New Diet Pill: The Expanding Blob

this class of material is also used in diapers and feminine napkins".

Yummy.

Oh, man. Makes my stomach feel weird just thinking about that gel ball expanding in there.

:-(

Brian

Yes, uh... Readng about that may be a good way of killing one's appetite without even having to swallow the thing.

That's kind of disturbing. I'd be worried about how it comes out, looks like it could be painful.

i'm sorry, a gel ball? is that what that says? i'll stick to my veggie sub on wheat and run an extra 30 minutes for all that nonsense.

This sounds as promising as the diet "bread" that used to be around in the early 80's. You made a loaf of this "bread" (and I use that term loosely)and you ate two thin slices with your meal. After one hour, it was supposed to expand in your stomach and make you feel full and keep you full for 4-6 hours.

The problem--getting the "bread" past your nose. It smelled and tasted like glue! Oh wait...maybe THAT was the secret filling ingredient?! :)

When will people tire of these gimmicks and just buckle down and lose weight the old-fashioned way?
BTW, Shirataki tofu noodles work the exact same way, absorbing many times their weight in water. They're 40 calories a package so theoretically you could eat a package of those and get the same effect.

Eww, it is pretty gross, But, I agree with Dott. Ambrosio. It's true that this is a "gimmick" and controlling what you eat combined with exercise is the best way to go. But, this is aimed at people who are considering bariatric surgery. Which is less invasive?

On the other hand, it better take a long time to expand - the idea of this thing swelling in your esophagus gives me the creeps.

Good point, Quito, I didn't even think about the esophagus issues.

I can't even swallow big vitamins, I can't imagine what a tennis ball in the throat would feel like!

I really hope this is only aimed at people who are morbidly obese and used as a last resort. The whole idea of the expanding gel ball just sounds too freaky and dangerous.

Clair S. is correct. Glucomannan, or Konjac root does the same thing, and have been used in Japan for a long time.

I just wrote about this on my blog last night, too. Among my concerns, which were many, is what if this gel blob starts expanding while you swallow? Can you choke on it? I don't like the idea of this pill.

Oh my god. Someone at my work got a sample of something like this in the mail for some reason. He soaked it in water and left the resulting blob on a plate in the break room. EEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWW... I would not swallow that junk if you paid me!!!

I imagine this would be even more *comfortable* than mockalate bars and malitol pudding.

All I could do when I read this article was shake my head. Words were beyond me. I love that the creators site a visit to the U.S. and our ever expanding waist size as their inspiration.

The thought of it makes me want to gag - and yes, the thought of it opening half way down is horrifying. I didn't like the feeling of swallowing a lifesaver hole and sitting in my throat. This is way to sci-fi for me!

I would rather walk a marathon than swallow that - UGH!

Janitors everywhere are now weeping as they think of dozens of these balls finding their way into school drains, toilets and sinks. Although I imagine plumbers are celebrating.

Gal

How can they compare it to Gastric Bypass... do they know what GB really ? GB is not only related to stomach size, but to bypassing the digestive system. This is non-sense. Also, remember the failed balloon surgery? All this makes no sense... will be a flop :)

This seems really unhealthy to me. Where is all the liquid coming from to blow it up into that big ball? Would nothing be able to get through until that thing came out?

Having once suffered horribly from an ileus (my intestines twisted so nothing could get through), the thought terrifies me.

60 in 3 said:

Janitors everywhere are now weeping as they think of dozens of these balls finding their way into school drains, toilets and sinks.

I found that, Richard Gemeinhart, now at UIC, was an early pioneer in such gels. He was developing them as a medicine delivery system (I'd guess chemo to a tumor in the stomach, but I didn't purchase the paper). His dissertation abstract is here. They must break down fairly quickly. And, I see that they don't swell in blood (another thing I hadn't thought of, woof!)

I never heard any experience reports from patients using the balloon contraption. You're right, this is the same idea, but you don't have to pull it out afterwards.

Hi Everyone -

A quick skimming of the article will answer most of your questions:

- The water comes from the two glasses of water that you drink with it.

- The pill will not expand in your throat. Firstly, the substance itself is encased. If the pill managed to dissolve in your throat on the way down, then I suppose there is the off chance that it might expand if you also somehow managed to hold two glasses of water also in your throat.

- The pill contains 1 gram of the stuff, so, it is not monster vitamin sized.

- The article does not mention anything about this being an alternative to Gastric Bypass Surgery, the article mentions Gastric Banding Surgery.

On a personal note:
- I could definitely see using this before going out with friends for Indian or Italian - I tend to overeat at those kinds of places!

- KPF in NYC

People have been taking Spirulina in water for ages for this same purpose... If I were to take something like that, I'd stick to seaweed rather than diaper-gel, thanks.

Neeeoooo, I don't think so. A gel ball in my gut? Estas Loco! How could this possibly be a good for your body. Let us leave it in the diapers and feminine napkins, but not inside one's digestive track. Sounds like Lipo in reverse.

same concept as konnyaku powder or agar agar powder stirred in foods...except these are natural plants and completely safe!i bet they are much much much more cheaper too!

A cousin of mine is actually testing this in italy right now they are paying euros for testers. :)

Yikes - this might be suicide for people with ulcers!

I would like to see the first person to actually do this. Having a tennis ball in my gut sounds about as appealing as losing weight by bleeding.

I think I'll pass on this one. I sure hope you don't get it caught in your throat.

I can see this being abused, or creating some sort of eating disorder. "Who needs food when I have expanding gel!"

I think this may be very effective as punishment for not sticking to your eating plan: "Diet or eat this!"

BTW, what happens if you don't don't drink enough water?

I certainly wouldn't want to have a ball inside my stomach. I think the feeling would be something like the heavy feeling of indigestion.

I do not think that we should out anything in our mouth that we use for diapers. If you really want to lose that wieght you are going to want to... not only that control what you eat and exercise .. i know that is a big word but it works.. we all have to do once in awhile...

Wow, so do you Luddites even use a computer, or do you send smoke signals to someone who posts your inane uninformed thoughts to the web?

Seriously, I am willing to wager that every single one of you currently ingest a substance that is used to gloss Playing cards and crepe paper, can be used as a hair gel, is used in emulsion for film.

It's called gelatin. Whoopdeedoo.

And this substance is very close to gelatin.

I swear, what exactly do most of you FUD shovelers use to form an opinion?
Do you even bother to educate yourself? Probably not, because many of you didn't even bother to read the article.

Yay for literacy gone to waste.

In case I offended anyone, let me first apologize, as I wasn't trying to be cruel or unnecessarily rude. I am trying to get those of you who let your knee-jerk reactions take control over the sensible side of your brain.

I know we've been trained to automatically think "man-made = bad/natural = good", but please, use the filters you were born with to make a decision, and not any preconceived prejudices you may have.

I've heard of surgeries done to obese people that reduces the capacity of the stomach by using only a small part in order to feel full even with small amount of food. I guess the gelatin-like ball is better than the surgery.

Are you kidding me? With results similar to gastric bypass? That rocks, where do i get some of that and when? -V

Nate Cavanaugh said:
In case I offended anyone, let me first apologize, as I wasn't trying to be cruel or unnecessarily rude. I am trying to get those of you who let your knee-jerk reactions take control over the sensible side of your brain.[...]

The people who mentioned seaweed has been used for this purpose, Nate, aren't saying "natural=good, man-made=bad". We are just saying that this idea is *not* new and therefore, there is no need to pay for a trademarked product like this when there are tons of alternatives. It is the same as saying, when someone comes up with a new antiinflammatory medication, for example, "What is wrong with Tylenol?".

Nate Cavanaugh said:

...

I don't know what caused you to blow; it reminded me of Dr.J's eruption over "loosing" versus "losing" (sigh, I've been reading this blog too long: I'm beginning to accept "loose weight" as correct).

In defense of the readers you were slamming, maybe half of the posters read the thread, enter what comes immediately to their mind without chasing any of the links, and move on. A few people dig deeply, a few people give great, well-thought out advice, a few people do well-timed raves (where's Iggy been, btw?), and some people sound so fun and full of experiences that I'd love to go out and have a beer with them. Other people ask for help or relate their stories - these can be very moving.

The immediate-thought postings are fun to read because they reveal a lot about people. And, many people are suspicious about technology. I like technology myself - I'm a professor in a science and engineering department - but I don't blame people for being suspicious. It's healthy, in fact...

I certainly think it's healther to mistrust a pill that expands in your stomach then to be desperate to try a new appetite-suppressing medication that may cause you to become depressed.

@Jan:
I have no problem with alternatives. There are many alternatives for everything, and I don't believe in locking people in.
I do believe that there will be greater research, greater time spent, and great knowledge with a trademarked product, but that all comes down to opinion, and I am fine with that.

@Quito:
What caused me to blow is 1. many of the blog entries here follow a very anti-technology, anti-science thinking (casting aspersions on various man made products, while never really mentioning the sham that is the dietary supplement industry), and 2. that many of the people here bother having an uninformed opinion.
Few things bother me more than someone who is willing to take the time to state an opinion, but can't be bothered to think it through, or even research the facts behind their opinion.

I am all for healthy suspicion, I am all for looking at all the alternatives, but many of the comments here show a complete lack of logical or critical thinking.

And if this blog wants to maintain credibility, it will try to take on a more balanced view of the world, and perhaps adjust their paradigm to not be so anti-technological.

Nick,

Nick Cavanaugh said:

Few things bother me more than someone who is willing to take the time to state an opinion, but can't be bothered to think it through, or even research the facts behind their opinion.

And if this blog wants to maintain credibility, it will try to take on a more balanced view of the world, and perhaps adjust their paradigm to not be so anti-technological.

Nate Cavanaugh said:
@Jan:
I have no problem with alternatives. There are many alternatives for everything, and I don't believe in locking people in.
I do believe that there will be greater research, greater time spent, and great knowledge with a trademarked product, but that all comes down to opinion, and I am fine with that.[...]

I agree with you there. I'm also sure this won't cause any sort of health problem - unless you consider the "I've just left a buffet" feeling in your stomach a health problem. I think 60 in 3 may have a good point though - anyone who has ever accidently flushed a hygiene product that uses gels like this knows it is not easy to fix the blockage that happens in the toilet afterwards.

Maybe the company can invest in a super gel dissolver product to fix the toilet problems, hahah. Sell it as a combo package.

On a personal note, I don't think this will help with my weight problems, but I think it can help someone who is used to overeating food as in, volume, not overconsuming calories, like me and a bunch of other people. I didn't get fat because I ate entire pizzas, I got fat because a giant salad with 2tbsp olive oil, cheese, and nuts tastes so much better than the same giant salad with 1 tsp oil and half the nuts, no cheese.