Japanese Herbal Weight Loss

If you're looking for a new diet pill, Japanese weight loss supplements may delight or scare you, depending on which you choose. Carefully read product labels and check out ingredients with which you are unfamiliar. Although some ingredients, such as green tea, may be both safe and effective, at least one ingredient -- sibutramine -- has been linked to heart attacks and strokes.

Food and Drug Administration Issues Warning

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2009 issued a warning against 69 diet pills, including several Japanese slimming pills. U.S. production of sibutramine, an appetite suppressant found in some Japanese herbal weight loss pills, was discontinued after its use was linked to serious cardiovascular problems. You can still buy weight loss pills containing sibutramine online, but you should be aware of serious risks, including heart attacks and strokes. According the U.S. National Library of Medicine, sibutramine can adversely with many drugs and herbs including these: monamine oxidase, amphetamine-based weight loss drugs, blood thinners, products containing caffeine and cancer chemotherapy drugs as well as some medications for allergies, coughs, colds, depression blood pressure, migraine headaches, nausea, anxiety, mental illness, seizures and pain.

Effective Ingredients

Some ingredients in Japanese herbal weight loss supplements are safe and effective. Green tea contains metabolism-boosting antioxidants with clinically proven effects on weight loss, according to the "Los Angeles Times." "The Globe and Mail" says green tea may explain why Japanese live longer than anyone on earth and die from heart attacks and strokes 30 percent less often than North Americans. Mountain ebony comes from a tree -- Bauhinia variegata-- and is used as a homeopathic treatment for diabetes. Taken in tea, mountain ebony can lower blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

Purgative Effects

Some ingredients in Japanese herbal weight loss supplements work by cleaning out your colon and kidneys. Fox-nut, also known as qian shi, is an anti-aging herb used to restore sexual vigor in older men. It may also increase urination, resulting in water weight loss, and may strengthen the spleen. Semen pruni both lubricates your colon to eliminate fecal matter and promotes urination.

Mushrooms in Japanese Herbal Weight Loss Supplements

Two mushrooms may be included in some Japanese herbal weight loss supplements: lingzhi and fu ling. Lingzhi, called the "herb of spiritual potency" and the "mushroom of immortality" has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for several thousand years. Fu ling, also known as Tuckahoe, has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to strengthen the spleen, promote urination and calm the spirit. It has also been used to treat amnesia, stomach problems, fatigue and dizziness.

Birth Control Ingredient in Some Japanese Herbal Diet Pills

You may also get a birth control "bonus" in Japanese herbal weight loss supplements. Discoreae, a steroid in some oral contraceptives, is added to some diet pills. Discoreae, commonly called wing yam rust, is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to strengthen the spleen, stomach, lungs and kidneys. In combination with other herbs, wing yam rust may be used to treat diabetes, poor appetite, diarrhea and excessive urination. It is not, by itself, an effective form of birth control.