Weight-Loss Aids Bought on Internet Might Harm Your Heart

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Q. Glen, Are Internet Weight-Loss Supplements Safe?



A.Weight-loss supplements widely available for purchase online often include ingredients that are potentially hazardous to your heart, and a new study shows the labels often don't include this warning.

One of the hazardous ingredients that was found in the products has been banned on the U.S. market since 2004, according to study author Dr. Alireza Nazeri, an internist and cardiology research fellow at the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, in Houston.

The study was expected to be presented Thursday at the Heart Rhythm Society's annual meeting, in San Francisco.

Nazeri and his colleagues reviewed the ingredients of 12 different brands of weight-loss supplements. They found the brands by entering the common search terms "diet pills" and "weight-loss supplements" into popular Internet search engines, including Google, MSN and Yahoo.

"We were trying to find out if the weight-loss supplements have any ingredients with life-threatening cardiac side effects," Nazeri said.

Next, they made a list of the ingredients on each label. In all, there were 60 different ingredients, for an average of 7.25 ingredients per bottle. Most were herbal extracts, while others were minerals, vitamins and other substances.

Next, the researchers scoured medical databases, including Medline, Pubmed and Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, to find out if there was any significant association between the ingredients and cardiac problems.

They identified 11 ingredients with at least one report of life-threatening cardiac side effects. Eight of the 12 brands contained a potentially hazardous ingredient.

To their surprise, the researchers found one brand included ma huang, also known as Chinese ephedra, even though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned it in 2004.

The other ingredients that may be potentially dangerous to the heart included: bitter orange, Camellia sinensis, green tea, buckwheat, guarana, Korean ginseng, licorice root, Synephrine HCl, caffeine anhydrous and citrus aurantium.

"We are not releasing any names of products," said Nazeri. "That was part of our protocol."

The products chosen may be just the tip of the iceberg, and releasing the names may give people the idea the problem is confined to just those brands, said study senior author Dr. Mehdi Razavi, director of the institute's clinical arrhythmia research lab and a clinical associate professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, in Houston.

The study results make sense to Elisa Odabashian, director of the West Coast office of Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports. "It doesn't surprise me at all," she said.

Especially dangerous, she said, is that people often combine these products with coffee or other caffeine-containing drinks, which affect the heart even more.

Odabashian worked on efforts to get ephedra-containing products banned in California. Her advice for consumers thinking of buying weight-loss products over the Internet? "I think it's a crapshoot. I don't think you should be doing it."

More information

To learn more about how to evaluate a weight-loss product, visit American Dietetic Association.

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."

Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

Fight Fat Over 40

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Q. Glen, I am over 40! How do I fight this Excessive fat gain?


A. Forget everything you thought you knew about dieting and embrace these specific over-40 nutrition and exercise strategies.

If you're over 40, chances are you've had your own fat face-off, whether it was buying a bathing suit for the first time in three years or seeing a number on the scale you swore you'd never reach. Maybe you found that the pounds don't peel off as easily as they used to or come back faster. But before you resign yourself to life in the fat lane, I'm here to tell you that it's possible to drop that midlife fat and keep it off. You can even rediscover your abs. You don't have to go to extremes but you will have to change your diet, commit to regular physical activity, and keep pushing. Not the sugarcoated no-pain plan you were hoping for? Welcome to Planet Reality.

"There's no quick fix," says Glen Edward Mitchell CPT. "But there is a slow fix. Losing weight and getting fit is not a sprint. It's a marathon." The marathon is winnable. You can outsmart your post-40 physiology.

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."

Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

Weight-Loss Success

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Q. Glen, What is the Secret to Weight Loss Success?


A.For Weight-Loss Success, Slow Is The Way To Go, Having a realistic goal will help keep the pounds off !

Yo-yo dieting. Creeping weight gain. It goes by many names, some of which are unprintable here, but we all have it -- that tendency to put back on weight we have worked hard to get off.

In many ways, it makes no difference how you accomplish the weight loss -- whether it's by working with your doctor or nutritionist to develop a plan of diet changes; with diet medications and increased exercise; or whether you simply cut out Krispy Kremes, Ding Dongs, and Cheetos in favor of low-fat foods. What does matter, say many weight-management experts, is having realistic goals about where your weight is now and where you want it to be a long way down the road. Realistic expectations, experts say, can be a big help in keeping the pounds from coming back.

"When a person who has dieted extensively to lose weight keeps the reality of the situation in mind, that person knows that weight management is long-term," says Ali H. Mokdad, PhD, a senior epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who is an expert in obesity and one of its many related conditions: namely, diabetes.

"It's nothing special to drop a few pounds, but for an obese or chronically overweight patient to lose 10% of their weight and keep it off for a long time, that is the kind of weight control that will add greatly to a patient's quality of life later in life as they avoid or minimize [related] conditions of obesity, such as type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, even some types of cancers."

The message behind weight management is simple, says Mokdad.

"Weight loss is best achieved through long-term, consistent lifestyle changes, as simple as eating more fruits and vegetables, getting at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day and avoiding high-calorie foods that have no nutritional value, such as all the sugar sodas and super-sized portions of French fries and snack items that the American [diet] is so full of."

But somehow, this message is not getting through, he says. He and his colleagues at the CDC, along with other obesity researchers, are working to try to find out why even people who are in weight-management programs under their doctors' supervision have trouble with the idea that you have to eat fewer calories and get more exercise to avoid the kinds of diseases that can affect your quality of life in later years.

"It's really a mystery," he says. "We have proven, effective treatments that are simple. We need to find out why patients -- even self-motivated patients -- resist this."

For Weight-Loss Success, Slow Is The Way To Go

Leslie J. Bonci, MPH, RD, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association and director of the Sports Medicine Nutrition program at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, says part of the problem is that we focus too much on weight loss and not on long-term management.

A lot of weight-loss programs out there direct people at the action phase of weight-loss only," she says. "These programs take an all-or-nothing approach that is not conducive to long-term weight management -- setting realistic goals and developing the kind of working knowledge of good nutrition to enable them to make smart food choices over a lifetime."

So just what is a realistic weight-loss goal?

"A good rule of thumb in weight loss is no more than a pound per week," says Leslie Womble, PhD, an assistant professor in the Psychiatry Department at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia. "That may seem very slow when you get on the scale and want to see some progress there, but anything faster puts the weight-loss plan at risk of later weight regain."

Womble and her colleagues did a study to find out whether patients' attitudes change when they have a clear understanding of how much weight they can expect to lose in one year of lifestyle modification, in combination with a weight-loss medication.

The researchers gave 53 female subjects a questionnaire to find out how much weight the women expected to lose over 52 weeks of treatment. The researchers met with each woman and explained that each could expect to lose between 5% and 15% of their starting weight. In the consent form that the subjects signed, the 5% to 15% "expectation" estimate was repeated twice more. Once all the women had signed the consent form, they were given a second questionnaire to gauge how their expectations might have changed after this in-person counseling and the printed reminders.

Before getting the in-person counseling, most of the women had predicted they would lose 25% of their starting weight after one year of treatment. After the counseling, the researchers found, the women's expectations had come into line with the more realistic weight-loss estimates.

"What we found was important because it tells us two things," says Womble. "First, it says that many patients under treatment for obesity have unrealistic ideas about weight loss, even those patients under medical supervision. Second, it says that we in the medical community, the healthcare providers, need to address our patients' lack of understanding about what they can expect from treatment."

Reference:

Web MD, The CDC Ali H. Mokdad, PhD, Leslie J. Bonci, MPH, RD, Leslie Womble, PhD,

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !



My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."


Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

Weight and Health

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Q. Glen, Can you explain the relationship between Health and Weight?


A. If you are overweight or obese, you face a greater risk for illness and even death.


Bad for Your Health

It's not news that being overweight is bad for your health, but only in the last few years has research shown precisely how unhealthy it is. Compared to people of normal weight, those who are overweight have a 60% greater risk of dying within 10 years from all causes. For people with obesity (a BMI of 30 or higher), the risk of dying is more than twice as great as it is for people whose weight is normal. The biggest increase in risk is for death from heart disease, which is more than three times greater for overweight people and up to six times greater for people with obesity.

While being overweight or obese increases anyone's risk for health problems, the danger is greater for some people than for others. For example, white people face a significantly higher risk for illness and death from excess weight than do blacks. And among blacks, the risk for illness and death from obesity is greater among men than women. Indeed, among black women, being overweight (as opposed to obese) doesn't seem to add substantially to risk for disease or death. The reasons for these differences are unclear. Perhaps some groups of people -- such as black women -- have a genetic predisposition toward good health at a higher weight. But even people who are predisposed to health at higher weights will face a greater risk for illness and death if they are obese.

Excess Weight

Excess weight causes or exacerbates more than 30 illnesses, which fall into five broad categories: metabolic, degenerative, anatomic, cancerous (neoplastic complications), and psychological. Some obesity-related conditions fall under more than one of these categories.

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life.

Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

Modest Weight Loss Cuts Hypertension

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Q.Glen, If I lose a little weight,will that help my high blood presure?

A.Yes! Losing a Little Extra Weigh May Make a Difference in Lowering High Blood Pressure, Study Shows

Oct. 1, 2007 -- Got high blood pressure? If you're overweight, modest weight loss might bring your blood pressure down to normal.

Italian researchers reported that news in Tucson at the American Heart Association's 61st Annual Fall Conference of the Council for High Blood Pressure Research.

The University of Pavia's Roberto Fogari, MD, and colleagues asked 220 overweight (but not obese) men and women with stage 1 hypertension to lose at least 5% of their body weight in 6 months.

People with stage 1 hypertension have blood pressure that ranges from 140-159 for systolic blood pressure (the first number in a blood pressure reading) and 90-99 for diastolic blood pressure (the second number in a blood pressure reading).

Normal blood pressure is systolic blood pressure of less than 120 and diastolic blood pressure of less than 80.

Fogari's team gave the patients diet advice. Some of the patients also got the weight loss drug Xenical.

By 6 months, 59% of the women and 53% of the men in the study had met the weight loss goal of shedding at least 5% of their body weight.

A little more than half (52%) of those who met the weight loss goal also got their blood pressure down into the normal range, Fogari tells WebMD.

The bottom line: It didn't take a whole lot of weight loss to curb high blood pressure.

Roughly a third of U.S. adults have high blood pressure and many of them don't know it, according to the American Heart Association. Don't know your blood pressure? A simple test can tell you where you stand.

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

Wishing You Great Health.

Any questions? Ask Glen!

Food For Fitness ( Ordering out )

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Q. Glen, How can I eat right on the go with out thinking?


A. Here are 20 secrets to eat what you love and still get the body you want

When summer ends, we eat more, because we can get away with it. We're not as likely to bare our midsections and no longer will we strut our stuff on the beach. That means more nights of ordering out pizza, and over-doing dessert.

To prevent fall weight gain, adopt some of the following smart habits. These 20 simple tactics--if you stick to them regularly--will help you get more of the stuff you need into your diet while eliminating the stuff you don't. The best part? Before long you'll be dining like a nutrition expert, without even thinking about it.

At breakfast, put coffee in your milk instead of milk in your coffee.

Fill your mug to the rim with skim milk first thing in the morning. Drink it down until all that's left is the amount you'd normally add to your coffee; then pour your java on top. You just took in 25 percent of the vitamin D you need every day, and 30 percent of the calcium.

Take your vitamins every morning.

Study by study, evidence is mounting that a standard multivitamin fills enough of the gaps in your diet to make a real difference. For example, a recent study at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute in Seattle showed that people who took a multivitamin supplement and 200 I.U. of vitamin E for 10 years were half as likely to get colon cancer.

Drink two glasses of water before every meal.

This will do two things: keep you hydrated and make you eat a little less. A Dutch study showed that drinking two glasses of water can make you feel less hungry, possibly reducing your food intake and aiding weight loss.

Always order your pizza with double tomato sauce and light cheese.

Men who eat a lot of tomato products tend to have less prostate cancer--probably because tomatoes are a rich source of lycopene, a type of carotenoid that's believed to cut your risk of cancer. If you double the sauce on your pizza, you get double the lycopene. Reducing the mozzarella by just one-third (you won't miss it) will save you 20 grams of fat. That's as much as in a McDonald's Quarter-Pounder.

Always order your sandwiches with double tomato slices.

Another chance for a healthy dose of lycopene.

Pile onions on everything.

Research has revealed that onions are so healthful--they're a top source of heart savers called flavonoids--that it's practically your duty to eat them lavishly on hot dogs, pizza, burgers, and sandwiches. And speaking of junk food...

Whenever you eat fast food, drink two glasses of water afterward.

Big Macs, subs, fries, and pepperoni pizza are all loaded with fat and sodium, which can be hellish for your heart. You can't do much about the fat once you've eaten it, but you can flush away some of the excess sodium by drinking plenty of fluid afterward, says Tina Ruggiero, R.D., a New York City dietitian.

When the waitress asks what you want to drink, always say iced tea.

The more we learn about tea, the more healthful it looks. A recent U.S. Department of Agriculture study found that a serving of black tea had more antioxidants--crucial to your body's defense against heart disease, cancer, and even wrinkles--than a serving of broccoli or carrots.

Have an afternoon snack every day at 3 o'clock.

A nutritional boost between lunch and dinner wards off fatigue and keeps you from overindulging later, says Keith Ayoob, Ed.D., R.D., director of the nutrition clinic at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine's Rose F. Kennedy Center. Just don't scarf down a candy bar. Try yogurt and fruit, crackers and cheese, or eat an egg (hard-boiled), an apple, and a thirst-quencher like bottled water. All of these foods will give you long-lasting energy.

Always leave the skin on your fruit.

If you peel apples or pears, you're throwing away heavy-duty nutrients and fiber. Same goes for potatoes. Go ahead and peel oranges, but leave as much of the fibrous white skin under the rind as you care to eat--it's loaded with flavonoids. Ditto for the white stem that runs up the middle.

Put a bottle of water in the office freezer every night before you leave work.

You already know that you should drink eight glasses of water a day, but how are you supposed to do it? Fill a half-gallon bottle in the morning, and make sure you've downed it all by the time you go home. If you like your water cold and you have access to a refrigerator, fill the bottle partially the night before and stick it in the freezer. Next morning, fill it the rest of the way. You'll have ice-cold water all day.

Whenever you buy grapefruit, go for red instead of white.

Remember lycopene, that stuff in tomatoes that may fight prostate cancer? It's what makes tomatoes red. And it's responsible for the color in ruby red grapefruit. (Watermelon and guava also have some.)

Eat salmon every Wednesday.

Actually, the day doesn't matter; the important thing is to have it once a week. Salmon is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, a type of fat most experts say we don't get enough of. Omega-3s seem to keep the heart from going into failure from arrhythmia--men who eat fish once a week have fewer heart attacks--and they may even ward off depression. A weekly serving of salmon should supply the amount of omega-3 fats you need.

Always wash your meat.

Here's an easy way to cut the fat content of your secret chili recipe: As soon as you finish browning the ground beef, pour it into a dish covered with a double thickness of paper towels. Then put another paper towel on top and blot the grease. If you want to remove even more fat, dump the beef into a colander and rinse it with hot (but not boiling) water. The water will wash away fat and cholesterol. Using these methods together can cut 50 percent of the meat's fat content.

Whenever you have salad, keep the dressing on the side.

Here's the drill: Dip your fork in the dressing first, then spear a piece of lettuce, then eat it. Sound dumb? In fact, it's one of the smartest habits you can have. Four tablespoons of, say, honey-mustard dressing can have 60 grams of fat--nearly an entire day's worth for an average guy.

Whenever you eat broccoli, put a little margarine, olive oil, or cheese sauce on it.

This is our kind of nutrition advice. Broccoli is a rich source of beta-carotene--one of the major antioxidants your body needs. But beta-carotene is fat-soluble, which means it has to hitch a ride on fat molecules to make the trip through your intestinal wall. Without a little fat in the mix, your body won't absorb nearly as much beta-carotene.

Always have seconds on vegetables.

If we had to pick one food that represents the best insurance for long-term good health, vegetables would be it. Your daily goal: Three servings minimum. A serving, by the way, is 1/2 cup. Think of a tennis ball--it's about half a cup in volume.

Do a fat analysis before every meal.

It's tempting to go fat-free at breakfast and lunch so you can indulge in a high-fat dinner. Wrong. Studies show that, for several hours after you eat a meal with 50 to 80 grams of fat, your blood vessels are less elastic and your blood-clotting factors rise dramatically. William Castelli, M.D., director of the Framingham Cardiovascular Institute, says, "The immediate cause of most heart attacks is the last fatty meal." Spread your fat intake over the whole day.

Always eat (a little) dessert.

Here's why: Sweets such as cookies and low-fat ice-cream bars signal your brain that the meal is over. Without them, you might not feel satiated--which might leave you prowling the kitchen all night for something to satisfy your sugar jones.

Eat a bowl of dry cereal every night before you go to bed.

A low-fat, low-calorie carbohydrate snack eaten 30 minutes before bed will help make you sleepy, says Judith Wurtman, Ph.D., of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The nutrition bonus? Cereal is one of the easiest ways to reduce your fiber deficit. (Most men eat only half the 25 to 35 grams of fiber they need daily.) So pick a cereal that has at least 5 grams of fiber per serving.

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program.Please consult your physician !

Wishing You Great Health!

Any questions? Ask Glen

Enviga: Does it increase weight loss?

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Q. Glen what can you tell me about Enviga? Can it really speed up your metabolism and help you lose weight faster?


A.Enviga may help you burn a few extra calories. But there's no evidence that it causes significant, long-term weight loss.

Enviga is a carbonated green tea beverage that contains green tea extract (EGCG), calcium and caffeine. According to the manufacturer, Enviga burns 60 to 100 calories for every three 12-ounce cans consumed. So every time you drink a can of Enviga, you supposedly burn about 30 calories.

How can a food or beverage help you burn calories? It's called thermogenesis. When you eat a hamburger, for example, your body uses energy (thermogenesis) — which burns calories — to digest it. Unfortunately, the average hamburger has so many calories that the few calories you burn to digest it don't really make a dent in your net calorie intake. But some foods that are very low in calories — such as Enviga — require more calories to digest than the calorie content of the food itself.

A few small studies suggest that the combination of caffeine and EGCG — an antioxidant found naturally in green tea leaves — may temporarily increase thermogenesis. So, theoretically, it may help you burn more calories.

However, simply drinking Enviga does not guarantee weight loss. Weight loss is accomplished by finding the right balance of energy in vs. energy out. Tipping the balance in favor of "energy out" will help you lose weight.

So, drink Enviga if you like the taste and want to feel good about the fact that it helps you burn a few extra calories. But if you really want to lose weight, eat less and exercise more.

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical. Please consult your physician !

Wishing You Great Health,

Glen Edward Mitchell

Got a question? Ask Glen!

Most Americans Don't Eat Smart and Exercise: CDC

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Q. Do most Americans eat right?


A. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Only one in seven Americans exercises enough and eats enough fruits and vegetables, and men are worse than women, federal health officials said on Monday. "These results underscore the need to promote diets high in fruits and vegetables and regular physical activity among all populations in the United States and among racial and ethnic minority communities in particular," U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers said in a report.

The CDC tracked the percentage of Americans who eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily and engage in moderately intense exercise for at least 30 minutes five days per week or vigorous exercise for at least 20 minutes three days per week as recommended by the government.

Overall, 14.6 percent of Americans met both the dietary and exercise benchmarks, including 12.4 percent of men and 16.6 percent of women.

The findings come at a time of rising obesity in the United States and concern among public health experts about sedentary lifestyles and diets loaded with fat and sweets.

The report found that 12.6 percent of white men and 17.4 percent of white women reached both benchmarks, compared to 11.2 percent of black men and 12.6 percent of black women and 11.7 percent of Latino men and 14.8 percent of Latino women.

Among all groups, American Indian and Alaska Native men (17.5 percent) and women (19.6 percent) did the best. "The population right now really needs to take responsibility for their own health," Mary Kay Solera, head of the CDC's National Fruit and Vegetable Program and one of the report's authors, said in a telephone interview.

'WE'RE NOT DOING IT'

"People know that they need to be eating more fruits and vegetables and they know they need to be doing more physical activity. But we're not doing it," Solera added.

Unlike other reports tracking such issues, this one examines those behaviors in tandem for a more complete view. It did not assess whether things are getting better or worse.

"Poor diet and lack of physical activity cause chronic disease," Solera said. "As our good habits decrease and you've got a lot of bad habits, then chronic disease is going to increase, health care costs will increase. There are consequences to what we're doing."

The CDC noted that being overweight or obese increases one's risk of heart disease, some cancers, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke and other ailments.

The report was based on self-reported data from a 2006 telephone survey of 356,112 Americans. The survey asked respondents to report their level of exercise and their diet with questions such as, "How often do you eat potatoes, not including French fries, fried potatoes or potato chips?"

The report said some of the racial differences in exercise levels detected might be due to a lack of exercise facilities in lower-income, nonwhite communities.

Moderately intense exercise was defined as brisk walking, bicycling, vacuuming, gardening or anything else that causes small increases in breathing or heart rate. Vigorous exercise was defined as running, aerobics, heavy yard work or other things that cause large increases in breathing or heart rate.

Wishing You Great Health,

Glen Edward Mitchell

Got a question? Ask Glen

Can’t Seem to Stick to a Diet

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Q: Ever since New Year’s, I wanted to start losing weight, but it’s so hard because I can’t seem to stick with a diet. I also want someone to be there with me while I’m on my diet. I just don’t know what to do and I’m tired of looking in the mirror and not being happy with what I see. Please help Samantha

A: Hi Samantha,

I’m so sorry to hear you’re feeling unhappy and frustrated, but very pleased to see you writing me and asking for help. That tells me that there’s a part of you that isn’t quite ready to give up yet, and that’s the part of you I want to speak with today. Just ask that “Doubting Thomas,” or should I say “Doubting Samantha,” inside your head to step outside for a moment while you and I talk! There are few things in this world more difficult and emotionally-challenging than weight loss and lifestyle change. And one of the reasons for this is that there’s a part of your personality always trying to sabotage your efforts. I call this battle The Family Feud. I think it will open your eyes and help you see your weight loss struggle in a whole new light.

There is also nothing wrong with recruiting the support of your friends and family. Weight loss will be more successful when those around you are aware of your efforts and encourage positive changes. However, they might not want to or need to lose weight, and that’s OK. You can still continue on your weight loss journey individually, but with their support.

Another critical key to your struggle is found in a very powerful word that you used in your very first sentence – “can’t.” Can’t is an extremely debilitating word that robs you of power and keeps you stuck in the past. The truth is that you CAN do this Samantha, and once you embrace that belief, a whole new world will open up to you. You already have the ability, you only need the belief. Make it happen, Samantha! You are worth the effort and I believe in YOU!

Wishing You Great Health,

Glen Edward Mitchell

Got a Question? Ask Glen

Get Smart About Your Scale

Daily weigh-ins aren’t such a bad thing if they help you to recognize how your weight naturally fluctuates throughout the day. Your weight can change in response to everything from what you eat and drink to whether or not your bladder and bowels are empty. Putting these weight fluctuations into perspective can help you avoid freaking out the next time you step on the scale after eating dinner, only to find you’ve gained three pounds. Food and beverages obviously weigh something, so don’t be unhappily surprised when the scale shows it. You will not gain three pounds from eating three pounds of food and drink; many foods are partially indigestible, especially fruits, vegetables and whole grains, which will be excreted from the body. Water from the beverages you drink will also be either used to maintain fluid balance within the body or excreted as urine. The calories from the foods you do digest will either be burned for energy or put away in storage. Weight gain comes into play when food or calorie-laden beverages are eaten in excess, and the extra calories are stored in the body as fat. So what really counts are the number of calories you eat and not the number on the scale after you eat. Weigh yourself in the morning before you have anything to eat or drink and after you empty your bladder and bowels. This is your true weight, and the one you should be comparing your weight loss goals to.

Lemon Cleanse ( Master Cleanse )

Many diseases start in the intestines, so it is a good idea to do a cleansing. We should be aware that one's healing process must go much further including all levels of one's existence - not only the fisical... It is no coincidence that you arrived at my blog site. Here you will find a lot more in your search for health. Take your time... you might also enjoy it and you will lose weight if followed exactly! I have used this cleansing myself!

Glen.

LEMON DRINK for your Master Cleanse
you need:

2 tablespoons FRESH squeezed lemon or lime juice (approx. 1/2 lemon)
2 tablespoons genuine organic maple syrup, Grade B (the darker the better)*
1/10 teaspoon (a small pinch!) cayenne pepper, gradually increase (the more BTUs the better)
300 - 500 ccm (10-14 oz) pure water

In a 300ccm (10-ounce) glass (to allow for 227ccm and mixing room): 2 tablespoons fresh (and organic, if possible) lemon or lime juice (absolutely no canned or frozen juice). 2 tablespoons real (and organic, if possible) grade B or C maple syrup. (Don't use Grade A maple syrup or maple-flavored syrup. They are over-refined, which means that they are mostly refined sugars and lack essential minerals.) A small pinch of cayenne pepper (to taste). Spring or purified water, between room temperature and medium hot (but not cold) – fill to 1/4 liter (8 oz). Mix all the ingredients by thoroughly stirring or shaking, and drink. Or, in two 1 liter bottles: Juice of 3 lemons, divided equally between the two bottles (about 85ccm or 3 oz per bottle) An equal quantity of grade B or C maple syrup in each bottle (about 85 ccm or 3 oz per bottle) A pinch of cayenne in each bottle Spring or purified water (fill bottles to the top) Mix all the ingredients by thoroughly shaking; then drink throughout the day. Use fresh lemons or limes only, never canned or frozen lemon juice. Use organic and vine ripened when possible. Also, mix your lemonade fresh just before drinking. Don't mix it up in the morning for the whole day. You can, however, squeeze your lemons in the morning and measure out the 2 tablespoons when needed.

* YL Clinic says you can use Agave instead of the maple syrup. Tom Woloshyn (who studied with Stanley Burroughs himself) disagrees. Clinic says if you have diabetes or hypoglycemia, use molasses. If you feel weak or have a sugar imbalance you can add a scoop of Power Meal. Or you can try Master Amino Acid Profile (MAP) for protein without any residuals or strain on the body ­ more info here: http:/www.weightlossessentials.com/aminoacid.html

SALT WATER FLUSH:
Drink an oral salt water enema upon arising. To do this, add 2 level teaspoons of uniodized sea salt to a quart of lukewarm water (the one-quart juice bottles in which most organic juices come work very well). Shake well, then drink the entire quart. It's also good to massage the colon as well. Make sure you use uniodized sea salt; regular or iodized salt will not have the same beneficial effect. This oral enema will flush out your entire digestive tract and colon from top to bottom, usually within an hour, prompting you to eliminate several times, clearing out the plaque and debris from the walls, and the parasites that have been living there.

Lemonade Drink:
Drink the lemonade mix every 1 to 2 hours. Take no other food, but do be sure to drink plenty of purified water in addition to the lemonade drink. Drink as much of this lemonade as you want, but make sure that you drink at least twelve 1/4 liter (8 oz) glasses. The lemonade contains all the vitamins and minerals you need. This can be combined with supplements for colon cleansing such as Bentonite or Psyllium Seeds. You don't have to start your fast on the morning of the first day. You can begin later in the day, even if you've already eaten. Once you begin, however, eat nothing more while you're on the fast. It's also a good idea to read Stanley Burrough's book, The Master Cleanser. Note: Diabetics, refer to the special instructions on page 19 of The Master Cleanser.

Note: Bentonite is the only product known to remove plaque from the walls of the intestine and colon. The plaque in your stool will look like egg shells on the outside of the bentonite "gel." Bentonite works most effectively when the colon is empty of food. It grabs the plaque which has been loosened by the lemon juice and the resting/fasting process. The salt water enema pushes out the bentonite gel and the plaque and debris that is stuck to it and in it. The salt water further cleanses the walls as it passes through, resulting in shiny clean walls.

Herbal Laxative:
Each evening you can drink an herbal laxative tea to help with elimination, do this right before bed time.

GOING OFF LEMONADE FAST
Burroughs recommends a minimum of 10 days on this. You can safely do 40 days or more.
First Day: Start with 4 oz. [1/8 liter] fresh squeezed orange juice mixed with 4 oz. water. If it goes well, drink several more 8 oz. [1/4 liter] glasses of fresh orange juice during the day. Sip slowly. Dilute with water if needed.
Second Day: Drink several 8 oz. [1/4 liter] glasses of orange juice during the day -- with extra water, if needed.

In the evening make a vegetable broth (no canned soup). Use seasonal leafy and root vegetables such as: beets and beet tops, turnips and turnip greens, kale, carrots, onions, parsley, celery, potatoes, okra, one or two inds of legumes, squash, beans, a little salt, cayenne pepper and dehydrated vegetables or veg. powder may be added for flavor (no MSG or hydrolyzed protein).
Cook lightly. Drink the broth, eating only a few bites of the vegetables.
Third Day: Orange juice in the morning. At noon have some more soup with some of the vegetables. No meat, fish, eggs, bread, pastries, tea, milk, or coffee. For Dinner, have the vegetables in the soup.
Fourth Day: Orange juice or lemon and maple syrup in the morning. Fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts for lunch. Salad or fruit for dinner.
Fifth Day: Eat normally but no junk food, dairy, tea, coffee, white flour or white rice, heavy animal proteins. If, after eating is resumed, distress or gas occurs, go back to the lemonade diet for a few days until the system is ready for food.
(Excerpt from "Healing for the Age of Enlightenment" by Stanley Burroughs -Stanley Burroughs Master Cleanse - available through Essential Science Publishing.)