Wednesday, September 26, 2007 - (Byron J. Richards, CCN)
The French have always eaten a complex carbohydrate rich diet containing three times the amount of saturated fat as Americans – and never gained weight. Red wine, garlic, onions, olive oil, home cooking, fresh ingredients, a larger lunch, no snacking, and a smaller dinner were cited as reasons for the success of the French to maintain their proper weight. Then, in 2000, the unthinkable happened. French public health officials identified the French were getting fat, 33% were overweight or obese, a rate comparable to Americans back in the in the 70s. Fast food companies and junk food machines had invaded France, the 30 billion-a-year snacking industry swooped down upon France - a culture that did not know what the word “snack” meant.
Friday, September 21, 2007 - (Byron J. Richards, CCN)
Almonds, an excellent dietary source of vitamin E, magnesium, fatty acids, and fiber are not only a great part of a healthy weight management program they help lower LDL cholesterol. A study published in the British Journal of Nutrition found that when woman who ate 344 calories worth of almonds per day felt more satisfied and did not gain weight. There is nothing worse for a person than eating a really light lunch thinking they are on a great diet only to have a power outage and food cravings set in by mid afternoon. Eating enough quality fat at lunch helps prevent this problem.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007 - (Byron J. Richards, CCN)
Contrary to much faulty dietary advice, new science shows that fat is required, along with exercise, to stimulate fat cells to break down stored fat in overweight individuals. It is quite true that eating too much fat, especially in combination with refined sugar, will lead to weight gain. However, this new information shows that a low-fat diet is not the best way for an overweight person to stimulate weight loss.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007 - (Byron J. Richards, CCN)
I am often asked what exercise is best for weight loss and health in general. The answer is: any exercise – and many new studies show a combination of various types of exercise are superior to any one form of exercise by itself....
Tuesday, September 11, 2007 - (Byron J. Richards, CCN)
One-third of Americans are obese, two-thirds are overweight. A new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine issues a major wake up call. The risk for developing heart disease in moderately overweight people is 32%, for obese people it is 81%. Even if a person has normal levels of cholesterol and blood pressure, being moderately overweight still increases the risk by 17%, compared to 49% for an obese person.
Saturday, September 08, 2007 - (Byron J. Richards, CCN)
A new study shows that the hunger signal ghrelin, as well as leptin itself, enhance the ability of the thymus gland to properly maintain the healthy function of immune cells during aging. The shrinking of the thymus gland during aging corresponds with a lack of immune cells that want to go out and get the job done. Instead, there are too many arm-chair generals that would rather sit around and tell war stories than do anything meaningful. You can learn more about ghrelin by reading chapter 25 in Mastering Leptin.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007 - (Byron J. Richards, CCN)
A lack of dietary iron is now linked as a contributing factor to the development of obesity in toddlers. Instead of adequate iron intake such toddlers often had extra sugar consumption in the form of fruit juice. Either low iron or high sugar intake will induce obesity and the combination is not good. Researchers found that obese toddlers had an incidence of 20% obesity, compared to 7% in non-obese toddlers. Iron is required for the formation of hemoglobin which carries oxygen and the cellular utilization of thyroid hormone, important factors in healthy metabolism.
Monday, September 03, 2007 - (Byron J. Richards, CCN)
Eating 1 cup of veggies per day as part of a healthy diet is now proven to reduce the risk of diabetes by 24%. Vegetables contain fiber as well as numerous plant nutrients that are protective to health and help maintain a healthy digestive tract. Australian researchers tracked 2000 people for 10 years and found that vegetables, legumes in particular (beans, lentils, chickpeas), were superior to fruit or whole grains in terms of reducing diabetes risk.
