Are Dodgy Diet Pills Really Worth Your Health?



It's January and with January comes the resolutions that loads of people (myself included) make with commitments to our health. Sometimes this also includes loosing weight and getting fit which should be gradual process in order to be safe, however not everyone takes this gradual approach and opt for aids to help them loss weight faster which can have dangerous repercussions to your health.

Before Christmas the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) contacted me and asked if I would like to be involved in their Fake Meds campaign, I thought now would be the perfect time to put up this blog post as a lot of people make it a New Years resolution to loose weight and get fit. If you google diet pills, you get over 7 million results however not all of those sellers are out to look after you and your health.

Now I'm not saying every diet pill is awful and you should never use them, I even tried Gravitate Nutrition 100% natural supplements to help me with my weight loss plateau and to help support my exercise regime and diet, which I can't wait to start including some yummy products from Goodyfull (which I am going to do a full blog post on soon). It is so important to be aware of what you buy, if you ever buy any of type of medication online. It would be lovely (and unrealistic) to think that every product that is sold online is safe and made to beneficial to you. Unfortunately not everyone is looking after your health when you purchase medications online, these don't just include diet pills or medications, essentially any tablet/liquids/powder you can buy online has the potential to be incredibly harmful to your health, even deadly!

The scary part of it all is that innocent people are lured into sites that sell these fake medications with the guarantee of results, positive reviews and free trials of their products. Whilst some pills claim to give you these amazing results, have a quick look around and unfortunately quite easily you will find news articles of people who have died or have almost died due to taking products that contain Sibutramine or Dinitrophenol (DNP). Sibutramine has been banned on the UK market since 2010 as even though it was marketed for obesity and weight loss, the drug was taken off the market due to associated risks of strokes and cardiovascular events. DNP however is actually licensed for sale as a pesticide, but it is being put into cheap, illegal diet pills and is actually highly toxic for human consumption.

To help to stay safe online, the MHRA have come up with some tips to help you stay safe and healthy during 2017 whilst achieving your New Years resolutions. 


  • Look for the distance selling logo ~ All online retailers that sell medications are legally required to display this logo. This ensures that you are buying from registered and approved sellers and are getting the safest products possible. The MHRA have even set up a website that you can search to see if the website you are considering purchasing from is legal and report illegal websites to them.

  • The CE mark ~ Any device in the UK that displays this mark is showing you that they have complied with regulatory requirements to make safe to use and works as intended.

  • Check the websites carefully ~ A reputable, safe seller will have a professional website, websites that have been made by people selling fake products will be littered with mistakes. Websites with spelling or grammatical mistakes, poor design and pop-ups should ring alarm bells when you view them as scammers will rush together a bad website in order to start getting orders and money in.

  • Look out for small print ~ Before you think about ordering, look out for the small print as websites that are selling fake products or to scam you will often have sign up process where you have to provide bank details for a 'free' trial. If you look at the small print on these websites, you may find that by signing up for their free trial, you're actually agreeing to larger regular payments to be taken from your bank account.

  • Look for the padlock ~ Be sure to look for the padlock or unbroken key symbol next to the URL before you enter any personal information. This ensures that the information you enter is encrypted and your information is safe.

  • Herbal does not equal safe ~ Not all herbal medications are safe with 100% natural ingredients. The MHRA have seized thousands of 'herbal' slimming products that contain Sibutramine which can cause heart attacks and strokes. If you are unsure whether the product you have is actually herbal and all natural you can check for a Traditional Herbal Registration logo or PL/THR number, this tells you that the MHRA have assessed it for safety.

  • Gimmick marketing ~ Be wise of the use of gimmick marketing, many illegal websites will use gimmick terms like 'detox' and 'fat melting' to draw you in from reputable brands. I know it sounds stupid as well but keep your eyes peeled as if a product arrives and says not for human consumption, please stay well away!

Please please remember to safe stay online, it important to remember that nothing is worth your health. You have to be so careful about what medications you put into your body especially with medications like slimming products as sadly people will go to harmful lengths just to get money.

Remember to stay safe and you are beautiful!

Speak to you next time!
*MHRA asked me to get involved in their fake drugs campaign, they helped provide me with the facts in order to write this blog post.
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Danielle Levy
3 Comments

3 comments:

  1. Love this...I've been almost tempted by them so many times! x

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    Replies
    1. It's dangerous and scary what people can sell nowadays on the internet xxx

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  2. This is the most ideal way and arrangement towards shedding pounds at a quick pace. askmewhyagel

    ReplyDelete