Xenical (Orlistat) – The Fat Fighter Diet Pill

Xenical was approved as the medication for the treatment of obesity by US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in April, 1999. In the past 10 years, Xenical has helped thousands of obese people shed extra pounds and enjoy a healthy life. Xenical’s proven safety and efficacy has made it the most preferred weight loss pill of doctors and patients alike.

Xenical helps to treat obesity by inhibiting the absorption of fat from human diet and thereby reducing calorie intake. Xenical therefore acts in the stomach and small intestine to prevent normal metabolism and digestion of fat. Unlike Reductil and other diet suppressants that work on the brain cells, Xenical acts within the gastrointestinal tract and hence cause fewer side effects than many other diet pills.

Manufactured by Roche Pharmaceuticals, Xenical is available on prescription basis only. It is important to note that Xenical alone cannot make you achieve your weight loss goal. You must use Xenical in conjunction with physician prescribed low-calorie diet and regular physical activity. When used along with a sensible lifestyle Xenical can help patients reduce weight by up to 10% within a single year.

About Xenical

The biggest advantage of Xenical over other diet pills is that it does not affect your brain to reduce appetite so it cannot cause you central nervous system and cardiovascular side effects besides you cannot get addicted to it. Xenical works in your digestive system to stop one-third of the dietary fat from being digested and taken into the body, this makes it a safe and predictable medication. Moreover, apart from helping you reduce weight, Xenical also helps you reduce high blood pressure, triglycerides, body fat and Type II diabetes.

Xenical is a prescription only weight loss drug for people with a BMI of 30 or above. The recommended dosage of Xenical is 120mg evenly divided during a day. It is advised that you take 3 Xenical tablets a day, during or one hour after every main meal with a full glass of water. If you occasionally miss a meal or your meal contains no fat, you may skip that dose of Xenical.

Ideally, you should take Xenical with a reduced calorie diet and your daily intake of fat, carbohydrates and protein should be divided over three main meals. If your meal has a very high fat content you have increased chances of getting Xenical side effects.

Active ingredient in Xenical

The active ingredient in Xenical is Orlistat – a lipase inhibitor. Lipases are enzymes in your digestive system which helps to breakdown fat in the stomach. When we eat fatty food, lipases help breakdown fat into its simplest components so that it can be digested. If we eat an excessive amount of fat or calories, the excess is stored as fat by the body, resulting in weight gain.

When taken with meals, Xenical (orlistat) attaches to the lipases and blocks those from breaking down some of the fat you consumed with your meal. Xenical can stop about 30% (one-third) of the dietary fat from being digested. The undigested fat cannot be absorbed and is eliminated in your bowel movements. With less absorption of fat in the body one can effectively and safely lose weight. People on reduced calorie diet may therefore experience weight loss they could not have managed to achieve with diet alone.

It is worth noting that Xenical does not block the absorption of calories from sugar and other non-fat foods so you would need to restrict your total intake of calories to achieve desired weight loss through Xenical. Patients on Xenical will also have to ensure that their diet provides them with all the nutrients the body needs to work. It is recommended that patients take extra vitamin supplement of fat-soluble vitamins: D, E and K and beta carotene once a day at least 2 hours before or after taking Xenical, such as at bedtime.