Do you need help dieting?

Have you used a Diet Pill or Weight Loss Supplement?

         How did it work?         What did you think about it?

Diet Pills: What they do/do to your system

            Most either suppress your appetite or reduce your body’s ability to absorb fats from food. And many include caffeine, a central nervous stimulant that may help you burn fat through a process called thermogenesis. 

But there are a number of claims made by the myriad of products: 

Ø  Curb your cravings for food (chickweed, bee pollen, fennel)

Ø  Make you feel full before you’ve had too much to eat (guar gum, psyllium)

Ø  Speed up your metabolism (caffeine, guarana, synephrine, B-complex vitamins)

Ø  Slow down your body’s fat production (green tea, hydrocitric acid, flax seed)

Ø  Keep your body from absorbing the fat in the foods you eat (chondritin)

While many of the individual components of these products are fine (B-complex, green tea). Adding them to your diet in the form of supplementation should be based on the fact that your body is lacking in and/or tolerant of that particular nutrient, not just a take it and see what happens experiment on yourself.

But the almost all of this category of products are composed of a cocktail of ingredients and the risks of taking these stimulants may outweigh the benefits. There are many side effects that need to be monitored, including blood pressure, heart rhythms, and mood. Some weight loss products can cause severe damage to your kidneys, liver, and other vital organs. And none of these (including prescription) are risk-free!

Here are just some of the acknowledged side effects (even in doctor prescribed/FDA approved products):

ü  Increased heart rate

ü  High blood pressure

ü  Agitation

ü  Insomnia

ü  Diarrhea

ü  Kidney problems

ü  Liver damage

ü  Rectal bleeding 

And the sad fact is that the weight lost, relying on these products, is very often quickly gained back when consumers/patients stop using the product/medication.

Bottom line is, please cautious if you are considering using “diet/weight loss” products. They may provide some short-term results, but with some unpleasant/damaging consequence. And if you don’t improve your eating (quality and quantity) and exercise habits, you will not see long term results (wasting your time, money and potentially endangering your health).

Hope this helps!