Are weight-loss supplements worth the risk?

By Penni Jones
Better Living Staff Writer

When I was 25, I worked two jobs and attended college full-time. Fitness and nutrition took a back-burner, and I found myself about twenty pounds heavier than my normal weight. Out of panic and desperation, I purchased a popular weight-loss supplement at the local drugstore.

The pills did decrease my appetite. But I only took them for a few days, because I read a story in the newspaper (people still read the newspaper back then) about a girl my age who suffered a heart attack and died from taking the same supplement. The active ingredient from that supplement, ephedra, was banned soon after.

There is a huge selection of weight-loss supplements available online today. Most of them don’t work at all. But even supplements that seem effective can be dangerous. “Natural” and “herbal” supplements do not require FDA approval to be sold over the counter. Skipping past clinical testing means that the testing falls to the consumer.

Diet supplements often contain a chemical cocktail with some ingredients left off the label. The FDA has gone after more than 70 tainted weight loss supplements after discovering that they had been adulterated with undeclared chemicals including stimulants and antidepressants, often in amounts exceeding recommended dosages. Some aren’t even legal without a prescription.

In fact, the FDA released a public notice on February 28 that the weight loss supplement Oxy ELITE Pro Super Thermogenic was found to contain fluoxetine, more commonly known as Prozac, which should never been taken without a doctor’s supervision.

As I learned from my weight-loss supplement experiment, there is no replacement for eating right and exercising. Unfortunately, weight-loss supplements have become a very lucrative business for some unscrupulous companies. Don’t put your health a risk for a possible but unlikely quick-fix.

For more information on sustainable weight loss, please contact Better Living at 734-747-0123.

 

http://www.prevention.com/mind-body/natural-remedies/diet-pill-dangers-truth-behind-weight-loss-supplements

http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMedicineSafely/MedicationHealthFraud/ucm234592.htm