Sunday, October 5, 2008

Are Diet Pills Harmful or Not?

By Ricardo d Argence

It is impossible not to notice diet pill advertisemetns while reading a fitness magazine. It seems there are always pages about diet pills more than anything else. When all is said and done, my question is, will diet pills be harmful to my system?

If you have previously struggled with your weight, loosing weight effectivly with the help of diet pills is very appealing. Even though they have some benefits, the overall risks should be taken into account before use. Make sure you are aware of the risks before consuming any type of diet pill.

You may consume less calories while taking diet pills, but you will also have less energy and slower metabolism. And slower metabolism is often a cause of obesity, since the body stores and doesn't use as many calories.

Ephedrine, which in high doses can cause a heart attack or stroke, is often found in diet pills to increase metabolism. Those who have high blood preseure, heart or thyroid problems should avoid taking this drug. Severe illness and even death have occured becauase of the use of these products.

Caffeine is a common ingredient in diet pills. Always read the label and any that say they contain more then 300mg of caffeine should not be taken as this could be very harmful to your health, because like ephedrine, caffeine raises your heart rate and blood pressure and again could lead to a heart attack or stroke.

Symptoms of diet pills can be few to severe depending on what is in them. Some diet pills, especially the stimulant based diet pills, are habit forming and as such can be abused. Abuse of these drugs may lead to dependence. Check with your doctor before taking any prescription diet pill to find out if they are habit forming and what signs you should look out for to alert you to this problem.

Seek your doctor's advice, or research the diet pills or food supplements, before seeking their aid in your weightloss ventures. Make it a personal goal to exercise regularly and to eat healthy foods because you will succeed with your weight loss goals.

Regular exercise and a change in eating habits can have the same affect as weight loss drugs. You could eat fruits and veggies to get your daily minerals and fiber and then supplement the balance with grains and rice. A great exercise plan with weights involved helps to enhance the body's capacity to burn up calories and maintain the health of the heart. - 15359

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