Diet pills are effective means to expedite weight loss. Many of these pills have ingredients instrumental for losing weight, although some may contain fillers. It is crucial to check the ingredients in order to avoid pills that have additives that do more harm than good in the body.

• Metabolism Boosters

In order to accelerate the body’s processes, stimulants are included in diet pills to boost metabolism. Ingredients such as caffeine, guarana, L-carnitine, and yerba mate are the most common metabolic boosters. Ingredients that boost metabolism stimulate release of hormones effectively into the bloodstream.

• Appetite Suppressants

The effect of appetite suppressant is to provide a “full” feeling. Ingredients such as green tea, hoodia gordonii, and phenylpropanolamine are good examples for appetite suppressants. These diet pill ingredients are effective in short term, but prolonged use may inflict side effects such as nervousness, high blood pressure, or heart problems.

• Diuretics

Diet pills that contain caffeine are for the purposes of getting rid of the excess water in the body in order to cause rapid weight loss. This type of ingredient is called diuretic. Diuretic ingredient has nothing to do with fat burning, but help in the weight loss process through frequent urination. This ingredient is commonly used for a quick fix weight loss.

• Laxatives

Laxative is diet pills ingredient to help in weight loss by inducing bowel movements or loosen the stool. It also works to increase fecal movement along the colon. Some of the known laxatives are bisacodyl, phenylalanine, and senna, which is a natural extract. Higher dosage of laxatives can cause diarrhea.

• Ephedra

The indigenous people used ephedra traditionally for treatment of common cold, hay fever, and asthma. This ingredient eventually became popular for increasing metabolism, fat burning, and thermeogenic effect. However, the use of ephedra in diet pills has been banned by the US FDA for numerous side effects such as hypertension and heart attacks.