Tag: fat

Laxatives and Weight Loss

 

The rate of obesity in the United States is at an all time high. People are searching for the magic pill to make the process of losing weight simple, easy and painless. You may not want to hear this but there is no magic pill. Weight goes ‘on’ the same way it comes off. If you eat more calories than you burn off then its simple- you gain weight. If you eat less than you burn off then you lose weight. Simple. (1)

But while this concept is simple, the practice is not. In this high stress  fast-paced world of ours many of us leave out exercise in order to spend time going to the movies with their children or sitting passively  on the sidelines watching their children play sports. Grabbing a quick hamburger at the local fast food restaurant has taken over from sit down dinners  with vegetables and salad. Do we actually wonder why obesity is at an all time high!

Some of us  in desperation turn to laxatives. Let me start by saying -Laxatives and weight loss are not synonymous….read that again. Laxatives and weight loss are also not healthy or safe. The majority of weight that is lost when we use laxatives is from fluid and the health dangers are significant. (2)

The use of laxatives in an attempt to lose weight is often abused and seems to be common with people who have an eating disorder.

So to understand why it is a bad idea to use laxatives Let’s look at what happens in your body when you take them. After the pill is ingested, the active ingredients in the tablet target the cells of the large intestines. They then irritate the cells and encourage the large intestines to empty, often earlier than the body is ready.

 One of the main functions of the large intestine is to reabsorb water  from the food so that it is not lost from the body as waste.  If you evacuate your bowels too soon you run the risk of dehydration.

The calories from the food you eat are  absorbed in the small intestines and laxatives don’t affect the small intestines. This means that while the intent behind taking laxatives is to decrease the amount of calories absorbed by the food, the only thing that these medications will do is cause the large intestines to evacuate the waste AFTER the small intestines has extracted all of the necessary calories.

After losing fluid from the early bowel movement the body then compensates by retaining fluid. This means laxatives will cause an initial dehydration which makes the person ‘feel’ thin, but within a few hours the body will compensate by retaining the remaining fluid and consequently making the person ‘feel’ bigger.

The body needs fluid to remove the wastes and toxins in the large intestine so retaining fluids will make you feel bad because you can’t get rid of all of the waste products normally evacuated.

Now at this point you might be tempted to take more laxatives to get rid of the full feeling again and so It’s a vicious cycle that sets you up for irritable bowel syndrome and colon tumors. The Prolonged use of laxatives can  lead to cramping, bloating, water retention and the added problem of withdrawal.

Believe me …..the use of laxatives to promote weight loss is just not an option!

All you are doing is  endangering your health and definitely won’t be moving toward achieving your goal.

Ok… so how do you stop using laxatives?

You can stop the abuse of laxatives using several steps.

Unless you have been prescribed by a doctor you should stop using laxatives immediately. This can be easier said than done and may require the help of a mental health professional.

Drink at least 6-10 eight oz glasses of water each day. Do Not have caffeine drinks or alcohol or juices, only water. Get some physical activity each day to encourage regular bowel function.

Make sure you Eat regularly and spread it out over at least 3 meals maybe more. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables, which will immediately improve your chances of weight loss and improve normal bowel function. Keep a record every day of your bowel movements so they can be monitored and you can see a pattern. If you find you are constipated for more than 3 days call your doctor – do not treat yourself!

Your colon will react differently than a normal colon after it has been abused by a laxative regimen and of course it depends how long you were on laxatives

Laxatives and weight loss don’t mix. They don’t work.  You can stop the vicious cycle and move on to a more healthy and fit way of losing weight for life!

References

(1) Centers for Disease Control: Adult Obesity Facts
http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html

(2) Columbia University Health; Go Ask Alice: Laxative Abuse – Any Side Effects?
http://goaskalice.columbia.edu/laxative-abuse-any-side-effects

Using Hoodia to Lose Weight

 

Hoodia is a weight loss supplement that is a  newcomer to North America and the weight loss industry. It is another one of the over the counter supplements that  is sold to make the journey to thinness “theoretically” easier and painless.

Hoodia Gordonii was first discovered in 1937 by a Dutch anthropologist. He descovered that African Bushman were usin the flowering plant to suppress their appetite and thirst, when they travelled across the desert.

South African scientists, working with  a British pharmaceutical company called Phytopharm, isolated the active ingredient – P57 in 1995. Then in 1998 another Pharmaceutical company Pfizer spent $21 million to sub-license the patent from Phytopharm. After the initial research Pfizer decided to  return the license. (1) Then, in 2010 Phytopharm also let the patent lease expire. (2)

Hoodia weight loss supplements must contain the P57 from the Hoodia Gordonii plant to be advertised as Hoodia. There are over 13 different Hoodia plants and only one has been found to have the active ingredient that causes the appetite and thirst suppression.

Hoodia weight loss supplements work on your central nervous system and trick the body into thinking it’s full. This will avoid the nagging feelings of hunger. It also tricks the body into losing the trigger for thirst which is worrying as it can potentially cause problems with dehydration, especially on hot  days.

People with diabetes should be especially  careful using the supplement since it tricks the body into thinking that there is sufficient blood sugar. Without the proper feedback mechanism, people suffering from diabetes can suffer dangerously low blood sugar drops that can lead to hypos and death if not treated immediately.

Before using any product including this one, you should always check with your doctor to determine if there may be any interactions with medications you may already be taking or any underlying medical conditions that which you may be suffering. Your pharmacist can also help  with interactions with any over the counter medications you be thinking of buying

Just like any other herbal supplement, Hoodia supplements must be used with caution. The manufacture of Hoodia products are not regulated by any agency. The only real way to know if what is labeled on the bottle is really in the bottle is by an evaluation in an independent laboratory.

Sometimes herbal supplements contain products that are not listed on the label. They are included in the manufacturing process and they are not processed out. Some of these substances in Hoodia weight loss supplements can cause liver dysfunction and damage, which was the reason that Pfizer had backed out of the patent. These side effects on the liver were too much of a liability to the pharmaceutical company Pfizer who was weighing the cost of risk vs. benefit. To the average user the benefit is weight loss. However, the pharmaceutical company was weighing the potential cost of law suits and manufacturing process to reduce the risk of liver damage, against the financial benefit of the sale of the product.

Typical side effects of this supplement are not well documented since there have been no reliable studies using humans since it was introduced in North America.

Although Hoodia Gordonii has been shown through case studies to be effective in weight loss supplementation there have also not been enough studies to show the safety of using this supplement. The choice is always yours. (3)

 

(1) Rebirth Africa: From Hoodia Gordonii to P57
http://www.rebirth.co.za/hoodia/p57_pfizer.htm
(2) NutraIngredients.com: Phytopharm CEO Insists Hoodia Still “Interesting” Despite Patent Disposal
http://www.nutraingredients.com/Industry/Phytopharm-CEO-insists-Hoodia-still-interesting-despite-patent-disposal

(3) Natural News: Hoodia Gornonii is No Miracle Weight Loss Pill, Health Investigation Reveals
http://www.naturalnews.com/002713.html