As soon as Botox was approved by the FDA for cosmetic use in 2002, there was a huge demand for Botox injections for wrinkles. Botox remains one of the most popular anti aging procedures available, and is often chosen as an alternative to face lifts and other plastic surgery.

What is Botox?

Botox is derived from a highly poisonous substance called botulinum toxin which is responsible for the form of food poisoning known as botulism. Botulinum toxin makes the muscles unable to contract. It began to be injected in tiny doses into the muscles around the eyes in the 1980s to treat uncontrollable blinking spasms and crossed eyes. That’s why the rights to Botox are owned by the opthalmic product manufacturer Allergan Inc.

The opthalmologists using Botox to treat eye spasms soon noticed that it also had the effect of reducing wrinkles around the eyes. Clinical trials then began for its use for cosmetic purposes. Read the rest of this entry »

Looking to make a change and lose some weight? I have reviewed the top diet on the internet and you can go and read over 200 comments people have made about why this diet has worked well for them, as well as some of the problems.

Tags: Allergan Inc., allergic reaction, botox, botulism, Dysport, Europe, face lifts, fda, Ipsen Ltd, Korea, Medy-Tox Inc, opthalmic product manufacturer, physician, plastic surgery, poisoning, spasms, This site

I just found a reference to a report on Science Daily showing that obesity problems in North America can be directly attributed to overeating.

The study originated in Europe and included almost 2400 people as well as using stats on the amount of food grown as well as imported.

Here is a bit of a quote:

New research that uses an innovative approach to study, for the first time, the relative contributions of food and exercise habits to the development of the obesity epidemic has concluded that the rise in obesity in the United States since the 1970s was virtually all due to increased energy intake.

As much as we like to point fingers at a host of different causes of obesity, it seems that eating more calories is the number one culprit. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Congress, Europe, food, greater food intake, increased energy intake, north America, obesity, Science Daily, thermodynamics, United States

The Center for Disease Control is reporting that Measles Cases are at the highest rate in over 10 years. Most of the reason for the really high rate of Measles outbreaks is because of the fear of Autism from kids getting the

More measles cases have been reported in the United States since Jan. 1, 2008 than during the same period in any year since 1996, according to a report released today in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Measles Results for 2008

Between January 1 and July 31, 2008, 131 cases were reported to CDC′s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD). At least fifteen patients, including four children younger than 15 months of age, were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Academy of Pediatrics, Anne Schuchat, Arizona, Arkansas, Austria, Autism, Belgium, California, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, China, D.C., director, encephalitis, Europe, Georgia, Germany, hawaii, Illinois, immunization, India, Israel, Italy, Louisiana, measles, Michigan, Missouri, mmr vaccine, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Mumps, National Center for Immunization, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, New Mexico, New York, Pakistan, Pennsylvania, preventing infections, Respiratory Diseases, rubella, Russian Federation, Switzerland, the Philippines, United Kingdom, United States, vaccination, vaccination program, vaccination status, vaccines, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin

I just found about about this show called I Can Make You Thin starting in a couple of weeks on TLC. My wife was watching LA Ink and saw a commercial. She is intrigued and I always like getting fitness tips from TV, it is nice and quick and easy to understand. I have heard of Paul McKenna before actually he is a self help guy that is popular in England and Australia but not so much in America. This show is starting on March 7 and is based on the book to the left here called I Can Make You Thin.

Maybe I should turn this blog into a TV show, or at least do some podcasting. *Note to self*, get a better video camera

Watch this show and you will lose weight – the world’s most extraordinary interactive TV show. Through the TV set, British self-help expert Paul McKenna, PhD will help viewers program their minds to lose weight. It’s not a diet, there is no will power required, no belief necessary – as you watch you will transform your relationship with food and see others do the same. This show has already been a smash hit the UK and McKenna’s system has changed the way millions of people lose weight in Europe. Now he’s coming to America!

I will let you know when I find out more.

Tags: America, Australia, diet, Europe, food, interactive TV, LA Ink, paul mckenna, tlc, tv show, United Kingdom, Weight Loss

Glutamine is an essential amino acid and has been very much in the news over the last couple of years. Out of all the amino acids, glutamine is probably the most important for people that workout regularly and anyone that is trying to lose weight will want to consider supplementing with glutamine.

Glutamine is highly in demand throughout the body. It is used by the immune system to maintain optimal performance. most of the free-form amino acids floating in skeletal muscles is glutamine. Glutamine plays a very important role in protein metabolism, and it is a very important nutrient for body builders. When supplemented, glutamine may help anyone that exercises to reduce the amount of muscle deterioration that occurs because other tissues that need glutamine will not rob the glutamine stored in the muscle cells. One of the problems that people have when trying to lose weight through exercise is that when you run out of carbs for your body to use (glycogen) then your body will use protein and fat for energy. Using Glutamine will lower the amount of protein used and instead your body will use your fat for energy. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: energy, essential amino acid, Europe, free form amino acids, glutamine, muscle deterioration, optimal performance, protein metabolism, supplementation, Weight Training

A huge review of studies on pain relievers has found that a widely-used medicine may confer cardiovascular risks as serious as those found with Vioxx, an arthritis medicine that was withdrawn from the market two years ago.

Diclofenac, marketedas Voltaren, Cataflam, Solaraze and Arthrotec, an older non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), has been on the market for decades and is one of the most-widely prescribed anti-inflammatories in the world especially in Europe. At commonly prescribed doses, it was found to increase the risk of cardiovascular events primarily heart attack and sudden death by 40%.

The good news from the study is that there are alternatives. “European consumers would be better off switching [from diclofenac] to naproxen,” says David Graham, a safety official at the US Food and Drug Administration, who authored an editorial1 accompanying the published review. Naproxen was found to neither increase nor decrease cardiac risk.
Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: American Medical Association, arthritis, atherosclerosis, Australia, David Graham, David Henry, Europe, heart attack, heart disease, New South Wales, Newcastle Mater Hospital, pain, Patricia McGettigan, safety official, the Journal of the American Medical Association, University of Newcastle in New South Wales, US Food and Drug Administration, vioxx, Waratah

Chitosan: Origins of Chitosan

Chitosan has long been considered as the potent substance that binds fat and stop it from accumulating in our bodies. Chitosan is effectively a fantastic fat inhibitor which work wonders for those in search of a safe way to lose that body fat.

What is chitosan made from? It is taken from chitin, a polysaccharide found in the exoskeletons of crustaceans and cell walls of fungi. It is manufactured by removing the shells from the shellfish like lobster, shrimps and crabs.

The History of Chitosan

The origin of chitosan can be traced back to 1811 when “chitin”, from which it is derived, was first discovered by Braconnot, a then professor of the natural history in France. According to some researches, while Braconnot was conducting research on mushrooms, he isolated what was later to be called chitin.

Twenty years later, there was a man who wrote an article on insects in which he noted that similar substance was present in the structure of insects as well as the structure of plants. He then called this astounding substance as “chitin”.

Basically, the name chitin is derived from Greek, meaning “tunic” or “envelope”. The concept was further known in 1843 when Lassaigne demonstrated the presence of nitrogen in chitin.

Following the discovery of chitin, the name “chitosan” emerged in the scene. It was first discovered by Rouget while experimenting with chitin. Rouget observed that the compound of chitin could be manipulated through chemical and temperature treatments for it to become soluble. Then, it was in 1878 when Ledderhose identified chitin to be made of glucosamine and acetic acid. It was not actually until 1894 that Hoppe-Seyler named the tailored chitin, chitosan.

During the early 20th century, several researches took chitosan as their subject of study. They then involved sources of chitin, including crab shells and fungai. It was the work of Rammelberg in the 1930s that led to the confirmation on the identity of chitosan from these sources. It was also noted that by hydrolyzing chitin in several ways, it was determined by experts that chitin is a polysaccharide of glucosamine.

During the 1950s, the use of x-ray analysis had advanced the study of the incidence of chitin or chitosan in fungai. However, it is only the most advanced technologies that proved the most reliable in accepting the existence of chitin as well as cellulose in the cell walls. The first book on chitosan was published 140 years after the initial observation of Braconnot, and that was in 1951.

During the early 1960s, chitosan was examined for its ability to bind with the red blood cells. That time also, the substance was considered as a hemostatic agent. Then, for the past three decades, chitosan has been used at water purification plants for detoxifying water. It is spread over the surface where it absorbs greases, oils, and other potential toxins.

Nowadays, Chitosan it is known as a dietary supplement that is good for weight loss. In fact, it has been marketed for such purpose for about 20 years in Japan as well as in Europe.

What is Chitosan used for

Chitin has long been viewed as the nature’s second most abundant polymer. This is for the fact that it is found not only in shellfish, but also found in insect shells and fungi cell walls. Chitosan, a refined form of chitin, is prepared by removing the shells from shellfish. The shells are then ground into a pulverous powder, which is deacetylated or stripped of specific chemical groups allowing the compound to actively soak up fats. This aspect of it being able to absorb fat is the main feature which makes it effective in helping weight loss.

There are a number of functions or uses linked to chitosan. Because of these applications, chitosan is now marketed as a dietary supplement and is used to thicken foods, paints and makeup.

Liquid Chitosan

Chitosan is made in two main types, namely the dry and flakey product, and the liquid chitosan.

Although these forms are marketed as dietary aids, it is actually the liquid chitosan which gained a lot of interest from the people. This is mainly because the liquid chitosan is said to eliminate clumping problems or stomach pains as it causes the fat to form into hundreds of tiny calorie-free beads that are far gentler on your digestive tract.

The liquid chitosan is often identified by its appearance, color, protein content, degree of deacetylation, viscosity, insoluble, and other factors. Here is a summary of these factors:

Liquid chitosan is clear and yellow. Its protein content is less than 0.5% and often results to 0.14% if measured by Kjeldal method. Its degree of deacetylation is more than 90% with a result of 95% if measured through colloidal method. If you will prepare liquid chitosan by stirring 30 minutes, you can get a viscosity of about 50cps. Liquid chitosan has less than 0.5% insolubility if 20 grams of liquid chitosan is dissolved in 100 ml of distilled water. Liquid chitosan has a pH level of less than 5.5. Liquid chitosan has no taste and smell.

Liquid chitosan is commonly used as a weight loss supplement these days. Many of those who have used the flakey product have turned to the liquid form noting that liquid chitosan works better in the system than the flakey form.

Based on certain reports, instead of forming large clumps, the liquid chitosan causes the fat to form into hundreds of tiny calorie-free beads that are gentler in your digestive tract. However, it is important to note that in addition to binding fats, it binds the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, making them unavailable to the body. This is the reason that most experts recommend a supplement with high-quality multivitamin.

Chitosan Recomendations

So, although Chitosan is taken as a ‘wonder’ pill of today, it has been around for ages and has been a subject since 1811. I am still not convinced about the abilities of Chitosan but again I say that in the absence of any side effects this is another product that you can try for weight loss, maybe for a couple of months, and then decide how it made you feel and whether you had a good response to it and go from there.

Tags: acetic acid, Braconnot, chemical groups, Dietary Supplement, Europe, flakey product, France, Japan, professor of the natural history, Rouget, x-ray

Is Caralluma the next Hoodia?

As we have all heard and I have written here. Hoodia is one of the most popular weight loss products on the market today even if there is very little research confirming it but in the world of weight loss anectodal evidence is all that really matters. Caralluma is the same type of plant, a succulent and many people believe that it will be the next hoodia with some research,however small, showing positive results and people are making some weight losses. The really nice thing about Caralluma and Hoodia is that they have been used voer thousands of years and we know that in using them in moderation there are no obvious health issues.

Caralluma fimbriata is a succulent plant, in the cactus family. Where have we heard this before? Hoodia anyone? Caralluma has been used as a natural appetite suppressant in India for centuries. Caralluma is a “new” disovery in the west in the family of cactii and succulent plants that are becoming increasingly popular for their appetite suppressant, and weight loss properties, as well as their ability to lower blood sugar. Supplements made from the popular hoodia gordonii cactus from the Kalahari Desert in Africa, are very popularfor weight loss in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.

Like hoodia, Caralluma Fimbriata has been used to suppress appetite, and as a portable food for the outdoors as opposed to how we in the west have always used dried fruit and dried meat. It is used to suppress hunger and appetite, and enhance endurance throughout India. It is also sometimes considered a “famine food,” used during periods of famine to suppress appetite.

Caralluma Fimbriata is essentially a vegetable of daily use in tribal India. It is eaten in several forms. It is cooked as a regular vegetable with spices and salt. It is used in preserves like chutneys and pickles and is even eaten raw. Indian tribals chew chunks of Caralluma Fimbriata to suppress hunger when on a day’s hunt. This succulent is used amongst the labor classes in South India to suppress appetite and enhance endurance.

Two clinical trials of a proprietary Caralluma fimbriata extract (Gencor Pacific, Inc., Austin, TX) found the product to be without any serious side effects.6,11 The extract is described as a powder alcohol and water extract of the shade-dried aerial parts of the plant and containing not less than 10% total saponin glycosides, 3% bitters, and 25% total pregnane glycosides.7 Specific active components are noted to include luteolin-4?-O-neohesperidoside, kaempferol-7-O-neohesperidoside, sitosterol, tomentogenin, and pregnane glycosides, including caratubersides A and B and various boucerosides.6

In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial on potential weight-loss effects, the Caralluma extract was administered in gelatin capsules initially to 62 obese subjects, 50 of whom completed the 8-week study. Subjects were of both genders, in normal health, not taking medications, and had not dietary restrictions during the trial. Reasons why the 12 subjects failed to complete the trial and the dosage used and quantitative results are not found in the summary made available for this report. According to the trial summary, reductions in the indicators of weight-loss were statistically significant and all adverse effects were gastrointestinal (constipation, moderate acidity, and flatulence), reported by both the placebo and the extract treatments groups, and transient (subsided within 7 days without further incidence).6

A 4-week, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of Caralluma was conducted in 26 overweight subjects (7 in the placebo group and 19 in the extract group; 9 men and 15 women ages 31 to 73). The extract was supplied in gelatin capsules at a dosage of one 500-mg capsule 30 min. before each meal. Subjects were instructed to maintain their previous exercise pattern and food intake and not to make any changes in their diet during 4 weeks before the treatment period, neither of which are described in the publication made available for this report. One male in each of the treatment arms of the trial failed to appear for final assessments; however, the reasons for their absence were not stated in the publication. The only adverse effects reported were from one subject in the final placebo group (3 males and 3 females) and one in the final extract treatment group who both complained of bloating and acidity shortly after beginning treatment and upon starting treatment again after ceasing. Subsequently, both discontinued the Caralluma capsules. The trial summary states that over 80% of those in the final treatment group (5 men and 13 women) lost weight with 11 out of 18 subjects losing approximately 6 pounds. Others lost 1-2 pounds (n=4) or maintained their starting weight (n=2). The exceptions in the extract group were one woman who lost 8 pounds, another who lost 9 pounds, and one who deviated from the trial instructions by increasing her calorie intake and gained 17 pounds. Three subjects in the placebo group (n=6) gained a pound and one subject lost one pound.

Take this as you would like but it seems that Caralluma is poised to be one of the new most popular weight loss products. One thing to watch for in the news is how easily this product will be to grow and produce as there are many companies that can package and market and with few if any side effects there will be very little resistance to a “new” indian weight loss product.

Tags: Africa, Austin, bloating, Canada, constipation, Europe, famine food, food intake, Gencor Pacific Inc., India, indian weight loss product, Kalahari desert, portable food, United States, weight loss products