How do Weight Loss Supplements Work?
Weight loss supplements are enjoying a thriving market all around the world. In fact, a large number of people are more than willing to spend their hard earned money to purchase diet control or weight loss supplements that could help them lose weight, hoping for the desired effective results.
There are a variety of dietary supplements available in the market. Diet pills tablets, fiber diet supplements or weight loss supplement mixtures are some of the most common types of dietary supplements that are in demand.
Amongst the above mentioned varieties, diet pills and diet tablets are, without doubt, the most commonly consumed type of supplements. People prefer diet tablets as they are easy to procure, easy to consume and easy to keep tabs on. If you search in the market, you will also find several herbal dietary supplements in the form of herbal diet pills and herbal slimming tablets available in the market.
Weight loss tablets, thus, can be divided into 3 different types:
- Prescription drugs
- Over-the-counter drugs
- Herbal supplements
How Prescription Diet Pills Work
Prescription diet pills are those kinds which are specially prescribed by a doctor or a physician. Prescription diet drugs used for weight loss are either appetite suppressants or are available as fat blockers.
Appetite suppressants such as phentermine, diethylpropion and sibutramine directly affect that area of the brain that deals with regulation of appetite of a person. The drugs block this part of the brain from absorbing norepinephrine and serotonin. This results in the person feeling full and satiated and thus, the person ends up eating less.
On the other hand, fat blockers stop the lipase enzyme from breaking down the fat in the food you eat. This means that, a majority of the portion of fat is removed from the body through the bowels before it can be broken down and absorbed by the body.
How Over-the-Counter Diet Drugs Work
Previously, a large number of over the counter drugs such as weight loss tablets and diet supplements were available in the market. But, unfortunately, most of them had the presence of ephedra and caffeine, the two main ingredients. ephedra creates a satiate affect, making the consumer feel full. At the same time, caffeine makes the person feel more energized and increases his/her metabolism rate.
But a couple of years ago, weight loss supplements containing ephedra were banned from the market since it was found the ephedra caused several adverse and side effects in the consumer. Most such over the counter weight loss supplement drugs have now replaced ephedra with synephrine.
Such drugs have helped a large number of people to lose weight by increasing their metabolism rate and also increasing their energy at the same time.
How Herbal Supplements Work
There is no dearth of herbal weight loss supplements in the market. Some herbal products contain a particular herb whereas; others contain a combination of several herbs.
Herbal ephedra, guar gum, guarana, glucomannan, conjugated linoleic acid, country mallow, green tea, caffeine, psyllium, Hydrocitric acid and chitosan are some of the most common herbs used in dietary and weight loss herbal products. Such herbs have been known to increase metabolism, create a satiate feeling and reduce absorption of fat in the body.