Side Effects of Some Diet Aids

Losing weight is quite easy for the millions of overweight people around the world who do it everyday. What they actually find difficult is keeping excess poundage off. Going on a diet or using some diet aids may do wonders, but only for a short period of time; the unwanted poundage soon returns.

According to some dietetics specialists, a few of the known diet aids are effective. But they warn that other weight-loss products, in fact, pose certain health risks, insisting that overweight people should refrain from using them. Herbal fen-phen (a combination of Chinese ephedra and St. Johnswort herb) is one of those diet aids many health experts say overweight people should avoid using. As a matter of fact, the US Food and Drug Administration cautions people who want to lose weight on the possible cardiovascular side effects of this weight-loss product.

Chromium picolinate is another diet aid many dietitians consider dangerous. This weight-loss product is being promoted as a muscle-building aid as well. There is very little scientific proof to support this claim though, and health experts warn that taking this product in large doses can cause cell damage. Appetite-suppressant drugs, on the other hand, are believed to cause such risks as dehydration, elevated blood pressure, and nutrient deprivation.

Not a few people use herbal teas and laxatives as diet aids which, they claim, clean out the bowels. But the intended result of losing excess weight is not actually met when these products are used. This is because laxatives, for one, work on the large intestine, but it is in the small intestine where caloric absorption takes place. In using diuretics, on the other hand, only water weight is lost. Dietitians discourage overweight people from using diet aids that keep them inside the bathroom for too long and too often.

L-carnitine, an amino acid, is believed to increase the rate at which stored fat burns. Other weight-loss products, such as high-fiber pills, pectin, and psyllium, only swell in your stomach, especially when taken with large amounts of water. They do not serve their supposed weight-loss purpose at all.

Many weight-loss products have aided people in losing unwanted weight. Usually, though, the results are due to psychological factors. For example, an overweight person may be so "sold" to the diet aid he is using that he cooperates fully with a restrictive-diet program. But for a weight-loss program to succeed, most dietitians say that the person involved must have a strong desire to lose weight, such that he is willing to make changes in his habits of living. Such changes, which may include simple modifications in what and how much he eats, should become part of his everyday life.

According to health experts, there is a cause for overweight in every case. Only as this cause is determined and eliminated can the overweight person return to normal weight. They maintain that weight-loss programs and products that are unsafe or do not work at all must be avoided. [Read the Original Article]