Will diet pills work?

By Weight Loss Consultant • Related • Filed Under

The promise of a quick weight loss has attracted many people since diet pills appeared on the market. With increased pressure being placed on the nation to be thin, it is no wonder that so many people are turning to celebrity diets to get the figure they have always dreamed of. Celebrities are plastered over glossy front covers and are on every channel on television – there is no escaping them, and the negative body image they can give people, with their stick-thin figures. However, celebrities have to work extremely hard to get these figures, and the exact lengths that they go through are not always made public knowledge. Anyone who has ever tried to lose weight and maintain a svelte figure, though, knows just how much work it is.

One of the celebrity crazy ways to lose weight that has been adopted by a vast amount of people in the western world, is diet pills. In fact, over six billion dollars is spent every year on weight loss pills in the United States alone. You can either get them over the counter under certain brand names – two examples are Zantrex, and Dexatrim, or you may get them prescribed to you by a doctor.

Diet pills can work by suppressing your appetite, and making your brain think that you are not hungry. Diet pills available over the counter (OTC) or non prescription diet pills contain a combination of medications which act to control appetite. The hypothalamus is the part of your brain which regulates your appetite, and these appetite suppressing diet pills work by changing the signals sent to the hypothalamus, making it think you are full. OTC diet pills generally contain caffeine, it works by increasing basal metabolism and heart rate and thus giving the body more energy in work outs. This mechanism can be quite effective in quick weight loss. Ephedra, also known as Ma Huang acts, as a stimulant strengthening the effect on the heart rate and metabolism, and causing the body temperature to raise slightly, thereby burning calories quicker. It’s very effective in suppressing the appetite. The down side of ephedrine is that it increases heart rate and elevates blood pressure. FDA banned it in 2003 after there were cases that ephedrine caused arrhythmia and sudden death.

Another method of diet pills is known as the fat blocker. These pills stop as much fat getting stored in your body and just let it pass straight through. Lipase is an enzyme found in your digestive system that breaks down and processes fat, to store it up. These fat blocking diet pills stops lipase working as well as it should, and therefore more fat passes through your system without being processed. Fat blocking diet pills do contain rather bad side effects though, and can cause uncomfortable stomach cramps and diarrhea.

The trend started by celebrities has seen many people replacing their meals with a single pill. Most people want remarkable weight loss results in the shortest time, the faster the better, and they usually do not fell concerned about any long term site effects or health risks from taking such pills. A lot of people replace two of their meals with a pill, and just have one evening meal – of something very light. This is very dangerous! Diet pills do not have any nutritional value, and therefore replacing healthy meals for a mere pill can be very dangerous to your general well being and health.

Diet pills can also be addictive – the ‘it girl’ celebrity and star of The Simple Life, Nicole Richie lost a scary amount of weight following an addiction to Hoodia – a herbal diet pill that makes the brain think that you are constantly full. This addiction left Nicole Richie frighteningly thin and in poor health. There are many types of diet pills on the market. However, the most effective diet pill for one person may not be the most effective for another. In fact, most of the claims on diet pill labels are not scientifically proved to be effective and are usually unsafe. When buying weight loss pills, it is important to consult with your health care provider.

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