Group: Diet Drug Alli Linked to Colon Cancer

Another possible weight loss mechanism. This one is more effective.

It was that weight loss from taking Alli (and Xenical, the prescription version) came from blocking fat absorption.

Alli decreases the amount of fat absorbed by the body. In addition to causing loose and oily stools and unfortunate and uncontrollable oily discharge, the drug may also interfere with the absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, K and E.

Now, we find that another, more potent process may be at work.

But one group has worked unsuccessfully for the past year to bring attention to what it believes is a worse, and possibly fatal, side effect of the drug.

The nonprofit group, Public Citizen says Alli, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, has been shown in studies to cause pre-cancerous lesions in the colons of mice. And, because there are no long-term studies of the drug’s effect on humans, the group believes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration should not have approved the drug for nonprescription use.

Cancer, as a means to weight loss has certain advantages. For example:

"... the studies also show that once you stop the drug, you regain the weight."

Cancer does not stop when drugs are stopped. This allows the body to continue the weight loss process as it feeds the malignancy inside of you.

Further, Alli itself is a weight loss drug, well worth the risk of any side effect, including death, cancer, oily farts, malabsorption of vitamins, etc. Take a look at these numbers:

Last fall, Dr. James Anderson, head of the UK College of Medicine Metabolic Research Group, and his colleagues examined the effects of 60 mg orlistat on mildly to moderately overweight individuals. Previous studies only looked at the drug’s effect on obese people.

Study participants took orlistat or a placebo three times daily with meals for 16 weeks. "Our research showed that people taking orlistat and following low-fat diets lost almost 5 percent of their initial body weight, about seven to 15 pounds over four months," Anderson said in a press release.

So in 16 weeks, at a max, you can lose from 7 - 15 pounds or between under one-half to less than one pound per week. In caloric equivalents this is somewhere in the range of replacing a sugary soda pop or two with a sugar-free soda per day.

Impressive.

It is also impressive that a 300-pounder is considered "mildly to moderately overweight." Fifteen pounds is 5% of 300.

Of course, you still have to follow "a healthy diet" by eating fatty foods (seems like an oxymoron, eh?):

"First of all, the drug doesn't work unless you have a certain amount of fat in your diet," he said. "Most people that are on low-fat diets are eating a lot of carbohydrates. Well, Alli doesn't block carbohydrates. On the other-hand, if you are eating a lot of fat in your diet, you're going to end up saying to yourself, 'I thought I was already toilet trained' because 25 percent of the people use this drug get oily spotting."

And spend money:

While Alli has been shown to help people following a healthy diet lose weight, studies show that consumers should not expect dramatic results from taking the drug. The retail price for Alli is $49.95 for a starter package of 60, $64.95 for a starter package of 90, and $76.95 for the refill package of 120 capsules.

In any event, the issue is not settled and Alli may not cause cancer:

But the FDA, in a response to Public Citizen earlier this year, said there was not enough evidence to link Alli to colorectal cancer, nor was their evidence to link the drug to breast cancer, another concern raised by Public Citizen.

The only settled issue, is that the fatty crap Alli users stick in their mouths and the oily crap that comes out the other end is nothing compared to the crap between their ears.