Diet Pills versus Exercise - Research Paper Example

? Diet Pills versus Exercise What Are Diet Pills? Tablets, capsules containing ingredients capable of causing the body to react in a way that willeither increase or decrease the weight of an individual are commonly called diet pills. To further define what they do, the top three diet pills will be considered here. Ranking was based on feedback from customers and medical experts. According to the online Buyers’ Guide for Diet Pills prepared by ResearchDietPills.com (2012), customers’ feedback about various diet pills, along with experts, and some clinical studies can actually lead to the determination of preferred diet pills in the market. ResearchDietPills.com (2012) listed the top three diet pills to be # 1 Apidexin, # 2 Phenphedrine, and # 3 7-DFBX. The criteria for ranking was based on safety, effectiveness as fat burner, effectiveness as appetite suppressant, overall effectiveness, value, availability of guarantee, success rate, and the price. Apidexin was reported to be effective because it actually brought about weight loss by increasing the body’s metabolism or the ability to burn calories. It contains an ingredient known as African Mango. The scientific name is Irvingia Gabonensis. Natives of Africa actually used it as medicine before a university discovered its ability to raise metabolism and eventually result in weight loss. Apidexin also contains Cissus Quadrangularis, a substance from one of the grape family members. To help the person using that diet pill, its role is to lower down the level of stress while metabolism is raised. Such an ingredient is also capable of healing broken bones and tissues damaged. Without it, high stress level can trigger the natural storage of excess energy as fat. Another substance found in Apidexin is an herb that will suppress appetite while it also stimulates metabolism. Finally, there is caffeine anhydrous added to facilitate the absorption of multiple ingredients. One testimony (Donna) said that Apidexin can quickly lower the weight by 9 lbs. in 4 days. Another (Linzee) claimed to have lost 25 lbs. in 2 months. A third (Darleen) reported her use of Apidexin for 7 months and lost 58 lbs..These testimonies are available in the website of apidexin.com. Phenphedrine, as the # 2 diet pill, boasts of having the strength of 10,000 chocolate bars. It contains caffeine and malic acid which increase energy level and mental alertness. Chocamine was added. This comes from a Colombian coco plant and serves as antioxidants. Then it also contains Razberri-K, an ingredient meant to prevent the retention of fat. It also prevents weight gain as a result. Ginger root was likewise included for the protection and even improvement of the heart and gallbladder. Yohimbine, which is an aphrodisiac or stimulant, comes from the so called Indian Snakeroot. So far, all the foregoing ingredients are from natural sources. But chemical components were added as well. These are: Phenylethylamine, known as a love drug, is for the purpose of giving a feeling of satisfaction, contentment, or even pleasure. Evodiamine was included because studies proved that it does burn fat and regulates the temperature of the body. Sclareolide supports the effect of Evodiamine by breaking down body fat. HOPS, the NPY (neuropeptide-Y) inhibitor acts on the brain to relax the body, to relieve pain and stress, and to lower the feeling of anxiety. Because the chemicals are derived from natural sources, advertisements say that Phenphedrine is 100% natural. Only 18 year old people are allowed to take Phenphedrine. Those sensitive to caffeine or stimulants should not take the drug. In the list of top 3, this diet pill was least safe and rated only 77% safe while Apidexin has been rated 99% safe. The producers of this drug claim that a person will lose 14 lbs. in 7 days. Their confidence is backed by a money back guarantee if that much weight loss is not attained. What makes it work? First of all, 7-DFBX contains 100% natural antioxidants. There are 35 ingredients on the label of that diet pill product. Its power makes it primarily a detoxifier. The logic involved is that by cleaning the internal system with herbal ingredients capable of eliminating the toxins within the colon and liver, the metabolic function will be more capable of eliminating fat. For example, Dandelion Root extract was meant to detoxify the liver. Garlic has an antibacterial effect. It can also lower the blood pressure. Other ingredients are natural fat burners and fibers that carry away the fat out of the system. The other herbs will boost the immune system, suppress appetite, and prevent stress as metabolism is also stimulated so that more fat can be eliminated. The third placer, diet pill named 7-DFBX, ranks 2nd in safety with rate = 88% safe. International research institutes normally conduct careful studies and trials to arrive at alternative drugs such as dietary pills. After launching the products, they are reviewed for human safety. 2. How to Diet Without Pills & the Value of Exercises Several logical ways were found to be recommended as diet without use of pills or with very limited use of pills. Fain, J. (2010) first tries to correct the attitude of people who wish to lose weight by saying they ought to start with the thought of first accepting, liking, and loving self instead of giving the self a condition of becoming more lovable if weight loss efforts succeed. The author is a psychotherapist from a Harvard Medical School affiliate. She teaches that there is in fact no need to diet if a person learns to first love the self as is. From there, physical changes can be done. Exercises are the alternatives. But a person must find a good motivation to begin with. Fear of death, frustration over high cost of health insurance due to diabetes caused by overweight prompted Jeff Tunk (2008, p.72) to change his life. He practiced eating high protein breakfast, reduced carbohydrate intake in the next meals, and worked out to convert extra energy to lean muscles. From size 54, he shrank his waistline to only 42 inches in one year. By October 2008, his waistline was down to 40. Professor Dr. Werner Hoeger (2010) and the VP of Fitness and Wellness, Inc., Sharon Hoeger (2010) believed in correcting unhealthy behavior and habits as a first step. Then positive behavior must be assimilated. This, according to them, should be followed by taking control of the desirable lifestyle. Changes have to be done to achieve the desired health and wellness. Their book also educates people who wish to lose weight to learn more about nutrition in order to be aware of what the body really needs to be with the right weight, energy level, and immune system. Hoeger, W. and Hoeger, S. (2010, p. 65) said: “Too much or too little of any nutrient can precipitate serious health problems.” They were referring to the fuel nutrients made up of carbohydrates, fat, and protein, and the regulatory nutrients or a combination of clean water, vitamins, and minerals. Another name for fuel nutrients would be macronutrients. While the neutralizers or regulators are also known as micronutrients. Their recommended natural steps to a healthy life are in the following sequence: (1) Arrest the negative behavior. For example, stop smoking or excessive hard liquor. (2) Prevent the return or creation of negative behavior. (3) Take hold of the positive behavior. One of these would be the attitude of staying always aware of the things that will have an impact on the body’s health. (4) Reinforce all the positive behavior. Read and review literatures about good physical requirements and what exercises have to be done. How much calories should be eaten in order to lose weight? (5) Maintain the positive lifestyle. Avoid bad cholesterol from fatty meat products. Registered Dietitian (RD) Gloria Tsang (2005) started her website with the fact that all people need fats to help the body absorb the nutrients, to facilitate transmission of fatty acids through the nerves, to protect the cell membrane, and much more. She also forewarned about the negative effects of excess intake, namely, weight gain, susceptibility to cancer, and various heart diseases. Peanuts, walnuts, almonds, pistachios, avocado, canola oil, olive oil will supply an individual with monounsaturated fats capable of lowering the bad cholesterol (also known as LDL or Low Density Lipoprotein) as it increases the good cholesterol (also known as HDL or High Density Lipoprotein). One distinguishing characteristic of LDL is that it is sticky and hard to remove. Salmon, corn, soybeans, safflower seeds, sunflower seeds contain polyunsaturated fats that can likewise lessen bad cholesterol and the total cholesterol in the body. These are the sources of Omega 3 fatty acid needed by the brain. Beware of saturated fats found in animal meat, dairy products, egg yolk, palm oil, coconut oil, and some seafood, because they are rich in bad cholesterol (LDL). Trans fats usually found in packaged products like biscuits, popcorn, french fries, and chips for snack were created by manufacturers to prolong the shelf life of food. These are also dangerous because of their LDL or bad fats. Erasmus, Udo Ph.D. (2011) disclosed that the human brain is made up of 60% fat, so that it is imperative for the body to have adequate supply of fat for the brain to function normally and to be capable of gaining higher intelligence, ability to learn, and also realize emotional stability. He pinpointed Omega 3 and Omega 6 to be the right fats needed. When these are inadequately supplied, human behavior will change. Instead of being able to remain calm, cats, dogs, and human beings were reported to become more easily stressed. Children can be observed to be hyperactive partly as a result of low fat and missing ingredients from junk food. Ability to focus will be poor due to lack of the right fats for the brain. Juvenile delinquents, depressed individuals, epileptics were treated with adequate fats and discovered to improve in their behavior. In one study, a pregnant mother rat deprived of Omega 3 fat was discovered to give birth to “offspring with permanent learning disabilities”, according to Udo Eramus, Ph.D.His hypothesis is that a human or animal brain will not have the opportunity to be properly developed if it is not supplied with the needed fatty acids for the brain. Saturated fats, trans fats, and cholesterol as sources of fats can be replaced by good fat needed by the body for the production of hormones, for the protection of different parts of the body like the linings of the intestines, the arteries, and the skin. Without good fat, the body can experience a disease like hardening of the arteries leading to heart attacks. Mr. Universe, Arnold Schwarnegger, and Bill Dobbins (1985, p.686-694) wrote about practical advices about how to lose weight or gain weight. They recommended weight gain through a series of diet plans from Level 1 to Level 3, wherein the rule is to switch to the higher level of diet once there is a need to gain more weight but a person experiences that there seems to be no more weight gain taking place after three weeks of maintaining the breakfast, lunch, dinner recipes. The idea is to take in more calories and protein. Then support the intake with recommended exercises. Which exercises depend on the muscles in need of growth? Arnold and Bill highly recommended supplementation of meals with high-calories and high-protein drinks specially during workouts. To lose weight, they recommend simply eating and drinking total calories lower than what is consumed during the whole day of exerting energy with all the activities that have to be done. The best is to convert the excess weight into lean muscles wherever a person wants them to be lean. However, the reduction should be done gradually because there can be ‘unfortunate’ side effects. Fasting is not preferred due to the reality of losing more muscles than fat. Exercises are needed to gain a metabolism capable of burning the sticky fats. Trying to lose weight the fast way, according to Schwarzeneger, A. and Dobbins, B. (1985, p. 692) is the worst way to lose fat. The body must gradually adjust to changes in the supply of nutrients. Sudden changes can have shocking results, including life threatening diseases. This practical teaching has been confirmed by doctors in very recent years. Dr. Hensrud, D. (2011), specialist in preventive medicine at the Mayo Clinic, warned that fast weight loss will probably cause people to lose water or lean tissue rather than the bad cholesterol since the latter is difficult to burn within a short time. Anyone who wants fast weight loss must be under close supervision of a medical doctor. It takes a much longer duration of weight loss program to achieve more permanent lifestyle changes that go along with the proper maintenance of the body. 1-2 pounds of weight loss a week is said to be the right recommendation at the Mayo Clinic. One of the negative effects of sudden weight loss is the Addison’s disease. This is a situation wherein a person’s adrenal glands or the organ next to kidneys become no longer capable of proper function. They are supposed to produce hormones to allow the body to function normally. Without these hormones, low blood pressure will be experienced. Fatigue and muscle weakness will be felt because the heart will start failing to supply adequate nutrition throughout the body. According to Cunha, J. (2012), when large amounts of water is lost, multiple organ failures can happen due to dehydration, and death can follow. Thus the practical advice of Arnold Schwarzenneger and Bill Dobbins about avoiding sudden weight loss has medical basis as of the present. During the time when a person initiates a weight loss program, the body enters into a state wherein it tends to conserve nutrients to prevent itself from starvation. Heather Long (2012) reminds those who wish to lose weight to aim for sustainable diet rather than sudden weight loss diet. The failure to sustain a diet that can help reduce weight will bring about the yo-yo effect whereby the person loses weight for a while and then regains weight because the body seeks to replenish lost nutrition following a feeling of starvation. 3. Combination of Diet Pills & Exercises Great care and doctor’s supervision must be practiced when it comes to implementing a plan to lose weight using diet pills and exercises. Those pills have been disclosed as capable of increasing the metabolism of the body, which means increasing the blood pressure and the heartbeats. A heart attack can result out of such a combination even if the pills are made of organic compounds. Diet pills can make a person feel artificially energetic even though the body does not receive the needed nutrients for its normal function. The substance can give false information to the brain about the capability of the body to maintain itself properly. Sudden blackouts or stroke can take place. Health problems can take place especially when substantial weigh loss has already taken place, since there is a possibility that what got lost were the required water, nutrients along with water, and cells instead of sticky fats. When the body finally needs them, and there is inadequate supply, a major shock can be experienced. The presence of doctors will allow for the immediate resuscitation of a weakened body. Ideally, proper nutrition and adequate exercises can definitely lead to weight loss. But whoever wishes to follow this strategy must be willing to develop the discipline of doing the recommended exercises and taking the recommended food diet for the next 6 months to 2 years. Perhaps the reason why many complain about exercises not working lies in the combination of nutrition and exercises. It is indeed not easy to determine the amount of calories in every meal. Moreover, it is also hard to say how much calories are lost within the day, because that requires some technical knowledge from registered nutritionists, nurses, or doctors. Going to these specialists can be expensive. So what many people resort to is a combination of dietary pills and mild exercises. Since diet pills reduce the feeling of hunger, people using them can naturally eat less. Exercises can be minimized and done only for the purpose of allowing the body to absorb the nutrients from the diet pills. However, it will be safer to consult a registered nurse at the very least in order to check the blood pressure and sugar level of the body, since there are devices that allow the nurses to tell people whether or not their blood pressure or sugar level has been fluctuating or not. Another precaution would be the practice of monitoring the weight loss by simply standing on a weighing scale. Losing 1-2 pounds a week will be something to be glad about for those implementing a combination of dietary pills and exercises. Sudden losses in weight should be danger signs calling for a doctor to immediately supervise drastic changes. There should likewise be some effort for the brain to know the right food that ought to be consumed in order to avoid bad cholesterol. Exerting effort using only physical exercises without thinking, planning, and even learning will expose a person to various risks during a weight loss program implementation. An easy way to feel convenient with think about nutrition and the right exercises would be by joining a group or forum to communicate with people who are knowledgeable about calories, different sources of good fat, and enjoyable exercises. Works Cited Cunha, John P. (2012). “Low Blood Pressure.” MedicineNet.com. Web. March 12, 2012. Erasmus, Udo (2011). “The Right Fat Diet – Essential Fats for Brain and Nerve Function.” Flora Premium Herbal Formula. FlorEssenceTea.com. March 23, 2011. Web. March 9, 2012. Fain, Jean(2010). “The Self-Compassion Diet: A Step-by-Step Program to Lose Weight with Loving Kindness.” Sounds True. December 8, 2010. Hensrud, Donald M.D. (2011). “Why Do Doctors Recommend A Slow Rate of Weight Loss? What’s Wrong With Fast Weight Loss?” Weight Loss. MayoClinic.com. August 2, 2011. Web. March 10, 2012 Hoeger, Werner W.K. and Hoeger, Sharon A. (2010). “Lifetime Physical Fitnessand Wellness: A Personalized Program, 11th Edition.” Cengage Learning, 2010. Long, Heather (2012). “What is Diet Shock ?” Health Weight Loss. Families.com. Web. March 10, 2012. Rahl, Riva L.(2010). “Physical Activity and Health Guidelines: Recommendations for Various Ages, Fitness Levels, and Conditions from 57 Authoritative Source.” Human Kinetics. June 2, 2010. ResearchDietPills.com(2012). “2012’s Best Diet Pills For Fast Weight Loss.” Web. March 10,2012. Schwarzenneger, Arnold and Dobbins, Bill (1985). Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding. Simon and Schister, Inc. New York, 1985 Tsang, Gloria (2005). “Good Fats and Bad Fats.” Fats 101: How To Tell Good Fats and Bad Fats. HealthCastle.com: Nutrition Advice Exclusively From Registered Dietitions. November 2005. Web. March 12, 2012. Tunks, Jeff (2008). “Conquer Your Waistline.” Best Life Magazine. Vol. 5 No. 8. October 2008. Rodale Inc.. Read More