Have you ever looked through a magazine or newspaper and spotted some incredible advertisements offering an array of miracle cures for all sorts of common problems.

Weight loss is one of the biggest ones with hundreds of promises for painless and rapid results with tablets or diet plans, drinks or body rubs.

You can't help but be impressed and tempted after all how wonderful it would be to lose the fat without all the effort of exercise or calorie restriction but have you ever wondered why anyone is overweight if these things really do work?

It is a sad fact that we are getting fatter in this country, following in the footsteps of America with the problems starting early in childhood, our children are less active and our homes are full of labour saving devices that mean we don't need to work up a sweat doing anything anymore. Add to this the wave of fast and high calorie foods it is not hard to see why we are getting bigger and weight loss is becoming harder so it is no wonder we are all looking for a miracle cure.

But before you part with your hard earned money and order some of these wonder drugs, ask yourself a couple of questions. . .

Will it change my lifestyle? If not then once you stop taking the tablets/drinks etc then you will almost definitely put the weight back on that is if you lost it in the first place, and as humans can only lose 2-3lbs of fat a week if the advert promises more than that it means that you will lose weight from muscle which is not a good thing.

Will it harm me? Its easy to think that there is no harm in trying even if it doesn't work but can you really be sure? Vitamins for example are good for us but even they can be dangerous if taken in large amounts - did you know that eating polar bear liver would kill you because it contains high levels of vitamin A?

I read an advert for tablets that work by letting the fat in the diet pass through the body without being absorbed which sounded great but we know that when this happens it also causes stomach pains and explosive diarrhoea but the advert failed to mention this.

There are also some diabetes treatments and even promises of cures for sale which can be very worrying. Scientists are continually working for a cure but have not been able to come up with anything as yet, and the medicines used to treat diabetes are continually improving to help people with diabetes to achieve better control and stay well for longer.

Before medicines can be approved for prescription they go through rigorous testing to ensure that they not only work but also so that they are safe, and any side effects have to be listed. Herbal preparations unfortunately don't have to go through this safety check even though some can have quite a powerful effect on the body and dangerous side effects are only picked up once the damage is done.

If you are diabetic and you chose to buy an unlicensed product then it is important that you inform your doctor and do not stop taking your prescribed medication without first discussing it with your GP.