Diet Pills and the Effect on Weight Loss Results

It is not uncommon to find that the positive effects promised by retailers and manufacturers of diet pills are not backed-up by valid scientific tests, and this is especially true in the herbal diet pills / nutritional supplement market. Of the large number of diet pills available on the market, few actually contain ingredients that have been shown to improve weight loss results. The Weight Loss Institute has researched different diet pills - both herbal nutritional supplements and prescription diet pills - to determine which diet pills we believe can assist patients in reaching their weight loss goals, together with a sensible diet. Of all the diet pills that we have investigated only a few are recommended, although a larger selection has been awarded with ratings in our diet pills comparison chart. The Weight Loss Institute offer a small selection of diet pills for sale, and only those that we believe are safe and can be of assistance when trying to lose weight.

Popular weight loss pills

The effectiveness of diet pills has been intensively studied by many international organisations and research institutes. Unfortunately this research is often not published in a suitable way for the customer to be able to compare the different diet pills, nutritional supplements and weight loss products available on the market.

Herbal or dietary supplement	The claims	What you need to know
Bitter orange	Decreases appetite	Touted as an "ephedra substitute" but may cause health problems similar to those of ephedra Long-term effects unknown
Chitosan	Blocks the absorption of dietary fat	Relatively safe, but unlikely to cause weight loss Can cause constipation, bloating and other gastrointestinal complaints Long-term effects unknown
Chromium	Reduces body fat and builds muscle	Relatively safe, but unlikely to cause weight loss Long-term effects unknown
Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)	Reduces body fat, decreases appetite and builds muscle	Might decrease body fat and increase muscle, but isn't likely to reduce total body weight Can cause diarrhea, indigestion and other gastrointestinal problems
Country mallow (heartleaf)	Decreases appetite and increases the number of calories burned	Contains ephedra, which is dangerous Likely unsafe and should be avoided
Ephedra	Decreases appetite	Can cause high blood pressure, heart rate irregularities, sleeplessness, seizures, heart attacks, strokes and even death Banned from the marketplace because of safety concerns, but may still be legally sold as a tea Despite the ban, many ephedra products still sold on the Internet
Green tea extract	Increases calorie and fat metabolism and decreases appetite	Limited evidence to support the claim Can cause vomiting, bloating, indigestion and diarrhea May contain a large amount of caffeine
Guar gum	Blocks the absorption of dietary fat and increases the feeling of fullness, which leads to decreased calorie intake	Relatively safe, but unlikely to cause weight loss Can cause diarrhea, flatulence and other gastrointestinal problems
Hoodia	Decreases appetite	No conclusive evidence to support the claim