If you are looking at dietary herb supplements as part of your weight loss routine, proceed with caution. A dietary herb supplement is generally a herb available in a pill or liquid form, and taken daily as part of an overall health regimen. Herb supplements can either be internal or external compounds. Herb supplements are derived from herbal practices handed down from generation to generation, some are even centuries old.
There are hundreds of dietary herb supplements available in health food stores or regular pharmacies and grocery stores, and they all making various promises about improving certain aspects of your health.
Keep in mind a few precautions when considering use of dietary herb supplements. Herbs and supplements are not regulated by the FDA. This means that the claims specified on the bottle may not be proven or even tested. In some cases, products may not even contain the actual amount of active ingredient that is listed on the label and they may even contain ingredients not on the label.
Look for the USP symbol on a dietary herb supplement label. This indicates that the product has met standards for disintegration, dissolution, purity, strength, packaging, labeling, and weight variation. Consumerlab.com is a useful resource that provides independent evaluations of dietary supplements and other health/wellness products. The company does require a yearly subscription to view all the reports on it’s website.
Some examples of hyped up weight loss dietary herb supplements include bitter orange and hoodia.
Bitter Orange contains synephrine, a chemical that can cause increased risk of high blood pressure and heart arrhythmia, migraines and fainting. In addition, bitter orange may also negatively interact with a number of prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications.
Hoodia is a South African succulent traditionally used as an appetite suppressant. However, only one chemical compound in hoodia has shown any potential for weight loss – a glycoside researchers have named P57 and this can cause complications for those with diabetes, heart disease or high blood pressure, and a bleeding or blood clotting disorder,
Moral of the story is be careful and do thorough research on any supplements you are considering, While dietary herb supplements can be beneficial and in some cases assist with weight loss, they are no substitutes for a healthy diet and exercise If you are very serious about losing weight and want information on a healthy, long term and effective solution please see this
