The Science Behind NOW Foods ENERGY
ENERGY, the rather prosaically named diet pill from NOW Foods is an all-herbal formula that boasts three big bullets:
- “Natural Source of Energy”
- “Metabolic Diet and Adrenal Support”
- “New Formula!”
Okay, so these are less marketing plugs as they are a few observations that may not all be well founded. NOW Foods Energy is marketed mainly to those who want the benefit of an energy supplement but don’t want it to be as harsh as some “hardcore” diet pills out there. Aside from a variety of actually very good vitamins, ENERGY differentiates itself by just including less caffeine so as not to kick so hard. Here’s the full formula:
- Vitamin Complex: Vitamin E, Vitamin B-1, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B-6, Vitamin B-12, Vitamin B-5, Iodine, Chromium (as Chromium Chelavite), Potassium – 121 mg
- Guarana Standardized Extract (Paullinia cupana with 42 mg of Caffeine) – 280 mg
- Green Tea Extract (Camellia sinensis with 8 mg of Caffeine) – 200 mg
- Panax Ginseng – 150 mg
- Eleuthero (Eleutherococcus senticosus) – 150 mg
- Rhodiola Extract (Rhodiola rosea)- 100 mg
- Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) – 100 mg
- Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica) – 100 mg
- Yerba Mate Extract (llex paraguariensis with 4 mg of Caffeine) – 50 mg
- Cayenne (Capsicum annuum) – 50 mg
- Alpha Lipoic Acid – 25 mg
- CoQ10 – 10 mg
- Octacosanol – 30 mcg
So, in terms of energy, the big players here are caffeine and ginseng. With a total of 54 mg of caffeine per dose, you are looking at the exact same amount that is in a diet mountain dew soft drink. Granted, taking NOW Foods ENERGY is better for you than drinking a soda, but perhaps not a lot better than drinking a soda along with a generic vitamin.
NOW Foods ENERGY Policies
Given that NOW Foods doesn’t sell its products directly, the return policies will vary depending on the retailer you buy it from. You can find NOW Foods ENERGY in many health food stores and a variety of sites online, but you are unlikely to find a “satisfaction guarantee.” The best you usually get with a diet pill like ENERGY is 30 to 60 days money-back for unopened bottles.
NOW Foods ENERGY Lowest Price
The lowest price for NOW Foods ENERGY that we’ve been able to find online is about $14 for two bottles, whereas the list price for one bottle is $16. Usually when a product comes down that much from a list price it is because it is either not selling well or it was way over-priced to begin with…or both. Based on the ingredients, NOW Foods ENERGY actually looks like a pretty good value if you buy in bulk.
Does NOW Foods ENERGY Work?
While NOW Foods ENERGY doesn’t market itself specifically as a diet pill, some have claimed it kills hunger and burns calories. In addition to the caffeine, there are a few other ingredients that can help with weight loss, such as cayenne and green tea. Cayenne can help boost your metabolism naturally without the same side effects as caffeine and green tea provides antioxidants to support a healthy metabolism.
The ginseng here may help boost your energy to some degree but isn’t proven to help you lose weight and the rest of the ingredients are mainly known to be effective because they have caffeine to begin with. NOW Foods ENERGY isn’t a bad buy, but probably isn’t a potent enough diet pill to help you see a marked difference in your ability to shed fat.
