Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

I’ve been reading Mary’s Fitness Blog for a long time. She talks about what it’s really like to keep fit. She has had trouble with her back, was grateful that she didn’t have to have surgery, and she knows which exercises aggravate her problem. I enjoy reading her ideas because she has kept a calm head about her.

I was kind of surprised when she posted this entry:

• Mary’s Fitness Blog – I love creatine

I have categorized all health supplements as “Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.” That means, the companies that sell them, tend to make promises that they haven’t backed up with scientific proof. They haven’t bothered to pay for the clinical trials, so I’m not going to bother to pay for their product. It’s a simple equation for me.

This time, my philosophy has protected me from wasting my money on creatine. Quackwatch has a detailed article on the failed promises of creatine.

• Quackwatch – Creatine Supplementation – by Beth Lulinski, M.S., R.D.

There are thousands of companies out there trying to convince you that you can’t grow muscle on your own without the benefits of their products. Don’t let them get you. Humans were growing muscles long before creatine was ever conceived of. Don’t spend money on a product that hasn’t been proven to do anything beneficial. With persistence and dedication, you will grow stronger on your own.

More companies are coming under the gun from the FTC for making false claims.

FTC slams more phony diet pill marketers – Consumer Health Digest, July 5, 2005

Products and Companies to Avoid based on past advertising:

• FiberThin
• Propolene
• Obesity Research Institute
• AVS Marketing
• Himalayan Diet Breakthrough
• Any diet product that says that you can lose weight without changing your diet or activity level.

There are so many companies out there that are trying to take your money. Don’t let them get you.

The FDA has approved a machine that is supposed to provide a “temporary reduction in the appearance of cellulite.” They tout it as a safer alternative to liposuction.

• FDA Clears Syneron VelaSmooth for Cellulite Treatment

It all sounds like hype to me. I don’t want to pay my doctor for anything that is temporary and only changes the appearance of my legs. My biggest problem is getting to my ideal weight. When I’m there, if I still have cellulite, I’m not going to care. The goal is to be healthy. If I am at a healthy weight and I still have cellulite, then I’ve achieved my goal.

So many companies are trying to profit from our insecurities. There are creams and machines, loofahs and exercise balls. While these things might make you feel better about the situation, they are just placebos. A good massage could make you feel just as beautiful and empowered.

• Quackwatch – Cellulite Removers – by Stephen Barrett, M.D.

I hope that the FDA will be watching this company and the doctors who use them very closely, just waiting for them to do something illegal. Don’t be a victim. Let them experiment on someone else.

Via: Really Useful Fitness Blog – Velasmooth: A safe cellulite treatment that actually works?

This postcard showed up on PostSecret last week. I often talk about the first step toward a healthy life (Margaret Cho’s F**K It Diet, The Fat Girl’s Guide to Life, etc.), but I rarely talk about the first step toward failure. The first step that derails your mind and sends you on the road to desperation.

I call that first step, Bulimia, Diet Drugs and Stomach Stapling. It’s the mindset that says, “This isn’t working. I can’t do this on my own. I’m willing to do ANYTHING to get skinny, even if it hurts me.” I never even remember thinking the phrase, “I can’t do this on my own,” but that is the premise behind every step toward these weight loss methods. It’s a very harmful thought and it is promoted by companies everywhere trying to sell you something.

When I used to read up on the most recent medical procedures, the new diet drugs that are in the testing phases and was tempted to empty my stomach after a binge, something far more sinister was at work than just “keeping informed.” I was telling myself over and over again that I couldn’t do this on my own and that it didn’t matter if I was healthy as long as I was thin.

I AM NOT A CLOTHING SIZE!!! I am a smart, witty and enchanting person! I want to stay on this planet as long as I can, so I’m going to take precious care of my body so it doesn’t betray me early in life. I am going to exercise and provide it with healthy food. I’m going to protect it from chemicals. I’m going to protect it from scapel-happy surgeons, wanting to make a buck off the insecurities of humans. I’m going to protect it from binges and purges. I can do this!

And so can you.

Remember when my sister said that it seems like all of these articles in the news about the rising obesity rates might be so prevalent because the health insurance companies are trying to get out of paying benefits for half the population? Here is another article that points in that direction:

• HealthDay – Obesity Sends Health Costs Soaring

When we see all these articles, remember that there is a reason they keep quoting that 60% of the population is overweight. They want you to believe that it’s acceptable to deny benefits to people who are overweight. The truth of the matter is, there is no substantial proof that being overweight causes diseases. Overweight is a far cry from obesity. A few pounds overweight may not cause disease, but the insurance companies want you to believe that it will. They want you to get confused by using the words overweight and obesity interchangeably.

Via: About.com – Staggering Stats … – by Jennifer R. Scott

The FTC has fined two Florida companies $20 million dollars for false claims.

• FTC.gov – FTC Targets Bogus Anti-Aging Claims for Pills and Sprays Promising Human Growth Hormone Benefits

Companies to watch out for: Great American Products, Inc. and Physician’s Choice, Inc..

The Bogus Products: Ultimate HGH, Super HGH Booster, Master HGH, Super HGH, Fat Blaster, Super Carbo Blocker, Ultimate Wild Oregano Oil, and Super Wild Oregano Oil.

The FTC is requiring that any future claims must be substantiated, but don’t trust them. Physician’s Choice’s website is advertising some Super Slim pill that is suposed to “metabolize fat away for a beautiful figure and increased energy.” Don’t let them take any of your money.

Via: Consumer Health Digest

It’s not just small, fly-by-night companies that make unsubstantiated health claims about their products. In 2002 and again in 2004, Tropicana ran ads that claimed that drinking two to three cups of Tropicana orange juice each day would lower blood pressure, raise good cholesterol and a host of other health benefits. They have settled with the FTC.

• FTC – FTC Puts the Squeeze on Tropicana’s Orange Juice Claims

Weight loss and “health” is a big business. Orange juice provides many essential nutrients, but it isn’t a miracle food any more than dairy or three apples a day. Just like there isn’t a “magic bullet” pill that will melt away fat without effort, there is no “miracle food” that will solve all your health problems or make weight loss easier. There is no substitute for a healthy and balanced diet.

Via: The National Council Against Health Fraud – Consumer Health Digest

Considering the dangers of gastric bypass surgery, I would think that covering it would be a recipe for surging costs for the Medicare program. I don’t think I like the idea of my tax dollars paying to make people even more sick.

• CNN.com – Companies ask Medicare to cover more obesity surgery – Reuters

If you read this article carefully, you’ll notice that it’s the companies that make the stomach bands and other devices used in the surgeries that are fighting for the coverage. It just goes to show me that the weight loss industry is all about money. If they actually cared about the health of the people receiving these surgeries, don’t you think they would make it safer? One out of every 200 people who have the surgery die within 30 days. I want better odds than that.

If you look at their website now, there are no products or claims listed at all. Part of the FTC settlement was to remove unsubstantiated claims from their advertising, so it’s not a surprise that all the website has now is a phone number and a frequently asked questions file which clarifies how to return merchandise.

Selfworx marketed two products: Gelthin and Ultra LipoLean. Gelthin was supposed to melt fat away when you rub it on “problem areas.” Ultra LipoLean was supposed to “block fat.” Neither of them did what they said they would do.

The FTC can’t be everywhere. Small companies can pop up, promise great results and dissapear into thin air before the FTC can get them and before you can get your money back. There is no substitute for healthy eating habits and exercise. Don’t let them get you.

Do you really know what’s in your multi-vitamin? Unfortunately, Kicker Vencill didn’t. He was a 2004 Olympic Swimming hopeful who failed his urine test. He insisted that he had not taken steroids. The athletic community rolled its eyes at him and restricted him from competing for four years.

The truth was, he didn’t take steroids. His multi-vitamin, Super Complete, produced by Ultimate Nutrition, was found to be tainted with 19-norandrosterone. He just won a lawsuit against the company and his ban has been transmuted to two years.

Good luck at the trials for 2008, Kicker!

Via: Consumer Health Digest – May 17, 2005

• USA Today – Banned swimmer wins case over supplements – By Ben Fox, Associated Press