From the FDA's Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts page:
"Petri Baking Products, Inc. is issuing a voluntary recall on one code of Stop & Shop Home Town Bakery Old Fashioned Molasses Cookies, Net Wt. 8.9 oz. The affected packages actually contain Peanut Butter Cookies that have peanut butter and milk which are undeclared allergens.
This recall affects 167 cases (2000 packages) of Stop & Shop Home Town Bakery Old Fashioned Molasses Cookies with UPC 6-88267-08457-7 and a “SELL BY FEB.22,2010 A” (printed on side of package).
The product is sold in Stop & Shop stores in the following states: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Maine and New Jersey."
Please follow the link for information on returning any product that falls within the scope of the recall.
The latest marketing trend in diet supplements seems to be "herbal weight loss pills." My guess would be that emphasis on the word herbal is supposed to make supplements sound safer, healthier, or simply better for you. As we all know from Ephedra, this may not be the case.
Herbalism has been traced back more than 25,000 years to cave paintings in France and herbs found on the body of a 5,300-year-old frozen man. Ayurvedic medicine dates to the 2nd millenium B.C. and is still practiced today. According to some sources, early man observed the behavior of sick animals, which ate plants that they avoided when healthy, and developed methods for using plants to treat symptoms and illnesses in humans.
With the discovery of chemical remedies in the 20th century, herbalism became the stuff of backward folk. Although, areas of the world without the ability to purchase these wondrous new man-made treatments continued to rely on plants and their extracts.
Now, more than 100 years after the discovery of aspirin, Western society is once again embracing the power of nature. Over-embracing, if you ask me.
An evergreen tree, Pausinystalia yohimbe, found in western Africa is on the verge of extinction, due to the current 'popularity' of an alkaloid found in its inner bark. A central nervous system stimulant, yohimbe products claim to improve anxiety symptoms, fat synthesis, and - the primary demand - sexual enhancement. Because of the long list of potential side effects, and the fact that the effective dose is very close to the toxic dose, no reliable herbalist would recommend extended use.
The most frightening warning, to my mind, is the dietary don't list. Because yohimbe acts as a short-term MAO inhibitor (MAOI), a major class of drugs used to treat depression, there is a known interaction with foods containing tyramine. Tyramine is produced during digestion of foods containing the amino acid tyrasine and causes dilation of blood vessels. Combining MAO inhibitors or yohimbe and foods containing tyramine can cause a dangerous rise in blood pressure. (Patients on MAOIs are closely monitored and must maintain a low-tyramine diet.)
The list of foods to be avoided varies from source to source, is lengthy, and includes: alcohol and fermented beverages; aged cheese; salami, sausage, bologna, pepperoni, frankfurters, bacon, smoked ham, pickled herring, liverwurst, salted dried fish, shrimp paste, unfresh meat or liver; Brewer's yeast, yeast extracts, yeast supplements; sauerkraut; bouillion cubes/powder, meat tenderizers, dry packaged and canned soups, gravy, sauces, stew mixes, instant soup dry powder bases, Soy Sauce and Teriyaki; ginseng; overripe avocado, Broad fava beans, Italian beans, chinese pea pods, beans pastes, fermented bean curds, fermented soya beans, soya sauce, soya bean pastes, Tofu, Miso soup; protein dietary supplements. Caffeine, chocolate, soy sauce, spinach, peanuts, coconut, Brazil nuts, canned figs, raisins, raspberries, red plums, cottage cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, cream, yogurt, and milk are believed by some to be safe - IF consumed in small amounts, IF properly stored, and, in the case of dairy, IF eaten well before the expiration date. Basically, anything that has been fermented, salted, aged, smoked, dried, or pickled; that contains yeast or meat extracts; or that may have been improperly stored is not allowed.
Due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes, the following products, with a Sell-by Date from February 2, 2009 to present, have been recalled by Quesos Mi Pueblito, LLC of Passaic, NJ:
La Fe Oaxaca String Cheese
El Viejito Oaxaca Cheese
Mi Pueblito Cotija/Añejo
Mi Pueblito Cuajada Fresca
Mi Pueblito Queso Colombiano de Arriero
Mi Pueblito Queso Molido
Mi Pueblito Queso Cotija Triangulo
Mi Pueblito Queso Fresco
Mi Pueblito Queso Fresco de Rancho
Mi Pueblito Queso Casero
Mi Pueblito Queso Oaxaca
Mi Pueblito Requeson
Mi Pueblito Serrano
The recalled cheese was distributed in New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia through Puebla Foods, Inc., Passaic, N.J. to retail stores and wholesalers.
(Click on company name (above) for chart containing brand name, USP/Size, and packaging details.)
First, the term acne covers a lot of territory - everything from blackheads to severe lesions that can leave scars. In a nutshell, acne is what happens when oil and dead skin cells block the opening to a hair follicle. Most people, nearly 100%, will have some sort of breakout, usually starting in their teens as hormone production increases.
These hormones that are responsible for physical maturation also trigger sebum production. Sebum is an oily substance generated in the sebaceous glands attached to hair follicles. It is responsible for the oily skin and hair experienced by teens (and many adults). Gently washing the face, twice a day with a mild soap, is usually sufficient to deal with this oil production.
One form of acne, with which I am all too familiar, is called acne mechanica. It develops in response to, among other things, covered skin and/or constant pressure. What that means, for me, is keeping my hands off my face and not resting my chin or cheek on my hands while I'm staring at the computer screen. To make matters worse, I've developed a habit (since we moved) of sleeping with one arm draped across my forehead, right along the hairline. You can guess where most of my most recent breakouts are occurring.
Before trying acne treatments - over-the-counter or online - it's important to know what's causing the acne. For more than a few breakouts or blackheads (or sleeping with your arm over your face), that's something only a dermatologist can determine. Overly harsh treatments can do more harm than good.
My 'personal relationship' with the Kennedy family began the weekend after / of my 7th birthday. When our birthdays fell during our mother's work week, we celebrated over the weekend. The year that I turned 7, my birthday fell on a Wednesday. That weekend saw the funeral of our 35th president.
After all these years, I remember standing in front of a small black-and-white screen. I remember a riderless horse and a flag-draped coffin. I remember 2 very young, very small children watching the passing of this box that held their father's body. I remember my heart breaking and tears rolling down my cheeks. This was the first death I had experienced in my young life; it left a mark.
Less than 5 years later, I would watch in horror as Robert Kennedy died in a hotel kitchen. (Technically, he died a day later, after extensive surgery at a Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles.) I couldn't believe that another son, another promising life, had been taken from this family. It just seemed too cruel. (I would quickly develop a dislike for the father who, in my opinion, pushed his sons into the political life to which he had aspired in vain. And don't get me started about what he did to Rosemary!)
It wasn't long before the youngest son made headlines.
Chappaquiddick and Mary Jo Kopechne - the event killed a young woman, a presidential career, and perhaps, a father. (Joe Sr.'s death, almost exactly 6 years after John's assassination, less than 18 months after Robert's, and 4 months - to the day - after Chappaquiddick, made me wonder if his heart had simply broken with the knowledge that no other Kennedy would sit in the Oval Office during his lifetime.)
Projecting what many of us felt at the time, I hoped that Ted wouldn't seek presidential office. The Kennedy sons seemed to wear a bullseye, borne of a strong belief in social justice, equality for all citizens, and - most dangerously for John and Robert - the destruction of the mafia. They were fighting an uphill battle against powerful organizations.
To this day, I wonder if Ted Kennedy's problems with alcohol and women weren't a subconscious way of making himself a smaller target. Although the plane crash in 1964, as Mark reminds me, could have been an object lesson - long before 'they' got to Robert. Who knows?!
Even after his father's death and the death of that pressure to please Joe Sr., Ted sought the presidency. Much has been made of his hesitant answer to the question "Why do you want to be President?" Yet, the tape of the conversation belies much of that:
It's easy to admire Ted Kennedy for his vote against the Iraq War. But those of us of a certain age, as it were, won't forget his work to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act, the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act and the Kennedy-Hatch law of 1997. Ted had his hand in the establishment of OHSA, as well.
I am sad to watch the passing of the last son of Joe and Rose. Yet, I am happy to have grown up in 'his time' and to know that Edward Moore Kennedy - of all his brothers - "lived to comb grey hair."
To be perfectly honest, when I was asked to look at the Organizational Leadership Masters degree program at Gonzaga University, I had never heard of such a degree. Already familiar with the quality of the education provided at Gonzaga University, a Jesuit institution located in Spokane, Washington, I needed to find out just what a Masters in organizational development or organizational leadership entails. Similar in intent, they are not the same; although many educational institutions seem to use the terms interchangably.
Generally, Organizational Development seems to get pigeon-holed as a Human Resources specialization, with a focus on diagnosing and improving processes within an organization. In contrast, Organizational Leadership involves skill sets that include and extend beyond that scope into areas such as diversity, team building, ethics, and group behavior. The leadership programs also emphasize practical application of learned skills, in terms of creative thinking, communication, and problem solving.
As I understand it, Organizational Development has improvement of the organization as its primary goal, while Organizational Leadership advances the individual's ability to be an instrument of motivation and change within and beyond a specific discipline. In fact, many traditional fields are developing leadership specializations, understanding the benefit of adding sociology, philosophy, psychology, and management skills to their core training. Such an expanded knowledge base, as presented in the program at Gonzaga University, naturally presents a wider range of career options to the individual possessing these additional competencies.
Personally, if I'm going to invest my time and money in furthering my education, I want to be able to take that education anywhere.
One thing I like about living in Arizona is the lack of bugs. In fact, I can't remember the last time I saw a fly, and mosquitoes are virtually non-existent in every day life. There are bees, wasps, and scorpions, but we (personally) don't tend to see them.
You can imagine my surprise when I happened to catch movement in the kitchen light fixture last night. Expecting a nasty, yucky, evil critter, I crept closer only to find that our visitor was a very, very, very tiny lizard. Seriously! It couldn't have been much over an inch long (not counting the little tail) and was almost transparent. Looking up from below, I'd have sworn I could see through it.
Assuming it had wandered in to get out of the storm, we figured it would wander back out the same way and proceeded to ignore it, in favor of our steak and wild rice dinner. Well, we were wrong. We finished dinner, did the dishes, and were in the process of making popcorn several hours later, only to find that our guest was still in the light fixture.
A quick tap on the cover didn't elicit much of a reaction, so we decided that 'Lizzy' wasn't doing well and needed a little human assistance. Our first mistake!
In a comedic turn worthy of the Three Stooges, Mark loosened the plastic cover while I held a large bowl under our visitor. 'Lizzy' dropped out of the fixture, into the bowl, and expressed its lack of appreciation by jumping right back out! I got a hand under it, briefly, while the little thing continued to jump and fall.
Landing on my pant leg, it seemed quite happy. Although in hindsight, the poor thing was probably in shock. I mean that's a huge fall for a one-inch body! It was even rather cute, poised just below my knee.
Nonetheless, I really wasn't into wearing a lizard on my sweats, so I - again - attempted to scoop our friend up. Zoom! Zip! In a flash, it was gone!
With a lot more energy than it had just displayed sitting in the light, 'Lizzy' took a flying leap off my sweats, only to land between my toes! Now there's a feeling you don't experience every day! Not to mention, the impulse is to squeeze your toes together - not at all in the best interests of an itsy, bitsy lizard.
Another attempted grab and 'Lizzy' was scurrying across the kitchen floor toward Mark. Man! that baby could move! This was just not going well, at all. I was beginning to envision several hours of chase-the-lizard in my future.
Finally, while Mark avoided squashing our little buddy - who had developed a definite foot fetish and was trying desperately to get to Mark's toes - I snuck up behind the lizard and managed a quick scoop. Gently clasping my hands together, I cheered my victory! Woohoo!! Mission accomplished!
Now what?!
Although skilled, I couldn't exactly open the door with my feet. Mark, doing battle with the light fixture (amazing how those things come off in a flash, but it takes a team of engineers to get 'em back on!), looked at me like I had asked him to fly. Then, standing in the middle of the kitchen with my hands wrapped around a strange creature, it occurred to me to wonder if our little friend was prone to biting. I mean, tickling my toes was one thing. Biting my hand? Oh, hell no!
As it turned out, I didn't have to worry. Mark took pity on me, put down the light cover, and opened the door. Rushing along the walk, down the stairs, and toward the grass, it didn't occur to me - until I hit the gravel - that I had no shoes on! (I don't know which hurt more - running onto the rocks or trying to stop.)
Oh, well. The damage, hopefully minimal, was done and I still had a baby lizard in my hands. Leaning over the nearest rock, I lifted one hand. 'Lizzy' didn't move!
"Sure! Jump all over my kitchen and now - outside, where you belong - you want to sleep in my hand! I don't think so!"
Feet throbbing and attitude deteriorating, I tried to remember that the poor little lizard had had a much worse night than I had. With my hand tipped toward the rock, I waited and 'Lizzy' got the hint. Leaving him/her to explore, I hobbled back up the stairs.
Not surprisingly, substance abuse tends to increase as life becomes more difficult. And there aren't many more difficult situations than a recession and rampant job loss. Many people, when the pressures of just surviving day-to-day become unbearable, may look to self-medication to escape, if only for a short time, from the fear and hopelessness.
It doesn't matter that we all know the 'cure' is worse than the disease and investing in oblivion always makes the situation worse. Sometimes the sheer bliss of not-feeling can be very enticing. Once started, the brain's chemistry changes and the escapist cycle becomes very difficult to break. The hole we dig gets deeper and deeper. Before long, we're so far down that we can't find up.
If you have been considering drug rehab or alcohol treatment for a family member, or yourself, you might want to take a look at Ambrosia Treatment Centers. Their counselor-to-patient ratio, at approximately 1 to 6, is one of the best I've seen. More importantly, they understand that addiction doesn't affect only the addict.
Their free family program is not limited to family members, but includes the significant others of any patient in treatment at the Centers. I don't know if that's common or not. It is, to my mind, a valuable and necessary resource to ensure long-term sobriety. Co-dependency and enabling behaviors are prevalent in addictive relationships.
Having narrowly survived a marriage based on lies, alcohol-abuse, enabling behaviors, and (eventually) physical abuse, I can assure you that living without self-medication is by far the preferred lifestyle.
Like most people I know, I love getting mail. No longer! I now hate - with a passion - looking in my inbox.
Thanks to these spammers/ spoofers/ friggin' jerks, I wake up every day to at least 200 new delivery failure notifications. And, despite reporting the IP address, they just keep creating new websites, with dozens of subdomains - all pretending to be JMark Afghans. In the words of Queen Victoria: "We are NOT amused!"
If I weren't so busy trying to quantify and report all of this, I think I'd just sit down and cry. Or perhaps screaming would be more effective.
I went shopping today. (You're shocked, I know.) But, really, it had to be done. Mark needed test strips for his glucose monitor.
While wandering toward the pharmacy, I just happened to notice {wink, wink} the 75% off sign. They're probably still scrubbing the skid marks off the floor. But, seriously, 75% off! is not to be lightly dismissed. And it was summer sweats and PJs!
Unlike the stereotypical work-at-home schlub who wanders to the PC in pajamas, I do get dressed every morning (or whatever time of day I finally roll out of bed) in something that some people might actually wear in public. Hey, I even brush my hair - at some point in my search for caffeine and the computer. Sweats - especially lightweight sweats - are critical to the success of this process.
Okay, back to the sale: I'd found the deal. Now I had to find something that fit. Not easy, when you're 5'11" and most of that is legs. It becomes even more of a challenge when you realize that the 'standard' sizes in our area are somewhat ... munchkin. Must be the heat; shrinks everything.
Years ago I bought several tops and dresses in my normal medium, only to find that medium is an extremely relative term. It is, apparently, equivalent to size 10-12 in Michigan and size 3-4 in Arizona. I'm still hoping to regain function in my left shoulder after trying to put on a tank top I bought 3 years ago. (At least I can feel my fingers again and my eyes aren't popping out of my head anymore.)
Given my experience with clothes here, I figured extra-large would be just about right. I even managed to find a great pair in black with a white stripe down the side, in extra-large. A happy camper, I made my purchase and went home.
Now, Mark and I will be going camping in a few weeks - and we'll be sleeping in my sweats!
Once again, JMark Afghans, etc. has been spoofed! If you don't know what that means, in a nutshell - someone (in this case, many someones) sent spam/junk email out with a fake jmarkafghans.com email address as the sender and/or reply-to. It appears that the message came from JMark Afghans, etc., when in fact it didn't. To give you an idea of how busy these little )*@&$% miscreants were this weekend:
As of 10:00am today, we have received more than 750 - yup seven-hundred-fifty - delivery-failure notices for emails that we did not send. Apparently, there is a lovely new scam being perpetrated at IP address 119.67.72.151. Heaven only knows how many emails made it through, since many of the failure notices we received contained more than one addressee!
All of the websites to which these messages send recipients are exactly the same. Diamond Replicas is the title on the three that I was able to trace back. The IP address hosts over 70 domains, so I guess we were lucky to only get hit by 3 of them.
According to what I read, when you access the checkout / shopping cart, you are giving all of your credit card and identifying information out over an unsecure connection. You can imagine the damage they can and will do, once they get that information.
I reported everything I could and, hopefully, the IP and related sites will get taken down soon. In the meantime ...
If you didn't subscribe to our mailing list and/or newsletter, you will never receive email from JMark Afghans, etc.
If you did subscribe to our mailing list and/or newsletter, but didn't respond to the opt-in email message, you will never receive email from JMark Afghans, etc.
If you ever receive a plain-text message from an individual at JMark Afghans, etc., it wasn't us!
We never, ever send plain-text messages and never have. There are absolutely no, none, zip, nada, zilch individual email addresses associated with our business. There never have been and, because of this sort of fraudulent behavior by no-goodniks, there never will be.
With that said, should you ever receive any unsolicited email claiming to be from JMark Afghans, etc., please forward it immediately to me. My email address is at the bottom of every page of the website.
Something that we all need, whether we like to think about it or not, is life insurance. Face it, folks. We are all gonna die. Today, tomorrow, or in 30 years - no one can escape this inevitability. Being afraid to think about it can lead us to making some very bad 'non-choices' that will have very bad consequences for our loved ones.
The main fear most people have (especially in the face of a failing economy) is that life insurance costs too much. Well, it can and, depending on your situation, it may well be expensive. But there are cheap life insurance options that don't skimp on the benefits and don't empty the bank account.
Just be aware that many sites offering quotes offer generic information, pulled from available company details. They may or may not be current. And, more importantly, they may or may not be complete.
For example, when you specify your health status in the online forms, the available options may not accurately represent your situation. Consequently, the tentative rates may be very far from an actual policy premium. You just won't know until you apply.
But, if you don't currently have a policy, please consider purchasing life insurance. Your family will thank you.
I received an email today that had bells and whistles going off in my head. With all of the shopping that I do, it was something that concerned me, until I read further ... and checked with Snopes.com.
Here is the gist of the email message that, it appears, has been circulating in one form or another since 2004:
It happened to me at Wal-Mart (Supercenter Store #1279, 10411 N Freeway 45, Houston , TX 77037 ) A month ago. I bought a bunch of stuff, over $150, & I glanced at my receipt as the cashier was handing me the bags. I saw a cash-back of $40.
I told her I didn't request a cash back & to delete it. She said I'd have to take the $40 because she couldn't delete it. I told her to call a supervisor. Supervisor came & said I'd have to take it. I said NO! Taking the $40 would be a cash advance against my Discover & I wasn't paying interest on a cash advance!!!!! If they couldn't delete it then they would have to delete the whole order. So the supervisor had the cashier delete the whole order & re-scan everything!
The second time I looked at the electronic pad before I signed & a cash-back of $20 popped up. At that point I told the cashier & she deleted it. The total came out right. The cashier agreed that the electronic pad must be defective. Obviously the cashier knew the electronic pad was defective because she NEVER offered me the $40 at the beginning. Can you imagine how many people went through before me & at the end of her shift how much money she pocketed?
Check your receipts This could probably happen at any store where they will give you cash back so be cautious....
It continues on, for a while, from there. But you get the idea. Snopes.com 'Cash Back' has more of the message content and various versions, as well as a history of the email scare.
Personally, I know that merchants cannot/ do not give cash back on a credit card. Ninety-nine percent of the places where I shop have automated readers - the cashier / employees never touch your card. Ever! Whether Discovery (as in the message) is an exception or not, the merchant just doesn't do it. If you press Credit as the card type, a cash-back option doesn't even come up.
Checking your receipt is always a good idea, however. I am a bargain / sale hunter. Occasionally, the items don't scan at the sale price, which can be dramatically different from the full price. Most retailers have no problem correcting the problem. You just have to let them know right away. The next day, or even a few hours later, is just too late.
In my experience, the only place you'll have trouble with card theft / fraud is where we have had trouble - fast food restaurant drive-throughs! Not once, but twice, we had an employee from a drive-through copy our card number and, because it works as debit or credit, they were able to attempt to charge purchases with only the card number. (We have a great monitoring system with our credit union and Visa, so they didn't get far and, in fact, one was prosecuted for the attempt.)
Yes, we need to be careful with our cards and our money. I stopped carrying cash years ago. But, no matter how tough the economy or your personal situation - please don't believe everything you read! And do not give into panic and paranoia. Common sense will carry you a long way.
We 'talked' recently about getting a Masters degree in Business Administration and the requirements that must be met in order to enroll in a degree-granting program. One prerequisite for virtually all MBA programs is the GMAT®, the Graduate Management Admission Test®.
Designed to predict academic performance in applicants to an MBA program, the GMAT® is neither easy nor inexpensive. This makes GMAT prep a critical step in the process. So, why not go to the organization that employs the people who designed the adaptive testing algorithms behind the GMAT®?
What I really like about the Knewton program is that you can, basically, test-drive before you buy. There is a free 7-day trial offer that allows prospective applicants access to online classes, a full-length sample GMAT®, and practice problems and tests. If that weren't enough, they also provide explanations and test tips.
Happily (joyously and amazingly), for the second time in as many months, JMark Afghans, etc. is proud to display the latest award we have received for our website! (I must say "WooHoo!!" - very, very loudly!)
I have seen the sites that were also granted Silver Awards this year, and I am honored to be included in their company. It makes the hard work worth it.
Do you suffer from public speaking anxiety? I did for years and years and years - thanks to a rather belligerent speech teacher from junior high school. She had no idea how to teach; how to encourage. Instead, she berated, belittled, and embarrassed her students. The ones, like me, who were shy were a particularly favorite target. I can still recall the blind panic I felt - every day - before walking into that classroom.
It was so debilitating that, at the age of 25, I was still paralyzed in front of strangers. Forget giving a speech! That was just never going to happen! Finally, sick and tired of being afraid, I signed up for a speech class at the local community college. I knew the instructor from another class I had taken, so there was a built-in comfort level. That class became a huge turning point in my life.
I still get nervous in certain situations and am not fond of large groups of strangers, but - through sheer stubbornness and force of will - I've conquered most of my fears.
The reason I mention this is that, in my recent WWW travels, I stumbled across a site that offers help to people like myself. Their herbal supplement is designed to enhance memory, reduce anxiety, and increase the body's resistance to stress. Definitely something I could have used, back in the day. (Except for the St. John's Wort.) But, what I found most helpful was the advice section.
From preparation advice to specific guidelines, based on the situation, it is sound and helpful information. I spent quite a bit of time reading the sample interview questions, along with the recommendations - and I'm not even interviewing. Then, there are the types of speeches and toasts for which suggestions are included. Just a great, to me anyway, jumping off point.
Most of the information is basic - be prepared, at the top of the list. But, when faced with a stress-inducing situation, the basics tend to be the first things we forget. This is an informative site with valuable assistance, covering a variety of situations. I don't think I've seen anything quite like it before.
Sometimes all you can do is shake your head . . . and laugh!
There was a knock on our door earlier, which is quite uncommon for us. (We tend to discourage drop-in visitors.) I opened the door to a young man I had never seen before.
He asked for someone I'd never heard of, so I made the natural assumption that he was looking for one of the former residents of our new apartment. I assured him that his friend wasn't here. This was when the conversation became amusing.
Straight-faced and serious as a heart attack, he then stated "So, nobody lives here?"
I was completely dumbfounded! It actually took me a few seconds to process this comment! Was I invisible? Did he have vision or hearing problems? He didn't look overly confused.
Regaining my composure, I looked him straight in the eye and pointed at myself and Mark, who was sitting at the computer ignoring the entire exchange. With all of the confidence I could muster (trying desperately not to laugh out loud), I assured this young man . . .
I was reading a review of a weight-loss product, liporexall, today. Being a curious skeptic, I decided to look up the ingredients. Very interesting, and a little scary.
When I finally found a label, as is not uncommon, amounts were not listed for the majority of the ingredients. There was simply a 'proprietary blend' of 460.50mg that was supposed to cover 10 of the 11 components. ChromeMate®, the first item on the label did have an amount (300mcg) and RDA percentage (250%). But that left me with a lot of parts, including magnesium stearate, to account for in that 'blend.' Not to mention, how does one know that the percentages of each ingredient is the same from bottle to bottle?
Interestingly enough, one of the components - Super CitriMax® - also contains 200mcg of niacin-bound chromium, because one of its ingredients is ChromeMate® and the only ingredients in ChromeMate® are niacin and chromium. Which led me to ask - does the amount of ChromeMate® listed include the amount found in the Super CitriMax®? Or is the Super CitriMax® in addition to the initial 300mcg? At this point, my head started to hurt. A lot!
Then, I got to the other 9 items on the label. Five of them are thermogenic, meaning they increase the metabolism, internal cellular temperature, and burning of calories. Unfortunately, like some banned supplements, increased thermogenesis can cause jitters, nervousness, and insomnia; as well as dangerous overheating. In addition, some of the components have other possible side-effects that need to be considered.
7-Keto® raises T3 (a thyroid hormone) levels, which can affect the heart, thyroid, and bone density. ForsLean®, an extract from the roots of the Coleus forskohlii, also stimulates the thyroid and may increase the potency of antiasthmatic or antihypertensive medications. Because it lowers blood pressure and acts as a vasodilator, people with bleeding ulcers or hypotension should be careful when using ForsLean®. If that weren't enough, BioPerine®, which increases the absorption of many types of nutrients, has been shown to significantly improve the topical absorption of the primary ingredient in ForsLean®.
Really, most of the ingredients, with the possible exception of Infinergy® DiCaffeine Malate (caffeine and malic acid), are generally safe and probably quite effective. I'm just not certain that putting them all together in one tablet is quite as healthy. Especially, since there is no actual way to determine the precise amounts of each ingredient.
