Weight Loss Pills In The News

Health concerns and desire to look attractive are two major factors that are driving the weight loss industry. Some people are tempted to use OTC medications and weight loss pills to achieve fast results. It should be realized that there is no magic formula or magic wand for losing weight. Healthy eating, low-calorie foods and regular physical activity are the effective ways to lose weight and keep it off.

Remember that even if you take weight loss pills it will be necessary to consume low calorie diet. Also remember that taking pills forever for controlling weight is neither practical nor safe.

Here we shall look at some of the popular weight loss pills presently in the news:

Clenbuterol
Alli
Xenical
Ephedra
Ma Huang
Bitter orange
Hoodia

Clenbuterol
This drug has been in the news recently under its nickname Size Zero Pill or Size 0 pill. It has earned the nickname because of the extremely undernourished and starved look of some of the fashion icons in Hollywood who have been using this pill. This drug is not meant for human consumption; it is a FDA approved drug for treatment of horses. This drug increases heart rate and body temperature thus help burn fat; it suppresses appetite for as long as nine hours after its consumption. It is an extremely unsafe drug.

Alli
Alli is not a medicine; it is a fat burner or fat blocker. It is a FDA approved OTC weight reduction product. Weight gain is caused by excess calorie intake, and consumption of fat is the main cause of excess calorie intake, Alli blocks about 25 % of the fat consumed from being digested; the undigested fat passes through the body in the natural way. Since the fat is prevented from being digested, Alli is effective in weight loss.

When you use Alli you are required to limit your meals to 15 gms of fat each, failing which you are likely to have extremely unpleasant side reactions such as bowel movements, loose stools, very frequent visits to “loo”, “farting” with oily discharge, etc.

Since even a popular burger exceeds Alli’s limit of permissible fat content, it is a serious limitation the dieter has to contend with.

Xenical
Alli and Xenical are similar; their composition is the same so their limitations and usefulness will be similar.

Ephedra
Ephedra (ephedrine alkaloid) used in dietary supplements suppresses the appetite. Many popular products used for weight control were found to be using Ephedra at one time. However, it has now been totally banned due to safety concerns. In spite of the ban many ephedra products are still sold on the Internet.

Many athletes considered Ephedrine as a performance-enhancing drug. Due to safety concerns it has been prohibited in most competitive sports.

Ma Huang
This is the Chinese name for Ephedra. It also has been banned in USA.

Bitter Orange
This non-prescription OTC product is claimed to increases the number of calories burned and thus help weight loss. It is being sold as a substitute for Ephedra. It may also cause health problems as Ephedra does. Its long term effects are not known.

Hoodia
This is an extract from a cactus-like succulent plant from deserts of South Africa. It is being sold as natural appetite suppressant. This has not been evaluated for safety, effectiveness, or purity by the FDA and it is a potentially risky product for weight loss.