Dieting To Lose Weight
Eggs will raise your cholesterol, and other myths
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Avoid eggs. Drink 8 glasses of water a day. Eating carbs will make you fat. Nutritional advice such as this has been touted for years—but is it accurate?
Not necessarily, according to Wendy Repovich, an exercise physiologist at Eastern Washington University in Cheyenne, Washington, who did her best to dispel several common nutrition misconceptions during an American College of Sports Medicine-sponsored health and fitness summit held recently in Dallas.
Americans still not eating enough fruits and vegetables, according to two recent studies
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“Eat your vegetables” has been heard at the dinner tables of America for a long time. Has the message gotten through? Since 1990 the Dietary Guidelines for Americans has recommended consuming at least two servings of fruits and three servings of vegetables daily. However, two studies published in the April issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine clearly show that Americans are not meeting the mark. This is a serious public health concern because consuming a diet high in fruits and vegetables is associated with decreased risk of obesity and certain chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and some cancers.
Researchers from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and the Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research in Baltimore analyzed NHANES data (National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys) to determine trends over time for fruit and vegetable consumption among American adults.
Calcium lowers cardiovascular risk in people on a weight loss program
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Universite Laval Faculty of Medicine researchers have discovered that taking calcium and vitamin D supplements while on a weight loss program lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease. Researchers Genevieve C Major, Francine Alarie, Jean Dore, Sakouna Phouttama, and Angelo Tremblay published the details of their findings in the January issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The scientists enrolled 63 women with a body mass index over 30 on a 15-week low-calorie diet. At the start of the experiment, the women’s daily calcium intake was 700 mg on average, well below the 1,000 mg recommendation. “This is nothing exceptional,” points out Dr. Angelo Tremblay, who led the study. “More than 50% of women don’t get the daily recommended dose.”
Exercise helps stoke fat-burning fires
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It may be easier for active people to stay slim after a few days of eating too much fat, a new study shows.
Given that eating lots of fat over short stretches likely leads to accumulation of excess body fat over time, Dr. Kent C. Hansen of the University of Wisconsin in Madison and his colleagues write, regular exercise may help people maintain a healthy weight even if they do indulge occasionally.
While the body can adjust fairly rapidly to excess carbohydrate intake by boosting the rate at which it burns calories from carbs, it takes several days to adjust in a similar way to an increase in fat intake, Hansen and his team note in the January issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. However, there is evidence that exercise can help the body adapt more quickly, they add.
Exercise, diet reduce fatty liver in obese teens
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Efforts to help obese children become more active and eat better can help reduce the amount of fatty tissue in their livers.
Known medically as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, this condition is becoming increasingly common as the prevalence of obesity increases, Dr. Ana R. Damaso and colleagues from the Federal University of Sao Paulo in Brazil note in their report. There are currently no drugs available to reverse fatty liver disease, which can progress to cirrhosis, even among young patients, the doctors add.
They set out to determine whether a 12-week program including nutrition education and two one-hour exercise sessions per week would have any effect on fatty liver in a group of 73 obese teens.
Excessive adiposity, calorie restriction, and aging
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Can eating a low-calorie yet nutritionally balanced diet extend human life? Preliminary research suggests it might, so researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are launching a long-term study to find out.
In an editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Luigi Fontana, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine at Washington University and an investigator at the Istituto Superiore di Sanita in Rome, Italy, says calorie-restricted diets point to possible mechanisms of aging and suggest ways to intervene and modify its effects.
In January, Fontana and colleagues found that after an average of six years on calorie restriction, people’s hearts functioned like the hearts of much younger people. And a team from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge is reporting that six months of calorie restriction reduces two key markers of aging: fasting insulin levels and body temperature.
Diet Drug May Go OTC, Prompting Concern About Broad Use of Diet Pills
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In January 2006, a federal advisory panel recommended that the FDA make the weight-loss medication orlistat (Xenical) available without a prescription. Although the FDA usually takes the panel’s advice, orlistat’s approval is uncertain. Many question the drug’s effectiveness in the broader population; others worry about its side effects, reports the April issue of Harvard Women’s Health Watch.
A new weight-loss solution would be welcome; two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight or obese and at risk for major health problems and early death. But the reasons for weight problems are complex. No pill can melt away fat or keep the pounds off. Yet for people whose health is at risk, drug therapy may increase the odds of success.
Does it really matter what diet your on when they all fail for you anyway?
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Get off the scale and put down that protein shake. It’s time to learn the shocking truth about all kinds of hidden weight loss enemies-from metabolic dysfunction to hormonal imbalances and emotional baggage-that are keeping you fat no matter what you do?
Find out what the dieting industry, most doctors and even your training don’t know. Loree Taylor Jordan, author of Fat & Furious: Overcome Your Body’s Resistance To Weight Loss Now, is a holistic health expert and educator as well as a reformed dieting maniac.
Where to find South Beach Diet Recipes
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The South Beach diet is very popular in the wake of the Atkins diet becoming a bit too much for casual dieters. South Beach focuses more on good carbs and bad carbs than some of the high protein diets. South Beach recipes are available from a number of places both online and in the real world. A search in goolge or a walk to your local bookstore will certainly lead you to some tasty eats that won’t compromise your dieting.
Life After Atkins
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Atkins Nutritionals’ bankruptcy came as no surprise to many food and health experts.
“Atkins did a good job helping consumers understand the role of carbohydrates in healthy eating,” said Lynn Dornblaser, director of consulting services for Mintel’s GNPD. “The diet came in very strongly and quickly, then vanished. This is a frequent trend with diets, and their disappearance is inevitable.”
Low-fat vegan diet may spur weight loss
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A diet free of animal products and low in fat may help trim the waistline without the task of strict calorie watching, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that of 64 postmenopausal, overweight women, those assigned to follow a low-fat vegan diet for 14 weeks lost an average of 13 pounds, compared with a weight loss of about 8 pounds among women who followed a standard low-cholesterol diet.
Low-fat vegan diet may spur weight loss
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A diet free of animal products and low in fat may help trim the waistline without the task of strict calorie watching, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that of 64 postmenopausal, overweight women, those assigned to follow a low-fat vegan diet for 14 weeks lost an average of 13 pounds, compared with a weight loss of about 8 pounds among women who followed a standard low-cholesterol diet.
Mediterranean Diet Goes Online
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The Mediterranean Diet has always been popular. It’s a diet that is styled after the eating habits of the Southern Mediterranean region. Weight loss super-site eDiets have just created an entire Mediterranean plan and added it to their extensive selection of diets.
Some of the benefits of a Mediterranean-type diet—rich in vegetables, fruits, legumes and olive oil and light on red meat—may stem from the diet’s effect on inflammation, new research suggests.
In a study from Greece, markers of inflammation and blood clotting that are related to heart disease were lowest in people who adhered most closely to the traditional Mediterranean diet.
On what time of day you eat ?
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The latest fashion in diets is to focus on what time of day you eat. But does it make any difference?
You are when you eat is the latest catchphrase among healthy eaters. Instead of obsessing about what’s on your plate, a new strategy to stay trim is to focus on what time of day you eat it.
