FDA Warns of Potentially "Highly Toxic" Weight Loss Products Sold at Walmart and Amazon

The summer is coming to a close, and for those of us who've been indulging during the warmer months, fall is the time to get back into a routine. Part of this may include becoming more active or cleaning up your diet to shed stubborn pounds—you might even turn to weight loss products for quicker results. The process is challenging enough without having to worry about something you take being detrimental to your health, but now, weight loss products sold at Walmart and through Amazon have been recalled, as they're potentially "highly toxic." Read on to find out why the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing a serious warning.

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According to a Sept. 6 press release from the FDA, Miami-based company OBC Group Corp is voluntarily recalling its Nut Diet Max brand Nuez de la India seeds and capsules.

The Nuez de la India seeds were sold online via Amazon, while the capsules were sold online via Walmart and eBay, the FDA said. The products are typically sold by third-party sellers.

According to a separate FDA advisory, these weight loss supplements are marketed as "botanical food," "India Nuts for Weight Loss," "slimming seeds," "India seeds for weight loss," or "diet seeds."

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These products are assumed to be nuts from Aleurites moluccanus, a tree also known as candlenut, candleberry, Indian walnut, kemiri, or varnish tree.

However, the FDA warned that the Nut Diet Max products are actually Thevetia peruviana, commonly known as yellow oleander, in seed and capsule form. Yellow oleander, which is native to Mexico and Central America, contains cardiac glycosides, which are "highly toxic to humans and animals," the release reads.

"Ingestion of yellow oleander can cause neurologic, gastrointestinal, and cardiovascular adverse health effects that may be severe, or even fatal," the agency said. "Symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, dizziness, diarrhea, abdominal pain, cardiac changes, dysrhythmia, and more."

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While no illnesses have been reported since the recall announcement, per the earlier advisory (current as of Sept. 1), one person in Maryland was hospitalized after consuming the Nut Diet Max brand Nuez de la India seeds.

The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) began sampling and testing products labeled Nuez de la India following the hospitalization. Using their analyses, the FDA and the MDH determined that the Nut Diet Max brand Nuez de la India seeds were actually yellow oleander, and the capsules contained cardiac glycosides that were consistent with the plant.

If you bought the recalled Nut Diet Max seeds or capsules, the FDA urges you not to consume them and to return them to your place of purchase instead.

According to the advisory—which also mentioned Todorganic Natural brand Nuez de la India seeds that aren't part of the current recall—if you've taken these products, contact your doctor immediately.

"Even if these products have not been used recently, consumers should still inform their health care provider about which product they took, so that an appropriate evaluation may be conducted," the advisory states.

The FDA is also working with third-party platforms and conducting an ongoing investigation. If you have questions pertaining to the recall, contact OBC Group Corp via the telephone number listed in the FDA release.

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