The Dangers of Hydroxycut

I have tried to warn you against taking supplements that you do not know anything about. This is a article that I found on Yahoo.

Philadelphia, PA: If there is one thing that users of Hydroxycut supplements are learning, it is that "natural" does not necessarily equal "safe." This much was made clear after a recall of Hydroxycut diet supplements, announced after the supplements were linked to a risk of liver damage.

Consumers might think that a product that has all natural ingredients is inherently safe, but that is just not always true. According to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, there are a few ingredients found in Hydroxycut that could potentially be toxic. The first of these is hydroxycitric acid (HCA), the ingredient from which Hydroxycut gets its name. Back in the 1970s, a drug-maker tried to use HCA as a weight-loss drug but quit before the drug even got to human testing.

Two other ingredients, chromium and Camellia sinesis (a tea plant) have both been suggested by medical literature as potential causes of liver toxicity. So, there are at least 3 "natural" ingredients in Hydroxycut that are linked to liver problems. The same problems that have been linked to the use of Hydroxycut. Some patients required hospitalization and most recovered or at least improved after stopping the supplement.

Some patients who were diagnosed with liver disease had no idea their health was at risk, despite having taken Hydroxycut for years. The reason many patients have not linked their health problems to Hydroxycut could be that they thought the product was safe because it is natural. "The ER doctors were not able to find a cause [for my liver damage]," writes Lee G. from Philadelphia. "I did not tell them I was on Hydroxycut because I thought it was natural [and] didn't find the need to."

Lawsuits have been filed against Iovate Health Sciences, maker of Hydroxycut products, alleging the company knew that the products were unsafe but continued to market them. Furthermore, they allege the company misrepresented the safety of the products and used false and misleading advertisements in marketing the products. The bottom line is that natural is not the same thing as safe, no matter what the marketing for a supplement might tell you. If you have taken Hydroxycut, even for only a few weeks, and you are or were inexplicably ill, it is a good idea to seek medical attention to determine if you have liver damage.