BITTER ORANGE
Commonly viewed as a replacement for Ephedra, which was banned by the FDA because of it’s health risks, Bitter Orange to date has not proven effective for weight loss. In one study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food, the 10 participants actually gained weight over a period of 8 weeks (Dietary Herbal Supplements […]

PHENTERMINE
Phentermine is a drug that suppresses appetite.
In a meta-analysis of studies available from 1975 to 1999 published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the authors found that Phentremine did in fact cause an average weight loss of roughly 8 pounds compared to a placebo (Meta-analysis: Pharmacologic treatment of obesity. Annals of Internal Medicine, 142(7): 532–546).
The […]

ALLI
Alli must work, right? After all, it’s an over the counter version of orlistat (Xenical), a drug prescribed to treat obesity. And sure enough, it does work, kind of.
The studies that have been done so far are on orlistat, not Alli per se. By taking orlistat, you can lose 6 pounds a year. Not a […]

COFFEE
How about coffee? Doesn’t coffee speed up the metabolism? Yes, it does. In a study by the University of Maryland, 10 men between the ages of 65-80 and 10 men between the ages of 19-26 were tested for the metabolic effect of drinking coffee. After drinking coffee, the metabolism of the younger men increased 11% […]

CIGARETTES
Cigarettes are not really a weight loss supplement, but sometimes people, usually young people like teenagers, start smoking with the idea that it will help them control their weight. This is not a completely ridiculous idea. Smoking cigarettes does in fact decrease appetite.
However, in a study done at the University of Occupational and Environmental Health […]

ARE THEY WORTH IT?
In general, I’m not a big fan of drugs or supplements that are supposed to DO something to you. In general, I think that supplements should basically assist the body in doing what it does naturally.
For example, due to pollution, substance abuse, soil depletion, and other problems, we may not get enough […]

When it comes to the subject of anti-aging, there is so much to learn that it can be overwhelming sometimes. Where the heck do you start?
One way is to look at the subject is to examine where the emphasis should be on how to maintain the highest possible quality of life. Should it be on […]

New research from UCLA shows that if you smoke, you may be able to reduce your risk of lung cancer by as much as 50% by increasing your intake of antioxidant flavonoids found in vegetables and tea.
According to researchers, several different types of flavonoids are associated with a reduced risk of lung cancers in smokers. […]

OTHER STUDIES OF INTEREST
1) Another study at Tufts concluded that “The rapid absorption of glucose after consumption of high-GI meals induces a sequence of hormonal and metabolic changes that promote excessive food intake in obese subjects.” (PEDIATRICS Vol. 103 No. 3 March 1999, p. e26)
2) A study at King’s College London showed that a “…diet […]

ENZYME BLOCKERS
What about enzyme blockers?
Human beings have evolved (or were created) so that our bodies create the enzymes necessary for us to digest Paleolithic foods (such as animals, fruit, nuts, and green plants). Enzyme blockers neutralize these enzymes, interfering with digestion. In particular, they block the digestion of protein (proteases) and so they are called […]