Weight Loss Dietary Supplements

Weight loss dietary supplements are becoming more and more common in the weight loss industry today and among people seeking an easy way to lose weight because dieting and exercise hasn't worked for them. The majority of these weight loss supplement pills are available as over the counter drugs at your local drugstore, supermarket and or health food store. What are these supplements and do they work?

Bitter orange is a supplement that increases the number of calories people burn when on the supplement combined with an exercise regimen. Many refer to this supplement as a substitute to ephedra and may cause the same side effects.

Chitosan is a dietary supplement that blocks the absorptions of dietary fat. The FDA finds that this supplement is relatively safe but will not cause significant weight loss. Side effects include constipation, bloating and other stomach problems.

Chromium is available to reduce body fat and build muscle. This is another supplement, like Chitosan, that will not help with significant weight loss. It is relatively safe to use though.

CLA, also known as Conjugated Linoleic Acid, reduces body fat, decreases your appetite and helps to build muscle. This supplement will decrease body fat and increase muscle but likely won't reduce your total body weight. It can cause diarrhea, indigestion and other stomach related problems.

Country Mallow, also referred to as heartleaf, decreases your appetite and increases the number of calories burned. This product does contain ephedra, which is an extremely dangerous supplement. This supplement is unsafe and should be avoided at all costs even though it is still available for purchase on the market.

Ephedra has been banned by the FDA for sale at drug stores as a weight loss supplement for its extreme side effects. Ephedra has also been banned by the NFL and MLB. Ephedra decreases a person's appetite but causes high blood pressure, irregularities of the heart rate, sleeplessness, seizures, heart attacks, strokes and death. Ephedra is still legally sold as a tea today and despite the ban, is sold on the internet.

Green tea extract is used to increase the calorie and fat metabolism while decreasing your appetite. This supplement might cause vomiting, bloating, diarrhea and indigestion. This supplement also may contain a large amount of caffeine, which is not good when on a diet.

Guar gum blocks the absorption of dietary fat and increases the feeling of fullness for its users. Guar gum also helps reduce the intake of calories. This supplement will more than likely not cause weight loss and is safe to use. It does cause diarrhea and flatulence and can cause intestinal obstruction if not taken with water.

Hoodia strictly decreases appetite for its users and there isn't much evidence available from the FDA about this dietary supplement to support its weight loss claim.

Dietary supplements can be cost effective and can be extremely expensive at the same time. The majority of dietary supplements available today range in cost from $20-$50 and can even cost more than that.