Why Pharmacies Sell Fad Weight Loss Supplements
When you look at the Weight Loss Supplements such as Xenadrine, Trimspa, Ripped Fuel etc, it may surprise you that these are not medications. They are only considered as “dietary supplements” and are regulated by the FDA as food products, not drugs. They do not have to go through regulations regarding their quality, safety or effectiveness like regular medications do. If they claim of cure or treat any disease they would then be classified as a drug and have to prove effectiveness, safety and go through stringent quality controls.
When one looks for the scientific studies and evidence of effectiveness for these products it is very slim indeed. Some may show some temporary short-term weight loss, but none are proven for any significant or long terms weight loss. Many of their ingredients are proven harmful and stressful to your body. For example, Zantrex 3 has the equivalent amount of caffeine of 30.6 cans of cola in its daily dose. It is common knowledge that caffeine can cause severe headaches and a poor night’s sleep.
You will be very hard pressed to find a competent Pharmacist who would recommend any of these products, so why do the Pharmacies sell them?
Profit - simple as that. The corporations that run the large chain pharmacies will all claim that it is a question about choice and they are in the business of promoting health.
That argument falls flat on its face for all of the Pharmacies that sell cigarettes. Have you ever gone to your Pharmacist and asked which cigarette is the healthiest for you and will promote your active and healthy lifestyle? Of course you haven’t because it is clearly obvious that they are not healthy. For that matter, you could ask the same question about the candy and junk food that they sell…
Products like cigarettes are commonly known to be bad for you, but when Pharmacies sell questionable weight loss supplements so near to “real” medicines, it adds a legitimacy to them, and I think that is morally wrong. People should have an expectation that “medicine-like” or “medicine-looking” products that they purchase at a Pharmacy are backed by scientific evidence, are quality controlled, and proven effective.
The weight loss supplements that look like medications should stay in the health food and supplement stores, because they are “food supplements” and not quality controlled medicines.
For more information, we discuss this in detail in Fat 2 Fit Radio Show #18.
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