The banned ingredients in diet pills are endangering women's health

The recent "Guo Meimei and others selling toxic diet pills" case has attracted the attention of all sectors of society. They attracted people who wanted to lose weight to buy the so-called "special diet pills" on the Internet and made huge profits from it. However, these diet pills contain ingredients that were banned by the country 10 years ago, which will harm your health after consumption.

The banned ingredient involved in the "Guo Meimei case" is called sibutramine, a drug that can suppress appetite, enhance metabolism and reduce weight. Sibutramine can directly act on the central nervous system, stimulating the satiety center to make people lose their appetite and reduce appetite, thereby achieving the effect of weight loss. However, in 2010, a 6-year randomized controlled trial confirmed that sibutramine can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke[1]. In October of the same year, the State Food and Drug Administration announced that the production, sale and use of sibutramine preparations and raw materials in China would be stopped immediately. However, to this day, there are still many unscrupulous merchants who take advantage of the eagerness of people to lose weight and sell them weight loss drugs containing sibutramine. Many consumers have unknowingly consumed this type of weight loss drug ingredient that has long been banned by the country.

In addition to sibutramine, some other drug ingredients used for weight loss have been banned by the country because of their adverse side effects. Fenfluramine is also a drug that can suppress appetite. Fenfluramine can increase the utilization of glucose, thereby activating the brain's satiety center and reducing the appetite center. However, fenfluramine also has many side effects. During the medication period, drowsiness, diarrhea, dry mouth, dizziness, headache, excessive excitement, depression, insomnia, weakness, palpitations, hypotension, hypertension, severe arrhythmias, etc. may occur. It may even cause heart valve disease. If the medication is used for more than 3 months, the risk of primary pulmonary hypertension will also increase [2, 3]. At present, my country has banned the use of fenfluramine in weight loss health products. It can only be used as a prescription drug for the treatment of simple obesity.

Hydrochlorothiazide is also an ingredient added to some weight loss drugs. Hydrochlorothiazide is a diuretic. Diuretics can increase the excretion of water in the body and can indeed reduce weight. But this is not true weight loss. Once the diuretic is stopped, the body will regain weight after absorbing water. Long-term use of diuretics has great toxic and side effects, which can cause electrolyte imbalance in the body, affect blood pressure, induce gout, and increase the risk of heart disease and kidney disease.

In addition to the above-mentioned banned ingredients, there are many kinds of drugs that are prohibited from being added to weight loss drugs, and some weight loss drugs have illegally added laxatives, which can cause great harm to the body. Although the state has clearly banned it, many unscrupulous businesses have illegally added banned ingredients to weight loss drugs in order to make profits. Many people who are losing weight do not know that banned drugs have been added to these weight loss drugs, and thus are deceived.

In summary, you must choose the right method to lose weight, and don't blindly use weight loss drugs. When choosing weight loss drugs, you must choose weight loss drugs that have been certified by the state and have guaranteed safety, and you must purchase weight loss drugs from regular channels. If you find that you feel unwell after taking weight loss drugs, you must stop taking the drugs and seek medical treatment in time. If you suspect that the weight loss drugs you bought contain prohibited ingredients, you can contact the relevant departments for verification.

References

[1] James WPT, Caterson ID, Coutinho W, et al. Effect of sibutramine on cardiovascular outcomes in overweight and obese subjects. New England Journal of Medicine, 2010, 363: 905-917

[2] Zhang Jingfang, Lü Xianxiang, Liu Zhimin. General pharmacology and toxicology of fenfluramine. Chinese Journal of Drug Dependence, 2002, 11: 316-318.

[3] Yang Jingxun. Withdrawal of fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine from the market and their adverse reactions. Journal of Adverse Drug Reactions, 1999, 14-17