Losing weight takes hard work and effort; especially when you have a lot of pounds to give up. After making several unsuccessful attempts to lose weight, people often feel compelled to take weight loss vitamins and supplements, also known as "diet pills." Before you visit your local drug store and stride down the supplement aisle, you should know a little bit more about what you are about to take.
Function
Hunger is a major problem when it comes to weight loss. If you are hungry and you overeat, you will be getting an overload of calories that your body cannot burn off, which ultimately leads to weight gain. Appetite suppressing, metabolism boosting and blocking carbs or fat, are the main functions of weight loss vitamins and supplements. This leads to the calories in vs. calories out theory, where you eat fewer calories than you burn.
Features
Weight loss vitamins and supplements are made from various ingredients; some of which are "all natural." Caffeine, minerals, botanicals, laxatives and herbs can all be present by themselves or in combinations. Hoodia, bitter orange, green tea, chromium and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) are specific names you might see on a bottle.
Types
Weight loss vitamins and supplements come in either prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) form. The prescription formulas are reserved for people who are obese. The clinical definition of obesity is any person who has a body mass index (BMI) over 35. Body mass index is the relationship of your weight to your height.
Over-the-counter supplements can be bought and used by any person regardless of their size. These are not regulated by the FDA and they are often referred to as food supplements. Orlistat is an example of a supplement that can be found in both prescription and over-the-counter form. The prescription form is Xenical and the OTC form is Ali. It's main function is to block the absorption of fat when it is consumed. This in turn leads to less calories being digested and weight loss is promoted.
Identification
Gastric bypass is a surgery performed on people who are morbidly obese. The size of their stomach gets reduced and they are not able to eat large amounts of food. According to the National Institutes of Health, the pouch that is created from the surgery cannot hold more than 1 cup of chewed food at a time. This can lead to vitamin and mineral deficiencies and doctors will often prescribe vitamins to make sure the body gets adequate intakes.
Effects
Being that over-the-counter vitamins and supplements are not even regulated by the FDA, their efficacy is in question. Regardless if it is a prescription or OTC formula, they can both lead to harmful side effects. For example, the prescription version of orlistat can lead to fecal discharge, oily stools and diarrhea. Nervousness, tremors, anxiety, elevated blood pressure, racing heart rate and complete heart failure are all possible side effects of OTC formulas.
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