Do Diet Pills Really Work?

The diet pill industry is worth millions of dollars around the world each year, as in many cases it offers a seemingly easy way to lose weight, without having to follow a strict diet or fitness plan. The only problem is that the only part of the diet pill industry that is regulated and subjected to intensive trials is the prescription diet pills, and although these have been proven to be effective for weight loss, they have also been shown to have potential dangerous side effects, and so are only normally prescribed when obesity becomes life threatening. Other diet pills such as over the counter drugs and herbal supplements are not so intensively tested, and so their claims of aiding weight loss are often not backed by solid scientific evidence.

If you are thinking of trying diet pills then you need to be wary of any manufacturer that cannot support their claims with objective clinical trials. Many herbal diet pills are based on some very plausible evidence, and do contain ingredients that have been shown to have effects on weight loss, such as Hoodia Gordonii. This is a plant that originates from remote desert regions of South Africa and when taken in pure, large doses has been proved by several clinical trials to effectively aid weight loss.

However most diet pills that contain Hoodia have not themselves been tested, and so there is no evidence to show that the amount or composition of Hoodia used in these products is effective for weight loss. Also it is important to note that Hoodia is a slow growing plant and has been granted protected status in the last few years, which limits the amounts that can be harvested each year.

This means that demand often outweighs supply, and many unscrupulous manufacturers sell fake Hoodia pills that contain little or none of the authentic plant extract. This kind of misrepresentation is common in the herbal diet pill market, as these types of pills are classed as food supplements and so are not required by law to undergo rigorous testing to prove their effects.

Some herbal extracts have also been known to cause significant side effects and interact with other medications, and in cases like this Health Authorities do step in and take action such as initiating full clinical trials and ultimately banning the sale of products containing the dangerous substances without prescription.

This happened in the last few years with the substance ephedrine, which is derived from the plant ephedra. Ephedrine was found to cause invasive, over stimulating effects on the central nervous system, which could lead to serious side effects such as high blood pressure, heart arrhythmias and strokes. Diet pills containing ephedrine were also found to have caused a significant number of reported deaths in several countries across the world.

Diet pills that are available on prescription can be effective for weight loss, but also come with potential harmful side effects and are only used in certain, extreme cases. Over the counter diet drugs and herbal diet supplements are less likely to cause dangerous side effects, but they often cannot support their impressive weight loss claims with any real, scientific evidence.

Learn more about the best weight loss pills and how they work. Figure out what each ingredient does and which one is right for you.