Alli (Xenical), Is It Right For You?

The weight-loss drug Orlistat also known as (Xenical) was approved in 1999 as a prescription drug to treat severe obesity. The FDA has approved a reduced-strength 60 Milligram OTC version of Orlistat (Alli) for adults age 18 and older. Alli promotes weight loss by decreasing absorption of fat by the intestines.

Dr. Sidney M. Wolfe has fought to ban Orlistat in his role as research director with the consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen. Its release in nonprescription form, he said, is "a massive mistake on the part of the FDA and GlaxoSmithKline. We urge that nobody use this product."

He said Orlistat has no known health benefits, users regain weight rapidly when they stop taking it and the range of health risks includes precancerous colon lesions.

How the Alli program works:

• You take a capsule with every meal.
• You register online to gain access to an individualized action plan.
• You check in weekly through the Alli site.
• Through the action plan you learn lessons about meal planning, managing hunger, dealing with setbacks, and making the food and lifestyle changes to help you succeed.
• Access to menu’s and how to shop for low-fat meals.
• Connect with other Alli users.

Alli is not only the first FDA approved weight loss drug OTC, it is the only FDA OTC that is both a weight loss drug and a weight loss treatment plan with support. Alli is a weight loss drug made by Glaxo-Smith Kline.

Alli blocks 25% fat absorption when you take the pill with each meal. Blocking fat results in “treatment effects,” otherwise known as frequent trips to the restroom.

Side Effects:

Fat Malabsorption occurs, since (fat soluble Vitamins A,D,E & K) are flushed out with your feces. Diarrhea, Frequent fecal urgency.

Warnings:

Organ transplant alert:

• Do not use if you have had an organ transplant. Orlistat interferes with the medicines used to prevent transplant rejection.

Allergy alert:

Do not use if you are allergic to any of the ingredients in Orlistat capsules.

Do not use:

• If you are taking cyclosporine
• If you have been diagnosed with problems absorbing food
• If you are not overweight

Ask a doctor before use if you have ever had

• gallbladder problems
• kidney stones
• pancreatitis

Ask a doctor or pharmacist before use if you are

• taking warfarin (blood thinning medicine), or are taking medicine for diabetes or thyroid disease. Your medication dose may need to be adjusted.
• taking other weight loss products

When using this product

• Take a multivitamin once a day, at bedtime. Orlistat can reduce the absorption of some vitamins.
• Follow a well-balanced, reduced-calorie, low-fat diet. Try starting this diet before taking Orlistat.
• Orlistat works by preventing the absorption of some of the fat you eat. The fat passes out of your body, so you may have bowel changes. You may get:
  - Gas with oily spotting
  - Loose stools
  - More frequent stools that may be hard to control
• Eating a low-fat diet lowers the chance of having these bowel changes
• For every 5 pounds you lose from diet alone, Orlistat can help you lose 2-3 pounds more. In studies, most people lost 5-10 pounds over 6 months.

Stop use and ask a doctor if

• Severe or continuous abdominal pain occurs. This may be a sign of a serious medical condition.

If pregnant or breast-feeding, do not use.

Keep out of reach of children. In case of overdose, get medical help or contact a Poison Control Center right away.

Tamper-Evident features for your protection. The bottle of capsules has a foil seal under the cap imprinted with the words "sealed for your protection". each individual capsules is sealed with a dark blue band around the center of the capsule. Do not use this product if any of these tamper-evident features are missing, torn or broken

There are numerous side-effects associated with fat malabsorption. Our most primitive fitness senses should be on high alert, as we all know that several of our vitamins are fat --soluble (in case you have forgotten, A, D, E, and K). In most cases vital fat soluble nutrients are flushed out with your fat-laden feces. Other notable acute, but regularly occurring, side effects include, diarrhea, frequent fecal urgency, bloating, fecal incontinence, and anal leakage; all of this and a bleak 1-yr weight loss total that may approximate a mere 5% (Anderson, 2006). In addition, the mode of action of Alli begs for abuse; I wonder how many people are thinking, "Hey, I can eat chicken wings all night and 30% of the deep-fried goodness will be flushed down the toilet!"

A careful review through PubMed suggests that the health concerns of chronic Orlistat dosing may be even worse. It has been well documented in epidemiological and animal studies that diets rich in fat promote colorectal cancer (Morotomi et al., 1997;Newmark et al., 2001), partially due to the high fat content in feces. In a recent article published in Cancer Letters the authors suggest that the increased fat content in fecal matter associated with Orlistat dosing promotes the progression of colonic cancer. This effect is associated with intracolonic changes that are a result of the direct action of high fat levels on coloncytes. In a series of experiments, Britto Garcia et al. observed that in rats Orlistat was associated with increased markers of first stage colorectal cancer, independent of a high fat diet (Britto Garcia et al., 2006).

THE FINE PRINT: GlaxoSmithKline advises exercise and diet interventions should be adhered to while taking Alli.

Based merely on the inherent laziness of most humans, the same complications with adherence to these traditional modalities of weight loss will prevail in populations using Alli. In light of such recommendations and potential health risks, Alli may prove not so MAGIC after all. Very few studies have directly compared the efficacy of Orlistat containing products (i.e., Alli or Xenical) with common weight loss supplements. However, in a randomized comparative study it was found that the commonplace "fat-burner", Xenadrine RFA-1 (Cytodine Technologies) was more effective as a weight loss agent than a prescription "fat-blocker" in overweight women (Colker et al., 2002). In fact, in 12 weeks, the Xenadrine group saw 180% more weight loss than the prescription drug group. Indeed, some of the most basic supplements have proven to more effectively promote weight loss when combined with diet and exercise. For instance, supplements that include green tea extract prove time and time again to be very effective in promoting lipolysis, while simultaneously promoting health (see our R&D article on Green Tea Extract). So, why would Americans take the unnecessary health risks and use Alli? Most likely, because it is new, it is "medical", and flushing ingested fat down the toilet implies an easy way to lose weight. Unfortunately, the latter is not the case and may come with serious costs to human health.

Xenadrine RFA-1 is an herbal dietary supplement promoted as a weight loss remedy. It contains the herbs Ma Huang (also known as ephedrine), guarana (a caffeine source), willow bark extract, ginger root, Citrus aurantium, and several supplements. The manufacturer of Xenadrine RFA-1 claims the product increases the body's ability to burn fat. But there's no medical research to support claims that Xenadrine RFA-1 is effective for weight loss or reducing body fat.

Side effects of Xenadrine include tremor, headache, trouble sleeping, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and dizziness. Two of its ingredients, Ma Huang and guarana, have been associated with serious side effects including heart problems, irregular heartbeats, stroke, seizures, and death.

Proactol is the best choice out there right now. Proven extremely effective, safe and with no side effects like frequent oily discharge and diarrhea.  Proactol is the only non prescription weight loss pill on the market that has passed all 8 clinical trials, so you have a clear winner in Proactol. Consumers have reported 13 lbs of weight loss in one month without exercise. With exercise you can expect even more weight to come off.

Proactol is known as a fat binder, whereas, Alli or Xenical are both fat blockers. Fat binder and a fat blocker are not the same thing. The fat blocking process is what causes the embarassing anal leakage when you least expect it. Whereas, with Proactol being a fat binder you won't experience these nasty effects because it binds to the fat in a  thick, viscous matter that doesn't cause anal leakage! So, what would you rather have?

Sources:

• Kim Leonard, TRIBUNE-REVIEW @ http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_505273.html
• http://www.prosource.net/article-alli-xenical.jsp
• http://www.drugstore.com

 

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