Company headquarters

2301 Rosecrans Avenue, Suite 4100

Manhattan Beach, CA 90245-4967   (866) 514-2554

Website: www.trysensa.com

Summary

This is an appetite suppressant that claims to reduce your calorie consumption and lose weight while continuing to enjoy the foods you love and feeling fully satisfied. It works gradually, with no shock to your system.

The company says Sensa is based on 25 years of research and testing. At the heart of the Sensa program is a patent-pending technology 25 years in the making. Sometimes referred to as “sprinkles,” Sensa "Tastants" use your senses of smell and taste as allies in weight loss. Sprinkling Tastants on your food makes you feel full faster by stimulating the part of your brain that tells your body it’s time to stop eating.

According to the company, Sensa was proven effective in one of the largest clinical studies ever performed on a non-prescription weight-loss product. Over a 6-month period, 1436 women and men between the ages of 19 and 55 who sprinkled "Tastants" on everything they ate lost an average of 30.5 pounds.

The Founder

Alan Hirsch, M.D, F.A.C.P., is a medical practitioner and researcher with dual certification in neurology and psychiatry. He is a Faculty Member in the Department of Medicine at Mercy Hospital and Medical Center, and Assistant Professor in the Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical Center.

Dr. Hirsch's career has been dedicated to studying the sensory system of the human body. As one of America's foremost researchers on the effects of odors and flavors on human emotion, mood and behavior, he has conducted and published over 180 research studies on sensory phenomena. He has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN, Good Morning America, the CBS Early Show and Extra.

As a leading authority on smell and taste, Dr. Hirsch has dedicated his career to the betterment of his patients' lives. He founded the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, IL. In his studies, Dr. Hirsch found that patients suffering from head injuries who had lost their sense of smell and taste were gaining weight. His 20-plus years of research regarding the impact of smell and taste on weight loss led him to develop the patent-pending technology used in the Sensa Weight-Loss System. He conducted one of the largest studies of a non-prescription weight-loss system to test the effectiveness of Sensa as a means of weight loss.

The Program

You may recall learning in biology class that smell and taste are connected. As you eat, the two senses work together to stimulate an area of the brain called the “satiety center,” which tells your body when it’s time to stop eating. By enhancing smell (sensory input), Sensa Tastants help to enable the brain-stomach connection and trigger the "feel full" signal.

How Sensa Tastants work to curb appetite:

• Scents from Sensa Tastants travel through your nose to nerve receptors.
• The receptors send signals to the brain that stimulate the olfactory bulb.
• The olfactory bulb, in turn, signals the satiety center in the hypothalamus.
• The hypothalamus sends signals to the pituitary gland that triggers the release of hormones that suppress
  hunger and appetite.

The Sensa Weight-Loss System is a 6-month program, with each month using a different Tastant combination to ensure maximum weight-loss results. Starter kits are available with 1-month, 3-month or 6-month supplies.

Cost

This is not an inexpensive plan. Membership: 6-month starter kit is $199, with autoship, $235 without autoship. The individual monthly cost is $59.  This is what you get:

• Sensa Months 1 through 6 – Up to a 180-day supply of Sensa Tastants - each month contains two .70 oz. shakers
• How-to guide with usage instructions and tips for best results!
• Getting Started DVD featuring in-depth product demonstrations, answers to commonly asked questions, and an interview with Sensa creator Dr. Alan Hirsch.

Commentary: Free Trial?

The 1-month "free" trial costs $89, and the company claims that you can receive a full refund if it doesn't work for you and you return any unused product to them (you pay shipping), within 30 days. However, they say that most people will not see any results in that short a time. So, if you give them the time for it to work, (i.e. more than 30 days), you're past the 30-day refund period, and out $89. Checking other diet review sites, we see comments by users complaining about heartburn, bad taste, the product not working, but mostly regarding bad customer service and refund problems.

Also, there is no exercise component to this program. Plus, if one can eat anything they want while on this plan (including unhealthy fried foods, fast food, etc.), what happens when you go OFF the plan? Maybe you learn something about portion control, but have you learned how to make better food choices?