"Natural" Diet Pills Laced With Drugs

Almost everyone I know has hit the dreaded diet plateau, and I'm no exception. When the scale refuses to budge, I sometimes wish I could wash down a magic pill with a Wendy's Frosty and still melt pounds off my midsection. There are mountains of diet pills lining the walls of any GNC, all promising to do just that, and diet pill companies will do just about anything to make you feel at-ease enough to purchase and consume their product. Here's the trick:

The word "natural." These companies hope that by slapping "natural" on the bottle consumers will interpret it to mean safe. You know what else is natural? Bear poop. Also, magma. But you wouldn't catch me consuming either, even if the word natural is on the bottle.

An ongoing investigation by the Food and Drug Administration has led to a growing list of dozens of over-the-counter weight-loss supplements that contain dangerous and illegal pharmaceuticals that have been left off labels, according to a recent article by the New York Times.

Recently, weight-loss capsules called StarCaps, which are promoted as natural dietary supplements using papaya, were found to contain the pharmaceutical drug bumetanide. Typically prescribed to reduce fluid retention in people suffering from congestive heart failure, liver disease or kidney disease, bumetanide can reduce the blood's ability to clot, lower the body's potassium levels, reduce mental alertness and cause nausea, to name a few.

But my mid-section wants to know: Is it ever safe to consume natural diet supplements?

"I can't say 100 percent, but nearly all [over-the-counter diet pills] have substances that are not on the label, which is worrisome because these pills control your appetite by doing something to your central nervous system," says American Dietetic Association spokesperson, Christine Gerbstadt, MPH, RD, LDN, who admits to trying diet pills as a controlled experiment.

"I thought I was going to jump out of my skin," she says. "I was bouncing off the walls and flipping out, and it didn't help control my hunger. They gave me that crazy feeling." The worst part? That jumpy, heart-pounding rush that makes you believe the pills are working often have no effect on your appetite, she says. Your brain is what controls your appetite, so if the drugs can't cross that blood/brain barrier they can't control your hunger, she adds.

The biggest danger when taking diet pills is not knowing what's going on in your body. Underlying medical conditions, such as thyroid issues, depression or perimenopause can all contribute to weight gain, and a quick-fix pill can't remedy them all. In addition, plenty of people walk around with high blood pressure and don't even know they have it, which can dangerously up the risk for stroke or heart attack while taking diet pills.

The bottom line: No matter what the label says, diet pills can contain pharmaceuticals that are illegal and dangerous to your health. Gerbstadt suggests trying to make a lasting life change, like increasing fiber or the amount of activity you do each week, instead of looking for a quick fix. But if you're concerned about your weight and have really hit a weight-loss plateau, seek out your general practitioner, get a full check-up to make sure there aren't any underlying health problems, and then ask if there are any weight-loss alternatives you haven't already tried.