Trade name “Tonalin” – CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid) is a naturally occurring fatty acid that is found in primarily meat and dairy products, and is also derived from safflower oil. CLA has gained a lot of attention in the past few years, due to its safe and effective use as a weight-loss product.  CLA not only helps with weight loss, but converts excess fat into lean muscle mass.

There have been numerous studies showing that CLA is being used for other health benefits besides weight loss, but the main reason of its popularity seems to be focused on the reduction of body fat. CLA increase lean muscle mass which helps slim the body; because the more muscle mass, the more the body uses up calories, thereby speeding up the fat-burning process. Some of the studies have shown that people taking this supplement lost a significant amount of weight without changing their diet. CLA interferes with a substance in the body called “lipoprotein lipase” which stores fat in the body. By interfering with this substance, the body uses stored fat and turns it into energy.

Not only does this remarkable supplement help burn fat, but it seems to interfere with the growth of tumors and cancer. It has a great cancer-fighting potential. It has also been shown to be effective against breast cancer. Some of the other health benefits of using CLA, are for an enhanced immune system, as well as for anti-inflammatory and antioxidant protection. Another interesting point is that CLA seems to have the ability to prevent the build-up of cholesterol deposits in the arteries.

Diabetics may also benefit from CLA, because of its ability to normalize impaired glucose tolerance in people who are non-insulin dependant; thus playing an important part for the treatment of Type 1 Diabetes. Studies are still being conducted at many universities to explore other aspects of using CLA.

Suggested use of this supplement should be 1 capsule with each meal. Although this supplement has no known side effects, caution should be used if you suffer from gallbladder problems, liver disease, or if you have a problem with fat digestion. Make sure you are getting pure CLA (Tonalin). CLA can be found in health food stores.

About the Author

Patricia is a Nutrition Consultant in the Los Angeles area, and has written articles on herbs, nutrition and alternative healing methods for over ten years. Many of her articles are featured in several publications.

Patricia Valle

You may be considering weight loss surgery if you are overweight or obese. For many people, surgical weight reduction is one of the only viable ways to lose a significant amount of weight and enjoy better health. However, it’s important to realize that this is a very serious undertaking. You should definitely spend time researching the topic and, if possible, talking with people who have already had a weight reduction procedure performed. Understanding the benefits and risks involved with weight loss surgery is absolutely vital to making an informed decision. To help you get started, here is a brief guide…

Benefits:

* Fast Weight Loss: Obviously this is the biggest benefit of weight loss surgery. Immediately following the surgery most people begin to lose weight quickly. This rapid weight loss usually continues for at least a year and a half, leading to a very significant reduction in body weight. It’s important to note however that many people begin to regain weight within 2 years, especially if they have not made any healthy lifestyle/diet changes!

* Improvement of Obesity-Related Health Conditions: For many people, the improvement in their overall health, following weight loss surgery, is just as important as the weight loss itself. And for good reason: people who have suffered from debilitating obesity-related conditions (such as diabetes) for years often experience tremendous improvements within a short period of time.

Risk and Side-Effects:

* Death: A small percentage of weight loss surgery patients die during the operation or from complications in the days and weeks following the surgery.

* Post-surgery complications: Some patients must have follow-up procedures to correct complications, which can include infections and hernias.

* Nutritional deficiencies: Some types of weight loss surgeries reduce the body’s ability to absorb important vitamins and minerals. Many patients must take diet supplements on a daily basis or risk developing anemia, osteoporosis, metabolic bone disease, etc.

* Gallstones: More than a third of gastric surgery patients develop gallstones due to the rapid weight loss that occurs in the months following a weight reduction procedure.

* Side-effects: Some of the most common side-effects experienced by weight loss surgery patients include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bloating, excessive sweating, increased gas, and dizziness.

As you can see, weight loss surgery carries some huge benefits along with some very significant risks. If you are severely obese, it is definitely an option for reducing your body weight and improving – or even eliminating – many of your obesity-related health conditions. Just understand the risk and be prepared to make some relatively extensive lifestyle changes after the procedure. If you are not severely obese you should definitely consider diet and exercise options before you think about weight loss surgery.

About the Author

Jay Romano is a writer for LesserTummy.com. Get more up-to-date and useful information about weight loss surgery at http://www.lessertummy.com.

Jay Romano

Drugs stores and health food shops have shelves that are overflowing with weight loss supplements that claim to burn body fat, block fat absorption, inhibit carbohydrate metabolism, boost energy, suppress the appetite, flush out excess water weight, and control dietary cravings. But do these products really work as they promise? And is there any danger to giving them a try? Read on to learn more about weight loss supplements.

Weight Loss Supplements
The Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, a clearinghouse for information on natural brand-name products, lists more than fifty weight loss supplements and 125 proprietary weight loss products. According to a recent survey reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, approximately seven percent of Americans use over the counter weight loss supplements. And of those who do use these products, almost thirty percent of them are young, overweight women.

Weight Loss Supplements–The Risks
Some weight loss supplements help to control the appetite, but they may have serious side effects. Other can become habit forming, and still others do nothing at all. Here’s a look at the risks associated with common weight loss supplements.

Stomach Fillers: Weight loss supplements that contain bulking agents such as fiber-based products, are known as stomach fillers. These products absorb liquid and swell in the stomach, reducing the appetite. Guar gum is a common ingredient used as a stomach filler, however this ingredient can cause obstructions in the intestines, the stomach, or the esophagus. Avoid any dietary supplement that contains guar gum.

Appetite Suppressants: Some weight loss supplements are appetite suppressants, and they may contain amphetamine derivatives that are highly addictive. They also lose efficacy when used over long periods, so dieters are forced to take more and more pills to achieve results. Appetite suppressants that contain amphetmine derivatives are a high-risk method of weight loss. Some products however contained researched clinically studied mild suppressants and can be used safely such as SlimirexT.

Ephedra, also known as ma huang, is another popular appetite suppressant ingredient found in many weight loss supplements. However, in some cases ephedra can cause heart palpitations, heart attacks, and stroke. The Food and drug Administration urges caution for anyone who is considering a weight loss supplement that contains ephedra. People who have heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney disease, heart trouble, neurological disorders, diabetes, or hyperthyroidism should not use ephedra. And completely avoid any product that contains both ephedra and caffeine. The Food and Drug Administration considers these two ingredients to be a “deadly combination.”

Weight Loss Supplements—Federal Regulations
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has had some success in suing the marketers of weight loss supplements that claim to burn or absorb fat. Several state attorney generals have also been involved in legal action against weight loss supplement manufacturers. In addition, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has banned over one hundred ingredients that were once commonly found in over the counter weight loss supplements. These banned ingredients include alcohol, caffeine, dextrose, and guar gum. But many federal and state regulations can do little more than work to prevent the really dangerous weight loss supplements off of the market. Unfortunately, under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, manufacturers of dietary supplements are not required to provide evidence that their products are safe or even effective. The burden rests on the FDA to prove that a product is either unsafe or ineffective.

Weight Loss Supplements–Should You Try Them?
If you decide incorporate a weight loss supplement into your weight loss program, be sure to read all of the literature associated with the product. Carefully assess the claims and risks and understand the directions for use. And use common sense; some weight loss supplements require that you follow a very restricted low-calorie diet and exercise several times a week for full effectiveness. But these steps are likely to guarantee weight loss on their own, without the need of a weight loss supplement.

Still, there are some medical professionals that do not see harm in taking weight loss supplements that are made of safe, all-natural ingredients like Slimirex. Natural fiber supplements may be another good choice. These products may or may not leave you feeling fuller longer. But they will be effective at stimulating the digestive system, keeping waste and nutrients moving through the system, and improving regularity.

Taking the product SlimirexT can help you manage your weight. For more information on weight loss go to http://www.weightlossobesity.com or http://www.slimirex.com

About the Author

Dr. Group, the founder/CEO and clinical director for the Global Healing Center, heads a research and development team producing advanced, new, natural health protocols and products. To learn more visit http://www.ghchealth.com.

Dr. Edward F. Group III, DC, Ph.D, ND, DACBN

When it comes to obesity, an ounce of prevention is worth far more than a pound of cure. According to goverment surveys, nearly 60 million Americans are obese and 9 million are extremely obese.

There are many reasons for people who are obese to lose weight. Taking charge of your weight is one of the best ways to stay healthy and live a longer, more productive life. Staying motivated is a big part of weight loss success, because all diets work–if you stick to them. Most successful dieters tell health care providers that they lost weight and kept it off by doing their own thing. In other words, they devised a personal plan they could literally live with.

According to the National Institutes of Health, in 1999, almost 108 million Americans were overweight or obese. These conditions substantially increase the risk of morbidity from hypertension, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder problems, sleep apnea, respiratory problems, and breast, colon and prostate cancers. Please use this site to help set goals for your weight loss and learn about the several factors that influence your weight. Remember, there are no “super foods” that either cause you to gain weight or lose weight. The answer is in the number of calories consumed and the amount of exercise used to burn off those calories.

The terms overweight and obesity are used by health experts to indicate increased body weight in relation to height, when compared to some standard of acceptable or desirable weight. Health care providers use body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference measurements to provide useful estimates of overweight, obesity, and body fat distribution. Body mass index (BMI) is the most common measure of expressing the relationship (ratio) or weight to height. A BMI or 18.5 to 24.9 is considered healthy. A person with BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight, and a person with a BMI of 30 or more is considered obese.

You can calculate your own BMI by first multiplying your weight(in pounds) by 703 and then dividing that answer by your height (in inches) squared. For example, for someone who is 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 220 pounds, the calculation would look like this: 220 X 703 = 154,660 divided by (67 inches X 67 inches = 4,489) which results in a BMI of 34.45. By definition, that person would be looked upon by the medical community as being obese.

Obesity is actually defined as an “excessively high amount of body fat or adipose tissue in relation to lean body mass.” The amount of body fat includes concern for both the distribution of fat throughout the body and the size of the adipose tissue deposits. Body fat distribution can be estimated by skinfold measures, waist-to-hip circumference ratios, or techniques such as ultrasound, computed tomography, or magnetic resonance imaging.

You didn’t gain 100 pounds in a month and you likely will not lose 100 pounds in a month. Losing weight, although sometimes difficult, can be done. Starting with small and easy steps–taking the stairs at work instead of the elevator, eating off smaller plates, eating fewer fats and calories, taking a family walk after dinner, drinking diet soda, not taking seconds, more carrots (less cake), drinking lots of water, washing your car by hand, asking a friend to exercise with you–all of these can help you lose your excess pounds.

If you are obese, losing just 5% of your weight can have significant health benefits. Using small steps and simple tips you can successfully and sensibly lose the weight AND keep it off. The result will be a better appearance, and a healthier, more satisfied you. Lose the weight, regain your energy, increase your self confidence, and start living again. You CAN do it!

About the Author

Larry Denton is a retired history teacher having taught 33 years at Hobson High in Hobson, Montana. He is currently Vice President of Elfin Enterprises, Inc., an Internet business dedicated to providing useful information and valuable resources on a variety of timely topics. For a gym full of information, resources and suggestions about
obesity, visit http://www.ObesityAide.com

Larry Denton

When we discover that we are heavier than we want to be, we have a natural inclination to eat less food. We may skip lunch or eat only a tiny amount of our dinner in the hope that if we eat less our body will burn off some of its fat. But that is not necessarily true. Eating less can actually sometimes make it more difficult to lose weight because of the imbalance in your lifestyle.

Keep in mind that the human body took shape millions of years ago, and at that time, there were no such things as diets, let alone fad diets. The only low-calorie event in people’s lives was starvation. Those who could cope with a temporary lack of food were the ones who survived. pianos for sale . Our bodies therefore, have developed this built-in mechanism to help us survive in the face of low food intake.

Losing weight is not something you can do overnight. A carefully planned weight loss program requires common sense and certain guidelines. Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation floating around and lots of desperate people are easily duped and ripped off.

Every day you can open a magazine or newspaper and see advertisements promoting products, pills or patches that will take excess weight off quickly. Everyone seems to be looking for that magic weight loss pill. Millions of people are trying to lose weight, spending billions of dollars every year on diet programs and products without long-term success.

Often people do lose some weight but if you went back and checked with the same people five years later, you would find that nearly all of them have regained whatever weight they lost due to the fact that their lifestyle didn’t change.

The myth is that people get heavy by eating too many calories. Calories are a consideration it’s true, but overall they are not the cause of obesity. People actually take in fewer calories each day than they did at the beginning of the last century. If calories alone were the reason we become overweight, then we should all be overweight. But we are not.

Collectively, we are heavier than ever. Partly it is because we are more sedentary now than ever before. But equally as important is the fact that the fat content of the western diet has changed dramatically. And because it’s quicker and easier than ever before to purchase junk food full of saturated fat, people simply eat too much of it without considering the health related problems of eating so poorly. In a lot of cases it’s not until people are actually confronted with the real possibility of something happening to them that they take action and commence a dieting plan.

On the other hand, when most people decide to do something about their weight or determine that they want to change their lifestyle, a lot of the time it’s a spur of the moment decision or a New Year’s resolution. Deciding to lose weight without having put any thought or planning into it is like wanting to get a house built without a plan.

People find out and plan their holiday destination, plan to build a home and yet when it comes to losing weight, they don’t plan a thing. There is a great saying along the lines of – people don’t plan to fail, but rather they fail to plan. It’s so very true. If people took the same approach to weight loss as they did at planning their holidays, then their chances of success would be as good as having a great holiday.

The average person simply does not plan to lose weight, they just want it to happen and unfortunately it just doesn’t happen that way. As a minimum before commencing any dieting plan, people should have short, medium and long term weight loss goals. They should also write down who inspires them to help them keep motivated through the tougher times.

It’s very important to know what’s being eaten on a daily basis before commencing a diet, so a food diary is an absolute must. People need to sit down and plan their meals. If meals are being planned in advance then it’s more likely that sensible eating habits will become a part of a healthy lifestyle. Along with planning meals, people should plan to make time in the day to exercise.

To reduce body fat there does need to be a focus on increasing the amount of exercise that’s done and not just solely on food intake. People who diet without exercising often get fatter with time. Although a persons weight may initially drop while dieting, such weight loss consists mostly of water and muscle. When the weight returns, it comes back as fat. To avoid getting fatter over time, increase the metabolism by exercising regularly.

Leading experts now recommend that people who want to lose weight should start increasing their physical activity. dallas dentist . Just being more active in general such as climbing the stairs instead of taking the elevator, moving around instead of sitting still, sitting up instead of lying down as well as showing some excitement and enthusiasm instead of boredom are things that more effectively burn calories and reduce body fat.

Generally these days people are more aware and accepting of the fact that they need to be exercising and a lot of people do commence exercising when they want to do something about their weight. But what they don’t do, is change their eating and drinking habits. They still eat the same bad foods and probably more of it under the illusion that everything will be fine because of the amount of exercising they are doing.

At the beginning of a new exercise and dieting campaign people may take to the streets by walking slowly around in the hope of losing weight. They exercise like this for a few weeks, they don’t lose any weight and then they quit. And the reason they quit is a very simple one; they become frustrated and disillusioned about not having lost any weight.

Quitting is inevitable because the only thing that changed for these people in those few short weeks is that they started walking. However it’s very unlikely anybody is going to lose weight by just by walking slowly around the street and not changing any other aspects of their lifestyle.

People do the right thing as far as starting to exercise is concerned but they want instant gratification, it’s the quick fix syndrome. Instead of looking at the long-term picture and working on changing their overall lifestyle habits to accommodate gradual weight loss, it’s the same old thinking of I want it now. And because it doesn’t happen now, they quit and any weight that has been lost goes straight back on.

Though what’s been written to this point are some of the main areas where people and diets going wrong, the biggest mistake people tend to make when starting a diet is to restrict what it is they eat to such a degree that the body doesn’t get enough of the essential vitamins and minerals, nutrients, fibre, carbohydrates and protein to support weight loss. When people do this, what they eventually end up doing is put the body into survival mode and slow down their metabolism.

Weight loss will occur initially but generally it’s only excess water weight that is lost and because the bodies metabolism has slowed down, most of what’s eaten is then stored as fat because the body is storing it for later use (survival). When people then give up on their diet and go back to eating what they were having before, they put the weight back on as quickly as they lost it and gain more weight because their metabolism is still working as slow as when they stopped dieting.

So where people and diets go wrong is through the lack of planning, not having any goals, lack of inspiration to stay motivated, not eating sensibly, skipping meals, restricting what they eat, making bad rather than common sense choices, having the wrong mindset, acting on a whim, not exercising or not enough vigorous exercise, the lack of commitment and not being mentally prepared to handle the bad days that come along.

If people sat down and mapped out a plan of what it is they wanted from a change of lifestyle just as they would if they were going on a holiday or building the dream home they always wanted, then the majority of people wouldn’t fail. A point to remember is that the more a person knows about themselves in terms of what they’re doing before starting a weight loss plan, can make a huge difference to their long term success.

When it comes to losing weight and being able to maintain it there are no shortcuts. denver retirement homes . People need to focus on the long-term health benefits of a change of lifestyle rather than wasting their time on unhealthy quick fix diets.

Successful long-term weight loss comes from a combination of all the things that have been mentioned in this article. The chances of success for those people who implement any of the ideas contained here are going to be far greater than for those people who decide do something about their weight problem based on a whim.

Copyright © 2005 Mark Allan. All rights reserved.

This article may be freely distributed electronically or in print as long as the author’s bio and links are included.

About the Author

Mark Allan is a health, wellness and weight loss mentor and author of the eBook “How to Eat and Drink What You Want and Looook Great”. Log in and get a FREE personal online weight loss profile at www.easilylookgreat.com and find out what can be done to help you lose weight, gain weight or maintain your weight by simply changing your lifestyle.