Many of
these products, in addition to being ineffective, unsafe because they carry
serious health risks
With the
arrival of good weather, we are reminded of diets abandoned half-year and the
products that advertise the loss of weight, fat and/or volume. Supplements or
food supplements market whose advertising slogan is the contribution to weight
loss is a lucrative business: in Spain, it is estimated that only in
"miracle products" to lose weight approximately 2,050 million euros
are spent each year. However, experts insist that their consumption could have
detrimental effects on health.
The warning
is clear: more than 70 products to lose weight containing pharmacological
ingredients not declared and marketed in the United States could pose serious
health risks, according to the Food and Drug Administration (food and Drug
Administration FDA) of the Department of health and human services of the
Government of the United States. The alert began last December when the FDA
warned American consumers of the presence in the market of 28 products
advertised for weight loss that contain active drug ingredients and which were
not declared on the label.
The denunciation of the FDA
At the
beginning of this year, 41 fraudulent products had identified more and, now,
the list now exceeds 70. These products, which are marketed as supplements or
food or dietary supplements regularly and often accompanied by the words
"natural" or "herbal", can be achieved very easily over the
Internet, as well as in shops and businesses.
The danger
comes, according to the FDA analysis, the content of potentially harmful
ingredients that are not declared on the labelling or advertising. Almost all
of the analyzed products found (sibutramine, an anorectic drug (decreases the
appetite) used in the treatment of obesity and that, in some supplements,
exceeded more than three times the recommended dose.) This excess is a risk of
increase in blood pressure, tachycardia, palpitations and convulsions.
The
following compound with increased presence was phenolphthalein, used chemical
makes years as a laxative but that the FDA banned in 1999 for being potentially
carcinogenic in humans. Its use is also prohibited for years in other countries
such as France, Germany, Italy and Japan, while in Spain it is still used as a
laxative.
Some
supplements showed to contain traces of phenytoin, anticonvulsant medication
that could cause problems for consumers allergic to or hypersensitive to
buprenorphine. One of the products contained Rimonaband, a drug for the
treatment of obesity not approved in the United States and withdrawn from the
European market in October 2008 by serious psychiatric side effects.
Another
supplement found Bumetanide, a diuretic drug with serious potential risks
associated with its use. Cetilistat was also found in one of the products, drug
pilot - is still in study - for the treatment of obesity and that are
associated with many adverse affects of gastrointestinal, cutaneous and renal
type, as well as interactions with other drugs.
Other
compounds found in some supplements were Fenproporex, a stimulant derived from
amphetamine which is not approved in the U.S.; Fluoxetine, active drug
ingredient of the antidepressant drug Prozac; and Furosemide, principle asset
of a powerful diuretic which can only be achieved by prescription and used for
the treatment of hypertension, edema, and heart failure.
The active ingredients, to study
Products
and their active ingredients analyzed have shown that they do not meet the
criteria to be safe and effective at the same time
The
controversy with supplements marketed for weight loss goes beyond the crime of
tampering with drugs and toxic substances detected by the FDA. And it is that
these products contain various substances that, as you advertise, contribute to
weight loss, decreased fat mass or acceleration of metabolism, among others.
Several
studies, among which stand out those of the Department of alternative medicine
of the universities of Exeter and Plymouth (United Kingdom) and the of the
University of Harvard (USA), evaluated the efficacy and safety of which studies
have been conducted, and supplements that contain any of the following
components: chitosan, chromium picolinate, "Ephedra sinica",
"Garcinia cambodia" , pyruvate, mate, conjugated linoleic acid,
ginseng, green tea, L-carnitine, "Psyllium", root of Saint John,
yohimba, glucomannan and guar gum, hydroxy-methylbutyrate and "Plantago
psyllium".
The
conclusion reached was that none of the supplements with the aforementioned
ingredients had effectiveness or safety in weight loss. For example,
supplements that contain "Ephedra sinica", ephedrine, which Yes
showed some effectiveness, are associated with a high risk of adverse effects
such as psychiatric, cardiovascular or gastrointestinal symptoms.
Recent is
also analysis of the products to help lose weight most traded in pharmacies
that made public last summer CONSUMER EROSKI. The 12 most marketed products as
well as 14 dietary supplements that based on its supposed effectiveness these
products, only one, glucomannan, may show some scientific evidence, by its
effect of satiety and reducing appetite.
Scientific evidence and recommendations
According
to researchers at the University of Harvard (USA), it is necessary to be able
to recommend a supplement that has a great scientific evidence about the
quality of product safety (not having adverse effects) and their effectiveness.
The review, study group and positioning of the Association Spanish of
Dietitians-nutritionists (GREP-AEDN), in its document's stance on "food
for weight loss supplements", declares that there are reviews of the
scientific literature's prestigious reputation they have examined the efficacy
and safety of these products and their active ingredients, and have shown that
do not meet the criterion of being safe and effective at the same time.
ILLEGAL PRODUCTS
It should
be noted that products cited in the American investigation have never been
approved by the FDA and, therefore, they are considered illegal in the U.S.
Measures of confiscation, issuance of injunctions and criminal charges, have
been initiated as it is considered a crime of public health because of the
serious risk that may involve the consumption of these products for a large
number of potential users, due to the ease of acquisition of many of them.
For those
who have already consumed them, the FDA recommendation is who come to health
professionals. In any case, the organization also warns that it is always
advisable to let yourself be advised by health professions recognized and
qualified when you decide to consume any kind of product to treat a disease, as
in this case, obesity.
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