Long-Term Use of the Weight Loss Drug Alli

Alli is the first over-the-counter pill for weight loss with U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval. It became available for consumers in 2007 after a reported 100 clinical studies. Some criticisms of Alli mention the possible side effects of loose stools and gas with oily spotting. The company states that if your diet is high in fat, you may encounter these affects. Part of the Alli diet plan is to reduce fatty foods and eat more healthily. The drug manufacture states that Alli must be part of a lifestyle change including increased exercise and better diet to realize optimal effects.

Alli: The Jury is Still Out

• Alli works by inhibiting enzymes in the stomach from breaking down fat in food to smaller molecules absorbed by the body and thereby decreasing absorption of fat. Read the manufacturer's instructions on the bottle and as part of the start-up package for new users. Be sure you are able to follow the directions including lowering your fat content in meals and beginning an exercise program. If you are not able to perform the entire Alli program, you will not realize the maximum benefits. Most patients reduced side effects by following a low-fat, reduced-calorie diet, not exceeding 15 grams of fat per meal.

Safe so Far

• Alli works in the stomach, little of it is absorbed into the blood, and it has no effect on the heart, liver or brain. No studies have found a relationship between Alli and seizures, heart palpitations, elevated blood pressure or heart problems.

Depends on Diet

• Alli claims to be able to block absorption of about 25 percent of fat in a person's diet, resulting in a 5 percent to 10 percent weight loss over time. Tests show it to be more effective than only dieting. It claims that most benefits of the pill are realized within six months. If a person continues and increases the other facets of the program (good diet and exercise), it is possible to stop taking the pill and continue losing weight. Critics claim that if a person stops taking the pill, then all the weight lost will return; however, this is only if the person is not eating healthily and exercising.

Serious Side Effects?

• In 2006, Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of the Health Research Group at Public Citizen (a public advocacy group), spoke against Alli becoming OTC due to studies that may have showed pre-cancerous lesions in the intestinal lining. In these studies, rats were given the main chemical in Alli, and the findings showed its ability to cause these lesions. The studies were published by M.L. Drent and others in the International Journal of Obesity in 1993 and 1995. As of 2009 there have been no long-term human studies on Alli or its chemicals to verify if there are negative or positive long term affects.

Vitamins Needed

• Critics and Alli itself do verify that taking the pill results in the body not being able to absorb certain vitamins, including A, D, K and E. Alli recommends taking a vitamin supplement while you are taking Alli to keep these essential vitamins in the body. If you do not take a supplement, there could be adverse long-term affects of your body not getting enough of these vitamins.