Appetite Suppressants – Chemical vs. Natural

Obesity is a chronic medicalcondition associated with significant morbidity and is defined as body weight30% over the ideal body weight.  Obesityincreases the risk of developing type-2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension,coronary heart disease, gall bladder disease, and several other diseases. It isalso associated with some cancers, such as endometrial, breast and coloncancer.

The main known treatments forobesity are dieting, physical exercise, weight loss drugs and surgery. The lastone is limited to the severely obese who have failed to lose weight with othertypes of treatment.

One of the approaches to the problemof obesity that becomes more and more popular these days is the use of appetitesuppressants. These substances (drugs or dietary supplements) are intended tohelp those who are on diet to stick to their weight loss regime by decreasingappetite and increasing the feeling of satiety.

Nowadays there are differentappetite suppressants available on the market. They can be divided into twogroups: prescription drugs and natural appetite suppressants.  As for the first group, as appears from itsname, these drugs require a prescription before they can be obtained.  The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) ischarged with regulating safety and effectiveness of prescription drugs in the USA. As for thesecond group, appetite suppressants that are based on 100% natural componentsdon’t have to be approved by the FDA and can be bought at your local pharmacyor on the internet without prescription.

Among chemical weight loss pillsphentermine is the most widely prescribed and is used together with diet,exercise and behavioural modifications with patients who are at risk because oftheir weight. However, more and more dieters prefer natural appetitesuppressants to chemical-based diet pills. The reasons are that they do notproduce such side effects as irritability, increased heart rate, nervousness,insomnia, and high blood pressure which are usually the case with theirchemical-based analogues containing caffeine and ephedra.

One of the most popular naturalappetite suppressants available on the market are Hoodia products. The succulentcactus-like plant called Hoodia Gordonii comes from South Africa and has been used forcenturies by local Bushmen to suppress hunger during their long hunting trips.The active ingredient of Hoodia Gordonii, P57, has the ability to act on thebrain tricking it into thinking that you are full even if you have not eaten.Hoodia based products are available in different forms: capsules and liquidform. In the first case the body has to break the capsule before it can absorbappetite suppressing ingredients.  In thesecond case, the supplement starts acting faster as it is better absorbed bythe body.

One of the most recent discoveriesin the family of appetite suppressing herbs is Caralluma Fimbriata. This cactusgrows naturally in Africa, southern Europe, India,and Afghanistan.Local Indian tribes have been using it for a long time as a “famine food”during times of famine. Indian tribesmen also use it during their huntingexpeditions to curve hunger and enhance endurance. Caralluma Fimbriata has undergoneseveral clinical studies in the United Statesand in India.These studies proved its appetite suppressing qualities and did not discoverany dangerous side effects. Supplements based on Caralluma Fimbriata extractare relatively new on the market but may become strong competitors of Hoodiabased products.