Fat-Burning Supplement Warning
The FDA is investigating "the potential relationship between Hydroxycut dietary supplements and liver injury or other potentially serious side effects" according to the issued warning.
There has been 1 death and 23 serious incidences reported, including severe jaundice and liver damage requiring transplant as well as seizures and rhabdomyolysis.
Iovate Health Sciences has responded by pulling 14 of their Hydroxycut products from the shelves. Iovate says that they had sold approximately 9 million units of the recalled products in 2008.
Hydroxycut products are dietary supplements sold in health food and department stores and pharmacies. They are marketed for weight loss, fat-burners, and low-carb diet aids as well as energy enhancers and for water loss according to the FDA.
Fat Burning Supplements: Should we just avoid them altogether?
While it appeared that removing Ephedra (Ma Huang) from fat burning supplements would make them safe - it turns out that many of the so termed "thermogenic enhancers" can also pose health risks. As of this time, I have not come across any theories as to what ingredient/combination of ingredients may be causing problems. Here's the ingredients list for Hydroxycut.
While health organizations do have a penchant for overreacting to dangers of certain supplements, I think there is legitimate cause for concern. Here are 2 quick thoughts:
- First and foremost, the dose makes the poison. There's a very good chance that those who suffered adverse effects from these supplements were using them incorrectly/excessively.
- On the topic of excessive - supplement companies tend to make exaggerated and otherwise spurious claims regarding their products. Don't be lulled into thinking that you are at a disadvantage by not taking their supplements.
Bottom Line
- You can achieve amazing results with or without these supplements. Results come from hard work and dietary diligence, not pills.
- If you choose to use a fat burning supplement, use as directed and immediately stop using if you experience any unusual side-effects.
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People often & many times look for the magic pill or the quick fix. No matter what you do, it still comes back to eating better & exercising. Even during that Phen-Fen craze, you still had to eat better & exercise & then that turned into a mess. People that have gastric bypass surgery still have to eat better & exercise. Way too many cases of people gaining back their weight on that one.
Yes, people do tend to overdose on these things. When I was young, ephedra products were legally on the shelves but the problem was people were taking 3-6 a day and more!!!! Yes, I tried them back then when I was bodybuilding but I took one only before a workout & no more the rest of the day or days off & I never had bad reactions like many people claim to have with these products when they abuse them.
The best advice is to just eat better & healthier, eat less if you are consuming an excess of calories & exercise!
Unfortunately with the pressure out there still to be thin, I think people are going to take it no matter what the side effects are...
ReplyPeople are always looking for the magic bullet. That's why when I'm asked how I lost weight, I pretty much always answer "Crystal Meth. Sucks about the bugs crawling all over my skin, but anything is better than being fat, right?"
ReplyIt’s scary how obsessed this country is with getting good looks with no effort. Have we really gotten that lazy? What happened to the days when people actually worked towards a goal?
Watched a video yesterday that said Hydroxycut “sells more than 9 million bottles of product each year.” What that tells me is that there are a lot of people in this nation looking for an easy way out without analyzing the side effects.
Here’s the link: http://www.newsy.com/videos/fda_cuts_hydroxycut/
ReplyHilarious. Crystal/crank used to be really big around here, and I've seen this. It's an unhealthy looking skinny, even the face flesh was saggy. Guy looked like a bulldog.
As for hydroxycut, I'm not surprised. When I was way too young, I took diet pills (aka speed). I was 14, needed no sleep, was on a roll, but then my head started spinning and I'd have to nap in place-on my walk home, etc. It was weird. I'm sure it was addictive, though I didn't get that far, fortunately.
ReplyI've never aimed to be skinny. I want to be healthy. That's it. I never understood the desire to be "skinny". Skinny is easy. Don't eat. Take drugs. Healthy, however, is admirable! It's eating the right foods in the right portions at the right times and getting the right amount of exercise. A much bigger accomplishment.
ReplyI'm guessing the people that got really bad liver damage from this stuff were the ones that slammed them like they were candy, hoping for some sort of magical results. Truth is, all these herbal supplements really do is to give you more energy so you can work out harder. You could probably get the same effect from a cup of coffee or tea before working out.
ReplyI'm hearing now through different pipelines that the people who suffered liver damage took them as directed. I haven't found a source yet to confirm. It's also possible that people claim to take as directed?
Not sure about the poor 19-year old fella though, although I know at 19 I didn't pay much attention to "as directed" messages.
ReplyThis is old news, I'm surprised it didn't show up here earlier.
Fat loss supplements CAN be effective but only if used with a proper workout program. It's a SUPPLEMENT, not a SUBSTITUTE. I see girls popping this sh*t by it self like its some kind of magic candy.
I saw one girl taking NO-Xplode because someone told her it would help her lose weight! - I couldn't do anything but laugh.
Replywhat a fat burner should not be banned i wouldnt recommend taking any muscle tech supplements just because not the best resolts come from their line it is everyone that is uneducated about fat burners take them and at least do 45 mins of cardio a day it basically burns about double the calories then it would with out a fat burner
ReplyVery scary. So grateful I never took that product! I remember when people were giving themselves serious heart damage from too much fen-phen. Glad Iovate is pulling some of their Hydroxycut products off the shelves.
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