{"id":10108,"date":"2024-03-19T19:09:16","date_gmt":"2024-03-19T12:09:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=10108"},"modified":"2024-03-19T19:09:16","modified_gmt":"2024-03-19T12:09:16","slug":"the-safety-of-weight-loss-supplements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=10108","title":{"rendered":"The Safety of Weight-Loss Supplements\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Only 2 out of 12 supplement companies were found to have weight-loss products that were even accurately labeled.<\/p>\n<p>According to a national survey, one-third of adults who have <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/18239570\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">made<\/a> serious attempts at weight loss have tried using dietary supplements, for which Americans <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/28377850\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">spend<\/a> billions of dollars every year. Most people mistakenly <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/18239570\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">thought<\/a> that over-the-counter appetite suppressants, herbal products, and weight-loss supplements had to be approved for safety by a governmental agency, like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), before being sold to the public or at least include some kind of warning on the label about potential side effects. Nearly half even thought they had to demonstrate some sort of effectiveness. None of that is true.<\/p>\n<p>As I discuss in my video <a href=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/video\/friday-favorites-are-weight-loss-supplements-safe-and-effective\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Friday Favorites: Are Weight Loss Supplements Safe and Effective?<\/strong><\/a>, the \u201cFDA has <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/27072845\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">estimated<\/a> that dietary supplements cause 50,000 adverse events annually,\u201d most commonly liver and kidney damage. Of course, prescription drugs don\u2019t just<a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/10904513\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> have<\/a> adverse effects; they kill more than 100,000 Americans every year. But, you at least notionally have the opportunity to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fda.gov\/media\/82381\/download\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">parse<\/a> out the risks versus benefits of prescription drugs, thanks to testing and monitoring requirements typically involving thousands of individuals.<\/p>\n<p>When the manufacturer of Metabolife 356, a supplement containing ephedrine, had it <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/11319627\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tested<\/a> on 35 people, only minor side effects were found, such as dry mouth, headache, and insomnia. However, once <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/assets\/gao-03-1042t.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">unleashed<\/a> on a broad population, nearly 15,000 adverse effects were reported, including heart attacks, strokes, seizures, and deaths, before it was pulled from the market.<\/p>\n<p>Given the lack of government oversight, there is no guarantee that what\u2019s on the label <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/24120035\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">is<\/a> even in the bottle, as you can see in the graph below and at 1:55 in my <a href=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/video\/friday-favorites-are-weight-loss-supplements-safe-and-effective\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>video<\/strong><\/a>. FDA inspectors have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.naturalproductsinsider.com\/regulatory\/fda-gmp-inspectors-cite-70-dietary-supplement-firms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">found<\/a> that 70 percent of supplement manufacturers violated so-called Good Manufacturing Practices, which are considered the minimum quality standards. This includes things like basic sanitation and ingredient identification. Not 7 percent in violation, but 70 percent.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-103000\" src=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/03\/1-37.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/03\/1-37.png 1920w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/03\/1-37-960x540.png 960w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/03\/1-37-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/03\/1-37-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/03\/1-37-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/03\/1-37-480x270.png 480w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/03\/1-37-1200x675.png 1200w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/03\/1-37-720x405.png 720w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/03\/1-37-540x304.png 540w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>DNA testing of herbal supplements across North America <a href=\"https:\/\/www.naturalproductsinsider.com\/regulatory\/fda-gmp-inspectors-cite-70-dietary-supplement-firms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">found<\/a> that most could not be authenticated. In a significant percentage of the supplements tested, the main labeled ingredient was missing completely and substituted with something else. For example, a so-called St. John\u2019s wort supplement contained nothing but senna, a laxative that can <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/29429768\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cause<\/a> anal blistering. Only 2 out of 12 supplement companies <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/24120035\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">had<\/a> products that were accurately labeled.<\/p>\n<p>This problem isn\u2019t limited to fly-by-night phonies in some dark corner of the internet either. The New York State Attorney General <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.nytimes.com\/well.blogs.nytimes.com\/2015\/02\/03\/new-york-attorney-general-targets-supplements-at-major-retailers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">commissioned<\/a> DNA testing of 78 bottles of commercial herbal supplements sold by Walgreens, Walmart, Target, and GNC \u201cand found that four out of five\u2026did not contain any of the herbs on their labels.\u201d Instead, the capsules \u201coften contained little more than cheap fillers like powdered rice, asparagus and houseplants\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What about weight-loss medications? See <a href=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/video\/are-weight-loss-pills-safe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Are Weight Loss Pills Safe?<\/strong><\/a> and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/video\/are-weight-loss-pills-effective\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Are Weight Loss Pills Effective?<\/a><\/strong>. Also, see related posts below.<\/p>\n<p>Take a deep dive into the best way to lose weight with my book <a href=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/video\/are-weight-loss-pills-effective\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>How Not to Diet<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"et_social_bottom_trigger\"\/>  <\/div>\n<p><script>\n            !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n            {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n                n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n            if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n            n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n            t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n            s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\n                'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n            fbq('init', '1582627921973608');\n            fbq('track', 'PageView');\n        <\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1675549\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Only 2 out of 12 supplement companies were found to have weight-loss products that were even accurately labeled. According to a national survey, one-third of adults who have made serious attempts at weight loss have tried using dietary supplements, for which Americans spend billions of dollars every year. Most people mistakenly thought that over-the-counter appetite &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10109,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10108\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}