What There is to Know About Diet Pills?

Sunday, July 25th, 2010

According to manufacturers, diet pills use natural ingredients capable of prolonging life and containing alcohol used in medication or flavoring.  One thing’s for sure, never take diet pills as substitute for cutting calories without the doctor’s recommendation.  There are simple but important steps to be followed when taking diet pills:

Never crush diet pills to mix in drinks or soups.  Take it whole with a full glass of water.

Diet pills causes a person to urinate more frequently due to its diuretic effect.  This could lead to dehydration, thus, causing complications.  As a pre-caution, it is best to drink eight glasses of water everyday while on diet pills.

Take only the recommended dosage.  Taking more than required will not help you lose weight but increase the risk of side effects.

Heartbeat should be less than 86 beats per minute.  Stop taking the pills if it reaches 90 or higher that is why regular checking of pulse is a must.

Always follow the instructions set by the dietician and/or doctor and not only rely on what’s enclosed in the box.  Also diet pills will only work as expected if diet plan is being followed.

After three months, stop taking the diet pills.  Common diet phenylpropanolamine is safe to use only up to sixteen weeks.  Other studies show that it can cause health problems if taken under one month.

 

There are two kinds of diet pills; one is the prescription only diet pills and the over-the-counter diet pills.

Prescription Diet Pills – are drugs regulated by the Food and Drug Administration agency which side effects are monitored, maybe advertised and prescribed under certain dosages.  The most popular of these is Xenical, which is licensed for long-term use.  However, this too has it’s own side effects, diarrhea, oily and unexpected fecal discharge are just some.  Therefore, users are advised to take a low fat diet plan.

While Over-the-Counter Diet Pills are categorized as food substitute and are unregulated.  Beware that these diet pills are not Federal authorities tested and may cause serious side effects up to and including death.

Aside from a dietician, local pharmacists can also help in determining the pills that are safe and not for each person’s case.  Just be extra careful about the so-called “natural” or “organic” ingredients.  Not everything that comes from a natural source is safe.  One example is Ma Huang, which is a botanical source of ephedrine known as a stimulant and being studied for potential side effects.

Those who have or have a family history of prostate problems, thyroid disease, mental illness, high blood pressure, and heart problems should avoid taking diet supplements.  The same applies to those who’ve had seizures or strokes.  If someone is taking cold medicines, especially those with decongestants, diet pills should not be taken.  Whether it be a prescription or an over-the-counter diet pill, the dangers are unvarying with other similar drugs which controls the brain to reduce appetite and includes chest pains, hair fall, fever, depression, and even impotence.

And as a general rule, don’t ever try to take diet drugs if pregnancy is suspected.  Persons that are allergic to sulfites and tartrazine should also avoid taking diet pills.  And those who are under 18 years or over 60 years of age should consult their doctor first prior to taking any dietary drugs, especially if they rely on over-the-counter stimulants used as a replacement for increase exercise.

 

Are Diet Pills the Answer to your Weight Loss?

Friday, July 23rd, 2010


Being overweight is no laughing matter. It affects your health and it affects your self esteem. The longer you stay overweight the more damage you can do to your body. Obesity can damage your heart because it has to work harder to pump the excess blood through your body. Excess fat can damage your body’s ability to process sugar and carbohydrates and cause diabetes. So what do many people do when they need to lose weight? They turn to diet pills. If you are considering diet pills, you need to be aware of some of the dangers.


Diet pills will have side effects. These side effects can be very dangerous if you have any other health problems. A lot of diet pills contain amphetamines. The side effect of amphetamines is nervousness, increased blood pressure, irregular heart beat and irritability. If you have an underlying heart problem, taking amphetamines could be fatal.


Diet pills also tend to have a laxative and diuretic effect. Excessive diarrhea and urination could lead to dehydration, dry skin, increased thirst and the most dangerous of these side effects, electrolyte imbalance. When the normal balance of sodium, potassium, calcium, glucose and chloride is upset, then you run the risk of having heart problems, muscle weakness and other conditions that can be very dangerous.


Finally, diet pills can be very addictive. A lot of people who use diet pills will find that over time they will need to take higher doses of the pill to get the same effect. They will become accustomed to the way the pill makes them feel and before they know it, they will become unable to function without the diet pills.


So as you can see, taking diet pills is not a good solution to your weight loss. The best way to lose weight is to follow a diet program. Not just any program, but one that will give you the option to choose a variety of healthy foods.


Learning how to eat sensibly and knowing when to stop eating is the key to losing the weight and keeping it off. Frequent small meals throughout the day will increase your metabolism to burn more calories. Getting away from sugary drinks and drinking more water will be very beneficial to your weight loss also.


There are many good diet programs out there that can help you lose the weight. You need to find the one that is right for you and one that fits your lifestyle. Just remember that weight loss is a long term commitment. Once you lose the weight, you must work to keep it off. Falling back into bad eating habits will put the pounds back on again.


Diet pills are not the answer to losing weight. The risks from diet pills are too great. Forget the diet pills and do some research on a healthy weight loss diet. Start eating healthy and you will see the pounds slowly start to come off. It may take some time, but remember, you didn’t just pack on all those extra pounds in one week. Being overweight is a result of months and months of unhealthy eating habits. It took time to put it on and it will take time to take it off.

Diet Pills the Side Effects

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

Diet pills or often perceived to be a quick solution to a long term problem. A quick solution often covers up deeper underlying problems, without really addressing the real issues that are involved. Diet pills can fall into this category. Taking diet pills will cover up the fact that you may be living an unhealthy lifestyle, and just taking pills to hide that lifestyle is not a long term solution. Apart from this diet pills can often have severe side effects, which may go far beyond the problems that you may have with weight issues.

Diet pills do have a place in losing weight, but they should only be taken by people who are seriously overweight, and when their health is in more danger because of excessive weight compared to the potential side effects of diet pills. People who are not clinically obese, but are around thirty or forty pounds over weight should avoid diet pills and instead turn towards changing to a healthier diet and a good exercise program. Taking diet pills could potentially give you more health problems than the excessive weight that you may carry does.

Some of the side effects can include:

Hair loss, high blood pressure, heart attack, strokes, headaches, insomnia, dehydration, dizziness, hyperactivity, and a multitude of digestive problems.

As you can see, a quick fix can often have major draw backs. One of the biggest issues of diet pills is that they are not legally required to be regulated as many are classed as supplements. The only time a regulatory body will intervene is when any particular pill has proved to be dangerous and has had regular negative effects on the people that have used them. However that will not really help the people that suffered form the side effects from the diet pill or died from it.

Another problem is that the people who market diet pills often make ludicrous claims and promises in their sales literature. Often these claims regardless how fantastic, are going to appeal to people who desperately want to lose weight. The warnings about side effects have to be displayed, but are often hidden somewhere on the packaging or on a leaflet in very small writing. This is done because manufactures want people’s main focus to be on the possible benefits, and not on the potentially dangerous side effects.

If you carefully read all the writing on the way diet pills are marketed, you will actually see that the manufactures don’t actually promise or guarantee any results. The way the words are written make you believe that they are promising results. You will find statements along the lines of ‘may help you lose weight’ or ‘could help you to reduce weight’. What this means is that their product may help you lose weight or it may not. ‘May’ and ‘could’ do not really mean anything. This way the manufactures of diet pills are absolved of any responsibility whether their products will work or not.

If you do decide to take diet pills, think very carefully of the side effects, because many of them can be dangerous and some may even cost you your life. Always consult a medical practitioner before taking any diet pills. Learn if the benefits you may receive will be more advantageous than the possible side effects you may encounter. The question you need to ask yourself is that will it be worth taking diet pills and potentially endangering your health further, or is it going to be healthier and more effective to lose weight through exercising and a good diet, which have no dangerous side effects. It’s your decision!