Healthy Living – Yahoo, Thursday, November 12, 2009
8 fat fighting foods – Veronica Byrd
Combat fat! Your allies in battling bulge? Foods that do the work for you. These edibles have proven lipid-melting powers that help you slim. That’s a win.
Almonds - Almond joy! Dieters who ate 3 ounces of these nuts every day reduced their weight and body-mass index by a solid 18 percent compared with an 11 percent drop in the no-nut group, a study in the International Journal of Obesity found. Almonds are high in alpha-linolenic acid, which can speed the metabolism of fats. Stick to 12 per serving.
Berries Vitamin C–loaded fruit such as strawberries and raspberries can help you sizzle up to 30 percent more fat during exercise, suggests research from Arizona State University at Mesa. Blend a vinaigrette of 1 cup berries and ¼ cup balsamic vinegar.
Cinnamon - This spice could make your waistline nice. Sprinkling ¼ teaspoon on your food may prevent a postmeal insulin spike—this increase normally occurs after you eat and “signals the body that it should store fat rather than burn it,” explains Lauren Slayton, R.D., of New York City. Add a dash to your oatmeal, yogurt or coffee.
Mustard - Hello, yellow. The spice that gives mustard its color, turmeric, may slow the growth of fat tissues, a study in the journal Endocrinology notes. Eighty-six mayo in favor of any mustard; sprinkle turmeric on cauliflower and roast for a tangy side.
Oranges - Prevent pound creep with this citrus star: It contains fat-torching compounds called flavones. Women who ate the most flavones had a significantly lower increase in body fat over a 14-year period, a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition finds. Snack on slices or drink freshly squeezed OJ (with pulp!) for the biggest payback. Soybeans These green gems are rich in choline, a compound that blocks fat absorption and breaks down fatty deposits. Add ½ cup edamame to a salad.
Sweet potatoes - Trade up to sweet taters. They’re high in fiber, which means no drastic insulin jumps and thus less fat packed onto your hips. Bake a small sweet potato—think of two bars of soap as a portion size—and top with a dollop of lowfat or nonfat cottage cheese.
Swiss cheese **- Holy cow: “Calcium-rich foods reduce fat-producing enzymes and increase fat breakdown,” says Michael B. Zemel, Ph.D., director of the Nutrition Institute at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Put toe to toe with some of its cheesy counterparts, Swiss is a heavy hitter in the calcium department; layer a slice on a lunchtime sandwich, or stack some on high-fiber crackers.
-----------------------------------------
** dairy products ( are high in animal proteins) make our body acidic
after metabolism.
Cheese is one of the most acidic food around.
Our body has to restore the pH back to normal (slightly alkali) by
utilizing the calcium in our bones to neutralise the acidity.
We end up with a net loss of calcium instead of stronger bones.
Countries with the highest consumption of dairy products have
highest rate of osteoporosis.
- further info from www.drmcdougall.com under the video topic
"marketing of milk" .
Friday, November 13, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
Teenage Obesity Links to Future Multiple Sclerosis
BBC NEWS / HEALTH
05:00 GMT, Monday, 9 November 2009
Being obese as a teenager may be linked with an increased risk of multiple sclerosis as an adult, researchers say.
A 40-year study of 238,000 women found those who were obese at 18 had twice the risk of developing MS compared to women who were slimmer at that age.
Yet body size during childhood or adulthood was not found to be associated with MS risk, the US researchers report in Neurology.
But an MS charity warned more research was needed to confirm the findings.
"Our results suggest that weight during adolescence, rather than childhood or adulthood, is critical in determining the risk of MS" - Dr Kassandra Munger, Harvard School of Public Health
Researchers from Harvard School of Public Health used data from nurses taking part in a large study on diet, lifestyle factors and health.
Over the course of the study, 593 women were diagnosed with MS, a condition caused by the loss of nerve fibres and their protective myelin sheath in the brain and spinal cord, which causes neurological damage.
The researchers compared the risk of the disease with body mass index (BMI) - a ratio of weight to height - at age 18.
Participants were also asked to describe their body size using a series of diagrams at the age of five, 10 and 20.
The study showed that those with an "obese" BMI of 30 or larger at age 18 had more than twice the risk of developing MS.
There was also a smaller increased risk in those who were classed as overweight .
The results were the same after accounting for smoking status and physical activity level.
Body shape
When comparing the risk of MS with self-reported body shape, the researchers found no association between childhood obesity and the future chances of developing the disease.
They also found no risk associated with adult obesity.
But women who had a larger body size at 20 years of age also had almost twice the risk of MS compared to women who reported a thinner body size.
Previous research has linked high levels of vitamin D with a reduced risk of MS and the researchers point out that obesity is associated with low vitamin D levels in the body.
The researchers suggest fatty tissue produces substances that affect the immune system, which may also provide a link with the chances of developing MS.
Further research should look at confirming the findings in men and individuals from different ethnic groups as well as comparing with vitamin D levels, they said.
"Our results suggest that weight during adolescence, rather than childhood or adulthood, is critical in determining the risk of MS," said study author Kassandra Munger, ScD, of Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.
"There's a lot of research supporting the idea that adolescence may be an important time for development of disease, so what we have found is consistent with that."
She added: "Teaching and practicing obesity prevention from the start - but especially during teenage years - may be an important step in reducing the risk of MS later in life for women."
Susan Kohlhaas, research communications officer for the MS Society, said: "This study does not account for several other factors that may play a role in causing MS. Based on that, more work is needed.
"As such, it is difficult to determine whether teenage obesity could be a possible factor in causing MS in women."
05:00 GMT, Monday, 9 November 2009
Being obese as a teenager may be linked with an increased risk of multiple sclerosis as an adult, researchers say.
A 40-year study of 238,000 women found those who were obese at 18 had twice the risk of developing MS compared to women who were slimmer at that age.
Yet body size during childhood or adulthood was not found to be associated with MS risk, the US researchers report in Neurology.
But an MS charity warned more research was needed to confirm the findings.
"Our results suggest that weight during adolescence, rather than childhood or adulthood, is critical in determining the risk of MS" - Dr Kassandra Munger, Harvard School of Public Health
Researchers from Harvard School of Public Health used data from nurses taking part in a large study on diet, lifestyle factors and health.
Over the course of the study, 593 women were diagnosed with MS, a condition caused by the loss of nerve fibres and their protective myelin sheath in the brain and spinal cord, which causes neurological damage.
The researchers compared the risk of the disease with body mass index (BMI) - a ratio of weight to height - at age 18.
Participants were also asked to describe their body size using a series of diagrams at the age of five, 10 and 20.
The study showed that those with an "obese" BMI of 30 or larger at age 18 had more than twice the risk of developing MS.
There was also a smaller increased risk in those who were classed as overweight .
The results were the same after accounting for smoking status and physical activity level.
Body shape
When comparing the risk of MS with self-reported body shape, the researchers found no association between childhood obesity and the future chances of developing the disease.
They also found no risk associated with adult obesity.
But women who had a larger body size at 20 years of age also had almost twice the risk of MS compared to women who reported a thinner body size.
Previous research has linked high levels of vitamin D with a reduced risk of MS and the researchers point out that obesity is associated with low vitamin D levels in the body.
The researchers suggest fatty tissue produces substances that affect the immune system, which may also provide a link with the chances of developing MS.
Further research should look at confirming the findings in men and individuals from different ethnic groups as well as comparing with vitamin D levels, they said.
"Our results suggest that weight during adolescence, rather than childhood or adulthood, is critical in determining the risk of MS," said study author Kassandra Munger, ScD, of Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.
"There's a lot of research supporting the idea that adolescence may be an important time for development of disease, so what we have found is consistent with that."
She added: "Teaching and practicing obesity prevention from the start - but especially during teenage years - may be an important step in reducing the risk of MS later in life for women."
Susan Kohlhaas, research communications officer for the MS Society, said: "This study does not account for several other factors that may play a role in causing MS. Based on that, more work is needed.
"As such, it is difficult to determine whether teenage obesity could be a possible factor in causing MS in women."
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Cut Calorie Intake To Slow Down Aging ?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/health/8141082.stm
23:02 GMT, Thursday, 9 July 2009 00:02 UK
Proof mounts on restricted diet
Cutting calories may delay the ageing process and reduce the risk of disease, a long-term study of monkeys suggests.
The benefits of calorie restriction are well documented in animals, but now the results have been replicated in a close relative of man over a lengthy period.
Over 20 years, monkeys whose diets were not restricted were nearly three times more likely to have died than those whose calories were counted.
Writing in Science, the US researchers hailed the "major effect" of the diet.
It involved reducing calorie intake by 30% while maintaining nutrition and appeared to impact upon many forms of age-related disease seen in monkeys, including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and brain atrophy.
Whether the same effects would be seen in humans is unclear, although anecdotal evidence so far suggests people on a long-term calorie-restricted diet have better cardiovascular health.
The precise mechanism is yet to be established: theories involve changes in the body's metabolism or a reduction in the production of "free radical" chemicals which can cause damage.
Seventy-six rhesus monkeys were involved in the trial, which began in 1989 and was expanded in 1994.
Half had their diets restricted, half were given free rein at feeding time.
The rate of cancers and cardiovascular disease in dieting animals was less than half of those permitted to eat freely.
While diabetes and problems with glucose regulation were common in monkeys who ate what they wanted, there were no cases in the calorie controlled group.
"People would have to weigh up whether they are prepared to compromise their enjoyment of food for the uncertain promise of a longer life"
Catherine CollinsBDA
In addition, while most brains shrink with age, the restricted diet appeared to maintain the volume of the brain at least in some regions.
In particular, the areas associated with movement and memory seemed to be better preserved.
"Both motor speed and mental speed slow down with ageing," said Sterling Johnson, a neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine.
"Those are the areas which we found to be better preserved. We can't yet make the claim that a difference in diet is associated with functional change because those studies are still ongoing.
"What we know so far is that there are regional differences in brain mass that appear to be related to diet."
Earlier this year, German researchers published findings from their study of elderly people which suggested that calorie reduction appeared to improve memory over a period of just three months.
Various studies on the positive effects of calorie restriction on the life spans of various organisms - from yeast to dogs - have been published over the last 70 years
But dieticians sounded a note of warning.
"Monkeys may be a close relation but there are significant differences which means not everything we see in them can be translated to humans," said Catherine Collins, spokeswoman for the British Dietetic Association.
"And there should be some serious reservations about cutting calories so dramatically, particularly for anyone under the age of 30. Any such diet would need to be very balanced to avoid malnutrition, and it would be a long-term commitment.
"People would have to weigh up whether they are prepared to compromise their enjoyment of food for the uncertain promise of a longer life, and a life which could be dogged by all sorts of problems - including osteoporosis."
23:02 GMT, Thursday, 9 July 2009 00:02 UK
Proof mounts on restricted diet
Cutting calories may delay the ageing process and reduce the risk of disease, a long-term study of monkeys suggests.
The benefits of calorie restriction are well documented in animals, but now the results have been replicated in a close relative of man over a lengthy period.
Over 20 years, monkeys whose diets were not restricted were nearly three times more likely to have died than those whose calories were counted.
Writing in Science, the US researchers hailed the "major effect" of the diet.
It involved reducing calorie intake by 30% while maintaining nutrition and appeared to impact upon many forms of age-related disease seen in monkeys, including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and brain atrophy.
Whether the same effects would be seen in humans is unclear, although anecdotal evidence so far suggests people on a long-term calorie-restricted diet have better cardiovascular health.
The precise mechanism is yet to be established: theories involve changes in the body's metabolism or a reduction in the production of "free radical" chemicals which can cause damage.
Seventy-six rhesus monkeys were involved in the trial, which began in 1989 and was expanded in 1994.
Half had their diets restricted, half were given free rein at feeding time.
The rate of cancers and cardiovascular disease in dieting animals was less than half of those permitted to eat freely.
While diabetes and problems with glucose regulation were common in monkeys who ate what they wanted, there were no cases in the calorie controlled group.
"People would have to weigh up whether they are prepared to compromise their enjoyment of food for the uncertain promise of a longer life"
Catherine CollinsBDA
In addition, while most brains shrink with age, the restricted diet appeared to maintain the volume of the brain at least in some regions.
In particular, the areas associated with movement and memory seemed to be better preserved.
"Both motor speed and mental speed slow down with ageing," said Sterling Johnson, a neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine.
"Those are the areas which we found to be better preserved. We can't yet make the claim that a difference in diet is associated with functional change because those studies are still ongoing.
"What we know so far is that there are regional differences in brain mass that appear to be related to diet."
Earlier this year, German researchers published findings from their study of elderly people which suggested that calorie reduction appeared to improve memory over a period of just three months.
Various studies on the positive effects of calorie restriction on the life spans of various organisms - from yeast to dogs - have been published over the last 70 years
But dieticians sounded a note of warning.
"Monkeys may be a close relation but there are significant differences which means not everything we see in them can be translated to humans," said Catherine Collins, spokeswoman for the British Dietetic Association.
"And there should be some serious reservations about cutting calories so dramatically, particularly for anyone under the age of 30. Any such diet would need to be very balanced to avoid malnutrition, and it would be a long-term commitment.
"People would have to weigh up whether they are prepared to compromise their enjoyment of food for the uncertain promise of a longer life, and a life which could be dogged by all sorts of problems - including osteoporosis."
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
The Most Effective Ways to Prevent Cancers
World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF UK) Report 2007
Our recommendations are based on those in our 2007 Expert Report , which contains the most comprehensive research available on cancer prevention. They outline the diet, physical activity and weight management steps you can take to reduce your risk. Also, choosing not to smoke (or giving up if you do) can play a big role in reducing cancer. Together, these factors have the potential to prevent many cancer cases in the UK and around the world.
Convincing evidence shows that weight gain and obesity increases the risk of a number of cancers, including bowel and breast cancer.
Maintain a healthy weight through a balanced diet and regular physical activity to help keep your risk lower.
2. Be physically active for at least 30 minutes every day
There is strong evidence that physical activity protects against cancers including bowel and breast cancer. Being physically active is also key to maintaining a healthy weight.
Any type of activity counts – the more you do the better! Try to build some into your everyday life.
3. Avoid sugary drinks. Limit consumption of energy-dense foods (particularly processed foods high in added sugar, or low in fibre, or high in fat)
Energy Dense Foods
(http://www.wcrf-uk/. org/cancer_prevention/energy_density.lasso)
are high in fats sugars and can be low in nutrients. These foods, especially when consumed frequently or in large portions, increase the risk of obesity, which increases the risk of cancer. Fast foods like burgers, chips, fried chicken and most pizzas, and snack foods like chocolate, crisps and biscuits tend to be energy dense.
Some energy-dense foods, such as nuts, seeds and some vegetable oils are important sources of nutrients, and have not been linked with weight gain as part of a typical diet.
4. Eat more of a variety of vegetables, fruits, wholegrains and pulses such as beans
As well as eating your 5 A DAY, try to include wholegrains (e.g. brown rice, wholemeal bread and pasta) and/or pulses with every meal.
Sugary drinks, such as colas and fruit squashes can also contribute to weight gain. Fruit juices, even without added sugar, are likely to have a similar effect, so try not to drink them in large quantities. Try to eat lower energy-dense foods such as vegetables, fruits and wholegrains instead. Opt for water or unsweetened tea or coffee in place of sugary drinks.
5. Limit consumption of red meats (such as beef, pork and lamb) and avoid processed meats
There is strong evidence that red and processed meats are causes of bowel cancer, and that there is no amount of processed meat that can be confidently shown not to increase risk.
Aim to limit intake of red meat to less than 500g cooked weight (about 700-750g raw weight) a week. Try to avoid processed meats such as bacon, ham, salami, corned beef and some sausages.
6. If consumed at all, limit alcoholic drinks to 2 for men and 1 for women a day
Since the 1997 report, the evidence that alcoholic drinks can increase the risk of a number of cancers, including breast and colon cancer, is much stronger.
Any alcohol consumption can increase your risk of cancer, though there is some evidence to suggest that small amounts of alcohol can help protect against heart disease. Therefore, if you choose to drink, do so in moderation.
7. Limit consumption of salty foods and food processed with salt (sodium)
Evidence shows that salt and salt-preserved foods probably cause stomach cancer.
Try to use herbs and spices to flavour your food and remember that processed foods, including bread and breakfast cereals, can contain large amounts of salt. Click Here (www.wcrf-uk.org/cancer_prevention/salt_and_cancer.lasso) for tips on how to reduce the amount of salt in your diet.
8. Don’t use supplements to protect against cancer
Research shows that high-dose nutrient supplements can affect our risk of cancer, so it's best to opt for a balanced diet without supplements.
However, supplements are advisable for some groups of people (see our recommendations booklet to learn more).
9. It's best for mothers to breastfeed exclusively for up to 6 months and then add other liquids and foods
Strong evidence shows that breastfeeding (w ww.wcrf-uk. org/cancer_prevention/breastfeeding.lasso) protects mothers against
breast cancer and babies from excess weight gain.
10. After treatment, cancer survivors should follow the recommendations for cancer prevention
The Report found growing evidence that maintaining a healthy weight through diet and physical activity may help to reduce the risk of cancer recurrence.
And, always remember – do not smoke or chew tobacco
Smoking or using tobacco in any form increases the risk of cancer and other serious diseases.
To find out how to incorporate the recommendations into your everyday life visit WCRF UK’s
Guidelines for Cancer Prevention. (w ww.wcrf-uk. org/cancer_prevention/cp/index_physical.lasso)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)