Over the Counter Weight Loss Pills Approved by the FDA

Orlistat has been approved for use by the FDA as a weight loss drug for overweight adults and will be manufactured under the brand Alli by GlaxoSmithKline. Since the drug will not work on its own, a reduced-calorie, low-fat diet and an exercise program are required, according to FDA.

Specialists recommend Orlistat along with bedtime multivitamin supplements because this drug can reduce the absorption of essential nutrients. Alli blocks almost twenty-five percent of the amount of fat eaten by a person.

This drug is available for overweight consumers of over eighteen years without medical prescription in sixty mg capsule. Specialists recommend taking up to three pills per day next to meals that contain fat.

The side effects of Alli include looser stools but this effect can be reduced by following a low fat diet. Specialists recommend that people who are not overweight or cannot absorb food properly not take Alli. This drug should also be avoided by people who had an organ transplant because it can interfere with other drugs.

The low fat diet should reportedly include fifteen grams of fat per meal. The increased fat consumption at a meal may lead to bowel changes. During the first weeks of treatment usually occur treatment effects that are not harmful and may be controlled by following the diet with the recommended fat amount.

People who follow diabetes or thyroid disease treatments should talk to their doctor about the influence that Alli has, given their condition. However, this drug helps overweight people lose fifty percent more weight than they might have lost by following the diet alone.

Alli and its comprehensive support program are expected to be available for consumers by summer 2007.