A popular weight loss drug has been labeled deadly to your health
The FDA warns that some products labeled "Nuez de la India" actually contain a poisonous plant called yellow oleander. Every part of it is considered toxic to eat.The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning that some weight loss products marketed as "Nuez de la India" or "weight loss seeds" contain parts of the highly toxic plant.
The agency's warning followed the hospitalization of a man in Maryland who consumed one of these products, which are commonly advertised as containing the nuts of a flowering tree called Aleurites moluccanus.
A. moluccanus, known as lumbang, kemiri, lac tree, kukui, candle nut or Indian walnut, has been used in some traditional Asian medicines. But recently, some companies have claimed that the nuts of this tree act as a natural weight loss remedy. Although eating cooked nuts in small amounts is considered safe, there is no evidence that A. moluccanus leads to weight loss. That said, that eating raw nuts can have powerful laxative and vomiting-inducing effects.
But sometimes products advertised as Nuez de la India may not be candle nuts at all. According to an investigation by the FDA and the Maryland Department of Health (MDH), these products may contain a very poisonous plant called yellow oleander (Thevetia peruviana).
"Eating yellow oleander can cause neurological, gastrointestinal, and cardiovascular health effects that can be dangerous or even fatal," the FDA warns. - Symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, dizziness, diarrhea, abdominal pain, changes in heart function, arrhythmias and more."
All parts of yellow oleander, a tropical shrub with yellow flowers, are poisonous if swallowed. That's because they contain cardiac glycosides, compounds that increase the power with which the heart pumps blood while slowing the heart rate. The chemicals can also affect the stomach, intestines and nervous system, causing symptoms such as nausea, stomach pain, hallucinations, blurred vision and weakness.