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Relora—New Relief for Stress-Related Weight Gain
By Bob Garrison
Relora is an all-natural, patent-pending
ingredient proven to help stressed
individuals relax and to normalize
levels of hormones associated with stress-related
weight gain. Relora is a proprietary
blend of patent-pending extracts from
Phellodendron Amurense and Magnolia
Officinalis, two major botanicals used in traditional
Chinese medicine for over 1500
years. Relora was developed by Next
Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Irvine, California.
The cover story in the June 18, 2002 edition
of Woman’s World magazine featured the
benefits of Relora for an overweight condition
called metabolic syndrome. In the
article Dr. Jim LaValle described the syndrome
as a stress-related condition that is
keeping as many as 47 million adults overweight
and frustrated. Scientists at the
National Institute of Health (NIH) and other
research centers have demonstrated that hormonal
imbalances associated with stress and
metabolic syndrome contribute to excess
body fat (especially around the middle),
immune dysfunction, cardiovascular disease
and a number of other age-related disorders.
“Most people haven’t heard of this condition,”
says LaValle. “They try to treat the
obvious symptom—the belly fat—and
ignore the other symptoms. Unless you treat
the condition as a whole, it’s hard to get
results.”
For the past eight years, Dr. LaValle has
specialized in the treatment of metabolic
syndrome at his clinic in Cincinnati.
Recently he has found that Relora has special
properties that go beyond its ability to help
stressed individuals relax. Several of his
patients lost dramatic inches and pounds
thanks to his program of nutrition, exercise,
and Relora. According to LaValle, Relora
plays a key role in the reversal of metabolic
syndrome. In a study of stressed individuals
at Dr. LaValle’s clinic, Relora was found to
normalize the levels of cortisol, a stress hormone
that is a key culprit in metabolic syndrome
and its associated weight gain,
especially around the belly. “Short of
working out, taking Relora is perhaps your
best bet for controlling cortisol,” says LaValle.
In addition to addressing the weight problems associated with stress, Relora has exciting promise in light of the data currently available regarding stress:
- 43 percent of all adults suffer adverse health effects due to stress.
- 75–90 percent of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress-related complaints or disorders.
- Stress has been linked to all the leading causes of death including heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis and suicide.
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- An estimated 1 million workers are
absent on an average work day because of
stress-related complaints. Stress is said to
be responsible for more than half of the
550,000,000 work days lost annually
because of absenteeism.
- A three-year study conducted by a large corporation showed that 60 percent of employee absences were due to psychological problems such as stress.
- Nearly half of all American workers suffer from symptoms of burnout, a disabling reaction to stress on the job.
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Several patients lost dramatic inches
and pounds thanks to LaValle’s program of
nutrition, exercise, and Relora.
Relora Research
In central nervous system receptor binding
assays Relora binds to several important targets
associated with stress and anxiety. It
does not bind to the receptors that would
cause sedation, a significant problem with
drugs used to treat anxiety, yet has the
relaxing properties needed by stressed individuals.
Relora has been shown to be an
effective non-sedating anxiolytic in an
animal model known as the “Chick Social
Separation-Stress Procedure.” This model
has been validated for several well known
benzodiazepines. The paper
describing this work has been published
in Psychopharmacology (2001) 153:219–34,
highlighting the excellent results of Relora in
this model.
An extensive literature review of the
chemical constituents in the plant extracts in
Relora, plus the parent plant’s use for more
than 1500 years in Asia, suggests that this
material is safe for its intended use. In addition,
an acute toxicity study in rats (5g/kg),
with 14-day observation, revealed no untoward
effects of Relora. No side effects are
expected at the recommended human dosage.
In a human study Relora was tested and
found to be a safe, effective, rapidly acting,
non-sedating dietary supplement that helps
control stress and its associated symptoms:
irritability; emotional ups and downs, restlessness,
tense muscles, poor sleep and concentration
difficulties. Fifty subjects were treated with Relora for two weeks. eight out
of 10 individuals felt that Relora was excellent
for relaxation. Even though Relora does not
cause sedation, 74 percent of the patients had
more restful sleep; 94 percent of the subjects
stated that Relora was gentle on the stomach.
A second human trial was conducted in
Dr. LaValle’s clinic to measure cortisol and
DHEA levels in patients with mild to moderate
stress. Elevated cortisol levels and
depressed DHEA levels are associated with
chronic stress. A two-week regimen of Relora
caused a significant (P=0.003) increase in
salivary DHEA (227 percent) and a significant
(P=0.01) decrease in morning salivary cortisol
levels (37 percent). Both hormones were
brought into the normal range. These significant
findings support Relora’s ability to
relieve stress and its potential role in weight
control and stress-related eating and drinking
behavior. A double-blind clinical trial on
Relora is scheduled to be completed in 2002.
Products that Contain Relora
There are a number of companies that
market Relora in a finished product. For a
complete list of these companies visit
www.relora.com or call 1-866-649-7246.
Relora is distributed by Stauber Performance
Ingredients. For a complete copy of any
study mentioned above or for additional
information, please contact Stauber at
714-441-3900.
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