Dangers of weight loss drugs

There are numerous weight loss drugs being advertised that promise miraculous weight loss. But what you aren't told about are the health dangers of these miracle drugs...

Flip on the television or thumb through any women’s magazine. You see all these beautiful people trying to tell you they used to be fat just like you.

They tell you to just buy their weight loss drugs and you too can be thin and beautiful. What they don’t tell you is the many dangers of taking these drugs, and how they could hurt rather than help you.

No supplement is a substitute for good diet and exercise

Sure, we all want to look like the models on television, and some of us do have trouble losing those extra few kilos. There is no supplement, pill, or drink that can act as a substitute for good diet and exercise.

Eating healthily is the most important part of losing weight and you can’t be healthy without exercise.

Many people who take weight loss drugs think that just because they are losing weight they can skip the healthy lifestyle changes. In reality, these people are destroying their bodies and making themselves sick.

Herbal supplements can be dangerous too

Many women think that because weight loss supplements have been labelled as herbal that they are safe. This is not true at all. Herbs can have as many devastating health effects and interactions as any over the counter medication.

You should always consult your doctor before starting any kind of herbal regimen, especially if you are taking any other medications.

The dangers of taking laxatives

Some people take laxatives as weight loss drugs. Truthfully, this is dangerous and will not cause you to lose significant amounts of weight.

All laxatives do is clean out your colon, removing waste that would have been removed naturally anyway. Laxative abuse can cause many major digestive problems, and lower your fertility rates. It’s just not worth it.

Fast track routes to drastic weight loss are harmful

Weight loss drugs that promise unbelievable results in just a few days or less are also dangerous. Many of these drugs will cause you to lose the weight in an unhealthy manner, either by starving yourself, or by putting dangerous chemicals into your body that could have effects that you never thought of.

Some chemicals used to make these drugs in the past have been known to cause things like cancer and heart problems.

Many diet pills contain stimulants

Taken in high doses, these can cause heart and respiratory problems, some of which may result in death. Other weight loss drugs are addictive. The ephedra craze showed us examples of this.

People took these drugs and paid with their lives or gained a drug addiction before the drug was pulled as a weight loss agent. You can still buy ephedra in some states, which addicts consider good news but the truth is this drug has ruined more than one life and ended others.

Always consult your doctor before starting a diet programme

When starting any diet regimen, you should always consult your doctor, as he or she will know what is okay for you to take and what is not. Stay away from new products and herbal supplements because many of these are potentially dangerous.

Because of the dangers of weight loss drugs, you should always try any other method first before trying these risky alternatives.

Author info: Sasha Wyatt-Minter

Sasha is one of the editors of www.all4women.co.za and is also a 30-something, work-from-home married mom with a passion for writing, reading, good food and wine. She's obsessed with healthy eating and experimenting with alternative health therapies. Her best reward at the end of a busy day - a good book, a massage and some dark chocolate!