October 2005 CortiSlim Evidence From Nutrition Action Heathletter May 2005 Center of Science in the Public Interest www.cspinet.org (I highly recommend this newsletter- non profit and no outside advertising) Daily stress- work, relationships, bills traffic (even dieting) -triggers a hormonal release that signals the body to store fat, says Shawn Talbott, dietary supplement executive and adjunct professor of nutrition at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. I formulated CortiSlim to help control this fat-storing hormone. Actually, a California supplement manufacturer, Steve Cheng, approached Talbott to devise a weight-loss product that they and psychologist Greg Cynaumom could peddle on TV. Since 2003, the three have sold millions of dollars work of CortiSlim. Their success has spawned dozens of CortiCompetitors, including CortiDrene, CortiTone, CotriSol, and CortiDiet. The hormone that CortiSlim is designed to control is called cortisol. Among is many functions: keeping blood pressure up during traumatizing events. It is a popular myth that everyday stress raises cortisol levels, says endocrinologist Johathan Purnell of the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. Purnell has tested dozens of Seattle and Portland residents, people experiencing normal stresses of modern life that cortisol-suppressing supplements are promoted to neutralize. The people don’t have elevated cortisol. Do high cortisol levels make people fat? Not necessarily, says Purnell. Obese people don’t have higher blood cortisol levels than lean people. As for evidence that controlling cortisol levels will help people lose weight, it has not been studied, sys Purnell, because suppressing cortisol levels is a double-edged sword that many drug companies do not want to touch. Depressing cortisol production enough to keep levels low could put people at risk for shock if they were injured in a car accident or experienced some other trauma. When we block cortisol production for testing purposes in patients, we do it only in a hospital, where we can treat them in case something goes wrong, it is not something you should try at home. And why would you want to? There is no good evidence that the ingredients in CortiSlim or any of its competitors can lower cortisol levels. In fact, Talbott and his partners no longer even say that. Last fall, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charged them with consumer fraud for claiming that CortiSlim results in rapid, permanent weight loss of 10-50 pounds by lowering cortisol levels. While they are negotiating with then FTC over fines and penalties, CortiSlim TV commercial and its Web site shamelessly tout a CortiSlim Lifestyle of diet, physical exercise, stress management….and up to $5 a day of CortiSlim pills. That’s the REAL CortiSlim Lifestyle- making millions by using baseless claims to hawk overpriced pills.

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