Saturday, February 28, 2009

The Dangers Of Using Weight Loss Pills

By Kurt Naulaerts

Being overweight is no laughing matter because it affects your health plus your self esteem and the longer you stay overweight the more damage is done to your body. Enormous strain is placed on the heart and circulatory system in addition to the other problems cause by the amount of fat and sugar in diets today which usually result in type 2 diabetes.

While weight loss pills at first seem the ideal way to lose weight easily, there are some hidden dangers that need discussing. One of the constituents of some diet pills is amphetamines which can pose a danger if there are already health issues to consider.

Some of the more serious side effects can be fatal as the diet pills increase the blood pressure and may cause heart beat irregularity and it is not uncommon for the person to become moody and irritable as well. These pills are also designed to have a diuretic effect making the user go to the lavatory more frequently and combined with a laxative means that a person taking these could become extremely dehydrated and even end up with a dangerously reduced electrolyte level.

The human electrolyte level is made up of certain chemicals like sodium, potassium, calcium, glucose and chloride which are all needed to maintain a healthy body but when they are lost through the laxative effect of the diet pills it can lead to heart problems among others. Like any type of drug, weight loss pills are addictive and this means like any drug, over time, increased doses will be required to achieve the same effect that a smaller dose did in the beginning, eventually leading to a dependency where a person cannot live without them.

So as you can see, taking weight loss pills is not always the best solution to your weight problem and the best way to lose weight is to follow a diet program but not just any program, but one that will give you the option to choose a variety of healthy foods. It is far better to re-teach someone how to eat healthily and to adjust their eating habits to have smaller more regular meals to increase their metabolic rate and burn off excess calories. - 15995

About the Author: