By Abra Pappa for Nutritious America.com

We are just days away from Valentine’s Day, which means buckets of chocolates and red roses to symbolize the ubiquitous love fest that is February 14th are being snatched up across the globe. Roses and chocolates are nice, but what if I told you there is one food that you could add to your diet today to get you revved up for the best night of your life on February 14th? I am talking about a great night, a long amazing night…. okay, I’ll just say it…. a night of great SEX!

I am always fascinated by the extreme power of food, not just because it can be delicious and healthy, but because food, certain foods, have the power to be medicinal. These foods are called superfoods, and they truly straddle the line between being a food and a powerful medicinal compound.

The superfood that I am talking about here is called maca, and it is thought of as nature’s version of Viagra.

Maca has been used for thousands of years as a staple food in the Andes Mountains of Peru. It is a root vegetable that resembles a radish. You will find it dried and ground into a powder in most natural markets across the country, but before you run out and chow down on an entire bag… listen up, there are guidelines.

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Is Dr. Oz more showman than doctor? His theatrical endorsement of dubious weight loss products points to the former. On his show this week, in a 75-second segment, he introduced a ‘revolutionary metabolism booster that you’ve never heard of’: raspberry ketones. While displaying a generic purple jar of capsules, Dr. Oz said, “I have vetted these; I’ve looked at them carefully; I am absolutely enamored. I know they work.” His segment assistant Lisa Lynn, a supplement-selling personal trainer, was by his side, along with a morbidly obese woman who had “tried everything.” Was Dr. Oz laying it on thick for a questionable product? No, not when you consider Dr. Oz is on TV.

Raspberry ketones are compounds that give red raspberries their aroma. In the US, they are used primarily in the food flavor industry. In Japan, however, raspberry ketone capsules are used as a weight loss supplement. Raspberry ketones are not to be confused with blood ketones produced in diabetes and on very low carbohydrate diets.

The hypothesis is that raspberries ketones affect biological activities that alter lipid metabolism. That fat-blasting claim rests on two small mice studies that show when mice are fed a high-fat diet supplemented with raspberry ketones they gain less body fat than expected. But be clear: raspberry ketones have not been studied in humans and they have not been proven to work. To be fair, Dr. Oz said, “There have not been a lot of human studies, but animal studies are favorable.” Somehow, for me, that got lost in the hype.
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Dr. Oz featured the weight loss supplement raspberry ketone on yesterday’s show, touting it as a “miracle fat burner.” We’re always leery of any diet pill that promises “miracles,” but we’re also willing to find out if it does what it claims.

Weight loss expert Lisa Lynn was a guest on yesterday’s show, who explained that the supplement comes from red raspberries so it has “no side-effects.” She recommends taking 100 to 200 milligrams and breakfast or lunch. Dr. Oz demonstrated the effects of the ketone by showing balloons representing fat cells shrinking in tub of liquid nitrogen. The balloons shrink in the liquid but expand again when they’re taken out.

Dr. Sarah G. Khan, our resident pharmacist, gives a more in-depth explanation of how the supplement affects the body:

“Raspberry ketones appear to increase the body’s release of norepinephrine and this causes a rise in the body’s temperature which helps burns fat and increase metabolism. Raspberry ketones also increase levels of adiponectin, which is a hormone that helps with lowering glucose levels. The less circulating glucose, the less likely it will be converted into a stored energy source like glycogen. Adiponectin is found least frequently in obese people and may have a possible role to play in insulin resistance and diabetes.”

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The pharmaceutical company Orexigen Therapeutics reached an agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a heart-safety trial of the obesity drug Contrave. Regulatory officials worry that the previously rejected experimental drug may increase cardiovascular risks, which the placebo-controlled trial has been designed to measure.

The trial will enroll 10,000 patients and will study the long-term affects of Contrave on the heart. The trial has been designed under a “special protocol assessment” from the FDA, which indicates that the agency approves of that trial. If the trials succeed in showing that there in no increased danger of cardiovascular events associated with the diet drug, it is expected that Contrave will be approved. Orexigen has partnered with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. to help develop the drug for the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

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Bob Harper, who has been inspiring America as a TV trainer and author from NBC’s hit show The Biggest Loser since 2004, recently announced the launch of his newest endeavor, Bob Harper’s Smart Success. This line of weight loss products includes Bob Harper’s Smart Weight Loss Dietary Supplement, Bob Harper’s Smart Weight Loss Starter Ki,t and Bob Harper’s Smart 7-Day Cleanse.

The Smart Weight Loss Starter Kit includes a daytime formula, which contains naturally sourced caffeine to provide increased energy during the day, and an evening formula, which is caffeine-free.  The kit also includes a DVD of Harper offering diet and motivational tips and a 30-minute smart workout.  Additional products include Bob Harper’s Smart Weight Loss, a weight loss formula, and Bob Harper’s Smart 7-Day Cleanse,  a dietary formula made with Senna and meant to “gently flush the system of digestive waste.”

“I have helped motivate people for over 20 years by showing them how to enhance their lives by providing the tools and knowledge to make it happen through healthy diet and an active lifestyle,” said Harper in an email. “I wanted to give people another way to succeed at achieving their goal weight.”

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