Potential Dangers of Natural Weight Loss Pills

Over-the-counter weight loss pills that are labeled as natural or herbal can be deceptive and actually cause more hard than good.

Standing before a long line of weight loss products at your local grocery store, you weight the pros and cons of each product. Natural weight loss pills can't be bad for you, right? You don't need a prescription and they are sold at the corner store, the grocery store and online, they must be safe, right? Wrong! Most over-the-counter weight loss pills are not FDA approved. These “natural” get slim quick pills aren't regulated and often contain harmful substances, some of which are not even listed on the ingredients label.

Are Natural Weight loss Pills Effective?
Some over-the-counter weight loss pills you might recognize are Alli, chromium, ephedra, hoodia and green tea extract. There are a list of other ingredients that also claim to be natural weight loss solutions. Further testing is required on most of these pills to determine their effectiveness, but the general consensus is that the pills alone aren't enough to make you lose weight.
Diet and exercise are still necessary and even if the pills do work, you would have to keep taking them to avoid regaining the weight. WebMD states that the risk of toxicities may cause health problems. Therefore, they do not recommend the use of over-the-counter natural weight loss pills.

Potentially Harmful Ingredients Found in Natural Weight Loss Pills
In addition to problems caused by the ingredients found in some natural weight loss pills, some weight loss products also contain undeclared harmful ingredients. The FDA warns, “some of the products claim to be 'natural' or only contain 'herbal' ingredients, but actually contain potentially harmful ingredients not listed on the product labels or in promotional advertisements.”
The following potentially hazardous diuretics, appetite suppressants, seizure medicines and controlled substances were found in common over-the-counter weight loss pills:

• Bumetanide
• Cetilistat
• Fenproporex
• Fluoxetine
• Furosemide
• Phenolphthalein
• Phenytoin
• Sibutramine

Potentially Harmful Effects of Natural Weight Loss Pills

Though these so-called “natural or “herbal” weight loss products advertise their effectiveness as a quick weight loss cure, they can actually cause a host of medical problems, including:

• Liver problems
• Seizures
• High Blood Pressure
• Heart palpitations
• Rapid Heartbeat
• Heart Attack
• Stroke
• Sudden death
  

The bottom line is that even though being overweight or obese causes some health risks, its not worth the risk to take potentially harmful over-the-counter weight loss pills to lose weight. You may want quick weight loss, but the only way to permanently drop weight and keep it off is through daily exercise and healthy eating. Adopting healthy habits is the only sensible way to lose weight and keep it off.