There are millions of individuals who resort to diet pills in order to lose weight, neither aware nor caring that such weight loss pills could easily endanger their health. In America, people waste about 50 billion dollars yearly on weight loss diets and products related to them. Everywhere you turn, you can see ads about all kinds of carb cutters, appetite suppressants and fat blockers. Despite all these weight loss diets and the huge amount of money spent on programs which are supposed to help people fight extra pounds, the problems with obesity have reached alarming levels.
People want to believe what they hear, that is they could lose weight in no time only by ingesting those “fabulous” weight loss supplements and pills. They are actually convinced that this is the only way to solve the problem. Weight loss pills are sold under the form of carb blockers, metabolism boosters, fat blockers and appetite suppressants. Ephedrine is the ingredient utilized in all these weight loss pills known to people under different names: Herbalife, Metabolife, Thermo-Lift, Natural Trim, Trim Spa, Thyro-slim, Thermoburn, Shapefast, Herbal Phen-Fen, Xenadrine, Hydroxy Cut, Trim Life, Thermoslim, Genicil, Patent Lean, Zymax, Ultra Lipo Lean, Lipodrene, Thermalean, MeTrim, Adiphen as well as others.
Ephedrine is actually an alkaloid extracted from the E. Sinica leaves, as well as those of Ephededra equisetina and other plants belonging to the Gnetaceae family. This ingredient is also known under the name of Ephedra and Ma Huang. This plant lives in China, India but also in the South Asia. The FDA claims that weight loss pills containing ephedrine were responsible for lots of different disorders, among which strokes, heart attacks, seizures and sometimes even death. The extract of ephedrine has a composition similar to that of the amphetamines which have very powerful effects on the heart and the nervous system, sometimes lethal. The ingestion of such stimulants can cause heart arrhythmia. A weight loss pill of this kind could cause the bronchial muscles to dilate, the nasal mucosa to contract, it can trigger high blood pressure and act as a cardiac stimulant. There are also psychological side-effects associated with the intake of weight loss pills: nervousness, depression, insomnia. Ephedrine combined with caffeine can trigger a disastrous impact on the central part of the nervous system, and even life-threatening complications.
Because of all these problems caused by Ephedrine, many producers offer weight loss pills that do not contain Ephedrine. However, these new products still prove to generate a few side-effects similar to appetite suppressants like Acutrim and Dexatrim, their symptoms being vertigo, increased heart rate, nausea, high blood pressure, anxiety, nausea, insomnia, irritability, diarrhea as well as dry mouth.
The market is full of weight loss pills, among which, one of the most popular appetite suppressant called Phentermine. Its market names are: Adipex and Lon amie. The task of such weight loss supplement is to inhibit the appetite and to stimulate the dieter’s central nervous system. There is no weight loss pill which is free from side-effects. A great percentage of these weight loss supplements, especially the stimulants, can easily lead to addiction, physical and psychological.
Usually, these weight loss pills are taken in order to block fats, suppress appetite, boost the metabolism or block carbohydrates. In the case of appetite suppressants the body will be deprived of calories. Everybody thinks that fewer calories mean you are going to lose weight. Wrong. Fewer calories actually mean a slowing down of the metabolism which triggers the slowing down of your weight loss process. In order to function well, the body needs to be fed appropriately, neither too much, nor too less.
A reasonable quantity of calories will allow you to lose weight in a safe and satisfactory manner. Your body needs food to operate normally. Weight loss pills which act as fat blockers (Xenical) can also generate alarming side-effects like intestinal cramping, oily spotting, gas with discharge, anal leakage, diarrhea, nausea, oily discharge, fecal incontinence, oily and loose stools, bowel movements, incapacity to control bowels but also fecal urgency.
If all of the above-mentioned side-effects are not enough for you, think about the fact that the blockage of fat absorption translates into other risks. Remember that important vitamins such as vitamin K, E, D and A are fat soluble. They reach the bloodstream together with fat. If you ingest a weight loss pill that has as an effect the blockage of fat absorption, all these nutrients will be blocked as well and that will affect your immune system, metabolism and your general health.
Researchers have proved that those weight loss pills acting like fat blockers, manage to prevent as much as 30% of the total amount of fat from being absorbed into the bloodstream. As compared to non-users, those who are striving to lose weight using such weight loss pills will end up being only 1 or 2 pounds lighter that the first category. Much the same, carb blockers proved to have almost similar side-effects to those of the fat blockers. Weight loss pills like Carb Eliminator, Carb Cutter, Ultimate Carb Phaser 1000, but also Carbo Lock and Carb Away or Ultra Carb are said to prevent about 30-45g of carbohydrates from being absorbed into the body. It is essential to be aware of the fact that the FDA cannot agree with all those weight loss supplement producers, therefore there are lots of such products which have not been verified by the FDA. Producers are not able to state whether weight loss pills such as the carb blockers are efficient in case they are taken for a longer period of time or if they can generate side-effects if taken for a longer period. However, as far as short-term side-effects are concerned, they are: heartburn, diarrhea, excessive gas and gastrointestinal problems. Another important aspect is that these weight loss pills may not be effective for a longer period of time.
One thing is clear: In order to live a healthy, balanced life and to have a normal weight in the future, the wisest thing you can do is change your habits, exercise regularly, eat good, quality food and do not forget to visit your doctor from time to time for your regular check-up. If you want to lose weight, you really do not need weight loss pills and supplements.
