Hydroxycut may cause liver problems

(NBC) - Sales topping about 9 million last year alone, confirm the widespread use of Hydroxycut dietary supplements.

But, with a warning that impresses even academics, the FDA is now telling consumers to stop using them immediately.

"I think the FDA's taking the appropriate steps, using strong language to make sure that consumers know not to use these products because we're concerned with these report of liver injury and even one death with the use of Hydroxycut products," said Professor Macary Marciniak, University of North Carolina School of Pharmacy.

That one death from liver failure and another involving a liver transplant, plus 21 cases of liver injury are what researchers have to back them up in their argument that Hydroxycut is harmful. They just don't know why.

The FDA said Hydroxycut products contain a variety of ingredients and herbal extracts and can't say yet exactly which one is causing the problem.

Iovate Health Sciences of Canada markets Hydroxycut products as fat burners, energy-enhancers and low-carb diet aids. A blend of ingredients might actually be the culprit.

"It is possible it is from one active ingredient in that product," said Professor Marciniak. "It is also possible that it's a combination, a combination of medications that are available in that product."

But for now, even the manufacturer wants Hydroxycut off the shelves until science can figure what's wrong with it. The person who died was a 19-year-old man.

Dietary supplements aren't as tightly regulated by the government as medications. Manufacturers don't need to prove to the FDA that their products are safe and effective before they can sell them to consumers.