In case you missed it, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers to immediately stop using Hydroxycut products. Some Hydroxycut products, warns the FDA, are associated with serious liver injuries. Really, ya think!?! Symptoms of liver injury include jaundice (yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes), brown urine, nausea, vomiting, light-colored stools, excessive fatigue, weakness, stomach or abdominal pain, itching, and loss of appetite.

For the uninformed, Hydroxycut is the brand name of some of America’s top-selling weight loss products, which sadly are taken by millions of well-intentioned consumers each year.

A lot of people do not know that dietary supplements like Hydroxycut are NOT regulated by the FDA before they are marketed as magic weight loss supplements. More often than not, as we’re now finding out with Hydroxycut, unregulated supplements supported by trumped-up marketing claims, may in fact contain potentially harmful ingredients. In short, the FDA’s consumer advisory about certain Hydroxycut-branded products should be a wake-up call to anyone looking for shortcuts to weight loss and weight management.

Be very careful when trying to use supplements to enhance your workouts or gain results in a short amount of time. Listen to your body — especially your heart rate — and seriously consider frequent blood tests to make sure your organs are healthy before staring any new exercise regiment or program. The general consensus in both the medical and fitness fields is this… Diet and exercise are still the safest and healthiest ways to achieve body fat loss and healthy weight management. Magic pills like certain Hydroxycut-branded products… not so much!