The past ten to fifteen years has witnessed an exploding market of over the counter dieting and fat loss products. The attraction to products that are more natural will never be lost on those who provide these types of diet products. Of course using that information in selling is usually powerful. But there's a strong word of caution to consumers with these products. First, lots of people see the words, natural or herbal, and they believe the merchandise is safe. That assumption frequently leads them to use it with a high amount of trust. Not only will there be unsafe interactions with regular drugs, but the herbal products often have their own problems. Another possible problem exists because a number of people may be hypersensitive or prone to side effects while some may not.

Then we next come to a subject which has been debated and causes great concern among medical researchers. Possibly the majority of the ingredients have not been fully studied by reputable and impartial research. Sometimes you'll see work references to studies, but take care that the study has not been bought and paid for. Obviously that is a distinct conflict for both parties involved. It is pretty clear about the predicted outcomes of that kind of study. There are usually many ethical issues associated with that scenario as is plain to see. But also it will be the buyer who is put at possible threat due to this type of biased assessment.

Out of all the herbal diet products through the years, very few have been seriously studied. Ephedra does indeed actually work when coupled with caffeine. However, you may remember that ephedra was banned in the US not many years ago. Shortly after that happened, hoodia was introduced as a new and effective diet product. There have been some studies conducted on this South African herb product. However there are important potential problems for people with particular medical conditions. Hoodia will block several natural feedback mechanisms concerning hunger and thirst. If you might be interested to examine hoodia, then you should find out much more about it.

We will share a dreadful example of what can go wrong with herbal substances. Seventy people who took an herbal diet product in Belgium suffered complete kidney failure. Fifty more people suffered various degrees of kidney damage. Also, either malignant or precancerous indicators were present in thirty seven people who had a kidney taken out. The natural compound used was Aristolochia fangchi, however the terrifying part was that it was inadvertently employed in place of a totally different herbal substance.

History is full of reports about beneficial uses for herbal remedies to treat many conditions. However, obviously any person should exercise careful attention. The only way to protect yourself is to learn as much as you are able to and try to use products produced by reputable businesses.