Weight Loss Drug Hydroxycut Reformulated and on Shelves

Just four months after it was recalled from consumers’ shelves, the weight loss supplement Hydroxycut has been reformulated and returned to a store near you. The popular weight loss product was removed from the market because it was linked to serious liver damage and one death.

When Hydroxycut was pulled from the shelves in May 2009, the Food and Drug Administration had not identified which ingredient or ingredients in the weight loss supplement could have been responsible for the liver toxicity issues. In addition to the one death, six individuals were diagnosed with serious liver disease and two needed a liver transplant as a result.

According to ingredient labels from recalled Hydroxycut products, the weight loss product used to contain hydroxycitrate acid (touted as a carbohydrate blocker and which is extracted from tropical fruit), white tea extract, calcium, gymnema sylvestre (a tropical Indian herb), green tea extract, chromium, guarana, potassium, willow bark extract, and soy. The exact list of ingredients varied slightly depending on the product. Many of the weight loss supplements also contained caffeine.

The new Hydroxycut products offer consumers an entirely new list of ingredients, except for caffeine, which is the only substance that was carried over to the new product line. According to the Hydroxycut website, some of the ingredients found in the reformulated line (e.g., Hydroxycut Advanced, Hydroxycut Hardcore X, Hydroxycut Max Advanced) are vitamin C, goji berries, acerola, and blueberries, along with caffeine.

As they did before, the makers of Hydroxycut state that as one of the most popular dietary weight loss products in the United States, their supplements can help people lose up to 4.5 times more weight than diet and exercise alone (but people should also follow a low-calorie diet and regular exercise program to achieve this goal). Many of the country’s top retailers have put the weight loss product back on their shelves, where the manufacturers hope to exceed their 2008 sales of more than nine million units sold.

SOURCE:
Food and Drug Administration
Hydroxycut website
Nutra Ingredients USA

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