Pros & Cons of Diet Pills

There is no magic pill that can shrink a waistline, but there are drugs that help with your efforts to slim down. Diet pills generally fall into two categories: appetite suppressants and fat blockers. Both work, but both come with their own set of pros and cons.

Appetite Suppressants

• Appetite suppressants stimulate the central nervous system to make a person feel less hungry. Early versions were variants of amphetamine, a drug known on the street as "speed." The concept is sound: consume fewer calories than you burn and you lose weight. But, as with any drug, there are the side effects to consider. Speed can cause heart palpitations, lowered libido, insomnia, diarrhea and even psychotic episodes. Also, the drug loses its appetite depressing ability over time.

  Today's appetite suppression pills are based mainly on phentermine, which stimulates the brain's hypothalamus. This gland controls certain neurotransmitters associated with not only appetite, but also with the body's sleep cycle. Besides sleeplessness, its side effects are considered less severe. Its appetite depression ability fades with time, though. Appetite suppressant pills can disrupt your metabolism and slow it down almost completely. This can lead to regaining the pounds lost early in the diet and make it harder to shed them than before.

Fat Absorbing Pills

• Other diet pills work by preventing the body from absorbing some of the fat in the food that has been eaten. Orlistat, sold under the brand name Xenical, is a prescription diet pill that prevents fat absorption in the body. This allows the dieter to consume more fat calories without absorbing the calories. Alli is a non-prescription drug that performs the same task at a lower dose. Using this drug produces oily feces (because of the fat that wasn't absorbed), and spontaneous defecation is a possibility.

Researching Diet Pills

• The best advice you can receive will come from your doctor. She can tell you which pills have the potential to be habit-forming, both emotionally and physically. She can also inform you of the other side effects associated with diet pills, some of which include stroke, increased heart rate and high blood pressure. Consult with your doctor before taking any diet pills, and regularly meet with her while you are progressing through your diet, especially if any adverse reactions are noticed..