Customer Reviews

The Diet Pill Book: A Consumer's Guide to Prescription and Over-the-Counter Weight-Loss Pills and Supplements

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

The other day a gal wrote to a fitness website I am on and said," I am tired of dieting and exercising, please tell me what diet pill I can take and just get skinny quick."

After reading "The Diet Pill Guide" I was able to tell her, there is no magic pill, just as most of sadly knew all along.

The Diet Pill book lists over the counter, prescription and other supplements sold for weight loss. It lists products, brand names, ingredients, how sold, background and research, product claims, side effects, precautions and other information.

A number of products are covered. Everything from A Aoqili Slim Soap (yes a soap that claims it makes you skinny as you wash with it), to Z zhi shi (citrus rinds of the bitter orange). And lots in between. Here you can learn the truth about slim fast , bee pollen, locust root, ginger, 5HTP and more. The good (green tea) the bad (fat trapper) and the ugly (ephedra) are all covered.

A handy index at the back of the book makes it easy to look up the pill you were thinking of popping. One drawback is the book does not cover starch blockers. Since the book was published in 2002 starch blockers which are becoming more popular should have been included. Hence the 4 instead of 5 star rating.

Overall a great little reference!

First off, I have personal experience with one of the drugs listed in the book - Meridia. For me, it was a great aid, reducing my appetite and getting me to the point where I lost 26 pounds in short order.

However, I'm not sure if I'd have taken it after reading this book. It is an excellent overview to what is available right now, although even at its publication date, new products were already in the pipeline, so I wouldn't expect this book to stay current for long...but it might be long enough for you to decide which medicines, if any, might work for you.

Readers might also want to check the Consumer Reports website, has come out with a list of the 12 "highest risk" drugs and Meridia, one of the weight loss drugs, is on that ( the entire article and risks can be seen at their website).

It should be kept in mind that the chances of side effects, even for the high risk drugs, are still small, but does raise some concerns about the way drugs are researched, tested and processed these days.

With that in mind, read this book as a starting point and then do a search of even more relevant or current articles, from the latest releases to television reports.

Now, more than ever, consumers need to do their own legwork, not take medicine blindly, simply because it is prescribed and be aware of the total picture.

If you are very obsese, perhaps the benefits outweigh the risks. For someone who is 10 -20 pounds overweight might have a far harder choice to make - take the chance, however small of liver, kidney and heart damage - or lose the weight?