August, 2010Vol 3, Issue 8

Healthy Habits

 Healthy Habituator
All the Fit News to Email
Greetings!
Healthy Habits FitnessAt Healthy Habits, we help people who are frustrated, unsure, bored, or otherwise unsuccessful achieving their exercise and/or weight management goals. We only work by appointment and feature private exercise rooms, so the focus is on you. We listen to you, we help you where you need help, and we hold you accountable for your "homework."
 
Call us at 684-1607 for a free consultation or trial workout. 
In This Issue
Dirty Dozen Supplements
News of the Month
Back to Class
Quick Links
Dirty Dozen Supplements
I know, I wrote about supplements last month, but I'm on a roll. This information comes from the September 2010 issue of Consumer Reports and is more wide-ranging than last month's article, which focused on weight loss supplements.

In 2009. Americans spent $26.7 billion on dietary supplements. The Food and Drug Administration nominally has the job of overseeing the supplement industry, but has little power to do so, and apparently, little will. In addition, China is a major supplier of raw supplement ingredients, and has a well-documented history of exporting contaminated products. In any case, supervision is haphazard, disjointed, and ineffective. The FDA has managed to ban only 1 ingredient, ephedrine alkaloids, and that took 10 years, despite its implication in thousands of adverse events, including a few deaths.

Consumers Reports, working with the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, identified the 12 most dangerous ingredients, based on their history of adverse events, their possible effectiveness (if any) for the claimed use, and their availability. The Dirty Dozen are:
  • aconite
  • bitter orange
  • chaparral
  • colloidal silver
  • coltsfoot
  • comfrey
  • country mallow
  • germanium
  • greater celandine
  • kava
  • lobelia
  • yohimbe
If you are determined to take supplements anyway, other than those listed above, here are 6 steps you can take to help ensure that the supplements you take are safe and beneficial:
 
  1. Consult your doctor and/or pharmacist. Sometimes it's the interaction of the things you take that causes a problem, not just the drugs or supplements themselves.
  2. Be especially wary of supplements for weight loss, bodybuilding , and sexual enhancement - that's where a lot of problems have surfaced.
  3. Look for the "USP Verified" mark, which denotes that the manufacturer voluntarily asked for review by US Pharmacopeia, a trusted, non-profit, standards-setting authority.
  4. Avoid megadoses. It is possible to overdose even on beneficial ingredients.
  5. Report any bad symptoms to your doctor and have him/her relay any serious problems on to the FDA.
  6. Research right. Don't take claims for granted. Check out the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements (ods.od.nih.gov), the FDA (www.fda.gov/dietarysupplements) and Consumer Reports Health (www.consumerreportshealth.org).

News of the Month

Healthy Habits Fitness Star of the Month is WR. He has lost 14 pounds, gained strength and energy, looks better and feels better, since starting 2 months ago.

FLO has picked out the Functional Trainer exercises she wants to do once she recovers from hip replacement.

RR opted for a massage over a workout with Trainer Mike. No Star of the Month for you, Girl!

SC has lost 6.4 pounds in about 6 weeks.


Healthy Habits is now on FaceBook. You are all invited to be friends, and hopefully fans. In fact, it would be a big help if you would.   Please click here to sign up.

Our blog page is up and running on the website, or you can also see them on FaceBook.
 

Quote Corner:
AL: "Why are push ups so hard?" 
Trainer Mike: "Because they engage almost all your major muscles."
AL: "Oh. So its No Muscle Left Behind."

SH (husband): "Planks are hard!"
BH (wife): "No, they're not - you're just not very good at them."
SH: "Well, I think I'm pretty plank-y."

 
Welcome New Clients SLP and KaJo, and Returning Client MiMe.


Back to Class
Kids are going back to school - Finally! Thank Goodness, eh Moms?

Well, why don't you go back to class as well? We would love to have afternoon exercise classes for you at a convenient time. We have openings on Tuesdays and Thursdays - just let us know what times are best and we'll get started. Our classes are small (3-6 people) and taught by our experienced personal trainers. If you bring 2 or more friends with you, the rate will be only $15 each per class, 25% off our usual price.

We also have some new openings in our current class schedule. Its a great time to start an exercise program or add an extra workout at a bargain price - only $20 a class!

We have openings on TU and TH  mornings from 6-7 am, TU evenings from 6-7 pm, and Saturday mornings from 10-11 am. All these classes provide challenging overall workouts, with varying segments of cardio, core and strength training in each class. Call Mike at 684-1607 to arrange a free trial class and see if its right for you.
Mike Ross-Spang
Healthy Habits