Weight Loss Dietary Supplements - Choose Carefully
Posted on Wednesday, August 27, 2008 at 4:43 amThis article will address some of the more common weight loss dietary supplements. Will they have side effects to your well being while aiding your weight loss goals ? Will they even have any affect, be it help or a hindrance? People often look for some fantastic supplement that will solve all their weight loss problem. The reality is that an over the counter dietary supplements are not a cure all and need to be used in conjunction with other weight loss methods.
Weight loss dietary supplements include a list of ingredients that include vitamins, minerals, amino acids and herbs and plants. The purpose of these some of these ingredients is to top up an deficiencies that the person mat have. Others may work at speeding up the metabolism so that a person burns more calories. They are generally used in conjunction with a proper diet and exercise plan. However, should you decide to use one, check that it is ok with your physician prior to use.
You will find that most weight loss dietary supplements are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), so use them with caution. They do not conform to the same standards as regulated medication do. In some cases they can be banned or prohibited from sale if the FDA deems them to be not fit for human consumption.
Ephedra was a well known example of a popular weight loss dietary supplement that was discontinued. This was after stories surfaced that it led to seizures, increased blood pressure, lead to depression, and was linked to chronic headaches. The label on many supplements may not accurately reflect their ingredients, since the FDA does not regulate these pills.
Ephedra has been banned as a weight loss dietary supplement and in its place, some are promoting bitter orange. However, bitter orange has recently been shown to possibly produce similar effects on the body as ephedra, making it an ineffective and possibly dangerous weight loss dietary supplement. So far, bitter orange is still available for purchase, but it may not be available for too much longer.
Guar gum and chitosan have been shown to be two very popular but ineffective weight loss dietary supplements. Ingestion of these two dietary supplements for weight loss is not encouraged anymore. Their long term effects on the body are not known since neither of them has been studied or tested for that in particular. However, it has been shown that they do not contribute or help dieters to reduce appetite or lose weight.
St. John’s Wart and green tea are generally thought to be helpful in weight loss without having side effects (they may have caffeine in them so check this if you are going caffeine free). When used together with diet and exercise both of these have proven to be effective weight loss dietary supplements. Green Tea can come as pills and patches if you would like a change from the traditional tea form.




