Contrave

A product that exceeds the FDA’s expectations and yet is rejected? That doesn’t make sense, nor do the FDA expectations.

After all, the FDA did approve Alli, which if anything seems to cause nasty and embarrassing side effects and slow weight loss. But its main ingredient is the only prescription approved for long term use.

What is Contrave?

Contrave follows a group of different products that started with fen phen. The idea is that if you use the right combination, it will produce greater results than a lone ingredient, and it may even fight and prevent some of the common side effects. Fen phen didn’t work out so well, and it makes the FDA wary of any similar product.

Contrave is a combination of two unusual approaches: Bupropion and Naltrexone, which are used to fight depression and addiction respectively. How is that related to weight loss? It’s not.

Yes, the idea is that it will prevent binge eating and suppress appetite. But the study actually showed smaller results than any other “successful” study I’ve ever seen before. If these are FDA standards, the right study could show that hoodia works in humans!

There’s only one study, and it showed that Contrave helped users to lose 5% of their body mass in 56 weeks. That’s 14 months, over a year! The study has not been repeated. That “exceeds” FDA standards? Scary thought. But interestingly enough, the FDA rejected Contrave.

Why Contrave Was Rejected

We would hope that the FDA would come to their senses and realize that this is not clinically proven. But that’s not the reason why board members rejected Contrave. It was because of the side effects, and ironically, Contrave is considered to be “safer” than its other companions. How does that work when Contrave causes heart attacks and seizures?