Thursday, June 28. 2007Alli - The new weight loss miracle pill - Are we ready to trade our kingdom for a pill?The recently FDA approved weight loss pill alli is now available as an OTC drug. Alli targets millions of overweight and obese people who fail to lose weight in spite of dieting. The rates of obesity in America are reaching an epidemic proportion: 30% of all Americans and 40% of all Americans over the age of 50 are clinically obese. Add to this the borderline obese and overweight people and you'll get the overwhelming majority of people living in this country. Yes, 60% of the population, over 200 million people have now a direct access to this new weight loss pill. Let's examine what may happen to this country if the majority of people will start taking alli to lose weight. Alli is actually a new version of an anti-obesity prescription drug. It works by inhibiting the absorption of fat via inhibition of fat metabolizing enzymes. According to its manufacturer, "the fat passes out of your body..." Nonetheless, together with the loose fat there are also loose stools that apparently pass out of the body...and you may not be able to control these undesirable "passes". Alli manufacturers call this "a treatment effect". Their actual suggestions: Wear dark pants...and also bring a change of clothes with you to work. They also kindly suggest that if you get gassy – the bathroom is really the best place to go...oh really... Finally, they recommend you to get a food journal in order to recognize what food requires "black pants" and what doesn't. This isn't a joke, if you suddenly realize that the majority of people around you wear dark pants – Run away! Get a gas mask! Get on a boat! Get on a plane! Seriously, if the majority of people will be sitting or standing in the bathroom for most of the day - what would happen to our economy? What would happen to our country? Are we ready to trade our kingdom for a pill? And if we are ready, does it work? Does alli work?Alli's premise is to inhibit fat absorption and thus prevent fat gain, but this premise may be based on wrong assumptions. The notion that fat makes you fat is misleading and practically wrong. Yes, there are bad fats that should be avoided, but regardless, fat isn't the main culprit for the current epidemic of obesity. There is growing evidence that other factors of modern men's diet, particularly the high increase in the glycemic index of the diet with a higher intake of refined and processed food are the major contributors to modern men's disease and disorders including obesity, diabetes and cancer. Inhibiting fat absorption may actually accelerate the problem by increasing the overall metabolic stress on the body. Fat is a natural carrier of fat soluble vitamins. It is also the building block for sex hormones and stress hormones, certain fats are essential to the body and the majority of people today are already deficient in essential fatty acids. Alli is just another commercial gimmicky product that addresses a desperate need for a quick fix solution. There is no shortcut to weight loss. There is no miracle pill that really works. Any attempt to shortcut a natural metabolic process in the body may short-circuit your health. 
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I have discovered that fat is not a bad thing, at all! In fact, my digestive system copes better with good fats in my diet, including saturated (long-chain) fatty acids, monounsaturated (shorter-chain) fatty acids, and minimal but present polyunsaturated (more unstable and easily oxidative) fatty acids. The aberration and condemnation of natural, healthy fats in the diet is totally, absolutely, wrong.
I try to keep the saturated fats the most prevalent in my diet, since they are the most stable of all the fats, and are a necessary component in cell walls.
My most recent dietary issue deals with the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and bone health. I am 18, a female, eat only at night for 4 hours, but whatever and however much I want like the warrior diet says, and have always had somewhat wider-hips, which became even wider when I gained fat weight in the last year; however, I lost a lot of fat on the warrior diet, and I think my hormones are somewhat strange in that I seem really edgy all the time, but recently my hips have become smaller! I'm not sure what to think of this, but along with this change, I have noticed my skin looks more anemic than usual.
I supplement with vitamin D3 (with plenty of healthy fats in the food I eat with it so it gets absorbed), and magnesium and calcium. However, I think I was lacking in vitamin A in my body, because I believe the vitamin D started mobilizing bone matter..from my hips. It's very strange indeed, and I notice I get headaches after I eat my nightly meal, but it goes away slightly when I eat liver or pate' (which has a lot of vitamin A in it).
My concerns are: I do like having smaller hips (everything fits more easily), but I'm kind of at a catch-22, because I don't think other bodily functions (ie my face looks anemic and I get headaches after dinner) function optimally when I don't have enough vitamin A in the diet (which I'm sure a lack of it causes narrower hips), such as anemic-looking skin, and headaches after I eat my evening meal.. sometimes I do get ice-cream cravings as well, probably due to not enough vitamin A.. but I am not completely sure of all of this.
The thing is, I have been eating plenty of butter (which has 'lots' of vitamin A and good saturated fat, which I have every day, and a lot of it with rice..so I'm not sure why I would be vitamin A deficient or even if this is what is narrowing my hips. Is it normal for me to be developing have narrow hips? I also have recently been feeling much more on edge, really aggressive, kind of like I have a lot of testosterone in my body..but I'm not sure about this. I've read that high testosterone levels in the body are linked to narrow hips.
PS, I do think the alli diet pill commercial is disgusting.. two women, one unhealthy-looking, one really overweight, both heading to CVS to buy the pill that will solve their problems. rolls eyes .. I don't think words can explain the stupidity in this marketing scheme.
My doctor prescribed Xenical (orlistat) years ago when it first entered the market. I can tell you first-hand that the side effects are not worth it. This drug made me produce more gas than usual, and of course you never knew for sure if it was really gas or a fatty discharge that your body wanted to let go. However, I've learned much since then, and I no longer buy into the "fat is bad for you" mantra. My problem was I was avoiding many "fatty" foods but substituting "low fat" (sugary) foods in its place.
I actually heard someone call a talk show yesterday wth a question about probiotics. she heard that it is best to start taking them at a full moon and then rub castor oil on your stomach and place a heating pad on top to "wake up" the bacteria. Even funnier, is that this person wouldn't shut up and let the hosts respond so she kept on with the stupidity. At one level I was entertained, at another, I thought i was listening to a throwback from the Middle Ages.
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