A Weighty Concern! – Advantage Health

There is much concern over the safety of nutritional supplements on the market today. The ABC news report that came out in the last year and a half exposed quite a handful of product lines sold in Target, Walgreens, GNC, and Walmart. The concern goes beyond what you can get over the counter though. There are other nutritional companies that you would think would be safer and higher quality that are not in drugstores, health food stores, or sold through individual representatives. Do not be fooled by this. We are seeing a lot of newer companies over the the past 10 years who have come on the scene advertising themselves as "all natural" and "safe", but when looking at them closer and the ingredients they are using in their products you can see that they do not match their claims.

Supplements must meet a certain criteria in order to be safe and work effectively. The tough thing is that many do not know what to look for, so this is my job in helping you to discern. I have been blessed to study with experts and scientists in this field of nutrition who do not work for any particular company, but do product analysis and provide third party reports. I am able to get this information and pass it on to you. My number one concern is safety and effectiveness of a product and this is why for the past 19 years I have chosen to work with products that are of the highest quality and purity, because I know their history and their standards of quality exceed the majority of nutrition lines out there today. I always look for peer-reviewed published clinical studies and the nutrition I work has more than the top 5 nutrition companies combined. They offer "true science" and not "hype" as so many do for marketing purposes. Some of these nutritional lines are even recommended by some health professionals making it seem better, but not always the best. I don't know about you, but I want the very best. I am constantly getting third party feedback by scientists who do not work for any particular company , but provide information based on the research and clinical studies . I am happy to share more of what I work with if interested.

With that said, I wanted to point out to you some of the ingredients we are seeing in multiple nutritional lines today that are of great concern. I am going to talk specifically about weight loss. Weight loss is a huge focus today more than ever and so we are seeing a lot of products that are promising great results, but are they really safe and are the ingredients proven to actually help with weight loss? We know that in any situation where you are restricting calories, you will lose weight. It is that simple, but the key thing is to lose the right kind of weight and keep it off without side-effects and to avoid the lovely yo-yo dieting cycle. This is something you do NOT want, but is a common thing we see. So many people are frustrated as a result and then give up. You want to go about it in a safe and healthy way.

Here are some things to look for when reading labels and if you are currently using products that have these or know of others using these, you want to re-evaluate it and alert those you know who may not be aware.

1. Hoodia-Oxypregnane steroidal glycoside

is what is listed to make it seem more inflated. It is just Hoodia. The drug company Pfizer began developing P57 (Hoodia) as a prescription weight-control agent. However, in 2003 Pfizer discontinued clinical development of P57. A specific reason for this decision was not disclosed. More recently, the consumer products company, Unilever (which makes Slim-Fast) announced that it had acquired the rights to develop and market Hoodia as an ingredient in its weight-loss products.

Quality Concerns:
It has been speculated that there is more Hoodia being sold today than could possibly be made from all the Hoodia gordonii plants in existence. It is believed that some products may be derived from other species of Hoodia or similar succulents from around the world. In such cases, consumers are likely not getting what they expect from the product.

In addition, there is presently no scientific standard for assessing the quality of Hoodia as an ingredient, although attempts are being made to characterize its components. The quality of Hoodia supplements, therefore, remains largely uncertain.

Be aware that many supplements with Hoodia contain other weight loss ingredients with potential side effects. Examples are bitter orange and caffeine, which can elevate heart rate and blood pressure, and cause nervousness and sleeplessness.

Although tantalizing, the evidence for Hoodia as a weight loss ingredient remains anecdotal and preliminary, as does evidence of its safety. It is also uncertain which products on the market provide the authentic ingredient and whether they recommend an appropriate dose.

At this time, it is uncertain whether using a Hoodia supplement will be help with weight loss.

2. Max C guarana- this is a stimulant, similar to caffeine

3. Guarana stimulants- caffeine stimulant

4. Garlic that is labled as "odorless" is often not good as they take out the ingredients that give the health benefit from garlic. Shaklee does not take out those ingredients, but adds in spearmint which makes it "odor controlled". A big difference!

5. Sucralose- Artificial sweetener and should not be in your product. Although many feel this is safe, we do not have adequate long-term research that shows the safety of this.

Pre-approval research showed that sucralose caused shrunken thymus glands (up to 40% shrinkage) and enlarged liver and kidneys. As far as the pre-approval research related to sucralose.... As you probably know, pre-approval research is rarely published. It is only available from the FDA by filing a Freedom of Information Act request. However, you can see a very short summary regarding sucralose and shrunken thymus glands in the "New Scientist" (23 November 1991, page 13).
It is very important that people who have any interest in their health stay aware from the highly toxic sweetener, aspartame and other dangerous sweeteners such as sucralose (Splenda), and acesulfame-k (Sunette, Sweet & Safe, Sweet One

So if you are looking for a safe and effective way to lose weight and keep it off, then we want to talk! There is no concern when we are working with nutrition that is backed by research, has the proper quality testing and standards in place, and published peer reviewed studies.

Tricia