Drug & supplement interaction

Slimfast Diet + Orlistat

Orlistat brand names: Xenical, Alli.

No Known Interaction
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Slimfast Diet and Orlistat in our sources. Absence of a documented interaction is not the same as proven safety, and does not guarantee one does not exist. Do not start, stop, or change a medication or supplement based on this page; confirm with your pharmacist or doctor first.

Know someone interested in this? Share
Interaction report

Slimfast Diet and Orlistat

We checked these two against our interaction database. Here is what we found.

No Known Interaction Found

We did not find a documented interaction between Orlistat and Slimfast Diet in our sources. This does not guarantee that the combination is completely free of risk — research on Slimfast Diet alongside specific medications may be limited.

Worth understanding: our licensed dataset holds no drug-interaction record for Slimfast Diet at all — not against Orlistat, and not against any other medication we track. This verdict therefore rests on the absence of any recorded data, not on research that looked at this combination and found nothing. We cannot rule an interaction out.

Slimfast Diet is an eating pattern rather than something you take. Ask your pharmacist or doctor before changing how you eat while on a prescribed medicine: some medicines are dosed around meals, and a change in diet can change how they work. Do not stop a prescribed medicine on your own.

Always talk with your pharmacist or doctor before making changes to your medications or supplements, particularly if you take several medications or have an ongoing health condition.

Slimfast Diet safety at a glance

Slimfast Diet overall Use caution Generally well tolerated for healthy adults, but it is a food-based plan rather than a tested medicine and is not right for everyone.
Pregnancy Use caution Calorie-restricting diet plans are not recommended during pregnancy; speak with your doctor about nutrition needs.
Breastfeeding Use caution Restricting calories while breastfeeding may not be appropriate; check with your doctor before using a meal-replacement plan.

Safety guidance is general; always confirm with your pharmacist or doctor for your situation.

Still wondering about combining Orlistat and Slimfast Diet? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
What to actually watch for

What Orlistat’s Own FDA Label Lists

This is not an interaction — none of it involves Slimfast Diet. These are the most notable effects listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of Orlistat’s own FDA label, for the medication by itself. Knowing the drug’s own list makes it easier to work out the likely cause if something new turns up while you follow Slimfast Diet and take the medicine. 10 of them are worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • Bleeding in the gut Worth acting on
  • Low blood sugar Worth acting on
  • Pancreatitis Worth acting on
  • Wheezing Worth acting on
  • Low mood Worth acting on
  • A severe allergic reaction Worth acting on
  • Hives Worth acting on
  • Liver problems Worth acting on
  • Bleeding or bruising Worth acting on
  • A higher chance of infection Worth acting on

Showing the 10 most notable of 28 label-listed effects — ranked by how unusual each one is across medicines generally, with serious effects weighted up.

From the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Orlistat. Read the label on DailyMed › Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 25,755 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Orlistat that mention that effect — a reporting proportion, not an incidence rate and not evidence the drug caused it. Slimfast Diet’s licensed record lists no adverse effects our clinical vocabulary could match, so there is no Slimfast Diet side to compare — that is a limit of the record, not a statement that Slimfast Diet has no side effects.

Overlapping uses

What Orlistat Is Prescribed For, and What Slimfast Diet Has Been Studied For

These two come up together because they touch the same health topic — not because they do the same job. Orlistat is a prescription medicine with approved uses on its FDA label. Slimfast Diet is an eating pattern: what follows is what researchers have looked at it for, and how strong that evidence is.

Orlistat is prescribed for: Xenical and prescription-strength orlistat are approved to help obese adults lose weight and keep it off when used with a reduced-calorie diet. They are intended for people with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, or 27 or higher if other risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or dyslipidemia (abnormal cholesterol or fat levels in the blood) are present. Alli is the over-the-counter version, approved for weight loss in overweight adults 18 and older when used with a reduced-calorie, low-fat diet and exercise program.

Slimfast Diet has been studied for:

  • Diabetes studied, not established Slimfast Diet has been studied for this. Natural Medicines rates the evidence: Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate Read what the research shows

    Slimfast Diet for diabetes

    Preliminary clinical research in overweight adults with type 2 diabetes shows that consuming SlimFast meal replacement beverages twice daily for 12 weeks results in greater weight loss than those consuming an exchange diet plan based on recommendations from the American Diabetic Association (ADA).

    1 source cited
    1. 103147. Yip I, Go VL, DeShields S, et al. Liquid meal replacements and glycemic control in obese type 2 diabetes patients. Obes Res. 2001 Nov;9 Suppl 4:341S-347S. PubMed

Effectiveness ratings and the research summaries above are the verbatim record from the Natural Medicines database, which grades evidence from “Effective” down to “Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate”. A rating below the top of that scale means researchers have looked at it — not that it works, and never that it can stand in for a prescribed medicine. Do not stop or replace Orlistat on your own; if you are taking Slimfast Diet for the same health topic, tell your prescriber, especially if the medicine is being adjusted to a target.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Orlistat

This page covers Slimfast Diet only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Orlistat page lists 18 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Coffee Charcoal (moderate), European Mandrake (moderate), Fish Oil (moderate) and Glucomannan (moderate).

By severity: 1 major · 8 moderate · 9 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Orlistat page

“People who take Orlistat (Xenical, Alli) for weight loss often browse the very supplement aisle where fiber products and fish oil sit, and both show up on this page, so it deserves genuine attention before you mix anything in. Nearly all 18 ingredients on file can change how oral medications absorb from the gut, and the single major-ra…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Orlistat interaction page

How much people look this up

Where Slimfast Diet and Orlistat Sit Against Everything Else

Out of every supplement and medication people look up on HelloPharmacist, here is where these two land this week — and which way each has been moving.

Supplement Slimfast Diet
Steady interest

#1,208 of 1,452 supplements looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today
Medication Orlistat
Top half

#896 of 2,830 medications looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today

Position among everything looked up on this site, not a measure of how commonly either one is used or how important it is. A supplement can climb this list because of a news story. It counts every request to the page, automated ones included, and nothing here identifies anyone.

Where does our data come from?
  • Source: the Natural Medicines (TRC Healthcare) clinical database — the evidence-graded professional reference for herb & supplement interactions.
  • Citation library: 103,510 references behind our interaction content, 65,311 of them resolved to verified PubMed/DOI sources. See every Slimfast Diet reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The Slimfast Diet and Orlistat records this page draws on were last updated June 22, 2026.
  • What “no known interaction” means: no documented interaction in the sources above — not a guarantee of safety. Supplements are studied far less than prescription drugs, so we say exactly what the evidence supports, and nothing more.
Data structure & sourcing designed and verified by .
Eating pattern

About Slimfast Diet

What is Slimfast Diet?

  • Weight loss
  • Weight maintenance
  • Meal replacement
  • Calorie control
  • Convenient on-the-go nutrition

SlimFast is a commercial brand of meal-replacement shakes, bars, and snacks designed to help with weight loss by controlling daily calories. It is not an herb or single supplement, and while structured meal-replacement plans can help some people lose weight in the short term, long-term success depends on overall diet and lifestyle. Talk with your doctor or pharmacist before starting if you have a medical condition such as diabetes.

Not applicable (commercial meal-replacement product, not a plant) · Ready-to-drink shakes, shake powders, meal-replacement bars, and snack products

An interaction check asks whether these two react with each other — it does not ask whether Slimfast Diet is a good idea for someone in your situation. Here is what our Slimfast Diet record says about it on its own.

Slimfast Diet: dosing

There is no medicinal "dose" for SlimFast because it is a food product. Instead, follow the plan and serving sizes printed on the product label. A common approach is replacing one or two meals a day with a SlimFast shake or bar, eating one balanced meal, and having a small snack or two.Drink plenty of water and aim to keep your overall diet balanced.

From our Slimfast Diet monograph — the full record covers uses, side effects and every documented interaction.

Read the full Slimfast Diet monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Orlistat

What Is Orlistat Used For?

Brand names: Xenical, Alli

Xenical and prescription-strength orlistat are approved to help obese adults lose weight and keep it off when used with a reduced-calorie diet. They are intended for people with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, or 27 or higher if other risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or dyslipidemia (abnormal cholesterol or fat levels in the blood) are present.

Alli is the over-the-counter version, approved for weight loss in overweight adults 18 and older when used with a reduced-calorie, low-fat diet and exercise program.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Orlistat

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (25,755 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Rectal discharge 2,434 reports
Gastrointestinal disorder 2,186 reports
Constipation 1,991 reports
Diarrhea 1,960 reports
Weight increased 1,944 reports
See full Orlistat drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Slimfast Diet

Browse every other medication we’ve checked against Slimfast Diet — both the ones with a known interaction and the ones without. Select any drug for the full detail.

0Major
0Moderate
0Minor
2,829No known interaction
No interaction 2,829 drugs checked — show the list
Evidence & sources

Slimfast Diet References

The 6 references that drive our Slimfast Diet monograph and interaction data, from the evidence-graded Natural Medicines (TRC Healthcare) database. Citations with a link open the study on PubMed or the publisher’s site.

  1. Pritchett AM, Deswal A, Aguilar D, et al. Lifestyle Modification with Diet and Exercise in Obese Patients with Heart Failure - A Pilot Study. J Obes Weight Loss Ther. 2012 Mar 1;2(2):1-8. PubMed
  2. Berkowitz RI, Wadden TA, Gehrman CA, et al. Meal replacements in the treatment of adolescent obesity: a randomized controlled trial. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2011 Jun;19(6):1193-9. PubMed
  3. Morgan LM, Griffin BA, Millward DJ, et al. Comparison of the effects of four commercially available weight-loss programmes on lipid-based cardiovascular risk factors. Public Health Nutr. 2009 Jun;12(6):799-807. PubMed
  4. Truby H, Baic S, deLooy A, et al. Randomised controlled trial of four commercial weight loss programmes in the UK: initial findings from the BBC "diet trials." BMJ. 2006 Jun 3;332(7553):1309-14. PubMed
  5. Noakes M, Foster PR, Keogh JB, Clifton PM. Meal replacements are as effective as structured weight-loss diets for treating obesity in adults with features of metabolic syndrome. J Nutr. 2004 Aug;134(8):1894-9. PubMed
  6. Yip I, Go VL, DeShields S, et al. Liquid meal replacements and glycemic control in obese type 2 diabetes patients. Obes Res. 2001 Nov;9 Suppl 4:341S-347S. PubMed

Medication overviews come from MedlinePlus (NIH); supplement label data from the NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database. Content is written and reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists — see our data sources and editorial standards.

Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Following Slimfast Diet While Taking Orlistat: Common Questions

Is it safe to follow Slimfast Diet while taking Orlistat?
We do not list a known interaction between Slimfast Diet and Orlistat. That does not guarantee the combination is risk-free, so confirm with your pharmacist or doctor — especially if you take other medications or have a health condition.
Are Slimfast Diet and Orlistat used for the same thing?
They overlap in purpose, which usually means the real question is whether you need both rather than whether they are safe together. This page lists the shared uses and how strong the evidence is for Slimfast Diet in each. That is a conversation for your prescriber, especially if Orlistat is being adjusted to a target.
Does Orlistat interact with any supplements?
Yes. Orlistat has documented interactions with 18 supplements in our database — Slimfast Diet is not one of them. The Orlistat interaction page linked on this page lists every one, ranked by severity.

Written and reviewed by the HelloPharmacist editorial staff. Our editorial policy

Still Have a Question About Orlistat and Slimfast Diet?

Our pharmacists answer your medication & supplement questions — free.

Ask a pharmacist

This information is for education only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always check with your pharmacist or doctor before starting, stopping, or combining supplements and medications.