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Former model reveals after effects of diet pills

Photo credit: Facebook
Photo credit: Facebook

From Cosmopolitan UK

While 32-year-old Helen Hine looks healthy on the outside, she's opened up about her former addiction to diet pills and the scary after effects it's left her with in a new Channel 5 documentary.

After entering the world of glamour modelling at a young age, Helen quickly became very conscious of her weight. On the documentary, Diet Secrets and How to Lose Weight, Helen reveals that a throwaway comment from her older sister about her "puppy fat" really stuck with her, and she spiralled into an obsession with being "skinny".

Helen's solution at the time was diet pills, but this initial experiment soon became more serious as she got hooked on them in an addiction that lasted for seven years. Despite the obvious health issues the pills were causing - she was admitted to hospital 10 times for various ailments including having a heart rate of 280bpm, as well as suffering anxiety, fatigue and dizziness likely from the caffeine and ephedrine in the pills - the figure-conscious model kept taking them, convinced she needed the tablets to maintain her size 6 frame.

But three years ago, Helen from Somerset reached a turning point and finally managed to quit her concerning addiction for good. But even now, all this time later, she believes she's still suffering the side effects.

"I have been spitting blood for four years now in the mornings," Helen told Channel 5, adding that doctors were concerned and confused about her symptoms.

"I've seen specialists, they don't quite know what the problem is. I feel some times that the inflammation on the internal walls of my stomach might have caused a few problems."

While it can't be 100% confirmed that Helen's spitting blood is a direct effect of the diet pills, it is worth being aware that taking diet pills regularly over a long stint of time can have some very worrying health risks. Doctor Seth Rankin, founder of the London Doctor's Clinic, told Cosmopolitan UK:

"Thermogenic products [another name for diet pills] range from mildly bad for you to very very bad for you. People die from taking unregulated products that stimulate the body to burn fat. This is an appalling testament to the power that wanting to be thin wields over our self-worth where people would rather risk their lives than be fat.

"As a rule: eat less. Don’t think you can safely cheat with a tablet".

Episode one of Diet Secrets and How to Lose Weight, in which Helen stars, is available to watch now on My 5.

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