Taking diet pills when you don’t have enough time in the day to exercise is a much more convenient way to lose weight.  They can also be the starting point in a person’s diet and since, for many of them, you don’t need to have a prescription to buy them.  Without a prescription you also save money from not having to visit the doctor.

There are also downsides to taking diet pills.  Diet pills can’t be used for everyone and studies have shown that people with the most success in taking diet pills are those whose BMI is over 30 and also people with a BMI over 27 who have health problems related to their weight.   Anything below that, including people who only want to lose a few pounds, most likely won’t get very good results.  Another thing is that many diet pills on the market work by curbing your appetite, which sounds like a good thing since a lower intake of calories leads to weight loss, but in doing so it also slows down the body’s metabolism.  When the metabolism slows down it makes it harder for a person to lose weight.  The use of diet pills can also often result in a wide range of unwanted side effects.  The side effects vary from smaller things like nausea, dizziness, and an upset stomach to serious health risks including an increase in the possibility of stroke, high blood pressure, seizures, increased heart rate, heart attack and even death.  These more considerable health risks are known to be seen in diet pills containing the ingredient Ephedra, also known as Ephedrine.  Although this is the ingredient that is mainly spoken of relating to harmful diet pills, users should beware as it is not the only ingredient known to cause severe health complications.

 http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/8475/1/Diet-Pills-The-Pros-and-Cons-of-Diet-Pills.html

 http://libproxy.uta.edu:2067/ehost/pdf?vid=7&hid=111&sid=dbd84634-2450-404c-ba17-6e1900468108%40sessionmgr112

Don’t listen to what they say! Weight is only a number, what you need to be looking at is your body mass index (BMI). To calculate your BMI: (Weight in pounds) divided by [(height in inches) x (height in inches)] x 703

or take a look at this chart:

Below 18.5: Underweight
18.5 – 24.9: Normal
25 – 29.9: Overweight
30 and above: Obese

The way to lose weight is to pick what works best for your body. Some people need to cut the carbs, some it is the red meats, and then others it is just the non-healthy fats (saturated, trans). The best way to know what works for you is knowing what body type you are:

Ectomorph: Normally categorized as too thin and are often underweight, they find it hard to put on weight and exercise because of their lack of endurance. To read up on this body type, visit this site: http://www.fitnesshealthzone.com/exercises/ectomorph-body-type/

Mesomorph: This type is very few and far between. The people with this body type lose weight and gain it back easily. They are normally athletic in build with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. To read up on this body type, visit this site: http://www.fitnesshealthzone.com/exercises/mesomorph-body-type/

Endomorph: people in this category are normally bulky and have slower digestive systems than the other two categories. They find it hard to lose weight and easy to gain it. The normal places they gain weight are the hips, waist and theighs. To read more about this type, visit this site: http://www.fitnesshealthzone.com/exercises/endomorph-body-type/

As you can tell, the body types are completely different. Therefore, it only makes sense that the weight loss program for each person should vary just as much. This is the main reason why weight loss pills, drugs, and remedies are so dangerous and are short term. Read more about the type of body you are and embrace it! Be happy to be you and to be different!

Seeking other options to weight loss? Here are a few pointers:

1. Consult with a physician or diet therapist. These people know what they are talking about. The best bet is to talk to them and find out what will be the healthiest route for YOU. Your current health plays a large role in the way weight loss plans will help/ hurt you.
2. Get a weight loss buddy – anyone who is dieting alone knows how difficult it can be to become motivated. Studies show the benefits and faster results with those participants who tried to lose weight with a friend and those who dieted alone. Also, dieting does not stop with the diet for a few months. It is a lifestyle change. Having a friend who is also going through a similar (although it may be different from your own) can benefit with the support from each other.
3. Join a team. The easiest way to lose weight without having to think about it is joining a fitness team such as kickboxing, aerobics, or any sports team. Get with a friend or go out to meet new people who are on the road to being healthier just like you!
4. Record where, when, and what you are eating and exercising. Most people find this step a little redundant because they already know what they eat. But seeing it on paper can really open your eyes to where to cut back and when to manage your time better.
5. Buy weight loss cook books. Buyer beware. This is not a simple fix, like stated earlier, this is a lifestyle change. Most cook books (along with any diet plan) will help lose weight, however, they are not a quick fix nor do they guarantee a weight loss plan good for your body. Consult with a dietitian to see what plan is best for you.
6. Be Happy! There is evidence that shows happy people are healthy people. For dieting to work at its fullest potential, you need to have a positive outlook on what you are doing. Don’t diet for anyone but yourself!

I hope that I helped you realize that a happy weight is different than ideal weight. If you are happy, then that’s all that matters. Most poeple seeking dieting do not need to diet at all, they just need to boost their self-esteem. A great book to consider reading is The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem by Nathaniel Branden. This book helps you realize how self-esteem controls much of our lives and how to improve yourself for the better you.

Get started! Research options for yourself and learn more about how the body naturally works. Here are a few links to get you on your way to being a healthier and happier person:

http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/health-and-diet-eating-healthy

http://realwomensfitness.com/womens-fitness/101-weight-loss-tips/

http://www.weightlossforall.com/permanent-weight-loss-women.htm

Unfortunately, when reviewing the article on the FDA website I did a search on the Brazilian Diet Pill. My findings were very surprising that such a drug would still be sold on the market. I have linked the website that is still selling the product on our links, so if anyone wants to check out their advertisement should really review the page. When looking further into the dietary supplement I realized that some individual would feel that this drug is a miracle pill, because of its weight loss results. The sad problem with the drug is that weight loss benefits don’t outweigh a consumer’s health. Brazilian Diet pills promise great weight loss in a short time span. The real truth is great weight loss with the risk of major health problems from the ingredients. Long-term and short-tem medical complications have not been fully tested and researched, but with ingredients listed it is less beneficial for consumers to take these dietary supplements.

Read more:

http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/2006/ucm108578.htm

http://weight-loss-methods.suite101.com/article.cfm/brazilian_diet_pills#ixzz0UmC1QVRr

Though many products claim to be “natural” or to contain only “herbal” ingredients, but they actually contain potentially harmful ingredients  not listed on the product label or advertisement. Some of the potential risks to consumers are high blood pressure, seizures, rapid heartbeat, palpitations, heart attack.

UNDECLARED ACTIVE PHARMACEUTICAL INGREDIENTS FOUND

1) Sibutramine, a prescription-only appetite suppressant that is also a controlled substance. It was found in many of these products at high levels that can increase the incidence and severity of the listed health risks.

2) Fenproporex, controlled substance no approved for marketing in the U.S. Also, causes arrhythmia (a disorder of your heart rate or rhythm) and possible sudden death.

3) Fluoxetine, a prescription-only antidepressant.

4) Bumetanide and furosemide, potent diuretics( available only with prescription)

5) Cetilistat, an experimental obesity drug not approved for marketing in U.S.

6) Phenytonin, a prescription-only anti-seizure medication.

7) Phenolphthalein, a solution used in chemical experiments and a suspected cancer-causing agent that is not approved for marketing in the U.S.

These weight-loss products are marketed as dietary supplements, are promoted and sold on various Web sites and in some retail stores and beauty salons.  The FDA has inspected a number of companies associated with the sale of these illegal products and is currently seeking product recalls. Unfortunately, inspections and inadequate responses to recall requests may take additional enforcement steps, such as issuing warning letters or initiating seizures, injunctions, or criminal charges.

FDA’s Consumer Recommendation

1. If you use any of these weight loss products, stop taking them and consult your health care professional immediately.
2. Seek guidance from a health care professional before purchasing weight loss products.
3. Report serious adverse reactions or product quality problems to FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program at MedWatch

For More Information:

• Protect Your Health Joint FDA/WEBMD resources
• MedWatch: The FDA Saftey Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program
• Questions and Answers about FDA’s Initiative Against Contaminated Weight Loss Products

Information Cited from: www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2009/NEW01977

Common over-the-counter weight loss and herbal remedies ingredients

1. Ephedra (ma-huang): active ingredient  ephedrine.  Ephedrine is also used in asthma medications as will as to make methamphetamine, more commonly known as speed.
2. St. John’s wort: herbal product primarily used as an antidepressant, but some use this product with Ephedrine which can lead to dangerous drug-drug interactions
3. 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP): found in over-the-counter weight loss products, this extract from a West African plant seed. 5-HTP us under constant scrutiny for saftey and in larger does, 5-HTP may have a negative effect on liver.
4. Aloe: often used as topical product for wound healing, oral forms of aloe are to herbal weight-loss products. Aloe produces strong cathartic response (producing bowel movements) and are sometimes marketed as “internal cleansers.”
5. Cascara: common ingredient used in weight loss products. One of the few herbs that is approved as an over-the-counter drug by the FDA.  The ingredient is a strong stimulant laxative.
6. Dandelion: a natural diuretic by significantly decreasing body water.
7. Herbal Diuretics: most commonly found in over-the-counter weight loss preparations. Most of the diuretics derived from caffeine.

Above are some of the common over-the-counter and herbal remedy ingredients that you might not under FDA regulation. Keep in mind that there are thousands of herbal products that are used to treat multiple problems, so these are systemic drugs that affect the whole body. Herbal medications are composed of natural ingredients in their physical form, but many individuals don’t realize that many of the these herbal products are ingredients in  processed drugs that are manufacture in other everyday pills consumed. Due to the drug to drug interactions and TOXICITY, so individuals should keep that in mind. The main problem with herbal medications is, like many other health-related products herbal nutritional supplements are not strictly regulated in the United States. manufacturers are not obligated to guarantee the safety, effectiveness or even the true content of the product.

Common Sense Advice for Taking Herbal Medicines

1) Talk to your physician prior to taking any over the counter diet regimes and herbal remedies.

2) Research drugs and meds to choose the best alternative for your body.

3) Make sure that over-the-counter drugs and herbal remedies are not part of the FDA’s Warning drugs.

4) Make sure that if you are currently taking daily medications that you check drug interactions and toxicity.

5) Remember Herbal Medicines and over-the-counter dietary medications are mainly for supplemental purposes.

Healthy diet and exercise will provide the consumer with the most ideal outcome.

All information on this post was found on the following websites, and I suggest readers to search the websites for additional information or questions.

http://www.herbal-supplements-guide.com/

http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/herbal-remedies

SOURCES: University of Maryland Medical Center. National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. Vanderbilt University. American Academy of Family Physicians. Supplementwatch.com. PDR Health.

But the regulatory palliatives are likely to be only temporary stopgaps. The region is awash in cheap diet aids manufactured in largely unregulated Chinese factories. Classified by many countries as “health food” rather than as pharmaceutical products, which must pass rigorous safety tests before they can be marketed the concoctions are readily imported and sold in Asian pharmacies and natural-medicine shops, even in beauty parlors and spas.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,501020812-333902,00.html

It’s an interesting thought, the hypocrisy behind putting dangerous products in pills and labeling them as “health food”.  Ingredient’s such as fenfluramine, and N-nitroso fenfluramine are great diet pill health supplements.  Fenfluramine was used in Fen-Phen, a popular diet supplement used around the world, and linked to damage to heart valves.

The distinctive valvular abnormality seen with fenfluramine is a thickening of the leaflet and chordae tendineae. One mechanisms used to explain this phenomenon involves heart valve serotonin receptors, which are thought to help regulate growth. Since fenfluramine and its active metabolite norfenfluramine stimulate serotonin receptors 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) this may have led to the valvular abnormalities found in patients using fenfluramine. In particular norfenfluramine is a potent agonist of 5-HT_2B receptors, which are plentiful in human cardiac valves. The suggested mechanism by which fenfluramine causes damage is through over or inappropriate stimulation of these receptors leading to inappropriate valve cell division. Supporting this idea, is the fact that this valve abnormality has also occurred in patients using other drugs that act on 5-HT_2B receptors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenfluramine

Roth BL (2007). “Drugs and valvular heart disease”. N. Engl. J. Med. 356 (1): 6–9. doi:10.1056/NEJMp068265. PMID 17202450

N-nitroso Fhenfluramine has been linked to acute liver damage, and both credited with causing death.  So, what’s the answer?  Governments can close the door to dangerous products when found, but many more replace them.  It’s like swatting at flies while the elephants are charging.  The answer ridding society of the demand and that is done through education.  If a person believes within their heart, mind and soul that a pill promising healthy weight loss is false, a waste of money and possibly fatal, they won’t purchase it.

In conclusion, watch and consider what is being discussed in the following video regarding diet supplements.

http://www.foxnews.com/video/?playerId=videolandingpage&referralObject=3776515

Seeing a Practitioner
This is when a physician uses a machine or gravity pump to push about 20 gallons of water (sometimes mixed with enzymes, probiotics, or herbs) into your rectum while you lie on a table. Once this process is finished, the practitioner may massage your stomach and the waste is disposed of via another suction tube. This process can then be repeated to insure the cleaning is thorough.

Now, the cleanse may seem like an uncomfortable thing to do, but there are benefits and risks to this procedure. The goal is to cleanse the rectum of waste and toxins that build up naturally over time. People claim that these toxins cause a wide range of problems such as headache, constipation, and weight gain. The evidence for benefits to this procedure are limited. However, the evidence for risks are still there. Dehydration is a major concern. Also, colon cleansing could raise your electrolytes which is harmful to those with heart or kidney disease.

If you are thinking about doing a colon-cleanse:

1. talk with your health care provider. If you are on any medications, the effects of the cleanse could be harmful.
2. Get a list of the herbs that are added in the solution and give to your health care provider as well so that they may know if there will be any additional adverse effects.
3. Be sure that the provider doing the colon cleanse is using disposable equipment.
4. Stays well hydrated before and after a colon cleanse to reduce the risk of dehydration. Drink plenty of fluids.

Information from this blog was gathered from:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/colon-cleansing/AN00065

http://www.webmd.com/balance/natural-colon-cleansing-is-it-necessary

http://www.coloncleansecentral.com/

Let’s begin:

Ephedrine: is banned in large doses. This has been found to cause heart attacks and strokes. This substance is found naturally in the body, and when used correctly it is used on people with breathing problems (bronchodilator), low blood pressure (orthostatic hypotension), and nasal congestion.

Warning: This drug should not be used in combination with other stimulant products (e.g., caffeine), other cough-and-cold products, or as a dietary supplement for the purpose of weight loss or body building. Doing so may increase your risk of unlikely but potentially fatal side effects including: stroke, heart attack, seizures, or severe mental disorders (see Side Effects section and Precautions section). In addition, dietary supplements containing ephedrine should not exceed 8 mg as a single ephedrine dose, 24 mg of ephedrine per day (24 hours), or be given for longer than 7 days, as recommended by the FDA.

Caffeine: is a substance found in many soft drinks, coffee, chocolate, and certain medicines. Caffeine is not harmful in small doses (therapeutic dosages), but like any substance or drug, it can be very problematic. It causes jitters, restlessness, head aches and abnormal heart rhythms (see this article regarding a recent article on caffeine and its health effects). Caffeine is also known to be addictive and cause withdraws. Studies to show a link between caffeine and heart disease are still conflicting and non-conclusive. Here is a video regarding how caffeine effects sleep.

Ginseng: is found in many energy drinks as well as weight loss pills, this ingredient is a large stimulant that could increase the risk of a heart attack in people who have heart disease and high blood pressure. Women who are nursing or pregnant should also not take this medication due to its estrogen-like effects. The common side effects of ginseng include nosebleed, sleeplessness, anxiety, diarrhea, and vomiting. The Asian and American ginseng are very similar, however, Asian ginseng is also known to decrease the effects of many blood-thinning medications.

The Pills may also contain other medications:

Phenytoin: (aka. Dilantin) is an anticonvulsant drug used to treat epilepsy. This drug also has a small Therapeutic Index (TI) which may cause toxicity in people who have a slow metabolism or impaired liver function. Why is that doing in there?!

Sibutramine: A controlled substance that is available only by prescription. Over-the-counter (OTC) medications that contain this substance is labeled illegal by the FDA dating back to 2008. The physicians need to warn their patients about the risk of increased blood pressure and heart rate in patients. Other risks include palpitations, heart attack, or stroke.

Most weight loss pills do not show all the ingredients that are actually within the pill due to its lack of regulation with the Food and Drug Administration. Anyone taking an over-the-counter weight loss pill needs to inform their doctor immediately. Also, if any of the above ingredients are in the weight loss pills, stop taking them and consult with a physician.

All information on this post was found on the following websites, and I suggest readers to search the websites for additional information or questions.

http://www.dietspotlight.com/weight-loss-pill-review/

http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20081222/fda-warns-on-risky-weight-loss-pills

Post any comments or concerns here, too!

The reader of this blog should not infer that all diet supplements or miracle weight loss drugs cause death.  However, common sense tells us that abuse of anything is dangerous, perhaps even fatal.  This abuse mentality comes from the belief that if one is good, twenty must be great.  Consider the following example:

A 22 year-old-female arrived in the emergency department in cardiac arrest

after ingesting these diet pills.  Resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful.  A

serum toxicology screen revealed the presence of caffeine with a level of

1,500 mcg/ml (lethal-100 mcg/ml). 1

It’s amazing; the deceased in the above example took fifteen times the lethal dose of caffeine which came from mail order diet pills.  It is just one many examples where individuals have lost their life in the pursuit of a quick and easy fix to being overweight.

Mrvos, R. M.; Reilly, P. E.; Dean, B. S.; Krenzelok, E. P.
Massive caffeine ingestion resulting in death.

1988.Vet Hum Toxicol, 30(4), 358 [English]

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/Plantox/Detail.CFM?ID=19290