joanne ikeda: people can die very quickly after becoming dehydrated. so it's really important to drink six to eight glasses of fluid a day. now, one can take that in as fruit juice, as low fat milk products, those kinds of things. as you buy fruit juices or processed foods, my rule of thumb is, when a new product comes into the market, look at the list of ingredients. if you can recognize 10 of those words, then you are ready to take that first sip. for any new beverage, look at all the chemicals that go into some of the processed foods. do they really belong in your body? can you live without them or can you do moderation? the body also needs vitamins and minerals to function. vitamins occur naturally in all living things- cows, carrots, trees and humans. each vitamin and mineral plays a key role in keeping the body functioning. joanne ikeda: well, i always think particularly of calcium and iron because those are the ones that we're commonly concerned about in this day and age. calcium, because of the high incidence of osteoporosis. women don't realiz

joanne ikeda: all of the magic potions have had side effects. we look at the fiasco with respect to the phen-fen combination-- the fenfluramine-phentermine-- that was so popular and ended up being withdrawn because it caused heart valve damage in women. ralph cygan: there are a number of stimulants on the market: ephedra, which is an epinephrine or sympathamimetic drug which is a strong metabolic stimulant that will probably suppress appetite for a few days or a few weeks, but longterm, can be extremely dangerous, and taken in doses higher than is recommended, can also cause potential cardiovascular problems, arrhythmias, chest pains, high blood pressure, etc. fad diets that limit or promote excessive intake of certain nutrients can also be dangerous. take high-protein diets, for example. protein is used, initially, in the body to maintain muscle mass, to build cells, antibodies, hormones, etc. generally, that need for protein will be met if we take in 12 to no more than 20% of our calories from protein. any additional protein that we take in wi