Stop the insanity!

I don't really spend all that much time watching TV, but even in the limited amount of time that I do, I always happen upon the so-called latest and greatest diet and exercise fad. Last night I just so happened to see an advert for yet another ab rolling type machine, with this one claiming to help you lose your abdominal fat in, like, eight seconds. TV is not the only media outlet to blame, however. Just as guilty, if not even more so, is the internet -- also known as the place where faulty claims run amok and unsupported data is pretty much the norm.

Yes, I'm well aware of the fact that this is an internet-based platform, too. You take the good, you take the bad (you take them both and then you have the facts of life -- and here it is I claim to not watch much TV), that's pretty much how internet research goes. At any rate, the point I am finally arriving at is that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of products on the market, claiming to be able to make you lose weight. Mind you, I didn't even say "help you" lose weight. These products make it seem as though all it takes is swallowing a pill will give you a body like a triathlete.

Sorry, but it just doesn't work that way.

I could spend the next couple of hours highlighting examples, but I will restrict my exemplification to one: Starch Blockers. More or less, starch blockers are supposed to be able to prevent the body from converting starch into sugar. Consequently, insulin levels should go relatively unchanged and calories from these starches will, ahem, go out with the trash, so to speak.

But, studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine and the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition have shown that starch blockers just plain don't work. There was not any difference found in plasma glucose and insulin response in users, nor was there any evidence shown that suggested any kind of reduced calorie absorption.

Back in the 80's, starch blockers were taken off the market by the FDA, but their resurgence as of late is due to widespread, and somewhat unpreventable, internet sales.

My suggestion is to avoid products such as starch blockers like the plague. If you want to lose weight, the tried and true method of healthy eating and regular exercise are still the best methods around.