Archive for the ‘Weight Loss’ Category

YOUTH NUTRIENTS: THE FLAP ABOUT BETA-CAROTENE SUPPLEMENTS

Saturday, July 16th, 2011
In Finland, researchers doing a study gave a large group of longtime smokers beta-carotene supplements. The idea was to see if these supplements could reduce the risk of lung cancer in these folks. The results showed that there was no reduction in the risk of lung cancer, and some indication that there was more lung cancer in the group. Panic set in. The study was terminated. Other studies dealing with beta-carotene supplements were suspended. Now that the dust has settled what do we know? We know that the smokers were in a very high risk group for developing lung cancer. We know that there are hundreds and hundreds of studies showing beta-carotene in food to be a powerful and healing antioxidant fighting all kinds of diseases including cancer very successfully. We know that Nature may have included some element we still haven’t figured out in food sources of beta-carotene that was left out of the synthetic version. We know that food is crucial when it comes to our longevity. We ki^ that this small ripple is no reason not to eat our carrots.
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EATING DISORDERS: THE MIXED MESSAGES OF OUR MEDIA – THE MEDIA APPROACH WEIGHT LOSS MIGHT BE HELPFUL

Saturday, June 18th, 2011
For many, being overweight in our society clearly becomes a paramount concern and a significant source of worry. Some find that this fear makes the task of losing weight too overwhelming even to begin, while for others it creates a willingness to take extreme measures. Stearns and others concerned with the issue wonder if whether a change in the way doctors, insurance companies, and the media approach weight loss might be helpful.
Says Stearns: “I think there are at least two obvious suggestions. One would be to encourage doctors and insurance experts to get their act together and push more realistic models of body types. Some doctors will come out saying that adherence to the most rigorous weight standards does not demonstrably improve health, that oscillation in weight is possibly more dangerous than a certain degree of overweight. I think most people hear diversity of opinion from medical and insurance sources, and the easiest voices to spot are the ones that say ‘Just get the weight off. If you’re ten pounds under your desired weight you’ll be healthier.’ I don’t deny the possibility that that’s scientifically true, but I think in terms of human impact it’s proving counterproductive. It makes the
“The second source would be the media. A larger array of body types in the media should be seen as effective and desirable. Unfortunately television and the movies compound the problem by the fact that these media add ten pounds to the frame, so that even to look normal actual stars have to be pretty damn skinny. Again, if we eased up here, if we simply applied the message that we like to apply in other respects—that is, a welcoming of diversity—we might see a certain relaxation of the pressure. Whether we would choose to do this, given our fascination with these types and our insistence that our role models be particularly thin … I really don’t know.”
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SMART DRUGS FOR MAXIMUM MENTAL PERFORMANCE: XANTHINOL NICOTINATE

Sunday, April 17th, 2011
Xanthinol nicotinate (XN) is structurally related to the smart nutrient vitamin B-3 (niacin): 500 milligrams of XN contain 141.7 milligrams of niacin chemically bonded to a carrier molecule, xanthinol. The advantage to using XN is that it passes through brain-cell membranes and into the cells more easily than does niacin. Once inside the nerve cells, XN stimulates an increase in glucose metabolism, increasing ATP (energy) production. Thus it can increase brain metabolism and energy levels.
XN also behaves as a vasodilator (it opens up blood vessels) and has been shown to reduce blood cholesterol levels. Thus, it can improve the flow of blood to the brain and may be useful in helping prevent stroke and senility.
Research has shown that XN improves reaction times and memory in healthy elderly people when they are given a variety of short-term and long-term memory tests. Other research, testing niacin alone, revealed short-term memory improvements in young and middle-aged individuals.
PRECAUTIONS: XN may cause the same type of skin-flushing reactions as may niacin. Both may also cause heart palpitations, heartburn, vomiting, diarrhea, blurred vision, postural hypotension (dizziness resulting from a drop in blood pressure when standing from a lying or seated position), headache, and liver dysfunction. These side effects are generally transitory and tend to abate once usage is discontinued. Expectant and nursing mothers should avoid the use of XN, as should people with congestive heart failure, peptic ulcer disease, and low blood pressure and those who have suffered recent heart attacks and liver problems.
Dosage commonly used: 1,000-2,000 mg per day in three divided doses taken with meals.
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WEIGHT PROBLEMS: WE’RE ALL EATING EXPERTS

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

Everyone possesses preconceived notions regarding eating. We often behave as if we’re experts on diet, primarily because we’ve absorbed so much information – much of it false – as we’ve "shopped" through the vast diet marketplace. For instance, many individuals don’t think they are eating too much; some actually think they don’t eat enough, or they’re eating too many carbohydrates or too much protein. To better understand eating behavior, it is first necessary to separate why you are eating from what you are eating.


Years ago my comments would have been significantly different: When I am eating I feel great. I love food. I love to taste. I definitely love to crunch. Hook forward to eating and often decide in advance what I am going to eat and when I am going to eat it.


I did not say, "When I eat, I feel comfort." I no longer experience that feeling when I eat. I turn to other things or people, not food, for comfort. I did not say, "When I eat, it masks the pain." I no longer use food to minimize or eliminate emotional pain. Also notice that I did not say, "When I eat, I feel less stress." To be honest, I sometimes feel more stress when I sense that I am overeating. I did not say, "When I eat, I don’t feel as lonely." Eating no longer is my "friend." For so many individuals struggling with their weight, overeating is not the issue. Overeating is the consequence of some other factor in their life.


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WEIGHT LOSS/BODY-BUILDING

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FAT LOSS: SELECTION OF PATIENTS FOR DRUG TREATMENT

Friday, May 8th, 2009

Drug treatment for obesity falls into a philosophical ‘no-man’s land’ when it comes to patient selection. On the one hand, it has been argued that obesity should be like any other lifestyle risk factor such as hypertension and high blood cholesterol and treated with drugs automatically if lifestyle measures fail. Blood pressure and cholesterol are just like body fat, the argument goes, because excess levels of all of them are mainly due to the interaction between a susceptible genotype and a ‘pathological’ environment and they all have serious health consequences. Drs Ravussin and Bogardus from Phoenix, Arizona, have highlighted the similarity with essential hypertension (with no apparent secondary cause) by labelling some obesity as ‘essential’ obesity. Protagonists in this argument say that obese people are discriminated against because obesity carries connotations of sloth and gluttony and all that is needed is a bit of self-help.

On the other hand, governments and medical insurance companies are very reluctant to pay for drug treatment of obesity. A simple calculation of the number of obese and overweight people multiplied by the cost of the drug sends them ducking for cover or bouncing the question back and asking which drugs should come off the subsidised list to allow the obesity drugs on and still remain within the budget. Needless to say, the full gamut of options between the two extremes are used to select patients for drug treatment.

One lesson which is slowly being taken from blood pressure and cholesterol drug treatment to obesity treatment is the concept of absolute risk. The question doctors are asking more and more before prescribing drugs is not ‘how high is the person’s blood pressure or cholesterol?, but ‘at this level of blood pressure or cholesterol, what is the patient’s risk of a heart attack or stroke?’ To answer the first question, one only needs to measure the parameter being treated, but to answer the second question one needs to look at the patient and factor in the patient’s age, sex, past history, smoking habits and the like. For blood pressure and cholesterol, there are tables available to insert all of these factors and come up with an overall assessment of cardiovascular risk to treat the blood pressure or cholesterol on that basis. Unfortunately, such tables are not available for obesity, but clearly, the assessment should include:

• body size, e.g. BMI

• fat distribution, e.g. WHR

• complications, e.g. diabetes, hypertension

• impact of obesity on physical, psychological and social functions

• other relevant factors such as family history of obesity and complications and personal history of weight gain and loss.

The overall extent of overfatness and its consequences can then be evaluated for each individual and this forms the basis for treatment decisions, especially those which can have significant negative as well as positive effects such as drug treatment and surgery.

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