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Diet Safety: Going shot-for-shot in your battle against the bulge

By Megan Roth

Much to my dismay, I was up early yesterday morning (6 AM on a Saturday? Ugh – what happened to the days of sleeping in?!) It was good, though – before my roommates had even risen for the day I went and worked out, wrote an article and got the word on some of the latest according to Good Morning America. Among those greats? The Snuggie (which has proved a surprising hit amongst consumers) and Slim Shots (a product I consider straight-up questionable).

What are Slim Shots? The liquid appetite suppressants (which are not yet FDA-approved) are individually packaged portions of diet shots that are similar in size to pre-portioned coffee creamers. So how’s it work?

Users take two shots per day for the first week (by adding them to virtually any food you’d add milk to (cereal, coffee, smoothies, etc)) and eating less throughout the day (which isn’t supposed to be overly difficult, considering they’re supposed to feel less hungry); like other appetite suppressants, the shots trick users into feeling fuller longer by triggering their appetite control mechanism.

Alright, fair enough – but does it work?

According to users it does; many claim the liquid diet shot (which contains oat and palm oil) is absolutely awful in terms of taste but superb when it comes to results. The vast majority of online reviews claim the bitter taste is well worth the pounds and inches lost.

One page promoting the product stated: “Image how you’d look if you ate a third less every day.” Eew – I think a lot of people (not all, but many) would look gross. After all, there is such a thing as being too thin…

Granted, diet aids such as this are intended for those who are overweight and/or obese; however, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re the only ones taking them. The supplements are often overused and abused by those who don’t really need them – which can lead to a whole slew of potential health threats.

For starters, it can suppress appetite for up to eight (8) hours. Think about it people: there’s a reason hunger pains set in before then. Our bodies need energy and, without it, will not work in the most efficient way possible. While leads me to my next point:

Though intended to cut fat, slim shots may actually slim more than that – they can lead to the deterioration of muscle mass on some users (if you’re consuming fewer calories but your body continues to burn the same amount, it will inevitably lead to weight loss – which is the point of this, after all. However, if you don’t have any excess fat to burn off, your body will go after the energy stores in your muscles.

And what about risks for those with preexisting health conditions? The product explicitly states that the shots should not be taken with any other medications; however, what are the potential implications it may have on users who aren’t on other meds but do suffer from certain illnesses and/or diseases?

The ways in which such diet aids affect those individuals are difficult to determine (it’d be a gross generalization to say “Slim Shots will cause ____ reaction amongst any and/or all users”; however, it is safe to say that, unfortunate as it may be, “Slim Shots is like all other medications and diet aids in the sense that it may have serious, long-term side effects on users.”

If you have experienced any such side effects, contact the Lombardi Law Firm for assistance.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Megan Roth

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on January 25, 2009 (boomark / email).