Contaminated Diet Pills Can Cause Heart Attack and Stroke FDA Warns

The U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning to consumers who use any of the 28 illegal diet pills listed below, often times marketed as dietary supplements or weight loss products, to stop using them immediately and consult your physician. These diet pills and weight loss products contain ingredients that can have serious side effects like heart attack, stroke, seizures, high blood pressure, and tachycardia.

In some cases, these ingredients are not declared on the label and the diet pills contain more than three times the recommended daily dose allowed by the FDA in legal used of the ingredients. Certain consumers are at higher risk of adverse health events if these diet pills are taken in combination with other medications. More information about the ingredients is provided later in this article.

The 28 tainted weight loss diet supplements include these brand names sold on the Internet and in retail outlets:

Fatloss Slimming

2 Day Diet

3x Slimming Power

Japan Lingzhi 24 Hours Diet

5x Imelda Perfect Slimming

3 Day Diet

7 Day Herbal Slim

8 Factor Diet

7 Diet Day/Night Formula

999 Fitness Essence

Extrim Plus

GMP

Imelda Perfect Slim

Lida DaiDaihua

Miaozi Slim Capsules

Perfect Slim

Perfect Slim 5x

Phyto Shape

ProSlim Plus

Royal Slimming Formula

Slim 3 in 1

Slim Express 360

Superslim

Slimtech

Somotrim

Venom Hyperdrive 3.0

Triple Slim

Zhen de Shou

In particular, there are four active pharmaceutical ingredients found by the FDA, of which one or more are used illegally in the above 28 diet pills and pose serious health risks in those weight loss products:

Sibutramine - a controlled substance used in Meridia (used to treat obesity) that can have have adverse drug events when taken in combination with other medications. The safety of this drug has not been established on children younger than 16 or pregnant women. In many cases, the 28 weight loss products above claim to be "natural" or say that they only contain "herbal" ingredients, but in fact, contain amounts of these controlled substances that far exceed the maximum recommended doses. This wrongful use can cause high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, bleeding events, and seizures.

Rimonabant - known as Zimulti and Acomplia, neither of which is approved for marketing in the United States. This substance has been associated with increased risks of depression and suicide and has been linked to five deaths and 720 adverse health reactions in Europe during the past two years. When the FDA tested these drugs in 2007, they did not approve these drugs because they found increased risks of anxiety, insomnia, aggressiveness, depression, suicidal thoughts and seizures among patients.

Phenytoin - an anti-seizure medication. This is the active ingredient contained in Dilantin which is an approved anti-seizure medication. However, the FDA found this chemical in some of the 28 diet pills listed above and could pose a health risk to those people who have an allergic reaction to phenytoin because the ingredient is not disclosed on some of the diet pill packaging.

Phenolphthalein - used in chemical experiments and believed to be a cancer-causing agent. This was approved in some laxatives until 1999 when the FDA reclassified it after studies showed a carcinogenic risk as well as having the potential to mutate DNA or cause damage to genes.

The FDA urges consumers to stop taking the 28 dietary supplements, weight loss products and diet pills listed above. The FDA advises you to seek medical attention if you have been taking any of these 28 weight loss dietary supplements.

The FDA says warning signs that other similar products used for obesity, diabetes, hair loss, and erectile dysfunction may be health frauds include messages like:

Provides an easy fix

Claims to be a scientific breakthrough

Claims to be a miraculous cure using a secret or ancient remedy

Claims that the product is safe because it is natural

Undocumented case histories, testimonials, or claims by consumers and doctors about amazing results

Promises of no-risk to you and money-back guarantees