"What studies exist on gynostemma all seem to have looked at effects in cell cultures and on rodents (i.e. rats and guinea pigs). No human trials. Given the problems that have surfaced on closer examination of some "traditional Chinese medicines", I'm not sure I'd want to be a human guinea pig for gynostemma." On the contrary, the Chinese have done all the field trials you could want on this. Jiaogulan tea is quite popular in the areas of China where people have enjoyed extreme longevity (100+) for centuries. Now, while that doesn't PROVE Jiagulan is good for you, if it was toxic it's unlikely regular users would live LONGER than average. Remember that most clinical trials in the USA are done for profit, pure and simple. Come up with a new cholesterol drug you can patent, and you'll get your study. But imagine this: someone decides to do a clinical trial to prove that drinking distilled water is good for you. They spend 50 Million dollars proving this. Now, they publish their results. How do they make their money back? The water market is already saturated, so to speak. Making money selling water usually requires fringe science claims that the water has been 'de-polarized' by spinning in a centrifuge for ten hours. Not kidding, BTW. So, the only studies you'll see on "wellness" items are going to be smaller, University studies. It's surprising even ginseng attracted enough attention to be studied, much less exotics like Jiaogulan.

Well, if you're talking about that Calorie Counter assessment, I really like it, but it is only a general guide, and probably based on a "one size fits all" function. However, I am coming in consistently very low on fiber which is odd since I always thought I ate a lot of fiber. I'm trying to fix that. Basically I think I'm coming in low in fiber because I'm just not eating that many calories. I'm also low in calcium but I knew that and have been taking calcium/magnesium supplements with a vit. C chaser for years. They make a huge difference in how well I sleep and help me avoid "restless leg syndrome." Other than that, I take a multi-vitamin and acidophilous every day. That's plenty IMHO. Most vitamins are not stored by the body, so you're just peeing away money by taking a lot of supplements. BF swears high dose B vitamins give him energy, but they just give me weird dreams. I'd rather take my fish oil in the form of fish. I guess I should do flax, but I don't at this point. The best thing is to freshly grind the seeds but I'm not organized enough to do that. I also come in low in iron, but the body stores iron so you don't have to have adequate intake every day. Too much iron is toxic, so I just have some iron pills which I take every once and a while, with a C chaster for absorption. Calcium blocks iron, and iron is absorbed best on an empty stomach, and my thyroid medicine blocks calcium too. So timing and absporption are important with taking vitamins. I take my calcium at night, my multi and acidophilous with lunch, and my eye vitamins and iron if I'm taking it, before breakfast. Oh yeah, I have macular degeneration so I take Lutein with some other antioxidants. Probably futile. My mom has it so it is probably genetic. I don't have the worst kind though.

I've used the parafin based niacin; I think it's also called nicotinic acid. The therapeutic effect takes place between 1500mg to 3000mg/day. With me, 2500mg works. I use the Enduracin product. Must take it with food. I take 1000 @ breakfast, 1000@lunch & 500@ dinner. I had to build up to it: 250 1st wk, 500 2nd & 3rd wk, 1000 2nd month, etc. The oatbran book by Kowalski mentioned it and that's how I learned of it. Been on it since the early 1980's. The great thing about it is it raises the HDL (good chol), reverses blockages & lowers total chol & the bad LDL. Diet does not solve the problem, because with most of us, our body produces it no matter what we eat. I was disappointed in first 6 months: my chol. dramatically increased....but that was because the chol was being released from the tissues into the bloodstream, for destruction by the liver. I think the niacin uses up the bile, and the liver pulls in cholesterol to make more bile. Not sure why it works. When started, my total chol was over 400, the HDL was 11, and LDL was up off the charts. After 9 months, and to the present time, my tot chol is 104, HDL 50+ & LDL less than 40. It's a nuissance, but it works. REMEMBER, regular blood tests & consult with your MD.

See link below on some tips to lose weight, from Chi, originally posted in cooking forum. Also appreciate JohnLiu's honesty & humor. Below link also has pics. of portion-sizes: http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3579603/12-29-15-foods-to-lose-weight-daily-journal-toward-health-and-joy?n=21 WebMD on foods that help with weight loss: http://www.webmd.com/diet/obesity/9-foods-to-help-you-lose-weight?page=2 Eggs and Sausage A protein-rich breakfast may help you resist snack attacks throughout the day. Nuts Research shows that when people munch on nuts, they automatically eat less at later meals. Apples Whole fruit blunts appetite in a way that fruit juices and sauces don’t. One reason is that raw fruit has more fiber. Yogurt A Harvard study followed more than 120,000 people for a decade or longer. Yogurt, of all the foods that were tracked, was most closely linked to weight loss. Grapefruit Yes, grapefruit really can help you shed pounds, especially if you are at risk for diabetes. Researchers at Scripps Clinic in San Diego found that when obese people ate half a grapefruit before each meal, they dropped an average of 3 ½ pounds over 12 weeks. Drinking grapefruit juice had the same results. **** From Straw: Agree on eggs & I use sprouted & high protein Ezekiel bread. Agree on nuts and apple ... Sunflower seeds rank second to sesame seed in lowering cholesterol ... both are highest in plant sterols. Here's from ABC news: " A team of Japanese researchers split 210 overweight people into three groups. While everyone consumed a daily 7-ounce serving of fermented milk, two of the groups drank milk spiked with varying amounts of a probiotic called Lactobacillus gasseri SBT2055 which past research has tied to fat loss. After 12 weeks, people slugging the probiotic milk formulas dropped roughly 8 to 9 percent of their visceral fat." http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/probiotics-lose-weight/story?id=19607875 The below link offers clinical assessment of which yogurt is hype, and which probiotics is beneficial: http://www.cspinet.org/new/pdf/nah_probiotics.pdf For probiotics supplement which contains Acidophilus gasseri, Dr. Oz Show recommends Phillips Colon health. The year that I lost weight fast ... I had a tiny bit of Dannon yogurt for desert after every meal. A few days ago Google News had an article on how beneficial bacteria signal fullness so mice consume less per meal. Having yogurt AFTER meal makes sense, since the beneficial bacteria help to signal fullness. A few lean countries have a yogurt after meal. The timing of eating yogurt: right after meals matter more than the amount, See below WebMD info." A study published in the April 2005 International Journal of Obesity looked at obese adults who cut 500 calories a day while consuming three daily servings of low-fat yogurt. It found that they lost significant amounts of fat, especially around the waist, while maintaining lean muscle tissue. The three-yogurts-a-day group lost 22% more weight, 61% more body fat, and 81% more stomach fat than a comparison group who ate just one serving of yogurt daily. http://www.webmd.com/diet/french-womens-diet-secret-yogurt Below are some cherry tomato from my garden. They freeze well, and are much sweeter than big tomato. They are fantastic in soups for the winter, or I put in Ramen noodles, with kale, or Nappa cabage & shrimp. What are your healthy recipes, tips to eat more produce, any recipes for raw salads? Thanks.