FDA Warns Consumers About Fruta Planta Diet Pills

Another 'miracle' weight loss pill has been found to contain the drug sibutramine, which was marketed as the prescription weight loss pill Meridia before being pulled from the market.

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) issued a press release on December 31st warning consumers not to use Fruta Planta weight loss products because FDA testing has revealed that they are contaminated with sibutramine, a drug withdrawn from the market earlier in December for safety reasons.  Sibutramine is known to cause an increase in blood pressure and/or heart rate in some individuals, thereby posing a potentially serious risk for individuals with poor heart health.  The FDA reports that they have received several reports of adverse events associated with Fruta Planta.

According to the Fruta Planta website, Reduce Weight Fruta Planta is an all natural weight loss pill with the active ingredients lemon, bitter melon, papaya, Benefit fruit, and spirulina maxima.  This diet pill is marketed to help individuals lose weight by reducing their appetite and helping them fight daily hunger cravings WITHOUT diet and WITHOUT exercise.  The manufacturers of Reduce Weight Fruta Planta, PRock Marketing LLC, has voluntarily issued a recall of all lots of their weight loss products in response to the FDA's discovery of sibutramine in them.  According to the FDA, consumers should stop using this product immediately, while the recall notice recommends that consumers should discard the product in a sealed container out of the reach of children and animals or return it to the company.

This is not the first dietary supplement weight loss product found to be contaminated with sibutramine.  Back in July 2010, the FDA warned consumers that the weight loss supplements "Slimming Factor Capsule" and "Slim-30 Herb Supplement" were adulterated with sibutramine.  Both of these products were also marketed as 'all natural' weight loss pills that provide great results, apparently without the need for dieting.

Remember, the best weight loss plans still focus on diet and exercise.  While, weight loss pills can have a place in a healthy weight loss plan, it is important to be careful about the diet pills we choose.  If you are starting a weight loss plan, be sure to discuss your plan with your physician and include a discussion of any diet pills you might be considering.

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Healthy Weight Loss With Alpha Lipoic Acid

Alpha lipoic acid (ALA) is a well known dietary antioxidant that has been shown to have multiple antioxidant functions including the scavenging of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, the regeneration of other antioxidants and the enhancement of at least one of our own cellular antioxidants.  Alpha lipoic acid is found in several foods including organ meats like liver and kidney and plants like broccoli and spinach.  However, absorption of ALA from food is reported to be very low; therefore, individuals taking ALA for its antioxidant benefits generally take a dietary supplement.  While it has been suggested that ALA might have a number of health benefits related to its antioxidant function, little is known about its utility in weight management practices.

A new obesity research study explored the possible weight loss benefits of alpha lipoic acid.  For this obesity research study, investigators treated nearly 600 obese and nearly 500 pre-obese men and women with 800 mg alpha lipoic acid per day for a total of 4 months.  On average, pre-obese men and women lost about 8% of their body weight, reduced their body mass index (BMI) by 2 points, and reduced their waist size by about 2.5 to 3 inches.  Similarly, consuming alpha lipoic acid daily for 4 months resulted in a 9% decrease in body weight, a 3-4 point decrease in BMI, and a reduction in waist size of 3.5 to 4" in obese men and women.

This is an interesting study that will need some additional follow-up and confirmation.  While these obesity research results were very positive, this study did not appear to have a control group of individuals that did not take the alpha lipoic acid supplement.  Furthermore, the study summary does not indicate if the study participants were following any diet and/or exercise regimens in addition to taking alpha lipoic acid daily for 4 months.  Previous research in rodents suggests that alpha lipoic acid successfully induced weight loss by reducing food intake and enhancing energy expenditure.  Alpha lipoic acid is a very popular antioxidant that some consider to be a "universal" antioxidant because of its unique characteristic of being both fat- and water-soluble.  Despite its antioxidant benefits, more research is needed to confirm its role in any healthy weight loss program.  If you choose to use diet pills, whether it is alpha lipoic acid or one of the other popular diet pills, it is important to remember that these are best used as part of an overall weight loss strategy that includes appropriate caloric intake and adequate amounts of exercise.

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Avoiding Dangerous Weight Loss Pills

With approximately two-thirds of the adult American population considered obese or overweight, a lot of money is spent on weight loss pills in hopes of finding a quick and easy way to lose weight.  Weight loss pills are one of the most popular tools for weight loss.  They typically promise rapid weight loss and often do so by touting their ability to help us lose weight without diet and/or exercise.  These diet pills generally are said to work in one or more of several ways including suppressing appetite so we feel less hungry and eat less, enhancing metabolism so we burn more calories without necessarily having to do extra exercise, and blocking fat absorption so we consume fewer calories from fat. 

While all of the marketing messages and even the science behind some of these diet pill products appear promising, it seems that we are finding more and more frequently that many of these diet pill products are being adulterated with pharmaceutical drugs.  Just this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced that two weight loss pills were found to be contaminated with pharmaceutical drugs.  In their first news release, the FDA warned that Que She weight loss capsules, marketed as “Slimming Factor Capsule”, contains fenfluramine, sibutramine, ephedrine, and propanolol, drugs either withdrawn from the market (fenfluramine) or known to pose risks to certain populations.  In their second related press release, the FDA announced that “Slim-30 Herb Supplement” contained traces of sibutramine and N-desmethyl sibutramine.  Sibutramine is known to increase blood pressure and heart rate in some people and can therefore be a substantial risk to some individuals.  While these might seem like isolated incidences, the FDA has warned us about many other similar diet pills that have been found to contain undeclared drugs like sibutramine, rimonabant, and phenolphthalein.

So what are we to do?  First, it is important to remember that the best weight loss plans still focus on diet and exercise.  As simplistic as it might sound, the basics of losing weight still rely upon a reduction in calorie intake and an increase in exercise (calories burned).  Weight loss pills can have a place in a healthy weight loss plan.  Many studies have shown that diet pills taken as part of a healthy weight loss plan based on caloric restriction and increased physical activity can boost weight loss by a few additional pounds.  However, it is important to be careful about the diet pills we choose.  If you decide to start a weight loss plan, be sure to discuss your plan with your physician and if you are going to make a promising-looking diet pill part of your overall weight loss plan let you doctor know what weight loss pill you intend to use.  Your physician might have information on the safety of the diet pill and any possible interactions it might have with other medications you might be taking.  In addition to talking with your physician, research your diet pill.  Visit the FDA’s website for current press releases and other safety information.

While many healthy weight loss plans are effective, they can also be difficult to follow.  My diet plan is both easy to follow and delicious.  Exercising 30-45 minutes per day most days of the week is an important part of my diet plan and can be as easy as taking a brisk walk every day.  Visit us at www.drtabor.com to learn more!

A New Diet Pill On The Horizon?

Diet pills are extremely popular for many individuals trying to lose weight, though the success of most of the pharmaceutical weight loss pills has been dampened by their safety profile.  Many of the popular diet pills, like fenfluramine, dexfenfluramine, and sibutramine, have been removed or are in danger of being removed from the market due to safety concerns.

According to a new weight loss study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, a new drug, lorcaserin, successfully helps with weight loss without the safety concerns of previous diet pills.  In this study, investigators randomly assigned  over 3,000 overweight or obese adults to receive either a lorcaserin diet pill or a placebo pill twice daily for 1 year.  After completion of the first year, individuals who had received the lorcaserin were re-assigned to either continue taking lorcaserin or take the placebo pill for a second year.  All study volunteers received regular counseling to exercise moderately 30 minutes each day and to consume 600 fewer Calories per day.  Weight loss was examined after the first year and weight maintenance was determined after the second year.  The study investigators reported that:

• Volunteers taking lorcaserin lost 13 lbs on average after 1 year, while volunteers taking the placebo pill lost only 5 lbs on average.
• 47.5% of volunteers taking lorcaserin lost more than 5% of their body weight compared to only 20% of volunteers taking the placebo pill.  
• During the second year of the study, 68% of the study subjects taking lorcaserin maintained their weight loss for a year.  Only 50% of the subjects taking the placebo pill managed to maintain their weight loss after a year.
• Side effects of lorcaserin use were considered mild and included headache, dizziness, and nausea.  Furthermore, use of lorcaserin was not linked to increases in heart valve problems.

At first blush, these look like excellent results.  Study volunteers taking this new diet pill lost weight, maintained their weight loss, and, compared to control subjects, experienced no differences in serious side effects.  However, I keep coming back to that average 13-lb weight loss. Volunteers in the lorcaserin group exercised 30 minutes per day, consumed 600 fewer calories per day than they needed, and took lorcaserin twice daily, all of which resulted in an average loss of 13 lbs in one year.  If you look at that number another way, that would be equal to an average of 1/4 lb per week.  How many of us would be happy losing only 1/4 lb per week?

According to an article on the Mayo Clinic website, cutting 500 calories per day (3,500 calories per week) from your typical diet will result in losing 1 lb per week.  The volunteers in this study were supposed to consume 600 calories per day (4,200 calories per week) less than their energy needs and yet they only lost 1/4 lb per week on average.  This could suggest that either the study volunteers weren't exercising and dieting according to the instructions or the diet pill wasn't as effective as it appears.  A previous study of this same diet pill showed that it could help with weight loss in individuals following their regular diet and activity plans, suggesting that diet and exercise might not be needed when taking this diet pill.

Since this drug works by decreasing food intake, it might be possible that weight loss could be achieved without additional dieting and exercise; however, an average weight loss of 13 lbs per year does not seem as effective as diet and exercise alone can be.  For example, dieters lost nearly 400% more weight on my diet's eating and physical activity plan when compared to another study of dieters who used a leading weight loss diet pill plan. You can lose more weight in less time on my diet plan without using diet pills; however, if with your doctor’s consent you choose to use a diet pill, my eating and physical activity plan is the perfect complement for the best results.