Scratch’s Guide to Healthy, and Not So Healthy, Diet Supplements

Summer’s officially here ya’ll! Whether you’ve been poppin’ diet pills for months now, or you’re thinking about jumping on the diet band wagon, make sure you consider what’s actually good for ya and what’s not so good for ya in the world of weight loss supplements. Throwin’ back the wrong diet supplement could actually do more harm than good! I’ll give you a rundown of what’s worth putting into your body and what’s not…

These supplements have proven to be helpful when it comes to sheddin’ some pounds:

  • CLA(conjugated linoleic acid) is a fatty acid that occurs naturally in dairy products and red meat. It’s been shown to increase metabolism, enhance muscle growth, decrease abdominal fat, lower cholesterol, and even enhance immune systems.
  • Coconut Oil is becoming more popular as a substitution for cooking oil. It contains fatty acids that help shed fat, boost energy and keep your metabolism up.
  • Fiber helps to keep you full, which can help with those snack cravings you might get all day. Add more fiber to your diet through fiber supplements or fiber-loaded food, like fruits, veggies, or whole wheat foods.
  • Meal replacements, like protein bars or shakes, are a great way to cut calories, carbs, and sugars from your diet. Instead of running to McDonalds on your lunch break, bring a protein bar and some fruit. Most bars and shakes have fiber in them too, which like I just mentioned, keeps you full.
  • In general, many of the common diet products found in health and nutrition stores can actually be more harmful than helpful to your body. Try to stay away from products with high amounts of these ingredients:

  • Psychoavtives, which have been linked to suicide and negative psychological problems.
  • Stimulants, like caffeine and ephedrine, which have shown to raise blood pressure, give headaches and onset insomnia.
  • Diuretics, which helps to get rid of water weight, but also can lead to dehydration. Remember…losing water weight is not the same as losing fat.
  • You’ve also gotta be careful about which companies you can trust. Many popular diet products have been either warned about or recalled due to bad side effects and harmful ingredients. Take the product Slimming Beauty Bitter Orange Slimming Capsules for example. The makers of this diet pill promised buyers that the product was 100% natural and herbal, and could even be used by kids as young as two! In 2010, the FDA revealed that this product contained excessive amounts of an illegal ingredient, sibutramine. People who took this pill reported experiencing higher blood pressure, insomnia, anxiety, nausea and more!

    Hydroxycut is another diet product that’s still on shelves, but has gotten into plenty of trouble with the FDA.

    This is not to say that all diet companies are spiking your pills with this crap and lying to you about it. But it just goes to show how careful you’ve got to be when choosing which diet supplement is right for you. And please ya’ll…don’t give diet pills to your 2-year old, no matter how much junk in the trunk they’ve got!

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