Remember the traveling salesmen of old with their magic cure alls that the public fell for? Then we came to find out that they were nothing more than alcohol or in the worst case scenario an addictive drug of some kind? If you remember them then maybe you also remember what happened with Thalidomide in the ’50s and Vioxx or Fen Fen. If you do then you are aware that drug companies often market their products before the long term effects are known. Given that I do not wish to belittle the hundreds of hours of research that have given antibiotics or new hopes for treating cancer but when it comes to Apatrim consumer beware.

On Sunday April 20, 2008 the company promoted this product with a 48-hour cut-off to entice consumers to run-out and buy the product before it was no longer available. It was purported to possess an amazing compound that is extracted from a plant called Caralluma Fimbriata that has been used by the native tribes of India for years. This drug was reported as a way that these tribes were able to reduce hunger and quench thirst during times of famine and drought. However, one of the things that bothered me about the ad was that there was no mention of the drug company that created this amazing product. Then when I did go to its Web site to check out the product and its claims I discovered that the entire United States clinical trial consisted of only 26 patients.

These twenty-six patients consisted of currently healthy individuals between the ages of 31 and 73. The study was conducted under the direction of Dr. Ronald M. Lawrence, M.D., Ph.D. a former clinical professor at the University of California’s Los Angeles School of Medicine. The claim is that these 26 individuals participated in a four-week study where the drug was consumed as directed and the patients daily routine was supposedly not altered. There was to have been no added exercise or reduction or change to their diets. Sounds wonderful. Well, as most things I question anything that seems too good to be true because it usually is. Where is the proof that these individuals had no problem five years down the line or that they actually ate as they normally would have? In reality the principle is that people must consume fewer calories than their body burns in order to lose weight so somehow these people were eating less. It should also be noted that the study did not disclose the daily caloric intake or the level of exercise that these individuals maintained during the course of the four-week trial.

However, if an individual is willing to risk the long-term side effects of a relatively untested drug (weight loss supplement) and has the money to throw away if it doesn’t work for them the creators of this miracle formula state: “An amazing 100% of participants who took the active ingredient as instructed either lost weight or inches off their waistline during this four-week study.” They went on to state that: “some participants experienced incredible results, losing as much as eigh pounds and up to three inches off their waistlines.” Incredible? I lost more than that on Weight Watchers during the first four weeks and I didn’t have to take a possibly dangerous concoction from a company wanting to cash in on my health.

So folks, after all this is said and done the choice is up to you. If you wish to find Apatrim you can find it at CVS pharmacy and Walgreens who were the first stores to snap up the new product. Once more is produced you will also be able to obtain the product through its Web site: apatrim.com.