Diet Pills

Diet pills or weight loss pills work by various methods to help you lose weight. These pills alter how the human body absorbs calories, metabolizes calories, or alter appetite to prevent the intake of calories. You can get many different types of diet pills from prescription diet pills to over the counter diet pills, to herbals. The herbal and over the counter are not as strictly regulated. There for you must look in to see what is being provided by non-prescription diet pills. Any diet pill will work best when combined with a reduced calorie diet and exercise.

Classes of Diet Pills

Water Pills

Some pills help you get rid of water. They are called water pills or diuretics. These change how much water you have, but do not get rid of fat. They dry you up like a grape is dried up into a raisin. Except you will bounce back and rehydrate and the grape will not. The removal of water thickens the blood which makes your heart work harder. Also these can cause cramps, kidney and liver damage. Any water removed can be regained quickly and does not help you achieve you goal of losing weight.

Stimulants

These work by increasing your basal metabolism. Examples of stimulants are Ephedrine or Synephrine. In over the counter stimulants, you will find Caffeine as the main ingredient.

Blockers

These usually work by blocking the absorption of fats or carbohydrates. An example of a blocker is Xenical. Over the counter you can get Alli which is the non-prescription form of Xenical. Both Alli and Xenical are both Orlistat. Just the strength is changed.

Anorexics

These usually work by suppressing the appetite, but most of the drugs in this class also act as stimulants. Examples of Anorexics are Reductil, Acomplia or Meridia.

Side Effects of Diet Pills

Just look on the box for adverse reactions from diet pills and you will see what you might have to live with to lose weight faster than you normally would. You can suffer from anything from hyperactivity to incontinence. Stimulants can cause high blood pressure, faster heart rate, palpitations, drug addiction, restlessness, agitation, and insomnia. Anorexics can cause problems similar to stimulants. Blockers can cause oily stools, stomach pain, and flatulence. Fat blockers can interfere with absorption of vitamins A, D, E, K, and beta carotene, so a multivitamin is recommended. Some pills such as Anorexics, alter brain chemistry and the effects may not be reversible when you quit taking the pill.