Bromalite is a colon cleanse / weight loss product that claims to help you burn fat, increase metabolism, increase energy, and flush out the toxic build up in your colon. The Bromalite cleanse website is a simple one page website that features the logos of CNN, USA Today, and WebMD - for what reasons is beyond me, and they make no mention of it. I'm assuming it helps give the site a look of legitimacy. Scroll down a bit, and you'll find some claims such as Bromalite thermogenically burns body fat, flushes toxic build up, and etc...
With no where to click, a signup form for a "free" trial is prominently featured on the right side of the page, where you enter your information to get a trial rushed to you "while supplies last" - at least that's what they would like you to believe. At the bottom of the page are some critically important fine print about the "free" trial, which I bet very few visitors ever take the time to read carefully, and if they did read it, they would either 1) not sign up for the "free" trial, or 2) avoid the headaches they would soon find themselves facing with recurring credit card billings due to the "Negative Option" associated with the free trial transaction. But more on that later. First let's take a look at what's in Bromalite, and what it is.
Bromalite Review - the Ingredients
Bromalite contains various ingredients; however, the Bromalite Cleanse website lists six ingredients including Acidophilus & Bifidobacterum, Papain, green tea extract, grape seed extract, mangosteen extract, and ginger root. Below, we'll look at some of these ingredients in more detail.
Acidophilus is a general term used to describe a group of probiotics which contain a number of bacteria which provide health benefits to humans. Probiotics are living micro organisms that provide certain health benefits to the host. Acidophilus includes bacteria which help with digestion such as
Lactobacillus acidophilus
Lactobacillus casei
Lactobacillus bulgaricus
Bifidobacterium species
Streptococcus thermophilus
Probiotics such as lactobacillus acidophilus thrives in acidic environments, and occurs naturally in humans and animals. It is considered a probiotic, meaning it is a human "friendly" bacteria that has health benefits for humans. They're found in the intestines and vagina, and protect against other unhealthy organisms. Studies have confirmed that Lactobacillus acidophilus is able to "inhibit the growth of certain enteropathogens: Salmonella, Listeria and Campylobacter without interfering with the normal microbiota of the gastrointestinal tract". [1] Enteropathogens are organisms that are capable of producing intestinal disease. What this means is that lactobacillus acidophilus helps improve intestinal health by inhibiting the growth of "bad" organisms.
Yogurt is one of the most common foods that contain lactobacillus acidophilus. Various research and clinical studies have indicated that Lactobacillus acidophilus provides a host of health benefits such as boosting immune system, reducing frequency of vaginal yeast infection, provides relief from indigestion and diarrhea, and helps improve gastrointestinal function. There are also many research studies that have shown Lactobacillus acidophilus useful in reducing serum cholesterol levels, where the reduction in cholesterol levels leads to the conclusion that consuming yogurt containing Lactobacillus acidophilus has the potential to reduce coronary heart disease risk by 6 to 10%. [2]
Papain is derived mainly from papaya that is known to have a mild soothing effect on the stomach. Papain also helps with protein digestion, and like bromelain, which is derived from pineapples, is used as a meat tenderizer. The Bromalite website actually spelt it as "Papian", but the correct spelling should be "Papain". Perhaps they'll eventually correct that.
Green Tea Extract has long been used by
the Chinese as medicine to treat headaches, body ache,
poor digestion, and improve well-being and life expectancy.
Green tea extract is bioflavonoid rich, and one of
its main uses is fighting free radicals in your body.
Green tea extract contains high level of polyphenols
(a bioflavonoid), and it's also a rich source of EGCG
(an antioxidant), that's over 200 times more potent
than vitamin E in fighting free radicals and pro-oxidants. The EGCG in green tea extract protects
against digestive and respiratory infections, blocks
the actions of carcinogens which promotes cancer,
is anti-bacterial, and also helps lower cholesterol
levels. It also has thermogenic effects that
aids in weight loss without causing jitters or other
unwanted side effects
Grape Seed Extract is a natural plant substance
that has a concentrated source of oligomeric proanthocyanidins
(OPC). These anti-oxidants help protect cells from free radical
damage and also promotes healthy circulation. Grape Seed Extract
is rich in polyphenols, a compound that's high in antioxidants.
Studies have shown OPC to be more powerful antioxidants than vitamin
C, E, and beta-carotene.
Grape seed extract is one of the most powerful
antioxidants that fights free radicals
Grape seed extract is 20 times more potent
than Vitamin C and 50 times stronger than Vitamin E
Grape seed extract helps improve cardiovascular
health
It also helps promote brain, skin and eye
health
Grape seed extract is also anti-bacterial,
anti-viral, and anti-inflammatory
Ginger Root Extract (As Zingiber Officinale) - Ginger root has long been used as folk medicine in China. Aside from the many health benefits of Ginger root, it has been shown in studies to have anti-obesity effects, where it might inhibit the intestinal absorption of dietary fat by inhibiting its hydrolysis. [3]Ginger root is also known to help the digestive system, reduce cholesterol, and lowers blood pressure.
Free Bromalite Scam
Whether free Bromalite is a scam or not, is not for us to say here. However, do a little search on the web, and you'll quickly find numerous consumer complaints against it. I can certainly understand where all these complaints and frustration comes from - the negative option related to the transaction. If you ask me, these "negative option" types of transaction really shouldn't be allowed in the first place - even if there's fine print warning the consumer of the negative option - because not many people would actually take the time to read the fine print in the first place. Like I said earlier, if you take the time to read through the fine print, you would either 1) not opt-in for the Bromalite free trial, or 2) still opt-in but would have less pain and frustration when it comes to recurring payments.
So exactly what is "negative option billing"? As defined by Wikipedia: Negative option billing is a business practice in which goods or services are provided automatically, and the customer must either pay for the service or specifically decline it in advance of billing. So your credit card will be charged on a continual basis until you cancel, and when it comes to cancelling... You will get the run-around. Oh Joy.
Many consumers get pulled in by the so-called free trial of Bromalite, without reading the negative option billing fine print, they have little knowledge of what they are getting themselves into - until they see the recurring charges appearing on their credit card statements. If you do not proactively cancel your free trial within 12 days, you will get a charge of $79.95 on your card, and every month after that - until you cancel. If you find yourself getting the run-around when trying to cancel, simply call up your credit card company and tell them to prevent future charges. This would be the simplest method.
Even worse, read a little deeper into the fine print, you'll see that you get automatically enrolled in a Fitfactory membership that charges your card for $29.95 unless you call in to cancel. So for a "free" bromalite trial, if you didn't cancel within 12 days, you would be billed over $100 every month. To me, these negative option business tactics seem rather underhanded. Unsuspecting consumers get suckered into these so-called "deals" - rarely taking the time and effort to read the fine print - and some time later discover recurring charges being made on their credit card.
Instead of spending money on another diet pill, why not spend much less and learn the true method of long term, healthy weight loss that will lead to permanent weight loss results. Take a look at the two resources below - no negative option attached. =)
1. J Appl Microbiol. 2003;94(3):449-55.
Probiotic properties of human lactobacilli strains to be used in the gastrointestinal tract.
Fernández MF, Boris S, Barbés C.
Area de Microbiología, Departamento de Biología Funcional, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain.
2. J Am Coll Nutr. 1999 Feb;18(1):43-50.
Effect of fermented milk (yogurt) containing Lactobacillus acidophilus L1 on serum cholesterol in hypercholesterolemic humans.
Anderson JW, Gilliland SE.
Metabolic Research Group, VA Medical Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40511, USA.
3. Yakugaku Zasshi. 2005 Feb;125z(2):213-7.
[Antiobesity actions of Zingiber officinale Roscoe]
Han LK, Gong XJ, Kawano S, Saito M, Kimura Y, Okuda H.
Department of Environmental and Symbiotic Sciences, Prefectural University of Kumamoto, Kumamoto City 862-8502, Japan.
