For those of you who may have followed our newsletters for several years, you probably noticed some intermittent delays for several months. As much as we hope that this does not occur again, the reality is that sometimes events occur that reduce the priority of the newsletter getting out. This last year, a situation developed that definitely dropped the newsletter’s priority.

The person responsible in the past for getting this task performed was Tamara Jankoski. Probably only long-term readers will remember that Tamara is my sister. Besides the many other responsibilities for which she was responsible, she somehow managed to get the newsletter written each month. But some unfortunate events placed a different priority on her schedule.

At the end of last year (2002), our family and friends looked forward with great anticipation for the return of Tamara’s son, TJ, from having spent two years in Russia. Upon his return, he was diagnosed with a malignant melanoma; a very dangerous form of skin cancer. At 20 years old, he was about to be introduced to some very scary realities.

I would prefer that Tamara write in her own words the events that transpired, pitting many discussions between the merits of traditional Western medicine, and holistic principles, but I will give a quick summary.

First, he is doing great. Now. But for several months, there was a lot of tension over his condition. After 3 operations, and countless tests, it was determined that his condition was advanced, but hopeful. He has sense turned ‘hopeful’ into ‘promising’, and now he is terrific. Of course, being around us in this business, he was bombarded by an enormous quantity of health supplements, in all shapes, flavors and sizes. At this point, we really don’t care what helped him the most. We just care that all things together have been beneficial.

Perhaps I can eventually get Tamara to tell the story in more detail. She spent many months speaking to specialists in numerous disciplines, and the conflicting opinions of so-called experts was rather disappointing and shocking. As we start this new year, we are pleased to leave some of the challenges of 2003 behind.

This might be a good time to remind ourselves that without our health, what do we really have.

Happy New Year!

Bill Evans

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Too often, we Americans are guilty of subscribing to the notion that "if a little is good, a lot must be better." This is typically in error when referring to the world of health supplements. And sometimes when that popular notion conflicts with the historical knowledge and common sense about a specific ingredient, we witness the mandates set forth by the government to protect us from ourselves. I am speaking of the news today that the Feds are finally taking steps to outlaw Ephedra - a popular weight loss ingredient - and its derivatives.

Applied Health Solutions is now entering its 8th year in business, during which time we have watched the hype surrounding ephedra come and go. It has always been our policy to never use any form of ephedra in any of our products, even though we saw countless companies in our industry taking advantage of the results, throwing caution to the wind, and raking in many millions of dollars. Yes, ephedra based products offered results for many. But yes, ephedra also had potential disastrous side effects.

Ephedra, in its herbal form Ma Huang, has been used for thousands of years in Chinese medicine. In small doses, it is very beneficial as a bronchial dilator for people with such conditions as asthma. Unfortunately, once it was determined to be of benefit for increasing the bodies resting heart rate and temperature, it became the 'darling' ingredient in weight loss applications. This quickly evolved into a case where too much of a good thing is not so good.

It is rather sad that we as consumers are sometimes incapable of self-education and self-monitoring. We are sometimes guilty of poor impulse control and desiring the 'quick-fix'. And even when product directions are spelled out with a margin of safety built in, we are often compelled to self-administer and ignore recommendations.

It is also rather sad that we as product developers and manufacturers exhibit signs of poor impulse control and poor self-regulation. We see other companies making ridiculous claims about the effects of their product, or we see a competitor generating enormous profits from a product with questionable risk factors, and too many companies first think to jump on the bandwagon and secure their piece of the pie.

Applied Health has certainly been guilty of that, as well. We go as far as at least taking notice. If we see a trend, we investigate. But we always come back to a very simple philosophy that is the basis for our policy; "First, do no harm", a basic principle of the Hippocratic Oath.

In the case of Ephedra, we chose to shy away from the concerns. We were making weight loss products already, and we have our own opinions about the difference between "fast weight loss" and "healthy weight loss". And sense we do consider ourselves to be in the "Health" business, we decided the latter was more appropriate for us. And indeed we are now glad.

The government has now announced the ban on ephedra based products. Companies that have been making the products will be forced to recall stock from the shelves and quit selling it. Consumers are being directed to stop taking any product they may already have. What a shame that it had to come this far. It is unfortunate that we as an industry were unable to police ourselves over this matter.

Certainly the world is full of products that are far more dangerous and deadly that will never receive the focus and scrutiny of ephedra, and will continue to do harm. But perhaps over time, these will be addressed, as well. In the mean time, you as a consumer can do your part. Remind yourself to do your homework. Read not only the product instructions carefully, but also any accompanying literature. And please follow directions. When we as the manufacturer develop a label for the product, we actually put considerable thought behind the "Suggested Use" statements. And any responsible manufacturer out there will not recommend a dosage that is harmful.

The operative word in the last sentence is "responsible". Sadly, our industry is full of examples of companies that are not so responsible. But that is a topic I am best to reserve for a whole different discussion.

Until then, stay well.

PS: There is really nothing that replaces good nutrition, exercise and a well-balanced diet when it comes to healthy weight loss.  Three of our products are often used as a "system" during a health weight loss routine.  For more information on healthy alternatives, visit these pages:

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