The dirty little weight loss secret

The online product, Secret Fat Burner promises to be a quick fix without a strict diet or going to gym, but instead of weight loss, you are likely to have health problems added to the scale.

Ballito based registered nurse Bridgette Allan said Secret Fat Burner has been advertised on the North Coast for a long time.

“I am sure there are loads of people in the area taking these pills. I see so many people taking all sorts of pills and potions in a desperate attempt to lose weight,” said Allan, who works primarily with diabetics and is focused on healthy lifestyle changes.

“People feel ashamed of being overweight and because of the stigma they are often not forthcoming about what they are taking to try lose weight.

“Educating the public about both the ineffectiveness of all weight loss supplements and the dangers of unregulated pills is really important.”

Ballito’s Angelica J Dessipris commented on a local Facebook page that she had a terrible reaction and will never take the pills again.

“I had one day where I literally could not feel my face and I had serious palpitations. I was pacing for hours, like I was on speed or something – so scary,” said Dessipris.

Ballito resident Susan Stanley tried the product too and although she did not have any negative reactions, she did not lose any weight either.

“I used the product for a month and although I exercised, I did not lose any weight. When I contacted the supplier, they at first ignored me and later said I probably had a fake version of their product. The links in their advert have also suddenly stopped working and the original website is down,” said Stanley.

East Coast Radio’s consumer watch Wendy Knowler said while the packaging claims the tablets contain natural sounding ingredients – Bitter Orange Extract, Cassia Seed and Green Tea Extract, a closer look revealed the reason for the side effects.

She said The Society for Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes of South Africa SEMDSA had the product tested by an independent accredited laboratory showing the presence of Hydrochlorothiazide, Sibutramine, Levo-thyroxine (T4) and Triiodothyronine (T3).

Sibutramine has been banned in many countries and is no longer registered as an ingredient which can be sold in SA because the appetite suppressant was found to increase the risk of irregular heart rhythms and stroke.

The others are scheduled ingredients, and products that contain them should only be sold with a prescription.

SEMDSA said people taking the product could get palpitations, anxiety, heat intolerance, aggravation of hypertension and cardiac complications such as atrial fibrillation and cardiac failure,” said Knowler on the radio station’s Consumer Watch segment last week.

The Secret Fat Burner – Original Facebook page put up a notice to “beware of counterfeit The Secret” stating that their product has “been faked once again”.

However the reliability of this claim is yet to be verified.

Attempts to contact the Secret Fat Burner distributers were unsuccessful.

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