# Weight Loss Pills. Are these ingredients legit? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 16, 2002, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weight-loss-pills-are-these-ingredients-legit/124143 "2002-08-16T03:14:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![d12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/71c47a/32.png) [@d12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/d12)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2002, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weight-loss-pills-are-these-ingredients-legit/124143/1 "2002-08-16T03:14:18Z")
Looking around ebay, I decided to enter in a random ID number and got some auction that was trying to get you to bid on some Miracle pills that “melt the fat away”. L-Carnitine Choline Bitartrate Inositol Betaine Methionine Chromium Picolinate Citrus Fiber Magnesium Sterate Are the listed ingredients in the tablets and I’m wondering if this guy is legit (but I don’t plan on buying them anyways as I can’t stand to lose anymore weight) [http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1757938015](http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1757938015) Thats his aution. Not to mention hes a real prick to anyone who leaves him anything but positive feedback. ---
**Author:** ![d12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/71c47a/32.png) [@d12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/d12)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2002, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weight-loss-pills-are-these-ingredients-legit/124143/2 "2002-08-16T18:46:03Z")
Nobody has any clue? ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2002, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weight-loss-pills-are-these-ingredients-legit/124143/3 "2002-08-16T19:56:50Z")
(Opens box of clues) It’s diffucult to say how compounds will affect us without some kind of experimental or historical data. For example, would you willingly comsume sodium chloride if all you knew about it was that it is made of a poisonous metal and a poisonous gas? If there is no supporting clinical data for these fat-burner pills, that alone is telling us something. I didn’t want to check every single one of the listed ingredients, but I doubt you will find any good cites that don’t have something to sell you. This first one caught my eye: > [@](#): > > L-Carnitine has long been used by athletes for longer workout periods. It is used in fat burners because it helps in converting stored fat into energy. It can also help in controlling hypoglycemia and thereby benefits diabetics. A deficiency can cause impairment of heart tissue. Sloppily worded- I assume they mean it helps move fatty acid chains into the muscle cells for metabolization into energy. But what is the point of turning fat into energy if you’re not active enough to use said energy? And if you _are_ active enough to be able to use all of this freshly metabolized raw energy, then why do you need the pills? ---
**Author:** ![Kamandi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5daacb/32.png) [@Kamandi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamandi)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2002, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weight-loss-pills-are-these-ingredients-legit/124143/4 "2002-08-16T20:10:56Z")
[Here’s a site](http://www.hcrc.org/faqs/chrom.html) that says: > [@](#): > > **Chromium picolinate** does not make you thinner, more muscular, stronger, or give you more energy. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2002, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weight-loss-pills-are-these-ingredients-legit/124143/5 "2002-08-16T20:31:37Z")
Another [link](http://sites.uol.com.br/mclocosta/ArtigosSuplementoseNutricao.htm). I tried without success to find a news article I saw about 2 weeks ago. There has been a recent upsurge in heat related football practice deaths and the use of Carnitine, etc. is suspected. (Deaths had fallen dramatically once the coaches were finally convinced that drinking water in practice is a _good_ thing. But going back up again.)