The Dr. Oz Show
Airdate: November 16, 2012
Dr. Oz Alert: Sensa – Sensation or
Senseless?
- Dr. Oz investigates the Sensa weight loss craze
- 20 women share their Sensa experience
- Rate your anger
- Temper tamers
Is it hype or a miracle weight loss
product? Dr. Oz takes a look at Sensa to determine if it's a
sensation or senseless.
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Dr. Oz Alert:
Sensa – Sensation or Senseless?
The ads for Sensa
say: What if you can what you want and still lose weight? Sprinkle a
little white powder on your food and eat away why you lose weight.
Sensa calls them taste bits and are touted to change your sense of
taste and smell.
Dr. Alan Hirsch,
the creator of Sensa, found in his medical practice that when his
patients lost their sense of taste and sense of smell they gained
weight. So he thought if he could enhance these senses then people
might lose weight. His studies show that when people use Sensa on
sweet or salty foods the taste and smell of these foods are enhanced
and people tend to eat less and then lose weight.
Sensa costs about
$60 per month, said Dr. Hirsch. Millions of users have lost millions
of pounds. Consumers of Sensa can expect to lose about 30 pounds over
6 months, said Dr. Hirsch, and some people have used Sensa for years
and continue to lose weight.
Dr. Oz illustrated
what happens when we eat food. The food goes in the mouth then down
to the stomach. When the food hits the stomach, the stomach sends
messages to the brain that you're full. With Sensa, the senses are
enhanced and as you take a few bites those messages of being full go
directly from the mouth to the brain. The message of being full gets
to the brain faster and stops behavior sooner, at least that's how
it's advertised.
Dr. Louis Aronne, director of the
comprehensive weight loss program at NY Presbyterian Hospital, thinks
there's something fishy with the Sensa weight loss craze. Dr. Aronne
says Dr. Hrisch's studies are not scientific they are consumer based
studies and therefore the results are unproven. The claims made by
the makers of Sensa have not been proven or tested and therefore
should not considered as safe or effective.
Kristen Kirkpatrick, MS, registered
dietitian and Wellness Manager for Cleveland
Clinic's Lifestyle 180 program [and contributing
blogger on DoctorOz.com], contains maltodextrin a starch which
causes bloating in many people. Maltodextrin can be derived from corn
or wheat, two foods that are highly allergenic and could be
problematic for people with allergies to them and unfortunately the
product does not disclose these potential allergens. Ms. Kirkpatrick
stated that she also has a problem with a product the relies on
natural or artificial ingredients that are disclosed on the label.
Dr. Hirsch essentially said it's too
complicated for the company to disclose all ingredients in the
product because the formulation changes every month. The company
discovered the if the product stayed the same then people would not
experience such great weight loss over time instead they would
plateau. Changing the formula allows for consumers to receive
different ingredients every time they purchase a bottle and that
allows them to never hit a plateau and steadily lose weight over
months or years.
Dr. Hirsch agreed with Dr. Oz and the
other specialists on the stage that exercise is best for losing
weight however there is a large segment of the population who are
unable to achieve results with just exercise and instead, said Dr.
Hirsch, they can turn to Sensa.
Fourteen women who have used Sensa for
at least a month were invited on to the Dr. Oz Show stage as well.
Some of the women achieved results and some didn't see any results.
One women lost an amazing amount of
weight and sounded like a paid spokesperson. She's not a paid
spokesperson but she has received several months of free product.
Using Sensa, she lost over 128 pounds and said this was the only
product that allowed her to finally lose weight and keep it off.
Before Sensa, she would eat four slices of pizza for dinner before
feeling full but with Sensa she eats 1 ½ slices of pizza and feels
as full as she did before. For the first year while using Sensa, she
wasn't exercising because of her size but as she began losing weight
her energy returned and now she's active and exercises regularly.
Dr. Aronne said her results are
wonderful however he can also bring many people to the stage who lost
as much weight and more through healthy eating and exercise alone.
The next Sensa user said she tried it
over the summer and didn't lose any weight, in fact, she believes she
gained a few pounds. Another woman on the stage said it also didn't
work for her and the real reason is that she couldn't remember to use
it everyday on every bit of food.
Dr. Hirsch said that Sensa isn't an
instant weight loss solution, that's not how it was designed It's
meant to be used over a long-term for gradual and sustainable weight
loss.
Dr. Oz asked six women to try Sensa for
five days before today's show. As a group, they lost about five
pounds. Some lost weight and some didn't. Kim found that she was full
sooner and did lose some weight. The woman sitting next to her said
she didn't notice feeling full faster and didn't lose any weight.
Dr. Oz: Is Sensa Right For You?
Dr. Aronne says Sensa not a magic
bullet and it's not proven. He says people should still focus on
healthy eating and exercise.
Ms. Kirkpatrick said one drawback with
Sensa is that people don't learn how to eat the right foods they are
eating anything they want. She's concerned about long-term results
and sustainability. What happens when people go off the product? What
are the long-term health implications, such as chronic inflammation,
from eating whatever they want and not looking at getting a variety
of healthy foods?
Dr. Oz weighed in and said while Sensa
has been labeled as generally safe it's still a crutch. There's
nothing that can replace healthy eating and exercise for over all
health.
Click here to read other posts from Ms.
Kirkpatrick's previous appearances on The Dr. Oz Show:
Dr. Oz: What's Your Anger Boiling
Point?
What does it take to get your blood
boiling and your anger to explode and overflow? Dr. Oz wanted to find
out what upset people and how did they react to stressful situations.
He sent two actors to a grocery store and acted as rude as they
possibly could and once they upset everyone Dr. Oz's medical staff
checked their vital signs.
Michelle said she was trying to manage
her anger while watching the actor argue over peanut butter and it
resulted in her stress levels rising sky high. Her hands were shaking
and she had to cover her ears to close out the sound. Her heart rate
went from 86 to 95 and her blood pressure went 107/75 to 123/79 in
the pre-hypertension range.
Nancy was also getting ticked off by
the actors in the grocery store. Her heart rate went from 78 to 85
which isn't that much of a change but the biggest change was
alarming. Nancy's blood pressure went from 123/85 to 168/100. She
normally has low blood pressure however when she gets angry her blood
boils and her blood pressure rises. Dr. Oz said if she was to have
this reaction to anger every day it would greatly increase her risks
for heart disease.
When anger rears it's ugly head, the
hormones cortisol and epinephrin spike which causes a rise in blood
pressure and heart rate, you may start to sweat and shake. That
cortisol will cause fat to accumulate around the belly with chronic
stress.
Dr. Oz: Is Your Temper Harming
Your Health
Dr. Charles Sophy, MD, psychiatrist,
said that anger can creep up on us in ways that we never expect. From
sleep issues to strain on the heart and circulation to liver and
weight issues as well.
Dr. Oz has a quiz to determine if your
temper is putting your health at risk for heart attack and stroke.
For each scenario, rate your anger on a scale from 0 to 5. Click
here to take the quiz on DoctorOz.com.
5 = Boiling point
4 = very angry
3 = Angry
2 = Agitated
1 = A little annoyed
0 = Unaffected
Dr. Oz Anger Scenario #1: Traffic
You're late for work and stuck in
traffic. The light turns green but the person in front doesn't move
causing you to miss the light. How angry are you? Dr. Sophy says a
healthy degree of anger is in the range of 2 and perhaps as high as a
3.
Dr. Oz Anger Scenario #2: Work
work deadline ask someone to do an
important part but they don't
Dr. Oz Anger Scenario #3: Home
No one is allowed to eat in living room
yet someone did and they spilled juice on the couch and rug. Dr.
Sophy said a normal response is 2.5 to 3.
Dr. Oz Anger Scenario #4: Night
Out
While having dinner at a fancy
restaurant and there's a baby at the next table crying.
The lower the score then the better you
deal with anger. The higher the score, then it's time for some anger
management.
Dr. Sophy says another way to determine
how you deal with anger is to look at how anger is intruding in your
normal activities and he has a handy acronym for that: S.W.E.E.P.
S – Sleep. Is sleep being effect by
anger?
W – Work. Is the quality and quantity
of work changing?
E – Eating. Are you eating well or
not eating enough?
E – Expressing Emotions. Are your
expressions of emotion age appropriate?
P – Play. What are your hobbies? Are
you engaging in hobbies as frequently?
If these areas of life are out of
balance, said Dr. Sophy, if anger has effected your ability to engage
in these normal activities then there could be a problem with your
anger management. Look at your answers to the above quiz and see
where you scored higher, these are areas where you need to find ways
to diffuse anger.
Dr. Oz: Tame Your Temper
Dr. Oz and Dr. Sophy have put together
some tips to help prevent stress and anger as well as tips to diffuse
anger once your temper has begun to rise.
Dr. Oz Tame Your Temper Tip #1:
Valerian Root
As a stress preventative, Dr. Sophy
recommends valerian root. It's important to read the label and be
sure you are getting valerian root and not leaf. Dr. Sophy recommends
to take 300mg of valerian root one hour before bed to support restful
sleep as well as support a more calm attitude during the day.
Dr. Oz Tame Your Temper Tip #2:
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Another preventative measure is a
technique to release tension in the muscles before stress begins.
Stand with your back against a wall. Tighten muscles groups and hold
for a count of 10 seconds then relax. Repeat two more times and then
go on to another muscle group. Think about acting with an equal mix
of heart and head during stressful situations for a more balanced
approach.
Dr. Oz Tame Your Temper Tip #3:
“Unhook and Take a Look”
In a potentially stressful situation,
say to yourself “unhook and take a look”. Step back from a
situation and understand that people aren't necessarily doing things
deliberately to you, situations unfold around you and you are in
control of your response. That baby at the restaurant didn't
purposefully cry to cause you stress. Try to come back to the
situation with a little more understanding and patience.
that baby didn't intend
Dr. Oz Tame Your Temper Tip #4: “No
Thanks I Won't Go There”
Make a choice to not join in the anger
with other people. Keep your power by staying calm.
Dr. Oz Tame Your Temper Tip #5:
Acupressure
Lots of headaches are caused by stress.
Try to diffuse a tension headache use acupressure on the back of the
neck. Take both hands and gently press the fingers into the back of
the neck for 10 seconds, repeat as necessary while pressing in a
different area.
Dr. Oz: What's In Your Freezer
Dr. Oz asked audience member to share
the crazy things they keep in their freezers.
One fan shared that she keeps her nail
polish in the freezer to keep it lasting longer. It doesn't freeze
and it doesn't clump.
Pam, another fan, keeps keeps her
daughter's stuffed animals in the freezer. Her daughter is allergic
to dust mites which can reproduce overnight. To prevent dust mites
from growing, she puts the toy in the freezer to reduce the amount of
mites.
Another fan shared that just before
winter she puts her warm wool clothing in the freezer to kill off any
moths that may have moved in during their storage in the attic.
What's in Dr. Oz's freezer? Why, vodka,
of course. He says his family has always kept the vodka in the
freezer so they can drink it ice cold.
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The whole Sensa argument is a bit odd to me. It worked for her, didn't work for her, so that proves...what? People are different. Nothing is going to work for everyone, and it's not as simple as "eat right and exercise." Why would anyone begrudge someone a tool that might help? At least it's not speed, like doctors might have prescribed to our mothers years ago.
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