What is Alli Orlistat?
ALLI is a less powerful version of Xenical that you can buy without a prescription. Both contain the effective ingredient Orlistat.
In 2011, the US Agency for Food and Drug Administration (the FDA) stated the need to improve the information and warnings published about this pill because of its potentially dangerous side effects.
So is Ali a safe weight-loss pill, or should you opt for a different slimming medication that is safer and risk-free?
There was a time when this pill was available everywhere; even in UK pharmacies.
Alli was sold in the United States for the first time in June 2007 and presented itself as the only dietary weight loss supplement approved by the US Agency for Food and Drug Administration.
It was two years before the pill arrived in Europe. In 2009 it was marketed as a less powerful version of the drug Xenical, available without a prescription and based on the same ingredients. It was marketed by Roche.
Xenical contains 120mg of the main ingredient, Orlistat, while Alli contains just half as much: 60mg. Initially, Alli was only supposed to be sold to people with a BMI greater than 28, i.e. a body mass index of 28. An index of 28 means you are overweight.
This index is the standard set by the World Health Organization (WHO) to assess the risks associated with being overweight or obese. This index can also define other statuses: morbid obesity, severe obesity, moderate obesity, overweight, normal weight, underweight and finally starvation.
However, the guidelines were often ignored as people knew that they could buy Alli without having to prove their BMI.
Alli is marketed by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), a British company that is the seventh largest pharmaceutical company in the world. It is an enormous company that employs over 100,000 people across 116 countries, including 15,000 researchers. They sell a range of drugs for different problems: respiratory medicine, HIV, diabetes, oncology, vaccinology, antibiotic therapy, thrombosis, etc.
In 2011, they tried to sell the Alli brand, as well as the other weight loss supplements they owned. The results were not what they expected.
Alli is still owned by GSK. It seems that they did not manage to sell the Alli brand.
What Alli Orlistat claims to do for you?
For every kilogramme that you lose from adjusting your diet, Alli claims to help you lose an additional 500g.
How?
By preventing your body from absorbing 40% of fat you eat at each meal, which helps to make your diet healthier. The rejected fats then pass through your body and are expelled with the stool.
Alli is not a stimulant or an appetite suppressant. It only acts in the digestive system. Alli prevents the body from absorbing some of the ingested fat. For every 2 kilos lost thanks to your own efforts, Alli promises to help you lose an additional 1kg.
It guarantees that you will lose 4.4kg in 6 months, which is the maximum period of use.
Alli should be used as part of a low-calorie, low-fat diet.
Ingredients
Alli Orlistat is a carb-blocking drug, which aims to gradually reduce the amount of fat absorbed while you eat.
Studies have shown that, by inhibiting the enzymes that break down fat in the intestine, you can block up to 25% of fat from being absorbed. The undigested fat will then be expelled naturally with the stool. It only contains one ingredient: Orlistat.
This is the active ingredient found in the prescription drug Xenical. Because the dosage found in Xenical has been halved for Alli, there is no need for medical supervision. This is why Alli is available without a prescription.
So what is Orlistat?
- ORLISTAT (60mg):
Despite it being clinically approved as a weight-loss aid, its concrete results have been modest. Because of the side effects that were reported by its users, it came to be dubbed “Alli Oops”. Recently, the US Agency for Food and Drug Administration reported liver damage in a small number of consumers.
Alli’s side effects
The most worrying side effect from taking Alli is liver damage, which was found in a number of its users, as indicated by the FDA. You can read the FDA report on this subject by clicking on this link:
(Source: .. US Food and Drug Administration Postmarket Drug Safety Information for Patients and Providers 05/26/2010 ).
It should still be noted that there have only been 13 recorded cases of liver damage between April 1999 and August 2009. However, there have been more common side effects reported. The most common side effect from taking Alli is diarrhoea, hence its nickname “Alli Oops”. This unpleasant side effect is in part due to the stool’s consistency becoming fatty and bulky, which leads to the user feeling an urgent need to empty their bowels. Some consumers claim to have been unable to leave the bathroom!
It is also recommended to take multivitamins with your meal when taking Alli, as it can reduce your body’s level of fat-soluble vitamins. This is essential if you want to avoid a vitamin deficiency.
Alli is not recommended for pregnant or nursing women. Anyone taking warfarin or cyclosporine should not take Alli. In 2010, the FDA announced Alli should mention the risk of liver injury on its packet.
And finally, this is the warning issued by the National Agency of Drug Safety and Health Products (ANSM) concerning the risk of hepatotoxicity from Orlistat, Alli and Xenical. ANSM announces that there is a rare but serious risk of liver injury during treatment with orlistat. Later in their statement, the official body cites serious reported cases of liver damage that, in some cases, led to liver transplantation or the patient’s death!
Here is the link to read the full report ANSM (Source: ANSM information point 23/09/2011. )
Testimonials from Alli Users
The testimonies from Alli users are contradictory.
Some are positive:
The best weight loss supplement in combination with a healthy diet. Easy to take with every meal. I have tried others and Alli is the best.
When others are negative:
This product has done nothing but confine me to the bathroom all day. It has had absolutely no effect on my weight.
Most customer complaints focused on the urgent, uncontrollable and frequent need to use the toilet. However, as we cannot verify these testimonies’ authenticity, we remain sceptical.
To summarise, does Alli makes you lose weight?
There are a number of studies that claim orlistat can be used to fight obesity. Clinical trials conducted by GSK showed that:
When used in combination with a low-fat, reduced calorie diet, Alli can help people lose 50% more weight than by dieting alone.
However, tests for Orlistat have different results. One study found a single drop of 5 to 10% of body weight after 12 months of treatment. This same study showed that subjects regain up to 35% of their body weight after they stop taking Orlistat!
You can find more information via this link (source: RxList .).
It appears that Alli can help with modest weight loss, but its main (and only) component, orlistat, can cause considerable digestive discomfort.
Where can I buy Alli Orlistat online & in Australia?
Alli is available both in pharmacies and online. We found this online store that offers three different packs of Alli:
- 1 month of treatment for €79.99.
- 2 months of treatment: €151.99 with a saving of 5%.
- 3 months of treatment for the price of €215.99 with a saving of 10%.
The recommended dose is 3 pills per day. This product contains a dose of 60mg of orlistat and features the approval of both the FDA and the EMA.
In order to buy Alli Orlistat online, you will have to answer a medical questionnaire beforehand.
Caution: Alfadoc always recommends that you go to your doctor or pharmacist so that you can conduct a comprehensive medical review before buying the slimming medication. We also remind you to be wary of websites that claim to sell drugs with promotions such as “cheap” or “best price” These websites often sell counterfeit drugs that can be dangerous to your health.
Our Review of Alli Orlistat online
By following a low-calorie diet and doing enough exercise, Alli will help its users lose weight.
In the words of ANSM, the process of losing weight is neither trivial nor without inconsequential to your health. It must be part of a comprehensive and individualised regime and it must be followed in the long term, with the help of a doctor.
Medical review on March 10, 2017 by Dr. Davis Taylor
