supplements

The Biggest Loser loud mouth, Jillian Michaels, has sure been riding the fame train that the popular show has brought her.

Some feel that Jillian is exceeding her qualifications by delving into the world of nutrition and supplements.

I'll never forget a guest professor of mine in college (circa mid-90's) touting the benefits of Vitamin E. The medical doctor cited vitamin E supplementation as being a near-panacea, and something he had his own mother on.

The research of the day actually leant some promise to his enthusiasm, along with its antioxidant counterpart's vitamins C and beta carotene. Unfortunately, it's been all downhill from there, including the most recent findings of an Israeli study, published in the journal ATVB.

At the gym one day I overheard a trainer telling a client to rub flaxseed oil all over his body. He claimed it helps make your muscles tighter.

I don't know if flaxseed oil can do that--maybe you do--but a new study has determined one thing flaxseed oil can't do is lower cholesterol.

Turns out, it's only whole flaxseed that does it.

Creatine has long been a favorite supplement of weightlifters and professional athletes. Unlike dozens of other so-called performance enhancers, which have never actually produced data to substantiate their sometimes outlandish claims (gain 15 pounds of muscle in a half an hour!!), creatine has stood up time and time again during clinical testing.

Red wine drinkers have been toasting to better health and longer life with all of the news pieces on the miracle that is resveratrol - a component of red grape skin and some other fruits. Let's sift through the claims and hype and see where the dust settles.

The cause of arthritis remains a mystery and a cure is equally elusive, but the impact on its sufferers is ever-present. A systematic review of alternative arthritis treatments was conducted through the Arthritis Research Campaign to determine the effectiveness of the various treatments. Let's take a look at what works, what doesn't and how we can apply the data. But first, some stats;