A new diet pill has announced itself to the market via the media (Daily Mail). It is a probiotic supplement called ShapeLine. Can it really help you lose weight and fight flab or is it just a gimmick?
PROS
Made by a respectable company.
Lots of clinical research.
Formulated by a microbiologist.
50 billion strains of good bacteria.
CONS
Quite expensive compared to similar products.
No mention of guarantee.
Available only in the UK.
Not really a weight loss product.
VERDICT
I do like ShapeLine, but as a probiotic. The problem is it is being advertised as a weight loss pill in the press, which it isn’t really.
If you want a very good probiotic supplement from a highly reputable company then I would recommend.
If it is a pure weight loss product that you wanted to buy then I would suggest another product – such as the excellent PhenQ
LOOK ELSEWHERE FOR WEIGHT LOSS
ShapeLine Review?
Page Contents
What exactly is it? If you’ve landed on this page, that must be the question that’s burning in your mind.
There’s a good chance you will also be wondering if ShapeLine is something that may help you to lose weight.
ShapeLine is a new probiotic supplement that’s been getting a lot of media attention and appears to be getting a bit of a shove from the Daily Mail.
Obesity is a big problem all over the world. Lots of people are looking for a way to lose weight so every time there’s a sniff of something new it’s big news.
ShapeLine has managed to grab a lot of attention in a short period of time because it appears to offer people the chance to get slimmer without making changes to their diet.
There are a lot of interesting claims being made for this new probiotic product.
It’s apparently the first human microflora product shown to support a “shapelier you.”
Dr Nigel Plummer says it’s also the first probiotic to offer proven weight loss benefits alongside other health improvements. Could he be biased? You can decide that yourself when you learn he’s a microbiologist who works for the company that produces the product.
How ShapeLine Hit the News
The media may be trying to make ShapeLine tablets big news, but it’s not new news. The first clinical trial was conducted back in 2018.
So what’s changed in the last couple of years? The present media coverage is thanks to a more recent study that was published in the journal Scientific Reports. It’s said to be “the largest clinical study of its kind.”
The participants took one capsule per day and lost weight. Their weight loss was accompanied by reductions in waist circumference and body mass index (BMI).
Apparently, the new probiotic appeared to work best for people who people over 50 years of age.
There were 440 participants. None of them made any changes to their diet or took up a new exercise regimens. The only changes they made to their lives was taking the ShapeLine probiotic supplement every day.
Julian Marchesi is a microbiologist who works at Imperial College London. He has some good things to say about the product. In fact, according to Marchesi, ShapeLine is a “potential game-changer in the weight-loss scene.
Marchesi is the co-author of the recent study but he’s quick to point out he was not paid by Pro-Ven Probiotics.
Pro-Ven Probiotics is the company that developed the supplement. It specializes in developing and distributing probiotic products.
What is ShapeLine?
ShapeLine is a capsule-type supplement.
Each capsule provides a special blend of probiotic bacteria.
There are five strains in total. All five strains are “good bacteria”, more commonly called probiotic bacteria or flora.
Bacteria of this type are thought to enhance gut health by improving the microbiome.
So, what’s the human microbiome?
It’s all the microbes, fungi, bacteria, protozoa, and viruses present inside the body.
Some of them are good, others are bad. Probiotic bacteria helps control the bad elements in the body and keep the numbers down.
Why is Probiotic Bacteria Important?
Increasing probiotic bacteria is said to offer many benefits. It may improve digestion and enhance the immune system. Probiotic bacteria also supports efficient metabolism. This one of the main ways it’s thought to help you lose weight.
“In order to function properly, the microbiome needs to be a diverse community,” Professor Marchesi says. “If one strain of bacteria is wiped out, another becomes more dominant.”
Bacteria imbalances are linked to a number of ailments, from allergies to type 2 diabetes.
Some research shows thin people have different gut bacteria to overweight individuals.
“Some patterns of microbiome appear to affect the risk of becoming overweight or obese,” Dr Plummer points out.
The Five Strains of Bacteria: Are they that Special?
ShapeLine tablets contains bacteria taken from the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria families. You can get the same strains by eating yogurt and sauerkraut.
In 2018, Dr Plummer and his research team began clinical trials. The participants were aged 30- 65-years old.
All of them were overweight or obese (BMI 25 – 34.99). In addition to their weight problems, the participants also suffered from elevated cholesterol.
As is normally the case with studies of this nature, the participants were split into two groups. One group got the bacteria strains, the other group was given a placebo.
The placebo group did not lose weight. The probiotic group did. On average, they lost 3 lbs. Sounds okay, doesn’t it? However, you need to be aware this happened over a period of six months. The people over 50 got the best results with an average weight loss of 7 lbs.
The participants in a follow-up study lost 5 lb on average and did so in only three months. Along with their weight loss, they showed a 2 cm waistline reduction as well.
Interestingly, the group members also showed a reduction in LDL cholesterol. That’s the dangerous type and levels decreased by 8.6 percent. In addition to this, the group members also reported a 40 percent reduction in infections of the upper respiratory tract, along with a 30 percent reduction in headaches.
Ana Ivanova’ s Story
Ana Ivanova is a 56-year-old assistant university professor who lives in Sofia, Bulgaria. She’s one of the people who took part in the trial.
Ivanova states she has an ongoing weight problem. After she entered her 30s she became prone to accumulating fat around her stomach and hips.
Her attempts to burn her fat with exercise were fruitless. Even though she was exercising up to three hours each week.
During the study, she lost 11 lb. She also found her energy levels were higher and noticed improvements in her mood.
How Does ShapeLine Help with Weight Loss?
The experts are speculating one of the ways the pills may help is by promoting the production of extra bile. However, nobody appears to want to commit to a definitive answer.
Peter Whorwell is a consultant gastroenterologist and a professor of medicine at Manchester University NHS Trust. He doesn’t appear to want to commit either but states the mechanism is plausible.
Nevertheless, Whorwell worries the product may attract the wrong type of attention.
“Some people will see this as carte blanche to stuff themselves,” Whorwell states and then points out, “That won’t work.’
He’s also quick to stress the new probiotic supplement probably won’t work for all and takes a very level-headed approach to the research.
“The trial results sound good,” he affirms then points out the results from clinical trials don’t always “make the jump from medical trials to the general population.”
Probiotics are Not Suitable for Everyone
It’s also important not to lose sight of the fact ShapeLine is a probiotic supplement. Products of this nature are unsuitable for certain individuals, such as people who have impaired immune systems. We have written an essential guide to probiotics.
In 2019, researchers in Texas discovered probiotics can lower the effectiveness of cancer patient’s immunotherapy. That’s not the only study that suggests possible problems with probiotic treatments either.
Researchers in Israel noticed probiotics can cause blood infections in people who are undergoing intensive care. The results of the study were later published in Nature Medicine.
What’s the Real Potential of ShapeLine?
Dr Plummer also understands there are limits to the things his supplement may do. He states ShapeLine does not provide a get-out-of-jail-free-card for people who want to go berserk eating high-calorie foods.
“If you are expecting to lose a stone in two months, this is not going to happen,” Plummer says.
Anyone who takes time to study the data closely will see such weight losses are unlikely. Although Ana Ivanova lost nearly a stone, others given the probiotic supplement only lost 3lb in six months. If you do the math, that’s only half a pound each month.
ShapeLine: Worth a Go, Or Not?
ShapeLine pills are already available to buy. A 30-day supply costs nearly £30 (USD 39).
So is it worth trying? Professor Whorwell believes so. He feels if it can help people to lose abdominal fat, it’s a good thing.
However, trying to lose weight with ShapeLine could be a long, hard slog. According to Dr Plummer, if you continue to take it longer than six months, you may actually notice your results slowing down.
It could also be argued the new probiotic is only a temporary solution, though certainly no quick-fix.
“If you cease taking the probiotic,” Plummer points admits. “Its beneficial effect will dissipate.”
Recommended Reading: If you are about to choose a weight loss product then read this article first. You must choose one that has the correct dosage and has clinical efficacy otherwise you will WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY.