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:
- FloydNutrition.com
- FloydNutrition.net
- PlatinumBodySlim.com
- Ayurvedic-Solutions.com
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:
- Sibutramine – a banned weight-loss drug linked to heart problems. It is also called Meridia.
- Phenolphthalein – a laxative that is no longer used in Canada because it may cause cancer. For more info see the Phenolphthalein Wikipedia page.
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:
- Bee pollen
- Chinese yam
- Green tea
- lotus seed
- Dietary fiber
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:
- “Dioscorea opposita weight loss”
- “Dioscorea opposita body mass index”
- “Dioscorea opposita obesity”
- “Chinese yam weight loss”
- “Chinese yam body mass index”
- “Chinese yam obesity”
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:
- Chinese yam
- lotus seed
- dietary fiber
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:
- headache
- confusion
- nausea
- cramps
- dizziness
- muscle weakness
- fatigue
- seizures
- abnormal heart rates
- coma
- death
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?
Me and my mom both started taking the Slim Trim U about 2 months ago, we loved them. Between the two of us we lost over 30 pounds. I loved the way it curved my appetite.
However, she went for a check up and her doctor took her off of them because they caused her blood pressure to sky rocket. I was seen three days ago by a doctor, also high blood pressure.
We both also experienced dry mouth, sleepless nights and that feeling where you just don’t feel right. These pills are horrible and should not be sold. I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND THEM TO ANYONE
Sandy based on what you are telling me I believe that Slim Trim U probably contains the illegal weight loss drug Meridia (Sibutramine).
My new rule of thumb when it comes to weight loss supplements is that if it causes dry mouth, it has Sibutramine . Dry mouth is one of the side effects of Sibutramine.
I started taking these pills for a month and have lost 10lbs….. But i dont feel right. At first i was sooooo energized and on the move all the time. Then i started to experience sleepless nights and moodiness. Then i started feeling depressed and shaky. I dont feel these pills are safe i have been off them for two days now and i still shake.
Its not normal. I was so happy before i took these things now I’m different and my body is just not right. I hope i get back to my old self. Ive also herd they contain a drug and these can cause heart attacks and strokes and cancers. I hope to god its a lie!! My opinion is these things are a joke and are NOT good for you at all!!!!
WOW!!
The first time I purchased these (by floyd Nutrition) it was about 3 years ago. I lost about 20 lbs. It was great. I recently tried them again. I was on them for 3 months straight and didn’t loose anything.
After reading what everyone posted alot is making sense.
1st-i can NEVER get in touch with floyd nutrition, i tried for a week straight.
2nd i am finding that i can’t remember things and i wonder if this has anything to do with the pills (i am only 35).
3rd i get dizzy.
I am throwing them out and going to try the old fashion way. THANKS FOR THE INSIGHT!
Joe, i did a ton of research on this cause i swore the drug was in there. im having issues now was on it 2 months. have headaches,body has so type of odor, bad taste in mouth been to the dentist 2 times in a week thinking i had a infection.
i guess this drug is know i believe other than the heart problems but also to cause a lower thyroid count. i assume thats what im going threw now.
My question is for the people that have taken this drug have there blood counts and things seem to bounce back? id imagine with being on 2 months i should be ok. worried sick over it.
i mentioned to you before this seemed to good to be true i think you advised me a few weeks to stop taking it. i did. then i seen some proof it was not to contain drugs. i was told through the gpm practice and testing it was safe. wish i went with my gut. to anyone stop taking all this crap from china. you damn sure will loose weight. everyone is selling any kind of whatever slim u, bee pollen, ect i bet none is safe. hope when i get to the dr things get better
Bob, I hope things continue to improve for you. As for others on the web who said zi xiu tang didn’t contain any weight loss drugs, odds are they were either guilty of wishful thinking or sold the product. Either way, we know for sure now that they were all wrong.
Try not to worry too much about this right now. I know thats hard. keep in contact with your doctor and get the necessary tests. live your life and put it out of your head for now. Today has enough worries for all of us. No need to pile what might – or might not – happen tomorrow on top of them.
i have been taking zi ziu tang capsules for the past three months. During the past month, I have been having a headache (mostly feel it mid forehead between my eyes), my vision has become blurry and my eyes feel dry and i’m constantly blinking. The worse thing I feel is extreme sweating in my forehead and upper lip– I sweat so much that my bangs drip wet several times a day, my body temperature rises.
I was never a person who sweats in the forehead or upper lip. I am 43 years old and I thought I might be going through menopause, but I only sweat in my forehead and upper lip. I began to suspect all this might be caused by the pills.
I have been researching my symptoms to no avail. After reading this, I am almost sure that the pills are doing this to me. I am going to go to the doctor and stop taking the pills to see if my symptoms go away. Joe, Thank you so much!
Joana, on my other Zi Xiu Tang posts, people are showing me FDA reports where Zi Xiu Tang has been found to contain the illegal weight loss drug called sibutramine. This likely explains all the strange side effects you and everybody else has been experiencing. I knew from the start Zi Xiu tang must have had something that wasnt listed. Suspected it was a weight loss drug but never had proof – until now. Its nice to be finally vindicated but Im sorry it took the FDA SO LONG to do it. Here is the link to the FDA report.
http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMedicineSafely/MedicationHealthFraud/ucm325537.htm
Well another one banned. wish i listened to joe
http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMedicineSafely/MedicationHealthFraud/ucm325552.htm
Bob, wow! Thanks for showing me this!
Hi. I found this website and wanted to comment. I have never had any luck with a diet pill & I started to believe an appetite suppressant didn’t even exist! A friend of mine is a distributor for Bee Fit and gave me a free week trial of the Slim Trim U. I was hooked!! I am now into week 13 and have lost over 28 pounds.. I dont have any of the side effects although initially I had the “bathroom issue” for about 2 weeks. I feel great, I went from needing 10 hours of sleep to being fine fluctuating between 6-8. My appetite was immediately suppressed and I couldn’t believe it.
First couple of weeks i was making myself eat. Of course I overcame that, and I have some days where I eat light and some days where I can’t stop eating. Water is the key factor, I try and drink 12 glasses every single day. I work in an office where people were noticing the weight loss and wanted to get in on it – we know have 14 girls on it and they all LOVE it! Clothes are fitting, pounds are shedding, and we don’t have to exercise!
Haha they recently started ordering directly from Floyd and have had no difference between ordering from Bee Fit and Floyd. With every diet pill, it’s not for everyone. I would reccomend it to anyone. The Slim even changed my liking for soda pop, which i never thought would be possible. All of a sudden i just didnt like the taste anymore and all i wanted was water. Truly amazing for me.
My nails are growing and not breaking, my blemishes are subsiding, my energy level is out of this world and the weight is gone!!!! I initially lost a good portion of mine the first 4 weeks. Since the 4 week period I have steadily lost 2 pounds each week, which i think is healthier. I hope to never find proof anything is wrong with these pills because for me they are amazing and I will always be so grateful for finding them.
Brandy, since you mentioned Floyd and posted in my ZXT Gold review, here is the canadian recall of ZXT gold, which is also distrubuted by Floyd
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/advisories-avis/_2012/2012_106-eng.php
I have been taking ZXT Gold for two months and wanted more energy so now taking STU. Love how they both work
for energy weight loss and detoxing. Also my triglycerides went from 220 to 150 in two weeks. I am 5″6 and weighed 136 but now 118. I do feel awesome taking the product but have to stop for awhile do to the weight loss.
The only side effects for me was the decrease in appetite and detoxing which was awesome. I have 12 of my friends all taking the STU and they all love it too for same reasons. I sure hope there isn’t a problem with any of the ingredients.
I will keep up on the research.
Sandra, you lost 18 pounds in 2 weeks! That’s a lot. Im guessing that it was the weight loss that reduced your triglycerides. that sometimes happens weight weight loss.
I have been taking Zi Xiu Tang for about two months. I was online looking for Guangzhou Zixiutang Biotechnology Co. LTD but they aren’t coming up as a company in Guangzhou, China.
I’m just writing to say I loved ZXT gold, I felt tons better on it than I did on the Zi Xiu Tang. I ended up losing 40 pounds but I had to go off of it because it caused severe gallbladder problems and looking up causes of gallbladder issues it can be caused by rapid weight loss due to decreased calorie intake and dehydration, which the pills mixed with the frequent bowel movements it can be hard to combat the dehydration all the time and I believe these issues stemming from my use of the pills led to the problems I am having.
This wasn’t from the ingredients in the pills or anything like that, just a side effect from the method of weight loss. I just thought I would share because upon taking these pills I never really worried what could happen if I lost the weight too quickly mixed with slight dehydration from the increased bowel movements and naturally dehydrating effect of the pills.
Joe
On the subject of how much water to drink. I went to an Urologist recently for nighttime urination problems. He ask me how much water I was drinking and I told him not as much as I understand I should. I had always heard you need at least 8 glasses of water a day. Surprisingly, He said that was a myth that you drink water when you are thirsty. If not thirsty don’t drink.
Pete, yes I’d agree with that. Best Ive heard is that the 64 oz per day recommendation came from a gov study in WWII. that study also said we could get all the fluids we need from the fluids in the food we eat and other fluids we drink.
I recently had my 2nd baby and I really want to get this weight off fast. I have been taking ZXT Gold for about 2 weeks now and have only lost a couple pounds. I have a lot more energy and my appetite has dropped but I have not had any other side effects.
I just want to know how to loose the weight as fast as others are because 2 pounds in 2 weeks is not what I am looking for.
Courtnie, if you lose weight fast, that could cause you to lose muscle tissue. you dont want to lose that because it doesn’t come back if its lost. just food for thought.
Does anyone else get really tired about 5 hours after taking the pills? I get so tired i need to nap.
So I just found out that slim trim u is made by the same manufacturer that made zixiutang.. Guangzhou biotech.. I see that Floyd sells these pills… I thought that Floyd was not working for Guangzhou anymore… ?
Joe,
Do you know if any other proof or info has been found with the stuff from floyd nutr. We have purchased ultimate bee pollen pills. And i have now noticed after doing lots of research that they are from floyd nutr.
I have called phone system says its off due to high call volume, called other number says voice mail box is full. But i did see a letter in yahoo news from yesterday from floyd nutrition saying they are legit and the formula has changed and is supposed to be safe. here is what the ingredients are in what we have
Bee pollen, Chinese yam, Barbary Wolfberry Fruit, Lotus Seed, Dietary Fiber, Senna, Cassia, Green Tea, Rhubarb, Aloe, Pologonum Multiflorum, Lotus Leaf, Gynostemma, Radish Seed, Malt, Mulberry, Hawthorn, Vitamin B1, B5, B6, B7, B12.
we both lost weight. and i thought this was safe. but really starting to wonder now that no way to call floyd nutrition. thank you
Bob, that bothers me too that you cant get through to floyd. I’m not sure how many people work at floyd. I see that the product you mentioned has senna. that is a laxative.
I recently started taking bee pollen ZXT which I purchased from Floyd Nutrition. Immediately I experience a change in energy on the first day. I was completely wired, but strangely focused at the same time.
Today is day four of taking this pill and it will be my last! I have had numerous side effects just in these past 4 days. All side effects include: complete lose of appetite, extremely DRY mouth, diarrhea, itchy face, trouble sleeping, slurred speech and physical exhaustion (i believe due to dehydration), and dizziness upon standing.
While I have lost 2.5lbs in four days, great but feeling like I do not have control over my body and mind is not worth it! I neglected to research this before taking it and I have certainly just learned a valuable lesson!
I am by no means obese and can certainly tackle this weight lose challenge (10lbs) without taking a supplement that does not provide all ingredients as well as each ingredients amount. It should certainly make one wonder!
Angie I agree 100% … I’m just having a hard time getting the right zixiutang… I have bought from eBay and other sites and none have worked.. No side affects… I know how they feel and the side affects cause I took them many years ago.. Now I’m trying to get them and can’t find them….zi xiu tang where are you?
I ,have taken zxt gold lost 3-5lbs in 2 months but dropped 2 sizes in clothes ,after the big scare of unknown ingred. I chose to go to Asset (bee pollen) products and I sure wish someone would tell me something that I don’t know.I and many friend and family are taking asset products .they seem to have a better selection and somewhere to go after you lose the weight and want to still have energy,and well -being.
What is the vitamin and natural ingreds.hurting anyone .I think this should be like anything else, list ALL ingreds and HOW MUCH! I don’t think it is the product I think it’s the products .I think that people get scared.If you shit more than 3x a day then really !!It’s not for u ,I had sinus and allergy issues ,so take a freaking allergy pill !It went away in a week .I felt awesome! and I have researched asset products and others .I tell people to make sure you 1)you know where it is coming from.2)make sure it is freeze-dried.3)And like anything else u get what u pay for .
I am happy with beepollen products .I have tried to find out all I can .And i know my husband is diebetic and over weight ,arthitis till his feat hurt and hands and if this helps him ,so be it.I have a friend that is feeling good from fibermialaga and this is why so what every is in it It can’t do any more damage than all the meds Dr.’s are feeding us .So my son needed help and guess what 22 yrs old and 280lb,is not a good healthy life,so 60lbs lighter and feeling good about himself.He has taking zxt gold ,asset extreme,and asset extreme plus .So if your body likes it ,don’t stress .If you are over weight ,you will eventually die from diebeties,heart attack,or other health issues! so just use it right !and listen to your bodies.Noone is alike and if you could just give us all the info on zxt products .I would not have to be righting this big a$$ letter.LOL We all want to know.
I have been taking the zxt gold from Floydnutrition for a week nOw and nothing has happened.. No dry mouth.. No diahreah … I sleep the same as always.. Nothing has changed leading me to believe that this is not the right ones that actually work.like the classic zixiutang from 2010. So don’t buy from Floyd .. I sure won’t they do nothing…but I won’t give up hope to find the real zixiutang pills that have all the right ingredients and actually work …
Hello. I ordered mine from floyd nutrition.com. I haven’t noticed any side effects; I had watery eyes the FIRST day, but thats it. I have only been taking them for about a week now. I have definitely had a change in my appetite though; thoughtful I’m trying to force myself to eat. I’m only trying to lose about 10lbs; I’m 5’5 140. Just want to feel better about my body image. So far so good, I’m down a few pounds already. Just make sure you are staying hydrated and eating small throughout the day. I had a friend, slightly heavier than me, lose about 20lbs in a little over a month. She wasn’t an exerciser; and I exercise about 4 times a week if not more. So I’m hoping to have good results.