dry mouth Cold/warm feelings Loss of strength
Vision problems Frequent urination Hot flashes Abdominal pain
No energy acne Elevated blood pressure Right arm tremor
Anxiety Dizziness Sore ears / weird feeling in ears

 

How prevalent these side effects are, I don't know as they came from only a few people who listed what happened to them when they used ZXT Gold.

 

How Much Water Should You Drink?

Water, water, water is the mantra spoken by many who take —and sell —ZXT Gold as well as other “ZXT” supplements. Of course, water can help with weight loss (it fills us up and has no calories) but, too much water can lead to a potentially deadly condition called hyponatremia (sometimes water intoxication). Essentially people drink so much water that they dilute the salts (electrolytes) in their blood. This can lead to things like:

Theoretically, hyponatremia might account for some of the reported side effects of ZXT Gold (and Zi Xiu Tang).

So how much water is too much? Well, according to this article in Scientific American magazine, each kidney can excrete 800-1000 milliliters per hour. This equals 27 oz to 33 oz per hour.  Since most of us have 2 kidneys this equals  54 to 66 oz fluid per hour.

So, healthy people (who are not exercising) who want to avoid hyponatremia should drink no more than 54 to 66 oz per hour (less during exercise since kidney excretion can decrease).

Fortunately, this is a lot of water to drink, making hyponatremia unlikely in most people. I mention this as a guide to help people when they hear about all the water they should drink if they take ZXT Gold.

Does It Work?

After discovering that the product contained sibutramine and phenolphthalein – both illegal to be used in dietary supplements, I think we know why this product worked. Bee pollen and other ingredients in this product have no evidence it helps weight loss.

What do you think?

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