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Weight Loss Products - Beware the Hidden Dangers

Diet & Weight Loss

pillsThe old weight-loss-in-a-pill wish. I think most of us who have a few pounds to lose have wished it could be that easy from time to time. And when you watch the commercials on TV, they certainly make it seem like magic. Think about it -- one second an overweight person is pictured and the next second -- BAM! -- that very same person is thin and somehow tanner and more smiley. What a miracle, right? Not only do the pills help you lose weight, they must also make you tanner, happier and give you better hair. Who wouldn't want some of that magic?

Unfortunately, it's not that easy. Weight loss requires work and a commitment to a healthier lifestyle. And, while some weight loss pills undoubtedly do help, there are associated risks. Jacki recently told us about the risks with some of the more popular weight-loss medications, most of which are available by prescription only. But a lot of the lesser known medications can be risky, too.

The FDA listed 28 weight loss products that contain hidden -- and potentially harmful -- ingredients. No, thank you. Check out the gallery for more tried and true ways to shed pounds.

Ways to lose weight(click thumbnails to view gallery)

Ditch the See a proBuild on successUse a symbolBuy fresh

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Cruise doctors not responsible for your health

Diet & Weight Loss

If you believe relaxation contributes to good health and you believe cruises lead to relaxation, then sailing the oceans blue might be just what you need. But if you believe there will be dependable medical care on board should your health take a detour, then you'd possibly be wrong and therefore, a cruise may not be just what you need.

Nearly 10 million Americans will set sail this year. What these 10 million may not know is that cruise lines claim no responsibility for doctors' actions. Cruise lines hire doctors, and they assign them as part of the crew -- but the buck stops there. The doctor merely has to claim to be competent. If he or she is not, cruise lines disavow any responsibility whatsoever.

This fact can be found in the fine print on tickets, Web sites, and brochures. But most of us don't read every detail and for some, discovering this hidden wording occurs too late.

If cruise lines are not responsible, then the doctors must be, right? In theory, perhaps. But many doctors are foreigners who and are tough to track down in legal scenarios.

In the book Unsafe on the High Seas, Miami attorney Charles Lipcon offers advice for protecting yourself : Get travel insurance if yours doesn't have an evacuation provision, he says. And bring copies of your medical records, and tell the cruise line about pre-existing conditions. And most important: If you have a serious medical problem, maybe a cruise is not right for you.

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Are sports becoming unsafe?

Healthy Home, Womens Health, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health

Are contact sports like wrestling, boxing, basketball, and others becoming more and more unsafe? Studies are popping up every day on the transmissions of HIV, Hepetitis, and more due to blood, sweat and saliva and other bodily fluids from one person to another. You play sports for enjoyment, stress relief, and healthy physical reasons to get more fit and stay in shape, but are you putting yourself at risk for certain diseases that can be transferred by bodily fluids? What happens if someone gets injured and bleeds during a game? What happens when you rub your body up against another sweaty body or saliva gets spewed into your face or on a cut or scrape on your body.

A just released article in Turkey on Hepatitis B virus testing and immunization should be mandatory for professional or Olympic athletes participating in contact sports has raised many concerns. Turkish Olympic wrestlers whose blood was tested were found to have occult HBV infection and in many of the infected wrestlers, the virus was detected in their sweat as they trained, which suggests it might be easily transmitted to fellow wrestlers, the study found. The finding of HBV DNA in the wrestlers' sweat raises the concern about transmission through bodily contact, as wrestlers and participants of other contact sports not only sweat profusely but often sustain bleeding wounds or exudative skin injuries during training or competition.

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