CarbEssentials was opened in early 2003 by Raymond Powell, MD and his wife Dominique Powell. Dr. Powell, a board certified bariatrician, and has treated thousands of medical weight loss patients in his clinics and is always looking for high-quality, nutritional products to help his patients achieve their goals.  He calls these foods sneals.

This search for sneals takes Dr. Powell all over the United States. He personally selects each product sold in his stores to ensure that they meet his strict nutrition criteria. A majority of the products are medical grade, but a growing number of products are from the sports nutrition and unique niche industries. All products are taste tested by his family, employees and patients.

He has coined a term called a Sneal.  That is how he shops for these nutritional items.  He understands the reality of most of our lives.  He understands that most of us have very busy lives and need high quality nutrition that has to be; quick, convenient, portable, single-serving, and has to taste great.  That is where the word sneal came up.  It is a way to teach his patients a whole new way to think about nutrition

Dr. Powell also treats a growing number of patients who have had or about to have Gastric Bypass surgery and for those that are beginning to regain their weight back. He also consults with many other Gastric Bypass patients who are confused about what they should eat and take as supplements to get adequate nutrition while keeping their weight down. He has spent countless hours researching companies offering specialized products for weight loss patients. These low to moderate carbohydrates, low fat products are also available to the public and are excellent nutritional products for anyone, whether you have had Gastric Bypass surgery, trying to lose weight, or just looking for great nutrition.

These sneals are great for kids to take to school.  Again they are quick, convenient, portable, single-serving, high quality morsels of food that taste great.  Perfect to help treat and prevent childhood obesity or just to give kids great food to eat through the day.

Whether you are a medical weight loss patient just trying to lose a few pounds, or an athlete trying to optimize your diet, try our low to moderate carb, low-fat, high-protein, nutritional items. CarbEssentials and the Sneal a better low carb diet solution.  You can learn more about Dr. Powell, MD and Snealing at www.Physiciansplan.net and www.Snealtime.com.  You can shop for sneals on-line at www.Carbessentials.net.

“Stop eating and go exercise!”

This is the most common misconception when it comes to obesity. Simplistic at best, and completely false at worse, it offers no real solution for those who are trying to lose weight. Why? Obesity is a disease and it must be treated as one.

The World Health Organization and the National Institute of Health both define obesity as a chronic relapsing medical disease. Let’s break that term down:

CHRONIC: You are not going to cure it. You are going to need to manage it for the rest of your life.

RELAPSING: Refers to chronic…you don’t just lose the weight once and expect it to

stay off. (Actually, many people do expect that.) It can come BACK.

MEDICAL DISEASE: It is a disease that needs to be treated. It’s not a weakness that the patient should just be able to get under control on their own.

Let’s take a look at diabetes, another chronic, relapsing, medical disease.

Here is a clinical example:

A 5′ 2″, 250 pounds, 48 year old Caucasian woman is in her doctor’s office and her lab work shows she has a fasting blood sugar (no food for 12 hours) of 180 mg/dL (normal is 99 mg/dL or less). Her doctor diagnoses her with Type 2 diabetes and gives her a prescription of an oral diabetes medicine. She may receive a referral to the diabetes educator or a one-time visit to a dietician.

After two weeks, the patient returns for a checkup with the doctor and a finger stick blood sugar shows a random blood sugar of 92 mg/dL. Does the doctor say, “that’s great!” “Now that your blood sugar is normal, you can stop the medication!?” Of course not! He/she is treating a Chronic Relapsing Medical Disease. If the medication is stopped, what will happen to the blood sugar? Yep, you guessed it, it will go back up!

If she could lose 10%-20% of her weight by changing the quality/quantity/and timing of her food guess what most likely would happen to her blood sugar? It would come way down. Though there is never a guarantee that it would normalize, but it’s a definite possibility. But notice what was not treated? Her obesity.

Here is another example. A 5′ 9″, 52 year old man that is 292 pounds has a blood pressure of 185/98 (High Blood Pressure). What will the doctor do? Obviously, the doctor will treat it. The patient gets put on a high blood pressure medicine.

Two weeks later, the same patient comes in with a blood pressure of 120/80. Does the doctor take the patient off the medicine? Well, NO. The doctor is treating a Chronic Relapsing Medical Disease. If the blood pressure medicine is stopped, what will happen to his blood pressure? It will go back up.

Again, if the patient got his nutrition under control and lost 10% of his weight what do you think would naturally happen to his blood pressure? It would go down. Which is the disease and which is the symptom?

The Disease is Obesity and the Symptom is High Blood Pressure.

You could say the same thing for patients with high cholesterol or a combination of hypertension, diabetes and high blood pressure.

The medical community treats all of these conditions. But we never treat the obesity. It has been well established that obesity can cause or even worsen many medical ailments.

Unfortunately, many in the medical community not only don’t treat obesity, they minimalize it. As a result, there are thirty thousand diets and two rows of weight loss remedies that are over-the-counter at Wal-Mart and your local grocery store. You don’t see two rows of blood pressure or diabetes remedies over-the-counter at Wal-Mart. They are behind the counter with the pharmacist. These obese patients are desperate and have to attempt to treat it themselves. Guess what? IT AIN’T WORKING!

Why as medical practitioners do we not treat obesity? Because we (the medical community) don’t know how. We are not even trained that obesity is a disease. Maybe the medical students of today are getting some education but for the majority of practitioners in the trenches of medical care, we don’t have the first clue on how to treat obesity.

In my experience, I cannot even remember seeing any education about obesity but I learned how to treat Malaria and Intermittent Acute Porphyria and in 11 years of practicing medicine have never seen a case of either. After seven years of medical training and achieving my first board certification in Emergency medicine, I had a major moment of realization in my own personal life. I was a 3^rd year senior emergency resident, I was 38 years old and I found myself at 250 pounds. This was the heaviest I had ever been and my weight was starting to cause some major medical issues.

I did Atkins, the Zone, Slim Fast, Sugar-Busters, and Atkins again, Nutra-Systems, Jenny Craig, South Beach and even Cabbage Soup Diet. I was desperate. I would lose weight, plateau then regain over and over. I, the doctor, had to self teach myself what I was not taught in my first seven years of medical training; how to treat my own obesity as a disease.

Obesity is incredibly complex. I’m not just talking about all the good and bad stressors in your life and all the medical conditions, medications and family dynamics, jobs, marriages, divorces, traveling, children, illnesses, man in your life, woman in your life, kids in your life or a variety of other contributors.

It is incredibly complex within all the intricacies of the body. There are numerous neurochemicals involved with the brain that mediate desires, satisfaction and hunger cravings. Our emotional and medical state can change those levels. The types of foods you eat can affect the different levels of these neurochemicals.

There are neuro (brain) gastro (intestine) endocrines (hormones) that communicate between the gut and the brain that also control your hunger, your satisfaction, your cravings. The fat cell itself has been found to be an incredibly complex cell that secretes over 10 different hormones that control your hunger and satisfaction.

Then, of course, the food you eat stimulates all of these signals that can cause satisfaction, pleasure (brief), or even worsen hunger. Yes, food can make you hungry! Then the food we eat affects blood sugar levels, which affects insulin levels, which in turn affect blood sugar levels, which can affect your brain chemicals which then affects your hunger.

I could go on, but I think you get my drift!

So, let me ask you this? Do you think “burning energy” (losing weight) is as simple as stop eating and go exercise?

When I am searching for new products to add to the CarbEssentials line, there are two very famous quotes that are the foundation of the criteria that I use. The first quote goes like this:

“The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather cure and prevent disease with nutrition.”       Thomas Edison 1847-1931

Isn’t it sad to see that in the last 100 years that this has not happened?

The second quote:

“Make your food your medicine.”

Isn’t that a great thought process? If you take care of your body and eat better quality nutrition the body will take care of itself. That was said by a very wise man around 2200 years ago. Back when junk food didn’t exist and fast food meant you had to chase it down, Hippocrates knew that our bodies need quality nutrition to be healthy.

If you are struggling with the disease of obesity, you need to seek medical treatment from a specialist who is trained in the treatment of overweight and obesity. (Go to www.carbessentials.net for a link to the American Society Of Bariatric Physicians.)

There is something you can do first that is simple and will make an immediate difference. The first step in this whole process is to actually eat! Don’t go all day without eating because your life gets so damn busy and then eat all at once at the end of the day. Do you honestly think that is healthy for you?

The Carbessentials concept and the Sneal concept (www.Snealtime.com) matches perfectly with the philosophies of those two famous men. The foods available through www.Carbessentials.net are of the highest quality. They come in smaller amounts and most are single-servings to avoid overeating. By eating these “Sneals” every two to three hours throughout your day, your body will respond to you and you will have made your food your medicine.

About every 5 to 10 years there seems to be a wave of hype through different areas of the country about the HCG Diet. The HCG diet has been known about for over 50 years.

So what the heck is HCG? It stands for Human Chorionic Gonadotropin. Yeah, say that three times fast. If you are not familiar with that term it is the pregnancy hormone Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (American English) that is made by the developing embryo soon after conception and later by a part of the placenta. Its role is to prevent the disintegration of the corpus luteum of the ovary and thereby maintain progesterone production that is critical for a pregnancy in humans. HCG may have additional functions; for instance, it is thought that HCG affects the immune tolerance of the pregnancy. Early pregnancy testing, in general, is based on the detection or measurement of HCG. Because HCG is produced also by some kinds of tumor, HCG is an important tumor marker, but it is not known whether this production is a contributing cause or an effect of tumor growth.

So what the heck does this have to do with a diet? Why on earth would someone actually take daily or weekly shots or daily or weekly sublingual (under the tongue) drops or even intranasal spray of HCG to lose weight? Do they actually think that it is a normal thing to utilize the pregnancy hormone in a non-pregnant person? Do they even know what that does to their normal hormone balance?

Typically it becomes a rave for a short time because the “Doctor” (I use that term very loosely) sells the HCG to the patient and then of course puts the person on an insane diet of 500 calories or less and tells them to do moderate exercise (45 minutes of cardio 5 to 6 days per week) and the patient loses weight at an extreme rate. The latest we heard in Mt. Shasta is that a friend of one of our patients lost 45 pounds in just 30 days!! Do you actually think that is even the least bit reasonable? Do you think that is safe? Do you actually think that all that weight loss was from fat? Of course not, not only is that crazy but completely unsafe. If a physician or any healthcare practitioner is allowing that to happen I personally consider that malpractice.

We had another patient come into the Redding office that went to a medical clinic in Redding and bought nasal HCG spray and was given a piece of paper that described a 500 calorie day diet and the recommendations for the same exercise regimen as above. The patient reports not seeing a practitioner in 7 weeks nor any other healthcare worker in that clinic. That sounds really safe doesn’t it?

So, where did all this hype come from? Who in their right mind would come up with something like this?

The next section below in blue is by Dr. Stephen Barrett, MD that has a website called the Diet Scam Watch.

Human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) is a hormone found in the urine of pregnant women. More than 50 years ago, Dr. Albert T. Simeons, a British-born physician, contended that HCG injections would enable dieters to subsist comfortably on a 500-calorie-a-day diet. He claimed that HCG would mobilize stored fat; suppress appetite; and redistribute fat from the waist, hips, and thighs [1]. There is no scientific evidence to support these claims [2-13]. Moreover, a 500-calorie (semi-starvation) diet is likely to result in loss of protein from vital organs, and HCG can cause other adverse effects.

Gabe Mirkin. M.D. has noted: At one time, HCG was the most widespread obesity medication administered in the United States. Some doctors liked it because it assured them of a steady clientele. Patients had to come in once a week for an injection [14]. Government Regulation in 1976, the FTC ordered the Simeon Management Corporation, Simeon Weight Clinics Foundation, Bariatrics Management Corporation, C.M. Norcal, Inc., and HCG Weight Clinics Foundation and their officers to stop claiming that their HCG-based programs were safe, effective, and/or approved by the FDA for weight-control.

Although the order did not stop the clinics from using HCG, it required

that patients who contract for the treatment be informed in writing that:

THESE WEIGHT REDUCTION TREATMENTS INCLUDE THE INJECTION OF HCG, A DRUG WHICH HAS NOT BEEN APPROVED BY THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION AS SAFE AND EFFECTIVE IN THE TREATMENT OF OBSITY OR WEIGHT CONTROL. THERE IS NO SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE THAT HCG INCEASES WEIGHT LOSS BEYOND THAT RESULTING FROM CALORIC RESTRICTION, THAT IT CAUSES A MORE ATTRACTIVE OR ”NORMAL” DISTRIBUTION OF FAT. OR THAT IT DECREASES THE HUNGER AND DISCOMFORT ASSOCTATED WITH CALORIE-RESTRICTIVE DIETS [1s].

Since l975, the FDA has required labeling and advertising of HCG to state:

HCG has not been demonstrated to be effective adjunctive therapy in the treatment of obesity. There is no substantial evidence that it increases weight loss beyond that resulting from caloric restriction, that it causes a more attractive or “normal” distribution of fat, or that it decreases the hunger and discomfort associated with calorie-restricted diets.

Promotion By Kevin Trudeau

Negative studies and government action reduced the use of HGC injections for weight control close to zero. However, their promotion by infomercial king Kevin Trudeau may cause their use to increase. His 2007 book, The Weight Loss Cure They Don’t Want You to Know About, claims that “an absolute cure for obesity was discovered almost fifty years ago” but was “suppressed” by the AMA, the FDA, and “other medical establishmentsthrough out the world.” Trudeau further claims that until now, “this miracle weight loss breakthrough has been hidden from the public so that drug companies can make billions of dollars selling their expensive drug treatments and surgical procedures for obesity.” The alleged cure consists of HCG injections plus 50 to 60 required and recommended do’s and don’ts [16]. In September 2007, the FTC charged Kevin Trudeau with violating a court order by misrepresenting the contents of the book. In infomercials, Trudeau falsely claimed that the book’s weight-loss plan is easy to do, can be done at home, and ultimately allows readers to eat whatever they want. Previous FTC action had led to a court order banning from using infomercials to sell any product, service, or program except for books and other publications The order specified that he not misrepresent the content of the books. The FTC is now charging that he violated that narrow exemption [7].

Ahhh!!!, the dreaded conspiracy theory. The “magic cure” that nobody wanted you to know about. The AMA and FDA suppressed to keep it a secret. Come on!!! There has been study after study after study (see the bibliography) that could never reproduce the supposed results that Dr. Simeon did that showed all of these benefits. It has been scientifically proven to NOT have any of these cure-all magic benefits that we all want. But man doesn’t it sound great? All these reported physiological benefits and look at the weight loss, WOW!! So what about the medical consequences and side effects? Take a close look at what their literature promotes. Do they mention anything about consequences or side effects?

The HCG diet (using daily hcg injections) will help you lose 1-3 pounds per day.  The HCG-diet combines the daily injections with a very low-calorie diet (500 calories per day).

500-calories per day is severely restrictive! It is not only restrictive, it is just plain CRAZY!!! Taking a patient even below 800 calories/day is just not done anymore. In fact, it is not enough calories to support normal brain function. Your body will compensate by using stores of glycogen, protein (muscle) and some fat, which lowers your resting metabolism. Before you can lose true weight, you will be so irritable, lightheaded, and cranky that you will reach for whatever food you can get your hands on and have a field day. Even if you do lose weight what did you lose? Answer: Muscle, then a bit of muscle, and even some ah? MORE MUSCLE! get my drift?

Negative side effects: The common side effects include headaches, mood swings, depression, blood clots, confusion, and dizziness. Some women also develop a condition called Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS); symptoms of this include pelvic pain, swelling of the hands and legs, stomach pain, weight gain, shortness of breath, diarrhea, vomiting/nausea, and/or urinating less than normal.

HCG ban: The hormone was recently added to the list of banned substances in Major League Baseball, as it was becoming increasingly popular among steroid users. Athletes turned to this, among other performance enhancing drugs because it mitigates the side effects of ending a cycle of steroids. This is what Manny Ramirez from the Dodgers got suspended this year for.

Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Weight loss is hard work you have to burn stored energy off of your body and it won’t come in a potion, pill, or injection. There is no magic pill or shot and there never will be. Remember it is not just weight loss it is what is the weight loss from. The most dangerous thing you should be doing to your body is trying a new exercise that intimidates you like rock climbing or completing a mini triathlon not putting a female pregnancy hormone into your body.

Below is another description from www.drugs.com see what you think:

What is HCG?

Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) is a hormone that supports the normal development of an egg in a woman’s ovary, and stimulates the release of the egg during ovulation.

HCG is used to cause ovulation and to treat infertility in women, and to increase sperm count in men. HCG is also used in young boys when their testicles have not dropped down into the scrotum normally. This can be caused by a pituitary gland disorder.

HCG may also be used for other purposes not listed.

Important information about HCG

HCG is given as an injection under the skin or into a muscle. If you use HCG at home, your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist will give you specific instructions on how and where to inject this medicine. Do not self-inject HCG if you do not fully understand how to give the injection and properly dispose of used needles and syringes.

Call your doctor at once if you have any of these signs of a blood clot: pain, warmth, redness, numbness, or tingling in your arm or leg; confusion, extreme dizziness, or severe headache.

Some women using this medicine have developed a condition called ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), especially after the first treatment cycle. OHSS can be a life-threatening condition. Call your doctor right away if you have any symptoms of OHSS: severe pelvic pain, swelling of the hands or legs, stomach pain and swelling, shortness of breath, weight gain, diarrhea, nausea or vomiting and urinating less than normal.

HCG can cause early puberty in young boys. Call your doctor if a boy using this medicine shows early signs of puberty, such as a deepened voice, pubic hair growth, and increased acne or sweating.

Using HCG can increase your chances of having a multiple pregnancy(twins, triplets, quadruplets, etc). A multiple pregnancy is a high-risk pregnancy for the mother and for the babies. Follow your doctor’s instructions about any special care you may need during your pregnancy.

Although HCG can help you become pregnant, this medication is in the FDA pregnancy category X. This means that using the medication once you are pregnant can cause birth defects in the baby. Do not use HCG if you are pregnant. Tell your doctor right away if you become pregnant during treatment.

Before using HCG

You should not use this medication if you have ever had an allergic reaction to HCG, or if you have:

• early puberty (also called precocious puberty); or
• a hormone-related cancer (such as prostate cancer).

Before receiving HCG tell your doctor if you are allergic to any drugs or if you have:

• a thyroid or adrenal gland disorder;
• an ovarian cyst;
• premature puberty;
• cancer or a tumor of the breast, ovary, uterus, prostate, hypothalamus, or pituitary gland;
• undiagnosed uterine bleeding;
• heart disease;
• kidney disease;
• epilepsy;
• migraines; or
• asthma.

If you have any of these conditions, you may need a dose adjustment or special tests to safely use HCG.

Although HCG can help you become pregnant, this medication is in the FDA pregnancy category X. This means that using the medication once you are pregnant can cause birth defects in the baby. Do not use HCG if you are pregnant. Tell your doctor right away if you become pregnant during treatment. It is not known whether HCG passes into breast milk. Do not use HCG without telling your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.

HCG side effects

Stop using HCG and get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

Call your doctor at once if you have any of these signs of a blood clot: pain, warmth, redness, numbness, or tingling in your arm or leg; confusion, extreme dizziness, or severe headache.

Some women using this medicine have developed a condition called ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), especially after the first treatment cycle. OHSS can be a life-threatening condition. Call your doctor right away if you have any of the following symptoms of OHSS:

• severe pelvic pain
• swelling of the hands or legs;
• stomach pain and swelling;
• shortness of breath
• weight gain;
• diarrhea;
• nausea or vomiting; or
• urinating less than normal.

HCG can cause early puberty in young boys. Call your doctor if a boy using this medicine shows early signs of puberty, such as a deepened voice, pubic hair growth, and increased acne or sweating.

Less serious side effects may include:

• headache;
• feeling restless or irritable;
• mild swelling or water weight gain;
• depression;
• breast tenderness or swelling; or
• pain, swelling, or irritation where the injection is given.

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Tell your doctor about any unusual or bothersome side effect. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Below is an article I found on the internet.

HCG diet was largely discredited long ago

Doctors comparing weight-loss results with HCG injections versus a placebo failed to produce evidence that the hormone was anything special.

By Elena Conis

November 2, 2009

A long-ago discredited fad diet has been getting increased attention lately, thanks to Web chatter and the claims of a bestselling author. The so-called HCG diet’s recent popularity is a bit surprising — and not just because research suggests it doesn’t work.

Other currently popular diets call for cutting back on fat and sugar, consuming whole grains and lean meats, and even indulging in red wine. The HCG diet, in contrast, calls for eating just 500 calories a day while taking daily injections of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), a hormone produced by the placenta during pregnancy and excreted in pregnant women’s urine.

According to the hype, HCG suppresses the appetite and prevents dieters from feeling weak or woozy on the low-calorie diet. But as with any fad diet, consumers should be wary of such claims, says Kelly Brownell, professor of psychology, epidemiology and public health at Yale University in New Haven, Conn.

The idea that daily hormone injections might help people lose weight first occurred to British physician A.T.W. Simeons in the 1930s. At the time, doctors had reported success treating children with Frohlich’s syndrome (a condition marked by obesity and slow development of the reproductive organs) by giving them injections of gonadotropin derived from pregnant women’s urine.

Simeons decided to experiment with giving the gonadotropin (it would later come to be called HCG) to people who were obese but did not have Frohlich’s syndrome. When he did so, his patients’ appetites diminished and the circumference of their hips and waists decreased — even though they did not lose weight.

Simeons interpreted those findings to mean that the hormone moved fat away from the places where it was traditionally deposited and rendered it available for metabolism. He further supposed that if he injected overweight people with the hormone while limiting them to no more than 500 calories a day, they would metabolize that newly available fat and lose weight in the process.

Over the next 20 years, Simeons placed 500 of his patients on a strict weight-loss regimen: a daily shot of HCG and two daily meals consisting of 100 grams of lean meat, some leafy vegetables, fruit and a piece of crispbread, for a total of no more than 500 calories a day.

In 1954, he reported in the medical journal the Lancet that patients who followed the regimen for 40 days lost 20 to 30 pounds, and that 70% of them maintained their weight loss after going off the diet. He credited the hormone with making fat available for metabolism and enabling his patients to remain on the low-calorie diet without feeling weak, dizzy or excessively hungry.

Over the next few years, doctors who put their own patients on Simeons’ regimen reported similar successes. But when doctors and researchers began to rigorously compare the diet’s key ingredient — HCG injections — to a placebo, or dummy injection, they failed to produce evidence that the hormone was anything special.

In 1959, researchers in Israel reported that they had placed 45 patients on Simeons’ diet, giving half the patients HCG injections and the other half saline injections. The two groups both lost weight at the same rate — and all 45 participants complained of being constipated, hungry or weak.

In the early 1960s, researchers at UC San Francisco and at a U.S. Army Hospital in Fort Carson, Colo., came up with the same results. All three studies were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

In the decades that followed, researchers continued to study the diet and to show that the hormone added little to the low-calorie regimen. In 1995, Dutch researchers reviewed the results of the 24 studies that had been conducted on the HCG diet.

Just 12 of them were well-designed, the scientists found; of those, 11 reported that HCG was ineffective in treating obesity. The Dutch team published its results in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

Despite these decades of negative study findings, the HCG diet was given new life by bestselling author Kevin Trudeau’s 2007 book, “The Weight Loss Cure ‘They’ Don’t Want You to Know About.” Giving credit to Simeons, Trudeau recommended a multi-phase approach to weight loss, including a phase of daily HCG injections.

Trudeau has previously been targeted by the Federal Trade Commission for allegedly promoting unproven cancer cures, pain relievers and other products, and in 2004 was banned by the commission from appearing in infomercials selling products or services to the public. .

He said in a recent Chicago Tribune story that he wrote his latest book simply as a public service.

Regardless, the HCG diet continues to draw followers, with more and more online companies promising to supply the injections. The shots can come at a significant cost: Online prices range from $30 to more than $600 for a month’s supply. And they have side effects. Simeons noted that his female patients often became pregnant while on the shots, and today, in fact, HCG is approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a fertility treatment.

Brownell says that any trendy diet should give consumers pause.

“Research has not found fad diets to be safe, effective and permanent,” he says. “Consumers should be highly skeptical as the default.”
So do hear a bit of passion in my writing? This stuff gets my blood boiling. For the last 11 years I have had to defend what I do for a living on a daily basis. Finally in the last several years there is more and more medical and scientific studies that show how damaging obesity is to the body. It is truly a medical disease that has to be treated. But medical weight loss has gotten such a bad name/reputation over the years for many different reasons and has been considered by most of the medical society to be on the left fringe of medicine. I have to hold myself to a much higher standard on how I treat my patients. Finally Bariatrics is just beginning to be accepted and in the local area we have developed a great reputation within the medical community and we are getting more and more referrals from local primary care physicians. Then we start hearing of the current HCG craze with some local doctors (again I use that term loosely) doing this absolutely crazy, medically unsafe diet plan. Those practitioners are trying to take away the eleven years of hard work within the local medical community that we have been developing to make Bariatrics a mainstream part of medical treatment for their patients. I just want to scream from the top of Mt. Shasta that we are not the ones doing this absolutely crazy diet and we NEVER will.

References:

l. Simeons ATW. The action of chorionic gonadotrophin in the obese. Lancet 2:946-947, 1954.

2. Asher WL, Harper HW. Effect of human chorionic gonadotrophin on weight loss” hunger and feeling of well-being. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 26:211218, 1973.

3. Bosch B and others. Human chorionic gonadotrophin and weight loss. A double-blind. placebo-controlled trial. South African Medical Journal 7 7 :1 85-189, 1990.

4. Carne S. The action of chorionic gonadotrophin in the obese. Lancet 2:1282-1284,1961.

5. Craig LS and others. Chorionic gonadotrophin in the treatment of obese women. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 12:230234,1963.

6. Frank BW. The use of chorionic gonadotrophin

hormone in the treatment of obesity. A double-blind study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 14:133-136,1964.

7. Greenway FL, Bray GA. Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin

(HCG) in the treatment of obesity: a critical assessment of the Simeons

method. West Journal of Medicine 127:461463,1977.

8. Shetly KR, Kalkhoff RK. Human chorionic gonadotrophin

(HCG) treatment of obesity. Archives of Internal Medicine 137 :I 5 I -I 5

5, I97 7.

9. Lebon P. Treatment of overweight patients with chorionic gonadotrophin:

follow-up study. Journal of the American Geriatric Society 14 116125,1966.

10. Lijesen GK and others. The effect of human chorionic gonadotrophin

(HCG) in the treatmentof obesity by means of the Simeons therapy: a criteria-based meta-analvsis. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 49

:237-243, I995.

11. Miller R, Schneiderrnan LJ. A clinical study of the use of human chorionic gonadotrophin in weight reduction. Journal of Family Practice

4:445448, 1977. 12. Stein MR and others. Ineffectiveness of human chorionic gonadotrophin in weight reduction: a double-blind study.

12. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 29:940-948, 1976.

Stein MR and others. Ineffectiveness of human chorionic gonadotrophin in weight reduction: a double-blind study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 29:940–948, 1976.

13. Young RL and others. Chorionic gonadotrophin in weight control. A double-blind crossover study. JAMA 236:2495–2497, 1976.

14. Mirkin G. Getting Thin. Boston: Little Brown & Co., 1983.

15. In the matter of Simeon Management Corporation et al. Order, opinion etc., in regard to alleged violation of Secs. 5 and 12 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. Docket 8996. Complaint, Oct 15, 1974. Final Order April 29, 1976.

16. Trudeau K. The Weight Loss Cure They Don’t Want You to Know About. Alliance Publishing, 2007.

17. FTC: Marketer Kevin Trudeau violated prior court order. FTC news release, Sept 14, 2007.

Globally, excess fat causes 17% of cancers of the breast, bowel, esophagus, kidney, pancreas, endometrium, gall bladder.

The source for this is the World Cancer Research Fund Report, food, Nutrition, Physicla Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer:  A Global Perspective, May 11, 2009.

Even more of a motivation to “burn energy” off of your body.

Dr. Ray Powell, MD

I was amazed when I looked at myself when I was 38 years old and I was 250 pounds. I was at least 75 pounds over weight. I hated myself. I looked at my wife and wondered,  ”how she could have been attracted to me when I was so fat.” My back was always killing me and I could not even keep up with my 5 kids.

I was in my second year of my Emergency Medicine Residency. Yes, a doctor who is morbidly obese. How can that happen? Aren’t doctors supposed to know how to stay healthy? Aren’t doctors taught everything there is about nutrition?

The reality of it is that I, like most of us, had been hit with multiple stressors over several years. To include becoming a disabled United States Air Force Veteran, a herniated L5-S1 vertebral disc, a reconstructed ankle, getting divorced and remarried, moving from Charleston, South Carolina to Lubbock, Texas, starting medical school, graduating after 4 years of grueling school and then moving to Columbia, South Carolina and at this point in time 2 years of grueling Emergency Medicine Residency and the birth of two of my 6 total children. There were a lot of great times and some very hard times. But life as we all live it is never stress free. When we are stressed two things immediately get pushed aside, how we eat or how feed us and how we “move our bodies” (exercise).

As I looked at myself in the mirror one day and said, “I can’t do this anymore.” I realized after 6 years of medical training I had no clue what to do about my nutrition. Should I do a “Low-Carb Diet”?. Should I do a “Low-Fat Diet”?. Should I do a “High-Protein Diet”?. Most doctor, according to a recent Congressional hearing, get less than 3 hours of nutritional education in their entire 4 years of medical training. Most people spend that amount of time watching TV each and every day!!! So I tried Atkins (Low Carb), Sugar-Busters, Slim Fast, The Zone and essentially lost a little bit of weight but then put it right back on.

I started to learn and research everything I could find about nutrition and the science of Obesity and how to treat it. Yes, OBESITY, that is what I have as a diagnosis. I will always have it. Obesity has been defined by just about every medical organization including the World Health Organization as a Chronic Relapsing Medical Disease and I have it.

As I start these Podcasts/Blogs I will explain to you the concepts I have learned about treating myself and thousands of patients for Obesity. The science of nutrition, what is the right combination of Protein, Carbohydrates and Fats. How much and when should your nutrition be eaten. It is not as easy and many people think. If it was we would not have a country and world that has become obese.

After I realized how little I knew about my own nutrition and treating patients for Obesity for several years. I realized that all these patients had one thing in common. They need to be shown what, when, and how to eat. For myself as well as my patients there were several common themes. Not eating often enough, Not eating enough, and a term called Food Amnesia. The beginning of my concept for “CarbEssentials” was born.

Read On!!.

The following is an internet interview that I did for a Mount Shasta Newspaper

Hi Dr. Powell,

Thanks so much for the interview! I’m planning to write a feature article about keeping New Year’s resolutions, and wanted your input in the losing weight section.

How many people have you helped to meet their weight loss goals?

Between my father, Dr. Richard J. Powell, MD and myself we have been practicing Bariatrics (medical treatment of Obesity as a disease) for over 35 years.  I have 4 offices and we see several hundred patients per week.

Why is it important/helpful to be under a physician’s care when losing weight?

Managing your weight is a complex task and depending on a persons initial weight and underlying medical conditions it can be medically dangerous to do it on your own.  There are thousands of diets out there and probably more than half of them are crazy and dangerous.  Whether a person has to lose 20 pounds or 200 pounds I would much rather have a person come in and have it medically managed than to do some crazy over the counter Fad diet that can be medically dangerous.

Is diet or excercise more important for those wanting to make a healthy change in their lives? Or are they equally important?

Exercise is very important for a persons cardiovascular health as well as their mental health.  For weight loss the exercise would have to be very aggressive and almost every day for it to effect your weight.  It should be continued if the person is doing it.  The change in nutritional behaviors and becoming “in-control” of one’s nutrition and being educated on what you are actually putting into your body and actually eating higher quality nutrition in smaller amounts more often is critical to keep the metabolism going.  One of the most critical item I see on a daily basis is that people don’t eat all day long and then they tend to overeat.

What is the one tip you would give to those wanting to lose weight in the new year?

Take the time to take care of yourself.  Start spending more time taking care of yourself then you do on your car.  Don’t start on some dangerous fad diet.  If you plan on changing your nutrition drastically seek medical advice.

What is your opinion on th e value of Nintendo’s Wii Fit? (I was considering adding a bit about it into the article).

We have one and it is AWESOME.  Our whole family uses it.  Of course the kids are a bit better at it then us adults.  It is the next generation in video gaming where you actually interact in a physical sense.  I recommend it to the parents of my teenage patients.  It was actually mentioned in lectures at the America Society of Bariatric Physicians in Tampa Florida in October of 2008.

What programs do you offer at the Mount Shasta office?

We offer medically directed programs that follow the guidelines of the National Institute of Health and the American Society of Bariatric Physicians.  We individually customize our programs around the patients medical conditions.  Our programs range from very aggressive Very Low Calorie Nutritional plans to Low Calorie programs.  One of my concepts is that of the “SNEAL”.  It is too long to describe here but please go to my blogs at www.Physiciansplan.net and I have a complete description of a SNEAL.

Plus… a few motivational statistics regarding weight loss… and anything else you think is of interest.

A 10% weight loss is a 57% reduction in risk for medical diseases directly related to weight (high blood pressure, diabetes, cancers, stroke, and many more)

A 10 pound weight loss take 100 pounds per square inch off of your knees.

A very famous statement that I think most of us have either forgotten or never heard is, “Make Your Food Your Medicine”  What an incredible statement.  What we have done is made our food our Poison.  The person who said, “Make Your Food Your Medicine”—–Hippocrates—over 2,000 years ago and we still haven’t figured it out.

Here one of mine, ” The Cure for Hunger is——FOOD!!!”

You need to learn to “SNEAL” (my word) See www.Snealtime.com.  You need to learn to find Quick, Conveinent, High Quality, Single-Serving, Tasty morsels of Food.  It is NOT a snack.  Refer to my previous blogs on my website:

www.Snealtime.com

www.Physiciansplan.net

www.Carbessentials.net

Initially quite often the patients we treat want to have their nutrition taken away from them Temporarily and that is why we have several different aggressive plans where we supplement them with “SNEALS” of our own. We sell tham at each office and we have three separate nutritional stores (Redding, Chico, and on-line @www.Carbessentials.net.

If you’d like to do the interview via phone, that would be great… my number at the office is ——–. I’ll be in most of tomorrow between 8:30 and 2 or so (I know it’s a holiday, so that might not work for you). I’ll also be in and out on Friday and Monday.

I am having an Epidural injection in my back (yeah me) on Friday morning and i will be home the rest of the day.  E-mail me a number that I can reach you on Friday and I will call you.

If hours during the evening are good for you, my cell number is ——–. Or email me a time, and I can call you then. Or, we could do it via email if you’re pressed for time.

Talk to you soon.  I hope this helps

What is Metabolic syndrome?

Screening and diagnosis

Although your doctor is not typically looking for “metabolic syndrome,” the label may apply if you have three or more of the traits associated with this condition. Several organizations have criteria for diagnosing metabolic syndrome. These guidelines were created by the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) with modifications by the American Heart Association. According to these guidelines, you have metabolic syndrome if you have three or more of these traits:

§ Elevated waist circumference, greater than 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men. For people genetically at greater risk of diabetes, the circumference limit is slightly lower; 31 to 35 inches for women and 37 to 39 inches for men.

§ Elevated level of triglycerides of 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) or higher, or you’re receiving treatment for high triglycerides.

§ Reduced HDL (less than 40 mg/dL in men or less than 50 mg/dL in women) or you’re receiving treatment for low HDL.

§ Elevated blood pressure of 130 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) systolic (the top number) or higher or 85 (mm Hg) diastolic (the bottom number) or higher, or you’re receiving treatment for high blood pressure.

§ Elevated fasting blood sugar (blood glucose) of 100 mg/dL or higher, or you’re receiving treatment for high blood sugar.

Treatment

Tackling one of the risk factors of metabolic syndrome is tough, taking on all of them might seem overwhelming. But aggressive lifestyle changes and, in some cases, medication can improve all of the metabolic syndrome components. Getting more physical activity, losing weight and quitting smoking help reduce blood pressure and improve cholesterol and blood sugar levels. These changes are key to reducing your risk.

Exercise. Doctors recommend getting 30 to 60 minutes of moderate intensity exercise, such as brisk walking, every day.

Lose weight. Losing as little as 5 percent to 10 percent of your body weight can reduce insulin levels and blood pressure and decrease your risk of diabetes.

Stop smoking. Smoking cigarettes increases insulin resistance and worsens the health consequences of metabolic syndrome. Talk to your doctor if you need help kicking the cigarette habit.

Work with your doctor to monitor your weight and your blood glucose, cholesterol and blood pressure levels to ensure that lifestyle modifications are working. If you’re not able to achieve your goals with lifestyle changes, your doctor may also prescribe medications to lower blood pressure, control cholesterol or help you lose weight. Insulin sensitizers may be prescribed to help your body use insulin more effectively. Aspirin therapy may help reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke.

Take our Metabolic Syndrome Test.