Around 40-years ago, the founders of Life Extensions noticed an extreme lack of science behind the development of most supplements. This worried them since not knowing if something is beneficial, benign, or even detrimental is literally like playing Russian Roulette with your health.
This led them to use their passion for good health in creating science-backed solutions to optimize your health and help you live a long and happy life.
We’ve reviewed quite a few Life Extension supplements, including Life Extension Optimized Quercetin, AMPK Metabolic Activator, and Migra-Eeze, among others. So, how does their weight management supplement stack up? Here’s a look at Optimized Saffron– Life Extension’s answer to safe, successful weight management.
About Optimized Saffron
While it’s easy to blame everything from stress to a poor diet on your expanding girth, the bottom line is that when you consume more than you burn, you gain weight.
But despite higher mathematics explaining this, snacking can be nearly impossible to control in the face of nagging hunger. This makes it hard to concentrate on work or other tasks, and even harder to do anything other than think of FOOD.
But here’s a secret: When you’re hungry for a snack, it usually means that you’re only hungry for a snack, though not really hungry. By this, we mean you likely have plenty of fuel to comfortably make it through your day, just that your body—or perhaps your stress and boredom—is telling you that you’re hungry, whether you really are or not. That’s because chemical reactions—not hunger—are telling you that you want that entire bag of pretzels right NOW!
But when you control these chemical signals, you also control your hunger and urge to snack, making it far easier to stick to a healthy diet and weight control program.
Life Extension Optimized Saffron is designed to help you control cravings so you can better manage your weight. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits.
Optimized Saffron Benefits
Affects neurotransmitter signals to help reduce snacking
Most of us know of saffron as the spice which gives dishes (think saffron rice) their yellow color, though, like many spices, it has compounds with health benefits as well. This includes Satiereal, which is a patented and clinically proven satiety compound that’s derived from saffron.
By blocking certain signals in your brain, which tell you that polishing off that entire sugary cake RIGHT NOW is the only way you’ll make it through your day, bypassing it in favor of a nice, healthy dinner later becomes MUCH easier.
Plus, it boosts serotonin production in your body, which is known as the “feel-good” hormone that can not only help reduce your urge to snack, but also gives you a positive sense of wellbeing.
Helps support healthy weight management by reducing off-schedule eating
Here’s a little experiment for you to try next time you get the urge for a sugary/salty/fatty snack: Rather than reaching for something that’s sweet, salty, or fatty, try grabbing a nice healthy apple or salad.
Still want it? Chances are you don’t, which tells you you’re not really hungry, but rather, have a craving.
This is important since not only are cravings the likely cause of most overeating; they’re usually caused by hunger hormones such as ghrelin, which can be controlled.
By blocking neurochemicals that signal hunger and increasing those that make you feel good rather than stressed, off-schedule eating becomes the equivalent of other things you simply don’t do, such as running red lights or sticking your finger in light sockets.
Provides appetite management support, without caffeine
Caffeine can have many adverse side effects, including working against your weight loss. That’s because it boosts your body’s production of fight-or-flight hormones like epinephrine and norepinephrine, and it also causes insomnia, which leads to increased cortisol levels.
Altogether, this causes your body to increase glycogen (sugar) in your blood while hanging onto your fat reserves so that you have the energy to either fight or flee, and emergency fuel to use when fuel is scarce. Since fuel is rarely scarce in our modern world (think supermarkets everywhere), this only makes your body hang onto and store more calories, just in case you have trouble tackling a mammoth in the next few months.
But by not including caffeine or other stimulants in their formula, Optimized Saffron limits your appetite in a healthy manner that won’t lead to insomnia, the jitters, or ultimately, weight gain.
Optimized Saffron Ingredients
Satiereal saffron extract 88.25 mg
We mostly know saffron for its subtle, lightly sweet, floral flavor and rich yellow color, though it’s a spice that doesn’t stop there. It’s a potent antioxidant that can stimulate the production of serotonin in the body, which may be why we tend to feel so good after enjoying dishes made with it.
But it’s weight loss—or rather, the effects saffron has on it—which are perhaps its most intriguing characteristic, especially when we’re talking about Satiereal. Not only can this extract of saffron help you feel good by helping you lose weight, but it may also boost serotonin levels in your brain, which is your body’s “happy chemical” that gives you a positive, joyful glow.
Satiereal has also been proven over an 8-week period in double-blind tests to help curb snacking and enhance satiety in test groups who used it vs. those given a placebo. This subsequently showed positive results for weight loss regardless of age, weight, or reported snacking habits.
Does Optimized Saffron Work?
Eating due to stress, boredom, or cravings all lead to one thing: More of you to go around. The problem is that being overweight can not only lead to chronic disease and zap you of your energy; it’s also a vicious circle since body fat inhibits the very hormones your body needs to burn it away.
But while Optimized Saffron can’t necessarily do anything for your fat-burning hormones, it can certainly inhibit hormones that tell you you’re hungry, whether you are or not. This, of course, leads to eating habits that aren’t as influenced by emotions, stress, or boredom, which also leads to fewer overall calories, which, if we pull out our slide rule and calculator, we find leads to weight loss.
Who Is Optimized Saffron Best For?
Anyone with the urge to snack and an expanding waistline can benefit from Optimized Saffron. This includes those experiencing daily stress and the effects of cortisol, as well as anyone who simply can’t keep their hand out of the cookie jar (or candy jar, cake pan, potato chip bag, etc.) during the day.
But this doesn’t mean it works without some effort on your part, since like any weight loss supplement, it works when you do. By adding Optimized Saffron to your balanced diet and efforts to reduce stress, exercise, and get enough sleep, you can successfully reduce your urge to snack, lower your daily calorie input, and lose weight.
Claims vs. Reality
Life Extensions doesn’t bother making claims without showing us the science, which is one of the things we tend to like about this company. And no, it’s not vague, “There may be benefits so long as you’re reading the right study” nonsense, but instead, verified clinical studies citing proof of efficacy.
That, and they also stand behind their products with one of the most generous guarantees in the industry, which speaks volumes for their credibility.
So yes, we’re confident that Life Extensions’ product will work for you, though on the outside chance it doesn’t, you’re risking very little-if-anything for the opportunity to try it.
Is Optimized Saffron Safe?
If you’ve eaten rice pilaf and haven’t experienced any negative side effects, you should be good with this product. You do still need to mind the correct dosage, and like all supplements, it should be kept out of reach of children. Life Extensions also includes the usual warnings about consulting with your doctor first if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, or on medications, and they really mean it, man.
Where To Buy Life Extension Optimized Saffron
The product retails for a reasonable $27 for an up-to 60-day supply, which can be reduced to $24 when you order 4-or more bottles or sign up for auto-ship.
Along with Life Extension’s website, their products can be found at Walmart, Amazon, ProHealth, and many other independent and corporate stores, both online and brick-and-mortar.