More and more people are finding themselves overweight. Most of these people wish they could find some way to lose their extra weight. To fill the growing demand, many health food stores now carry a wide range of herbal weight loss supplements.
The most well known weight loss supplements are stimulants such as ephedra, St. John's Wort, guarana and senna. These herbal weight loss supplements speed up the body's metabolism so that it burns more calories. However, most of these supplements are effective for short-term use only.
Ephedra's negative side effects
Ephedra has gained recent notoriety for its negative side effects. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned against its use and banned some drugs that have it.
Ephedra used to be one of the most popular herbal weight loss supplements. Ephedra is a key ingredient in ephedrine, an amphetamine-like stimulant. Ephedra is known by allergy sufferers as the premier decongestant in the form of pseudoephedrine.
Ephedra's value among the herbal weight loss supplements is that it can both suppress appetite and speed up metabolism. In the process of taking it, ephedra can cause high blood pressure, irregular heartbeats, insomnia, tremors, seizures, heart attack and stroke. The FDA has logged more than 1,000 chronic reactions and 38 deaths associated with the use of ephedra in the last five years.
Doctor consultation highly recommended
This has led the FDA to recommend that consumers consult with a physician before taking any herbal weight loss supplements. This is particularly true if you are considering an herbal weight loss supplement containing ephedra.
It is not surprising then to note that herbal weight loss supplements are not generally recommended among those in the medical community. Like ephedra, other herbal weight loss supplements that qualify as stimulants also draw a wary eye from the medical community because of many recorded side effects. Once again, the bottom line is to consult with your doctor before beginning any herbal weight loss supplements.
By Paul Ghossain
You can find more information on Weight loss supplements as well as other nutritional related topics at http://www.vitaminsect.com/nutritional-diet-vitamin-supplements.html
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