Side Effects of Slimming Pills

Video Transcript

"My name is Christine Marquette and I'm a registered and licensed dietitian with the Austin Regional Clinic and I'm going to talk to you about side effects of slimming pills. There are lots of side effects associated with pills that you can buy over the counter for weight loss. Some of the side effects include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, jitteriness. Even in a product such as Alli, that's actually approved by the FDA for weight loss, it can have some side effects if you don't follow the recommended diet, so for example if you eat too much fat, you can actually have problems with spottiness, loose, watery stools, fat in your stool, or urgency. So, you do have to be very careful if you try any over the counter diet pills or slimming type of pills. A lot of the pills that are purported to be fat burners actually have a lot of stimulants in them so that's what causes the jitteriness. In some people, they can experience severe headaches with these items as well, similar to an allergic type of reaction. So, lot of potential side effects with slimming pills that you buy over the counter, really for your overall health, it's better to avoid those types of things and really get yourself on a healthy eating plan as well as a regular exercise program. Avoid trying to buy over the counter weight loss aids or slimming pills. Then you don't have to worry about any of these potential side effects."