Nutritionist sounds fat pill warning
TUESDAY, MAY 30, 2000Women are far better off eating their way to a slimmer body, than taking a "fat-busting" pill, according to a leading Australian nutritionist.
Physiologist and Aussie Bodies consulting nutritionist Leigh Blashki said that availability of drugs such as Xenical on the internet, presented weight-conscious women with a "quick fix" solution that could endanger their health.
"The average woman who wants to lose weight is better off balancing her diet and doing more exercise, instead of taking a pill which prevents her from absorbing dietary fat," Blashki said.
"What many of us fail to grasp is that the fat we eat is essential for hormone production, healthy organs and even fat burning.
"Shutting out dietary fat from the cells interferes with our body's normal food absorption processes, disrupting our hormonal balance. This can lead to accelerated ageing, an inability to recover from disease, poor sexual health and long-term weight gain.
"Medications that target dietary fat as the sole culprit in weight gain also fail to take into consideration one's intake levels of protein and carbohydrates, both of which play key roles in body fat formation and release.
"The availability of such drugs on the internet presents many problems. If medications fall into the wrong hands - for example those of us who are not diagnosed overweight, but are simply unhappy with our weight - they can do serious damage to one's health."
Weight-loss medication Xenical, recently released in Australia, is intended to be available on prescription only.While it prevents a third of dietary fat from being absorbed in the body, side effects include diarrhoea, inability to control bowel movements, and reduced absorption of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K.
It is intended for people who are clinically diagnosed as overweight and who have one or more risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes or obesity.
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