Don’t waste cash on weight-loss supplements

0 Comments | Daily Mirror, The; London (UK), Jul 22, 2010 | by MIRIAM STOPPARD

I’ve long felt that many so-called weight-loss supplements on the shelves of pharmacies and health stores are useless.

Now two new studies back up my view – and, at a conference in Sweden, the researchers even went as far as to say these products should be banned. I agree with them.

I’m angry they’re on sale at all, when manufacturers should be aware they don’t work and pharmacies stock them – and that they benefit from a loophole in the law.

The studies, one from Britain and the other from Germany, show that the supplements, often derived from plant extracts, are no more effective than dummy pills.

No science

When UK researchers reviewed studies on nine weight-loss supplements containing ingredients from bitter orange to green tea extract, they found no evidence that any of them worked.

German scientists carried out an eight-week trial, also on nine supplements, and found that those taking the pills lost some weight – but it was no more than the amount lost by people taking fake pills.

Yet these products claim to do all sorts of things, including boosting metabolism, reducing appetite, blocking carbs and dissolving or absorbing fat.

As a doctor, I knew the only thing these products lighten is your purse. The science behind them just doesn’t add up.

But anyone who is desperate to lose weight will want to believe the claims. After all, they wouldn’t be on sale in reputable stores if they didn’t work, would they? Wrong! While medicines rightly go through rigorous scientific evaluation to determine their benefits before they’re available, food supplements don’t. As a result, very few have been submitted to decent-quality clinical trials on humans.

Sadly, this doesn’t stop them making a lot of money for a lot of people
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