Weight loss pills can lead to severe poisoning

Garcinia cambogia is a well-known dietary supplement that is added to weight loss products. But drugs with Garcinia cambogia can pose a health risk to people who are simultaneously undergoing treatment with antidepressants.

A year ago, a woman was admitted to a hospital in Oregon who was taking a weight loss supplement that contained Garcinia cambogia. At the same time, the woman was taking a course of antidepressants prescribed by her doctor. After several months of treatment, the woman developed speech problems (she began to stutter) and also began to suffer from profuse sweating. In the hospital's intensive care unit, the woman was also diagnosed with tachycardia, high blood pressure, and involuntary muscle spasms. Doctors at the medical center found excessive doses of serotonin in the woman's body. When prescribing antidepressants, the woman did not tell her doctor that she was taking a weight loss drug with Garcinia cambogia, which led to such disastrous consequences.

In this case, specialists cannot say whether the woman had an individual intolerance or whether this reaction is a side effect of such complex treatment.

The research team decided to check whether antidepressants combined with weight loss drugs containing Garcinia cambogia are actually dangerous to health, since the case of the American woman is an isolated one.

In their early studies on animals and humans, scientists found that Garcinia cambogia leads to an increase in serotonin in the body. Selective inhibitors and antidepressants have the same effect, i.e. they lead to an increase in serotonin in the body, which ultimately leads to severe poisoning.

Garcinia cambogia is also known as Indian date (tamarind). Experts have mixed opinions about whether Garcinia cambogia supplements are effective for weight loss, however, studies on rodents have shown that high doses of this substance in the body lead to testicular atrophy and have a toxic effect.

Scientists are unable to establish the exact number of people who have suffered from the toxic effects of drugs with Garcinia cambogia. In addition, doctors do not rule out that biologically active supplements with Garcinia cambogia may contain other compounds that can affect the body and lead to unexpected consequences.

In addition, the main component may be missing from the dietary supplements; for example, valium was found in preparations with valerian, which helped normalize sleep.

Today, there is no body that would control the components and quantities of dietary supplements. When taking medications, you can be sure of what substances and in what quantities the drug contains, which cannot be said about dietary supplements (DS). Therefore, the currently popular weight loss pills may contain Garcinia cambogia, but this compound may not be included in the composition indicated on the packaging, which can ultimately cause severe poisoning.