If you've been struggling to reach your goal weight, you may be interested in trying nonprescription diet pills that promise faster results; however, diet pills you can buy without a prescription may not be more effective for weight loss than traditional methods such as diet and exercise, warns the Mayo Clinic. In fact, they may do your body more harm than good.
No FDA Approval
Companies that make nonprescription diet pills are supposed to prove evidence that their products are safe before they sell them; however, they can still sell potentially dangerous pills because their products aren't subject to the same strict standards as prescription diet pills are. Whereas the U.S. Food and Drug Administration must oversee prescription medications before the medications are sold, it doesn't need to confirm that an over-the-counter diet pill is effective or safe before it is available to consumers. The power the FDA does have is to monitor products on the shelves and ban or recall products it deems dangerous. Country Mallow and Ephedra are two examples of diet pill ingredients that were once on store counters but have since been banned by the FDA.
Uncertainties
Because manufacturers of over-the-counter diet pills are only responsible for proving their products are safe, they aren't restricted by FDA rules limiting a serving size or the amount of any one nutrient in their supplements. They may even include ingredients that haven't been listed on their products' label. In fact, in 2009 the FDA released an alert to consumers about 72 separate over-the-counter weight loss products that contained ingredients not listed on their labels or advertisements. In some cases, these products illegally contained dangerously high doses of prescription drugs. The FDA found that some of the products even contained ingredients such as anti-seizure medications and suspected cancer-causing agents.
Potential Side Effects
Some diet pills contain diuretics and stimulants that can cause health problems such as irregular heart rate, jitters, high blood pressure, insomnia, seizures and potentially death, according to the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. Diet pills may also cause digestive problems such as bloating, gas and diarrhea. Even the FDA-approved over-the-counter diet pill Alli comes with negative side effects such as oily anal discharge, hard-to-control bowel movements and diarrhea.
Considerations
Reduce your risk of unwanted effects from diet pills by talking to your doctor before you buy anything. Your doctor can advise you on possible side effects and give you tips on pinpointing warning signs. Be especially prudent in getting medical advice if you have a health problem or are taking a prescription drug because combining diet pills could make a health condition worse or interact negatively with other medications, warns the Mayo Clinic. Your doctor should also give you further weight loss advice. Eating healthier, low-calorie foods and getting more exercise should be a part of your weight loss plan whether or not you take pills.
References
- Mayo Clinic: Alli Weight Loss Pill Side Effects
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Overview of Dietary Supplements
- Palo Alto Medical Foundation: Diet Pills
- "Newsweek"; Over-the-Counter Diet Pills: Too Good To Be True
- Mayo Clinic: Over-the-counter Weight Loss Pills: Do They Work?
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration: FDA Uncovers Additional Tainted Weight Loss Products; March 20, 2009
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