FDA Warns About Weight Loss Products

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20081223/hl_hsn/fdawarnsaboutweightlossproducts

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned consumers Monday to avoid more than two dozen products marketed for weight loss because they contain undeclared ingredients that could pose serious health risks.
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The FDA identified the weight loss products as: Fatloss Slimming, Japan Lingzhi 24 Hours Diet, 7 Day Herbal Slim, 999 Fitness Essence, Imelda Perfect Slim, Perfect Slim, ProSlim Plus, Slim Express 360, Superslim, Venom Hyperdrive 3.0, 2 Day Diet, 5x Imelda Perfect Slimming, 8 Factor Diet, Extrim Plus, Lida DaiDaihua, Perfect Slim 5x, Royal Slimming Formula, Slimtech, TripleSlim, 3x Slimming Power, 3 Day Diet, 7 Diet Day/Night Formula, GMP, Miaozi Slim Capsules, Phyto Shape, Slim 3 in 1, Somotrim, and Zhen de Shou.

"These tainted weight loss products pose a great risk to public health because they contain undeclared ingredients and, in some cases, contain prescription drugs in amounts that greatly exceed their maximum recommended dosages," Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a news release. "Consumers have no way of knowing that these products contain powerful drugs that could cause serious health consequences. Therefore, FDA is taking this action to protect the health of the American public."

The FDA said an analysis found that the undeclared ingredients in some of these products include sibutramine (a controlled substance), rimonabant (a drug not approved for marketing in the United States), phenytoin (an anti-seizure medication), and phenolphthalein (a solution used in chemical experiments and a suspected cancer-causing agent). Some of the amounts of active ingredients greatly exceed FDA-recommended levels, putting consumers' health at risk, the agency said.

I'm pretty up on supplement information and I've never heard of a single one of these products, so I doubt that this is a major public health concern. However, it's good that FDA is watching for such things before they do become major problems; and if you happen to be using any of these, it's probably a good idea to stop.

To be honest, I hesitated to post this information because it probably affects so few people and because some here are virtually certain to use it as an excuse to say that all supplements are going to kill you and every supplement maker is rolling in brazilions of dollars taken from unsuspecting gullible dupes.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Glad you posted

It is wise to realize that there are some products out there that can do serious harm. On the other hand, there are supplements you can use that can really help you avoid health risks or help mitigate health conditions. I would strongly suggest that folks check with a physician who understands the role supplements can play in a healthy lifestyle before starting to use them.