Weight Loss Supplements Recalled

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Bethel Nutritional Consulting this week recalled the company’s “Quick Thin” and “Bethel Advance” products. The recall was issued due to the FDA finding banned substances inside the capsules.

FDA tests on the products found that they contaned the substances Sibutramine and Phenolphthalein. Sibutramine has been linked to an increase in blood pressure and pulse rate for some patients, as well as a risk of life-threatening interactions with other medications. It was removed from the U.S. market in 2010 due to safety concerns for patients with heart issues. According to the FDA, Phenolphthalein has also been linked to health risks such as irregular heartbeat, muscle cramps, cancer, and “serious gastrointestinal disturbances.”

Bethel’s “Bethel 30″ product was recalled back in June over tests that found these same substances. Bethel 30 was labeled as having no side effects and no diet restrictions. For all three of these products, the FDA is urging consumers not to consume them, and to call Bethel customer service. The products have been removed from Bethel’s online store. None of the products have ever been approved by the FDA as drugs.

Bethel Nutritional Consulting markets a variety of “herbal” and homeopathic products. The products include those marketed for weight loss, “detox,” prostate health, cholesterol, and “sexual potency.”

The FDA just last month warned manufacturers of “natural” and homeopathic products that claim to treat diabetes that their products are illegal. Consumers were also warned that such products can be dangerous or cause them to mismanage their diabetes.

Article Source: http://www.webpronews.com/weight-loss-supplements-recalled-over-banned-ingredients-2013-08

Relationship Between Coffee and Weight Loss

“Will consuming caffeine risk your weight loss plan? Unfortunately, unlike coffee, there's no black and white answer,” admits Ellen Wright, website manager of Weight-Loss Center - http://www.weight-loss-center.net.

Technically, caffeine can help reduce weight by triggering the ephedrine, particularly its fat-burning properties. It also increases your basal metabolic rate, which simply means the amount of calories that you burn when your body is at rest.

Black coffee, without the sugar and other additives, contains very low calorie to even impact on your weight. Ms. Wright says a cup will net a maximum of eight calories but when designer coffees were introduced by coffee chains, the calories add up. Sugar and cream alone can add another 100 calories to a cup of coffee.

“You can get 260 calories from a cup of Caffè Mocha from one of the largest US coffee chains, for example. That is already equivalent to eight grams of fat.The Grande White Chocolate Mocha has about 550 calories,” she says. In order not to gain excess pounds, women need to avoid exceeding 2,000 calories per day and 260 calories is already about 12 percent of the total.

Caffeine also boosts production of cortisol, a stress hormone. High levels of cortisol are linked with increased appetite, cravings for sugar and insulin resistance, which in turn is linked to the development of type 2 diabetes.

To avoid derailing your path toward weight loss, Ms. Wright offers the following suggestions:

1. Avoid going designer brands from coffee shops and drink your coffee as plain as possible. Don't put too much sugar in it and stay away from sweeteners like aspertame which can affect your hormones;
2. Regulate your coffee consumption. If you are drinking five to six cups a day, you may develop caffeine addiction.
3. Coffee encourages snacking. So avoid a slice of cake or pie when you do drink coffee.

Ms. Wright says that the Weight-Loss Center is home to hundreds of articles, weight loss tools, healthy recipes, and “the busy Weight Loss Forum devoted to helping you maintain a healthy body and lifestyle.”

“The Weight-Loss Center is run by dieters just like you. With today’s fast paced lifestyles it is harder and harder to get into shape and stay that way. Yet there are thousands of products and services (diet programs, supplements, pills) available for just that purpose,” she says, which explains the difficulty in sorting out the false information from the truthful ones.

She says the weight watcher needs educate himself or herself particularly on the many factors that go into determining which diet programs will work best for you. These factors include age, sex, genes, and attitude.

“For any weight loss program to be successful, experts all agree that it must include the three basics. They are: an eating plan that reduces the amount of daily caloric intake, a strong physical activity component and some behavior modification to change old habits,” she says.

Ms. Wright explains further: “This is the fundamental difference between a weight loss diet and a weight loss program. A diet usually only covers the food aspect of dieting like what you can and can’t eat, nutritional content, meal plans, and recipes. A weight loss program is more all encompassing and will include at least the three basics with some incorporating pills, supplements and even alternative medicine practices.”

Article Source - http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/sbwire-98274.htm