Entries Tagged 'Pills and Gears' ↓

Orlistat, the generic name of Xenical and Alli , has been reportedly discovered to be able to kill cancer cells through binding with a protein called fatty acid synthase in tumor cells. This causes it stop functioning and the tumor cell eventually dies.

This protein is found in tumor cells that attack the brain, breast, colon, liver, lung and prostate.

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How would you like to lose weight by just putting a patch onto your skin? Weight loss patches seem to be all the rage in today’s fitness industry, with celebrities endorsing patches that contain different drugs that allegedly allow you to lose weight even while simply sitting down at your office. Such weight loss patches contain compounds like Hoodia, and extract from an African plant that can apparently allow for easy weight loss.

However, recent cases brought before the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, show that weight loss patches are not as good as they are cooked up to be. In particular, the FTC sued a retailer and manufacturer of weight loss patches for making false claims on a weight loss patch, and for not backing up the claims with any research.

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The advisory channel to the FDA voted that the agency should not approve it due to the psychiatric risks observed from the use of Acomplia/Zimulti, the diet pill scientifically known as rimonabant from Sanofi-aventis.

Its company has withdrawn its application for U.S. approval because they lacked the time to fix the problems.

Marc Cluzel, a senior vice president of scientific and medical affairs at Sanofi, said on the conference call that the company is committed to getting the medicine approved in the U.S. Sanofi will meet with the regulator soon to try to better understand what’s needed to prove the drug’s safety, he said.

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So you’ve heard about ear stapling and its effect on people who are trying to get rid some pounds or quit smoking? Not yet? Then read on…

Many health experts say that it’s not a weight loss management method that is based on any evidence. However, the owner of The Center Sanctum, Melissa Jones still argues that it’s effective since the stapling presses on the pressure points controlling the appetite and cravings.

Here’s one of Sanctum’s ear stapling customers, Marilyn Fraunfelter, a 72-year-old cancer survivor talking about ear stapling’s help in her weight loss.

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Many of the weight loss infomercials tell us about Abdominal Machines can Give You Washboard Abs.

The image is familiar: a muscled man appears on your television screen, smiles, waves, and tells you all about his journey from obesity to sexiness. He flashes pictures of his past look: the large tummy, the absent waistline, the flabby abdominals. He then begs you to look at him now: the sculpted pelvic area, the absence of fat, the abundance of raw muscle. He then tells you that he owes it all to one machine.

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Aside from usual side digestive system effects from weight loss pills such as gas and diarrhea, users of Alli should also take note of another side effect - vitamin deficiency.

This is because as Alli reduces absorption of fat in the gastrointestinal system, it also decreases the absorption of vitamins.

So according to Dr. David Westbrock, New Profile Weight Management Center’s director and an endocrinologist, it’s important to also take vitamin supplements while using this diet pill.

If you’d like to learn more about Alli, you might want to read “Are You Losing It?” Alli’s diet book.

Tags: Alli, vitamins, diet pill, side effects

As an answer to lack of education on what’s the ideal portion of food for each person, weight management experts came up with a new tool for weight loss - Portion-Control Dishes.

Dr. Pedersen’s team conducted a six-month study of commercially available portion control plates and bowls in 2004. The plates were divided into sections that marked appropriate portions for carbohydrates, proteins, cheese and sauce, with the rest left open for vegetables.

“The weight loss that we saw in this study is similar to weight loss seen in studies of medications for weight loss — but without the associated potential for side effects and at a fraction of the cost,” Pedersen told CTV Newsnet from Calgary.

The sections approximately totaled an 800-calorie meal for men and a 650-calorie meal for women. The cereal bowl was designed to allow a 200-calorie meal of cereal and milk.

The diet plate has line markings to delineate proper portion sizes for meats, starches and vegetables. The main aim of this tool is to help obese patients control their calorie consumption to improve weight loss results and to control the blood sugar levels of those with Type 2 diabetes.

via CTV

Tags: diet plate, weight loss, portion size, diabetes, blood sugar

Sanofi-aventis’ Acomplia or Zimulti was reported to induce suicidal thoughts on those who take the weight loss pill. Although it’s already marketing in more than 37 countries, this has made many US health advisers to stop prescribing Acomplia. FDA required further safety info to be presented before this diet pill which is also known as rimonabant gets its okay.

The FDA panel said the incidence of suicidal thoughts, seizures and adverse psychiatric and neurological events were “consistently higher” in people taking the drug.

The drug is being tested in several centres around the world, including Royal Perth Hospital, and the Therapeutic Goods Administration is due to consider approving it at its next meeting on June 26-28.

However, Gerald Watts, a medicine professor of Royal Perth Hospital (one of the Acomplia testing centers) mentioned that FDA’s safety concerns regarding Acomplia related to a marginal suicide and depression risk in people with previously identified risk factors for those conditions, who were excluded from the testing.

What else could be expected from weight loss drugs? Their effects are mainly on the brain so any slight risk may get aggravated. But as long as there are people who are willing to take these risks Acomplia, together with other diet pills having psychiatric effects will continue making money for their manufacturers.

via TheWest

Tags: acomplia, zimulti, suicidal, diet pill, side effects