{"id":2906,"date":"2009-11-15T06:25:00","date_gmt":"2009-11-15T04:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.ultimatefatburner.com\/?p=2906"},"modified":"2015-12-07T11:50:48","modified_gmt":"2015-12-07T16:50:48","slug":"healthy-skeptic-diet-patch-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/ufb-blog\/healthy-skeptic-diet-patch-claims\/","title":{"rendered":"The Healthy Skeptic on Diet Patch Claims"},"content":{"rendered":"

As noted before, Chris Woolston’s\u00a0“Healthy Skeptic<\/a>” column in the LA Times is pretty good.\u00a0 Here he is on the subject of diet patches…<\/a><\/p>\n

Some day, scientists might develop an effective weight-loss patch, says Dr. Howard Eisenson, executive director of the Duke Diet and Fitness Center in Durham, N.C. But, to his mind, that day is probably still far off. The patches on the market today “are beyond ridiculous,” he says. “The more hyperbolic the claims, the more people can quickly dismiss the product.”<\/p>\n

Eisenson says there’s no evidence that bladderwrack, a common ingredient in weight loss patches, can encourage weight loss or suppress appetite. The seaweed hasn’t been thoroughly tested orally, let alone through the skin, he says.<\/p>\n

So far, no diet patch has passed muster in a published, peer-reviewed study, says Dr. Michael Steelman, past president of the American Society of Bariatric Physicians.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Transdermal delivery\u00a0is\u00a0a viable\u00a0method\u00a0– for certain kinds of drugs\/compounds. But\u00a0only a\u00a0small\u00a0number of drugs\u00a0are delivered\u00a0this way,\u00a0relative to orals\/injectables.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why?\u00a0 Because\u00a0penetrating skin isn’t\u00a0that easy –\u00a0\u00a0there are\u00a0a number of problems that need to be overcome<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Many pharmacologically active drugs have inappropriate physiochemical properties to partition into the skin…. In traversing the skin, the drug must partition into the stratum corneum and diffuse through this nearly impermeable barrier<\/strong>…<\/p>\n

…Light, oxygen and bacteria can influence the microenvironment of the skin surface… In addition, the skin is a storehouse of enzymes which can have activities 80% – 90% as efficient as those present in the liver. Hydrolytic, oxidative, reductive and conjugative reactions can all take place in the skin.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Emphasis mine.\u00a0 Skin\u00a0serves as a protective barrier\u00a0between you and the environment… and not everything can get through (or get through in large enough amounts to matter).\u00a0\u00a0So – at a minimum – shouldn’t the patch manufacturers PROVE their products’ ingredients\u00a0are\u00a0actually absorbed before claiming they’ll help people lose weight?<\/p>\n

Just askin…<\/p>\n

Point being, there are “red flags” flying all over the ads for these products.\u00a0 Until they’re “clinically proven” in a meaningful way,\u00a0 it’s best to avoid them.\u00a0 As Woolston concludes:<\/p>\n

Neither Curb Your Cravings, the company behind the Pink Patch, or Verseo Inc. of New York, makers of Be-Slim, responded to requests for comment. Nick Jerch, the owner of the company behind the Ezee Slimming Patch, says his company has received many testimonials from satisfied customers. But even he admits that a patch alone can’t win the weight war.<\/p>\n

“Many companies make claims that they can’t support,” he says. “You have to change your eating habits to really lose weight.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

LOL!\u00a0 I think that last sentence – coming from a patch manufacturer – really says it all, don’t you?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As noted before, Chris Woolston’s\u00a0“Healthy Skeptic” column in the LA Times is pretty good.\u00a0 Here he is on the subject of diet patches… Some day, scientists might develop […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,27,28,29],"tags":[376,507,1035,1633,1671,1867,1770],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/ufb-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2906"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/ufb-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/ufb-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/ufb-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/ufb-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2906"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/ufb-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2906\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10291,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/ufb-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2906\/revisions\/10291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/ufb-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/ufb-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/ufb-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}