You've Seen the Commercials...

And this is why you should not take supplements that promise they'll make you slim and trim.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers to immediately stop using Hydroxycut products by Iovate Health Sciences Inc., of Oakville, Ontario and distributed by Iovate Health Sciences USA Inc. of Blasdell, N.Y. Some Hydroxycut products are associated with a number of serious liver injuries. Iovate has agreed to recall Hydroxycut products from the market.

The FDA has received 23 reports of serious health problems ranging from jaundice and elevated liver enzymes, an indicator of potential liver injury, to liver damage requiring liver transplant. One death due to liver failure has been reported to the FDA. Other health problems reported include seizures; cardiovascular disorders; and rhabdomyolysis, a type of muscle damage that can lead to other serious health problems such as kidney failure.

Nutritional supplements -- and I use the term "nutritional" with great disdain -- are minimally regulated and make claims that are simply unsubstantiated. Whether it's weight loss, muscle mass, male "enhancement," or happy mood pills, with most, it not all, of these things, it's too good to be true because it's too good to be true, plain and simple.