FDA warns to stop taking Hydroxycut-causes liver damage

[jdl80]

The fun thing about this is that most supplements are not even FDA approved, so that begs the question, if they don't approve them then how can they recall them?

[Jeff The Producer]

FDA to dieters: Don't use supplement Hydroxycut

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR – 47 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Government health officials warned dieters and body builders Friday to immediately stop using Hydroxycut, a widely sold supplement linked to cases of serious liver damage and at least one death.

The Food and Drug Administration said the company that makes the dietary supplement has agreed to recall 14 Hydroxycut products. Available in grocery stores and pharmacies, Hydroxycut is advertised as made from natural ingredients. At least 9 million packages were sold last year, the FDA said.

Dr. Linda Katz of the FDA's food and nutrition division said the agency has received 23 reports of liver problems, including the death of a 19-year-old boy living in the Southwest. The teenager died in 2007, and the death was reported to the FDA this March.

Other patients experienced symptoms ranging from jaundice, or yellowing of the skin, to liver failure. One received a transplant and another was placed on a list to await a new liver. The patients were otherwise healthy and their symptoms began after they started using Hydroxycut, regulators said.

Iovate Health Sciences, which makes the diet pills, said in a statement that the 2007 death of the teenager was not caused by Hydroxycut. The statement gave no details.

"The number of adverse event reports described by the FDA in its advisory is small relative to the many millions of people who have used Hydroxycut products over the past seven years," said the company statement. "Iovate's own assessment of the potential risk associated with the use of these products differs from that expressed by the FDA."

On its Web site, the company said it agreed to the recall out of "an abundance of caution." Iovate is based in Canada, with U.S. offices near Buffalo, N.Y. Consumers can get a refund by returning the pills to the store that sold them, the company said.

Dietary supplements aren't as tightly regulated by the government as medications. Manufacturers don't need to prove to the FDA that their products are safe and effective before they can sell them to consumers.

But regulators monitor aftermarket reports for signs of trouble, and in recent years companies have been put under stricter requirements to alert the FDA when they learn of problems. In 2004, the government banned ephedra, an ingredient in many supplements, linked to heart attacks and strokes.

Katz said it has taken so long to get a handle on the Hydroxycut problem because the cases of liver damage were rare and the FDA has no authority to review supplements before they're marketed. "Part of the problem is that the FDA looks at dietary supplements from a post-market perspective, and an isolated incident is often difficult to follow," she said.

The FDA relies on voluntary reports to detect such problems, and many cases are never reported, officials acknowledge.

Health officials said they have been unable to determine which Hydroxycut ingredients are potentially toxic, partially because the formulation has changed several times.

Public health researcher Ano Lobb, who has studied Hydroxycut and other dietary supplements for Consumer Reports, said the problem may be an ingredient called hydroxycitric acid. Derived from a tropical fruit, it's been linked to liver problems in at least one medical journal study. Lobb said it's likely that other supplements containing the same ingredient remain on the market.

"You really have to be careful about dietary supplements, especially weight-loss pills," said Lobb. "People believe that the FDA has verified that these products are at least safe and effective, and that's really not the case. When you see fantastic claims — that's generally what they are."

[DECABEATZ]

Not like it really works anyway he also took 40 tylenol that day too but they still think its the hydroxycut

[Strikerrjones]

The fun thing about this is that most supplements are not even FDA approved, so that begs the question, if they don't approve them then how can they recall them?

I think MuscleTech recalled it themselves.

[fitmomma3]

23 "reports" out of 9 million packages sold!!! WOW I'm pretty obsessive about what I ingest but I think I'll take the chances with those odds... jeez!

[Skeptic]

So what? Eat less, exercise more, save your money.

[Niles]

I was just watching MSNBC news and they flashed a breaking report at 11:10 this morning and stated that the FDA advises anyone who is currently using Hydroxycut to stop immediately.There was a death recently due to liver damage and the person at the time was using Hydroxycut.Of course there is no further proof that it was the supplement that did this but they are working to pull it off all store shelves as soon as possible.

life kills.......

[Sandpig]

While you're at it, grab a carton of cigarettes

That's what I was thinking. Alcohol and tobacco need to be banned ASAP!

[John Romano]

Let me give you guys some perspective: Hydroxycut is the number one skew at Wallmart. At Wallmart alone, Muscletech does $300 Million a year. Do you have any idea what recalling all that product will cost MT?

LOl... There goes MD's 25 pages of Muscletech ads....

[GREENMACHINE23]

let me give you guys some perspective: Hydroxycut is the number one skew at wallmart. At wallmart alone, muscletech does $300 million a year. Do you have any idea what recalling all that product will cost mt?

Lol... There goes md's 25 pages of muscletech ads....

lmao:d

[stinger]

Another question is, what type of health were they in when they started taking it, and did they see a doctor. I bet not one of these individuals read the warnigs or sought advice form a professional.

[LainaJ]

bingo... they are fucked.. walmart, grocery stores, c stores gas stations.. They are everywhere and to have to recall 16 of their products.. OUCH

Let me give you guys some perspective: Hydroxycut is the number one skew at Wallmart. At Wallmart alone, Muscletech does $300 Million a year. Do you have any idea what recalling all that product will cost MT?

LOl... There goes MD's 25 pages of Muscletech ads....

[Por2gue]

Hey how about all the people that die each year from OTC pain killers? Wonder why that's never mentioned....it's thousands of times more than one death.

Frosty for President, truth brother!

[bigchamp89]

don't worry. Hydroxycut causes 589% more liver damage than any other fat burner on the market! The study was done at the greater north carolina under-graduate post-community college of findings.

lmfao!

[John Romano]

bingo... they are fucked.. walmart, grocery stores, c stores gas stations.. They are everywhere and to have to recall 16 of their products.. OUCH

Yup... the bigger they are the harder they fall.