Shopping for safe weight loss supplements? Bitter orange is a weight loss supplement containing synephrine, a chemical derivative of ephedra.
Ephedra was banned by the Food and Drug Administration in 2004, fueled by 900 reports of possible toxicity. Bitter orange became popular as an alternative weight loss supplement among shoppers.
Included in the reports were incidents of stroke, heart attack, and sudden death.
Bitter orange is known to increase blood pressure and heart rate, but lacks evidence to be proven unsafe. Interestingly, use of bitter orange is banned for use by the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) for its theoretical athletic enhancement properties.
One study found the under-reporting of serious adverse drug reactions to be as much as 95 percent. To this logic, serious adverse events may have been greatly under-estimated.
Over-the-counter products are regulated by the Federal Trade Commission, not the Food and Drug Administration. For a product to be pulled from the market by the FDA, it must be deemed unsafe through scientific evidence.
In my opinion, it’s only a matter of time before supplements containing bitter orange will be pulled from shelves of drug stores across America.
Regardless of possible safety concerns, products containing bitter orange continue to be among the top selling weight loss products available.
Do you use bitter orange? Please share your thoughts by leaving your comments below!
