Harmful Weight Loss Supplements: In a shocking incident, a Samajwadi party leader lost his life after consuming herbal weight-loss medicine, which he had reportedly ordered online. According to news reports, 40-year-old Furkan from Baghpat wanted to shed weight and bought the supplements after following advertisements on social media websites.

However, after taking medicine, Furkan’s health deteriorated, leading to severe kidney damage. His family says the medicine—a mix of powdered carom or ajwain seeds, fennel or saunf, and cumin or jeera—also had other hidden supplements. Furkan is said to have consumed the powder after mixing it with water for almost seven months, when he even reported some weight loss. However, he fell ill and was advised by the doctors to undergo dialysis.

Instead of following the doctor's advice of dialysis, Furkan’s relative said he began taking some local Ayurvedic medicines, which further deteriorated his condition.

According to experts, even though herbal supplements are helpful in providing the necessary nutrients your body does not get through diet, wrong consumption can lead to severe health issues.

Many dietary supplements are fortified with protein, vitamins, and minerals. And despite being popular, the safety of these supplements is not verified. In particular, many of these lead to kidney health complications.

According to experts, most of the supplements are high in protein, which plays a key role in growth and development, tissue repair, muscle synthesis, and more. Since it fuels your body and satiates you, protein keeps you full for a long time, thereby activating metabolism that leads to weight loss.

In the long run, these protein-loaded supplements also cause waste products to slowly build up in the blood, leading to kidney damage among those with impaired kidney function.

For this reason, individuals with chronic kidney disease are advised to monitor their protein intake carefully, which can help maintain kidney function and prevent the progression of kidney disease. For those with chronic kidney disease, it is always recommended to limit daily protein intake to around 0.6–0.8 grams per kg of body weight.

Many of the herbal weight loss supplements that are available in the markets also contain significant amounts of caffeine, which acts as a vasoconstrictor, causing your blood vessels to narrow and temporarily increasing your blood pressure levels.

Too much caffeine can cause hypertension, which is the main reason for kidney damage and increases your risk of kidney disease.

According to the available studies, many of the herbal weight loss supplements are also linked to liver damage due to severe liver injury and hepatitis. Experts say herbal supplements are often linked to liver issues and account for approximately 20 per cent of cases of liver injury across the world.

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