New Diet Pill: The Expanding Blob
Wired Magazine reports on a new diet pill - a pill that expands into a gelatinous blob the "size of a tennis ball" after swallowing.
Sound appetizing?
Image: from Prof. Luigi Ambrosio via Wired
The pill is currently undergoing clinical trials in Italy.
The unnamed pill is made from a cellulose compound of hydrogel, a material that's powdery when dry but plumps up to a cousin of Jell-O when wet. The gel can soak up to 1,000 times its weight.
The plan is to create an effect that is similar to a gastric bypass - but without the surgery.
However - as one commenter points out: "aside from being a growth medium for plants, this class of material is also used in diapers and feminine napkins".
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Marketing material plays on the "natural is good" mantra - but oftentimes simply conceals yet another sham.
I wouldn't consider myself anti-technology - in fact many of the blog posts don't offer too much of an opinion - much of that comes in the comments ;-)
I appreciate a variety of opinion (provided it is articulated in a civil manner). The moment people start getting extremely emotive (which I do at times) - then we begin to lose a bit of rationale.
Anyway - at least I didn't hop on the Microwave-free bandwagon. Well-intentioned - but most definitely anti-tech.
ReplyThat microwave-free thing is funny. I prefer to lead a Hot Pocket and Lean Cuisine-free *life*, not just Friday, but that is just me. I love nuking my made-from-scratch food though, nothing like being able to cook stuff now to eat at my convenience.
Replyso if i was REALLY hungry what would happen if i took two?
ReplyAs a health care professional, I think this expanding pill deserves some careful consideration. For many people, it's frustrating to hear, "If you'd just watch what you eat and exercise, you'd lose weight." Health problems like Arthritis limit the type of exercise that can be tolerated to make an impact on weight loss. I wasn't losing weight just walking 2 miles a day, so I started walking up and down hills, injured my knee from walking down hill, had to have surgery and have never recovered from some degree of daily pain. Also, there are folks who have a deficit of a certain chemical in the brain that prevents them from getting that full feeling when they're eating. I'm not trying to make excuses, just some things to consider. The cellulose in this pill does not sound as dangerous as Phen Phen, some of the diet pills that have been on the market, or even caffeine or God forbid, Gastric Bypass surgery. I know people who have almost died after bypass surgery, experienced hair and skin damage due to lack of nutrients and then after all that, gained the weight back. And hey, cellulose is found in celery I believe. Sounds healthy to me! I may be wrong, but I'm not ready to write this off as a gimmick just yet. However, it does warrant careful study and scrutiny.
ReplyI think it sounds GREAT!!!! It makes perfect sense.
I would LOVE to try it. It sounds MUCH better that pooping oil or getting mitral valve prolapse or other heart problems from stimulants. Swallowing a small pill that expands into a jello ball, sounds just great. If you can eat jello and pass it I'm sure we will do just fine with this. Can't wait. Besides read the ingredients in the food we already eat.
Tami
ReplyI'm with you Nate. I am a physician and was also bother by many comments that seemed to be made quickly without reading the article and without logical thought.
The capsules will NOT expand in your esophagus because they need stomach acid to break down the outer covering and then the substance needs to sit in a good amount of water to expand. You would get the sensation of being full and therefore satiated.
For the people so disgusted by eating something contained in a diaper or maxi-pad you must all be vegans. If you're not than you eat a lot more disgusting things in any pre-packaged foods or fast food meal.
Gastric Bypass is being performed much more frequently but there are still many bad outcomes. A large part of the stomach is removed leaving only a small pouch. There is only a minor bypassing of the small bowel. I does not bypass the digestive system completely. I think that this might be a much better alternative.
I'm not obese but a little heavier than I'd like to be. I do like to over eat on occasion and think this might be interesting to try.
ReplyOk, maybe I missed it, but I didn't see anywhere in the article where it discussed how you would get RID of this giant tennis-ball sized ball of goo. Does it break down slowly from stomach acids? If that's the case, won't a high-fiber meal do about the same thing, but with more nutrients?
Or does it pass, whole, through the digestive system, and suddenly, you have this huge wad knocking at your door? Just eew.
ReplyAs a Lap-Band patient, I have first-hand knowledge of how appetite control is key to losing weight. What most people don't understand (especially the people who say "just put down the bowl of ice cream and get off your ass"), is that many fat people are much, much hungrier than thin people. I know for me, the second that my raging hunger was controlled by the Lap Band, I went on to lose 95 pounds and still losing. It has nothing to do with being "weak" or "just eating too much". It has to do with being famished all the time, and not being satisfied with normal portions. Before the Lap Band, I would eat a meal, and be physically hungry an hour later. It was not mental, but rather it was a physical sensation of extreme hunger complete with rumbling stomach, lightheaded, etc. The times when my band has had to be unfilled, the hunger came roaring back immediately. So, no, it's not as easy as "just eat less and move more." I HATE it when people say that. Let them try to move through life starving, and see how easy it is. With regard to the pill, if I were to ever lose my band, I would absolutely go on the pill, because I know that all I need to be successful is good appetite control.
ReplyI'm going to have to disagree with you, Becky. I have a huge appetite and I eat a lot of food to fill up. So the reason why I'm not fat? I eat lots of foods that are high in fiber and water and low in calories. I think that's been a big part of my success. If I were to fill up on ice cream and milkshakes, I'd probably be really overweight because of how calorie-dense those foods are.
ReplyI dont know.. i kinda like the idea.. I have a Obese sister and it is hard for her to diet cause she has control issues and i think this would really help her gain that control.
Replyok what happends to the jelly like ball when it is done expanding dose it disove and go away after a period of time or wat
ReplyIt sounds like something I bought in Germany. As strange as it seems, I actually like this product a lot. It is called CM3, and the ingredients, as best as I can make out in my limited german, seem the same.
ReplyDirections are to take 2-3 capsules 1 hour before a meal with a large glass of water. I feel full, and do not have any other side effects . The box said it swells in a acid enviroment , but breaks down in the alkaline intestinal tract. There was some other stuff about the benifits of the seaweed, but I lost the packaging, so thats all I remember. Not cheap, 50 caps were $30 ,I think. 2or 3 per meal adds up, but I would pay any amount to lose 15 pounds before my class reunion coming up.
Could someone please explain how this would not cause an intestinal blockage?
ReplyIf that is the case wouldn,t it be better to buy a box of diapers and swallow them?? They might taste better
ReplyDoes the blob eventually contract? Honestly, I might try it but I find myself not wanting to pass it.
Replyoh no. it looks like a bouncy ball. but bigger? in my tummy? I hope that doesn't pass testing. people would be giving that to everyone as pranks. and I sure dont want a rubber tennis ball made out of diapers in my stomach.
blech.
ReplyThis pill is not a miracle, just smart marketing (picture is ridiculous, it doesn't turn into "ball", they are just trying to show increase in volume)
Psyllium works exactly same way and at fraction of the cost (in Bulk store). Mix it in the glass of any cold liquid (water/juice etc) and drink it fast. It is natural fiber which expands in the liquid after while. You can put it in the glass and wait and see how it will look in your stomach. Absolutely harmless, negligible calories, just adds fiber.
Konnyaku powder or agar agar powder are very similar and also natural fiber.
Same is added to many products i.e. instant soups, instant pudding etc. as it expands/thickens without cooking. In case of these products, you wait first before eating it.
Certainly not a miracle.
ReplyWhat a strange concept???
It seems to me that weight loss pills (diet pills) are getting more "experimental" and extreme. At some point the shift back to healthy foods and exercise has to occur.
I think weight loss is not easy but very simple. I explain what I mean in this recent blog post...
Debbie
ReplyI am excited for this to come to the USA. I have tried diets and excerise. I am medically unable to take the medications that would help me the most. I am sitting at a FAT Plateau, I am not gaining, but nor am I losing. I am not fat enough or have a life threatening condition that would allow for a weightloss surgery. Every since my 2nd child's birth, I have no sensation of being full after eating nor feel "satisfied" after eating. I used to take meds for that but I can't anymore. So something like this would be AWESOME!!!! Send it to the US soon.
ReplyTo "Fatso":
If you don't feel full after eating, a pill that simply acts as a tummy filler will not help you. If the pill did work, then your inability to feel satisfied after eating, is more likely due to psychological reasons, and perhaps a psychologist would be much more helpful and beneficial.
Good luck. :-)
Replyneed to find emagrece sim the real ones please anybody tellme something chao
ReplyIf these pills ever come out in the US, I see them being banned quite quickly; you KNOW some idiot will take more than one pill, thinking "the size of a tenis ball" will not be filling enough. Making the pills available by prescription only (I'm positive they would be, not that people cant get their hands on Rx not meant for them), will help curb some of the inevitable calamity, but still—
To quote the movie 'The Sixth Sense': "I see dead people" [...soon...].
:-/
ReplyI wonder that pill would be any success.
ReplyWhere can I buy this! I heard it is legal in america now.
ReplyI WOULD USED IT SEND IT MY WAY! PLEASE!
Replyi would love to try this new ball. bring it to england please x
ReplyTo all you people that don't understand physics!!!:
ReplyIt can't create matter!
It won't miraculously expand like an airplane's emergency raft!
It pretty much changes water into jello, so you have to swallow water to make it swell up. It can only change water that is available into a gel, which your stomach will think is food, and then you'll feel full.
but you could swallow a whole bottle of these pills and be fine!... as long as you don't drink 8 litres (2 gallons) of water after. (which would dangerous and painful all on its own...)