Quite a lot, actually.

Paul’s awesome post on phony supplement review sites spawned a bit of discussion (both in the comments and via e-mail) about the importance of knowing WHO you’re getting information from.  It’s about credibility: Paul and I both have our names out there on the reviews posted on UltimateFatBurner.com - which means that we can be held accountable for what we write.  The authors behind a bogus site, on the other hand, are more likely to be anonymous – for obvious reasons.

This can be true for other forms of internet “information” as well…including health/fitness info.  A perfect example of this is a site I stumbled over last week, titled “The Best Way To Exercise.com”.*

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I published this article in a recent newsletter. It is of sufficient importance that it warrants a reprint, here on the blog. Enjoy!

Just a few years back, I could count the number of prominent web sites entirely dedicated to reviewing supplements on one hand. Now, a search for just about any product – especially those dedicated to weight loss – brings up dozens of sites. Many have names like “consumer-something or other”, and give the impression they offer a “consumer advocate” type service in the genuine best interests of their visitors.

Most don’t.

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Oh noes!  I’m getting another fitness toy!  But I couldn’t resist after seeing this demo of the Quad Blaster that Marc David posted over at Facebook.  I have a variety of upper body and cardio toys that I use at various times, but nothing much for lower body.  This should be a worthy addition to my arsenal.

Looks wicked, too…dying to try it.

As most everyone knows by now, the partially-hydrogenated oils used in commercial food products are high in unhealthy trans-fats.  Now that trans-fats must be disclosed on nutrition labels (at least in places where they’re not banned outright), many manufacturers have replaced them with natural sources of saturated fat. 

Palm oil is one of those substitutes. It’s a highly popular cooking oil worldwide that’s high in saturated fat, so it’s a natural replacement for partially-hydrogenated oils.

There’s only one problem: although palm oil is technically ”trans fat-free”, according to an article in the USDA’s Agricultural research magazine, it may be just as heart-unhealthy for some people as the trans-fat-laden oils it’s replacing.

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This AP-iVillage poll was a bit of a downer, I thought…

Half the women surveyed in a new Associated Press-iVillage poll aren’t down with their weight – even the 26 percent of respondents whose body mass index (BMI) is in the normal range.

But apparently women aren’t as concerned with health as with girth: of the 1,000 respondents, just one third said they don’t like their physical condition – despite the fact that obesity and a sedentary lifestyle increase the risk of ailments like heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.

“So many women think more about the number on the scale than whether their blood pressure or cholesterol is normal,” says registered dietitian Keri Gans, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. “They really don’t think about disease risk as much as they do about their weight.”

…The poll, which was described in an AP article on Yahoo.news, also found that women exercise for a median of just 80 minutes per week, which means that half the women do even less exercise.

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Sigh…

Just got through eyeballing an LA Times article “Here’s what’s in those weight-loss supplements“.  As is often the case, it’s one of those semi-factual hatchet jobs we’ve all come to know and expect from the mainstream media.

This para was a real standout…

The labels rarely clarify the contents. Where details and dosages are provided at all, they are frequently presented as a bewildering mix of Latin plant names, trademarked monikers for a company’s own mix of ingredients and, often, invented words that sound scientific but mean nothing to chemists or pharmacologists. Hydroxycut’s “Hardcore,” for instance, touts its “norepidrol intensity focus blend” as an aid to focus and attention. Another supplement, TheraStress, declares that its active compound of “adaptogens” helps fight weight gain brought on by stress.

For consumers seeking full disclosure, these labels may as well declare the product is made of genuine atoms.

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This one’s for you…

(Back to our usual content mañana)

…Nice little article on the subject in today’s NYT.

Some additional background info, courtesy of the University of Minnesota.

For the record, HCAs and PAHs aren’t a problem with plant foods…and since grilled veggies are excellent anyway, feel free to throw another ’shroom on the barbie, if you’re cooking outdoors this weekend.

I have to credit my bud Will (Brink) for that line, but it’s true enough, as far as I’m concerned.  While I don’t drink it during the day, a solid “jolt” of java is an irreplaceable part of my morning routine.  A tall, steaming cup of fresh ground/brewed coffee is always waiting for me on my desk when I crawl out of bed at 5:00 a.m (thanks, John!).  It helps me make a reasonably graceful transition into “work mode” each morning.

For years, however, I considered this a vice.  Like everyone else interested in health/longevity, I believed coffee was a no-no. Fortunately, my inner slug won out over my good intentions – life just wasn’t the same without it.  As I rationalized it, everyone has a bad habit or two, so that a.m. coffee would be mine.  But I don’t have to rationalize it anymore: over the last few years, a new appreciation for the stuff has emerged.  While coffee may not fit most people’s conception of a health food, the current consensus is that there are few drawbacks, and several potential benefits associated with the brew.

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Just finished the 300th entry in the glossary!

This has been one of our pet projects.  When finished, the glossary will be a comprehensive list of EVERY SINGLE compound used in dietary supplements (including commonly used scientific names).  Each entry also has a short explanation of what the compound does, +  links to resources that offer further information.  If you’re confused by an ingredient on a product label, you should be able to look it up here.

Obviously, there’s still a long way to go…It’s definitely a work in progress. I imagine the list will be over 1,000 by the time I’m done with it.  But 300 is a milestone of sorts…a lot of progress has been made over the last 6 months, so I’m happy about that.

It’s kinda like eating right and exercising in a way… the day-to-day changes aren’t all that significant.  But as the days pass, the cumulative small changes add up to big ones.

Next stop: 500!

There’s an interesting new study out, that questions the value of consuming antioxidant vitamins when exercising to improve health/wellness.  Here’s an excerpt from the NYT report:

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This is kinda off the wall…

So what’s for dinner in 2022? A new report released by Britain’s Food Ethics Council last month identified some of the possibilities – more food grown in allotments, more functional foods – and in vitro meat, meaning meat that’s been grown from animal stem cells as opposed to meat cut from a carcass.

When reports of meat grown experimentally in the lab by Dutch researchers first surfaced a few years ago it seemed a bit far fetched, but not any longer. Two years ago an international group of scientists formed the In Vitro Meat Consortium, and last year the Norwegian Food Research Institute hosted a conference to discuss the challenges of producing in vitro meat commercially. If it does reach supermarket shelves, say researchers, it could help solve a few problems, like lessening the impact of livestock production on the environment, helping to prevent foodborne diseases, and reducing the need for millions of animals to be factory farmed.

One organisation working to produce meat from cell cultures is New Harvest which makes it clear that the technology now being developed could create processed meats like hamburger or sausages, but that the know how to create an in vitro steak or a chop doesn’t exist – at least, not yet.

Now, I’ve done a ton of cell/tissue culture work, and am familar with quite a few of the high tech manipulations used to create food products…and this still struck me as pretty weird…very ”Sci Fi.”  But, it has its compelling aspects too, w/respect to environmental issues and the humane treatment of livestock animals. 

Under the circumstances, I guess my answer to the question at the end of the article, “Would you eat an in-vitro burger?” is “Yes”.  If they can come up with commercially viable products, I’d be willing to give ‘em a shot…as long as they’re nutritious and taste good, that is.

Fish and seafood can be problematic when you’re trying to eat healthier…some species are more contaminated than others.  Likewise, certain kinds may be getting fished out.  Do you know which is which, and how to choose the most eco-friendly and safest kinds? 

Fortunately, the Environmental Defense Fund has a reader-friendly Seafood Selector Page that covers everything “fishy” from sushi to fish oil supplements, which can help you make the best choices for yourself and your family.  Check it out (and while you’re there, maybe you can toss ‘em a couple of bucks for the work they do…)

As you can see, it’s already been established that bananas don’t make good weapons.

 Ah, Martica, Martica, Martica…

There are times when I think that maybe I pick on Martica Heaner a little too much: after all, she gives out lots of sensible advice, too.  My problem with her, however, is that even the sensible stuff is conventional and unimaginative…  She writes well enough, but her “Expert Advice” column sometimes reads like she’s just phoning it in.  This is true for a lot of “experts” I suppose, but her high-profile gig at MSN.com sorta makes her a target.  When people write in, looking for guidance – and then don’t get the care and attention they deserve – it kinda sets me off.

Today’s featured column is a perfect example.  Here’s the question:

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The health/fitness supplement industry has an uneasy relationship with the FDA – to say the least.  Thus, it was no surprise to see a link to this news item getting passed around, so people could have a laugh at the agency’s expense…

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As recently witnessed by Elissa in this superb post, things are really heating up on the HCG feedback page over at Real-Customer-Comments.com (if you’re interested in learning about HCG and the Simeons protocol, you can read the full review of HCG here!)

Seems I’ve really irked a few folks by pointing out that ALL the documented evidence shows that HCG does not provide any benefit over that provided by a placebo. While these folks may have experienced great results on the protocol, it’s likely they are directly attributable to the Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD) and not the effects of HCG.

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As the resident “scientific advisor” here at ultimatefatburner.com, I occasionally get called on to comment on issues unrelated to my primary tasks (writing bodybuilding supp and functional food reviews; blogging).  Thus, it was no surprise to find an e-mail from Paul in this morning’s messages, asking for my feedback on an exchange he had with Dr. Ben Gonzalez, over his (negative) review on hCG for weight loss.

OMFG!

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The article speaks for itself…

FDA has received a consent decree from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division, to destroy prohormone products worth $1.3 million. The decree included more than 23,300 bottles of three products distributed by LG Sciences LLC, of Brighton, Mich., marketed for use by body builders and distributed on the Web and at retail under the names “Methyl 1-D,” “Methyl 1-D XL,” and “Formadrol Extreme XL.” On behalf of FDA, U.S.Marshalls seized the products back in early April 2008, but the company was fighting the action, saying the products were DSHEA-compliant.

FDA said lab tests showed the products, which were marketed as dietary supplements, contain one or more unapproved food additives and/or new dietary ingredients (NDIs) and lacked scientific support for safe use. They found Methyl 1-D and Methyl 1-D XL contained 1,4,6-androstatriene-3,17-dione, also known as “ATD” or 1,4,6-etioallocholan-dione; Formadrol Extreme XL contained ATD and 3,6,17-androstenetrione, also known as “6-OXO”—the substance at the center of the legal battle between suspended Phillies pitcher J.C. Romero and several supplement makers and retailers.

FDA stated both of these substances are steroids that inhibit the activity of the enzyme aromatase; they can be found in dietary supplements marketed as testosterone boosters.  Also, 6-OXO was created by Patrick Arnold, the chemist behind many of the BALCO products involved in the Major League Baseball steroid scandal, which involved Barry Bonds and other key players.

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About a month or so back, I reported on my experience with a McDonald’s grilled chicken salad. It was truly the most pathetic salad I have ever encountered and still remains so. I was most disappointed at the effort Mickey-Dees was making in providing real alternatives to the usual high-calorie, high fat offerings. The salad was, plain and simple, a joke.

At the time, I remembered Wendy’s competitive offerings in a much more favorable light. Well, guess what? A recent road trip forced me to stop at a highway rest stop for sustenance.

And as luck would have it, this one featured a Wendy’s.

Game on!

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