FAQ: Is It Safe To Use Herbal Diet Programs?

Everything in my business is or could be used by every member of my family. I would not generally say that about DHEA, Melatonin and many other products currently available in “health” stores, especially those promoted for wight loss benefits. For those very few people who actually can benefit from those products, I can at least point them to the best sources, but most people should not play with balances that the body can usually be taught to regulate.

I promote nothing which contains caffeine, the basis for many, many of the herbal diet plans on the market. Caffeine exists in high concentrations in green tea, kola nut (not to be confused with gotu kola) mate, bissey nut, and especially guarana. Too many of the negative effects attributed to ma huang (ephedra) are actually the result of excessive caffeine in one of the forms listed above, or of imbalanced ephedra alkaloids from standardized or potentized products. Make sure in any product containing ma huang that the entire plant is used, instead of just the ephedrine extract. A label can claim “no added caffeine” if it has not been added as an isolate; that doesn’t mean it is caffeine free. Coffee, after all, generally has no caffeine added! Check those diet plans also for senna, an herbal laxative which is one of the few habit-forming herbs.

While I do carry several excellent diet programs, remember that you must address the reason that the weight was gained in the first place, or it will come back when you discontinue the program. Weight is a health issue, and needs to be dealt with as such. Most of my overweight clients find that they lose weight incidentally when everything is supported and things begin to function normally.The more you yo-yo diet, the harder it gets to lose weight because of basal metabolic changes; recent studies also show that it significantly increases cancer risk as well. No amount of change in appearance can justify the risks many people are exposing themselves to, even with many so-called “natural” products. Please be cautious and fully informed before undertaking any miracle products, recognizing that there may be a higher price than you imagine.