You will discover so many dieting, weight loss and lose the fat items in the marketplace that it can be difficult making a choice. Manufacturers understand the advertising value of using organic and natural ingredients. That is why you constantly see the use of natural materials on the labels because the marketing is successful. But there is a strong word of caution to consumers with these programs. An unsuspecting consumer is perhaps the dilemma because people do tend to routinely trust something that is natural, or herbal. People tend not to question the safety of these products, and they are unaware of real dangers to health and life. However, numerous herbal products do have potential negative effects, and there can occasionally be dangerous interactions with medicines. Still, yet another situation concerns the individual who has a tendency to react badly to a specific herb.

Then we next reach a subject that has been debated and causes great worry among physicians. There are far too many herbal plant products for clinical and scientific research to completely study for health and safety. What does often happen is a manufacturer will pay a laboratory to complete research on a certain substance. As is clear to see, that reveals certain difficulties along the lines of unbiased research. So it is no surprise when the results are positive and the promises are terrific. There are usually many ethical issues associated with that situation as is plain to see. Consumers who use these items are taking massive risk, perhaps and depending on the exact ingredients.

Out of all the so-called herbal diet supplements over the years, hardly any have been seriously studied. One exception is ephedra when used with caffeine because they actually produce results for weight reduction. However, you may recollect that ephedra was prohibited in the US not many years ago. Most recently a new alternative emerged, Hoodia was launched in the marketplace amidst a lot of marketing and hype. This product, which is a plant derivative out of South Africa, has been examined to some extent. However there are important potential problems for people with certain health conditions. The way hoodia functions is it interrupts the capability for the brain to realize thirst and hunger feelings. If you have any medical ailments, and even if you don't, you should find out all you can prior to using it.

Here is a great example of what can arise with unproven, untested herbal weight loss ingredients. A weight reduction herbal product was used in Belgium which resulted in kidney failure for nearly a hundred people. Another fraction of people survived permanent kidney problems. Also, there was evidence of lesions that were cancerous in a number of the kidneys that had been taken out of those people. The herbal compound used was Aristolochia fangchi, but the alarming part was that it was mistakenly used in place of a totally different herbal ingredient.

History is rich in tales about beneficial uses for herbal remedies to treat many illnesses. Having said that, clearly any person should exercise careful attention. Unfortunately there will almost always be a percentage of people who will never exercise good prudence in these circumstances.