# Has a Diet Drug Like This Ever Been Tried? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 7, 2012, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-diet-drug-like-this-ever-been-tried/624395 "2012-06-07T16:06:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-diet-drug-like-this-ever-been-tried/624395/1 "2012-06-07T16:06:57Z")
Years ago, a drug called “Antabuse” was used to treat alcoholism. This was a drug that caused people to become nauseous, if they drank alcohol. Now, when you are sick and nauseous, you naturally avoid food. This wold seem to be an excellent way to lose weight-you simply cannot enjoy eating, so you lose weight. Has any drug like this ever been tried? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-diet-drug-like-this-ever-been-tried/624395/2 "2012-06-07T16:11:13Z")
Seeing as how you need to eat to live, I’m going to guess it hasn’t been tried. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-diet-drug-like-this-ever-been-tried/624395/3 "2012-06-07T16:11:53Z")
Antabuse works because there’s a specific alcohol molecule. There’s no such thing as a “food” molecule for a drug to work with. Also, a diet needs to provide sufficient nutrition. Just avoiding food is not a good way to go. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-diet-drug-like-this-ever-been-tried/624395/4 "2012-06-07T16:20:31Z")
I don’t know if drugs to completely kill appetite have been used successfully, but yeah, appetite suppressants are in fairly abundant use. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-diet-drug-like-this-ever-been-tried/624395/5 "2012-06-07T16:22:40Z")
Maybe weight-loss surgery is a better analogy. My understanding is that it makes you really really sorry if you attempt to overeat. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-diet-drug-like-this-ever-been-tried/624395/6 "2012-06-07T16:25:43Z")
Many chemotherapeutic agents cause weight loss. Antivirals like interferon do also. And taking a dose of oxycodone or heroin or cocaine whenever one feels hungry will generally diminish food intake significantly too. Of course, the treatment tends to be worse than the disease if appetite suppression is the desired outcome. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-diet-drug-like-this-ever-been-tried/624395/7 "2012-06-07T16:41:10Z")
Interesting **Antabuse** trivia: The chemical responsible for the drug’s effects is Disulfiram. Coprine (N5-1-hydroxycyclopropyl-L-glutamine), which metabolises to 1-aminocyclopropanol, a closely related chemical having the same metabolic effects, occurs naturally in the otherwise edible common ink cap mushroom (Coprinus spp.). Ink cap mushrooms are tasty, but you should avoid alcohol before/after ingestion or else you’ll get sick. ---
**Author:** ![BigNik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/73ab20/32.png) [@BigNik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigNik)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-diet-drug-like-this-ever-been-tried/624395/8 "2012-06-07T23:16:31Z")
There are a number of drugs that prevent fat absorbtion which are marketed as weight loss drugs. I know someone who was on them at one point and explained that he had to eat low-fat foods or he got terrible stomach cramps and oily diarrhea. So, in short, the answer’s a qualified ‘yes’. ---
**Author:** ![Otara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Otara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otara)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2012, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-diet-drug-like-this-ever-been-tried/624395/9 "2012-06-08T00:15:18Z")
You could argue enough alcohol can have that effect. Otara