Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic
Notorious weight loss scam that tried to rebrand itself.
Pros
At least tried to rebrand their product
Cons
The owner is unverifiable (does NOT exist)
Untrustworthy, doctored testimonials
Based on scientific research that does NOT exist
Lies about the root cause of obesity and the active ingredients of their so-called flat belly drink
Not cheap anymore
Update 04.10.2021:
Months after this review was published, the scammers behind Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic rushed to completely repackage their product, removed the major lies and deceit they used in its marketing, and then hiked up the price to maybe give it a premium feel or something. However, all these modifications will NOT save their now-supplement from being a scam because we still don’t know the identity of the people behind it plus a host of other problems. So still keep your distance from it!
The original review (with updates) continues below.
Don’t waste your money using Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic by ‘Mike Banner’ for your weight loss goals because it is a scam! Now, this particular product was a challenge for me to expose because the author went to great lengths to ensure that his presentation didn’t meet my scam criteria. But in this review you’ll find out why it still came up short despite the author’s efforts, and why you should keep your distance from it. So let’s begin, shall we?
Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic has been around since November 2018. Its author Mike Banner claims that this program helped his 45-year-old sister Susan Atlee lose ’33 pounds in 28 days … without diet. Without even exercising.’
According to him, Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic isn’t some diet, workout, supplement, or ‘some weight loss gadget.’ Rather, it is ‘a simple natural solution’ that has been ‘hidden’ from you. Specifically, this natural solution is a ‘3000-year-old tonic’ that has its origins in ancient Japan.
Before we go any further, let’s briefly summarize the backstory, shall we?
Backstory of Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic
Mr. Banner tells us this chilling story of how his 7-year-old nephew Jordan (Susan’s son) almost drowned in a pool during a joint vacation with his sister Susan. Banner blames this near tragedy on the ‘fact’ that Jordan ‘had gained 10 pounds of fat.’ The result? He sank like a stone despite knowing how to swim…
Anyway, Jordan’s equally obese mom Susan tried to save her son but was too slow for obvious reasons. Banner tells us that he eventually dived in to save his nephew and all seemed well. But alas, Susan had collapsed due to a sudden heart attack…
After CPR and successful intervention by paramedics, Susan went to the hospital, where one ‘Dr. Tamaki, a cardiologist from [Okinawa] Japan’ told her that the ‘root cause’ of her deep, life-threatening belly fat was ‘a little-known inflammatory protein’ which blocks ‘your master fat-burning hormone, adiponectin.’ Now, what’s the name of this bad protein? C-Reactive Protein (CRP).
Banner goes on to claim that doctors in Okinawa, Japan routinely use ‘a special blend of antioxidant herbs and foods’ to lower CRP levels naturally, ridding the body of a host of diseases in the process. ‘And that is why Okinawa has the lowest obesity levels, the lowest dementia levels, almost no diabetes type 2, and the longest life expectancy on the planet,’ he claims.
Long story short, Susan receives a ‘simple formula’ from Dr. Tamaki. She then used this formula to make a tonic which she drank once a day before 10 am. The very next day she had already lost ‘an inch from her waist.’ Three days later, she had lost 4.5 pounds. Three weeks later, she had lost 24 pounds … and her cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure levels had normalized.
This impressive result convinced Mr. Banner to share the good news about this weight loss ‘breakthrough’ with the world … and that’s why we now have Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic to the rescue.
Yawn.
Update 04.10.2021:
The scammers have completely ditched this backstory and completely revamped their website. No more Mike Banner and ‘Dr. Tamaki’ nonsense.
Science Behind Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic
As I earlier stated, Mr. Banner claims that C-Reactive Protein (CRP) is the ‘root cause’ of belly fat because it ‘shuts down adiponectin, the most important weight loss hormone.’ He also blames CRP for causing a slew of other dangerous ailments including stroke, Alzheimer’s, and heart disease.
Mr. Banner claims that he searched available medical research journals for info about how to reverse CRP naturally but only ended up finding that all the articles talk about ‘how a big pharma company was working on a new obesity drug that looked promising but was still at least a few years away.’
Remember his claim that doctors in Japan use natural herbs and foods to naturally reduce CRP levels? Well, Banner attempts to prove his claim by citing ‘confidential’ PDF documents Dr. Tamaki emailed him, which are ‘not for release to the public.’ Translation: Good luck finding the scientific research articles behind the Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic.
Anyway, the scientists behind the ‘secret’ research documents claim that one ‘potent combination’ of some substances called ‘anthocyanins’ had ‘an astonishing effect on destroying fat cells.’ Banner even claims that the Big Pharma companies are conspiring to ‘make billions of dollars’ by making a drug based on the ‘formula’ and then patenting it, meaning that no one else can use the formula to make money without their permission.
These anthocyanins are apparently the active ingredients of the Okinawa-inspired miracle fat-burning tonic drink.
Update 04.10.2021:
Again, the scammers have ditched almost all the claims above. Now they are saying that Okinawa Flat Belly tonic simply ‘provides you with powerful antioxidants, digestive support, and metabolic support throughout the day,’ all of which ‘support weight loss.’
That’s all I’m going to say about Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic. Now on to the reasons why this product is a scam.
1. Mike Banner is Unverifiable (Does NOT Exist)
Mike Banner calls himself a firefighter ‘from Birmingham, Atlanta.’ First off, there’s no such place as ‘Birmingham, Atlanta.’ My guess is that he actually meant Birmingham, Alabama and it was just a typo. But then, the voice in the video presentation still mentioned the nonexistent location, leading me to believe that this wasn’t just an honest mistake.
Speaking of Mr. Banner, there’s no way of verifying that the guy in the photo is actually Banner. Since we now know that his place of birth does not exist, I highly doubt that he himself exists. During my initial investigation, I thought I saw his photo on Shutterstock. But then the photo mysteriously disappeared from there (and everywhere else on the web except his website).
Good luck finding this man anywhere. If you happen to know the man in the photo, please let me know in the comments section.
2. Untrustworthy, Doctored Testimonials.
The scammers behind Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic managed to show off testimonial photos that you can’t find anywhere else on the web. But once you start looking at the screenshots of the supposed social media chat (below), you’d not help but notice that those don’t look like real screenshots, but doctored. Does anybody else feel the same way? Let me know in the comments.
Anyhow, I find it hard to believe that those people in the testimonials actually used Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic to lose weight. I’ll explain why in the next section.
3. Lies About C-Reactive Protein
As I mentioned earlier, Mr. Banner fingers C-Reactive Protein (CRP) as the ‘root cause’ of obesity as it ‘shuts down’ the supposedly ‘most important fat-burning hormone’ adiponectin. He also blames CRP for causing a slew of other ‘dangerous’ diseases.
Well, Banner is being very dishonest. He fails to tell you that CRP is just a marker of inflammation just as creatinine is a marker of kidney disease. In other words, CRP is NOT the cause of inflammation, instead, it indicates that there is an inflammatory activity going on in the body.
Inflammation has numerous causes ranging from parasites to even food. When an inflammatory process starts in the body, the liver produces a set of proteins called ‘acute phase reactants’ to help the body recover from it. CRP is one of these proteins.
BOTTOM LINE: CRP is NOT the ‘root cause’ of weight gain or any disease. Actually, it is produced by the liver to help fight inflammation that is already present in the body.
4. Lies About Adiponectin
Mr. Banner claims that adiponectin is the body’s ‘most important fat loss hormone.’ That’s simply not true.
A quick Google search will show you that leptin is the body’s most important fat-loss hormone. But in actuality, there is no consensus on which is the most important fat loss hormone. Many other hormones can cause weight loss (growth hormone, glucagon, adrenaline, thyroid hormones) and not just adiponectin.
Sure, some studies have found that CRP reduces adiponectin production in adipose cells. But that definitely does not mean that shutting down adiponectin is the root cause of weight gain.
5. Lies About Anthocyanins (the Active Ingredients of Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic)
Recall that Mr. Banner says that the active ingredient of Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic is a group of compounds called anthocyanins. He then claims that scientists found that these anthocyanins have ‘an astonishing effect on destroying fat cells.’ He then cites the ‘secret’ scientific research papers ‘not available to the public’ to back up his claim.
Well, the truth is that Mr. Banner is flat-out lying to you. The fact is the effectiveness of anthocyanins in causing weight loss is highly disputed. In fact, this review concluded that human trials conducted to prove the fat-burning effects of anthocyanins were largely a ‘partial failure.’
Even if anthocyanins do have any fat-burning effect, there is still one problem: Actual scientists are yet to determine how effective they can be in preventing or treating any disease. So what Mr. Banner is claiming in Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic is merely hype and nothing else!
6. Based on Scientific Research that Does NOT Exist
Throughout his presentation, Mr. Banner did not cite any scientific research that is available for verification. Instead, he based all his claims on some ‘secret’ scientific papers that are ‘not available to the public.’ As far as I’m concerned, however, this is just a fancy way of saying that these so-called scientific papers do NOT exist!
Given what we’ve uncovered already concerning his claims, I’m pretty confident to conclude that Mr. Banner is full of crap and is just making things up. Don’t listen to him!
Final Conclusion: DON’T BUY Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic. It is A SCAM!
Blacklisted Website: FlatBellyTonic.com
Clickbank is the retailer of this program. So if you’ve made the mistake of buying it, ask for your money back by contacting Clickbank directly. Don’t bother going through the Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic support because you’ll never receive your money from them!
Alternatives to Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic
Rather than wasting your time and money on this scam, here are legit, cheaper programs that you can try instead:
1. Thin From Within (Truth About Keto).
This is a program by well-known nutritionist and fitness expert Brad Pilon. He designed this program specifically for women whose metabolism and/or bodily function has been wrecked by the harsh regimen of keto. It is also suitable for any female seeking to lose weight. Pilon assures that with this program, you will lose weight seamlessly and pleasantly without having to experience the side effects that normally accompany keto. Get the program now or read my review for more details.
2. Eat Stop Eat.
This is another weight loss program by Brad Pilon. It is a very famous program that has stood the test of time. Eat Stop Eat is all about how to lose weight and gain muscle by doing the correct form of intermittent fasting. One thing I like about this program is that there are no diet restrictions. You get to eat whatever you want on non-fasting days. Get the program now or read my review for more details.
3. Trim Down Club.
This is an 8-week weight loss community program designed by a team of experienced dietitians and scientists. For just $1.99, you’ll get one-month access to an amazing Menu Planner, an 8-week weight loss eating plan, free access to free expert consultation, and much more. You can either join now or read my review for more details.
4. HealthyWage (Get Paid To Lose Weight)
This program offers you cash rewards just for losing weight. As crazy as this sounds they are the real deal and have been paying out thousands of dollars since 2009. This program is designed for those who have lost their motivation or need something to keep them focused on the goal of losing weight. Find out how it works by reading my comprehensive review or you can join now.
There are several other weight loss products you can choose from in my Whitelist if the above-listed do not meet your demands. Rest assured that they are all genuine programs that honor their refund policy without any shenanigans, as you will most likely experience with scams like Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic.
If this review has helped you, please don’t forget to share it with the relevant people you know. Also, feel free to use the comments section below if you have any contributions to make. Thank you!
