Skip to main content What the Science Says Side Effects and Cautions ephedra, Chinese ephedra, ma huangIn: Blumenthal M, Goldberg A, Brinckman J, eds. . Newton, MA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database Web site. on May 8, 2009. Ephedra (Ephedra sinica)/Ma huang. Natural Standard Database Web site. Shekelle PG, Morton SC, Hardy ML, et al. RAND Web site. /pubs/research_briefs/RB4556.html on June 18, 2013. Thurn AL. Ephedra (Ma Huang). In: Coates P, Blackman M, Cragg G, et al., eds. . New York, NY: Marcel Dekker;  U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Final rule declaring dietary supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids adulterated because they present an unreasonable risk. Woolf AD, Watson WA, Smolinske S, et al. The severity of toxic reactions to ephedra: comparisons to other botanical products and national trends from 1993–2002. The mother of a student thought to have taken "highly toxic" diet pills bought online has appealed to others not to consume them.

Eloise Aimee Parry, 21, from Shrewsbury, died in hospital on 12 April after becoming unwell.Police said the tablets were believed to contain dinitrophenol, known as DNP, an industrial chemical.Eloise's mother, Fiona, said it was "an awful way to die" and people should not take the drug "in any quantity".An inquest has been opened and adjourned until 2 July by Shropshire coroner John Ellery after a hearing in Shrewsbury.Moen Brass Faucet Cartridge Glyndwr University student Ms Parry initially attended A&E after taking more than the recommended dose of the tablets.Under Counter Washer Dryer DimensionsHer mother told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire show the pills appeared to be Ms Parry's "little fix", adding: "This allowed her to achieve this super-slim appearance but it cost her her life."Is Laminate Flooring Going Out Of Fashion

Ms Parry said she had "absolutely no idea" her daughter was taking the pills until after she died, describing them as "bad news". "It only takes a small amount to kill you," she said."It's a really nasty drug. Once the drug is in your system it does a lot of damage. It doesn't just burn fat; it destroys your muscles. It turns bodily fluids yellow. "Doctors didn't stand a chance of saving her, unfortunately."Ms Parry had walked into the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital herself and there was "no great panic", she said, until a toxicology report had revealed "how dire her situation was". As the drug kicked in, her mother said, it made her metabolism soar."They attempted to cool her down, but they were fighting an uphill battle," she said."She was literally burning up from within....when her hearted stopped they couldn't revive her. Two tablets was a lethal dose - and she had taken eight." She said her daughter was not aware of the dangers of DNP and had not intended to kill herself.Glyndwr University said on Tuesday that Eloise had contacted the student guild before her death about an awareness campaign to warn students about the dangers of taking the pills.

Fiona Parry said she was unaware her daughter had approached the guild.West Mercia Police said the DNP was more commonly used as a pesticide.It said the force was working closely with Public Health England to establish exactly where the pills were bought and how they were advertised. I carried out an investigation into the use of DNP in 2013.Birmingham teenager Luke, not his real name, was using DNP when I met him in 2014 and like so many other users seemed completely unaware of the dangers. He told me he'd bought the capsules on the internet and was using them in seven day cycles to burn fat fast, something that was causing him to sweat profusely. That's hardly surprising because DNP works by speeding up the metabolism, which can be fatal, as the parents of medical student Sarah Houston found out. Just like Luke, Sarah was taking DNP in secret and it killed her. Meeting Sarah's parents prompted Luke to rethink what he was doing, but many other people continue to put their lives at risk using a substance that is still being sold on the internet.

Professor Simon Thomas, from the National Poisons Information Unit, said DNP "causes high fever" which can be accompanied by sweating and a rapid heart beat. He said people who take it "can get dehydration, nausea and vomiting and then this can progress to confusion and convulsions and liver and kidney failure and within a few hours in some cases it can produce death". A spokesperson for Glyndwr University said Ms Parry was a popular student, who always strived to do her best and "had great potential".First Aid Essentials Slideshow Take the Trauma and First Aid Quiz Surprising Migraine Triggers Slideshow Please call the Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222 immediately for any suspected poisoning in children or adults.Iron poisoning occurs when a person, usually a child, swallows a large number of iron-containing pills, most often vitamins.Acute iron poisoning mainly involves children younger than 6 years who swallow pediatric or adult vitamins containing iron. These children may not be able or willing to tell you what and how much they swallowed.

Iron salt is available in multiple preparations. For instance, ferrous sulfate is available as drops, syrup, elixir, capsules, and tablets.Iron preparations are widely used and are available without a prescription and may be contained in bottles with or without child resistant closures. Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD Iron Poisoning in Children Causes 2345NextGlossaryIron Poisoning Topic Guide Must Read Articles Related to Iron Poisoning Poison Proofing Your Home Poison proofing your home is one of the most important ways to protect your family and pets from an accidental learn more >> See the Entire Iron Poisoning Topic Guide » Iron Poisoning - Patient Experience Did your child experience iron poisoning? Please tell us about your experience.A Careful Look at Plexus Slim Ingredients Is Plexus safe, or are there dangers you need to watch out for? Here's a look at what's inside the popular weight-loss supplement. By UHN Staff • Aug 29, 2016

A number of people who have seen advertisements and anecdotal reports for Plexus Slim, a weight-loss supplement, have been smartly asking, “Is Plexus safe?” To answer this question, this article briefly reviews the known information about Plexus Slim ingredients, their amounts, Plexus Slim side effects, and any known dangers. When evaluating the safety of a dietary supplement like Plexus, it is important to know whether the supplement itself has undergone any testing and, if so, what kind(s). Ideally, for evaluating safety, it would be best to see that Plexus itself has not only undergone testing in humans, but that the testing was done in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in which both safety and efficacy were evaluated and the results were published in a peer-reviewed medical journal. Eat Right, Starting Now!Download this expert FREE guide, Complete Nutrition: Low-carb diet, high-protein foods, healthy meal plans, how to use a calorie counter, and more.

Create healthy meal plans and discover the Superfoods that can transform your plate into a passport to better health. While this level of research certainly exists for many supplements and natural ingredients, it does not exist for Plexus Slim. The company, Plexus Worldwide, claims on its website that “Its effectiveness has been clinically proven.” However, the company does not reference this claim and does not provide any additional information on its website to support it. A search of all the general databases for published medical research, including PubMed and Google Scholar, does not turn up any citations for studies on Plexus Slim® or on any product containing its proprietary blend of ingredients. Since no published, human clinical studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of Plexus Slim seem to have been conducted, there are some additional important questions that must be asked when evaluating its safety. First, are the Plexus Slim ingredients safe to consume at the recommended dosage level based on human studies?

In other words, has each individual ingredient in Plexus been tested in human studies for safety? Second, if no human studies on the individual ingredients have been done, have there been any animal or laboratory toxicity studies done on Plexus Slim’s individual ingredients? And third, does Plexus contain what it says it does and nothing more/nothing less? In other words, Plexus could be unsafe if what is listed on the label does not reflect what is actually in the product because of contamination or adulteration. Plexus Slim is a weight loss supplement manufactured by the network marketing company Plexus Worldwide, Inc. According to Plexus Worldwide’s website (accessed on August 13, 2015), each serving (1 “Slim Pack”) of Plexus Slim contains the following ingredients. 1. 200 mcg chromium (as chromium polynicotinate) 2. 530 mg of a proprietary blend of: 3. Other ingredients: polydextrose, citric acid, natural flavors, beet extract (for color), stevia leaf (Stevia Rebaudiana) extract, luo-han-guo fruit extract, guar gum, silicone dioxide.

While Plexus Worldwide provides a copy of Plexus Slim’s label on its website that lists the product’s ingredients, it does not provide the amounts of all of the individual ingredients because some of them are part of a proprietary blend. So although Plexus discloses the total amount of all the ingredients within the proprietary blend (530 mg per serving), it does not disclose the individual amounts of each ingredient. Without knowing how much of each ingredient is contained in each serving, it is difficult to comprehensively evaluate Plexus Slim’s individual ingredients for safety. Nevertheless, it is still useful to review the scientific literature for whatever safety information is available. Plexus Worlwide claims that a derivative of chlorogenic acid from green coffee extract is Plexus Slim’s primary active ingredient. In 2011, researchers from the University of Exeter in the UK published a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials examining the efficacy of green coffee extract supplements for weight loss.

[1] According to the study authors, all of the trials conducted up to that point had been of very short duration, making it difficult to assess the safety of green coffee extract for medium to long term. “Although none of the randomized controlled trials identified reported any adverse events, this does not indicate that green coffee extract intake is ‘risk-free’… the safety of this weight loss aid is not established,” they concluded. Since then, another small, controlled clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a green coffee bean extract in overweight subjects using higher daily dosages than previous studies (700 to 1050 mg vs. 180 to 400 mg).[2] As with previous studies, there were no side effects or adverse effects based on measurements of heart rate and blood pressure. In these human studies, green coffee extract used for short periods of time (less than 16 weeks) appears to be safe. However, the studies did not look comprehensively at the subjects’ blood and urine for signs of adverse effects such as kidney or liver damage or elevated biomarkers for cardiovascular disease.

An earlier study found that a daily dose of 2,000 mg chlorogenic acid caused significant increases in subjects’ homocysteine levels.[3] Elevated homocysteine levels increase the risk of heart disease. While we don’t know exactly how much chlorogenic acid is in Plexus Slim because the company chooses not to disclose that information, we do know—given that the proprietary blend contains 530 mg—that it cannot contain more than 2 grams of chlorogenic acid. However, it is possible that even lower levels of chlorogenic acid could have negative effects on homocysteine levels and thus potentially raise the risk of heart disease in some individuals. Adulteration of weight loss supplements with pharmaceuticals and other banned and dangerous ingredients is, unfortunately, rampant. The FDA keeps a growing tally of weight loss products contaminated with undeclared drugs and/or chemical ingredients. The FDA’s laboratory tests have revealed the presence, for example, of sibutramine and phenolphthalein in a number of tainted weight loss products being sold over the counter.

Phenolphthalein is laxative drug banned by the FDA in 1999 for potential cancer risks. Sibutramine is a controlled substance and the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Meridia, an approved prescription drug to treat obesity. Some of the tainted products tested by the FDA recommend taking more than three times the recommended daily dosage of sibutramine, putting consumers at risk of serious adverse effects such as increased blood pressure, tachycardia, palpitations, and seizure. Plexus Slim has not been identified on the FDA’s list, but the FDA’s tally contains only a tiny fraction of products on the market. Can the company prove with independent lab testing that Plexus Slim does not contain these adulterants or others? Ideally, individuals interested in supplements for weight loss should work with a practitioner trained in nutritional and botanical medicine who stays up-to-date with the scientific literature and has experience and knowledge with choosing and prescribing only the highest quality supplements.

Supplement companies who take quality assurance and manufacturing practices very seriously will test all raw materials and finished products for purity and potency using scientifically valid test methods, and their supplements will be manufactured in FDA-inspected facilities and/or in facilities that exceed the FDA’s good manufacturing practices. They will also disclose the amounts of each ingredient or the total amount of a propriety blend. On its website, Plexus Worldwide provides very little information about its quality assurance protocols or manufacturing practices, leaving questions about whether Plexus Slim is tainted or contaminated. Because of these issues and more, it is not easy to definitively know whether Plexus Slim is safe or not. Supplements can be incredibly effective tools for health and wellness, but it is best not to guess or take chances on supplements that do not disclose even basic information about ingredient sources, their amounts, quality control, and manufacturing practices.