Ads for weight loss drugs are everywhere, on TV and the radio, in magazines and newspapers, even on the Internet. They attract you with earnest testimonials, unbelievable before-and-after photos and the inevitable money-back guarantees. All you have to do is run out and acquire the most recent, hottest, this-one-has-got-to-work weight loss wonder in a bottle!   Not so fast. Get the weight loss facts before you fall for these promotion ploys.

There are many reasons to carry on with extreme concern when using weight loss tablets. Even as it’s accurate that every so often you may in fact shed a modest weight with them, the pounds come again once you end taking the pill. Most of these weight loss speedy fixes include a small-print reference that you also assume a reduced-calorie diet and an exercise program which is going to help you lose weight in any case. And diet aides in general aren’t well regulated, so the definite content of the active ingredients in weight loss meds can change widely from supplement to product.

Even more troublesome, all weight-loss tablets have potentially unsafe side effects. Everyone knows that people who take prescription medications need to check with their health care professionals before using any type of weight loss aide. But still fit dieters who aren’t taking any further drugs have experienced harmful health side-effects from weight-loss pills. The bottom line: Always check with your physician before you take anything that promises to “melt off the weight.”

If you’re still thinking about taking a diet supplement, scan the label for the active ingredients and check out whether there’s any foundation to their claims and whether they’re potentially risky.

Find out the real deal on metabolism boosters, fat burners, carbohydrate blockers, fat blockers and more. Metabolism diet pills like, Ephedra have been prohibited.  The FDA restricted ephedra in December 2003 due to ominous concerns about its safety. But while you won’t find ephedra itself in diet-pill ingredient lists any longer, you will find ephedra-like ingredients, including ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, methylephedrine and norpseudoephedrine, present in ma huang and other diet aids often in combination with caffeine, which may aggravate side effects. These ingredients potentially present the same dangers as ephedra: increased blood pressure, heart palpitations, insomnia, irritability, headaches, seizures, stroke, heart attack and even death. The safest route is to stay away from all aides that contain any of these substances.

After the FDA banned ephedra, weight loss-pill companies scrambled to find a possibly safer alternative. Enter synephrine, a substance made from the fruit of the citrus aurantium plant. Bitter orange, sour orange, green orange and zhi shi are other common names for this fruit. Synephrine acts almost the same way as ephedra does in the body, but with potentially fewer side effects like high blood pressure and increased heart rate. So far, clinical studies illustrate that synephrine may in fact help moderate hunger and slightly increase metabolic rate, especially when combined with other stimulants such as caffeine or white willow. Obviously, anyone who has high blood pressure or other heart troubles should not utilize any of these substances without previous consent from her medical doctor.

Caffeine, which may help some people drop weight since it faintly increases metabolism and may shrink appetite, hides in many diet-aid compounds: Yerba mate, cocoa extract, white willow bark, gotu kola and guarana are some of the more familiar caffeine-containing compounds used in weight loss pills. All of them have the possibility to elevate blood pressure levels, cause sleep trouble and make your heart beat too quickly.

Garcinia, also called hydroxycitric acid, is a natural fruit acid extract from brindall berries. Experts differ over its probable value in lessening appetite and escalating the metabolic rate. Since there are few side-effects (the main one is nausea), it might be helpful for some dieters, but there isn’t sufficient evidence sustaining its usefulness to recommend it across the board.

Hoodia, a newer diet pill option does look to have the promise for real weight loss potential.  The notable thing about Hoodia is that it lacks the emblematic side effects of stimulant based diet pills and it has a long history of use as a food and appetite suppressant, for generations by the Sans people of South Africa.  The San, a community that lives in the Kalahari, discovered eons ago that if they ate the Hoodia cactus that grows wild in the desert, their hunger pangs would go away. They would feel full and have no urge to over eat, whether or not food is set in front of them.  Genuine Hoodia Gordonii is by far the most effectual hoodia weight loss answer currently available. So how do you decide on from all the different brands? You want a hoodia supplement that’s certified pure, that’s South African and that is whole hoodia gordonii plant rather than an extract. You want Authentic Hoodia supported by a USDA protected plant permit and independent lab report as well as a Phytosanitary permit.  Still, Phenternin was the only diet pill we could find with all of these certifications.