Data show Belviq no good for fatloss....Today's post:  Thursday, 9-6-2018

Recent headlines say that Belviq gets good fatloss results and is safe to take.

The data show otherwise.

Only people who cut calories consistently lost fat even while taking the drug.  They lost little more than the people who didn’t take it.

And, the abundant earlier data show that like many of the earlier tries at a fat loss drug it’s harmful to take it.  Sometimes the harm is serious.

These things are still true:

A.  If you do the known basics to stop making yourself fat and sick and do the things that help you stay healthy and physically able, you may lose over 25 pounds with no further effort. 

You’ll stop gaining more fat each year!

Done well, stopping the harmful things and doing the helpful things when you have not been before even results in you being LESS hungry.

You will also prevent gaining another 5 to 10 pounds each year that you would have otherwise.

B.  Some people with less fat to lose -- or who have been on and off diets – and some people with a block to fatloss such as taking an Obesogenic drug -- may need to do more than the basics to lose the fat they would benefit to lose and would like to lose.

C.  If you start these lifestyle upgrades to help you lose fat you keep off, it’s easier and more rewarding if you lose fat in the first two weeks and quite noticeable amounts of fat in the first two months.

So a way to do this that is effective and safe and doesn’t backfire and is sustainable is well worth having.

It makes it fun to get good results like this; and research shows you are much more likely to lose the fat you want to lose and keep it off. 

In the last part of this post we list some methods that have worked for some people and a possible drug like approach that may be effective and safe.

D. But Belviq does NOT qualify!  We cover that next:

The email I got last Tuesday from Health Sciences Institute covers that so well I include that next:

“Dear Reader,

Eight years ago, Belviq, an Rx drug for weight loss, was getting some seriously bad press. 

"Irresponsible," is what Dr. Sidney Wolfe, then director of Public Citizen, called the FDA for approving it. 

The medical advisors at Consumer Reports said that it had "risks galore" and urged people to "skip it."

But now it's all sunshine and roses where Belviq is concerned, with doctors assuring reporters that "This is a drug that is safe!"

So, how did that transformation occur?

Simple! 

The drugmaker sponsored a study... filled it with researchers who work for the company... published the findings in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine... and let the media do the heavy lifting.

To read the glowing reports in the press now, with headlines such as "Diet drug Belviq is first shown not to hurt heart," you would think that it's as safe as mom's apple pie! 

But the real story here is how having friends in high places -- and millions of dollars to spend to influence the FDA -- can get pharma exactly what pharma wants.

And taking Belviq (or any other Rx diet pill on the market) is a mistake that far too many people have already made while simply hoping to improve their health by losing some weight. 

Instead, however, they're taking a risk with:

• depression and suicidal thoughts,
• changes in "attention or memory," agitation, hallucinations, and confusion,
• nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea,
• stiff or rigid muscles,
• a racing or slowed heartbeat,
• "milky discharge" from the breasts in women,
• increased breast size for guys, and
• damage to heart valves.

After the fen-phen tragedy, when up to a third of the people prescribed that drug combo (a number that was in the many millions) developed heart-valve damage, the approval of diet drugs went flat. 

However, this new pharma-run and pharma-sponsored study of Belviq, the first diet drug to come out of the gate after 13 years of the agency playing it safe, is said to have dismissed any heart worries with a wave of its magic safety wand.

But a frightening investigation done three years ago revealed exactly how prescription diet drugs started flooding the market again in the first place. No surprise here -- it's all about the money.

An inquiry by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and MedPage Today uncovered how a massive "spending spree" by Big Pharma -- to the tune of at least $60 million -- greased the wheels to get these risky meds approved by the FDA.

Drugmakers handed out cash like it was candy to medical societies, doctors, and politicians. "Expert" groups started issuing guidelines approving the use of diet pills for weight loss -- with $51 million of that bonanza being spent on lobbying efforts.

And it worked. Not only did Belviq get onto the pharmacy shelves, but so did four more diet drugs in fast order.

Where Belviq is concerned, however, despite the rosy headlines about how this drug has somehow been proven to be heart "safe," the study turned up some other little tidbits.

One was that those taking Belviq for close to three-and-a-half years lost an average of 9 pounds. Heck, those not taking the drug managed to lose over 4 pounds (by simply being given access to "dietary and exercise information"), and they didn't have to risk any of those side effects!

Other findings were that many people taking Belviq suffered from adverse reactions -- such as dizziness, fatigue, nausea, and headaches -- that were bad enough to have them drop out of the study. Others experienced dangerously low blood sugar and suicidal thoughts.

The bottom line here is that while shedding some extra pounds, be it 5 or 50, might seem only possible by taking powerful drugs, that's not true! 

A new study backed by the National Institutes of Health found that by simply cutting back on sugar, refined grains, and processed foods while adding plenty of fresh, whole foods and veggies to your diet can have you losing more weight than any of these drugs will.

In fact, some of the participants in this NIH study dropped as much as 50 to 60 pounds. Best of all, counting calories and measuring portions were not required!

And if you think that way of eating sounds a lot like the Mediterranean diet, you're right! It's what HSI panel member Dr. Mark Stengler has been recommending to his patients for years now.

As Dr. Stengler calls it, the Mediterranean diet is the "miracle 'drug' the world's been waiting for."

Which is something you'd never, ever say about Belviq!

To Staying Out of Pharma's Clutches,

Melissa Young”

E.  Upgrading to grain free Mediterranean Diet style eating is one proven way to follow the basics!

It works better for health if you use extra virgin olive oil and if not allergic eat avocados and raw tree nuts other than cashews and take olive leaf extract.  It also works better for health if you eat wild caught fish high in omega 3 oils.

It works better to look better and lose fat you keep off and for health as well if you also do some form of progressive vigorous cardio and effective AND progressive strength training for your large muscles a few times each most days of every week.

F. There are also some approaches with dramatically better results than Belviq -- that work for those who find them doable and keep doing them:

1.  For women who need a doable  system with a food list and recipes already done and need the proven support to do it well, checkout Isabel de Los Rios and her Beyond Diet approach.  She herself lost 30 pounds she has kept off.

For some people doing the basics or learning them from someone like Isabel is enough.

And for the men and women who find it works, it’s the easiest one to do without thinking about it all the time or living a life incompatible with socializing easily.

2.  Some women after menopause or anyone who has dieted repeatedly and gained it all back, may need something more than our advice or a program like Isabel’s.

This may also be true for someone who has more than 50 pounds to lose.

If you work well with video it may work best to join the online group.

But you can read the intro to see how it works by buying “Bright Line Eating: The Science of Living Happy, Thin & Free by Susan Peirce Thompson PHD.”

I just ordered one to read myself on Amazon.

Not many methods can help women lose the fat they gain at menopause.  This one has done so.

Not many methods work well for people who have 50 or 100 or more pounds to lose.  This one has.

3.  I’m working on some other alternatives that I may need that I’ll post on more if they work for me.  (See my monthly fatloss reports for current updates.)

G.  There IS one method that has tested to work in animals that was effective and safe in those tests.

And, it may be available now or quite soon.

I posted on that recently:

Check out this post:

Possible New Fatloss tool....Thursday, 7-26-2018

Last week I got a Medical News Today email that says a new way to

either start fat loss without triggering the famine response –

or to maintain your fat loss when you otherwise might not—

 may now exist!

Does it work?  It sounds like it very well might for people who are already doing the basics.

(If in your case it can remove 2 pounds a week of fat; but you are still taking in lots of MSG and junk food and sweet baked goods and diet soft drinks, that by actual test are the MOST fattening kind, and NOT exercising to the point you are gaining 3 pounds a week, you won’t lose any fat!)

But if you have stopped all that; and do exercise; and have lost five pounds but no more; and still have fat to lose, this looks like it might work very well to help you lose the rest of that fat!

Is it safe?  It looks likely to be relatively safe for most people.

Here’s the information and the link to the study.

Time release capsaicin causes fatloss according to this research.

Eating or taking capsaicin can cause problems in your gut and isn't on 24 7.

This research says that a time release capsaicin solves both problems because the dose at any one time is too low to cause problems but the 24 7 action is effective at boosting metabolism in a way that causes fat loss.

“https://www. medical news today .com/articles/322501. php [Remove the spaces to see in your browser.]

Hot pepper compound may reduce obesity

A new trial in rodents finds that capsaicin, the compound that makes hot peppers hot, can lead to long-term weight loss and better metabolic health.

From: Medical News Today:

Sent: Wed, Jul 18, 2018 10:16 am”

1.  As many such research articles do, this suggests that in 20 years a drug company may work out a way to make and sell this.

2.  But I called today to a compounding pharmacy.  Their pharmacist said that she has the capsaicin and a relatively safe time release compound. 

She literally could have some time release capsaicin created for pick up in a few days.

But she would need a prescription from a doctor.

As those of you who read my personal fatloss report this past Monday know, I’m beginning a strong effort to use a whole body vibration plate to create an even greater weekly metabolism boost.

But I’m unusually highly motivated and strong enough to wrestle it into place. 

a) So even if my use of the vibration plate works well for me, it may not be a solution for many.

This new way might be a solution for them.

b) And if the vibration plate and going to the gym for heavier weight lifting two weekends a month only does half the job in my case, it would be great to have this new way to do the rest of the job!

c) People who lose fat well the first few weeks are much more likely to keep doing the things that caused it and permanently get rid of the fat.

So, a specialty gym to help people jump start fatloss that teaches eating right and has the heavier weights AND has a whole body vibration plate and a trainer to help people start using it – and that also uses this time release capsaicin might be a real asset to fatloss!

Also, there was a similar research study reported by Medical News Today a few weeks ago.

Those researchers combined a way to boost thyroid output with a medication to protect against the liver damage this would otherwise cause and apparently got comparable results.

This still looks worth developing for hospitalized people with severe obesity and movement problems.

But I suspect strongly that the time release capsaicin is close to that effective and far safer!

The time release compounds are likely not a great idea to keep taking. 

But the time release capsaicin looks like a worthwhile addition to the tool box that works to cause fat loss.”