Alli is the over-the-counter formulation of orlistat, a drug used to increase weight loss on people who are already on a diet, also available as Xenical. Recently, there have been reports that it causes liver damage and possible life threatening situations. Is Alli safe, or are you trading weight loss for health?
Alli works by inhibiting pancreatic and gastric lipases, which are responsible for breaking the fats you ingest and making them available for absorption. Without these enzymes, most fat won't be absorbed and will be thrown out, thus reducing the calories you actually intake.
However, the fat that was not absorbed can cause a series of problems. First, bacteria on your gut will eat it gladly, producing gases and flatulence. Second, the remaining fat will make your stool so fluid that you will not only have fatty diarrhea, smellier than normal diarrhea, but also have anal leakage. Finally, without fat the vitamins A, D, E, and K cannot be absorbed and you are at risk for vitamin deficiencies (in this case eye problems, bleeding and osteoporosis are the most important consequences).
But, does Alli also cause liver damage? That question cannot be answered yet. 32 cases of people taking Alli who developed liver disease were sent to the FDA by physicians following these people. It is possible that many more exist which simply were not diagnosed or not reported. The possible mechanisms are not clear and the percentage of people who develop serious liver damage is very small, but it exists.
9th December 2010
Does Alli Cause Liver Damage?
