The topic of weight loss is hot. People want to know how they can shed pounds and keep them off for good. The downside of the weight loss boom is that billions of dollars are spent each year on weight loss treatments that have not been adequately studied to substantiate the claims being made.
First, there are creams on the market that claim to reduce cellulite and slim the thighs. The acids in these creams are supposed to tighten the skin and pull collagen fibers back together. The creams claim to eliminate the “dimple” effect and contour the skin.
According to plastic surgeons and other medical experts, there is no cream that can burn fat or reduce the size of fat cells. Though creams may improve the look of your skin, unless you change your diet and add exercise, the fat will remain.
Second, there’s lipo-dissolve, which is sometimes called injection lipolysis and frequently confused with mesotherapy. Lipo-dissolve usually involves the injection of drugs known as PCDC or phosphatidylcholine and sodium deoxycholate, which practitioners say ‘melts away’ fat. This injection fat removal treatment has become exceedingly popular despite the Food and Drug Administration’s statement that, “these are unapproved drugs for unapproved uses” and the lack of controlled studies to prove the safety and effectiveness of PCDC. In addition, several medical societies have warned against the treatment. In May 2007, the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery warned patients against the use of injection fat loss treatments stating that none have received FDA approval and there have been no published peer-reviewed scientific reports of properly performed prospective clinical trials to confirm safety or efficacy. This is not an alternative to liposuction for people that want to get rid of large amounts of fat. The injections are intended for small problem areas that can’t be changed by diet and exercise. Seriously obese people are not candidates for lipo-dissolve.
We’ve all heard of transdermal patches. They work by leeching medicine through the skin and into the bloodstream over time. The technology has been used for contraceptives, nausea, and smokers trying to kick the nicotine habit. Now, they say it can be applied to weight loss.
The claims are that this patch, worn behind the ear, can cause you to lose weight. It speeds up your metabolism and suppresses the appetite, The transdermal administration technology appears to work, look at Nicotine patches, for example. But it has not been evaluated by the FDA to be effective in weight loss.
Have you heard of seaweed diet and weight loss soap? It’s a Chinese soap that claims to firm, tone and contour the skin as well as eliminate the inner fat out of the human body. How does it do this? The truth is, we have no idea. The claim that the soap eliminates fat from the body has not been evaluated by the FDA and has not been adequately studied for effectiveness in weight loss.
What about body wraps? Spas claim that customers will lose several inches in one session. Combine that with several more sessions and your body will shrink before your eyes. What is the easiest weight to lose? You guessed it-water weight. These stimulating wraps will squeeze as much water out of you as they can. The kicker is that while you want to trim ten inches off your thighs, you may see a half or quarter of an inch reduction in each thigh. The ten inches comes from the minuscule losses everywhere else added together.
Diet pills have been a popular weight loss treatment for years. Many diet pills that claim to speed up metabolism contain ephedrine, which comes from the Ma Huang plant. Over time, these pills have been shown to cause heart problems in young patients. Other conditions, including increased heart rate and blood pressure were also noted.
Last, Hoodia is a known appetite suppressant that comes from a plant called hoodia gordonii. The plant is only found in the Kalahari region of Africa. Companies have tried to imitate its effects and are marketing everything from gum to pills to drink mixes with hoodia derivatives. Read the fine print. Most of these diet pills don’t contain enough of the hoodia to suppress the appetite.
When considering any type of weight loss treatment, do your homework. You want to be sure that what you are buying is safe and effective and that you aren’t stuck in a position having spent sums of money with no weight loss to show for it. Second, watch out for treatments that claim rapid, easy, and quick results. Healthy weight loss is anything but fast. Keep your expectations about weight loss realistic. You can’t expect to lose 15 pounds in 2 weeks by taking appetite suppressants. Healthy weight loss involves a balance between proper diet and exercise.
Posts Tagged Sodium Deoxycholate
Lipodissolve Claims to Melt Away Localized Fat Deposits Using Non-Invasive PCDC Injections
By Mark Lu
Dimpled, lumpy skin – excess fat deposits medically referred to as cellulite – affects more than 90 percent of American women. Cellulite doesn’t discriminate between different body types; it affects the full spectrum of women from the physically fit to the clinically obese. Cellulite is not caused by being overweight, and often does not respond to even the most rigorous of diet and exercise regimes. Cellulite, which commonly affects the back of the legs and buttocks, is not the only type of unwanted fat that refuses to budge through traditional weight loss means. Other troublesome fatty areas are made up of adipose tissue and include the inner thighs, abdomen, love handles, arms and hips. Each year millions of Americans try remedy upon remedy to smooth their problematic body areas, only to be disappointed by less than satisfactory results.
Many people who are dissatisfied with their body’s appearance have recently turned to a fat dissolving procedure called lipodissolve or sometimes injection lipolysis. Lipodissolve is a relatively non-invasive treatment that uses micro-fine needles to inject a combination of phosphatidylcholine and sodium deoxycholate directly into fatty tissues. Once injected, the drugs work to dissolve fat cells. As the fat cells dissolve, it is thought that the body clears them via the liver through the body’s normal waste-removal process.
Supporters of lipodissolve claim that any area above the knee can be treated with lipodissolve, which is usually done on the abdomen, hips, thighs, love handles jowls and under the chin. Treatments typically take 20-30 minutes. Practitioners may or may not administer anesthetic for the pain and discomfort that is commonly associated with lipodissolve injections. Lipodissolve clients often experience minor swelling, bruising, redness, and soreness. Supporters tell clients that improvement in appearance shows up after approximately four weeks, and will continue for up to twelve weeks as the body continues to eliminate the dissolved fat.
Proponents of lipodissolve maintain that it really works, although lipodissolve drugs have not been extensively studied or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which states that lipodissolve (often referred to as “PC/DC”) comprises administration of “unapproved drugs for unapproved uses.” Meanwhile, Kansas has attempted to pass legislation barring its physicians from giving PC/DC injections. A Kansas court, however, blocked the legislation from taking effect while the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts solicits public opinion and holds further discussion on the merits and dangers of this currently unapproved therapy. Outside the U.S., several countries have banned or warned against PC/DC treatments, including Brazil, the UK, and Canada.
Mesotherapy, like lipodissolve, is another minimally invasive fat injection treatment said to shrink or melt fat cells. Mesotherapy is similar to lipodissolve in that it is an injection treatment but, in mesotherapy, conventional medicines, amino acids, vitamins and minerals are injected into the middle layer of skin, rather than into the layer of fat. Critics say that there is no standard recipe used by those administering mesotherapy, which is one reason many doctors and government regulators are skeptical.
People receiving mesotherapy hope to improve the appearance of their skin above the fatty deposit by smoothing and tightening the skin’s connective tissue. The results, which may result after ten to 25 treatment sessions, is an even skin tone, rather than the ripples common to fatty areas. Each session lasts approximately 45 minutes with most recipients returning to work the same day.
No amount of diet and exercise can offer “spot reduction” or fat reduction from targeted areas of the body. Lipodissolve and mesotherapy, on the other hand, are said to reduce fat only where it appears in excess. The fat injection treatments are non-surgical, offering the promise of a better looking body fast. However, there has been little formal research conducted by physicians to ascertain whether lipodissolve and mesotherapy are safe and effective. And although PC/DC remains unapproved in the U.S. and has been banned or warned against in Brazil, the UK and Canada, lipodissolve businesses continue to operate domestically. Also, lipodissolve and mesotherapy practitioners should remind their clients that fat injections aren’t the end all solution to looking good. Clients need a healthy diet and should exercise in order to achieve maximum results.
Mark Lu writes about fat removal and diet programs for eHealthInfoLine.com. Lu also covers late breaking news related to lipodissolve, a trendy fat removal treatment that uses PCDC injections; diet programs, and newly approved FDA drugs.
Article Source: EzineArticles.com