**REVIEW** Forskolin Extract (from Bioscience Nutrition) ***UPDATED***

**UPDATE** Cannot say how very glad I am that I got to try this. Barring any future problems (I don't expect any), I plan on using this for life. Seriously. This morning, my BP reading was 122/93. That's is the lowest I have been in over 10 years. I have not been taking my regular BP RX either. I plan on talking with my doctors about permanently substituting this for my THREE prescriptions. In my initial reviews, I mentioned that I had not noticed other significant changes. Since then, I can report that I am (for the first time in years), having very regular bowel movements (sorry that there's no more sensitive way to say that), and I am noticing a bit of an energy spike. Weight loss changes are slight, but any more weight loss could be due to the cinnamon-honey drinks I am doing.  I will update again as I hear and learn more. I am so happy about the improvement in my blood pressure readings that I could cry. I wonder if some of my fatigue was due to the high BP??? At any rate, this is such a positive change for me that I'm only upset that I didn't hear about the supplement sooner.




I very rarely apply to review supplements like this Forskolin extract.

 The reason I'm wary of supplements is because I take prescribed medications and infusions for existing medical issues. I'm not trying to create more problems for this aging body of mine! So why did I want to give this supplement a try? Not so much for any of the claims made:

1. Sustained and safe weight loss
2. Improves metabolism
3. Fat burner
4. Curbs appetite

Okay, truth be told those are some attractive claims. Lots of products make those same claims though. I wasn't really drawn in by any of that. What got me was what I'd read elsewhere about Coleus forskolii root extract - commonly called Forskolin.

Normally when I look up info on supplements, I don't find anything supporting the claims I want to believe in. Most times, I find that there is just a lot of hype from people selling something, but only "insufficient evidence" from respectable sources. Not this time. I was interested in the claims that this supplement might lower blood pressure and my trusty standby source (you know, until I can check with my personal physicians), WebMD was all over it:

On how it's used...

"Forskolin is a chemical found in the roots of the plant Plectranthus barbatus (Coleus forskohlii). This plant has been used since ancient times to treat heart disorders such as high blood pressure and chest pain (angina), as well as respiratory disorders such as asthma."

... and how it works:

Forskolin works on muscles in the heart and in the walls of the blood vessels. It produces a more powerful heartbeat and widening of the blood vessels, which lowers blood pressure.

Still, this caveat was also  part of the article:

Herbal product manufacturers are now producing Coleus forskohlii extracts that contain high levels of forskolin. These preparations are being promoted for the same conditions for which forskolin has been traditionally used. However, currently there is no reliable scientific information that shows Coleus forskohlii extracts taken by mouth are effective. (my emphasis)

I wanted to give this a shot anyway. I'll run down what the Pros and Cons as of just 3 days use.

I can't tell you that I've experienced any boost in energy. I still use my 'strap molasses and my various honeys for that. The first day I took the Forskolin, I was really beat. I was still beat by the end of that day. (I noticed that the extract is supposed to be "good for insomnia" so not sure how that matches with boosting energy???)

The claim about this particular supplement curbing the appetite also is falling flat for me so far. I'm not eating more, but I'm surely not eating (or craving less). Maybe the metabolism part with help me with any weight loss. I've weighed myself so that I can do a comparison when I've finished this bottle, but it's way, way too early to tell anything yet.

None of the claims highlighted on the product page for this particular brand has been happening for me. Still, I am really so happy that I am giving this a try because, guess what? The claims made in general about the extract lowering blood pressure are being proved out for me.

I'm certainly not giving medical advice here (and if I was, you'd be crazy  to take it from me!), but I can tell you how this is working for me.

I currently take up to 3 different meds to try controlling my blood pressure. Sometimes, they work, sometimes, they don't. If I eat ZERO sodium and drink gallons of water, my meds work okay. If I get any kind of stressed out, or eat wrong, well then, my numbers go crazy. I'm always in a struggle to keep my top number under 140, but I've recently had trouble with my bottom number being high.

The first day, I took the supplement, I didn't notice a huge difference in my BP readings. I certainly didn't make any special notes about it in the tracking app I use. 

On Day Two of using the supplement, I checked my BP only because I was stressed. My reading was 140/87. This is a huge thing for me. Normally, the only way my numbers look that decent is if I am completely chilled out and haven't had my coffee yet - or any "forbidden salts" for several hours.

My BP numbers for Day Three were especially good. Not only was I mildly stressed (trying to do some freelance work that's driving me bonkers), but I also hadn't yet taken my prescribed meds. I wanted to check my BP after taking the Forskolin and before taking meds just so I don't get bottomed out. My numbers? 134/97.

Shut the door. Get out of here. Drop the mic.... All that. I'm checking my BP before I even dare take the prescribed meds. It would be so not-funny if I passed out from LOW blood pressure.

I can't wait to see my doctor so we can talk about this. I have some questions for the medical professionals: if this works, why isn't it being used more to treat blood pressure? Are there good reasons that it's not even being experimented with as a solution???? 

Anyway, I will update this post as I use the supplement more. I'm so happy about my blood pressure that I'm not worried about the other claims, but I will follow up on the weight loss thing.

Peace

--Free

DISCLOSURE:

In exchange for providing my fair and honest review, I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free or at a discount using AMZ Review Trader. Regardless, I only review products that I have personally used and can give an opinion of.

Day 3 of the Water Challenge

Sooo.... I didn't quite make my water limit today. I just realized that Sundays will need to be a 40 or 60 ounce day of the week. (Do you know how distracting it is to the service for someone to jump and make a bathroom dash every 20 minutes? Do you?)


Anyway, I did great the first 2 days of the challenge, and I will be back on the jug tomorrow. As for how I'm doing, I can tell you that, if I wanted to activate my bowels, I could have skipped that Miracle Tea and gone straight for the water. Water is truly a lubricant. Truly. Trust me.

My skin feels good. I can tell the most difference in my hands and face. My torso and feet still need the extra moisture provided with my oils. I guess it's going to take some time to fully hydrate my body completely.

Here's an interesting observation I made today. I had just an 18 ounce bottle when I woke up, then I sipped my way through another 12 ounces during church. Afterwards, I hit the library and chugged about 16 ounces while I was there.

46 ounces of water would have been a lot for me last week. I guess after doing all the extra water for 2 days, my body was starting to like it. I was so thirsty when I got home that I downed a couple of glasses standing right at the kitchen sink. I haven't had such a craving for water since I lived in Arizona.

Apparently, it's water that does a body good...



Before starting this challenge, there were days I was doing great to get more than 20 ounces of plain water. I think my body was so used to being deprived that it was a bit spoiled by 2 days of the water challenge. Weird, right? Or maybe not.

When I tried to check whether or not my reaction was normal, I ran across lots of comments like this one at the top of this page.

Huh.

Maybe it's just that, since I am drinking more water, I'm not craving (or getting) as much fluid from other sources. I notice I'm drinking less coffee and I am eating less. Because of these changes, I'm probably not getting as much fluid overall. I have a theory that water is far more hydrating that coffee teas and juices.

Whatever the case, I can definitely make two claims from my experience so far:

1. It's getting easier to drink more and more of my gallon jug
2. Parts of my skin is a lot less dry

I've heard from friends that, eventually, I will even stop having to pee as much. I'm not sure how that works. Water in, water out, right? 

I have another theory. This one is about the claims that drinking more water will aid in weight loss. I hear that the weight loss is because you eat less food/have less cravings when you drink more water. I don't think that's it. I believe it's because all the water improves your digestion and, um. waste flow. Seriously. Also, the water flushes out a lot of the salt, and doesn't salt cause a lot of water retention? If I'm flushing out the salt with all the water I'm drinking, then I am retaining less of the wat-

Oh wait. Now I have confused myself!

No, no. I am onto something. You can use water to fight water retention. Whew! Good.

(source)

Nice to know more about how drinking water helps with the weight loss.  Even better to know what it does for the cardiovascular system...

So, yeah, this water challenge is good for me so far. I'm going to check some other sites to see how other challengers  are doing with their chugging.

Peace

--Free

**REVIEW** Dr. Miller Miracle Tea (part 1 of 3)

This is one of the reviews that I will have to do in parts. First, I will talk about the product claims and general information. The second post will be about my results after some usage. Finally, I will post my overall experience after I've had time to evaluate my personal results.

So what product am I checking out this time? It's this:

That's Dr Miller Miracle Tea (I don't like calling it "Holy Tea", but I think the name comes from the ingredients, which are listed on the packets.

My niece told me about this tea, then another of my nieces decided to give it a try. I initially balked because of the price, then I realized I had a credit saved up that I could apply to my order. Still, it's not cheap at the full price so I'm going to be very interested in seeing if I can recommend it to anyone else.

To start off with, I am going to have to check with my nieces to see which strength tea they are using. When my one niece got hers in the mail the other day, she told me that the package had (her words here) "Stunk up my whole mailbox!" But when she actually brewed the tea, the smell wasn't bad at all and she liked the taste of it. She said that it even smelled good. Okay.

The second thing I did when I got my packets was to smell them. (First thing, I took photos.) The smell wasn't bad at all in my opinion. The scent is similar to black tea (or any other "regular" and unscented tea) so I don't know what my niece meant.

Oh, here are the packets with the ingredients:

From the product description page on Amazon: "A special blend of Malva leaves, Blessed Thistle, Holy Thistle, Milk Thistle, Marshmallow leaves and Persimmon Leaves." (my underline)

Of course, I wanted to know a bit more about each of those ingredients, so let's see...

• Malva Leaves - This stood out for me: "Malva sp. leaves have been used in the traditional Austrian medicine internally as tea or externally as baths for treatment of disorders of the skin, gastrointestinal tract and respiratory tract. "
• Blessed Thistle - WebMD points out that, among other things, people use it for "loss of appetite," but I always like to pay attention to the notes on warnings and interactions too. Wikipedia has some more info on the medicinal uses and the other name for it: Cnicus.
• Holy Thistle - This is strange because my usual sources show this as being the same as Blessed Thistle so I'm not sure why it's listed twice. At any rate, Wellness Mama cleared up the origin of the name.
• Milk Thistle - Once again, I see that this thistle (or silymarin) is about the same as the other two. What on earth??? I did notice that I see more mention of this as an aid for liver problems.
• Marshmallow leaves - Finally something new. The first uses I saw for this was for pain, swelling and inflammation. Also, the herb is supposed to provide a sense of being full.
• Persimmon Leaves - This one seems to be noted for relieving a strange range of issues, including pollen allergies, bruising and problems with immunity to colds. Okay. 

I suppose mixing the different herbs might have something to do with the benefits, but when I checked on some reviews, I saw that the tea acts basically as a laxative and there are no studies to back up the claims made for the product. On the other hand, my niece did tell me that what she noticed immediately is that she was suddenly very, um... regular. That's a good thing, I guess.

By the way, I was curious about this Dr. Miller. Not to be mean, but his webpage reminds me of the back of a cheap tabloid magazine. From the 70s. (I shouldn't have peeked because now I'm a little skeptical.)

The first niece - who turned us on to the tea - said that she and her husband use the tea every other month or so. They just mix up a gallon and drink it a few times a day until that gallon is gone. She claims that it does help her with the bloating and other effects of lapsing into bad eating habits. Okay.

I made my first batch tonight. I used regular Lipton tea and added the two bags of the Miracle Tea. Maybe it's the after-effects of my last cold, but I don't really smell anything extraordinary. It looks like regular old tea. Of course, it has to sit out overnight, so we'll see what it looks and smells like tomorrow.  I even talked my other niece into agreeing to trying it with me. 

I'm off to bed now. If this tea works the way it's supposed to, I need to rest up for all the exercise I'm going to get from running to the Ladies. LOL

I will post soon as I can (maybe tomorrow) on the taste and what, if any, effects I get with the first cups... So, stay tuned.

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** Living Natural Yacon Syrup

In my quest to eat healthier, live healthier and stay in shape, I've tried making small changes in my life. One of the changes was trying to get away from so much processed sugar. I talked about this before. And then again. One of my favorite substitutes for white sugar is raw or brown sugar. A favorite  substitute for those sugars is Yacon syrup. I've tried others and now I've had the chance to try Living Natural's  Yacon Syrup.

Yacon syrup has lots of benefits over the usual sweeteners a lot of us use. For me, the taste is the biggest positive. There is non of that metallic, artificial tinge or aftertaste.

Living Natural's Yacon has an exceptionally nice taste because, to me at least, the molasses type flavor was a little more pronounced that in other syrups I've tried. The texture was a little different also - almost grainier-looking but not actually grainy at all.

This is Living Natural Brand Yacon

To compare a difference of textures, this is a photo what another brand of Yacon syrup I use:

This one is darker & a tiny bit thicker

As for quality and taste, both syrups I have tried are nice. The Natural Life syrup is (to me) slightly sweeter while the other one has a more wine-like undertone. The main thing is the benefits of using them as an alternative to sugar. Some info straight from the product page:

• 100% natural with no additives or sweeteners and is extracted purely from the roots of the Yacon plant (Smallanthus Sonchifolius)
• high amount of fructooligosaccharides. This natural soluble fiber has been shown to reduce symptoms of constipation and improve metabolism.
• high in antioxidants and potassium and studies have shown it increases the levels of 'friendly' bacteria in the digestive system

From my own use over the months of Yacon syrup, I can tell you that using it on a regular basis did decrease my sugar cravings. (I have not used white table sugar in a few years, but I don't even use my brown or raw sugar in my coffee now except on an occasional basis.) When I started using Yacon syrup some time back, I was still coming down off my prednisone weight of (I shudder to even type this) 204 lbs. I am down to the 160's and would be doing better if I had not gone back on a steady diet of bread in the past couple of weeks... Also, it helps if you actually use the Yacon on a regular basis.

The suggestion is to use Yacon in beverages and I have grown to like the taste of it in my coffee. This time, I also tried adding a little bit to some rice (plain white rice with butter) and to some oatmeal. The taste was interesting and pleasant, but I had to experiment with how much to add to get the right amount of sweetness. (I ended up using about half a dinner spoon full.) Because Yacon has a distinctive taste, I got a sort of molasses-flavored treat with my oatmeal. I have to say that I like using this particular brand in my warm/hot food where I use the other brand in my coffees and some of my teas. I think it's going to come down to preference. Personally, I want to keep a variety around for my different uses.

I'd also like to add (as I usually do) something about customer service. The product page has a nice message:

When you order today, you're protected by our 100% quality and satisfaction guarantee together with our focus on exceptional customer service!

Finally, I will say this about using Yacon syrup: Any one of us who is trying to revise our diet and lifestyle to be healthy know that big changes come from lots of small efforts. Using an alternative to white sugar is one of the best changes I've made. Lord knows, I'm not giving up sweets if I can help it. Using Yacon syrup is a good way to make a single but important effort. Did that make sense? I hope so!

I will suggest to fellow healthy minded people that if you take one part of your daily diet that costs you the most calories from sugar, then use Yacon (or some other sweetener alternative) instead.

Peace
--Free

DISCLOSURE:
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Smoothie-licious

Some days I'm better at taking care of myself than others. Usually, those days come right after I've felt the effects of not taking care of myself. The last few weeks have been a little draining so I am making a renewed effort to be good to myself.

You've already heard about my love affair with the blender I purchased a while back. Here's one of the reasons I fall in love all over again just about every three days:

blueberries, raspberries, honey, spinach & flax

Two tablespoons of flax. Daily limit.

And bananas & Silk Almond Milk. And more raspberries!

It's ready to mix. How pretty!

Kind of pretty, ain't it?

And then... The yummy is ready for my tummy.

Tastes SO much better than it looks.

I like using bananas in my morning smoothies because  it makes me feel full. When I'm out later, running errands, I won't try sneaking in an Auntie Anne's pretzel.

Now that berries and veggies are a little more reasonable (fingers crossed!), the only complain I have about buying things for the smoothies is the price of Silk products. I've tried other brands of soy vanilla and almond milk, but they just don't taste as good. Maybe that's why Silk is priced higher? Hmmm... I am open to suggestions, folks.

I'm going to take some photos of my weight loss soon. It's a matter of sunlight and angles. I'm dark-skinned and I don't photograph well under less-than-perfect conditions. Now that it's nice and sunny in Anchorage, I will make an attempt to get some shots. I can't wait until you see the difference between now and last year. Serious, serious changes!

Peace
--Free

*Tongue* Patch Diet? Seriously?

As a woman who once weighed less than a gym bag full of wet tennis shoes, my self-esteem was bruised when I gained 30 pounds. Still, I could get away with wearing cute clothes right off the rack. I didn't have to look for anything in certain colors or patterns or the right kind of 'hang' to feel cute. Plus, I knew I was healthy and could easily take off the pounds the minute my busy life let me get from behind my work desk.

Fast forward to when I got sick. The only gym bag to compare my weight to was one Gulliver could have used in his travels. I shot right up 59 pounds faster than I could blink.

Thankfully, I'm better now and I'm able to exercise regularly. I keep music on at home so I can dance around to do chores. Recently, I started back with my 3 days a week at Planet Fitness, and summer is coming. I'm down 34 pounds and have 25 to go before I'm free of wearing long tops and those pants with 'slimming panels' at the belly. Hallelujah and thank Jesus.

Once I get those 25 pounds off my butt, I plan to shoot for another 25 or 30. I might not stay at my best weight, but I plan to visit it for a while. I'll most likely take rooms at the place next door to a loss of 25 or 30 - like maybe 20. I'd be happy to retire there, truth be told.

I've worked hard to drop this weight. All those foods and beverages I inhaled in my twenties and thirties (because it seemed I could just pee the calories away) are gone. Changing my eating habits wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I eat more for my skin and hair than I do for my nerves. I seem to have lost my cravings for all but an occasional taste of chips and dip or burger and fries. Thank you, menopause. (Coffee is never going out of my life. NEVER. Coffee with lots of cream and brown or raw sugar is my crack. I hope somebody invents vanilla-caramel creamer with lots of calorie-free fat. Yes, indeedy.)

The one thing I won't do to lose weight is participate in any kind of extreme dieting. I'm vain, not stupid. Fad diets mess with your skin, hair and general well-being. What's the use of having your ideal body size if that body is all effed up?

So, I come (finally, right?)  to this "Tongue Patch Diet" I've been hearing about.

Who in the happy hell would want the pain of having that thing sewn onto their tongue? Why not just superglue your lips around a block of wood and leave a straw-hole in the middle?

Maybe it's me. I admit that we all have different weaknesses, but I think that, at some point, self-motivation has to win over pain. If not, then how about the fact that this guy - you know, the guy who came up with this - doesn't even want to say the word 'healthy' in connection to the procedure?

Asked if sewing a foreign object into somebody's mouth was healthy, Chugay said, "Well, it's not unhealthy."

Huh.

Thank you, sir, but no. Even if I could afford the two grand for the procedure, I have this thing where I only go to a doctor to have pain taken away. Wow.

I admit that losing weight is hard. I've been a single digit size and I've shopped in the curvy girls section. Fighting your cravings and desire for comfort is rough. I still have days where I have to talk myself into driving right past the Burger King half a mile up the road. I get a block away and start singing "Dixie": Look away, look away... Boy, there are times when I am glad to have some idiot tailgating my ass so I don't have time to hit the brakes and make that turn into the drive-through.

On the other hand, I have to wonder why, if someone is willing to go so far to lose weight - why not just change grocery-shopping habits? I could just think about the pain of a patch being sewn onto my tongue and steer myself away from the Twinkies. I mean, damn.

I'm not going to criticize too hard. For me, though, I will stick with self-motivation. The only pain there is from the occasional fall off the wagon.

Peace
--Free