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Does Hydroxycut Affect Birth Control?

In today’s culture, many companies attempt to scam consumers with promises of quick weight loss through diet pills. Sometimes it is hard to weed through all the misinformation and purchase a product that actually works. However, Hydroxycut is the best-selling diet pill in the world, based on user sales, according to an article in the "World Journal of Gastroenterology." Hydroxycut has also changed its formula to be safer and more effective. There is limited research regarding Hydroxycut interfering with birth control pills.

  1. Hydroxycut and birth control

    • No official scientific studies have been taken to show any effect that Hydroxycut may have on birth control pills.

      Nigel Simmons, an expert in pharmaceuticals on the website Allexperts.com, said he does not believe that problems would occur but because Hydroxycut is an over-the-counter pill, the side effects are always uncertain and any stomach issues that may take place could cause birth control pills to be less effective. He proceeds to recommend caution when taking diet pills; its best to change one's diet and exercise program first before resorting to diet pills. He also recommends that people see a doctor before mixing diet pills such as Hydroxycut with any other medicine, including birth control.

    Stimulating the liver enzyme

    • According to Frederick R. Jelovsek, MD, at Women's Health Resource, any pills that stimulate the liver enzyme are known to lessen the effect of birth control pills. Dr. Jelovsek said there are some reports of women becoming pregnant while on diet and birth control pills, although there are no conclusive studies to confirm these scattered reports and their accuracy. Dr. Jelovsek believes that diet pills should not affect birth control, but he is not certain.

    Birth control and obesity

    • Some women may be faced with making a tough choice as to whether they want to attempt to take Hydroxycut to lose weight and still stay on birth control. A 2004 article in the BBC stated that obese women were 60 percent more likely to get pregnant on the pill than women who have a body mass index (BMI) of less than 30. The study was conducted by the Fred Huchinson Cancer Center. BMI is calculated by dividing your weight in pounds by the square of your height in inches.

    Amounts and variations of ingredients in diet pills

    • The biggest unknown when taking Hydroxycut and other diet pills is the large number of ingredients and the unknown amount of each ingredient in the pills. According to Hydroxycut's website, some ingredients contained in the product are caffeine, willow bark (which acts like an aspirin), green tea extract and several amino acids. Also, because the Hydroxycut powder is mixed in large vats and placed into capsules, the amount of each ingredient in the individual pills is not known.

    Hydroxycut side effects

    • According to its website, Hydroxycut can cause side effects such as headaches, dizziness, vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, problems with the liver and, in some cases, death. No scientific publications have produced studies showing that Hydroxycut works as a weight-loss supplement. Only Hydroxycut has two eight-week studies showing that rapid weight loss can be achieved better by taking the pills than without them.

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