Hydroxycut – Actual People, Harmful Results

If some of you out there are like me, infomercials have a weird voodoo power over your TV viewing habits.  It’s not that I find them all that entertaining, but somehow when I find myself on a channel broadcasting an infomercial, if I’ve been watching it for 30 seconds, I’m a goner.  It’s almost as if the person urging me to buy the magic bullet, or knives that cut through metal is slowly changing me into this fat old woman who sits in her La-Z-boy rocker with 20 cats all night, calling in to buy anything and everything off late running infomercials.  If we’re being logical, who is really going to be using these metal-cutting knives? Is there some sane use that I am unaware of, or are we limiting the manufacturing of these super knives specifically for butchers and serial killers?

            Getting back on point, I hope that most of you as readers agree with me that many of these products do not hold the usefulness that is advertized, but there is something about the diet and exercise infomercials that hold a power over Americans. Some of you may recognize this commercial for Hydroxycut, a prime example of a popular dietary supplement that is not all it’s cracked up to be.

            In the Tufts University Health and Nutrition Letter, an article from September 2009 talks about the dangers of this product.  The article reported, “in [May 2009], the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asked for a voluntary recall of 14 diet-aid products sold under the Hydroxycut brand”.  This recall occurred after a death linked to the products in 2007, as well as other cases of liver damage, one of such cases resulting in the need of a liver transplant.  Unlike standard drugs, the manufacturers are responsible for guaranteeing product safety; the government does not review the product before packages hit the shelves.  Because of the voluntary nature of reporting health problems related to products, the FDA didn’t learn of the Hydroxycut-related death until March 2009, over a year after the event occurred.  During this time, over 9 million units of Hydroxycut products were sold. 

            In the recent past, the companies behind products like Hydorxycut would simply settle court cases against their product with a hefty pay out.  Luckily, these companies are now required to report “adverse events” to the FDA as of 2007.  The article went into further detail discussing the laws passed to regulate dietary supplements, and the ways in which advertisements work around their limitations.  The article also ends with 5 keys to supplement smarts listed below:

1. Check with your doctor or healthcare provider.
2. Evaluate the reliability of promotional information and Web sites.
3. Investigate the so-called experts.
4. Does it sound too good to be true?
5. Don’t assume that, even if a product won’t help you, at least it won’t hurt you.

Check out the whole article titled, The Bad News About Products "Too Good to Be True". Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter, 15260143, Sep2009, Vol. 27, Issue 7, which can be found in the Academic Search Premier database.

And here is a short video explaining how Hydroxycut works: