by Lauren Almeida

Created on: September 27, 2009

Diet pills across North America have become excessive and out of control. On over-the-counter shelves from Wal-Mart to LoBlaws, the pills are as easy as groceries to purchase. Considering they do more bad than good for a person, there is no question that the pills should be banned. There are many factors to consider, to which ingredients in the pill, the ease of purchasing these pills, and altogether bad side effects are of most concern.

Ingredients in a Diet Pill

When one looks at an ingredient list when trying to determine whether or not a pill brand is right for them (seeing as there are hundreds of different kinds of diet pills to choose from), that person most likely hasn't a clue what they're looking at. It is important to do research before taking over-the-counter diet pills, especially when some of the ingredients in the pills, especially from foreign countries, are unregulated and not FDA approved, while other ingredients are just culprits for bad side effects.

Taking a closer look at the ingredients used in the average diet pill, you can be sure to find caffeine in almost every diet pill on the market. Keep in mind that the average adult should only consume no more than 300 mg of caffeine a day, which measures equally to about two regular cups of coffee per day, so keep in mind the side effects of over-consumption of caffeine.

Caffeine is not the only issue when it comes to worrisome ingredients in diet pills. There are other ingredients such as Ephedrine, which is one of the appetite suppressants and stimulants found in diet pills, as well as Synephrine, which was used to take over Ephedrine when it was banned by the FDA, yet still has some of the same side effects just is not as severe. Side effects include increased heart rate and blood pressure, hypertension, insomnia, dizziness and headaches.

These are only some of the ingredients that suggest diet pills should be taken off the over-the-counter market and become prescription drugs, if not banned. There are too many unknowns when reading the label and it is generally unsafe to consume these ingredients in hopes to lose weight, especially when diet and exercise has none of these potential health risks.

Ease of Purchase

In the pharmacy section of superstores, grocery stores, and department stores, there is a huge section for weight loss. From Slim Fast to Whey powder to meal supplements to protein bars, there's everything the consumer needs to develop into better shape. In the midst of all the

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