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Weight Loss Exercise

The case against Antioxidants?

For years we have looked at antioxidants as being one of those magic substances that will heal our bodies from the ravages of free radicals and also the natural breakdown of the body.

New Scientist has an article today that disputes the help of antioxidants on getting rid of free radicals and even mentions a couple of reports and studies that support their hypothesis.

I am not to sure how much to trust this story but it is always important to look at any studies with a critical eye and watch as more and more come out. For now I will continue taking my vitamins and working on getting as many antioxidants into my diet as possible.

Wondering about what exactly an antioxidant is? Here is some info from Wikipedia:

Since the discovery of vitamins, it has been recognized that antioxidants from the diet are essential for healthful lives in humans and many other mammals. More recently, a large body of evidence has accumulated that suggests supplementation of the diet with various kinds of antioxidants can improve health and extend life. Many nutraceutical and health food companies now sell formulations of antioxidants as dietary supplement. These supplements may include specific antioxidant chemicals, like resveratrol (from grape seeds), combinations of antioxidants, like the “ACES” products that contain beta carotene (provitamin A), vitamin C, vitamin E and Selenium, or specialty herbs that are known to contain antioxidants such as green tea and jiaogulan. However, to date, the FDA finds insufficient evidence to endorse health claims that have been made regarding antioxidant supplementation (see Clinical Trials above).

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Weight Loss Exercise

Alli hits the market

Alli is now out. The news we have been looking at for months is here. Alli, which is the over the counter version of Xenical for loss is now on the market so that people can use this as a aid to their loss program. I have said for years that you can not trust any pills to have you lose and I am still a little apprehensive to recommend that people use Alli to try to lose as the most important things in your control program are proper eating and exercise. Here is the press release for the product

Before you go out and buy Alli I just wanted to let you know that in researching this product I looked for a natural alternative. I have found one product that does what Alli does but is natural, cheaper and best of all has no side effects. That product is called Avatrim. Check out Avatrim before you go out to purchase Alli.

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare announces today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the -loss product orlistat 60 mg capsules for over-the-counter (OTC) use in the United States. GSK Consumer Healthcare will market OTC orlistat under the brand name alli(TM) (pronounced AL-eye). Approved for use by over adults in conjunction with a reduced-calorie, low-fat diet, alli helps people lose 50 percent more than with diet alone. alli is the only FDA-approved -loss product available to consumers without a prescription, and it is the first clinically-proven over- the-counter product to be combined with a comprehensive support program. alli is expected to be available in stores nationwide by summer 2007. This approval marks the start of an educational program that includes a series of resources online at myalli.com.

GSK Consumer Healthcare selected alli as the brand name because it conveys the concept of partnership with consumers in their -loss efforts. Consumers spend billions of dollars each year on fad diets, unproven miracle pills, and potentially unsafe -loss supplements that may not work. alli is the clinically proven option to these hyped, quick-fix products that mislead over adults away from -loss strategies that are backed by medical science. With alli, consumers have access to an individually tailored online action plan that provides support and the necessary tools to help them lose 50 percent more than with diet alone.

Caroline Apovian, M.D., Director of the Center for Nutrition and Weight Management at Boston Medical Center welcomed the FDA decision. “I applaud the alli program for stressing the importance of a reduced-calorie, low-fat diet in conjunction with a -loss medicine proven to be safe and effective. This lines up with research that shows even modest, gradual loss provides significant health benefits.” Apovian adds, “More and more people each year — now two-thirds of all American adults — are over or obese and still gaining weight.

Desperate to lose this excess , people resort to all types of extreme methods that promise everything and deliver no real results. Extremely restrictive diets are unrealistic to maintain, even for a couple of weeks. Dieters end up gaining more than they initially lost. It’s time consumers readjust their thinking to realize positive results.”

Why Alli is Different

Unlike other products on store shelves, alli is a proven medicine with a comprehensive support program. To help consumers get off to a successful start, the alli package will include Welcome and Companion Guides, a Guide to Healthy Eating, a Daily Journal, a Calorie and Fat Counter, Quick Fact Cards, and free access to an individualized online action plan at myalli.com.

Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

Don’t Drink the Purell

There is a nutty story making the rounds today about a woman that drank hand sanitizer, you know the stuff that you rub on your hands as a disinfectant.

The people in the know about how to find alcoholic beverages in strange places apparently know that hand sanitizer is mostly alcohol…and probably do not care that it is very dangerous to drink.

The 49-year-old Maryland inmate seemed seriously sick after he drank from a gallon-container of hand sanitizer. Described as “loony,” “red-eyed” and “combative,” officials whisked him to a nearby Baltimore hospital for treatment.

But they quickly discovered he wasn’t ill — just very, very drunk on Purell.

Don't Drink the PurellThe October incident, detailed Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine as one of the first documented cases of its kind.

It has raised questions about the potential abuse of alcohol-based hand sanitizers by teenagers and other at-risk groups.

“The widespread use of hand sanitizer is fraught with a great deal of danger,” said Suzanne Doyon, medical director of the Maryland Poison Center, who co-authored a letter in the journal about the case. ”

From an infection control perspective they are excellent, but there is this risk involved.”

Purell, which is 70 per cent alcohol, is far more potent than conventional drinks such as beer (five per cent), wine (10 per cent) or hard liquor (40 per cent)

Since the October incident, the Maryland Poison Center has received reports from five or six other adults in the state who consumed hand sanitizer because “they were looking for a buzz,” Doyon said.

A spokeswoman for Johnson Johnson, the maker of Purell, said when used as directed, Purell is “safe and effective.”