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Dangers of Diet Pills

QUESTION:

I have considered using diet pills to speed up my weight loss. What is your opinion on diet pills?

ANSWER:

Not good. Over-the-counter diet pills are a temporary fix, and a poor one at that. They do not address the core of the problem by re-training eating habits and guiding one to adopt a lifelong commitment to sustainable healthy eating and exercise.

In addition, diet pills can be extremely dangerous to your health. They commonly have stimulant ingredients such as caffeine and amphetamine-like substances that can cause increased restlessness, insomnia, anxiety, hypertension and even irregular heartbeats known as cardiac arrhythmias. The ingredient ephedrine, which was once a common ingredient in diet pills, has been linked with several deaths and was recently banned by the FDA. Years ago people thought that fen-phen was the miracle pill answer to weight loss - that is, until they discovered that it caused damage to the heart. Don't look for quick-fix answers in a pill. Be aware that even diet pills that are marketed as being herbal and all natural can still be dangerous.

For most people, the risks of utilizing diet pills outweigh the risks associated with being overweight. To experience optimal health and reap the full benefits of weight loss, ditch the diet pills and proceed with a sound program of good nutrition, intuitive eating and daily exercise.

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Our expert, Dr. Sharon E. Griffin, holds a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in the areas of exercise science/physiology. She also holds a second M.S. degree in Nutrition and is a licensed nutritionist and an ACSM certified health and fitness instructor.