Are weight loss supplements useful

It doesn’t matter what you are doing - browsing the Internet, surfing cable, or flipping through your favorite magazine – you will find plenty of advertisements that promote the magical qualities of weight loss supplements. Weight loss supplements come in all manner of shapes, sizes and styles and have a range of claims and solutions. And there are all manner of claims – from pills, patches and creams. But do these cures really work? Only you can decide that for yourself. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular weight loss products and the positive benefits and negative effects of each, so you can make up your own mind. Bitter Orange, Citrus Aurantium, and Sour Orange: These products are made directly from concentrated extracts from orange peel. They often claim that they increase metabolism, but there has been no conclusive tests to back this up. Bitter Orange, Citrus Aurantium, and Sour Orange contain the stimulant synephrine, which can cause hypertension and cardiovascular toxicity. Individuals with heart disease, hypertension, and glaucoma should avoid these at all costs. Chromium (Examples of Chromium products include Puritan’s Pride Chromium Picolinate, Vitamin World Naturally Inspired Yeast Free Chromium Picolinate, Nutrilite Trim Advantage): The claims that chromium increases weight loss and improves body composition have been backed by one main study which proved this to be the case. There are two types of chromium: Trivalent (which the body requires and is considered safe in doses of 200 micrograms or less daily) and Hexavalent (but this form can cause stomach upsets, ulcers, convulsions, kidney and liver diseases, and death). Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) (Examples of this product include Vitamin World CLA, Nature Made CLA, Now Foods CLA): This product claims to promote leanness, but there are very few studies that actually support the marketing claims. While more research is needed, CLA is generally safe. Ephedra/Ephedrine: Ephedra may aid weight loss by suppressing appetite, and research has proven its effectiveness when used with caffeine. However, ephedra causes high blood pressure, stroke, and serious heart problems, which is why the sale of dietary supplements containing ephedra was prohibited in April 2004. 7-Keto Dehydroepiandrosterone (7-keto DHEA): Preliminary research indicates that this product may decrease body weight and fat composition by increasing metabolism, but larger research studies are needed. Hydroxycitric Acid (HCA) and Garcinia Cambogia: These products claim to suppress appetite and improve fat metabolism. While studies have shown mixed results, they are generally safe. L-Carnitine: L-Carnitine claims to inhibit obesity, but there is very little evidence of its effectiveness. Dihydroxyacetone (DHA), Pyruvate, and Dihydroxyacetone and Pyruvate (DHAP): A few small studies suggest that these supplements may have modest effects on weight loss, but research is needed. Presently, no serious side effects have been reported. Lecithin, Guar Gum, Psyllium Hulls, Chickweed, and Chitosan (Examples: Chito-Trim, Exercise in a Bottle, Fat Blocker—Chitosan Complex, Fat Grabbers, Fat Trapper, Fat Trapper Plus, Metabo Fat Blocker, Miracletab, Now Chitosan with Chromium): These products claim to help break down fat so that it can be absorbed, emulsified, trapped, and eliminated by the body. There is currently no competent and reliable scientific research to support such claims.

Willow tree figurines hand carved sculptures with a religious theme

Willow Tree figurines are the perfect gift for someone who is suffering in some way. These figurines are hand sculpted and are designed to comfort and heal by bringing out emotions with each and every figurine. One of the Willow Tree figurines is called Generations and features a mother and father looking down on a baby. Although it is in the style of the Holy Family, this Willow Tree figurine also invokes memories of your own family. Willow Tree figurines are also perfect gifts for special occasions, such as birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and births. For the student or teacher, what would be a better gift than a Willow Tree figurine featuring a person reading a book. Entitled “Love of Learning”, it brings the message of open books – open minds to the recipient. Other Willow Tree figurines include Birthday Girl, Hope, Friendship, Hero and Two Alike. The Promise figurine from Willow Tree features a man and woman dancing, as in the first dance at a wedding. This particular figurine is 9 inches high, but most of the figurines are only half that at 4.5 inches in height. When you log onto the Willow Tree website to shop for Willow Tree figurines, you can shop by occasion, season, brand or new items added to the catalog. The selection of figurines that Willow Tree offers is quite large and the prices are reasonable. The idea behind the Willow Tree products is that the figurine is intended to communicate beyond words. It is supposed to be personal and allows the recipient to decide what the meaning behind the figurine is. Willow Tree has been in business for 40 years. It is part of the Catholic Supply Inc. of St. Louis. It is owned and operated by a Catholic family that serves many parishes in and around the area. Willow Tree figurines are one of the brand names of products offered by this company. In addition to buying a Willow Tree figurine, you can also purchase angels, keepsake boxes, nativity scenes, ornaments and plaques. Willow Tree figurines hope to bring a message of peace and hope to all who buy and receive them. They enrich the recipient with warm and sympathetic thoughts. The love of people is embodied into each and every Willow Tree figurine with the hand sculpting. Willow Tree figurines are meant to enhance the dйcor of any room in the home and make ideal gifts at any time of the year.

Get a piece of franchise business opportunity pie

A franchise business opportunity has many advantages over starting a business form scratch. There are many franchise opportunities out there, too, so finding one is easy. The big thing about getting into franchise business is choosing the right one. If a person is sure they want a franchise business then they need to choose carefully. A franchise business opportunity offers an established business. With a franchise business opportunity a person is getting a recognized name that already has an established customer base. They will not need to put forth as much effort with advertising or drumming up interest in the product since it is already known. That is one of the biggest advantages of a franchise business opportunity and the reason why many people choose to go with a franchise business. On the flip side, though, a franchise business opportunity can be limiting. That is why choosing one carefully is the most important aspect of getting into a franchise. The parent company may be too strict or they may limit franchises and how owners can do things with their business. When choosing a franchise business opportunity a person needs to check it out completely to make sure it is really the business for them. The first thing a person should do when choosing a franchise business opportunity is look at their options. Generally a person will know the type of business they are seeking, so they should look into a few different opportunities within that market. Once a person chooses a few different options they can then proceed to more thoroughly check out each one. One of the first things to do for each franchise business opportunity is check out its background. This includes looking over financial records and the basic history of the company to make sure it is a solid company. There should be no pending lawsuits or legal issues of any kind or any financial issues with the company. Also each opportunity should be checked out for how the actual franchise business is to be run. This should include checking out any restrictions that may be placed on a franchiser. Additionally, the way payments are to be handled should be understood and checked out. It is important that every detail is considered so that the prospective franchiser knows the ins and outs of how they will be able to operate the business. It is very important when choosing a franchise business opportunity that a person checks out every detail. They should go over all information completely. They should understand everything about the franchising agreement and about the company. Once a person has done this they can then narrow down to their final choice and get their piece of the franchise business opportunity pie.

How to set yourself apart by earning more from others

Considered today as one of the best and easiest way to earn some money, affiliate marketing is now attracting many people to represent themselves in this type of business. But as competition is getting a bit bigger, you may need some ways to distinguish yourself from the rest of the affiliate marketers. For the major reason that many of your competitors including you are promoting the exact same program, in the exact same zone or on the exact same websites perhaps. Now here are some tips that you may consider in order for you to stay in this business and have the chance to outwit and outplay other competitors of yours. The first thing is for you to have your own website. It is very essential for you to have your own website in considering affiliate marketing as your professional career. Secondly, potential customers primarily go to websites in order for them to search and sometimes purchase items they were looking for. For the same reason that it is much easier to remember than a certain URL that you may be using and you can just point to your visitors the affiliate page in your website. Another thing to remember is to have your own ad. A lot of times affiliates marketers have published the same ad two or three times done by advertisers. In this case, you may email the owner of your affiliate program asking that you make your own ads. This way, people may not become immune to ads, because sometimes seeing the same ads over and over again, may just make your potential customers to just skip it all together. Besides, your primarily purpose is to attract or encourage people to click and read your ads and be curios enough to click through your website. Step three, have some products of your won which are only available through your website. Once you have your website going, it is important to have some products or services that your customers can’t find with other affiliate’s site. You want your customers to keep coming to your site and the best way to do that is to have something on your site that they can’t find on others. Being an affiliate marketer we must then choose a certain market segment where you can have a potential leadership or at least a strong challenger role. The fourth step is to build a strong relationship with people who already buy your product. Now, in order for you as the marketer to fully answer the query of your potential customers, it is best to try and buy the product by yourself. With this particular notion, you can better sell the product that you are trying to market. You can share to your potential customers what a great experience you had with the product, and this can make them interested enough to buy the product. You may also be able to provide a support if necessary or you may provide a confident tutorial or steps on how to use the product that you are trying to market based on your personal experience. Entailing this idea is to be totally honest about the product that you are trying to market. If you find out that the program you were promoting is a scam, stop promoting it and inform your readers about it. This will help you build credibility with your lists. We all make mistakes and admitting your mistake will boost your reader’s confidence in you. Lastly, don’t try to market everything you see. With services such as click bank, it is easy to become overwhelmed and try to market everything in the click bank marketplace. That is not a good idea. It’s better to focus on one market and market products that they would want. This is called niche marketing. Try also to promote a certain product, which conforms to the specifications measured through indications of customer-satisfaction, rather than indicators of self-gratification. It is the customer who decides what to buy and not the company or the affiliate marketer. The company simply produces products catering to the needs and wants of their chosen market segment. Today, different types of business are emerging from all over the world in a multinational level to reign supreme on their specific market segment that they are trying to dominate, and affiliate marketing is one of them. Affiliate marketing is definitely here to stay and it can become a great way to earn extra or even part time income. However, it won’t happen overnight. Like everything else in life, you’re going to have to put a lot of hard work into it. Good luck to you in your new venture.

The economies of the middle east

On February 24, 2003, in the Islamic Financial Forum in Dubai, Brad Bourland, chief economist for the Saudi American Bank (SAMBA), breached the embarrassed silence that invariably enshrouds speakers in Middle Eastern get-togethers. He reminded the assembled that despite the decades-long fortuity of opulent oil revenues, the nations of the region - excluding Turkey and Israel - failed to reform their economies, let alone prosper. Structural weaknesses, imperceptible growth, crippling unemployment and deteriorating government financing confined Arab states to the role of oil-addicted minions. At $540 billion, said Bourland, quoted by Middle East Online, the combined gross domestic product of all the Arab countries is smaller than Mexico's (or Spain's, adds The Economist). According to the Arab League, the gross national product of all its members amounted to $712 billion or 2 percent of the world's GNP in 2001 - merely double sub-Saharan Africa's. Even the recent tripling of the price of oil - their main export commodity - did not generate sustained growth equal to the burgeoning population and labor force. Algeria's official unemployment rate is 26.4 percent, Oman's 17.2 percent, Tunisia's 15.6 percent, Jordan's 14.4 percent, Saudi Arabia's 13 percent and Kuwait sports an unhealthy 7.1 percent. Even with 8 percent out of work, Egypt needs to grow by 6 percent annually just to stay put, estimates the World Bank. But the real figures are way higher. At least one fifth of the Saudi and Egyptian labor forces go unemployed. Only one tenth of Saudi women have ever worked. The region's population has almost doubled in the last quarter century, to 300 million people. Close to two fifths of the denizens of the Arab world are minors. According to the Iranian news agency, IRNA, the European Commission on the Mediterranean Region estimates that the purchasing power parity income per head in the area is a mere 39 percent of the EU's 2001 average, comparable to many post-communist countries in transition. In nominal terms the figure is 28 percent. These statistics include Israel whose income per capita equals 84 percent of the EU's and the Palestinian Authority where GDP fell by 10 percent in 2000 and by another 15 percent the year after. Faced with ominously surging social unrest, the Arab regimes - all of them lacking in democratic legitimacy - resort to ever more desperate measures. "Saudisation", for instance, amounts to the expulsion of 3 million foreign laborers to make room for indigenous idlers reluctant to take on these vacated - mostly menial - jobs. About one million, typically Western, expat experts remain untouched. The national accounts of Arab polities are in tatters. Until the recent surge in oil prices, Saudi Arabia managed to produce a budget surplus only once since 1982. Per capita income in the kingdom plunged from $26,000 in 1981 to $7000 in 2003. Higher oil prices may well continue throughout 2006, further masking the calamitous state of the region's economies. But this would amount to merely postponing the inevitable. Arab countries are not integrated into the world economy. It is possibly the only part of the globe, bar Africa, to have entirely missed the trains of globalization and technological progress. Charlene Barshefsky was United States Trade Representative from 1997 to 2001. In February 2003, in a column published by the New York Times, she noted that: "Muslim countries in the region trade less with one another than do African countries, and much less than do Asian, Latin American or European countries. This reflects both high trade barriers ... and the deep isolation Iran, Iraq and Libya have brought on themselves through violence and support for terrorist groups ... The Middle East still depends on oil. Today, the United States imports slightly more than $5 billion worth of manufactured goods and farm products from the 22 members of the Arab League, Afghanistan and Iran combined - or about half our value-added imports from Hong Kong alone." Indeed, Jewish Israel and secular Turkey aside, 8 of the 11 largest economies of the Middle East have yet to join the World Trade Organization. Only two decades ago, one of every seven dollars in global export revenues and one twentieth of the world's foreign direct investment flowed to Arab pockets. Today, the Middle East's share of international trade and FDI is less than 1.5 percent - half of it with the European Union. Medium size economies such as Sweden's attract more capital than the entire Middle Eastern Moslem world put together. Some Arab countries periodically go through spastic reforms only to submerge once more in backwardness and venality. Oil-producers attempted some structural economic adjustments in the 1990s. Jordan and Syria privatized a few marginal state-owned enterprises. Iran and Iraq cut subsidies. Almost everyone - especially Lebanon, Egypt, Iran and Jordan - increased their unhealthy reliance on multilateral loans and foreign aid. Young King Abdullah II of Jordan, for instance, dabbles in deregulation, liberalization, tax reform, cutting red tape and tariff reductions. Aided by a free trade agreement with America passed by Congress in 2001, Jordan's exports to the United States last year soared from $16 million in 1998 to $400 million in 2002. A similar nostrum is being administered to Morocco, partly to spite the European Union and its glacial "Barcelona Process" Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. But, as everyone realizes, the region's problems run deeper than any tweaking of the customs code. The "Arab Human Development Report 2002", published in June 2002 by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), was composed entirely by Arab scholars. It charts the predictably dismal landscape: one in five inhabitants survives on less than $2 a day; annual growth in income per capita over the last 20 years, at 0.5 percent, exceeded only sub-Saharan Africa's; one in six is unemployed. The region's three "deficits", laments the report, are freedom, knowledge and manpower. Arab polities and societies are autocratic and intolerant. Illiteracy is still rampant and education poor. Women - half the workforce - are ill-treated and excluded. Pervasive Islamization replaced earlier militant ideologies in stifling creativity and growth. In an article titled "Middle East Economies: A Survey of Current Problems and Issues", published in the September 1999 issue of the Middle East Review of International Affairs, Ali Abootalebi, assistant professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, concluded: "The Middle East is second only to Africa as the least developed region in the world. It has already lost much of its strategic importance since the Soviet Union's demise ... Most Middle Eastern states ... probably do, possess the necessary technocratic and professional personnel to run state affairs in an efficient and modern manner .... (but not) the willingness or ability of the elites in charge to disengage the old coalitional interests that dominate governments in these countries." The war with Iraq changed all that. This was the fervent hope of intellectuals throughout the region, even those viscerally opposed to America's high-handed hegemony. But this may well be only another false dawn in many. The inevitable massive postwar damage to the area's fragile economies will spawn added oppression rather than enhance democracy. According to The Economist, the military buildup has already injected $2 billion into Kuwait's economy, equal to 6 percent of its GDP. Prices of everything - from real estate to cars - are rising fast. The stock exchange index has soared by one third. American largesse extends to Turkey - the recipient of $5 billion in grants, $1 billion in oil and $10 billion in loan guarantees. Egypt and Jordan will reap $1 billion apiece and, possibly, subsidized Saudi oil as well. Israel will abscond with $8 billion in collateral and billions in cash. But the party may be short-lived, especially since the war did not prove to be as decisive and nippy as the Americans foresaw. Stratfor, the strategic forecasting consultancy, correctly observes that the United States is likely to encourage American oil companies to boost Iraq's postbellum production. With Venezuela back on line and global tensions eased, deteriorating crude prices may adversely affect oil-dependent countries from Iran to Algeria. The resulting social and political unrest - coupled with violent, though typically impotent, protests against the war, America and the political leadership - is unlikely to convince panicky tottering regimes to offer greater political openness and participatory democracy. The mock presidential elections in Egypt in 2005 are a case in point. War also traumatized tourism, another major regional foreign exchange earner. Egypt alone collects $4 billion a year from eager pyramid-gazers - about one ninth of its GDP. Add to that the effects of armed conflict on traffic in the Suez Canal, on investments and on expat remittances - and the country could well become the war's greatest victim. In a recent economic conference of the Arab League, then Egyptian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Faiza Abu el-Naga, pegged the immediate losses to her country at $6-8 billion. More than 200,000 jobs were lost in tourism alone. Egypt's Information and Decision Support Centre (IDSC) distributed a study predicting $900 million in damages to the Jordanian economy and billions more to be incurred by oil-rich Saudi Arabia. The Arab Bank Federation foresees banking losses of up to $60 billion due to contraction in economic activity both during the war and in its aftermath. This may be too pessimistic. But even the optimists talk about $30 billion in foregone revenues. The reconstruction of Iraq could revitalize the sector - but American and European banks will probably monopolize the lucrative opportunity. The war, and more so its protracted aftermath, are likely to have a stultifying effect on the investment climate. Saudi Arabia and Egypt each attract around $1 billion a year in foreign direct investment - double Iran's rising rate. But global FDI was halved between 2000-2002. In 2003, flows reverted merely to 1998 levels. This implosion is likely to affect even increasingly attractive or resurgent destinations such as Israel, Turkey, Iraq and Iran. Foreign investors will be deterred not only by the fighting but also by a mounting wave of virulent - and increasingly violent - xenophobia. Consumer boycotts are a traditional weapon in the Arab political arsenal. Coca-Cola's sales in these parched lands have plummeted by 10 percent in 2002 alone. Pepsi's overseas sales flattened due to Arabs shunning its elixirs. American-franchised fast food outlets saw their business halved. McDonald's had to close some of its restaurants in Jordan. Foreign business premises have been vandalized even in the Gulf countries. According to The Economist "in the past year (2002) overall business at western fast-food and drinks firms has dropped by 40% in Arab countries. Trade in American branded goods has shrunk by a quarter." These are bad news. Multinationals are sizable employers. Coca-Cola alone is responsible for 220,000 jobs in the Middle East. Procter & Gamble invested $100 million in Egypt. Foreign enterprises pay well and transfer technology and management skills to their local joint venture partners. Nor is foreign involvement confined to retail. The $35 billion Middle Eastern petrochemicals sector is reliant on the kindness of strangers: Indian, Canadian, South Korean and, lately, Chinese. Singapore and Malaysia are eyeing the tourism industry, especially in the Gulf. Their withdrawal from the indigenous economies might prove disastrous. Nor will these battered nations be saved by geopolitical benefactors. The economies of the Middle East are off the radar screen of the Bush administration, accuses Edward Gresser of the Progressive Policy Institute in a recently published report titled "Blank Spot on the Map: How Trade Policy is Working Against the War on Terror". Egypt and most other Moslem countries are heavily dependent on their textile and agricultural exports to the West. But, by 2015, they will face tough competition from nations with contractual trade advantages granted them by the United States, goes the author. Still, the fault is shared by entrenched economic interest groups in the Middle East . Petrified by the daunting prospect of reforms and the ensuing competitive environment, they block free trade, liberalization and deregulation. Consider the Persian Gulf, a corner of the world which subsists on trading with partners overseas. Not surprisingly, most of the members of the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council have joined the World Trade Organization a while back. But their citizens are unlikely to enjoy the benefits at least until 2010 due to obstruction by the club's all-powerful and tentacular business families, international bankers and economists told the Times of Oman. The rigidity and malignant self-centeredness of the political and economic elite and the confluence of oppression and profiteering are the crux of the region's problems. No external shock - not even war in Iraq - comes close to having the same pernicious and prolonged effects.

One night stands vs long term relationships

In our days there are still a lot of people out there which are single because they haven’t got a relationship until now. One of the reasons why this happen is because men are still confusing about something; which is better to choose: one night stands or long term relationships? Both have advantages and disadvantages that's why it is good to think better before to jump in a relationship or to start these ''one night stands' '. People who choose to have one - night - stands are not ready to have a relationship. They have fear of commitment and consider that living single can be pretty sweet; if you are unattached woman the best of all is that you can spend as much time as you want with your friends. That's why they prefer a one night stand. Let's face it: a one night stand is someone you pick up in a bar, you don't know her, take it to your place, and have a healthy sex and leaves in the next morning, nothing more. What do you hope to find in the arms of someone who doesn't care about you? Instead, a long term relationship between a guy and a girl is based around strong mutual attraction on the physical, mental and possibly even spiritual levels; it involves the concept of love and desire to be with someone you care very highly about for a long time. The guys who are looking just for hooking are afraid to enter in a relationship, afraid of intimacy, rejection or afraid of opening up to someone. So, the ones who never had a one night stand until now, will want to try it as a personal growth experience. Men love sex, especially when there are no strings attached, and sometimes the urge is irresistible. Sexual desire is far more than a simple physiological need. Experiencing a variety of people in a sexual context teaches you a variety of sexual techniques and ways of being. One night stands can be fun, very sensual, and harmless and will definitely boost your ego: but you have to think about the consequences that may happen. One of the bad things that you can take sexually transmitted diseases, because you don't know very well the girl, you don't know with many guys was before you, so she might be infected. In a one night stand the partners become incredibly intimate at a very early stage so they become too vulnerable to each other before they know better. For a long term relationship you must choose someone highly compatible in all areas, your partner should be your companion, friend and sex mate. For a one night stand you can choose a much greater variety of people, including women who are extremely sexually exciting, the decision can be made very quickly because anyway in the next day would matter anymore because she will leave for all. Relationships require making a commitment and incurring obligations; you can't chase after every opportunity if you want to built a relationship, you must have some patience. Even though, it can be very beautiful to have a relationship, because your partner cares of you and will be there for you when you have problems, will help you at need, you have always with whom to speak your problems. The one night stand girl will let you since the second day morning and will never care about you. It is at your choice how you want to live your life, but remember that if you spend your energy looking for casual sex, there is a little time left over for developing a long term relationship; the rewards of investing time in a long time relationship are not immediate.

Why we re so deeply in debt

It's been widely reported that as a nation we're collectively in debt to a higher level than ever before, and many more people are starting to experience problems keeping their finances together. The level of personal insolvencies and bankruptcies is skyrocketing, and banks are having to put aside ever increasing amounts of money to cover bad debts that their customers are failing to repay. Many financial experts are predicting a debt crisis in the near future, and there's talk of a severe impact to the economy as the chickens come home to roost. How did we get into this situation? Why are our debts so high? - Easy Credit We're constantly bombarded with advertising and marketing telling us how easy it could be to take out credit, and how much doing so could change our lives for the betterpetition between lenders has meant that many of them have relaxed their lending criteria, accepting applications that they may have rejected in previous timesbine these two facts and it's little surprise that the number of people taking out loans has increased dramatically. - Cheap Credit Interest rates are, historically speaking, at very low levels. This means that we pay less in repayments on our debt, making it easier to borrow larger amounts. While interest rates remain low this is perhaps not a problem, but rates will inevitably rise at some point, which could be very bad news indeed for those already stretched to the limit. - High House Prices The last decade or so has seen a mammoth surge in the cost of housing, with prices spiralling upwards year after year. This has led to increased debt in two distinct ways. Firstly, people buying their first home are having to take out huge mortgages to be able to afford them. Where once it was normal to save up a deposit, even this isn't realistic for many people, and so 100% mortgages for large amounts have become more common. Not only do high prices mean higher mortgage debt, they also give a feeling of increased wealthiness to people whose properties have doubled or tripled in value. Many people who bought houses before the property boom are now fortunate to have huge amounts of equity in their home, as their outstanding mortgage is much smaller than the value of their home. 'Cashing in' this equity by taking out a loan secured on their home is a seemingly easy way of obtaining extra cash to be used for a variety of purposes from consolidation to home improvements, and has become more and more popular as our collective equity has increased. - Attitude to Debt Society as a whole is now a lot more open to the idea of debt. Where once being in hock was anathema to most, it is now an ordinary part of life. Whether this is a cause of debt or a result of our new-found dependence on it is, however, open to question. What's certain is that more and more people are starting to question whether their personal debt levels are supportable, a trend that's likely to grow in the next few years.