14 DAY TRIAL // In our constant struggle to lose the pounds and have the body we’ve always wanted, we often resort to little tricks, helpers or whatever else we like to call them, to aid us. It’s called cheating and we’re perhaps sacrificing our own health in the process, but, most of the time, we tend to believe what the manufacturer is saying and have blind faith in the weight loss product. With this in mind, the FDA has just expanded the list of tainted slimming products to 72.
In December, right before Christmas and the New Year weight-loss madness, the Food and Drug Administration warned that almost 30 diet pills available online were extremely dangerous, containing either illegal substances or legal ones in dosages that could have potentially severe effects on the body. The FDA has now extended the list to 72, including other slimming products that we should avoid altogether, no matter what their prescription or ads say they do.
All 72 contain any of the following ingredients, as per WebMD:
- fenproporex – a controlled substance not approved for marketing in the US; - fluoxetine – an antidepressant available by prescription only; - bumetanide – a potent diuretic available by prescription only; - furosemide – a potent diuretic available by prescription only; - rimonabant – a drug not approved for marketing in the US; - cetilistat – an experimental obesity drug not approved for marketing in the US; - phenytoin – an antiseizure medication available by prescription only; - phenolphthalein – a solution used in chemical experiments and a suspected cancer-causing agent that is not approved for marketing in the US.
Because of these ingredients, but also due to the fact that they contain unknown or undeclared substances in dosages way above the recommended ones, these products are extremely dangerous. Among their side-effects, “high blood pressure, seizures, tachycardia (rapid heartbeat), palpitations, heart attack and stroke” are just some, as the aforementioned source also informs.
“These tainted weight-loss products pose a great risk to public health because they contain undeclared ingredients and in some cases prescription drugs in amounts that greatly exceed their maximum recommended dosages,” Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA’s drug evaluation center, said back in December. At the same time, Dr. Woodcock also pointed out that, if a product sounded too good to be true and promised to be the solution to all problems (and not just to the weight-related ones), then we should definitely think twice before buying and using it.
For the complete list of the tainted slimming products made public by the FDA, go here.