As it turns out, the herb is quite fascinating and facilitates various processes in the body that can “indirectly” enhance weight loss while providing other benefits. While using herbs, roots, or other natural supplements, I have found that they tend to affect various pathways in the body, which is why you will experience a variety of changes when introducing them to your daily regimen. Forskolin specifically influences pathways in the body that modulate the inflammatory response, calm the stress response, and detox neurotoxins. All three of these processes will, indirectly, induce weight loss and improve metabolic function. Chronic external stress from life events, work, and relationships can increase stress hormones in our body. One specific stress hormone that can elevate is cortisol. Excess cortisol can play a significant role in our ability to lose weight1. Cortisol can also increase when we are overworked. Many people always say, “Yeah, I’m busy—but I can handle it.” Despite being able to “handle it” or keep on keeping on, your body will still perceive this as stress, which will continuously create a biochemical change that elevates your stress hormone, cortisol. The increase in cortisol shoves us into survival mode, which is also known as fight or flight. Fight or flight is only meant to be a short-term response to get you out of dangerous situations. In the days of hunter-gatherers, we would have a fight-or-flight response when we were in the woods and needed to prepare to fight or flee from an animal that wanted to eat us. In this day and age, most of us live in this constant state of fight or flight because of our high-demand jobs and lifestyle. The longer we live in this state of stress, the more we start to feel “tired but wired.” If you’re tired all day and struggling to concentrate, but when it comes time to sleep you have a million thoughts and worries running through your mind, this might be you. Unfortunately, this scenario is all too relatable for most. In addition, when your body is in survival mode, it prepares for a famine, which is why we will accumulate fat in the abdomen, intended to protect our vital organs. This is one of the reasons people will struggle with weight loss by strictly changing their diet while not addressing their stress levels. This stress response and overabundance of cortisol will also disrupt hormone balance, which will affect a variety of systems. We will find dysfunction with the thyroid2, mood imbalances3, constricted breathing4, and elevation in blood pressure5. There are claims that forskolin can raise the blood levels of cortisol, which is partly true. If there is an overabundance of neurotoxins in the body such as mercury, aluminum, or other heavy metals, the detoxification of those substances can increase blood cortisol temporarily as the neurotoxins are being mobilized. When the toxins are eliminated from the body, the cortisol will stabilize. Unfortunately, we are living in a society in which we are all battling some level of inflammation due to our daily exposure to toxins, herbicides, pesticides, bacterias, and viruses. I often discuss with my patients the concept of overloaded filtration systems. We have various filtration systems in our bodies, which include the tonsils, spleen, liver, gut, and lymphatic system. Over a lifetime, we are exposed to many toxins and organisms that cause our filtration systems to become overloaded, which then creates inflammation. You need to understand that everyone’s filtration system works differently based on their genetic makeup. All in all, forskolin can assist in reducing circulating cortisol, which can reduce the stress response, reduce inflammation, and ultimately result in weight loss in the abdomen. Forskolin, essentially, can create weight loss as a side effect. The root is working on specific physiological pathways that will reduce inflammation, decrease excess cortisol, and improve detoxification, which will all result in some level of weight loss. Forskolin can be most effective7 with a low glycemic diet like paleo or ketogenic diets. Eliminating excess glucose and carbohydrates will create less blood sugar instability, which will keep cortisol levels more stable. Less stress on the cortisol receptors will enhance the weight loss benefits of forskolin. Most importantly, the management of stress is key in keeping cortisol balanced. Despite forskolin enhancing the cortisol receptor function, if you continue to be stressed and overworked, you will not necessarily see benefits with the use of forskolin. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action of forskolin have made it an effective solution for heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, constipation, and asthma. Since forskolin has the ability to mobilize neurotoxins from the cortisol receptors, it is best to have supportive binding and detoxification herbs. CGF chlorella—a sophisticated mix of chlorella and chlorella growth factor and cilantro given together with a nonirradiated mucuna bean powder—will properly support the mobilization of neurotoxins to be eliminated through the gastrointestinal tract. If you choose to explore topical forskolin, the specific studies revealed that a topical product combining tetrahydroxypropyl ethylenediamine, caffeine, carnitine, forskolin, and retinol reduced the circumference of the abdomen and buttocks. The best results 10were seen after 12 weeks of twice-daily application of the product.
