Mike Adams, a holistic nutritionist who has authored a number of books on nutrition, wellness, food toxicology and the causes of disease and health, has written the following commentary on the weight-loss drug Acomplia. The views are his own, and are reported because of the widespread interest in this subject.

A new weight loss drug, Acomplia, is all the rage, even though it hasn’t yet been approved! People are talking about the drug with such a degree of excitement that weight loss centers say virtually every patient who comes in is asking for Acomplia.

But what is it about that's so appealing? And more importantly, why is news about it spreading in a way that could only be called viral marketing? The answer is that what's being marketed here, what's spreading through word-of-mouth from one person to the next, is not the drug itself, but actually the mythology surrounding the drug.

The mythology of the drug has become a living story. And regardless of whether or not the story is true, it is a seductive story. Perhaps you've heard it yourself. The story goes something like this:

If you take this drug, Acomplia, you will automatically eat less because your hunger will be turned off. And when you start losing weight, the first place you will lose body fat is your mid-section. The pounds will just melt away. And better yet, your cholesterol will go down and your blood pressure will return to healthy levels.

But that's not all. The drug, miraculously, will also help you stop smoking. And if you're addicted to alcohol, it is also said you will stop drinking! But why stop there? The mythology is so seductive that we might as well add more things to the story. Maybe the drug will repair your broken relationships with family members, spouses, and co-workers. Perhaps the drug will quadruple the balance in your bank account. Maybe the drug will even improve your appearance or add ten pounds of lean muscle mass to your body each and every year, without working out at all! I mean, why not? If the drug is going to do all these other things, let's just make the story even more seductive.

This is the mythology surrounding Acomplia. And of course, there is nothing in the mythology that is true. In fact, there is not a single clinical trial proving a single one of these suggestions. The drug hasn’t been shown to result in permanent weight loss, lower cholesterol, reduce smoking addiction, or help people stop drinking alcohol. None of these things have been demonstrated with the drug.

So why is Acomplia so remarkably popular even before it has been approved by the FDA? The reason it’s popular has nothing whatsoever to do with science or nutrition or health. It has to do with the seductive idea that we as Americans can pursue whatever lifestyles we want and yet have never have to face the consequences for making such decisions.

The mythology says that we can eat all the junk foods we want, avoid physical exercise, avoid having to quit the cigarette habit, continue binge drinking, and yet somehow this magic pill will release us from the natural consequences of all those actions.

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