Weight loss myths: The dangers of using vitamin pills, amphetamines, and laxatives for weight loss

Myth 6: Taking vitamin pills to lose weight

Vitamins are essential nutrients for maintaining human life. The food we eat every day contains various vitamins to meet our body's needs. To prevent vitamin deficiency, various vitamin pills are available on the market, providing a backup plan to ensure that vitamin intake is not insufficient and thus does not affect health.

In this situation, some people intuitively believe that as long as they take vitamin pills with every meal and stop eating rice, chicken, duck, fish, and other high-calorie foods, wouldn't they achieve their weight loss goals while maintaining their health? It seems like a shortcut to weight loss. People who think this way truly have no understanding of the body's biochemical processes!

Our bodies rely on the constant metabolism of various organs and tissues to sustain life. These organs and tissues consume energy during their metabolic processes, and the main sources of energy are starches such as grains, lactose, and fructose-commonly known as carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are absorbed by the intestines and stomach, converted into glucose, and then transformed into energy within the body. Oily foods such as butter and salad oil can be broken down into fatty acids and glycerol, also producing energy in the body.

Protein is broken down into amino acids in the body to form muscles, while vitamins make cells active and facilitate smoother metabolism. Therefore, if we only eat vitamins and not carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, we might not have any problems for a day or two, because the fat tissue stored in the body can still be converted into energy. However, if we continue to avoid sugars, fats, and proteins, we will eventually deplete our life energy reserves, leading to exhaustion or shock.

In fact, the amount of vitamins our bodies need daily is not large. A balanced diet at each of our three meals can generally provide what our bodies require. For example, carrots are rich in vitamin A; milk contains vitamin D; oranges contain vitamin C, and so on. We don't need to worry about vitamin deficiencies leading to conditions like dry eye (vitamin A deficiency), angular cheilitis (vitamin B deficiency), rickets (vitamin D deficiency), sepsis (vitamin C deficiency), or neuritis (vitamin E deficiency). What we need to focus on is maintaining a balanced diet.

However, if someone avoids eating solid foods due to dieting and fears vitamin deficiencies affecting their health, they might resort to taking large amounts of vitamin pills as a substitute. This approach is not necessarily wise. As mentioned earlier, the human body cannot function without carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Excessive vitamin intake can also be detrimental to health. For example, fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K can accumulate in the body and cause poisoning if taken in excess. Therefore, vitamin pills should be taken according to the recommended daily dosage and should not be consumed arbitrarily.

During weight loss, due to reduced food intake, there is a concern about insufficient vitamin intake, so multivitamin pills can be taken as needed.

Myth 7: Taking amphetamines to lose weight

There have been instances of amphetamines being used as weight-loss drugs in the past. However, due to their adverse side effects and significant impact on physical and mental health, they are now largely banned. Amidst widespread anti-drug calls in society, using amphetamines for weight loss is not only harmful to health but also illegal.

Amphetamines are used as weight-loss drugs primarily because, after being absorbed by the body, they inhibit the hypothalamus's "feeding center," excite the central nervous system, make people feel excited, reduce sleep, and decrease appetite, resulting in natural weight loss. However, clinical findings show that while amphetamines may be effective in the short term for weight-loss patients, they are almost entirely ineffective in the long term. Moreover, the consequences can nearly sacrifice a person's lifelong health and well-being.

Here's a true story: A man suffering from severe obesity once told him, "You're so fat, you can take some amphetamines; they'll help you lose weight and boost your energy." His friend generously gave him some for free. After taking it for a while, the man became addicted. Without it, he experienced body aches and restlessness, and couldn't stop taking it. His friend then said he couldn't give the medication away anymore and had to buy it, costing an average of one to two thousand yuan a month. Even worse, as his addiction worsened, his friend eventually sold him heroin. Heroin is expensive, costing an average of one to two thousand yuan a day. Without heroin, the man felt weak and suffered from constant diarrhea. Unable to bear the financial and health losses, he had no choice but to seek medical help at the hospital.

When the doctor learned that he had taken amphetamines on the advice of a friend in an attempt to lose weight, but observed that he had not lost much weight and was still as obese as before, the doctor felt sorry for him and could only do everything possible to help him quit drugs.

Generally speaking, long-term or excessive use of amphetamines will inevitably lead to addiction, insomnia, constipation, hallucinations, and other side effects. Side effects include talkativeness, anxiety, emotional instability, and irritability. In rare cases, it can cause suicidal or violent tendencies, resulting in severe personality changes and chronic mental illness. Once dependence develops, depression may occur upon discontinuation. Therefore, amphetamines are no longer used medically as weight-loss drugs for obese patients. We urge everyone not to use this inappropriate method for weight loss, lest you end up with addiction and lifelong regret.

Myth 8: Using laxatives to lose weight

Mrs. Li, 35, had tried everything to lose weight, but without much success. In desperation, she bought laxatives from a pharmacy, hoping to stop the absorption of nutrients from food and thus lose weight. For the first few days, she seemed to have lost a lot of weight, and she was secretly pleased with herself, thinking, "I'll keep trying." However, one day, she collapsed and fainted while using the toilet and was rushed to the emergency room.

There are many types of laxatives. Bulk-forming laxatives, such as those rich in plant fiber like psyllium husk gum and methylcellulose synthesized from psyllium husk, absorb water, increase stool volume, and make it softer and easier to pass. Paraffin wax and sesame oil stimulate and lubricate the intestinal walls, making bowel movements easier. Another type is osmotic laxatives, such as magnesium oxide, which cause diarrhea by stimulating the intestinal walls. These medications are usually used to treat constipation or when certain examinations require stool removal. Laxatives vary in severity. Using them abruptly for weight loss can lead to severe cases of acute diarrhea and even collapse. Laxatives themselves can cause abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. Prolonged diarrhea can cause electrolyte imbalances, mineral and vitamin deficiencies, malnutrition, and dehydration. Weight will rebound once the medication is discontinued.

Therefore, using laxatives for weight loss is only temporary and goes against natural physiological processes. Because important bodily fluids, minerals, and water may be lost, it can have adverse effects on health. Therefore, it is not advisable to take laxatives indiscriminately for weight loss, lest you end up like Mrs. Li, needing emergency hospitalization and regretting your decision.

Currently, there are many diet pills, diet candies, diet milk powders, or diet pills with unclear ingredients on the market. If they cause diarrhea, they mostly contain laxatives. Therefore, diet foods with unclear labels should not be used.