In a desperate attempt to lose weight quickly or to maintain a very low body weight, some women resort to dangerous practices and diet supplements.
While there are safe and effective supplements on the market, there are new ones that are constantly being introduced to your pharmacy shelves. Many of these are marketed in eye catching colors and pictures, while making impossible statements such as “Lose Weight Overnight” or “Lose 50 pounds in 30 Days Without Dieting”.
While the FDA tries to oversee the majority of products, there are simply too many for any governmental agency to handle. It’s not until someone falls ill or is hospitalized do the authorities discover that this popular diet pill contains dangerous or even banned ingredients.
Why Take Supplements at All?
Women have a wide variety of reasons for wanting these supplements. The majority want to lose weight, while others want to gain muscle. Others want to maintain their weight loss, while too many women want to lose weight without making changes, hoping that simply popping a pill or two will do the work for them.
What Are Considered Safe Ingredients?
Most supplements for weight loss use the following “safe” ingredients:
- Chickweed, bee pollen, or fennel to curb cravings
- Guar gum or psyllium to make you feel full
- Caffeine, synephrine or guarana to speed up the metabolism
- Green tea, green coffee bean extract, or flax seed to slow down fat production
- Chondritin, to stop your body from absorbing fat
These ingredients are considered safe for most women, but they can still have side effects.
Possible Side Effects
The list of side effects is a long one, but the most common ones include:
- Rectal bleeding
- Increased heart rate
- High blood pressure
- Nervousness
- Anxiety attacks
- Severe diarrhea
- Insomnia
- Kidney problems
- Feelings of agitation or irritability
- Headaches
- Liver damage
Banned Ingredients
The following is a partial list of banned ingredients due to serious side effects:
- Ephedra – Once sold in numerous products, this herbal stimulant from China was banned in 2004 due to an increased risk of heart attack or stroke.
- Fen-Phen – This was recalled by the FDA in the late 1990’s after it was discovered that long term use was causing damage to the heart and was linked to lung disease. Phentermine is still available as a single product, but it should be used only under a doctor’s supervision.
- Meridia – Withdraw by the manufacturer in 2010 after discovering that this prescription appetite suppressant greatly increased the risk of stroke or heart attack and was found in more than one instance that it caused cardiovascular damage.
- Subutramine – Withdrawn after it was also shown to increase the risk of high blood pressure, stroke, and/or heart attack.
- Rimonabant – This is a popular appetite suppressant in other countries but is not approved by the FDA in any amount.
- Phenytoin- This is an anti-seizure drug that is not approved for weight loss.
- Phenolphthalein – Still in the experimental stages, some studies have shown this ingredient might cause cancer and is not approved in the US.
- Aminorex – This appetite suppressant was never approved in the US, but was popular in Germany from 1965 to 1972, until hundreds of people experienced serious high blood pressure and lung disorders. It has since been banned.
- DNP – This pill was extremely effective at stopping the body from storing fat, however, many people had life threatening side effects, such as overheating, dehydration, greatly increased heart rate and kidney failure and/or heart attacks.
- Clenbuterol – Often called “Clen”, this ingredient has been used by Olympic atheletes and race horses to improve performance, as well as a weight loss supplement. Side effects include hyperthyroidism, dangerously high blood pressure, respiratory problems and arrhythmia.
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