1. The Science Behind Herbal Magic

2. Phase 1-Weight Loss- During this phase, a personal health coach reviews the clients medical history and food journal as well as recommends a meal plan with natural health products to optimize healthy weight loss. Once the goal weight is reached, the client enters Phase 2. Phase 2-Stabilization- In this phase, the client and personal health coach work together to increase the amount of food intake while maintaining the clients goal weight. Phase 3-Maintenance- The length of the maintenance phase varies for clients based on the amount of weight lost during the weight loss phase. This is the phase intended to ensure the weight is kept off for good.

3. Herbal Magics Scientific Advisory Team researches and designs all of the products and programs. Developed by a team of pharmacological manufacturing companies, naturopathic doctors, registered dietitians, and pharmacists, Herbal Magic natural health products are designed to support weight control and promote overall health and energy. The products consist of herbs, nutraceuticals, vitamins, and minerals. As of July 2012, all 47 of Herbal Magic's Natural Health Products have received Natural Product Numbers (NPNs) which means that they are licensed for sale in Canada and have had their safety, efficacy, and quality approved by Health Canada.

4. 1. Diets rich in fruits and vegetables reduce blood pressure (BP) and the risk of adverse cardiovascular events. However, the mechanisms of this effect have not been clarified. Certain vegetables possess a high nitrate content, and it is hypothesized that this might represent a source of vasoprotective nitric oxide via bioactivation. In healthy volunteers, approximately 3 hours after ingestion of a dietary nitrate load (beetroot juice 500 mL), BP was substantially reduced; an effect that correlated with peak increases in plasma nitrite concentration. The dietary nitrate load also prevented endothelial dysfunction induced by an acute ischemic insult in the human forearm and significantly attenuated ex vivo platelet aggregation in response to collagen and ADP. Interruption of the enterosalivary conversion of nitrate to nitrite (facilitated by bacterial anaerobes situated on the surface of the tongue) prevented the rise in plasma nitrite, blocked the decrease in BP, and abolished the inhibitory effects on platelet aggregation, confirming that these vasoprotective effects were attributable to the activity of nitrite converted from the ingested nitrate. These findings suggest that dietary nitrate underlies the beneficial effects of a vegetable-rich diet and highlights the potential of a natural low cost approach for the treatment of cardiovascular disease.

5. 2. Fenugreek is an herb whose seeds lower basal blood glucose level, plasma glucagon, somatostatin levels and reduces hyperglycemia. Fenugreek seeds also lower cholesterol, improves your digestive system and balances the bodys sugar levels.

6. 3. Green tea leaves have thermogenic properties and promotes fat oxidation beyond that explained by its caffeine content per se. The green tea extract may play a role in the control of body composition via sympathetic activation of thermogenesis, fat oxidation, or both.

7. 4. Hoodia Gordonii is an herb from a plant in South Africa that reduces appetite by mimicking the effect that feeling full has on your after you eat. This makes a person not feel hungry, causing them to eat less without starving themselves, which is very unhealthy.

8. 5. White Kidney Bean Powder is an herb that has gone through extensive research and testing. What it does is stop the digestive process from turning starch into sugar, through α -amylase, so you take in less fat calories, and your body gets rid of the starch you don't need.

9. The February 5, 2010 episode of the investigative news program CBC Marketplace examined the health effects of Herbal Magic's optional supplement products. The program and its independent experts determined there was insufficient empirical evidence to convince them that the supplements facilitate weight loss. Accordingly, the documentary claimed it observed Herbal Magic salespeople using tactics that lead customers to overestimate the supplements' effectiveness. Marketplace also interpreted Herbal Magic's practice of only telling customers the cost of the program after a free consultation as disingenuous.

10. After going over the research I found on those five most common ingredients, I have come to a decision. That decision is as follows, Herbal magic can work for some people, if you are dedicated enough to potentially make a drastic change in your life style –which most wont– and can actually afford the plan your new health coach has recommended. Also, the rest of the ingredients that Herbal Magic implements arent as effective as the five ingredients I listed. In conclusion, Herbal Magic is over rated and appears to mostly rely on placebos and the power of suggestion.

11. 1."Herbal Magic Weight Loss Programs". Herbal Magic. http://www.herbalmagic.com/programs2.php. Retrieved 2011-03-27. 2."Herbal Magic Inc. Recruiting Quality Franchise Partners". BeTheBoss.ca. March 7, 2008. http://www.betheboss.ca/article.cfm?id=300. Retrieved 2011-03- 27. 3."Herbal Magic Diet Program". Weight Loss Center. http://www.weight-loss- center.net/diet-programs-herbal-magic.html. Retrieved 2011-03-27. 4.Johnson, Erica (February 5, 2010). "Magic in a Bottle?". CBC Marketplace. http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/Shows/Marketplace/ID=1405964153. Retrieved March 16, 2010. 5.Knows, George. "Ingredients in Herbal Weight Loss Supplements." Ingredients in Herbal Weight Loss Supplements. Ezine Articles, 16 Sept. 2006. Web. 22 Feb. 2013 6.Dilip Chokshi, Subchronic oral toxicity of a standardized white kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) extract in rats, Food and Chemical Toxicology, Volume 45, Issue 1, January 2007, Pages 32-40, ISSN 0278-6915, 10.1016/j.fct.2006.06.021. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691506001852) 7.Keywords: α -Amylase inhibitor; White kidney bean extract (Phase 2); Phaseolus vulgaris ; Safety; Starch blocker; Toxicity

12. 8.Ribes G, Sauvaire Y, Baccou J, -C, Valette G, Chenon D, Trimble E, R, Loubati&egraveres-Mariani M, -M, Effects of Fenugreek Seeds on Endocrine Pancreatic Secretions in Dogs. Ann Nutr Metab 1984;28:37-43 9.Landsberg L, Young JB. Sympathoadrenal activity and obesity: physiological rationale for the use of adrenergic thermogenic drugs. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1993;65:S29–34. 10.Dulloo AG. Strategies to counteract readjustments towards lower metabolic rates during obesity management. Nutrition 1993;9:366–72. 11.Arch JRS, Wilson S. Prospects for β 3-adrenoceptor agonists in the treatment of obesity and diabetes. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1996;20:191–9. 12.Dulloo AG. Spicing fat for combustion. Br J Nutr 1998;80:493–4. 13.Henry CJK, Emery B. Effects of spiced food on metabolic rate. Hum Nutr Clin Nutr 1986;40C:165–8. 14.Yoshioka M, St-Pierre S, Suzuki M, Tremblay A. Effects of red pepper added to high-fat and high-carbohydrate meals on energy metabolism and substrate utilization in Japanese women. Br J Nutr 1998;80:503–10.

13. 15.Dulloo AG. Ephedrine, xanthines and prostaglandin-inhibitors: actions and interactions in the stimulation of thermogenesis. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1993;17:S35–40. 16.Toubro S, Astrup A, Breum L, Quaade F. Safety and efficacy of long-term treatment with ephedrine, caffeine and an ephedrine/caffeine mixture. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1993;17:S69–72. 17.Dulloo AG, Seydoux J, Girardier L. Potentiation of the thermogenic antiobesity effects of ephedrine by dietary methylxanthines: adenosine antagonism or phosphodiesterase inhibition? Metabolism 1992;41:1233–41. 18.Durand J, Giacobino JP, Girardier L. Catechol-O-methyl-transferase activity in whole brown adipose tissue of rat in vitro. In: Girardier L, Seydoux J, eds. Effectors of thermogenesis. Basel, Switzerland: Birkhauser, 1977:45–53. 19.Borchardt RT, Huber JA. Catechol-O-methyltransferase: structure-activity relationships for inhibition by flavonoids. J Med Chem 1975;18:120–2. 20.Dulloo AG, Seydoux J, Girardier L. Tealine and thermogenesis: interactions between polyphenols, caffeine and sympathetic activity. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1996;20(suppl):71(abstr). 21.Durnin JVGA, Womersley J. Body fat assessed from total body density and its estimation from skinfold thickness measurements of 481 men and women aged 16– 72 years. Br J Nutr 1974;32:77–97.

14. 22.Stagg GV, Millin DJ. The nutritional and therapeutic value of teaa review. J Sci Food Agric 1975;26:1439–59. 23.Cunningham JJ. Body composition as a determinant of energy expenditure: a synthetic review and a proposed general prediction equation. Am J Clin Nutr 1991;54:963–9. 24.Dulloo AG, Fathi M, Mensi N, Girardier L. Twenty-four hour energy expenditure and urinary catecholamines of humans consuming low-to-moderate amounts of medium-chain-triglycerides: a dose-response study in a respiratory chamber. Eur J Clin Nutr 1996;50:152–8. 25.Jequier E, Acheson KJ, Schutz Y. Assessment of energy expenditure and fuel utilization in man. Annu Rev Nutr 1987;7:187–208. 26.Dulloo AG, Geissler CA, Horton T, Collins A, Miller DS. Normal caffeine consumption: influence on thermogenesis and daily energy expenditure in lean and post-obese human volunteers. Am J Clin Nutr 1989;49:44–50. 27.Bracco D, Ferrarra JM, Arnaud MJ, Jéquier E, Schutz Y. Effects of caffeine on energy metabolism, heart rate, and methylxanthine metabolism in lean and obese women. Am J Physiol 1995;269:E671–8. 28.Dulloo AG, Seydoux J, Girardier L, Chantra P, Vandermander J. Green tea and thermogenesis: interactions between catechin-polyphenols, caffeine and sympathetic activity. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord (in press).

15. 29.Lee MJ, Wang ZY, Li H, et al. Analysis of plasma and urinary tea polyphenols in human subjects. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 1995;44:393–9. 30.Hollman PCH, Tijburg LBM, Yang CS. Bioavailability of flavonoids from tea. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 1997;37:719–38. 31.Dulloo AG, Miller DS. The thermogenic properties of ephedrine/ methylxanthine mixtures: human studies. Int J Obes 1986;10:467–81. 32.Kearney PM, Whelton M, Reynolds K, Muntner P, Whelton PK, He J. Global burden of hypertension: analysis of worldwide data. Lancet. 2005; 365:217–223. 33.Wang YR, Alexander GC, Stafford RS. Outpatient hypertension treatment, treatment intensification, and control in Western Europe and the United States. Arch Intern Med. 2007;167:141–147. 34.Cutler JA, Sorlie PD, Wolz M, Thom T, Fields LE, Roccella EJ. Trends in hypertension prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control rates in United States adults between 1988–1994 and 1999–2004. Hypertension. 2008;52:818–827. 35.Lichtenstein AH, Appel LJ, Brands M, Carnethon M, Daniels S, Franch HA, Franklin B, Kris-Etherton P, Harris WS, Howard B, Karanja N, Lefevre M, Rudel L, Sacks F, Van Horn L, Winston M, Wylie-Rosett J. Diet and lifestyle recommendations revision 2006: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association Nutrition Committee. Circulation. 2006;114:82–96.

16. 36.Sacks FM, Rosner B, Kass EH. Blood pressure in vegetarians. Am J Epidemiol. 1974;100:390 –398. 37.Joshipura KJ, Ascherio A, Manson JE, Stampfer MJ, Rimm EB, Speizer FE, Hennekens CH, Spiegelman D, Willett WC. Fruit and vegetable intake in relation to risk of ischemic stroke. JAMA. 1999;282:1233–1239. 38.Joshipura KJ, Hu FB, Manson JE, Stampfer MJ, Rimm EB, Speizer FE, Colditz G, Ascherio A, Rosner B, Spiegelman D, Willett WC. The effect of fruit and vegetable intake on risk for coronary heart disease. Ann Intern Med. 2001;134:1106 –1114. 39.Rouse IL, Beilin LJ, Armstrong BK, Vandongen R. Blood-pressurelowering effect of a vegetarian diet: controlled trial in normotensive subjects. Lancet. 1983;1:5–10. 40.Appel LJ, Moore TJ, Obarzanek E, Vollmer WM, Svetkey LP, Sacks FM, Bray GA, Vogt TM, Cutler JA, Windhauser MM, Lin PH, Karanja N. A clinical trial of the effects of dietary patterns on blood pressure: DASH Collaborative Research Group. N Engl J Med. 1997;336:1117–1124. 41.Vivekananthan DP, Penn MS, Sapp SK, Hsu A, Topol EJ. Use of antioxidant vitamins for the prevention of cardiovascular disease: metaanalysis of randomised trials. Lancet. 2003;361:2017–2023. 42.Bjelakovic G, Nikolova D, Gluud LL, Simonetti RG, Gluud C. Mortality in randomized trials of antioxidant supplements for primary and secondary prevention: systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA. 2007; 297:842– 857.

17. 43.Lundberg JO, Feelisch M, Bjorne H, Jansson EA, Weitzberg E. Cardioprotective effects of vegetables: is nitrate the answer? Nitric Oxide. 2006;15:359 –362. 44.Larsen FJ, Ekblom B, Sahlin K, Lundberg JO, Weitzberg E. Effects of dietary nitrate on blood pressure in healthy volunteers. N Engl J Med. 2006;355:2792–2793. 45.Webb AJ, Patel N, Loukogeorgakis S, Okorie M, Aboud Z, Misra S, Rashid R, Miall P, Deanfield J, Benjamin N, MacAllister R, Hobbs AJ, Ahluwalia A. Acute blood pressure lowering, vasoprotective, and antiplatelet properties of dietary nitrate via bioconversion to nitrite. Hypertension. 2008; 51:784–790. 46.Lundberg JO, Weitzberg E, Cole JA, Benjamin N. Nitrate, bacteria and human health. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2004;2:593– 602. 47.Modin A, Bjorne H, Herulf M, Alving K, Weitzberg E, Lundberg JO. Nitrite- derived nitric oxide: a possible mediator of acidic-metabolic vasodilation. Acta Physiol Scand. 2001;171:9 –16. 48.Cosby K, Partovi KS, Crawford JH, Patel RP, Reiter CD, Martyr S, Yang BK, Waclawiw MA, Zalos G, Xu X, Huang KT, Shields H, Kim-Shapiro DB, Schechter AN, Cannon RO III, Gladwin MT. Nitrite reduction to nitric oxide by deoxyhemoglobin vasodilates the human circulation. Nat Med. 2003;9:1498 –1505. 49.Dejam A, Hunter CJ, Tremonti C, Pluta RM, Hon YY, Grimes G, Partovi K, Pelletier MM, Oldfield EH, Cannon RO III, Schechter AN, Gladwin MT. Nitrite infusion in humans and nonhuman primates. endocrine effects, pharmacokinetics, and tolerance formation. Circulation. 2007; 16:1821–1831. 280 Hypertension August 2010

18. 50.Lundberg JO, Weitzberg E, Gladwin MT. The nitrate-nitrite-nitric oxide pathway in physiology and therapeutics. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2008;7: 51.Stieglitz EJ. Bismuth subnitrate in the therapy of hypertension. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 1927;32:23–35. 52.Lundberg JO, Govoni M. Inorganic nitrate is a possible source for systemic generation of nitric oxide. Free Radic Biol Med. 2004;37: 53.Maher AR, Milsom AB, Gunaruwan P, Abozguia K, Ahmed I, Weaver RA, Thomas P, Ashrafian H, Born GV, James PE, Frenneaux MP. Hypoxic modulation of exogenous nitrite-induced vasodilation in humans. Circulation. 2008;117:670– 677. 54.Feelisch M, Fernandez BO, Bryan NS, Garcia-Saura MF, Bauer S, Whitlock DR, Ford PC, Janero DR, Rodriguez J, Ashrafian H. Tissue processing of nitrite in hypoxia: an intricate interplay of nitric oxide-generating and -scavenging systems. J Biol Chem. 2008;283:33927–33934. 55.Li H, Cui H, Kundu TK, Alzawahra W, Zweier JL. Nitric oxide production from nitrite occurs primarily in tissues not in the blood: critical role of xanthine oxidase and aldehyde oxidase. J Biol Chem. 2008;283: 17855–17863. 56.Webb AJ, Milsom AB, Rathod KS, Chu WL, Qureshi S, Lovell MJ, Lecomte FM, Perrett D, Raimondo C, Khoshbin E, Ahmed Z, Uppal R, Benjamin N, Hobbs AJ, Ahluwalia A. Mechanisms underlying erythrocyte and endothelial nitrite reduction to nitric oxide in hypoxia: role for xanthine oxidoreductase and endothelial nitric oxide synthase. Circ Res. 2008;103:957–964.

19. 57.Bryan NS, Fernandez BO, Bauer SM, Garcia-Saura MF, Milsom AB, Rassaf T, Maloney RE, Bharti A, Rodriguez J, Feelisch M. Nitrite is a signaling molecule and regulator of gene expression in mammalian tissues. Nat Chem Biol. 2005;1:290 –297. 58.Alzawahra WF, Talukder MAH, Liu X, Samouilov A, Zweier JL. Heme proteins mediate the conversion of nitrite to nitric oxide in the vascular wall. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2008;295:H499–H508. 59.Hobbs AJ. Soluble guanylate cyclase: the forgotten sibling. Trend Pharmacol Sci. 1997;18:484–491. 29. Law MR, Wald NJ, Morris JK, Jordan RE. Value of low dose combination treatment with blood pressure lowering drugs: analysis of 354 randomised trials. BMJ. 2003;326:1427–1434. 60.Lauer T, Preik M, Rassaf T, Strauer BE, Deussen A, Feelisch M, Kelm M. Plasma nitrite rather than nitrate reflects regional endothelial nitric oxide synthase activity but lacks intrinsic vasodilator action. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2001;98:12814 –12819. 61.Gladwin MT, Shelhamer JH, Schechter AN, Pease-Fye ME, Waclawiw MA, Panza JA, Ognibene FP, Cannon RO III. Role of circulating nitrite and S-nitrosohemoglobin in the regulation of regional blood flow in humans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2000;97:11482–11487. 62.Ignarro LJ, Fukuto JM, Griscavage JM, Rogers NE, Byrns RE. Oxidation of nitric oxide in aqueous solution to nitrite but not nitrate: comparison with enzymatically formed nitric oxide from L-arginine. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1993;90:8103– 8107. 63.Forte P, Kneale BJ, Milne E, Chowienczyk PJ, Johnston A, Benjamin N, Ritter JM. Evidence for a difference in nitric oxide biosynthesis between healthy women and men. Hypertension. 1998;32:730 –734.

20. 64.Scotland RS, Madhani M, Chauhan S, Moncada S, Andresen J, Nilsson H, Hobbs AJ, Ahluwalia A. Investigation of vascular responses in endothelial nitric oxide synthase/cyclooxygenase-1 double-knockout mice: key role for endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor in the regulation of blood pressure in vivo. Circulation. 2005;111:796–803. 65.Lerner DJ, Kannel WB. Patterns of coronary heart disease morbidity and mortality in the sexes: a 26-year follow-up of the Framingham population. Am Heart J. 1986;111:383–390. 66.Doel JJ, Benjamin N, Hector MP, Rogers M, Allaker RP. Evaluation of bacterial nitrate reduction in the human oral cavity. Eur J Oral Sci. 2005;113:14 –19. 67.Dunne FP, Barry DG, Ferriss JB, Grealy G, Murphy D. Changes in blood pressure during the normal menstrual cycle. Clin Sci (Lond). 1991;81: 38. Adrogue HJ, Madias NE. Sodium and potassium in the pathogenesis of hypertension. N Engl J Med. 2007;356:1966 –1978. 68.Hord NG, Tang Y, Bryan NS. Food sources of nitrates and nitrites: the physiologic context for potential health benefits. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009; 90:1–10.