Many local drugstores sell diet pills, and even more choices are available on the Internet. But most diet pills haven ™t been proved safe or effective, and some are downright dangerous, according to a special report in the November issue of Mayo Clinic Women ™s HealthSource.
The report looks at popular weight-loss diets, eating plans and strategies, including diet pills.
Pills containing ephedra are touted to decrease appetite. But they can cause dangerous side effects, including heart attacks, seizures, strokes and sudden death. Ephedra, although banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), can be purchased online. Herbal supplements that contain the plant-derived chemical ephedrine also are available online and can cause similar health problems.
Other weight-loss pills can contain a cocktail of ingredients, including herbs, botanicals, vitamins, minerals, caffeine or laxatives. It ™s too often unknown how these ingredients, individually or in combination, could affect individuals. The risk of adverse reactions increases when diet pills are taken with other medications.
The FDA has approved the weight-loss drug Alli, a reduced-strength version of the prescription drug orlistat (Xenical). Alli is taken with meals and promotes weight loss by decreasing absorption of fat by the intestines. It ™s intended for use as part of a reduced-calorie, low-fat diet. When individuals don ™t reduce fat in the diet, diarrhea and gas with oily spotting can be significant side effects.
While diet pill claims may be tempting, weight loss only happens when more calories are burned than consumed.
Mayo Clinic Women ™s HealthSource is published monthly to help women enjoy healthier, more productive lives. Revenue from subscriptions is used to support medical research at Mayo Clinic. To subscribe, please call 800-876-8633, extension 9751, or visit www.bookstore.mayoclinic.
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During their tests, they discovered that merely handling the male mice and subjecting them to a placebo test “ where glucose was replaced with saline “ resulted in significant differences in blood sugar levels. Males of a calmer, more monogamous species had a higher level of stress hormones and a superior ability to regulate blood sugar, in comparison to males of a less calm, less monogamous species, or females of either species. In combination with studies with male mice bred to have only swapped "male" Y chromosomes, their study shows that a genetic variance linked to the Y chromosome is responsible for the species-specific responses of the males to stress.
Since previous studies of non-human primates by other research groups demonstrates a link between stress hormone levels and monogamy, the UC Irvine group propose that superior stress tolerance and blood sugar regulation is related to monogamy in these mice. Their work not only supports the study of mice with a more natural genetic background, but also points to the importance of considering gene-environment interactions, as well as behavior, when calculating risk of diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and other common diseases.
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