Whether your diet pill is herbal or medical, the bottom line is that you still need to take it under the advice of your doctor, and he should monitor you while you are on it.  There are two reasons for this:

First, all diet pills have side effects, even herbal diet pills.  You may need to know from your doctor what you have to look out for while taking the pill.

Second, we all have different body types with different ailments, and we may all be taking different prescription or non prescription medications on a regular or semi-regular basis.  If your doctor is familiar with your medical history, he will take this into consideration when advising you about the dangers of your diet pill of choice.  For example, you may have diabetes, thyroid, respiratory and/or heart problems, and these may be aggravated by the side effects and dangers of some diet pills.  There have been incidents of stroke and death aggravated by diet pills.

Furthermore, if you are on a regular medication, or take a certain medication on a semi regular basis, the doctor will consider how it interacts with your diet pill before giving you the go signal on it.  So the first rule of the day in avoiding the dangers that come with all diet pills is that you must take it under the supervision of your doctor.

A List of Dangers

1. That being said, here are some dangers of diet pills that you may want to keep in mind when taking such medication, whether herbal or otherwise.Just because it is herbal, does not automatically mean that it is safe.  Before there was medicine, there were herbs.  These herbs function just like medicines do, and they also have their side effects.  The fact that they are not chemical gives it more appeal, but that does not go with a 100% patent for safety.  They still need to be measured by a physician against your current medical condition, and its interactions with other medications that you may be taking, among other things.
2. Depending on the diet pill, you can get some of the following side effects:  Drug dependence, anxiety, dizziness, blurred vision, problems with the heart, problems with blood pressure, dry mouth, digestion problems, insomnia, chest pain, or even a stroke.
3. You could be robbed.  If you take a diet pill frivolously without doing your research first, and without consulting your physician, you could wind up robbed.  You could be robbed of your money, your time, your health—and in some instances, your life.

Know What You Want

If you want to consider taking a diet pill and at the same time minimize its dangers, a doctor’s supervision would be best.  But before you see your doctor, ask yourself what exactly you want to lose weight for.  It is not wrong to want to slim down so you can look better.  It is healthier too, if your BMI is obese.

Once you know what you are after, do your research.  Consult the net, and take down a list of diet pills that you think might be helpful to you.  If you think it is a good idea, you can even email the information to your physician before you see him.  Then during your office visit, he can give you the run down on your list and make a choice, or he may even recommend something that would be better, that you had not listed down.

Take responsibility for your choices, and you are on the road to having a carefully thought out, well planned, and safe diet pill for you.

Alli diet pills have an appeal all its own.  First, it is over the counter, so you need not get a prescription for it.  Second, it is FDA approved, which makes it relatively safe.  Third, it is a scaled down version of orlistat, a highly reputable prescription diet pill that has been endorsed by doctors and is supported by GlaxoSmithkline, a leading player in the pharmaceutical industry, so you know it is safer than many other options.

If you have already taken orlistat as a prescription diet pill, you may like Alli even more.  Especially if you experienced some of orlistat’s unpleasant side effects.  The oily bowels may be tolerable.  The excessive bathroom engagements could be embarrassing if you are in the office.  The uncontrollable bowel movements and/or leakage could downrightly spell the end of your romance with orlistat, otherwise known as Xenical.  And for these reasons, considering that Alli is a scaled down version, and you were already previously prescribed the stronger version, you could view Alli as your ideal alternative.

Alli Side Effects

If you think you can deal with the oily stools, and have mastered an effective way to distance yourself from a group of people temporarily if you feel flatulence is on its way, then Alli could be just fine for you.  A third side effect of Alli that is mentioned is vitamin deficiency.  But many people take a multivitamin daily anyway, so how hard can that be?

You would not be able to expect miracles from Alli, but you can look forward to changes in your weight, all in a good way.  You should also expect that it would not be viewed as a shortcut to weight loss so much as a means to enhance a healthy lifestyle.  Yes, you would still need to engage in a healthier, fat free diet and exercise regimen.  Alli is not the silver pill.

Tell Your Doctor

If this is going to be your first time to take a weight loss supplement, it would still be imperative that you tell your doctor what you are doing.  In fact, your doctor should know, even if it is over the counter, even if it were going to be your 77^th try at a weight loss supplement.

This is because despite the general safety of Alli what with its reputable endorsements et al, you are still you, a unique individual with your own biochemistry, your own medical history, your own allergies, if any, your own set of regular medications and/or supplements, or perhaps none at all.  You may be very old, or very young.  You may be diabetic or you may have problems with some hormones.

All these are factors that your doctor will want to consider when he determines whether or not Alli is right for you.  Chances are, you are anorexic and in such case, it would just be plain wrong.  Aside from that, you would still have need to see your doctor, anyway.

When you mention the phrase “Hoodia diet pills”, a part of me wonders if life was ever meant to be so simple.  For example, why is it that with all the options in the market for losing weight, getting rid of just 5 pounds can be so hard?  On top of that, why is it even harder keeping those 5 lost pounds at bay?

It would all be so much easier if we could have Hoodia diet pills.  Because Hoodia, a succulent plant that thrives in arid regions, has so much potential.  Now here is where it gets complicated.  You can go online and see so many Hoodia diet pills, and you know there is a voice at the back of your head crooning “they are not real, they are not real”, especially if you have been doing your research.

Because then you would know two things.  First, that they are so desirable because TV shows like 60 Minutes, Today, Oprah Winfrey and BBC News have talked about it.  Lesley Stahl went to the Kalahari desert in South Africa, the only place in the entire world where the Hoodia gordonii plants exist.  She ate a piece of it, and stated—on camera—that she did not feel hungry the entire day.  A British reporter from BBC News was more descriptive.  He said he did not even think about food at all.  He had no dinner, and woke up the following morning, still not hungry.

Now comes the hard part.  The Hoodia gordonii is an endangered plant.  Phytopharm, a British company, has gained ownership of most of the Hoodia gordonii in the Kalahari desert.  They partnered with Pfizer to try to make a pill version as a weight loss supplement, but that could not be done.  Why?  Because they discovered the weight loss element in it, molecule P57 is very hard to isolate.  They tried a second option, to synthesize its qualities, but that could not be done either.  So no diet pill.  Nada.

After that, Unilever came in, with hopes this time of coming up with a tasteful Hoodia gordonii drink, not unlike one of its other products, Slimfast.  Here’s the short version:  Nada.  They pulled out, and Phytopharm still has the global license to market Hoodia as a weight loss supplement.

So thus far, it would seem to me that the only people who are benefiting from Hoodia are the South African bushmen, who are probably thin anyway because they hunt, but who always bring Hoodia gordonii with them on long hunting trips so they will feel neither thirsty nor hungry.  One could say that mother nature is kind to the bushmen.  Others would say she is vicious to industrial environment living, weight challenged individuals in the rest of the world.

Hoodia Plantations

Phytopharm is currently endeavoring to grow Hoodia gordonii in plantations, since the species as earlier said, is endangered.  Whether or not plantation grown Hoodia will still have molecule P57 in full force remains to be seen.  A plantation environment does not equally mimic the wild desert.  The outcome may be altered because of this.  And since it takes Hoodia 5 years to grow, it will take some time before we know if losing 5 pounds–and keeping it at bay–is going to be any easier, sooner.

The story of Ephedra Diet Pills is a classic case of “Something that works, but don’t use it.”

Origins

Ephedra is a Chinese herb that has been used for over 5,000 years to treat asthma, hay fever, bronchitis, colds, joint symptoms, and pain.  Usually, it is mixed with many other herbs when in use.  However, when it reached the United States, it was more an item of interest for other reasons.  Athletes were interested in it as a drug that would improve performance.  Others were intrigued by its effectiveness as a weight loss supplement, since ephedra diet pills were found to be particularly successful in reducing weight because they worked in two ways.  First, they have the effect of suppressing one’s appetite, and secondly, they could speed up fat burning.

FDA Ban

Many ephedra diet pills therefore flooded the market, with a combination of other nutrients and minerals, but the main selling ingredient was ephedra.  What followed was a variety of side effects.  Some were as basic as nausea, headaches, and some skin reactions.  Others were extreme including anxiety, psychosis, kidney stones, seizures, heart damage, high blood pressure, and death.  As a result, the FDA banned all ephedra-containing diet supplements, noting that as of now, the safety level of ephedra is not known, as a diet pill.

Despite the FDA ban, however, many people are still able to get ephedra diet pills online.  Much of the time, these come from overseas, where the ban does not exist.  Oftentimes, the ephedra within these diet pills come from the leaves of the plant, which are not the source of its weight loss effect.

Biologically Speaking

Ephedra works as a stimulant to the brain.  In so doing, compounds that are in ephedra work to increase the heart rate and blood pressure, and permit easier breathing.  This is why for thousands of years the Chinese have successfully used it to help the lungs.

The question arises:  If the Chinese have used ephedra successfully for 5,000 years, why did it go wrong in the United States?  Perhaps one possibility is that because it was being used for a different purpose, the dosage of ephedra was large enough to be effective, but too large for many to tolerate.  A case, we dare say, of misuse and abuse?

This then is a cautionary tale.  It works, but don’t use it.  Anything is good or bad when used correctly or incorrectly.  On the darker side, ephedra has been considered to be the forerunner of methamphetamine, a highly dangerous illicit drug, the effect of which has been described as “melting the brain”.

When it’s Ephedra – Don’t

These days, the wise way would be, if you are looking for diet pills that are relatively safe and work well, and you discover that they contain ephedra-don’t.  There are many other options available in the market, and in the endgame, your best bet is to do your research, and then consult your doctor.  Because it did not take a wise man to say, better safe than sorry.

Here is the good thing about prescription diet pills:  Because they are prescribed and monitored by your doctor, you have got the largest area of safety covered.

Here’s the bad news:  If you think prescription diet pills will help you get that whistlebait figure, think twice–doctors usually only recommend these pills for medical reasons.  For example, people who are 30 percent over their required weight, or who have a BMI (body mass index) of 30 or more (the normal BMI is 25) would be more likely to get a prescription for diet pills.  Other reasons to get a prescription for diet bills may be to address high blood pressure, or diabetes.

Thin is no Longer It

One good thing going for everyone is that full bodied people are now being given a fairer shake.  More and more, people are beginning to accept the fact that weight loss for health is better than the idea of losing weight just for beauty.  And being full bodied and fit can be beautiful too.  So fewer people are beginning to consider prescription diet pills as their only means to lose weight but appreciate the importance of a healthy lifestyle as well, to complement their prescription diet pills.

What Prescription Diet Pills Do

Depending on your prescription diet pill, it can do one of two things:

1. Suppress your appetite.  Some diet pills like Meridia work on the brain by increasing serotonin and catecholamine which work on the brain’s mood and appetite.  Most doctors prefer to prescribe Meridia among all appetite suppressants because it is safer and can be used for up to two years.  On the downside, Meridia will not be prescribed for people with high blood pressure or heart problems, and definitely not for those who have had a stroke.
2. Absorb your extra fat.  Xenical, also known as orlistat, is a favorite prescription diet medication in this category, also because it is generally considered to be safer than others, and can be used for up to two years.  Xenical will absorb 30% of fat in one’s food intake and pass it out the bowels.  Side effects however can include stomach pains, oily bowels, and sometimes poor control of bowel movements, among others.

No Magic Pill

True, prescription diet pills are safer and therefore most advisable for people interested in gaining more control of one’s weight.  But bear in mind, so far no magic pill has been developed that can do everything you may want in terms of what you would like your weight to be.  It might be wiser for you to make an adjustment on your own expectations.

Also keep the long term in mind.  Only two prescription diet pills – those mentioned above – are considered adequate for two years use.  Others are more short term.  Average expected pounds lost may be about 5 pounds monthly more or less, and once the prescription diet pill is off, the weight will sometimes come back again.

In so doing, you may also want to consider helping your non magic prescription diet pill do its best work for you—get you healthier—by adding the usual suggestions such as a healthier lifestyle and regular exercise.  If you stick to that, you may end up with the whistlebait figure of your dreams, anyway.