Diet Pills to Avoid

Some dieters look to supplement their efforts with diet pills that promise to boost weight loss. However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has linked several ingredients found in diet pills to harmful side effects in the body; a March 2009 FDA report that found 72 different brands of diet pills contained a potentially harmful ingredient.

Check for the Country of Origin

• According to the FDA statement, many of the harmful diet pills came from countries outside the United States.Check for the source of a diet pill prior to purchase. For example, diet pills from China may contain unlisted pharmaceutical substances. Even if it makes claims to United States distribution, any label that contains Chinese characters likely indicates a product not manufactured in the United States.

  The report also found that several Brazilian supplements, included an ingredient called fenproporex, a stimulant that acts as an amphetamine. The FDA has not approved fenproporex for use.

Other Ingredients to Avoid

• Always read a diet pill's label before purchasing, and avoid purchasing a pill containing ephedra, which the FDA has banned due to its link to heart attacks and strokes, and bitter orange or orange peel, which shares similar side effects to ephedra. The FDA has also placed alerts on diet pills containing aristocholic acid, colloidal silver, comfrey, kava, liqiang 4, PC SPES and SPES, red yeast rice, St. John's Wort and Indinavir.

  For a full explanation of the dangers associated with each ingredient, visit the FDA's website listed below in the Resources section.

Avoid Potential Drug Interactions

• Speak with your physician about any risks associated with taking a certain pill---especially if you are taking other medications, including over-the-counter medications. Because diet pills can act as a stimulant, do not take them with products containing pseudoepinephrine, such as many nasal decongestants. Taking these medications in combination can cause serious side effects to the central nervous system, including increased anxiety symptoms.

  If you regularly take prescriptions medications, ask your physician whether the diet pill you are considering taking could negatively interact with medications you currently take.