Xenical, also commonly referred to as orlistat, is a weight loss medication that has to be prescribed to you by your doctor. It is designed to work in combination with a calorie-controlled diet which allows the drug to inhibit the absorption of fat in your body. The reduced calorie diet is very important for the success of this weight loss medication; this ensures that you are not consuming any more calories than can be controlled by Xenical.
As known to all of us, Xenical is a serious weight loss drug that is available on a prescription only; it is really only available to those people who have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of higher than 30 or a BMI of 27 with other health factors. Even though, this medication is not considered suitable for people with a BMI of less than 30, it offers a safe and effective alternative for those who are overweight but are unable to take other medications due to other health conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes.
Xenical works in the gastrointestinal tract by reducing the amount of fat absorbed by your body after a meal. It inhibits the work of lipase, which is an enzyme that aids in digestion of fats so that it can easily be absorbed into the bloodstream; these unabsorbed fat molecules thus help reduce your overall caloric intake in a meal. Reducing caloric intake in turn promotes weight loss. However, Xenical does not help inhibit absorption of calories from carbohydrates. So, if you are already eating low fat meals, you won’t need Xenical.
However, like all prescription drugs, Xenical also causes some possible unpleasant side effects. Since the fat in your meal remains unabsorbed, it is removed from your body as waste through stools. If Xenical use is combined with a meal high in fat, it can result in side effects such as gas, bloating, diarrhoea, oily spotting and even anal leakage.
However, by eating a calorie controlled diet, it is possible to reduce these unpleasant side effects. A good rule of thumb here would be that no more than 30% of the calories in your meal should come from fat. Therefore, it is important that you modify your diet if you decide to start using Xenical. Continuing to eat a diet high in fat can cause some very unpleasant gastrointestinal side effects.
On the other hand, it is believed that Xenical is safe to use after regaining weight that was previously lost.
