FDA says dieters should immediately stop using Hydroxycut

**Fetusaurus Rex** · 05-02-2009, 08:13 PM

FDA to dieters: Don't use supplement Hydroxycut

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press Writer Ricardo Alonso-zaldivar, Associated Press Writer – Sat May 2, 10:05 am ET

WASHINGTON – Government health officials warned dieters and body builders Friday to immediately stop using Hydroxycut, a widely sold supplement linked to cases of serious liver damage and at least one death.

The Food and Drug Administration said the company that makes the dietary supplement has agreed to recall 14 Hydroxycut products. Available in grocery stores and pharmacies, Hydroxycut is advertised as made from natural ingredients. At least 9 million packages were sold last year, the FDA said.

Dr. Linda Katz of the FDA's food and nutrition division said the agency has received 23 reports of liver problems, including the death of a 19-year-old boy living in the Southwest. The teenager died in 2007, and the death was reported to the FDA this March.

Other patients experienced symptoms ranging from jaundice, or yellowing of the skin, to liver failure. One received a transplant and another was placed on a list to await a new liver. The patients were otherwise healthy and their symptoms began after they started using Hydroxycut, regulators said.

Iovate Health Sciences, which makes the diet pills, said in a statement that the 2007 death of the teenager was not caused by Hydroxycut. The statement gave no details.

"The number of adverse event reports described by the FDA in its advisory is small relative to the many millions of people who have used Hydroxycut products over the past seven years," said the company statement. "Iovate's own assessment of the potential risk associated with the use of these products differs from that expressed by the FDA."

On its Web site, the company said it agreed to the recall out of "an abundance of caution." Iovate is based in Canada, with U.S. offices near Buffalo, N.Y. Consumers can get a refund by returning the pills to the store that sold them, the company said.

Dietary supplements aren't as tightly regulated by the government as medications. Manufacturers don't need to prove to the FDA that their products are safe and effective before they can sell them to consumers.

But regulators monitor aftermarket reports for signs of trouble, and in recent years companies have been put under stricter requirements to alert the FDA when they learn of problems. In 2004, the government banned ephedra, an ingredient in many supplements, linked to heart attacks and strokes.

Katz said it has taken so long to get a handle on the Hydroxycut problem because the cases of liver damage were rare and the FDA has no authority to review supplements before they're marketed. "Part of the problem is that the FDA looks at dietary supplements from a post-market perspective, and an isolated incident is often difficult to follow," she said.

The FDA relies on voluntary reports to detect such problems, and many cases are never reported, officials acknowledge.

Health officials said they have been unable to determine which Hydroxycut ingredients are potentially toxic, partially because the formulation has changed several times.

Public health researcher Ano Lobb, who has studied Hydroxycut and other dietary supplements for Consumer Reports, said the problem may be an ingredient called hydroxycitric acid. Derived from a tropical fruit, it's been linked to liver problems in at least one medical journal study. Lobb said it's likely that other supplements containing the same ingredient remain on the market.

"You really have to be careful about dietary supplements, especially weight-loss pills," said Lobb. "People believe that the FDA has verified that these products are at least safe and effective, and that's really not the case. When you see fantastic claims — that's generally what they are."

___

On the Net:

FDA press release: FDA Warns Consumers to Stop Using Hydroxycut Products

**ALBOB** · 05-04-2009, 01:45 PM

Just this morning GNC emailed me a cupon for $5 off Hydroxycut.

**maniclion** · 05-04-2009, 08:18 PM

I find it fucking hilarious that some of the Alternatives to Ephedra have been causing far more problems than Ephedra/Ephedrine did.....

**Fetusaurus Rex** · 05-04-2009, 09:43 PM

Originally Posted by maniclion

I find it fucking hilarious that some of the Alternatives to Ephedra have been causing far more problems than Ephedra/Ephedrine did.....

good point hahah

**Prince** · 05-04-2009, 10:56 PM

no shit, very good point, the ephedra ban was a disgrace.

**Built** · 05-04-2009, 11:09 PM

Originally Posted by Prince

no shit, very good point, the ephedra ban was a disgrace.

It can join the disgrace that comprises the anabolic steroid laws in the US. There is such anti-AAS sentiment within the medical community, I actually had a surgeon look down his nose at me and tell me with authority that testosterone doesn't increase red blood cell count. He further informed me that I was confusing testosterone with EPO.

This was when I was visiting a male friend in hospital who had lost a lot of blood from a GI bleed, but was able to avoid a blood transfusion because his blood count remained above critical. I had suggested it might have been his HRT that protected him. But hey, what do I know?

Getting back to the topic at hand - am I the only one wondering if the oral anabolics many hydroxycut users may be consuming might have been at least partially to blame?

**Hoglander** · 05-04-2009, 11:16 PM

LOL

Google "snorting hydroxycut"

**Built** · 05-05-2009, 12:23 AM

Oh for sure! Me and the girls like to do a few rails of H before hitting the step classes LMAO!

**Prince** · 05-05-2009, 09:16 AM

Originally Posted by Built

There is such anti-AAS sentiment within the medical community, I actually had a surgeon look down his nose at me and tell me with authority that testosterone doesn't increase red blood cell count. He further informed me that I was confusing testosterone with EPO.

lol, what did you say?

**soxmuscle** · 05-05-2009, 12:10 PM

So what exactly is so bad thats in Hydroxycut?

**Prince** · 05-05-2009, 12:58 PM

Originally Posted by soxmuscle

So what exactly is so bad thats in Hydroxycut?

good question, and even if we examine the ingredients who knows what the hell else they may be putting in it.

**ALBOB** · 05-05-2009, 01:09 PM

Originally Posted by Built

Getting back to the topic at hand - am I the only one wondering if the oral anabolics many hydroxycut users may be consuming might have been at least partially to blame?

The report I heard specified liver damage/failure. I was kind of picturing the average ignoramus who would buy into all the Hydroxycut hype (Not that it didn't work, just that it wasn't the magic "bullet" that they portrayed it to be.) and figured they knew just enough about dieting to be dangerous to themselves. Hmmmmmm.......Metabolism booster at higher than recommended dosage + Low Carb/High Protein diet + not enough water intake = Liver failure. Maybe???

**maniclion** · 05-05-2009, 01:36 PM

"I bet it's the ingredient that converts fat to muscle!!!!!!, people with fat livers suddenly had a bicep growing in their guts......"

I said with all the sarcasm implied.....

**min0 lee** · 05-05-2009, 01:47 PM

This may be it.

Originally Posted by soxmuscle

So what exactly is so bad thats in Hydroxycut?

Botanical Ingredient May Be Cause of Hydroxycut Liver Damage, Study Finds

A dietary supplement ingredient derived from a tropical fruit may be to blame for liver failure and other severe injuries suffered by people who took Hydroxycut products, a new study finds.

A total of 14 Hydroxycut products were recalled on May 1, 2009 after reports of deadly liver failure and liver disease in people taking them to lose weight and build muscle. In research published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology, a condition called hepatoxicity caused by a Hydroxycut ingredient derived from a fruit called Garcinia cambogia is blamed for the injuries.

**ironman4** · 05-05-2009, 01:49 PM

This does not surprise me

**maniclion** · 05-05-2009, 01:57 PM

Originally Posted by min0 lee

This may be it.

Botanical Ingredient May Be Cause of Hydroxycut Liver Damage, Study Finds

That's the one I suspect too, except it doesn't magically convert fat to muscle, but I'm betting it's hurting good fats along with the ones it's targeting....or it's breaking down adipose too fast

?

**Prince** · 05-05-2009, 02:03 PM

A total of 155 people reportedly died due to ephedrine diet products.

that was a great reason to ban it, do you know how many people die per year from OTC drugs like Tylenol and Ibuprofen?

**maniclion** · 05-05-2009, 02:12 PM

Originally Posted by Prince

A total of 155 people reportedly died due to ephedrine diet products.

that was a great reason to ban it, do you know how many people die per year from OTC drugs like Tylenol and Ibuprofen?

Over ten years or so too right? That's 15 a year, more people die choking on health food. Plus how many of those people had pre-existing conditions like High Blood Pressure yet still continued to take a handful of pills to lose weight? How many young girls are slowly killing themselves with anorexia? It's pure ignorance that's killing these people not the drugs nor the diseases......

**min0 lee** · 05-05-2009, 02:21 PM

Originally Posted by Prince

A total of 155 people reportedly died due to ephedrine diet products.

that was a great reason to ban it, do you know how many people die per year from OTC drugs like Tylenol and Ibuprofen?

I can't use Tylenol nor Ibuprofen because of my Hep C. condition.

I am glad I never took Hydroxtcut, my post count would surely take a hit.

**ALBOB** · 05-05-2009, 02:46 PM

Originally Posted by maniclion

Over ten years or so too right? That's 15 a year, more people die choking on health food. Plus how many of those people had pre-existing conditions like High Blood Pressure yet still continued to take a handful of pills to lose weight? How many young girls are slowly killing themselves with anorexia? It's pure ignorance that's killing these people not the drugs nor the diseases......

And don't forget about the MLB pitcher who never once exercised in the off-season, reported to training camp 20-30 pounds overweight, took twice the recommended dosage and went out into the hot Florida sun with 80% humidity. Gee, he had a heart attack? Must have been the Ephedra.

**Prince** · 05-05-2009, 04:54 PM

Originally Posted by maniclion

Over ten years or so too right? That's 15 a year, more people die choking on health food. Plus how many of those people had pre-existing conditions like High Blood Pressure yet still continued to take a handful of pills to lose weight? How many young girls are slowly killing themselves with anorexia? It's pure ignorance that's killing these people not the drugs nor the diseases......

yeah, I believe so, and millions of users, it's truly amazing the power that the drug industry has over the government, huh?

**I Are Baboon** · 05-05-2009, 05:32 PM

Maybe Hydroxycut has been infected with the swine flu.

**maniclion** · 05-05-2009, 08:15 PM

Originally Posted by I Are Baboon

Maybe Hydroxycut has been infected with the swine flu.

It's just one of the Snake Oils to cure the Swine Flu Americans have had for the last 30+ years, look at at all the sick little piggies our country has been caring for and it just keeps getting worse.......

**Built** · 05-06-2009, 12:13 AM

Originally Posted by Prince

lol, what did you say?

Believe it or not, it was one of those rare moments when my mouth opened and nothing came out. I was utterly floored that a senior ranked surgeon in a major hospital could live long enough to have grey hair and not know this.

Originally Posted by Prince

A total of 155 people reportedly died due to ephedrine diet products.

that was a great reason to ban it, do you know how many people die per year from OTC drugs like Tylenol and Ibuprofen?

How about how many people die from obesity? I mean, seriously, EC is one of the safest and most-tested diet drugs out there. Read pubmed for more on this. Also of course, drumlib.

**maniclion** · 05-06-2009, 02:22 PM

Originally Posted by Built

Believe it or not, it was one of those rare moments when my mouth opened and nothing came out. I was utterly floored that a senior ranked surgeon in a major hospital could live long enough to have grey hair and not know this.

Don't worry, I get Electrical Engineers who have no clue about Direct Current, I even get Electricians who don't know that Volts x Amps = Watts, I even had to teach one that having too small of wire means the voltage will drop over a long distance....... Some folks just learn the bare minimum to do their job's even those we think should know it all......

**lola1182** · 05-06-2009, 02:33 PM

wow, i'm glad i never took hydroxycut either.

**Built** · 05-06-2009, 06:53 PM

Originally Posted by maniclion

Don't worry, I get Electrical Engineers who have no clue about Direct Current, I even get Electricians who don't know that Volts x Amps = Watts, I even had to teach one that having too small of wire means the voltage will drop over a long distance....... Some folks just learn the bare minimum to do their job's even those we think should know it all......

Okay that's just painful. Engineers who don't know about resistance through wire?

I understood this concept when I was six years old and my dad taught me how to build an electromagnet.

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