The OCU is clear about food supplements to lose weight: yes or no?

18% of Spaniards buy and consume food supplements to lose weight, indicates the latest survey of the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) in this regard. With the promise of losing weight in a simple way, these products are marketed without No scientific evidence that demonstrates its effectiveness and with a label that sometimes does not comply with the regulations.

From the OCU they position themselves against these products and recommend following a healthy diet and exercise If you want to lose weight. Nor do they support the use of injections to lose weight that, although they are effective, they are somewhat misleading, since when leaving the treatment, much of the lost weight is recovered again. However, the case of food supplements is worse and can even become dangerous for Health. Therefore, the OCU has analyzed several food supplements that are marketed to check if they contain illegal substances in its composition that suppress appetite and stimulate metabolism.

In his study, only a product with an illegal substance has been found. It’s about Fasterdetoxwhich contains Ephedrine and has already been denounced to the Spanish Agency for Food Security and Nutrition (AESAN). However, there have also been cases in which Declarations of healthy properties fail to comply with the standard. These products are:

Other products, meanwhile, include some statements in their statements botanical components that are pending approval for AESAN and that, therefore, should not be marketed yet. These are:

The OCU also warns that botanical extracts are not harmless and They can have adverse effects. An example of this is the Garcinia Cambogia, present in nine of the analyzed products, which is being evaluated by the EFSA for its potential toxic effect for the liver.