Which supplements actually help with weight loss?
None produce meaningful weight loss on their own. Protein powder helps by making a protein target achievable, caffeine marginally increases expenditure and training output, and creatine supports the training that preserves muscle. Correcting a measured deficiency — vitamin D, iron, B12 — helps because deficiency was holding you back.
The ones worth the money
Protein powder, not because powder is special but because hitting 1.6 grams per kilogram from food alone is genuinely difficult when appetite is low. It is a convenience that solves the thing that actually matters.
Creatine monohydrate, which is among the best-evidenced supplements available, supports resistance training and therefore muscle retention in a deficit. Caffeine, modestly, for training output. Vitamin D, iron or B12 where a blood test has shown a deficiency — that is correction, not supplementation.
The ones to skip
Fat burners and thermogenic blends, which are mostly caffeine at an undisclosed dose plus ingredients with no human evidence. Garcinia, raspberry ketones, green coffee extract and apple cider vinegar pills have all been studied and none produce clinically meaningful loss.
Detox teas and cleanses, which work by being laxatives. The weight returns with the next meal.
The regulatory gap
Supplements are not approved before sale in the way medicines are, so the label is largely the manufacturer's own claim. Independent testing regularly finds products that do not match their labels, including some containing undeclared pharmaceuticals.
Look for third-party certification such as NSF or Informed Sport, particularly if you are tested in any sport. And take a blood panel before buying anything to correct a deficiency you have not confirmed you have.
General information, not medical advice, and not a substitute for seeing a clinician who can assess you. Cryohealthcare Marina del Rey is a wellness practice; our treatments are not medical treatments and do not treat medical disease. We do not sell peptides or prescription medication from this website.
Talk to someone
Get the answer for your situation, not the general one.
A physician consultation and a comprehensive biomarker panel at 4256 Lincoln Blvd, Marina del Rey, CA 90292. Outside labs accepted if they are under three months old.