OLLY Combat Cravings is a gluten-free dietary supplement for women trying to lose weight. It’s available via a variety of channels both on and offline, with Amazon generating a high proportion of sales.
The OLLY brand name is owned by US Health & Wellbeing, LLC. It’s a reputable company that markets an impressive range of health and wellness supplements. Unfortunately, none of them have the backing of money-back guarantees.
POSITIVES
Formulated using four scientifically supported ingredients that help diminish appetite.
Free from artificial flavors and colorants.
Contains no gluten.
Suitable for vegans.
Priced more competitively compared to other similar products.
Olly holds the distinction of being a Certified B Corporation.
NEGATIVES
The European Union has prohibited the use of titanium dioxide as a food additive.
Maltodextrin may exacerbate symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or Crohn’s disease.
Individuals with severe allergies to nuts, shellfish, wheat, soy, eggs, or fish should avoid this product.
SUMMARY
Although OLLY Combat has many reasons to buy there are also many reasons not to buy.
If you are intent on using an appetite suppressant to help you lose weight quickly and safely, I suggest looking seriously at best of breed appetite suppressant brands such as PhenQ
Like all OLLY products, Combat Cravings is relatively cheap to buy. However, the formula is quite basic and held back by low ingredient doses.
In this review, I will put Olly Combat Cravings under the microscope, analyze its formula, and share details of the science supporting the abilities of the key ingredients.
I will also look at the experiences existing and former users are sharing online, along with any safety issues or health risks OLLY Combat Cravings may have the potential to present.
I hope that, collectively, these insights will help you to decide if you want OLLY Combat Craving to accompany you on your weight loss journey, or would prefer to go with an alternative option instead.
Product Description: What Is OLLY Combat Cravings?
OLLY Combat Cravings is a dietary supplement designed to help control food cravings, support metabolism, maintain healthy blood sugar levels, and boost energy. If it can do these things, the supplement will make it easier to maintain the calorie deficit that’s the driving force behind any successful attempt to lose weight.
Any supplement that can successfully control food cravings, makes it easier to consume less food per day without having to contend with an onslaught of hunger. Supplements that boost metabolism, cause the body to expend extra energy, helping to increase the energy deficit put in place by low-calorie dieting.
The calorie deficit that’s the driving force behind any successful weight loss campaign often causes weariness and fatigue, so it’s not uncommon for diet pill formulas to contain ingredients that can compensate for this by boosting energy levels.
Who Is This Olly Combat Cravings Weight Loss Supplement For?
OLLY Combat Cravings is marketed towards women of all ages who are struggling with weight management issues. It’s a basic diet pill, not a more specialized option, and will be a poor choice for women seeking options that will improve their workout capability or provide support in additional areas.
Although most women should be fine using this option, if you have existing health issues or would need to use Combat Cravings alongside medications, I suggest that you seek guidance from a healthcare professional before taking OLLY Combat Cravings for the first time.
This precaution will help make sure the supplement is a good match for your current health status and personal weight management goals, and will not interfere or clash with any existing treatment protocols.
OLLY Combat Cravings Supplement Ingredient Profile
Each capsule contains four active ingredients:
- Chromax (1000 mcg)
- Green Tea Extract (50 mg)
- Goji Juice Powder (50 mg)
- Ginger Root extract (50 mg)
According to the Amazon sales page, Combat Cravings capsules are easy to swallow and made with zero synthetic flavors or colors. With so few ingredients and such low inclusion rates, it’s not surprising they are easy to swallow.
However, the claim relating to flavorings and colorants is a little misleading and, to be honest, diet pills don’t need flavors anyway. When taste is an issue, people buy weight-loss gummies instead.
The pills contain several additional ingredients including, magnesium stearate, maltodextrin, silicon dioxide, and titanium dioxide.
Of that list, titanium dioxide is the one that concerns me the most. It’s a controversial ingredient that’s a potential carcinogen to humans and may also negatively affect several areas of health including endocrine function.
Titanium dioxide is a white pigment that’s used as a colorant. The claim that Combat Cravings has no synthetic colors is simply untrue.
OLLY Combat Cravings Ingredient Analysis
Although the ingredient profile initially looks okay, as a weight loss formula it’s carrying some dead weight, and even the ingredients that do have merit are severely hampered by low inclusion rates. Chromax is the exception
Chromax (1000 mcg)
As the name suggests, Chromax is a branded form of chromium picolinate. It provides the mineral chromium.
Supplement manufacturers often use the picolinate form of chromium due to it having exceptionally good bioavailability. I don’t think this branded form adds anything new or special, but it’s unlikely to take anything away either.
Supplements that provide this trace mineral can be useful for maintaining healthy blood sugar and insulin levels. By doing this, they may help prevent blood sugar crashes, along with the resulting sugar and snack cravings. Some research shows chromium also has appetite-suppressing capabilities.
The dose provided here is surprisingly high. For most adults, the adequate intake levels are set at around 20-35 mcg per day. Doses as high as this are generally used under medical supervision. It’s an acceptable amount but people who are diabetic would be unwise to take Olly Combat Cravings without getting a doctor’s approval first.
Green Tea Extract (50 mg)
Green tea is a popular ingredient in natural weight loss pill formulas. Research shows its main value is as a fat burner. The antioxidants green tea provides increase thermogenesis, causing the body to run a little warmer and lose extra energy as heat. This increases metabolism and daily calorie expenditure.
However, the increase in calorie expenditure green tea can facilitate won’t be of value unless the people consuming it are following strict, low-calorie dieting protocols. This type of diet can cause severe hunger.
Although chromium may reduce hunger levels, in this formula, it has to go it alone. OLLY Craving Control does not provide any additional appetite suppressants. People who use this supplement and fail to control their eating, will not experience any of the fat-burning benefits green tea can provide. However, with a dose as low as this, that’s not going to be much. Most diet pill formulas provide significantly more or, at least, combine it with other powerful fat-burning ingredients.
Goji Berry Juice Powder (50 mg)
Goji berries are a popular health food. They are high in antioxidants and provide a broad base of vitamins and minerals.
Goji berries are associated with several health benefits including improvements in immunity and a reduced risk of chronic disease. The high levels of zeaxanthin (antioxidant) in the berries can be beneficial for eye health, potentially protecting against age-related eye diseases.
Although some studies suggest goji berries may support healthy metabolism, helping to improve energy expenditure and fat oxidation, the effects appear to be very mild. As an ingredient in a health-boosting tonic, goji berries offer notable value. As a weight loss aid, not so much so. Diet pill manufacturers generally use more powerful options instead.
Ginger Root extract (50 mg)
Limited research suggests ginger supports metabolism and may help with weight loss but, as with goji berry, any benefits it provides are likely to be limited. Ginger is not a popular weight loss pill inclusion. None of the top options have ginger in their formulas. It has greater credibility as a natural remedy for indigestion and gastric distress.
Dosage and Potency Evaluation
The dose is one capsule per day. The low dosing of most of the ingredients may encourage some people to up the dose hoping for better results. This would be unwise due to the already high chromium content of the pills, not to mention the use of a controversial ingredient (titanium dioxide) as a colorant.
Safety and Side Effects
I have already pointed out my concerns over the use of titanium dioxide, so it’s no use going over old ground. Even at the expert level, this chemical’s use is a topic of hot debate. If its use concerns you, I suggest you do your own research and make sure you are happy to permit this chemical compound entrance to your body. I have included a couple of links in the resource section at the bottom of the page to help get your investigation off to a good start.
As I previously pointed out, the dose of chromium far exceeds the RDA. A dose this high (1000 mcg) is more commonly used for maintaining healthy blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetics. Diet pill formulas generally provide doses in the range of 20 mcg to 150 mcg per day. Very high doses have the potential to cause a variety of side effects.
People with kidney or liver disease can be particularly prone to negative issues while taking high doses of chromium. Possible adverse reactions may include eczema, Thrombocytopenia (low platelets), liver dysfunction, and kidney failure.
Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) can also be an issue when taking high doses of chromium. Bearing in mind the potential risks this can entail, I feel obliged to point out again the need for diabetics to seek appropriate medical counseling before using OLLY Combat Cravings or any other supplement that contains a high dose of chromium.
Nevertheless, 1000 mcg is a clinically studied dose that has been shown to be effective for helping type 2 diabetics keep their blood sugar levels within a normal range.
None of the other ingredients in the formula are likely to present problems for the average user, especially when provided in such low doses.
Olly Combat Cravings Consumer Insights
Customer feedback can provide a valuable insight into the pros and cons of using specific dietary supplements. In the case of OLLY Combat Cravings, there are two main sources of feedback. One of them is the manufacturer’s website. Amazon is the other. Manufacturers often cherry-pick the reviews they share on their sites. For that reason, I find Amazon a more reliable source of customer feedback.
In the case of OLLY Combat Cravings, customer reviews are very much a mixed bag. Some customers find the supplement provides adequate results, while others express negative opinions about the supplement’s performance, side effects, and ability to provide value for money.
Positive customer reviews are generally based on the supplement’s ability to curb food cravings. Given the high dose of chromium, this is not surprising. However, some of the positive reviews are from people who admit to taking additional supplements to help them burn fat faster. It’s also worth noting some customers say it can take about a week to notice any changes.
Green tea is the only credible fat burner in the Combat Cravings formula and the dose is low so the fact that some customers feel the need to invest in additional products is no more surprising than the reports about effective craving control.
As for the likely side effects, customer reviews suggest headaches may be an issue. Other reported side effects include nausea, stomach cramps, intestinal gas, diarrhea, bloating, and swollen fingers.
Olly Combat Cravings Cost and Ability to Provide Good Value for Money
A bottle of OLLy Combat Cravings generally costs between $17 and $19.99 depending on whether you buy it via a third-party retailer or the manufacturer’s website. Buying from Amazon often works out to be the cheapest option but, at the time of this review, the product was no longer available and Amazon was unsure if it would be making a return.
Each bottle of Combat Cravings contains a 30-day treatment so, even at $20, it’s a cheap diet pill to use. However, there are only 30 capsules in a bottle, and, bearing in mind the low level of most active ingredients, Combat Cravings is likely to be a pretty cheap weight management supplement to produce.
Although it’s not expensive to use, it’s hard to see this option as providing good value for money because its main value is as a supplement to control cravings and customer reviews suggest its success rate in this area may struggle to reach 50%. Even with a 100% success rate, Combat Cravings still offers limited value. A more generous dose of green tea could have provided the formula with additional merit as a fat burner. As it is, the formula leaves is unlikely to provide much help in that area.
OLLY Combat Cravings Review Conclusion
Despite many customer reviews that question its value as a weight management supplement, OLLY Combat Cravings is one of the most popular diet pills available on Amazon. It’s hard to say why this supplement remains so popular but its low cost may be one of the main things that is driving the sales.
However, just because something is cheap does not mean it will provide good value for money. To do that, it needs to be fit for its intended purpose and, although customer reviews confirm OLLY’s supplement can do this, they also suggest it’s as likely to be a failure as it is to be a hit and, let’s not forget, this is an option that does not have a money-back guarantee.
It’s also worth noting cravings are not the same as genuine hunger. They are desire to eat—a temptation. Hunger is the body’s way of responding to an empty stomach or, in the case of many dieters, a stomach that is not as well filled as it used to be in the past. Cravings are generally a mild nuisance. Hunger can be a powerful distraction from daily activities, not to mention extremely unpleasant.
My evaluation of the formula makes it clear, that chromium is the most important ingredient. Without it, the pills would be nothing. Although its ability to regulate blood sugar levels may help prevent sugar cravings in some people and could also help reduce hunger, its ability to control eating is poor in comparison to popular natural appetite suppressants such as glucomannan or nopal cactus extract. Capsicum pepper extract has greater value than chromium in this area too and also boasts exceptional fat-burning capabilities.
As a whole, the ingredient choices and inclusion rates for this supplement are disappointing. So is the use of titanium dioxide to help make the pills look whiter. A supplement’s color is not as important as its abilities and, with so many concerns being floated about the possible risks titanium dioxide may present, it’s hard to justify its inclusion in foods or dietary supplements.
OLLY Combat Cravings is not a supplement I would ever consider using myself. Nor is it one I can recommend to visitors to this site. There are several better options available. Options that are heavily geared towards controlling cravings and hunger, can greatly accelerate metabolism and fat loss, boost energy levels, and/or provide support in additional areas as well.
OLLY Combat Cravings FAQ
1. What are the key ingredients in OLLY Combat Cravings, and what are their benefits?
Answer: OLLY Combat Cravings contains several key ingredients, including:
- Chromium (1000 mcg): Supports a healthy metabolism and helps curb food cravings.
- Green Tea: Traditionally used to boost energy levels.
- Goji Berry: Known for its antioxidant properties.
- Ginger: May help with digestive health and nausea.
2. How do I take OLLY Combat Cravings capsules?
Answer: Adults are recommended to take one capsule per day with water. Swallow the capsule whole. It is advisable to follow the product’s specific instructions or those provided by a healthcare professional.
3. Are there any dietary considerations for OLLY Combat Cravings capsules?
Answer: Yes, OLLY Combat Cravings capsules are gluten-free and do not contain synthetic flavors or colors. They are suitable for those who are adhering to a gluten-free diet.
4. What are the intended benefits of OLLY Combat Cravings?
Answer: OLLY Combat Cravings is designed to help control food cravings, support metabolism, and maintain healthy blood sugar levels. It’s formulated to assist in managing cravings that can impede diet and weight management efforts.
5. Can OLLY Combat Cravings be taken with other OLLY products?
Answer: Yes, OLLY Combat Cravings can be mixed and matched with other OLLY products as desired. OLLY offers a range of supplements targeting different health and wellness needs, allowing for personalized combinations based on individual health goals and conditions. However, it’s always a good idea to consult with a healthcare provider before starting any new supplement, especially if you are taking multiple supplements or medications.
Research Sources
- Titanium Dioxide: Structure, Impact, and Toxicity: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9104107/
- Role of Endocrine-Disrupting Engineered Nanomaterials in the Pathogenesis of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6277880/
- Chromium Picolinate Supplementation Attenuates Body Weight Gain and Increases Insulin Sensitivity in Subjects With Type 2 Diabetes: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16873787/
- Effects of Chromium Picolinate on Food Intake and Satiety: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18715218/
- Chromium: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Chromium-HealthProfessional/
- Green Tea Extract Thermogenesis-Induced Weight Loss by Epigallocatechin Gallate Inhibition of Catechol-O-Methyltransferase: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17201629/
