Breaking news…this past Friday the manufacturer of Hydroxycut, a popular dietary supplement for fat loss, voluntarily recalled 14 of their products after the FDA received 23 reports of serious liver injuries and one incident of death associated with the supplements. Other health problems reported included siezures, cardiovascular disorders, and possible kidney failure.

Although the FDA has yet to determine what specific ingredients are responsible for the health problems  I will keep you posted as soon as the reports come out. This is big news as Hydroxycut is by far the most popular fat loss product on the market. The Washington Times reports Hydroxycut products currently have an estimated whopping 90% market share of the weight loss supplement industry with sales of over 1 million bottles a year.

The voluntary recall of all Hydroxycut products by Lovate Health Sciences, Inc. came quickly after the FDA issued their warning to consumers on Friday to immediately stop using the supplements.

Here’s the story behind the story.

The one incident of death related to the use of this product occurred all the way back in 2007!

I don’t have the details of the case but what I gathered from my research was it involved a young man who was only 19 years old. The case was only recently reported to the FDA in March of this year.

What’s up with the time lapse?

Somebody dies from using the product and years go by before anything happens!

The recall ONLY came after the FDA reviewed the reports and issued their warning to the public. This move by the manufacturer to voluntarily pull their products will be applauded by many but there’s no doubt in my mind they only did so after the FDA finally issued their warning.

How many millions of people have been undergone potentional health hazards in the meantime will never be known. I have long been on record strongly advocating against the current laws that allow ”dietary supplement” manufacturers to in essence regulate themselves.

The FDA doesn’t require “dietary supplement” manufacturers to seek approval of their products (like they require with prescription medications) prior to the marketing and sales to the public. This is simply wrong and endangers public health in my opinion. I’m sure the family of the 19 year old boy would agree with me.

Make no mistakes about it…you have no idea what you’re placing in your body when you take these products. The research on their safety is often done by the manufacturers themselves or through an outside party paid by the manufacturer. What’s wrong with this picture? 

How many people have to suffer or even die from the use of these unregulated products before something changes? I don’t want to bash the FDA on this because many times their hands are tied. They issued a warning to the public after reviewing the complaints but as long as the current policies remain intact there will be another product like ”Hydroxycut” to come in right behind them and the cycle continues.

Weight loss products are a multi-billion dollar industry and while there’s money to be made there will always be someone willing to release their supplements to the public without the proper research on safety.

If and when problems do occur and they’re forced to recall their products they’ve already banked millions of dollars. It’s no problem to shut it down and start over again under a new company name and product line.

This is a crime in my book and I encourage you to write your state representatives and demand that weight loss supplements receive FDA approval BEFORE going to market.

If anybody you know is using Hydroxycut or any other ”dietary supplement” for weight loss please forward them this post so you can share with them the truth. You may just be saving their life.

Listed below are the 14 products recalled by Lovate Health Sciences, Inc.

Hydroxycut Regular Rapid Release Caplets
Hydroxycut Caffeine Free Rapid Release Caplets
Hydroxycut Hardcore Luqid Caplets
Hydroxycut Max Liquid Caplets
Hydroxycut Regular Drink Packets
Hydroxycut Caffeine Free Drink Packets
Hydroxycut Hardcore Drink Packets (Ingition Stix)
Hydroxycut Max Drink Packets
Hydroxycut Liquid Shots
Hydroxycut Hardcore RTD’s (Ready to Drink)
Hydroxycut Max Aqua Shed
Hydroxycut 24
Hydroxycut Carb Control
Hydroxycut Natural

Shane Doll is a certified Charleston personal trainer, fat loss expert, author, speaker, and founder of Shaping Concepts Personal Training Studios. He is available for thoughtful and candid interviews on subjects releated to weight loss and fitness. You can receive a free no-obligations trial of his personal training programs to experience the Shaping Concepts difference for yourself.

Posted: Monday, May 4th, 2009 at 9:22 am

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Category: weight loss.

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