As most of you probably know by now, the popular weight loss supplement Hydroxycut has been linked to liver problems and is being recalled with reports stating “…FDA’s food and nutrition division said the agency has received 23 reports of liver problems, including the death of a 19-year-old boy living in the Southwest. The teenager died in 2007, and the death was reported to the FDA this March.”
At this point, it’s impossible to know what, if any, actual cause and effect exists here, but it sounds like the right move on their part. The company producing it keeps changing the formula(s), but the last time I looked, there was nothing in that product that should be hepato toxic at such doses. Someone made some noise – you know, an “expert” -about the HCA being hepato toxic, but I have seen no data to support that in the many studies done in humans and animals and regardless, at the doses used in that product, it’s a non issue. It aint the HCA.
My hunch is this: If there is any cause and effect (and that is FAR from proven at this time…) I would suspect a contaminant of some sort due to Chinese sourced ingredients some supp companies use. My advice when consulting to supplement companies is to NEVER use any Chinese sourced ingredients no matter the cost savings. I am sad to report, most companies source at least some % of their ingredients from China, and I will use no company’s products if they source from China.
Secondly, Acetaminophen is very hepato toxic and causes liver failures every year and it does no get any press such as this, so with millions of doses used, some perspective is required here….
If interested, the warning letter from the FDA can be found here:
