The Dangers of Brazilian Diet Pills

A New Diet Fad Hits the Market

Dieters are constantly looking for that magic pill to shed the weight off. So, when pills from an exotic place hit the market, many snatched them off the store counters.

Marketing suggested that these pills were the craze in Brazil and that all the "beautiful and slim" people there were taking them. This sale's pitch was enough for many to throw caution aside and snatch up these pills. And if it wasn't in the stores, one could order them through mail. Nobody paid attention to its effectiveness and health concerns.

The Dark Side of Brazilian Diet Pills

So what went wrong? There was a simple reason why Brazilian diet pills didn’t work; most of the ingredients in these “herbal” pills were useless. Like many diet pills, it seemed to be full of fancy-sounding fillers grounded up and stuffed in gel capsules.

Simply put, these pills had a dark side. Traces of illicit drugs had been found in them. In other cases, the other ingredients were dangerous enough to make one ill. Either way, these pills not only didn’t work, they had the potential to put the dieter’s health at stake.

Types of Pills

At its height, Brazilian diet pills came in several shape, sizes and ingredients. Often, the most popular forms were capsules.

There were several brands of diet pills that were actually produced in Brazil and marketed throughout the world (including the United States). One brand is called the Brazilian Diet Pill; another was known as Herbathin.

The most popular, Brazilian Diet Pill, was also known as Emagrece Sim. The maker marketed as a pill with "natural ingredients". The use of the term of natural was made the pills seem harmless. In addition, it played on the belief that anything natural would work effectively. This is a marketing ploy that's used by many brands pertaining to foods and drugs.

The claims by the diet pill makers, or course, was misleading. For one things, the claims made by these companies were never substantiated nor scientifically tested for results in a controlled experiment before being made public to the consumers.

Often, over-the-counter diet pills have not been tested and many have never been endorsed or approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States.

Brazilian diet pills were no different. The FDA never approved them. However, they were later examined by other labs, especially when there were signs of adverse effects among its users. This was enough for the FDA to take notice and issue a dire warning.

Warning to Consumers

Eventually, the federal agency condemned some of these pills. In 2006, the FDA warned consumers not to use the brands, Emagrece Sim and Herbathin. According to their press release, they stated the pills contained “several active ingredients, including controlled substances, found in prescription drugs.”

First reported by the Miami Herald -- and confirmed by the FDA -- the pills had a type of amphetamine, as well as tranquilizers and antidepressants, in its system. These drugs required a prescription in the United States.

Amphetamines, the most common ingredient found in these pills, were (and still are) classified as a controlled substance due to its addictive qualities. Once used to treat depression, it was discovered that the drug caused weight loss in its users.

As a result, it became a popular ingredient in numerous diet pills produced in the United States. However, amphetamines were removed from these pills when it was discovered that they were highly addictive and had the potential to harm its users.

Herbal and Natural were based on the false premise that anything natural – not manufactured – or anything produced from plants is supposedly better for the dieter.

There have been several recorded incidences in which the Brazilian pills had done more harm than good. The same Miami Herald article reported a case in which four women seeking employment at a Miami hospital were turned down after they tested positive for an illicit drug. The women claimed they were taking one of the over-the-counter Brazilian diet pills.

In this case, the women gave the pills to the head of human resources for the hospital. The pills were examined in a laboratory, which confirmed that amphetamine was present in them.

Additionally, other dieters on Emagrece Sim or Herbathin had reported feeling “hyper” or not being able to fall asleep. Others have reported that the pills had to go through several levels of usage before it started to work. It was not reported if this was the result of the dieters changing their eating habits or being more active, aside from taking these pills.

The Detox Pill

Emagrece Sim had another claim to their pills that raised concerns. This particular brand operated on a two-part pill system designed to cleanse and detoxify the body, and then boost the energy and metabolism of the dieter. A yellow pill acts as “cleanser” and “detox” pill while an orange pill was supposed to support "metabolism and energy" by burning fat, increasing energy, and stamina and reducing feelings of hunger.

The ingredients of these pills were as follows:

• Yellow pill contains magnesium hydroxide, carqueja, fedegoso, jurubeba, guava leaf, gervao, abuta and psyllium.
• The orange pill contains Cha de Bugre, Yerba Mate, Guarana, and Damiana.

There are no forms of amphetamines in these ingredients; however, its effects were based on the principles that have never been proven to work. In fact, many of these ingredients were inert and had no real effect.

Suspicious Labeling

All these pills tended to use marketing terms such as cleanse, detox, herbal, and natural. Detox referred to the belief that toxins (also called impurities) in the body needed to be removed in order for someone to lose weight or be healthy.

Cleansing was often associated with the colon; the belief is that cleaning that area would rid the body of harmful bacteria or toxins.

Detox or “cleansers” have never been proven to work...

"Herbal" and "natural" were based on the false premise that anything natural (not manufactured) or anything produced from plants was supposedly better for the dieter.

Detox or “cleansers” have never been proven to work. In addition, its claim was similar to the stuff they’re supposed to remove has never been proven to be harmful. This added one more red flag to these pills.

Weight Loss For Your the Pockets

One thing was certain in terms of weight loss; most of the weight the Brazilian pill dieters lost came from their wallets. These over-the-counter pills were expensive. The Brazilian diet pills, alone, can cost up to $99.95 when ordered online and shipped to consumers.

Some of these companies offered membership as a way to get a discount by thirty dollars. These would include a weight loss guide, newsletter and more discounts on shipping. Still, these pills were expensive. Also, the membership came with a price such as monthly or yearly payments. It would also lock in the consumer to being their customers.

Problem with Short Term Diets and the Pill

Another overlooked problem with Brazilian diet pills (all of them) was that the weight-loss results were characterized as being short term. Short-term diets often suppress or restrict the calories one consumes. But, often, it doesn't changed the dieter's habit, which led to the weight gain in the first place.

In addition, in a short-term diet treatment, the dieters were losing not fat; they are losing weight created by water, which could quickly come back. It doesn’t stress the need for exercising, healthy eating or cutting calories. These pills were quick fixes that didn't have lasting results (with or without the added amphetamines).

In the quest to lose weight, many dieters have thrown caution aside. The use of Brazilian diet pills were an example of how far people would go to lose the weight.

The problem however, was that these pills didn't work. Not only that they could've caused health problems. While many of them removed the amphetamines, it didn't make the product safe or effective.