Dr. Oz creates raspberry ketones frenzy

OK, Dr. Oz. We forgive you for that whole "Who's spiking our supplements?" segment, as long as you keep telling consumers to buy our natural products.

Well, not exactly, but I'm sure manufactures of supplements made with raspberry ketones are Dr. Oz's new biggest fans. In a segment, "Raspberry Ketone: Miracle Fat-Burner in a Bottle," in February, Dr. Oz called the natural ingredient "the number one miracle to burn your body fat."

He said raspberry ketone supplements can burn fat all over the body, are safe, are healthy and have no side effects. He explained that the compound regulates the hormone adiponectin, which "tricks your body into thinking it's skinny," i.e., boosts metabolism. He recommended supplementation, as he said tp get the effective dose of 100 mg/d of raspberry ketones, one would need to eat 90 pounds of raspberries.

During the segment, he featured personal trainer and weight-loss expert Lisa Lynn, who also has her own line of dietary supplements, LynFit Nutrition supplements. (One of her supplements contains raspberry ketones.) On the segment, Lynn said raspberry ketones "slice [fat] up inside the cell, which makes fat loss easier." Results can be seen in as little as five days, she said, but the longer one supplements, the greater the effects.

At the end of the segment, Lynn cautioned consumers to their homework and buy good quality. Dr. Oz added, "I don't want to over promise." He said people shouldnt use it as a miracle cure (despite the segment's title), and that his viewers should also eat healthy and exercise.

Lynn said supplements are available online and at health food stores for $12. But that was before the segment. Now, the supplements at many stores have sold out, and they're difficult to find. An article from ABC News describes a scene at a GNC store as it sold out its last batch of raspberry ketone supplements.

The science on raspberry ketones doesn't call raspberry ketones a "miracle in a bottle" like Dr. Oz, but studies do suggest it's beneficial to weight loss. In October 2010, a study from the Korea FDA said raspberry ketones prevented high-fat diet-induced elevation in body weight and increased fat burning in male mice (Planta Med. 2010 Oct;76(15):1654-8). That study also noted an in vitro immunoassay showed 10 µM of raspberry ketone increased fatty acid oxidation and suppressed lipid accumulation. And a 2005 study from Japan, also performed on rats, concluded raspberry ketones prevented and reduced obesity and fatty liver by  increasing fat metabolism, or more specifically, by increasing the hormone norepinephrinem, which induces fat burning (Life Sci. 2005 May 27;77(2):194-204).

I reached out to several raspberry ingredient suppliers, but all that got back to me said they did not supply ketones specifically, but one said it was about to enter the raspberry ketone market. I asked if this had to do with the Dr. Oz mention, but the company rep did not respond to my questions. I can only guess that the increased demand, spurred on by Dr. Oz, has caused this company to start selling the now in-demand ingredient.

Does your company sell raspberry ketones? If so, I bet you're sold out, and could use some advice on navigating sales. Or, perhaps you have the next unknown ingredient in stock and want to be ready the next time Dr. Oz praises it. Check out this INSIDER slide show, "Overcoming the Dr. Oz Effect" for advice on what to do when heor another health gurucreates the next ingredient craze.