Do you think bee pollen is a good dietary supplement?
540537
Yes, it is an excellent source of nutrition. It is called a "complete food." There is nothing lacking here, and its shelf life is incredible.
1050928
In a quick search of these two supplements, I found information indicating Acetyl L-Carnitine has some promise in the fight for degenerative diseases and birth defects.  As for Focus Factor, the outlook is not quite as good: \n\nFocus Factor:  " Bottom Line: Some interesting ingredients, but this formulation is not backed by research. No product on the market will boost your memory." \nhttp://www.berkeleywellness.com/html/ds/dsFocusFactor.php\n\nI found the following information in a quick search of Acetyl L-Carnitine :\n\nINDICATIONS AND USAGE\nAcetyl-L-carnitine has recently demonstrated some efficacy as a possible neuroprotective agent and may be indicated for use in strokes, Alzheimer's disease, Down's syndrome and for the management of various neuropathies. It may also have anti-aging properties. Research regarding acetyl-L-carnitine's possible beneficial effect on sperm motility is early-stage but promising.\n\n\nSeveral studies have now demonstrated some positive effects of acetyl-L-carnitine supplementation in Alzheimer's patients especially with regard to tasks involving attention and concentration. In a double-blind, parallel design, placebo-controlled pilot study of 30 patients whose mild-to-moderate dementias were believed to be symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, there were significant, positive results as measured by some of the neuropsychological tests used in the study.\n\nNatural sources (I found this info at : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetyl-L-carnitine#Natural_sources )\n\nThe best source of natural carnitine is in red meat and dairy products. Other natural sources of Carnitine include nuts and seeds (e.g pumpkin, sunflower, sesame), legumes or pulses (beans, peas, lentils, peanuts), vegetables (artichokes, asparagus, beet greens, broccoli, brussels sprouts, collard greens, garlic, mustard greens, okra, parsley), fruits (apricots, bananas), cereals (buckwheat, corn, millet, oatmeal, rice bran, rye, whole wheat, wheat bran, wheat germ) and other 'health' foods (bee pollen, brewer's yeast, carob, kale).\n\nIn any event, to answer your question as to the positive benefits, it appears most helpful to younger Alzheimer's patients.  But, the studies do show benefit to many users in the study groups:  " In another early double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 130 patients with clinical diagnoses of Alzheimer's disease, a slower rate of deterioration was observed in 13 of 14 outcome measures at the end of this one-year study. Some of these measures reached statistical significance, including measures of logical intelligence, long-term verbal memory and selective attention.\n\nhttp://www.pdrhealth.com/drug_info/nmdrugprofiles/nutsupdrugs/ace_0013.shtml\n\nI would suggest two things:  \n\n1.  If you are seeking this supplement for a healthy person, skip the pill and get it from its natural source.  Some things work for unknown reasons.  Beta-carotene is an excellent example:  When taken in its natural form, it is shown to reduce lung cancer even in smokers.  When taken in pill/supplement form, it INCREASES the risk of lung cancer in smokers by 25%!!! That is too huge to ignore!\n\n2.  If you are wanting to try this as a treatment option for one of the ailments listed above, talk to your doctor.
1101000
hot plants.com  \nHopefully you are taking the For Her version.  I would say it is probably useless other then the psycological effect.  Not harefull though.  Royal jelly is just fancy honey but ginsing is a usefull root and supliment.  \nWhat are you looking to do?
776618
I don't know about Natures Secret, but I can tell you Herbal Magic took 50lbs of my boss in 6mths, it was amazing,and funny thing he can eat normal food with vitamin supplements, look into that also.
756768
Yes\n\nMultivitamins are good for busy people\n\nBut for which brand to buy, I will recommend you to look at ConsumerLab's report first. They provide independent tests on food supplements.\n\nhttp://www.consumerlab.com/\n\nhttp://www.consumerlab.com/results/multivit.asp\n\nRead the above, Centrum is on the list
624477
I do not have any personal experience with this product but a little web research lead to some interesting findings.\n\nFirst, this product appears to consist of vitamins, minerals, fish oils, some herbs and some related nutrients.  Many of these basic nutrients play important roles in brain function and health, but whether the quantities and quality of these items in this product will benefit brain function and memory in the majority of people is unproven.  \n\nSecond, according to the website "Consumeraffairs.com", "The Federal Trade Commission obtained a $1 million settlement from the firm in 2004.  Prosecutors charged them with making unsubstantiated claims for their products."\n\nUsually products like this, that are highly promoted on TV (expensive!) are too expensive (over priced) and promoted with excessive claims (the FTC settlement).  It may be wiser and more cost effective to just take a quality multi-vitamin/mineral supplement (from your local health food store - not Centrum or One-A-Day, which are the 'junk-food' of vitamin supplements) and a quality fish oil supplement and/or cod liver oil.\n\nYou might consider reading an excellent book on this subject by David Perlmutter, M.D., Board certified Neurologist and recipient of the Linus Pauling Award in Medicine.  The book is called: "The Better Brain Book" and it is available at Amazon.com.  You will learn a lot about the role of basic nutrients in brain health as well as info. about special nutrients (lipoic acid, CoQ10, NAC, etc.) from this book.\n\nHope this was helpful.
309891
I think not, 'cause sunflowers seeds do not have pollen.\n\nI am extremely allergic to growing corn but I can eat corn without any problems!
1130441
im afraid only bee pollen can be bought, so if you need to study pollen grains not contaminated by bee material, you have to collect it - not difficult. pine pollen is easiest to collect but virtually to impossible to cultivate into pollen tubes. the easiest to cultivate is tobacco pollen - tobacco is and equivalent to guinea pig in plant biology. somewhere it is restricted to cultivate tobacco unless u are a corporate body, though. maize pollen is also good - has large grains. quantitative chemical analyses are made more comlicated due to very resistant outer surface. generally pollen can be stored in -20 degrees of celsius, not more not less. write me email if you are serious bout it. what kind of research do u have in mind?
1144097
I tried it. It was easy to use. I guess I had some mild benefits. Flatter tummy, good digestion, etc., but it was nothing dramatic. \n\nI didn't see any weird creatures or "plaque." What I DID see was strands and particles of partially digested food, which could look like worms and eggs, if you didn't know what to look for. I also saw "ribbons" which looked like what some on the website were describing as plaque, but to me they looked like ribbons of the psyllium product that you take.\n\nI'm in pretty good health, so maybe my experience wasn't typical of someone in poor health. But I have to say, it wasn't worth the money, but I was willing to give it a try.
757103
Hi,... In my well experienced opinion,... the likes of wheat grass juice is an excellent addition to anyones efforts to promote health in the body. ..... There have been many individuals who have benefitted greatly from a regular intake of this sort of supplement. (there are others available),...... You should know however that if you are eating a diet or living a lifestyle that is counterproductive to your own health,.. then taking something like wheatgrass juice is not going to do much of anything for you. ... It's potential benefits will be cancelled out by the negative effects of whatever else you are doing.\n\n .... Such a supplement as wheatgrass juice is a support tool,... not a cure all. .......... We in the 'modern world',... are indoctrinated into looking for the 'quick fix',.. or that little pill or one item that will solve our problems,... and that is not the nature of natural healing,... which is a 'Holistic' and harmonious science. \n\nI can also share with you that many consumers of wheat grass juice in fact grow their own wheat grass in their own kitchens and use a specific wheat grass juicer machine to make their own juice. ... It is a whole lot cheaper and provides a much more fresh supply of juice.  ...http://www.wheatgrasskits.com/
929603
(My GP has been taking 2000mg of Vitamin C daily for 20yrs and claims he has never had he flu since.)\nMany others believe supplements aid in many health issues today in comparison to the  "caveman the era" where we ate more fruits,vegetation and pure proteins,not needing supplements.The major claim is, supplements help! Yet the rich pharmaceutical companies have no real economic interest in the investment of research and development of Vitamins & Minerals because it doesn't pay enough.Just like the subject of Global warming...oil & car co. are filthy rich now..so what should they care about tomorrow.
243433
I take ZMA, Tribulus Terrestris and Themo Dynamx and have had no side effects thus far. If you want a professional opinion I suggest you contact Todd Ganci, his link is below. I had the chance to meet him three weeks ago, he is extremely knowledgeable in nutrition and has a respectable reputations. Here are both of his websites.
1174140
take a food supplements
259169
I'll give you a very simple answer to your question...NO.\n\nThey don't work and the research done on such supplements as you suggest is useless, unscientific and unsupported by unbiased scientists.  Save your money as these supplements do next to nothing to enhance your overall training.  Even the best natural supplements have been shown to provide very little benefit to a recreational fitness enthusiast.  \n\nIf you're going to spend money on something, creatine (depending on your goals) should probably first on your list since it's the only product that has been proven to work across the board.  There is also some merit in the claims of some Metabolic enhancing products but do your research to find out which one's work best.  Hotrox works very well for me after trial and error.  Besides that, get yourself the right multi-vitamins, whey, glutamine and omega 3 fatty acids.  Almost everything else I've seen out there in the last 20 years has been hogwash.
1034002
Yes and no.\n\nProtein powders are exactly what they say on the tin - protein.  If your diet, for whatever reason, is lacking in protein then they have their place for you.  Just the same as an anaemic may take iron supplements.\n\nHowever, the body can only synthesize so much protein at a time, so if your dietary supply of protein is sufficient for your needs, the surplus is (to be blunt) pissed back out.  I can think of more enjoyable ways to piss your money away.\n\nA cheap way to make an equally effective source of protein in the form of a shake is to add powdered milk to your drink - about 2-3 tablespoons per pint.  A tin of marvel costs about a quid.  It's pretty much the same thing.\n\nCreatine is a different matter and the jury is still out on it.  Most of the studies done on creatine have been funded by...guess who?  Yep, the people who make and market it.  \n\nCreatine phosphate is a molecule involved in energy release in the body.  It is used to make more adenosine triphosphate when it is being burned at a high rate.  The idea is that by taking artificial ammounts, you will have extra energy and your muscle's supply will become less depleted meaning they grow more quickly after exercise.\n\nOf the relatively independent studies, the muscle growth has been shown to be pretty much a load of rubbish.  Your body simply stops producing as much of its own creatine phosphate when you have the artificially introduced stuff.\n\nThere is one genuine, relatively long term and independent study which has shown that olympic standard squash players showed a 1% performance enhanced effect due to creatine.  If you're training your cardio system as hard as an olympic standard squash player, then yes, it appears worth it.\n\nThe long term effects of creatine supplementation cannot yet be known, as it has only been on the market for around fifteen years.  Already there are suggestions that it can cause digestive and kidney problems - which doesn't bode well.  Later research suggests that this is more due to the powders that the creatine is carried in, so the liquid forms should be safer.\n\nWhat about all the testimonials from sports personalities?\na) Would you admit to taking steroids?\nb) Here's a hundred grand to say you use our milkshake...deal?\nc) Sports persons have a very high calorie requirement - shakes or another plate of pasta in between your running?\n\nThere is also the placebo effect to take into account.  Various studies have shown that placebo groups make improvements because the people think they're getting a special pill to make them bigger, stronger, faster, whatever.  So they're more motivated, so they train harder, which (guess what?) leads to improved outcome.\n\nSo even if they do nothing for you, if you believe they do, they actually will...oddly enough.
585272
NO......  You can take supplements yes.. but they are still chemical supplements.  Nothing beats the natural and the original.  So eat your veggies dude.
448165
Yes, I go to the gym and wish to use a supplement to help my workout program. I looked into stuff like "andro" and others but found Creatine to be the safest pick when taken in moderation. And by moderation, I mean only before I go to workout to help build muscle. I also combine this with NO (Nitrous Oxide) and Glutamine for muscle recovery. Then I also have 3 protein shakes a day and I look good and cut.