Exercise
Tips For Safe Exercise After Open Heart Surgery
There are a number of reasons for which you might undergo open-heart surgery. Coronary artery bypass grafting surgery is quite common and is indicated for coronary artery disease (blocked arteries) either after a heart attack or to prevent a heart attack. Mitral and/or aortic valve repair or replacement are also common and may stem from a childhood case of rheumatic fever [...]
Ab Wave Review: Fat Marketing Promises Thin on Truth
The Ab Wave is 2012′s addition to a long line of questionable infomercial exercise gimmicks with little redeeming value. Unlike other ab gadgets, this one takes lazy to a whole new level. You actually sit in the machine and then swing side to side [...]
Permanent Fat Loss Principles: The “Secret” is No Secret
You trudge away on the treadmill and scrape by on seeds and sprouts, but the bathroom scale won’t budge. Self-proclaimed health “gurus” and hokey fitness gimmick infomercial hosts promise you can cull the kilos (or pare away the pounds) [...]
Ab Circle Pro Review-Short Version: Fat Marketing Claims Thin on Truth
My original Ab Circle Pro review went viral across the fitness industry. I received countless emails from health professionals praising me for taking the time to stand up against such abject nonsense which, to the trained eye, appears to be nothing more than a useless gimmick meant to turn a buck off unsuspecting consumers. Unfortunately, the article was extremely long so by popular demand I have crafted a point by point short version [...]
Nutrition
Protein Requirements: How Much Do I Need?
Protein is a nutrition rock star. It has a great marketing machine behind it, but just how much protein do you really need? Television morning show hosts and robotic news anchors promote protein with reckless abandon and little concern for the [...]
Herbal Supplements For Weight Loss: Getting Ripped or Ripped Off?
The popularity of herbal supplements is soaring. With the public’s growing distrust of the medical establishment, people are shying away from prescription and over the counter weight loss drugs, instead opting for the “natural, help yourself” approach. However, tip-toeing through a virtual herbal minefield can be confusing, if not downright intimidating without an earned doctorate in botany.
High Protein Diets for Weight Loss? What You’re Really Losing
Do High Protein Diets Work For Weight Loss? The bottom line is yes, high protein diets DO cause weight loss. HOWEVER, the caveat is that the associated weight loss is not all fat, particularly on diets which induce quick initial weight loss. While I’m quick to offer a pat on the back to anyone who’s lost weight, I often caution against [...]
Doctors’ Nutrition Knowledge: Settling the Doctor vs. Dietitian Debate
Would you buy a diet book written by a medical doctor? Legions of self-styled health gurus with just enough nutrition knowledge to be dangerous love having a dig at doctors who “know nothing about diet because they get less than 25 hours [...]
Fat Loss
Arena Belviq Diet Drug Review: Is it Safe and Effective for Long-Term Weight Loss?
Belviq may help some individuals, but it is not a magic bullet. Consumers should be well-aware that there may be future risks which are not yet evident. The best available evidence still holds that lifestyle changes which include nutrient-rich foods [...]
Caralluma Fimbriata Review: Is it Effective for Appetite and Weight Control?
I was recently approached by a company with a financial interest in the sale of the herbal slimming pill caralluma fimbriata. Their aim was to line up a PhD-level academic to go on a prime-time TV program [...]
Is Sugar Bad For You? Sifting Through the Sugar Wars
No other single nutrient has been more misrepresented and maligned than carbohydrate. Sugar, as it’s commonly known, has been singularly scapegoated as the culprit behind our expanding waistlines, chronic diseases, and child hyperactivity disorders – among others. The mass media, ever thirsty for sensationalized headlines [...]
Exercise for Thyroid Disorders (Hypothyroidism and Hyperthyroidism)
There is very limited scientific research surrounding the impact of exercise training on thyroid function and specific exercise guidelines have yet to be established. Dr. Bill Sukala sifts through the science to provide sensible and prudent exercise guidelines for thyroid disorders hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism.
Health Q&A
How Do I Overcome a Weight Loss Plateau?
People tell me how great their workouts were going, how much weight (fat) they were losing, but then a brick wall in the form of a weight loss plateau. But what IS a weight loss plateau, what causes it, and how do you overcome it and get back on track towards your health and fitness goals?
How Can I Speed Up My Metabolism to Lose Weight and Keep It Off?
It’s a common question, but what exactly is metabolism? Simply put, it’s your internal calorie-burning firepit – the amount of energy your body burns to sustain itself. This includes your resting metabolic rate and additional calories (or kJ) expended from physical activity and digestion. Your metabolism is influenced by a number of factors…
How Do I Measure My Body Mass Index (BMI) – And What Does It Mean?
Most people these days have heard of body mass index (BMI), but might be a little bit confused on how to calculate it. But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, what is BMI and what do the numbers tell us?
Why Does My Body Weight Fluctuate So Much?
When you’re trying to lose weight, it’s easy to obsess over the numbers on the bathroom scales as you measure your progress. But fear not, daily weight fluctuations are nothing to worry about and I guarantee you have not put on more fat overnight. Small daily variations in scale weight are completely normal. For example, [...]
Supplement Reviews
Raspberry Ketones Review of Marketing Claims
The self-proclaimed weight loss “experts” are at it again touting the latest fashionable supplement du jour. Raspberry ketones (RK) derived – not so surprisingly – from raspberries purportedly help you lose that extra fat once and for all. Suppliers can’t keep up with the demand since television health evangelist Dr. Oz and supplement-spruiking sid-kick Lisa Lynn [...]
LifePharm Global’s Laminine: Independent Review of Marketing Claims
LifePharm Global’s Laminine dietary supplement popped onto my consumer advocacy radar last week when I received a new Twitter follower whose profile referenced some sort of happy pill. I chased up the lead which led me to an egg protein pill and, after further investigation, I located what appeared to be ground zero: LifePharm Global’s Laminine [...]
Review of Bob Harper Smart Success Weight Loss Supplement – Clinically-Proven Nonsense
…but as I sat back and pondered the bigger picture, it’s that these Biggest Loser trainers attain worldwide fame and then seemingly toss their ethics out the door to hawk dietary supplements using flimsy or misleading marketing. They overlook obvious gaping holes in the product’s scientific merit big enough for their cash cow to do a somersault through it. I think if Bob Harper or any of the other trainers out there were worth their professional salt….
Calorad Collagen Weight Loss Potion: Review of Marketing Claims
Calorad collagen dietary supplements stormed onto the scene around the mid to late 1990s with claims that you can “lose weight while you sleep.” The marketing claims the product can improve a multitude of ills.
Health Watchdog
Zaggora Hot Pants: Review of Bioceramic Anti-Cellulite Slimming Shorts
Zaggora Hotpants™ are the latest in a long line of slimming garments which purportedly “reduce the appearance of cellulite” and trim inches off your hips and thighs, with the effect further enhanced by wearing them during exercise. This sounds impressive, but is there any merit to these claims?
Sugar Alone Does Not Cause Obesity
Sugar is well and truly on the media hit list. Everyone loves to hate sugar, but is it all just overblown hype and hysteria? Could sugar really be all that unhealthy and fattening for us? A careful review of common sugar myths shows that the hysteria may actually be more harmful than sugar itself! It [...]
HCG Diet Review – Does it Work?: No Evidence For Safety and Efficacy
What’s all this talk about the HCG Diet these days? Does it work? Is it safe? I’ll get right down to it and I’m not going to exercise any diplomacy in my choice of words: I’m calling the HCG diet yet another gimmicky, too-good-to-be-true, quick-fix diet which will probably only leave you lighter in the wallet and less healthy in the long run. The preponderance of scientific evidence shows that it has no effect on fat loss beyond that which can be accomplished by just reducing calorie intake.
Ab Circle Pro 2.0 Review: Recycled Infomercial Garbage
I had hoped the Ab Circle Pro would die a quick death after my exhaustive product review from June of last year (Ab Circle Pro Review: Fat Marketing Claims Thin on Truth). The article went viral across the global fitness industry and I received a tremendous number of supportive emails and not a single negative one. But much to my chagrin, Jennifer Nicole Lee is back with a rehashed version of the product not so creatively dubbed the Ab Circle Pro version 2.0. As far as I can tell [...]
