Are Stimulants Bad for You?
There is no perfect in this world especially with regards to science and health. Some people may support a particular issue, while some are totally against it. If we talk about losing weight, stimulants are always mentioned. Are stimulants bad for you? Are you really required to take these type of supplements?
WiseGeek published a short detail about stimulants. The article said that stimulants (including drugs) are meant to create temporary improvement to a person’s mental or physical abilities. So in short, stimulants can enhance your abilities to lose weight according to that definition.
This is the reason why stimulants are always present in most weight loss products. Either in a form of natural herb or synthetic chemicals. In paper, stimulants do look good, harmless and very useful. However, does it pose any negative effects? What are its risks? Lets find out more.
What are Stimulants?
Stimulants are also commonly called as “psychostimulants“, which can be in a form of drugs or through natural compounds such as caffeine in coffee and nicotine in tobacco. It is primarily designed to temporary improve your mental or physical abilities. Because of this, stimulants are also referred to as “uppers“, basically to stimulate you on a particular endeavor.
The opposite of stimulants are depressants or commonly referred to as “downers“, which aims to be the exact opposite of stimulants, to decrease mental or physical function. What can these stimulants do for you? Well, it can make you more alert, awake, improve your performance or it can improve your chances of weight loss.
How does stimulant work? It works by enhancing your central and peripheral nervous system, which can either result to memory improvement or sudden physical boost (sexual arousal, endurance, performance, being awake or weight loss).
Stimulants are Anywhere
Since it help stimulate your body to do more, stimulants are commonly found in most weight loss pills or dietary supplements. Not only that, you can also found these ingredients in most prescription medicines and illegal drugs as well.
Stimulants are widely used as treatment for various mental conditions such as narcolepsy, depression, schizophrenia and many other disorders. Stimulant give a sense of well-being and euphoria for those with mental shortcomings. However, if it is abused through illegal means, it is also deadly.
How Stimulants are Abused?
Since it can give sudden boost of energy, stimulants are used in a variety of ways. Caffeine for example, is one of the most popular and known natural stimulant compound. Why most people drink coffees, teas or sodas? It is because they want to be stimulated in order to support their work, to focused more on studies, to be more awake in time of duties, etc.
But not all stimulants are used at the right way. Stimulants such as those found in some illegal drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy or nicotine from tobacco, are all abused into epic proportions. It is even became one of the world’s biggest problems.
With regards to dietary pills, some companies don’t know how to compliment their product’s ingredients by adding more stimulants. Worse is that, some pharmaceutical companies are even promoting stimulants as beneficial for weight loss.
Although it can contribute to weight reduction on some extent, some are so abusive about branding stimulants as beneficial in general. So, what are its side effects?
Bad Effects of Stimulants
According to WikiPedia, any types of stimulants (whether synthetically made or natural) can produce different types of negative effects to the body. Because it primarily targets your nervous system, the effects vary depending on the substance used and dosage.
Some of the common effects includes the following:
[list style=”arrow”]
- alertness
- awareness
- wakefullness
- endurance
- productivity
- motivated
- sexual arousal
- enhanced locomotion
- increased heart rate
- sudden rise of blood pressure
- anxiety attack
[/list]
In some abusive scenarios, conditions such as convulsions, high fever, heart failure and even death are all possible to occur. In contrast, some stimulants does have positive effects compared to what have mentioned above. These stimulants can improve your mood, it can relieve anxiety and many other conditions such as ADHD.
For weight loss, stimulants can trigger a decrease in appetite which constitutes to weight loss. Some even claims that stimulants is the “wonder” drug for obesity treatment.
Are Stimulants Bad for You?
This depends on your purpose. If you are taking stimulants to treat a particular condition, then it is good for you. However, if you are only after for the euphoric state to level up your physical or mental performance, then it might be harmful for you and take note, stimulants are addictive too.
If you are looking for stimulants to help solve your weight gain issues, then you have to choose the right brand. Based from what I mentioned earlier, there are hoax companies that don’t know how to formulate the right dosage of stimulants on their products. This can give you adverse health effects if taken erroneously.
Consider the following advise if you want to take a safer weight loss product that contains stimulants.
- look for the ingredients and its corresponding dosage (refer here for stimulant list)
- is the product’s main ingredient a stimulant?
- is the brand shows honesty and transparency with regards to its claims and shortcomings
Amphetamines and guarana extracts are two of the most commonly used substances in most weight loss pills. It is good to note that over-dosage from these compounds can result to harmful side effects. Amphetamines are commonly used in fitness supplements because it can enhance performance while guarana is claimed to help boost metabolic rate and appetite suppression.
Read More: Nuratrim Review – A Stimulant-Free Dietary Supplement
Some weight loss products can decrease your sense of hunger which is another known properties of stimulants. However, the effects are temporary and overusing it can produce side effects. If you want a better chance of losing weight through pills, then you have to consult your doctor on what particular brand to take. Or simply try the more natural method of weight loss – exercise and dieting.
So if you are targeting for a weight loss pill to help you lose weight, choose a well-known brand that are clinically proven, tested and safe. You can browse this site for more products that can be a perfect fit for you.
Final Words on Stimulants
Stimulants have its own advantages and disadvantages. You better choose the right substances that will fit your health needs. Prevent stimulants just for the purpose of increasing your mental capacities or skills. Above all, avoid illegal drugs!
With regards to weight loss, you need to analyze carefully if you really need weight loss pills to support your fitness requirements. Remember that dietary supplements are designed to “support” you, and not to completely solve your weight gain problems.
Taking supplements still requires consistent exercise program and a healthy and balanced diet. If you are keen on trying a particular pill, you may ask for assistance from the company first (about ingredients and other important details) before you purchase their product.
Our product review archive has the list of the most reputable, popular and dependable weight loss products that you can find online. They will surely accommodate any queries you might have for them.
Read More: Weight Loss Pills Review Archive
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