Down, but not Out: Xenadrine EFX, CortiSlim, and TrimSpa Xenadrine, CortiSlim, and TrimSpa all experienced significant financial successes in the first half of the 1990’s selling weight loss supplements using flashy TV and print advertisements and a number of questionable…
Creatine Use
Creatine is a naturally-occurring compound used by the body to help provide energy to muscles and organs. When used as a supplement, the creatine is designed to provide an energy reserve for longer, better workouts. Performance-boosting drugs such as steroids…
Choosing Safe Vitamins
1. Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA): The daily nutrient intake needed to meet dietary requirements for at least 97-98% of healthy Americans. The statistic is vital for determining vitamin deficiencies. We recommend consulting a doctor and/or dietician before adding any dietary…
Are Herbal Dietary Supplements Safe?
In 2010, America’s top federal regulatory watchdog, the GAO (United States Government Accountability Office), took on the topic of herbal dietary supplements. Specifically, they collected data to measure the expected safety and efficacy of these products, along with isolating obvious…
What Are Superfoods?
Blueberries, tomatoes, spinach, salmon, almonds, and wheat germ. These products are all great, natural additions to a healthy diet, but are they super? On one hand, they are excellent sources of vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants, and more. Their sales have…
Important Vitamins and Minerals for Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
Key Questions Answered Here: Is sushi during pregnancy safe? Beware of fish with high mercury content, including white tuna. What do pre-natal vitamins do? Provide high levels of folic acid, iron, and other nutrients that are essential to fetal development.…
St. John’s Wort Drug Interactions and Health Benefits
Summary: St. John’s Wort has a long history of use for the treatment of insomnia and anxiety-related conditions. St. John’s Wort has been proven in clinical trials to be significantly more effective than a placebo in the treatment of mild…
What is The Raspberry Ketone Diet?
Raspberries are often listed among the top ‘superfoods’ for healthy diets. But recent health claims, initiated by supplements manufacturers and perpetuated by health experts like Doctor Oz, argue that a chemical extract of red raspberries, called raspberry ketone, can help…
What’s in Gummy Vitamins?
LabDoor sent 14 gummy and chewable vitamins and 61 standard multivitamins to the lab, and this is what we found. Check LabDoor’s rankings of 75 best-selling multivitamins here. Co-author: Neil Thanedar Infographic: Demah Alsinan and Rafael Ferreira
Hidden Glycemic Index Risks of Artificially Sweetened Products
Summary While it may seem that artificial sweeteners cater perfectly to diabetics and “weight-watchers”, many artificially-sweetened foods hide a high Glycemic Index (GI) and/or Glycemic Load (GL). The Glycemic Index is a measure of how a food affects blood sugar…