Some years ago I read an excellent article by Dr Ron Rosedale which discussed the effects of

insulin resistance in keeping people overweight and unhealthy. The effect is basically that

when you eat too many carbohydrates, your body overproduces insulin (which is used in the

breakdown of sugars) and your body begins to build a resistance. The worst effect of this, is

that you lose your ability to recognize when you are full - which ultimately leads to

overeating. In his article he discussed a variety of natural remedies that he uses to

dramatically reduce insulin resistance, thereby reducing cravings and ultimately fat. These

remedies are all readily available in most western countries without a prescription.



1. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)

Rosedale’s Recommended Dose: 100-300mg

This vitamin-like substance is, by nature, present in all human cells and responsible for the

production of the body’s own energy. In each human cell food energy is converted into energy

for our body in the cell power plants with the aid of CoQ10. It is an essential compound

required in the proper transport and breakdown of fat into energy; 95% of all our body’s energy

requirements is converted with the aid of CoQ10. Clinical studies have shown that CoQ10 may

help promote weight loss. In one study coenzyme Q10 levels were found to be low in fifty-two

percent of overweight subjects tested. Treatment with 100mg of CoQ10 was found to accelerate

weight loss resulting from a low-calorie diet.

2. Chromium

RRD: 1000mcg

Caution: This daily amount is much higher than the US FDA recommended daily dose. If you

experience any side-effects, stop taking it immediately.

Chromium is required in trace amounts for sugar metabolism in humans. It is usually found as

Chromium picolinate or Chromium Chloride. Chromium plays a key role in increasing the body’s

sensitivity to insulin. Without chromium, insulin’s action is blocked, blood sugar levels are

elevated, and thermogenesis is inhibited. Since increasing insulin sensitivity is a critical

goal in promoting weight loss, chromium supplementation would be quite beneficial in people

trying to lose weight. In a study of 59 college-age students at Louisiana State University in

Baton Rouge, researchers found that women taking 200 micrograms of chromium picolinate a day

gained almost twice as much lean body mass as those who did not take the supplements. This can

result in long-term reductions in body fat, since lean body mass burns more calories than fat.

Chromium also improves the effectiveness of insulin. For this reason, chromium may also be

helpful in preventing diabetes, which is common in people who are overweight. People with

diabetes who take chromium should be under medical supervision, since their insulin dosage may

need to be reduced as their blood sugar levels drop.

3. Carnitine

RRD: As much as you can afford

Carnitine helps transport fats in the bloodstream into the mitochondria (where the cellular

energy or power produced) for burning. It has the ability to break up fat deposits and aids in

weight loss. It also helps to reduce cravings for sweets and fats. Though the body naturally

produces carnitine, people who are overweight rarely make enough. In clinical trials,

overweight volunteers taking 200 mcg of chromium picolinate with 100 mg of L- carnitine daily,

plus vitamins and minerals, have been shown to average a 15- pound weight loss in eight weeks.

This combination was observed to increase their metabolism as well. You should increase your

daily exercise when taking carnitine.



4. Glutamine

RRD: As much as you want

Glutamine is the most abundant naturally occuring, non-essential amino acid in the human body.

In the body it is found circulating in the blood as well as stored in the skeletal muscles. It

becomes conditionally essential (requiring intake from food or supplements) in states of

illness or injury. Food sources of glutamine include meat, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and

dairy products. There have been several recent studies into the effects of glutamine and what

properties it possesses, and, there is now a significant body of evidence that links

glutamine-enriched diets with intestinal effects; aiding maintenance of gut barrier function,

intestinal cell proliferation and differentiation, as well as generally reducing septic

morbidity and the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Glutamine is also marketed as a

supplement used for muscle growth in weightlifting, bodybuilding, endurance and other sports.

5. Vanadium

RRD: 25mg (first 3 months then reduce and stop)

Vanadium is an element (elemental symbol V). It is found in most living organisms. Vanadium, in

many ways, mimics insulin, thus it helps accomplish the function of insulin without requiring

extra effort on the part of your pancreas. Vanadium and Chromium together are a smart pair in

controlling blood sugar. This, in turn, suppresses blood sugar spikes and the formation of

excess body fat following meals, especially meals containing refined carbohydrates.

Just paying the bills…







6. Gymnema Sylvestre

RRD: Per instructions on packet

Gymnema sylvestre is a herb native to the tropical forests of southern and central India where

it has been used as a naturopathic treatment for diabetes for nearly two millennia. While it is

still being studied, and the effects of the herb are not entirely known, the herb has been

shown to reduce blood sugar levels when used for an extended period of time. Additionally,

Gymnema alters the taste of sugar when it is placed in the mouth, thus some use it to fight

sugar cravings. Extracts of Gymnema is not only claimed to curb sweet tooths but also for

treatment of as varied problems as hyperglycemia, overweightness, high cholesterol levels,

anemia and digestion.

7. Elemental Magnesium

RRD: 300-400mg

Caution: If you have heart or kidney problems, consult your doctor before taking magnesium

supplements.

Magnesium is essential for every major biological function, including your heartbeat. Magnesium

supplementation is useful to treat the muscle cramps that people get when they’re trying to

lose weight. It also seems to curb sweet cravings. Magnesium can give you a better metabolism,

better digestion, and an in-sync melody of the vitamins and minerals within can help you reach

your weight loss goals a bit quicker and safer. There have also been some unverified links to

magnesium helping reduce middle aged memory loss.



8. Taurine

RRD: 1gm twice daily

Taurine is an organic acid that is a major constituent of bile. In recent years, taurine has

become a common ingredient in energy drinks. Taurine is often used in combination with

bodybuilding supplements such as creatine and anabolic steroids, partly due to recent findings

in mice that taurine alleviates muscle fatigue in strenuous workouts and raises exercise

capacity. Recent studies show that taurine supplements taken by mice on a high-fat diet

prevented them from becoming overweight. Taurine has also been shown in diabetic rats to

decrease weight and decrease blood sugar.

9. Tocopherol (Vitamin E)

RRD: 2000mg

Caution: If you are taking anticoagulants, don’t take vitamin E supplements.

Vitamin E is a fat soluble antioxidant. There are three specific situations when a vitamin E

deficiency is likely to occur. It is seen in persons who cannot absorb dietary fat, has been

found in premature, very low birth weight infants (birth weights less than 1500 grams, or 3.5

pounds), and is seen in individuals with rare disorders of fat metabolism. Individuals who

cannot absorb fat may require a vitamin E supplement because some dietary fat is needed for the

absorption of vitamin E from the gastrointestinal tract. Vitamin E has also been shown to be

helpful in reduction of scarring, and in other skin related disorders.

10. Zinc

RRD: 30-60mg (take 1mg of copper for every 10mg of zinc)

Caution: Daily doses of more than the Daily Value of 15 milligrams of zinc warrant medical

supervision.

Zinc deficiency results from inadequate intake of zinc, or inadequate absorption of zinc into

the body. Signs of zinc deficiency include hair loss, skin lesions, diarrhea, and wasting of

body tissues. Eyesight, taste, smell and memory are also connected with zinc. A deficiency in

zinc can cause malfunctions of these organs and functions. It is widely recognised that the

lack of zinc can contribute to acne. Significant dietary intake of zinc has also recently been

shown to impede the onset of flu.

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. You should discuss the effects of these medicines with your

druggist to ensure that you do not have problems that may prevent you from taking them. High

dosage of Vitamin should be taken only under medical supervision, especially if you are a woman

of childbearing age. Women who are pregnant should not use this therapy.

What is Agave Nectar?

The principal constituent of the agave is starch, such as what is found in corn or rice. The process in which the agave starch is converted into refined fructose and then sold as the sweetener agave nectar is through an enzymatic and chemical conversion that refines, clarifies, heats, chemically alters, centrifuges, and filters the non-sweet starch into a highly refined sweetener, fructose. Here, a distinction must be made. Fructose is not what is found in fruit. Commonly, fructose is compared with its opposite and truly naturally occurring sweetener, known as 'levulose'. There are some chemical similarities between fructose (man made) and levulose (made by nature), and so the synthetically refined sugar fructose was labeled in a way to make one believe it comes from fruit. Levulose is not fructose even though people will claim it is. Russ Bianchi is Managing Director and CEO of Adept Solutions, Inc., a globally recognized food and beverage development company. Russ explains:

"If fructose were natural, I would be able to go out to corn field and get a bucket of sweetener. I can go to a beehive and get honey that I can eat without processing it. I can go to an apple tree and pick an apple and eat it. I cannot go out into a cornfield, squeeze corn, and get fructose syrup, and I cannot go into an agave field, and get the product sold on retail shelves, as agave nectar. Falsely labeled agave fructose and high fructose corn syrup are both products of advanced chemistry and extensive food processing technology." (4) Mr. Bianchi has an insider's view of the health food industry and the food creation industry, having worked in the industry for decades.

Take water for example. We all know that the chemical formula for water is H2O: two hydrogens and one oxygen. The opposite would be O2H, which is nothing close to water. Likewise, man-made fructose would have to have the chemical formula changed for it to be levulose, so it is not levulose. Saying fructose is levulose is like saying that margarine is the same as butter. Refined fructose lacks amino acids, vitamins, minerals, pectin, and fiber. As a result, the body doesn't recognize refined fructose. Levulose, on the other hand, is naturally occurring in fruits, and is not isolated but bound to other naturally occurring sugars. Unlike man-made fructose, levulose contains enzymes, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and fruit pectin. Refined fructose is processed in the body through the liver, rather than digested in the intestine.(5) Levulose is digested in the intestine. Refined fructose robs the body of many micronutrient treasures in order to assimilate itself for physiological use. While naturally occurring fruit sugars contain levulose bound to other sugars, high fructose corn syrup contains "free" (unbound), chemically refined fructose. Research indicates that free refined fructose interferes with the heart's use of key minerals like magnesium, copper and chromium. (6)

The reason why refined fructose is used so commonly as a sweetener is simple: it's extremely cheap in cost.

Agave nectar, as a final product, is mostly chemically refined fructose, anywhere from 70% and higher according to the agave nectar chemical profiles posted on agave nectar websites. The refined fructose in agave nectar is much more concentrated than the fructose in high fructose corn syrup. For comparison, the high fructose corn syrup used in sodas is 55% refined fructose. High fructose corn syrup is made with genetically modified enzymes. Is agave syrup (refined fructose) made the same way?

"They are indeed made the same way, using a highly chemical process with genetically modified enzymes. They are also using caustic acids, clarifiers, filtration chemicals and so forth in the conversion of agave starches into highly refined fructose inulin that is even higher in fructose content than high fructose corn syrup", says Mr. Bianchi. Inulin is a chain of chemically refined fibers and sugars linked together, and, this bears repeating, high fructose inulin has more concentrated sugar than high fructose corn syrup!

In a confidential FDA letter, Dr. Martin Stutsman (from the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Labeling Enforcement) explains the FDA's food labeling laws related to Agave Nectar: "Corn syrup treated with enzymes to enhance the fructose levels is to be labeled 'High Fructose Corn Syrup.'" According to Mr. Stutsman, agave, whose main carbohydrate is starch, requires the label "hydrolyzed inulin syrup." Even though, like corn, agave is a starch processed with enzymes, it does not require the label high fructose agave syrup because the resulting refined fructose sweetener is so sweet that it is chemically closer to inulin.

From this point forward, agave nectar will be referred to by a more accurate name: agave syrup. This name is also legally uncomplicated and non-deceptive, per US Federal labeling laws, even though the true name would be hydrolyzed high fructose inulin syrup. "The product called 'agave nectar' is really chemically refined hydrolyzed high fructose, which is intentionally mislabeled to deceive consumers," states Mr. Bianchi.

In a stunning report released in October 2008, the U.S. government's own accountability office reported that of the thousands of food products imported into the US each year from 150 countries, just 96 total food items were inspected by the FDA to insure label accuracy and food safety. (7) The FDA doesn't usually protect consumers regarding food safety or food labeling, nor does it usually take action against many misleading labels. This was seen with the processed infant formula scandal from China, where infant milk powder was tainted with toxic melamine.