December 2006 Archives

By Kirsten Hawkins

If you’re on a diet, or considering going on one, you’re in luck. We’ve put together ten of the most frequently asked questions about diets and weight loss and compiled them here. Enjoy!

1. How much should I weigh?

Your doctor can answer that question most accurately. More important than how much you weigh is your body/mass index, which measures your height against your weight.

2. What's the best diet for losing weight?

Any diet that provides all the nutrition that you need for health, and in addition, provides fewer calories than your body burns regularly.

This article was excerpted from The Entrepreneur Diet. Buy it today from EntrepreneurPress.com.

Living the life of an entrepreneur, it's easy to get lost in the cerebral side of your existence. By throwing yourself into the business, you may have lost touch with the simple joy in movement. We've come up with reality checks for the most popular excuses people have for not staying in shape.

Myth #1: I'm not athletic, so even if I wanted to become more active, I can't do it.

Reality Check: There are many ways to incorporate more physical activity into your day.

NASHVILLE, Tenn.-(Business Wire)-December 27, 2006 - HealthTeacher.com today announced the availability of a new health tool that will quickly allow consumers to find the trans fat content in everyday foods including major fast food chains.

"The move by New York City last week regarding the ban on trans fat was bold and we think NYC is only the first of several cities that will enact such legislation," said J. Tod Fetherling, president of Relegent, owner and operator of the HealthTeacher site. "We believe it is important to highlight the foods with the highest trans fat and do so in a very simple, easy to use format for consumers and students. Hopefully, by providing this information, many teachers and students will be able to make quicker changes in their habits of consuming trans fat."

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - The early reviews are mostly positive at the Universal Studios theme park in Hollywood, where the menu changed on Christmas Eve to cut unhealthy trans fats from many junk food favorites.

Jack Xu, 12, noticed something different about his french fry. "It tastes drier and not too salty," he said, then added: "I still like it."

The self-described junk food addict, an exchange student from Beijing who has visited the park before, was on a field trip this week and enjoying a basket of chicken tenders and fries.

Universal Parks & Resorts, home to movie-inspired thrill rides, is the latest theme park operation to ban artery-clogging trans fats and offer healthier menus at its three domestic attractions in California and Florida. The action follows entertainment giant Walt Disney Co., which announced in October it will serve more nutritious kids' meals and phase out the artificial fats at its resorts.

Q: What’s the best way to treat polycystic ovarian syndrome?

A: Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is the most common cause of female infertility, affecting up to 10 percent of all premenopausal women. Besides a failure to ovulate, there’s an overproduction of androgens (male sex hormones) and estrogen.

These hormonal changes cause acne, insulin resistance/diabetes, excess facial and body hair and obesity. After over 70 years of study, we’re still not sure what causes it to occur.

But genetics and obesity are two big risk factors for PCOS.

There certainly was no shortage of nutrition stories this year. Surprises were few -- thankfully no apparent flip-flops as in previous years when new evidence shook up the scientific world. Many of the reports simply reinforced the wisdom of the ages such as getting in your quota of fruits and vegetables and opting for whole grains over refined ones.

Awareness about problems with the food supply, both in processed and fresh foods, heightened. And the state of the health of our youth continued to take centre stage.

Here are some updates on a few of the year's major stories.

WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced a $46 million award to the nonprofit (PATH) to improve nutrition of infants and young children in developing nations by promoting breastfeeding, complementary feeding practices and maternal nutrition.

For millions of children, damage from hunger and malnutrition can cause death or disabilities that last a lifetime. Almost all nutritional deficiencies impair immune function and other host defenses leading to a cycle of longer-lasting and more severe infections and ever-worsening nutritional status. The period from birth to two years of age is particularly important because of the rapid growth and brain development that occurs during this time. In developing nations, the period is often marked poor nutrition that leads to impeded growth, micronutrient deficiencies, and common childhood illnesses such as diarrhea, as children transition from breastfeeding to solid foods.

The Australian Taxation Office has stung dieters who prefer a cool drink to a hot soup as part of their weight-loss program.

Formulated meal replacement shake sachets sold in pharmacies as part of a weight-management program have been hit with the GST.

But, in a twist to the ruling, diet soups have been exempted because they're eaten hot and therefore classified as food.

The case has angered one of Australia's most successful marketers of diet formula, Tony Ferguson, who is challenging the tax office's ruling.

What Is the New American Plate?

Like three points on a triangle, physical activity, a mostly plant-based diet and weight management are three parts of one single approach to good health and lower cancer risk. They relate to each other closely. First, being physically active and second, eating a mostly plant-based diet are essential to the third component, managing your weight. And it’s a good thing they do relate, because it takes all three to reduce cancer risk.

Of the three, moving toward a plant-based diet seems to challenge people the most. Reshaping your diet conjures up all those guidelines to memorize and all that counting of calories, servings, or grams. It can get pretty confusing—and discouraging before you even begin.That’s why AICR developed the New American Plate—a way of planning healthy meals without any calculation or guidelines. Instead, you get used to relying on a wide range of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans so your plate will be filled with delicious foods that will reduce cancer risk and help you manage your weight.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Meat and milk from cloned animals and their offspring are safe to eat and should be allowed into the U.S. food supply without special labeling, a report says.

"All of the studies indicate that the composition of meat and milk from clones is within the compositional ranges of meat and milk consumed in the U.S.," two Food and Drug Administration scientists wrote in a report published in the Jan. 1 issue of the journal Theriogenology, which focuses on animal reproduction.

The finding is a strong signal the FDA will endorse the use of cloning technology for cattle, goats and pigs when it publishes a key safety assessment next week, The Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.

HealthDay News -- This holiday season, give yourself the gift of a healthier heart.

Limiting your alcohol consumption is one important step, said Dr. Ajit Raisinghani, director of the non-invasive cardiac lab at the University of California, San Diego.

He said that every year during the holidays, emergency rooms at hospitals across the United States see patients with heart palpitations and light headedness. Many of these patients have an abnormal heart rhythm caused by drinking too much alcohol -- a condition called "Holiday Heart."

"Usually the patient experiences palpitations accompanied by a sensation of light-headedness. When the patients come into the ER, we learn they've usually spent the weekend drinking. Most often, they're college kids who are otherwise healthy," Raisinghani said.

What's one of the most important rules in medicine? Never take a drug if a natural and safer remedy provides the same relief. Yet millions of people take cholesterol-lowering drugs to prevent heart attacks.

This therapy comes with a price. Patients can develop muscle cramps and liver and kidney problems and some have died.

Linus Pauling, a two-time Nobel Prize winner, says a high dose of vitamin C before breakfast is a smart way to start the day.

How much you take depends on your tolerance. Too much may cause diarrhea. But most people can tolerate 2,000 milligrams. Ascorbic acid powder (vitamin C) is the least expensive way to buy this vitamin. A flat teaspoon (5,000 mg) can be mixed with orange juice.

Are you tired of getting the same old advice when it comes to dieting? Are you looking for some quick tips to help motivate yourself during a diet? Why not follow along below to learn about some quick healthy weight loss tips?

Tip # 1: Take off five pounds quickly before a big event!

If you're generally in good shape, but you want to pare off a few pounds to look your best before a big event like a class reunion, one of the best ways to do it is to cleanse your system. For the week before, skip the breads and pastas, eat lots of raw vegetables and salads, and drink at least eight ounce glasses of water a day. You'll not only end up slimmer, you'll feel 100% more energetic and healthy.

NEW YORK, Dec. 22 -- The ban on trans fats in this city was the highest profile event during the year in diet and nutrition, as Americans continued to struggle against ever-expanding waistlines and foods deemed unhealthy.

The following summary reviews some of the highlights of the year in diet and nutrition. For fuller accounts, links to the individual articles published during the year in MedPage Today have been provided.

Big Apple Action

Earlier in the year, a review article found trans fatty acids to be a major villain in cardiovascular disease in the United States. The investigators reported that reducing trans fat intake could avert 10% to 19% of coronary heart disease events. Also, the FDA instituted new food labeling requirements for disclosing trans-fat content in January.

Drinking lots of soda and juice drinks may put kids' health at risk -- leading to poor health and teen obesity as young as age 13, a U.S. study shows.

The findings come from a study of 154 girls seen every two years since age 5. Researchers included Alison K. Ventura, Leann L. Birch, PhD, and Eric Loken, PhD, of Pennsylvania State University.

By age 13, 14% of the girls studied already showed high risk of developing metabolic syndrome -- a cluster of ominous risk factors that indicate a person could be headed toward heart disease, stroke, or type 2 diabetes.

These girls were at or near the danger level for three metabolic syndrome risk factors -- big waistline, high blood pressure, and a low level of good HDL cholesterol.

Britain's growing battle with obesity was underlined as new data showed that the number of prescriptions written for anti-obesity drugs has risen by nearly 600 percent in six years.

According to data released by the government-run National Health Service, nearly 871,000 prescriptions for anti-obesity drugs were written in 2005, compared to around 127,000 in 1999 -- a 586 percent increase.

The proportion of English men rated as obese -- defined as having a body mass index of greater than 30 -- rose to 22.1 percent last year, compared to 13.2 percent in 1993, while 21.9 percent of English women were classed as obese in 2005, against 16.4 percent in 1993.

HealthDay News -- Being overweight or obese is the most important health issue facing children in the United States, a new survey finds.

The nationwide telephone survey of 800 adults, conducted in September, found 27 percent of respondents saying obesity was the top health issue for children, followed by lack of health care/insurance (16 percent) and nutrition/unhealthy diet (9 percent).

Released Dec. 13 by Research!America and The Endocrine Society, the poll also found that 52 percent of respondents believe obesity is a public health issue that society should help solve, while 46 percent feel it's a private issue that people should take care of on their own.

The survey showed that responsibility for helping to address the obesity issue in the United States lies to some or a great extent with parents (98 percent), individuals (96 percent), schools (87 percent), health care providers (84 percent), the food industry (81 percent), and government (67 percent).

Wow, what a research. How useful and encouraging. Your fat belly is caused by bacterias. Not by your bad eating habits, your lazy lifestyle and  barrels of coke that you drink every year. Blame someone else, not yourself.

WASHINGTON - The size of your gut may be partly shaped by which microbes call it home, according to new research linking obesity to types of digestive bacteria.

Both obese mice — and people — had more of one type of bacteria and less of another kind, according to two studies published Thursday in the journal Nature.

A “microbial component” appears to contribute to obesity, said study lead author Jeffrey Gordon, director of Washington University’s Center for Genome Sciences.

Have you ever wondered why Coke comes with a smile? It’s because it gets you high. They took the cocaine out almost a hundred years ago. You know why? It was redundant. 

• In The First 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. (100% of your recommended daily intake.) You don’t immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor allowing you to keep it down.
• 20 minutes: Your blood sugar spikes, causing an insulin burst. Your liver responds to this by turning any sugar it can get its hands on into fat. (There’s plenty of that at this particular moment)

Weight loss has become extremely big business in the US, with a third of all Americans now indicating that they are on a diet.

The Calorie Control Council has found that there are now more dieters in the US than at any other time in the last 15 years and it seems certain that many more will join the list after the inevitable over-indulgence of Christmas. While the research has focused exclusively on the US, its findings appear to be equally relevant to the UK and throughout Europe.

Robin Steagall, the council's nutrition communications manager, has advised prospective dieters that they need to keep a close eye on the calories they are consuming and the calories they are expending.

Dieters may find some welcome assistance from a new nasal spray that could help resist the appetizing aromas of cinnamon bun stands, pizza parlors or tempting bakeries.

Compellis Pharmaceuticals of Cambridge, Massachusetts said it will begin human trials next year of a nasal spray designed to fight obesity by blocking the senses of smell and taste. It won a patent for the product this month.

"The pleasurable effect of eating is all stimulated by smell and taste," Christopher Adams, the company's founder and chief executive, told Reuters on Tuesday.

"The premise is that olfactory activity that controls both smell and taste is a trigger and a feedback mechanism to eat. If you have some kind of reduced sense of smell or taste, you tend to eat less," he said.

Atlanta - More Americans are turning to the Internet for nutrition and diet advice than ever before.

Fifty-one percent of the 147 million adults who use the Internet look for nutrition information, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Nutrition seekers tend to be women, college-educated and have six or more years of using the Internet. The Pew survey calls these people "power users" who are motivated to find information that relates to actions they might need for specific medical issues in their lives and those of their family and friends.

As you make your New Year's resolution to eat more healthfully, consider some free nutrition advice provided on reputable websites. I stress the word reputable because nutrition quackery thrives on the Internet.

Unhappy with her weight, Charmaine Tong decided two years ago to try a slimming tea, which supposedly contained only traditional Chinese herbs.

She was overjoyed when she lost her appetite and the bathroom scales began dipping, but her happiness vanished when she began suffering a racing heart beat a month later.

"I chose Chinese medicine as I thought it wouldn't have chemicals and would have fewer side effects, but my heart went out of control," said Tong, a marketing executive in Hong Kong.

She stopped drinking the tea at once, and has since regained the seven pounds she lost, and more.

“It's something you constantly have to be diligent with,” said Pat Costello, a diabetic referring to her blood sugar levels.

Ten years ago Costello was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and with that, came changes in her lifestyle including diet, exercise and a series of medications. This regimen includes Byetta, an injectable drug which has been shown to lower blood sugar and also leads to weight loss. Now new research shows how another drug called Rimonabant, has similar effects, but is taken orally.

`If your New Year's resolution is to lose weight, drinking water may be an easy and healthy way to start,` said Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute scientist Jodi Stookey in a statement released Thursday.

While studying the impact of water consumption on weight loss, researchers in Oakland discovered drinking at least four glasses of water each day in place of sugary beverages can help dieters lose additional weight, the institute reported.

According to the study, 70 percent of the 240 over-weight women studied frequently drank at least one sugary beverage each day before following popular diet plans. At the end of the yearlong study, researchers found that women who drank water instead of sugary drinks lost three additional pounds on average.

There's been a lot of talk about hoodia, the weight loss supplement. But with all the weight loss products on the market, how do you know if it works?

A Philadelphia-area doctor said there may be something to it.

Hoodia comes from a cactus plant found in South Africa. Scientists discovered indigenous people who suck on the plant feel less hungry and less thirsty.

India plans to introduce yoga in schools to fight rising obesity among middle-class youngsters, even as the country continues to battle widespread malnutrition and "shameful" infant and maternal mortality.

Health minister Anbumani Ramadoss said the country faced a "galloping" rise in heart disease, diabetes and cancer as India's 300-million-strong and increasingly wealthy middle class ate more junk food and lived more sedentary lives.

At the other end of the spectrum, the country had some of the worst infant and maternal mortality rates in the world, he told medical experts at a workshop.

The European Commission published in November an extensive survey on EU citizens’ views regarding obesity and health. According to this survey, a majority of European consumers believes that healthy eating includes a balanced and varied diet rich in fruit and vegetables.

Main findings of the study are:

• one in five Europeans has changed what he or she eats within the last year
• 31 percent of respondents consider that is not easy to eat a healthy diet
• 58 percent of EO consumers find indeed that eating a healthy diet involves above all “eating more fruit and vegetables”
• 45 percent thinks that eating too much fat food is incompatible with healthy eating.
• the most frequently mentioned change is eating more fruit and vegetables 155 percent).
• a very clear majority of Europeans (85%) is in favour of Government action to promote a healthy diet.

source - Freshfel Europe

Nestle SA, the world's biggest food and drink company, will buy the medical nutrition unit of pharmaceutical company Novartis for $2.5 billion, the companies said Thursday.

Nestle will acquire such brands as Boost and Resource nutritional supplements, and Optifast dieting products. There had been media reports that Nestle might also acquire Gerber Products, Novartis' baby-food unit, but the deal does not include that unit.

The deal still needs to be approved by regulatory authorities but is expected to be completed during the second half of 2007, Nestle said in a statement.

Controversial guidelines that could see children offered weight loss surgery have been published by the Government's health watchdog.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) report is the first of its kind from the body aimed at tackling the obesity crisis in England and Wales.

The guidance focuses on the prevention and treatment of obesity in adults and children and will be sent to NHS professionals, schools, local authorities, employers and town planners. Nice said there was a need "for urgent action" to stem the rising tide of obesity.

Commercial activity permitted in schools, such as soft drink ads; the use of Channel One broadcasts in classrooms; sales incentives from soft drink bottlers; and exclusive beverage contracts may discourage a "nutrition-friendly" environment for students, say researchers.

Dr. Claudia Probart, Penn State associate professor of nutritional sciences who led the study, says, "Schools' newly created wellness policies as mandated by the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 provide ideal opportunities to examine school environments for advertising that might conflict with their goals for a healthy climate for students."

The study is detailed in the current (December) issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association in a paper, "Existence and Predictors of Soft Drink Advertisements in Pennsylvania High Schools." The authors are Probart; Elaine McDonnell, project coordinator, Penn State; Lisa Bailey-Davis, director of operations, Pennsylvania Advocates for Nutrition and Activity; and J. Elaine Weirich, project manager at Penn State.

Previously published folic acid related articles -  Folic acid can cut heart attack riskSpinach 'fights skin cancer relapse' and 

Folic acid should be added to flour to cut the risk of birth defects such as spina bifida, experts have recommended.

The Expert Advisory Group on Nutrition said it supports bringing in mandatory fortification.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) will now launch a consultation to see if the public supports the move.

However, there is concern that adding the vitamin to flour could harm some elderly patients, as it could mask a deficiency in the B12 vitamin.

Overweight dieters who cut calories but don't exercise lose more than weight -- they lose bone mass.

That finding comes from a study by Dennis T. Villareal, MD, and colleagues at Washington University in St. Louis.

The researchers studied 46 men and women with an average age of 57. All were overweight; none got regular exercise.

In other words, they were typical Americans.

The age groups that include young children to adolescents witness so many advertisements, medical experts now fear for their health. Reports show that 40,000 ads each year from television alone may be boosting obesity, poor nutrition, cigarette use and alcohol consumption among U.S. youth.

According to a statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), which appears in the December issue of Pediatrics, there should be calls for more media education to counter some of advertising's negative effects.

Dr. Donald Shifrin -- chairman of the AAP Committee on Communications -- said "We're pleading with pediatricians and parents to become aware that consumeristic tendencies are being fed right from birth … we have to understand that youngsters under a certain age cannot differentiate between a commercial and a program. To them, it's real. There should be some effort on the part of parents to point out that this is a commercial."

You can maintain weight and even lose it if you eat your food slowly, according to a new University of Rhode Island study.

The theory that eating slowly means a lower food intake has been around for at least 30 years, but this study is the first to lend scientific proof to the idea.

"It started in 1972 as a hypothesis that eating slowly would allow the body time for the development of satiety, and we would eat less," said University of Rhode Island assistant professor of nutrition and food science Kathleen Melanson. "Since then it has become common knowledge, but no studies had been conducted to prove it."

Thirty college-aged women were split into two groups, the first of which was asked to eat pasta with tomato and vegetable sauce and Parmesan cheese without pausing between bites. This group averaged 646 calories in nine minutes. The second group was served the same meal, but asked to put their forks down and chew between bites, and averaged 579 calories in 29 minutes. The members of the second group reported still feeling full an hour after their meal.

The consumption of fruits and vegetables during pregnancy can reduce the chance of a miscarriage, according to a new study published in the International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

The study of nearly 7,000 pregnant women by researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine looked for links between diet, lifestyle and miscarriage, and were detailed in the study led by Dr. Maureen Maconochie from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Maconochie and her colleagues studied thousands of pregnant women and concluded that those who ate fruits and vegetables often in pregnancy were 46 percent less likely to have a miscarriagefruits and veggies as often. compared to those who did not use

1. Drink more water! Start by drinking a large glass of water with lemon each morning and drink a glass before each meal to feel slightly full. Gradually replace sugary or carbonated beverages with water throughout the day.
2. Choose healthy snacks between meals to keep yourself from getting too hungry before a meal, such as fruit, a handful of nuts or a low-fat yogurt.
3. Eat whole fruit instead of drinking fruit juice. Whole fruit has fewer calories from sugar and more fiber.
4. Take three fewer bites at each meal so you leave a little food on your plate.
5. Try a high fiber cereal with fruit and skim milk in the morning instead of bagels or muffins.
6. If you eat out a lot, start with a broth based soup or mixed green salad, both of which will contribute to fullness, and follow with an appetizer rather than a full-size entree.
7. Toss your salad with your favorite low-fat, low-calorie dressing.
8. Be sure to get your calcium in foods like yogurt or milk but from lower calorie sources by switching from high calorie, full-fat products to low-fat and non-fat products.
9. Munch on fresh vegetables with low calorie condiments to make them taste great and satisfy the need to crunch.
10. Incorporate some exercise daily even if it is just walking to work or taking the stairs.

source - www.unileverusa.com

Now that cool weather is here, it’s time to reacquaint yourself with the outdoors. And what better way to do it than hopping back on a bicycle?

The two-wheeled, leg-powered mode of transportation appeals to people of all ages for a variety of reasons.

Want to lose weight?

Biking can help you and, at the same time, it’s gentler on the joints than other exercise. According to sources cited by the League of American Bicyclists, a 150-pound cyclist going 12 mph can burn 410 calories in one hour. For a 200-pound biker, it’s 546 calories.

The high calorie, low fibre dietary pattern associated with the Western diet are associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer, says new research from France.

In an epidemiological study from researchers at the Institute Gustave Roussy (Inserm, ERI20), the link between dietary patterns and the incidence of colorectal tumours in 516 adenoma cases and 4,804 polyp-free women and in 172 colorectal cancer cases and 67,312 cancer-free women.

People with a dietary pattern closely matching the "Western" diet, rich in processed foods and dairy, was found to significantly increase the risk of colorectal cancer, said the researchers.

by Kirsten Hawkins

Have you heard about the new weight loss patch? You wear it behind your ear, and it speeds up your metabolism and helps you control your appetite. It sounds pretty reasonable, doesn't it? After all, if someone had told you five years ago that you could quit smoking by sticking a circle of fabric on your skin would you have believed them?

Unfortunately, this one isn't true. According to Dr. Michael Myers, who maintains the popular web site weight.com, it's just another of the hoaxes that clever promoters are using to bilk you out of your money. Weight loss is a gold mine, and unscrupulous operators will use any gimmick to convince you that their product is the magic cure that will melt away your pounds without any effort on your part.

Here are a few of the current weight loss gimmicks and the truth about them.

Recently declared a separate entity from parent Loders Croklaan and with a new CEO at the helm, the Lipid Nutrition is aiming to grow sales volumes by making its products attractive for food uses and to extend geographically.

Katinka Abbenbroek became CEO of Lipid Nutrition on December 1 on the retirement of Aat Visser, who held the post for seven years. Visser worked for Unilever – which sold Lipid Nutrition in 2002 – and Loders Croklaan for 42 years in total.

Abbenbroek told NutraIngredients.com that when she started with the company eight years ago, it was a relatively small outfit. Now it has a staff of 75 (excluding production), who have brought on board considerable expertise in R&D, regulatory, patents and marketing.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest is asking the Food and Drug Administration to develop one national set of easy-to-use symbols as a value of supplement to the current nutrition facts label. Simply stated, the Center wants to bring uniformity to what the consumer organization calls a hodgepodge of commercially-driven labeling by a variety of food companies.

The group sites the United Kingdom system that uses green, yellow and red dots to rank fats, sugar and salt as low, medium or high.

The Center's proposal has already drawn the endorsement of incoming Senate Ag Committee Chairman Tom Harkin of Iowa. The Senator says a uniform system of nutrition symbols can help consumers make sense of diverse and often conflicting nutrition information and advice.

Researchers at UC Davis, the United States Department of Agriculture and Israel's University of Haifa say they have found a way to increase the nutritional value of wheat through genetic cloning.

The modified wheat could offer a solution to nutritional deficiencies affecting hundreds of millions of children around the world, the researchers said in a press release.

CBS - A slimming coffee is Europe's latest weight loss trick.

Coffee SLENDER has been sold in Norway for a year, and is just now being offered online in the United Kingdom.

Its special ingredient is a green coffee bean extract called Svetol. The Norwegian company that developed the drink says the Svetol in their product reduces the amount of carbohydrates that your body converts into sugar and then fat after eating a meal.

DALLAS-(Business Wire)-December 8, 2006 - We know a lot about the effects of being overweight on our long-term health, but what about our long-term wealth?

According to U.S. Department of Human Health and Services, the total cost of conditions resulting from being overweight was estimated to be $117 billion in 2004. For a sense of scale, that was 1% of our U.S. Gross National Product. Of this amount, an estimated $61 billion was due to direct medical costs and $56 billion to lost productivity. In another study, National Coalition of Health Care reports that the cost of health care is rising overall at a rate of almost 8% per year.

That's national. Let's talk about personal financial burdens. Let's say you've been carrying extra weight for a few years. Your chances of damaging the cartilage in your knee is about three times more likely than if you had never gained extra weight. Your personal part of the expense will depend on your health insurance, but let's assume that when you add up the bills from physicians, the MRI, surgeons and physical therapy, the total comes to somewhere between $8,000 to $10,000. Your part of the bills would be about $1,000 if you were lucky enough to have a low deductible policy. Also, how much is the downtime that you spend recovering worth to you?

By Bryant Stamford, Special to The Courier-Journal

As you are aware from reading my column, I am strongly opposed to crash weight-loss schemes.

The primary reason is that, although weight can be lost quickly, the weight that is lost is mostly muscle and water. I have explained the reasons for this in the past, and it can get pretty complicated.

What's important to understand is, the faster the weight comes off, the more muscle and water you lose and the less fat you lose.

Students in the science classes at the SIUE E. St. Louis Charter School are studying the significance of nutrition labels.

Nutrition labels provide consumers with important information about the content and effects of products.

Science teacher, Darius Pikes received a grant to teach students about nutrition. The students in Mr. Pikes' classes are studying food labels and beginning to pay more attention to the fats, saturated fats, and cholesterol intake. They are also learning about how many servings are in the food they eat and how many they are supposed to have.

NEWARK, N.J. - Along with the American waistline, the American plate and portion size have grown too.

A study at Rutgers University supports earlier research that people today eat bigger servings than they did 20 years ago.

“People aren’t realizing how much they are eating,” said Jaime Schwartz, a registered dietitian and one of the authors of the study. “The larger portion size they’re eating — even if it’s a healthy food — is still more calories.”

The research, done in 2003 and described in a recent issue of the American Dietetic Association, replicated a 1984 Penn State University study.

A new study comparing three major diabetes drugs -- Avandia, Glucophage (metformin), and Micronase (glyburide) -- shows that all three drugs have pros and cons to consider.

Patients and their doctors should weigh those potential risks and benefits when choosing between the drugs, the study concludes.

The research, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, looked at 4,360 adults with type 2 diabetes. That's the most common type of diabetes in adults.

Amid the laughter, chatter and perspiration, a group of 30 children are hard at work on stationary bicyles, rowing machines and jogging pads at a kids-only gym in this Washington suburb.

"My mom, my grandmother and my aunt tell me I'm too fat. That's why I come here and wear long T-shirts," says Toriano Parrish, a plump 12-year-old who has become a regular at Youth Visions, located the city of Upper Marlboro, in predominantly black Prince George's County in Maryland.

Parrish, who was pedaling furiously on a stationary bike, said he had lost several pounds (kilos) since joining the gym open to children ages five to 16 and has made it a ritual to exercise every day after school.

As you may already know, Americans tend to put on an extra 15 to 20 pounds during the holidays. Scary huh, but us western civilized folk love heaping scoops of back fat stuffing and plates of artery clogging ham, gravy and turkey. So the real question is this, how can you keep off the twenty-pound fat jiggle, and instead, lose five to 10 pounds from your thighs, stomach and arms?

Simple, you will follow these five tips for effective fat loss and boosting your metabolism while still enjoying the holiday pre and post feasts!

Minnesota is the healthiest state in the U.S., and Louisiana is the least healthy, according to a new ranking.

The list was produced by the nonprofit United Health Foundation in partnership with the American Public Health Association and the Partnership for Prevention.

Leading the list are:

1. Minnesota
2. Vermont
3. New Hampshire
4. Hawaii
5. Connecticut

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Taco Bell on Tuesday raised to nine the number of fast-food restaurants it had closed in New York and New Jersey after a suspected outbreak of the foodborne E. coli bacteria that may have sickened more than 50 people in three states.

But the division of Yum Brands Inc. said no new cases had been reported since November 29 and it had planned to reopen the eight New York locations later on Tuesday.

The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services said it was investigating 40 cases of E. coli infection in four counties. So far, 23 people who were sickened between November 20 and possibly November 30 ate at a Taco Bell restaurant, the department said in a statement on its Web site.

Consumer and industry groups are clashing over how -- and if -- the government should regulate foods sold in the U.S. that tout an array of health claims.

Regulators are watching as companies market an ever wider list of energy drinks, teas, and even candy bars with added dietary supplement ingredients purported to improve health. Watchdog groups want authorities to crack down, accusing companies of making unfounded and sometimes bogus claims about the benefits of the products.

The FDA takes action against unsafe dietary supplements after they are on the market. Manufacturers are responsible for making sure their products are safe before they are marketed.

Sanofi has reported positive results for Acomplia for type II diabetes. Acomplia has been tested for weight loss, but this is the first study in which the drug was tested by itself as a treatment of type II diabetes. Patients receiving Acomplia 20 mg per day for six months significantly lowered their HbA1c levels.

The data showed that Acomplia improved blood sugar control, reduced weight and acted on other cardiometabolic risk factors. Acomplia--which is set to achieve blockbuster status--has been approved as an obesity therapy in Europe, but recently the FDA requested more information on the drug, delaying approval in the U.S. by several months.

Funny. A press-release claiming that Nestle is working on customers' well-being and proper awareness. At the same time Nestle's Enviga appears to be a fraud. Read about growing profits of Nestle below.

NESTLE Nutrition, a division of Nestle Malaysia, expects its healthcare nutrition business to continue a double-digit growth this year, driven by greater awareness on health and well-being in Malaysia.

Nestle Nutrition business manager for healthcare & performance nutrition, Emilyn Loo, said healthcare nutrition registered between 30 and 40 per cent growth in sales over the past six years.

WASHINGTON - December 4 - Enviga, a new carbonated green tea beverage, claims that it burns more calories than it provides, resulting in “negative calories.” But the nonprofit food watchdog group, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), says that Enviga burns money, and over the long term is more likely to result in a negative bank balance than negative calories. Today CSPI served notice on Coca-Cola and Nestlé, the companies behind Enviga, that it will sue them if they continue to market the drink with fraudulent calorie-burning and weight loss claims.

Enviga is bolstered with epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), an antioxidant that occurs in green tea, and caffeine. The companies claim that those substances speed up metabolism and increase energy use. Enviga’s web site and other advertising further claim that there is a “calorie burning effect from a single can,” that it is “much smarter than fads, quick-fixes, and crash diets,” and that it keeps “those extra calories from building up.” CSPI says that the evidence that Enviga has even a minor effect is weak and inconsistent at best, and that the claims violate federal food law and state consumer protection laws.

December 4, 2006 — Nutritional status is a key factor to help prevent or delay disability in elderly patients, according to the results of a longitudinal study reported in the November 27 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

"Although there is consensus that poor nutritional status is a potential factor, there is a lack of studies investigating its role in the development and course of disability," write Benedetta Bartali, RD, of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and colleagues. "Our previous studies and other reports suggest an association of poor nutritional status with reduced physical function and disability. Most of these findings, however, are cross-sectional, and a causal role cannot be established."

by Dr. Kendall Sprott at New Jersey Medical School

Q: I have a 3-year-old son and am expecting a daughter in February. I only nursed my son for a short while, because of work, which required quite a bit of travel. I will be working from home when my daughter is born and have forgotten some of the issues with breast feeding. I was wondering about the need to give her additional water. My son doesn't drink plain water at all, preferring juice, soda and milk. Is there a certain amount of water that children need?

A: Breast milk is the ideal food for newborns. Breast milk production is stimulated by nursing, which empties the breasts. Babies are born with a suck reflex, and will suck and swallow when anything similar to a nipple is placed in their mouth. The first few days of nursing are the most important for establishing successful breastfeeding. 

NEW YORK - From the corner pizzeria to high-end bakeries, New York City’s world famous eateries are preparing for kitchen scrutiny as the board of health moves Tuesday to ban trans fats.

The board was poised on Tuesday to make New York the nation’s first city to outlaw the unhealthy oils, though it’s expected to give restaurants a slight break by relaxing what had been considered a tight deadline for compliance.

The restaurant industry argued that it was unrealistic to give eateries six months to replace cooking oils and shortening and 18 months to phase out the ingredients altogether.

LONDON - Obese women can improve their health without dieting by changing their eating habits and exercising more, researchers said on Monday.

They showed that lifestyle changes including exercise programs such as tai chi, aqua aerobics and circuit training, coupled with behavior modification, can improve health risks in obese women even if they do not lose significant amounts of weight.

“People of all sizes and shapes can reduce their risk of poor health by adopting a healthier lifestyle,” Dr Erika Borkoles, of Leeds Metropolitan University in England, told a news conference.

Obesity is a growing public health problem worldwide and a leading preventable cause of death. An estimated 300 million people worldwide are obese.

"This study may help explain the link between dietary fat consumption and inflammation and could be one of the critical links between metabolism and immune responses," says senior author Professor Charles Mackay, Director of Sydney's Garvan Institute's Immunology Program.

Our intake of fats (fatty acids) has changed dramatically over the last thirty years. At the same time there has been an increase in inflammatory diseases in the western world - especially asthma, atherosclerosis, and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. "We have shown that a subset of white blood cells, called dendritic cells, which initiate immune responses, rely on the fatty acid binding molecule aP2 for their function. It is possible that different fatty acids or their total levels will affect aP2 function in dendritic cells, and hence affect immune responses," explains Mackay.

TORONTO (CP) - Jokes about cops and doughnuts might be the reflex reaction to a new survey that shows nearly two-thirds of Toronto Police Service workers are overweight, but the general public isn't doing much better when it comes to battling the bulge, experts say.

A health survey of 2,110 police officers and civilian employees conducted by Connex Health found almost 90 per cent admitted to poor nutrition habits, while 65 per cent said they were overweight.

A further 44 per cent reported an unhealthy fitness level, while around 20 per cent said they had been diagnosed as obese.

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Americans are buying weight-loss pills from companies that are skirting around laws from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and avoiding regulation.

Dr. Louis Aronne tells CBS, "[These drugs] combine the worst of both worlds. There's no proof of effectiveness and no proof of safety. Why would you take something like this?"

According to estimates, Americans are spending $35 billion a year on weight-loss products, many of which have little-to-no effectiveness, and others actually harm patients.

The Simple Life star - who sparked anorexia fears following her dramatic weight loss over the last year - posted an angry message on her MySpace internet page, apparently aimed at celebrity style guru Rachel Zoe.

The message read: "What 35-year-old raisin face whispers her order of three pieces of asparagus for dinner at Chateau every night, and hides her deathly disorder by pointing the finger at me, and used the last paycheque I wrote her to pay for a publicist instead of a nutritionist? HINT: Her nickname is Lettucecup."

Just hours after the damning message appeared, Lindsay Lohan - who also lost weight after employing Zoe - allegedly posted a note on Nicole's site reading, "Hmmmm... No Comment."

Glanbia is stepping up its presence in Asia Pacific with the establishment of its first nutritionals facility in the region, which is likely to expand it company’s activities from infant formula into vitamin and mineral premixes.

The Irish dairy firm opened an office in Shanghai eighteen months ago, and its main activity has been the supply of lactose for infant formulas.

The facility, to be located in Suzhou, just outside Shanghai, is expected to be completed in 2008. Spokesperson Geraldine Kearney told NutraIngredients.com that the company is not yet discussing its function in detail, but that it is likely to offer similar vitamin and mineral premix solutions to existing facilities in Germany and California.

For many, grocery shopping today is more about hunting for bargains; it's about finding the healthiest offerings on the shelves.

Labels play a big part in helping shoppers separate the healthy choices from the junk. But with dozens of apparent ratings systems out there -- from Kraft's "Sensible Solution" accolade to the American Heart Association's "Heart-Check" endorsement, consumers may be left wondering how much weight these approvals carry.

Now, the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is petitioning the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to design a national set of symbols to help consumers quickly identify healthier foods.