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Herbal elements used in diet pills

Many of today’s diet pills use mostly natural substances, herbs, and other organic compounds to get results. Due to the harmful side effects of many diet pill substances of the past, this is a welcome change. Since many of the names of the herbs and natural ingredients may be new to you, this quick glossary should help you decipher some of the more common ones.

• Caffeine—easy to obtain; just drink tea, coffee or a soft drink. Caffeine helps suppress the appetite, increase metabolism, and serves as a diuretic, drawing water out of the cells and decreasing its affect on your weight.
• Dahlia—sustains the body’s natural process of metabolizing carbohydrates, which are a major cause of weight gain.
• Ephedra—as a powerful stimulant of the nervous system, this naturally occurring drug increases metabolism dramatically, though it does have potential harmful side effects.
• Fucoxanthin—a naturally occurring element of seaweed, fucoxanthin has been used in Asian cuisine for centuries. It increases the metabolic rate, especially in the process of breaking down abdominal fat.
• Guar Gum—laxative, appetite suppressant
• Guarana—a South American berry containing caffeine; functions as an appetite suppressant, and also increase response time, alertness, and stamina. It also stimulates the migration of lipid fats in order to allow them to be metabolized rapidly.
• Hoodia (hoodia gordonii)—this plant is a natural appetite suppressant, causing the body to feel full even after eating a small portion.
• Khat—the leaves of this small shrub are chewed for the release of a compound that reduces appetite.
• Ma Huang—the Chinese plant from which ephedra is extracted (see ephedra)
• Porangaba Tea (also Cha de Bugre)—a Brazilian tea that helps suppress appetite
• Psyllium—an herb which makes the body feel full while consuming fewer calories

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