Water or Fat Loss?

It's Spring so it is time to be concerned about how you look in a bathing suit. This is where many busy moms are tempted to take a weight loss supplement with a bit of something to pep you. The problem with these products is that they do not help you lose your fat. They can cause you to lose water and the water less is temporary. When you drink those Chinese teas and stuff it only works for a few days.

Diet products that cause water loss and not weight loss are called diuretics. The loss is temporary and fat is never dissolved as is sometimes claimed on the package, as that is not scientifically possible. Diuretics can actually promote dangerous heart problems. As soon as the body runs dry the weight comes back as you drink to quench the thirst caused by the dieting. If your weight loss is to be meaningful at all it must include the dropping of fat as well as water.

If you are dealing with a weight loss product that makes outrageous promises such as Lose Twenty Pounds in Two Weeks or Take Ten Inches off of your waist in a week then you really need to drink a lot of water. Also if you are dieting because you are a new mom who is trying to lose the baby weight you need to be aware that this type of crash dieting can really deflate your mood and make you feel depressed and fatigued.

The products that are diuretics can be hard to identify. You must look at the ingredients. According to the FDA the ingredients in anything must be listed from what the product contains the most of to what it contains the least of. If the first listing on the box is caffeine then you are looking at diuretic.

Most magical weight loss formulas (and especially those that are marketed as Chinese or miracle weight loss teas) contain herbs that act as diuretics. This includes green tea, which sounds all healthy, but any weight loss is causes are triggered by diuretic action and loss of water. There is no such thing as 'fat burning herb' only herbs that speed up heart rate, breathing and other functions. This is not “fat burning” it is simply a way to stress the body all of the time so it wastes a lot of calories.

There are quite a few herbs that you should not take if you are a mother. They make you moody and cause weight loss only. One of these is Bochum, which causes dizziness and fatigue so you can't function.

Another one to avoid in any mixture is Kola Nut. This is a powerful diuretic that is not to be fooled around with. The side effects are excessive thirst, nervousness, anxiety, restlessness, frequent urination, and urges to go on an empty bladder, over stimulation, mania and insomnia.

Your Teen and Body Piercing

My teen wants to get a body piercing. I am not so hot on that. She doesn't realize how dangerous it can be. Expensive too if you get a peirecing in your mouth. Did you know that g your tongue pierced can damnage tooth enamel (and even break teeth) and cause the need for pricey dental work in the future. Also a pierced tongue is more prone to medical complications in general, including to blood poisoning, blood clots hemorrhaging, nerve damage, paralysis, staph infections, methicillin resistant bacteria (flesh eating disease) and toxic shock. Not to mention that horrible clicking sound that some teens make when they are speaking.

So my kid wants her tongue pierced. She has no idea of the true purpose of that (pleasuring men in oral sex.) She just thinks it looks cool. I am saying no because it is too hard for a tongue to heal after a piercing. Piercing your tongue requires a much larger whole then the tiny pinprick that is used to pierce a person's earlobe so it is more like a wound. Also if the tongue is in constant motion (like my daughters) it is not going to heal very fast.

Tongue piercing are the worst when it comes to causing complications in your child's health down the line. However no matter where you get a body piercing on your body there is always a risk. The most common problems are infection, allergic reactions, hepatitis B, HIV transmission, and tetanus.

One of the worst consequences of body piercing can be Hepatitis B. This liver cam starts chronically becoming inflamed. . Hepatitis B is caused by the HBV virus, (hepatitis B virus) although it can also be caused by alcohol and other toxins (poisonous substances). Mostly contaminated needles used for tattooing and piercing provoke hepatitis B. This also sets the person up for a nice case of hepatitis later. Yet another consequence of contracting this virus through a body-piercing needle is cirrhosis. This is scarring that stops the organ from renewing itself as it naturally can. Both cirrhosis and Hepatitis B have no cures but are can only managed by expensive medications for the entire rest of the person's life. It just does not work.

Yet another sometimes-fatal result of body piercing is an HIV infection (AIDS of course!) which can be contracted through a dirty tattooing or piercing needle. AIDS is a deficiency of the body's immunes system that makes it difficult to effectively defend itself against infection. It can take a decade or longer for the HIV virus to develop into full-blown AIDS which makes the personal vulnerable to dying from a very simple infection like the flu. One of 250 Americans is currently HIV positive and does not know it.

The main way to avoid HIV and Hepatitis B is to get your body piercing done at a professional salon that is very clean and that has sterilized needles. Piercing your own cheek, lip, tongue, eyebrow, naval, tongue or ears is NOT recommended for anybody in this day and age so make sure your teen is not going to do a self-piercing behind your back!