Drug companies know that if they can make an effective, safe diet pill, there will be massive demand and huge profits.
Many of the 73% of Americans who are overweight or obese would flock to a genuine solution to their weight problems.
But history is littered with disastrous diet drugs.
One of the first was dinitrophenol, sold in the 1930s. It boosted metabolism and burned body fat. Unfortunately, it also caused blindness and death from dangerously elevated body temperature.
The FDA eventually halted the drug’s use.[1]
In the 1990s, there was the fen-phen craze. It was a combination of the drugs fenfluramine and phentermine. It was touted as a miracle weight-loss treatment and became hugely popular.
But in 1997, research showed fenfluramine (Pondimin) caused heart-valve damage. The FDA ordered the manufacturer, Wyeth, to pull the drug off the market. Eventually, 175,000 lawsuits were filed against the company.
Other weight-loss drug disasters include:
- Meridia. It suppressed hunger and made dieters feel full. But studies linked it to higher risk of heart problems and stroke. It was removed from the market in 2010.
- Contrave. A combination of the antidepressant bupropion and the anti-addiction drug naltrexone. It was initially approved by the FDA in 2010. But the agency rejected it after studies found it raised risk of heart attack and stroke.[2]
- Orlistat. This is currently available in both prescription (Xenical) and over-the-counter form (Alli). Side effects include stomach pain, gas, and oily discharge.[3]
The latest diet pill nightmare is Belviq (lorcaserin). The FDA announced earlier this year that people should stop taking the drug. They found it to be associated with several types of cancer, including pancreatic, lung, and colorectal. The agency asked the manufacturer, Eisai Co., to remove the drug from the market.[4]
A Natural, Safe Weight-Loss Solution
Now, finally, there may be a diet pill that is both effective and safe. But it’s not a drug. It’s a natural, nutritional supplement.
A groundbreaking study on the supplement was recently published in the Journal of Nutrition. Researchers recruited about 60 overweight volunteers. They gave half a daily 600-mg lipoic acid supplement. The others took a placebo.[5]
“The data clearly showed a loss in body weight and body fat in people taking lipoic acid supplements,” said Dr. Balz Frei. He was one of the scientists who ran the study. “Women and the heaviest participants” benefited the most, he said.[6]
None of the subjects suffered significant side effects.
Lipoic acid is also known as thioctic acid, a-lipoic acid, alpha lipoic acid, and ALA. It’s a naturally occurring compound that’s made in your body. It’s needed for the proper functioning of mitochondria, which supply energy to your cells.
Lipoic acid appears to promote weight loss by shifting glucose away from fat cells into muscles, where it is burned as energy rather than stored.
The new study confirms previous findings:
- In a 2010 study, scientists gave 800 mg a day of lipoic acid to 1,127 overweight or obese subjects. After four months, obese men had lost an average of 4.3 inches in waist size. Women lost 3.5 inches. Subjects lost 8-9% of their body weight. The study was published in the journal Current Pharmaceutical Design.[7]
- Researchers tested lipoic acid in 360 obese subjects for a study published in American Journal of Medicine in 2011. After five months of taking 1,800 mg of lipoic acid a day, subjects lost an average of 2.1% of their body weight.[8]
Lipoic acid supplements are widely available at drug stores and online. Follow the dosage on the label.
Big Pharma has failed miserably to come up with a safe weight-loss pill. Lipoic acid can help you get thinner without the grave dangers of diet drugs.
Editor’s Note: If you’re trying to lose weight, don’t fall for the calorie cutting myth. Calories don’t drive weight gain. Something else does. And it’s easy to control. Discover more by reading The Weight-Loss-for-Life Protocol. It’s in Independent Healing, the monthly newsletter that deciphers the latest science to bring you unbiased medical information that can transform your health. Find out more HERE.
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[1]https://www.livestrong.com/article/74336-history-diet-pills
[2]https://healthland.time.com/2012/02/21/whither-qnexa-a-brief-history-of-diet-pills-and-the-fda
[3]https://www.drugs.com/xenical.html
[4]https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/13/health/belviq-weight-loss-drug-cancer-fda/index.html
[5]https://academic.oup.com/jn/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/jn/nxaa203/5874419?redirectedFrom=fulltext
[6]https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-08-lipoic-acid-supplements-obese-healthy.html
[7] https://www.nutritionexpress.com/article+index/vitamins+supplements+a-z/alpha-lipoic+acid/showarticle.aspx?id=2026
[8] https://supplementsinreview.com/fat-loss/alpha-lipoic-acid-fat-loss/