The temptation to use over-the-counter weight loss pills to lose weight fast is tempting. At first glance it’s appears to be an easy option if you are trying to lose weight and just restricting calorie intact doesn’t seem to be doing the job quickly or you have hit a diet plateau. There is no need to see a doctor and a variety of over-the-counter weight loss pill manufactures sell their product in numerous stores including the local drugstore, supermarket or health food store. Dietary supplements and weight-loss aids, including over-the-counter weight loss pill brands can be sold with limited proof of effectiveness or safety. And there is definitely money to be made. Weight loss pill companies do just about anything to make the consumer feel at-ease enough to purchase and use their product.
With the proliferation of the word “natural” stuck to just about any product with the implicit understanding that what is “natural” must be healthy, consumers can be duped into thinking that all “natural” weight loss pill supplements are ok.
In 2004 the FDA banned the sale of supplements containing ephedra and other ephedrine-like ingredients in response to accumulating evidence of adverse effects and deaths related to ephedra. This ban was challenged by manufacturers making weight loss pill and liquid supplements and initially overturned, but ultimately upheld in 2006 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. In 2009 the F.D.A. has determined that dozens of weight-loss supplements, most of them imported from China, contain hidden and potentially harmful drugs. StarCaps, a weight loss pill / capsule, that was promoted as a natural dietary supplements using papaya and touted by Grady Jackson, a defensive tackle with the Atlanta Falcons and Today” show host Kathie Lee Gifford, was cited by the FDA as being in violation of the law once the agency found the capsules also contained a potent pharmaceutical drug called bumetanide that could cause serious side effects. More recently in the spring of 2012 another warning was release by the Food and Drug Administration regarding weight loss pills called “Japan Rapid Weight Loss Diet Pills.”
An FDA lab analysis has confirmed that the pills contained “undeclared phenolphthalein” in the green version of this new weight loss pill supplement, contained undeclared phenolphthalein and sibutramine a weight loss agent found in the drug Meridia that was removed from the market in 2010 because it boosted the risk of heart attack and stroke in their yellow pills, and in their blue pills undeclared sibutramine and ephedrine alkaloids.
Unfortunately there is an emerging trend, according to the FDA of companies selling products purporting to be dietary supplements but which contain hidden ingredients that can be harmful. This is particularly true among over-the-counter weight loss pill supplements.
You may be wondering why does the FDA wait until an over-the-counter weight loss pill is out on the market before they determine whether it is safe or not. This latest the F.D.A. inquiry incident raises a larger issue regarding the regulations governing dietary supplements. Unfortunately the main law enacted in 1994 on dietary supplements gives the F.D.A. jurisdiction only after the products go on the market. Rather than reviewing the supplements and approving them for sale, the agency is limited to spot-checking manufacturers and distributors, and testing products already on store shelves. There is no procedure in place to notify the agency of the introduction of another new over-the-counter dietary supplement product. Even the F.D.A. acknowledges there may be hundreds of other drug-contaminated weight loss pill supplements and other products for sale that the agency does not have the resources to identify. People buying weight loss pill supplements from local health food stores, off the Internet, or from friends should question whether or not they are unknowingly play Russian roulette with their health.
It seems crazy but even when the F.D.A. identifies contaminated products, it does not have the ability to remove the pills from stores, because according to our laws, it is initially up to companies to issue a recall. It is only when contaminated products stay on the market for an extended period that the F.D.A. can finally seek injunctions, seize the questionable weight loss pill supplements and other products, or file criminal charges.
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A better and safer way to approach weight loss is through our Diet Doc weight loss diet that is customized by a Diet Doctor with the goal of fast weight loss for each person. The Diet Doc Weight Loss program utilizes the smart nutritional food concepts behind such diets as the Paleo diet, gluten free diets, protein diets, low carbohydrate diets, the Atkins diet, the Mayo clinic diet, and no carbohydrate diets into a new approach combined with a weight loss diet pill. By getting back to basics and freeing the liver and body from chemicals, processed food, excess sugar and carbohydrates, and adding our diet pill products that do not cause unpleasant side effects, the body will easily release weight at a rapid pace. You can be assured by taking weight loss pills that you won’t be ingesting questionable, undeclared, or unsafe ingredients.
With the restrictions placed upon the F.D.A. in regards to over-the-counter weight loss pill supplements and other “natural” products, why take a chance. DO not be mistaken in thinking over-the-counter weight-loss supplements are the easy answer to weight loss. A program that helps you reach your weight loss goals and then provides the means to maintain a long term, healthy life style is a far superior choice in the long run.
