diet drugs

Don't believe the diet drug hype

If you've got a bad idea for a diet, here's your big chance to get some attention -- because the media is eating this stuff up as we get close to the New Year and all the doomed diet resolutions that come along with it.

And if there's anything they love more than a fad diet backed by a flavor-of-the-month celebrity, it's a magic pill.

They don't bill them as magic pills, of course. They call them "diet drugs," and I've told you before how these meds do little to nothing for the obese and pack big risks to boot.

Now, new research proves the drugs are pathetically ineffective -- but of course, that's not how the media's playing it.

Nope, they say the study proves these "magic pills" work!

It's baloney, of course, because the study finds diet pills will help you lose between 3 percent and 9 percent of your body weight. That's not for starters, mind you. That's the end result, after a FULL YEAR of gobbling down meds.

That adds up to between 7.5 pounds and 22.5 pounds in a 250-pound man -- or enough to ease the belt by a notch or two, but not even enough to reduce his BMI from "obese" to "overweight."

Nope... at that weight, he's still obese. And if he's on pills, he's probably battling some serious side effects, too.

One of the drugs in the study is orlistat, aka Alli and Xenical, which can cause everything from underwear-staining butt leaks and explosive, urgent diarrhea to kidney, liver and pancreas problems.

Think that's bad? That's nothing -- because the other drugs could come with a risk of heart problems.

I know the idea of a magic pill is temping, especially if you're struggled with your weight. But there's a much better way -- a painless, drug-free solution that really works.

All you have to do is skip the carbs, pass on the sugars and eat the delicious, fresh animal fats your body is begging you for. And now, it's easier than ever to get started.

Learn more in this free report from the Daily Dose archives.

Feds approve ineffective & risky diet drug

The feds are supposed to make sure drugs are at least somewhat safe and marginally effective.

In reality, meds fall short on both counts all the time and get approved anyway -- and now you can add one more to the list: the diet drug lorcaserin.

Its claim to fame so far is that it was rejected TWICE over safety concerns, but an FDA panel now says forget all this safety business -- this drug is just too important to keep off the market.

So... consumers will have to find out the hard way whether the drug increases the risk of psychosis, breast and brain tumors, and heart valve problems, as has been hinted at in animal studies.

With all that potential for risk still on the table, you'd think this drug must be some kind of stomach-shrinking miracle pill. Think again -- because it barely even met one of the FDA's own standards for effectiveness.

The feds say a drug has to help patients lose an average of 5 percent more of their body weight than a placebo to be considered "effective." Lorcaserin barely reached half that -- patients who took it lost just 3.1 percent of body weight on average over those who took a "nothing" pill, and it took them an entire year to get there. The FDA standard it did meet, however, was that about a third of patients lost at least 5% of their body weight after a year, compared to 16% of those taking the placebo.

That's enough to make sure an obese person is... well... still obese.

Maybe you'll shave a point off your BMI, maybe not -- but you'll still pretty much look the same on the outside and you'll still face all the same health risks that come along with obesity.

There's just one way to get the job done right, and that's to give up the foods that made you fat in the first place.

Don't worry. You don't have to count calories and you don't have to torture yourself with lousy diet food or frozen dinners.

Just pass on the carbs and enjoy all the fresh meat you want.

Too good to be true? Nope -- and I challenge you to see for yourself.