Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Ugh! There goes another vice.


Are Diet Drinks Making You Fat?

You already know that drinking sodas which are high in sugar (and high-fructose corn syrup) are bad for you.

But did you know that drinking the alternative (diet sodas and diet drinks) are just as bad for your health and body, if not worse?

Most folks think they're doing good by drinking these zero-calorie drinks.

But the truth is they can do more harm than good.

A study published in the journal "Obesity" came across a startling find ...

It compared over 2,000 people. Those who drank diet sodas had a 47 percent higher body mass index (BMI) than those who didn't.

What's more, the diet soda drinkers were at twice the risk of becoming clinically obese!

But that's not all.

An eight-year study done at the University of Texas found that there's a 41 percent increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soda a person drinks each day.

Unbelievable stuff, right!?

If that wasn't bad enough, get this. A study published by the Public Library of Science found that the artificial sweeteners used in diet drinks can be just as addictive as cocaine (or more so!).

In this study, animals had two choices. Cocaine or saccharin (a common artificial sweetener). It turns out that 94 percent chose saccharin ... even if they were already addicted to the cocaine!

Bottom line is this: Diet sodas or diet ANYTHING -- may not be that good for your fat loss efforts or for your health.


Instead, stick with plain old H2O.

If the thought of drinking nothing but plain water makes you gag, add some flavor.

For example, you can add some fresh lemon or lime.

If you're more adventurous, you can crush some mint leaves, and add ice too.

Finally, if you absolutey MUST have "sweet" in anything you drink, use Stevia.

It's an all-natural sweetener that has no calories ... and none of the side effects that comes with the artificial stuff.

James Cipriani
CT's Premier Health & Fitness Expert

Friday, December 10, 2010

Capsiate Decreases Abdominal Fat


Capsinoids (e.g., capsiate, capsaicin, the active ingredients in red pepper, are promising thermogenic chemicals that might promote fat loss.They cause a burning sensation when they touch the skin and are used in heat wraps and analgesic balms.

A French study showed that capsiate supplements (100mgs/kilogram bodyweight for 14 days)decreased abdominal fat in rats and increased ATP (energy) production. The results agree with conducted at the University of Maryland Medical school, which found that obese men and women given capsinoid supplements (6mg per day for 12 weeks) lost more abdominal fat than people taking a placebo.
The supplements were well-tolerated and had few side effects. Other studies found that capsinoids prevented fat cell growth, promoted thermogenesis, reduced hunger, triggered fat breakdown, and had a small effect on fat loss. Capsinoids may be useful ingredients in weight loss supplements. (Internal Journal of Obesity, 33: 1348-1355, 2009;American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 89: 45-50, 2009