Hydroxycut: Don't Assume Natural Means Safe

Philadelphia, PAIf there is one thing that users of Hydroxycut supplements are learning, it is that "natural" does not necessarily equal "safe." This much was made clear after a recall of Hydroxycut diet supplements, announced after the supplements were linked to a risk of liver damage. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) uncovered the Hydroxycut liver damage based on reports of injury and at least 1 death that were linked to use of the diet supplements.

Consumers might think that a product that has all natural ingredients is inherently safe, but that is just not always true. According to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, there are a few ingredients found in Hydroxycut that could potentially be toxic. The first of these is hydroxycitric acid (HCA), the ingredient from which Hydroxycut gets its name. Back in the 1970s, according to the Inquirer, a drug-maker tried to use HCA as a weight-loss drug but quit before the drug even got to human testing. The reason the process was halted was that the ingredient was found to be toxic in animals.

Two other ingredients, chromium and Camellia sinesis (a tea plant) have both been suggested by medical literature as potential causes of liver toxicity. So, there are at least 3 "natural" ingredients in Hydroxycut that are linked to liver problems, the same problems that have been linked to the use of Hydroxycut.

The Inquirer article discusses Joseph Lim, a liver specialist at Yale, who discovered that 2 women who had been taking Hydroxycut had liver inflammation. The case reports that the FDA received that resulted in the recall announcement, including one from Lim, all had a similar pattern. The patient became suddenly ill within a few weeks or months of starting Hydroxycut. Some patients required hospitalization and most recovered or at least improved after stopping the supplement.

However, the article also notes that some patients who were diagnosed with liver disease had no idea their health was at risk, despite having taken Hydroxycut for years. That means there could be many more people out there with liver inflammation or other liver disease who have no idea that they are ill—in fact, they may only find out by accident.

Which, of course, means that the number of reported cases of liver disease linked to Hydroxycut could potentially be much, much lower than the actual number of cases. Add to that the number of people who have been diagnosed with liver disease but did not link it to Hydroxycut use and that number could skyrocket.

The reason many patients have not linked their health problems to Hydroxycut could be that they thought the product was safe because it is natural.

"The ER doctors were not able to find a cause [for my liver damage]," writes Lee G. from Philadelphia. "I did not tell them I was on Hydroxycut because I thought it was natural [and] didn't find the need to."

Lawsuits have been filed against Iovate Health Sciences, maker of Hydroxycut products, alleging the company knew that the products were unsafe but continued to market them. Furthermore, they allege the company misrepresented the safety of the products and used false and misleading advertisements in marketing the products. The class action lawsuit seeks compensatory, declaratory and injunctive relief for everyone in the class.

The bottom line is that natural is not the same thing as safe, no matter what the marketing for a supplement might tell you. If you have taken Hydroxycut, even for only a few weeks, and you are or were inexplicably ill, it is a good idea to seek medical attention to determine if you have liver damage.