No Such Thing as a Magic Pill

Sleep away the pounds. Burn fat overnight. Lose 20 pounds in one week. When you're struggling to lose weight, these empty promises sound mighty tempting. However, you're likely to waste your money - or worse. Research indicates that more than $243 million was spent on diet pills. From herbal remedies to over-the-counter supplements, these so-called miracle-working medicines "guarantee" results. But in reality, they're unlikely to yield any permanent changes, and worse, they contain some harmful chemicals that could damage your health. Remember fen-phen? The combo caused weight loss, sure, but it also caused life loss, leading to fatal hypertension in some people who took it. Class-action lawsuits still are pending against the makers of fen-phen.