Hello and welcome to Health Matters. Please feel free to ask questions relating to health and nutrition.
There is an independent company called consumer lab that performs tests on vitamin supplements to determine if the supplements contain what is printed on the label or if there are unwanted elements in the supplements. Two recent MSNBC articles report the findings of these tests. Some vitamins for human and pets were found to contain lead. Others contained much higher dosages of vitamins than what was printed on the label. When glucosamine and chondroitin supplements were analyzed, it was found that many contained less chondroitin than what was printed on the label.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16655168/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18027830/
A study conducted on 1,000 Americans found that many people are unaware of the difference between good and bad fats, the need to eat breakfast everyday, and the importance of physical activity.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18944144/wid/11915773?GT1=10109
Not only is this a problem for adults, but also for the children they are raising. The Health Plan for Overweight Children will teach you the difference between good and bad fats, how to encourage your child to eat breakfast in the morning, and how to include fun activities in your child’s life.
3 comments drlangon | Weight Loss, Weight Loss in Children |
This is a concept that can make a big difference in the nutrient content of your diet. Nutrient density involves eating foods that provide the maximum amount of nutrients for the calories a food provides. When you compare whole milk and skim milk, skim milk is more nutrient dense because you receive the benefit of calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin D without the additional calories and saturated fat. Lets say for lunch, one person eats a candy bar and a can of soda. Another person eats a turkey sandwich on wheat bread with a slice of tomato and lettuce. The second lunch is much more nutrient dense because there are vitamin, minerals, protein, fiber, and other beneficial nutrients consumed. The person eating the candy bar with a soda is consuming empty calories. Foods that provide empty calories are very low in nutrient density. Sources of empty calories such as candy, soda, and alcohol should be avoided.
Alli is actually not a new drug, it is a low-dose version of prescription Xenical (orlistat), which has the same undesirable side effect- inability to control bowel movements when a large amount of fats are consumed.
My argument with weight loss pills, is that they all require you to follow a well balanced, low calorie diet, and exercise (see the FDA information link: http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/orlistat_otc/). A multivitamin is suggested because this product blocks the absorption of fat (thus the fatty, oily stools), but also blocks the absorption of the fat soluble vitamins- A, D, E, & K. If that was done without the pills, people would still lose weight.
I also do not think that the one page “key to successful weight loss” they provide is anywhere near thorough enough. My other concern is that the product is only approved for those 18 and older, yet it is available over the counter. What is to stop a child from obtaining and using the pills?
The FDA has established new regulations to ensure the safety, purity, and label accuracy of dietary supplements. ConsumerLab is an independent company that evaluates dietary supplements. Several were found to contain dangerous levels of lead. Others had more or less of an ingredient than the label claimed the product contained.
This ruling is not effective immediately. The rule has a three-year phase-in process. According to the FDA, “companies with more than 500 employees have until June 2008 to comply, companies with less than 500 employees have until June 2009 to comply, and companies with fewer than 20 employees have until June 2010 to comply with the regulations.”
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01657.html
The Health Plan for Overweight Children: A Parent’s Guide to Raising a Healthier Child is now available from iUniverse. The book will be available from Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Books-a-Million and many other online retailers in the next several weeks. I will post when the book becomes available through these other avenues.
Click here for the paperback ($12,95)
Click here for the e-book ($6.00)
Click here for the hard cover ($22.95)
This book promotes a healthier lifestyle by focusing on health rather than weight loss. Strategies are provided to promote activity among all children, not just those who enjoy sports; to deal with emotional eating; and to address the unique issues facing single parents and two-working-parent families.
Yes and No.
First of all what is BMI? Body mass index (BMI) is a comparison between an individual’s height and weight. The BMI that is considered normal is between 18.5 and 24.9. A BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight, and above 30 is considered obese. A BMI below 18.5 is considered underweight.
Click here for the CDC BMI Calculator for adults and children.While BMI can be a good overall indicator of weight, it does not take body composition into consideration. This is a major disadvantage to using the BMI to determine if someone is health or not. For example, if someone has a large percentage of muscle mass (lean tissue), they can fall into the overweight category even though they have a healthy body. One the other end of the spectrum, someone can fall into a “normal” BMI category but have a large percentage of body fat, which is not considered healthy.
So, while you can use BMI as a general indicator. It is very helpful to have body fat assessments performed. One of the easiest methods (which is performed at most gyms) is the skinfold caliper. These calipers are used to measure the fat underneath the skin in several areas of the body and then a calculation is performed to determine your percentage of body fat.
A healthy diet is one that includes variety and moderation. Foods from all of the food groups are important to good health. Fruits, vegetables, meats, bread, and dairy all provide vitamins and minerals that are essential to living well. Diets that suggest eliminating or strictly limiting one or more food groups typically lead to vitamin, mineral, or energy deficiencies. However, there are choices that can be made within each food group to ensure that the maximum amount of benefit is received.
Moderation means eating enough, but not too much of any of the food groups. Carrots are good for you, but if you ate nothing but carrots all day everyday, you would develop a deficiency of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that can only be obtained from meats or beans (not to mention you would start to turn orange in a few weeks from too much beta-carotene).
The Health Plan for Overweight Children is available through Books-a-Million and Amazon and is now available in the UK, Canada, and France. Links are provided below.
Books-a-Million: http://www.booksamillion.com/ncom/books?id=3870262045080&isbn=0595449395
Amazon:
E-book in the United Kingdom:
http://www.tsoshop.co.uk/bookstore.asp?FO=1161151&Action=Book&ProductID=0595449395&From=Subject
Paperback in the UK:
http://www.tsoshop.co.uk/bookstore.asp?FO=1161151&Action=Book&ProductID=0595690998&From=Subject
Amazon (France):
Amazon (Canada):
