allie diet pills, what exactly is it?

Recently, I have seen the allie diet pills advertised on television. In the ad they make a big deal out of being the only FDA approved diet pill and promote their diet plan. So I decided to look into it a little bit, and see exactly what allie is. Allie’s active ingredient is orlistat, a pancreatic lipase inhibitor. In plain English it binds to the emzyne that the body produces to break fat down so that it can be absorbed into the body for use. If the fat can not be absorbed by the body it simply pass through and exits the body, thereby reducing the amount of fat intake. Regarding the FDA approval, orlistat was initially approved by the FDA as a prescription under the name of Xenical and contained 120 mgs of orlistat. In 2007, the manufacture reduced the dose to 60 mgs, and received FDA approval to market orlistat over the counter as allie.

There are several side effects associated with orlistat, oily spotting on underwear, flatulence (farting), urgent bowel movements, fatty or oily stools, increased number of bowel movements, abdominal pain/discomfort, and inability to control bowel movements. After reading thes side effects, I recalled seeing these same side effects a while back.  Remember the Lay’s potato chips that were marketed as WOW potato chips? Where they used a new oil, olestra to stop the body from absorbing the fat and were marketed as fat free. Well the side effects which caused the chip to be removed from the market, as far as I recall,  were and are pretty much the same. With that said, depending on where you look, the stats I have seen say that between 1 in 250 and 1 in 70 patients experienced one or more of the side effects in the first three months and that about 50% were resolved with in one to four weeks. Additionally, since orlistat also can keep certain vitamins such as vitamins A,D,E, and Beta Carotene, from being absorbed by the body and recommend that a multi vitamins be taken either several hours before or after the use of orlistat. Lastly, the cost. I found the starter kit of allie cost about $55.00 for 90 tabs and came with a CD program. The refill which consisted of 120 tabs cost was about $65.00. These would last you about 30 to 40 days based on the recommended dosage. Allie has also learned that people do better with weight-loss when diet and exercise are included and that there is some kind of follow-up, or counseling that is connected with any weight loss plan. What I found interesting was if you go to their website you will initially enroll in their diet plan and management system, no shopping cart to purchase allie, but they do ask if you have or have not already purchased the pills.

I personally would not use this product for several reasons. I do not like the side effects associated with them, and do not believe that their use actually makes any long term changes to the amount of fats consumed. Additionally, my personal benefactor of gaining weight is carbohydrates, not fat. Lastly the cost, why pay 50 to 60 dollars a month to block something from being absorbed into my body, when its cheaper, easier, and less costly not to eat it or at least as much of it in the first place. There are a lot of weight-loss programs out there that are good and promote healthy eating choices, as well as a lot of fitness and exercise programs that are geared to long term, lifestyle changes to control weight. At the end of the day the choice is yours, educate yourself and make the decision that is best for you, many people like and do well on supplements, and in some cases they are needed to get the materials your body needs.