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 […]

SUPPLEMENTS
Supplements are unfortunately necessary (see my post Why People Need to Take Nutritional Supplements for details), but they should not be regarded as a panacea.
For example, it would probably be wise to take a good multivitamin and some other nutritional supplements as nutritional insurance (see my post Anti-Aging Supplementation Options for more details), but it […]

PAINFUL MENSTRUATION (DYSMENORRHEA)
In an epidemiological study in Danish women based upon self administered questionnaires concerning menstrual history, present symptoms, and dietary habits, it was discovered that low intake of omega-3 acids in the diet correlated with increased menstrual pain (Painful menstruation and low intake of n-3 fatty acids, Ugeskr Laeger. 1996 Jul 15;158(29):4195-8).
Furthermore, dietary supplementation […]

SOIL DEPLETION
According to a study by David Thomas, the mineral content of the soil in United States farms has declined markedly between 1940 and 1991, with vegetables harvested in 1991 showing 76% less copper, 46% less calcium, 27% less iron and 24% less magnesium than their 1940 counterparts (Nutrition and Health 2003; 17: 85-115).
Why has […]

PESTICIDES
The pesticides widely used in agriculture to control pests decrease the nutritional value of the crops. A review of 41 published studies, which was done by nutritionist Virginia Worthington, found that organic crops (which don’t use pesticides) had 27% more vitamin C, 29.3% more magnesium, 13.6% more phosphorus, and 21.1% more iron than their conventionally […]

GARLIC & CHOLESTEROL
Believe it or not, garlic has a substantial effect on cholesterol levels, but you would need between 1 to 4 cloves of fresh garlic a day to achieve a significant therapeutic result. Fortunately, the compounds in garlic responsible for its therapeutic benefit can be isolated in pill form.
However, in order to be effective, […]