Diet pills fall into three categories. Customers use drugs. Physicians recommend pharmaceutical compounds for obesity cases. Dietary supplements complement diets.

Drugs or diet drugs

Regulated by medical authorities are aimed at athletes and bodybuilders, who seek to build muscles and shape their body. Generally speaking, drugs are conceived to diagnose, treat or prevent diseases. Before marketing, drugs must be clinically studied and tested. In this way, specialists can learn about their effectiveness, their safety, possible interactions with other substances as well as potential side effects any patient should be aware of. No drug is released to a pharmacy without FDA approval. The best-known are:

• Amphetamines (fen-phen) are what was formerly called “speed”; they make the body “forget” to eat (and sleep). These stimulants urge the body to burn calories. This is the key to losing weight.
• DHEA is also known as the hormone of youth and it has remarkable effects, including reducing body fat. Since 1985, it has been banned as weight-loss aid.
• Diuretic pills are taken to eliminate more liquids more frequently. In truth, the water from the muscles disappears, not the fat.
• HGH is able to reduce body fat while increasing muscle mass.

Pharmaceutical compounds

Usually recommended by physicians and sometimes by chemists themselves, come in two forms:

Pharmaceutical derivatives

Are are extremely powerful, require medical advice and assistance.

Herbal diet pills

Are not as effective as derivatives.

Federal agencies and regulators do not have an overall view of herbal pills. It is therefore crucial to read the recommended dose carefully, and respect it. Great responsibility falls on the consumer

Dietary supplements

Their safety, only guaranteed by manufacturers, is not as rigorously supervised by the Food and Drug Administration. Dietary supplements are actually products consisting of essential nutrients: vitamins, minerals, proteins. Lately, the definition of dietary supplements has undergone some modifications. Today, it refers to any product intended for ingestion as a diet supplement. This includes vitamins, minerals, herbs, botanicals, other plant-derived substances and amino acids.