NOTE: Results not typical. Individual results may vary. These statements have not been evaluated by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) and The Medicines Control Council (MCC). This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

A big misconception with diet pills is that for the product to work, it has to have harsh ingredients. The truth is natural ingredients can be just as effective, which is why I favor products that have powerful natural ingredients rather than those that use a lot of additives and cheap synthetic ingredients.

I also give extra points to ingredients that focus on optimizing the metabolism, curbing hunger pangs, and increasing your energy. I strongly believe that tackling these three areas is critical to losing weight and keeping it off. Here's why:

• METABOLISM: Have you ever felt like no matter what you try, whether that's a diet or exercise regime, nothing seems to work? With a slow metabolism, no matter how well you stick to a diet or exercise program, your results may be slower. You'll lose motivation, and most likely fail (1).
• HUNGER: You get home after a long day of work, so far you've managed to eat healthy until the nasty carb cravings kick in. Cravings so powerful saying no is impossible. Do you have a family? They're not making things easier by eating all sorts of junk food around you are they? With an unhealthy appetite, resisting bad food that surrounds us day and night will be more difficult (2).
• ENERGY: Have you ever been so low in energy that you don't feel like doing anything? Guess what...without energy, you'll be less likely to find the motivation to live a healthy and active lifestyle, which will negatively affect your long term results (3).

Before I dive into my top 5 list, know that even if I get great (or bad) results from a product, that doesn't mean that you will get the same. That's why I take into account what other customers say about their experience with the product in the reviews. Remember, not every product will work for everyone, but if you are open to trying new things, you just might find one that works for you.

As with any product, make sure you use it only as directed, make sure you aren't allergic to any of the ingredients, and stop using it immediately if any allergic reaction occurs.

Without further delay, here are my top 5 diet pills of 2024 in South Africa:

#1 CheetaThin®
60 Capsule | 1 Month Supply

Analysis

I first came across CheetaThin® after seeing it in the You Magazine a few years ago. CheetaThin® has been one of my favorite products ever since.

INGREDIENT PROFILE. After researching the product ingredients, I am not at all surprised about how well it works. While most other brands focus on cheap and harsh ingredients–either adding too much or obscuring the names of common ingredients to confuse us–CheetaThin® actually has high-quality ingredients.

Carcinia cambogia and Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea)–two powerful super-herbs included in CheetaThin–are shown to help with cravings (4,5,6).

Green Coffee Bean Extract and Capsicum Annuum are also in the product's formulation. During my research, I found that both of these high-quality ingredients may help enhance the metabolism (7).

Chromium Picolinate and White Kidney Bean are two brilliant ingredients that also stood out to me. These ingredients are loaded with flavonoids and terpenoids—two compounds known for their detoxifying effects.

But what I think makes this product truly special is the added BioPerine®. This ingredient is shown to increase the absorption and effectiveness of the other ingredients in the formula. Research has shown as we age, our gut takes longer to break down ingredients, so BioPerine® will help our gut absorb the other ingredients more effectively.

GUARANTEE. This is where CheetaThin® thrives. The company offers a guarantee that we have never seen before in South Africa. They work on a loyalty-based system.

Here's how it works. If the product doesn't work for you, you're able to ask for your money back within 90 days without sending the box back. So you get to keep the product and the money. We tried this, and they refunded us our money without any issues. I was astonished.

Of course, we did send them the money back again after revealing that we did it as a test. So PLEASE don't request a refund if the product actually works for you.

The only downside that I noticed is CheetaThin® is frequently out of stock. So make sure you check their website if they're in stock first. If they're out of stock there, then take a look at TakeAlot.com, they frequently run daily deals so you might get lucky.

#2 Shrink Diet Tablets
30 Capsules | 1 Month Supply

Analysis

I came across Shrink on Takealot and I was really chuffed to see they included some of my favorite natural ingredients in their formula.

INGREDIENT PROFILE. Shrink is loaded with L-carnitine, Bitter Orange Extract, Guarana, Yerba Mate, Raspberry Ketones, and one of my favorites, Green Tea Extract. Green tea is loaded with antioxidants which have shown to enhance the metabolism and reduce anxiety (8,9,10).

I noticed you can't use it if you're sensitive to caffeine. This makes me think that they have high doses of caffeine in their product. High doses of caffeine can lead to anxiety and headaches, so just be wary of this.

GUARANTEE. I'm a bit disappointed that there is no mention of a guarantee anywhere on their website. While I think this is a great product, no product will work for everyone, which is why I think it's important for every product to offer some kind of money-back guarantee to reduce the risk.

#3 BIOVEA Acai Berry
120 Capsules | 2 Month Supply

Analysis

BIOVEA Acai Berry is another natural product that I came across a few months ago. It's really great to see how the weight loss industry in South Africa is pushing towards more natural solutions, and BIOVEA is definitely moving along with the trend.

INGREDIENT PROFILE. The product's active ingredient—Acai—is a berry that can be found in the Amazon Rainforest. This unique little berry is loaded with Antioxidants, Vitamin B1, B2, B3, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Phosphorus, Calcium, Potassium, Fibre, Proteins, as well as good fatty acids which all work together to provide a wealth of benefits (11).

I would have liked to see more ingredients added to the formula. While the Acai berry is a great ingredient in itself, formulas tend to work better when there are other natural ingredients that can work hand in hand to produce better results. Single-ingredient formulas rarely work as well as multi-ingredient products.

That said, this product might not work as fast as some of the others, however, if you're looking for something to take to supplement a diet plan or workout routine, then this could be the product for you.

GUARANTEE. It's nice to see that this company offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, however, I was a bit taken back when I read that you need to return the product, and then they still need to inspect it before issuing a refund. I'm not sure exactly if this means you can't get a refund if you've opened the bottle, but it sure sounds like it. It would be nice if they provided a bit more of an in-depth explanation of their guarantee policy.

#4 Garcinia Cambogia
180 Capsules | 2 Month Supply

Analysis

I've known about Garcinia Cambogia for years now, and it's widely available online worldwide. So what made this ingredient so popular?

INGREDIENT PROFILE. Garcinia Cambogia is a natural fruit that looks like a small pumpkin found in Asia and India that contains a large amount of hydroxycitric acid. Hydroxycitric acid is known to help the metabolism (12,13).

GUARANTEE. The website mentions a 30-day conditional money-back guarantee. I'm not sure if this covers opened bottles, so make sure that you enquire about this before buying the product.

#5 Organifi Green Juice
300g Powder | 1 Month Supply

Analysis

After seeing the product on the NBC News channel a few years ago I felt like I had to give this one a try. If I had to sum this product up into a single sentence, I would say that Organifi's ingredients are powerful, delicious, and all-natural which makes for ZERO side-effects.

INGREDIENT PROFILE. The Green Juice includes 12 high-quality natural ingredients, which include Moringa, Chlorella, Mint, Spirulina, Beets, Matcha green tea, Wheatgrass, Ashwagandha, Tumeric, lemon, and Coconut water. Out of all of those, Moringa is definitely one of my favorites. It contains essential amino acids and is also known to have strong detoxifying effects on the body (14).

GUARANTEE. Organifi offers a 60-day conditional money-back guarantee on all of their orders. However before you can get your money back, you would need to contact their customer support team for instructions, and sadly they won't refund any shipping fees. So keep this in mind when you place your order.

While I think this is an amazing product, the biggest drawback is it has to be shipped from the United States, so it will take at least a few weeks before it arrives in South Africa.