More on the Weight Loss Drugs

The next drug which is fairly familiar out there is Meridia (sibutramine). While this drugs has a slightly higher weight loss average as compared to orlistat, the side effects are much more dangerous to your health.

First and foremost, if you are on this drug be sure that you are watching your blood pressure. Meridia not raises your blood pressure, but it can also increase the heart rate, compounding the problem with the blood pressure. You should never be using this drug if you already have high blood pressure or a problem with heart rate.

Additionally, this drug can cause nausea, constipation, dry mouth, or insomnia.

Having done some the clinical trials with this drug, I can tell you that the weight loss was fairly minimal at best.

More to Almonds

While yesterday's note on almonds said a lot, there is still more to the almond story. One of the main components in almonds is fiber. We all know that we need fiber in our diets and most of us know that we get way to little fiber in our diets. I mentioned yesterday that almonds decrease the absorption of carbohydrates, but they also decrease the absorption of fat.

While the fiber assists as mentioned above, it also serves to keep the bowel functioning normally and may prevent colon cancer as a result. Also, remember that it contains antioxidants which can boost the immune system and help prevent cancer as well.

Almonds also help reduce c-reactive protein which is an indicator of inflammation in the body. This helps prevent artery damaging inflammation. And as you might expect homocysteine levels are also decreased.

Last Thoughts on Pomegranate Juice

There is no research that shows the effect of pomegranate juice on the gastrointestinal tract. But I did find that many people who drink it on a regular basis tend to get constipated. So it may work for those of you who are experiencing diarrhea. While it has many good benefits that I have mentioned over the past few days, it can also cause constipation.

Drink it in moderation - 8 ounces a day is probably enough. Oh, the other thing I forgot to mention is that there seems to be quite a bit out there that indicates that it helps the skin as well. This would stand to reason since it is a potent antioxidant and antioxidants do come out in skin cells.

Yogurt - should you eat it?

Yogurt has some wonderful properties which can be helpful to you. The first thing to look for when buying yogurt is to get yogurt that contains active live cultures. This means that it actually contains the type of bacteria normally found in the intestine.

These live bacteria can help in regulating the function of the bowel. Hence, if you have a problem with constipation, it can help the gut motility to move things through. On the other hand, if you have diarrhea, often times the normal bacteria in the gut has been killed off or is gone. One of the biggest causes of this is antibiotic treatment. So eating active live culture yogurt can restore the normal bacteria in the gut and stop the diarrhea. It's not a bad idea to eat yogurt if you are on antibiotics to help the gut.