Diabetes & The Foot

People with Diabetes are at high risk from various health problems such as: Heart Disease Strokes Eye Disease - Possible Blindness Nerve Damage - Neuropathy Amputation of foot or leg Kidney Problems Gum Disease Loss of teeth
Another health problem associated with diabetes involves the feet, as Diabetes is one of the major causes for lower limb amputation in the year 2004.
Amputation is obviously the last resort concerning problems of the feet, but it is surprising how a small cut or abrasion can lead to such dramatic results in diabetic patients.
Why is the Foot at Risk?
Persistent high blood glucose levels can eventually damage the body's nerves, causing a loss of sensation (neuropathy). Nerve damage can also cause pain in the legs, arms and hands creating problems in people's everyday lives. Your GP or Podiatrist should check your feet on a yearly basis, which should include a sensory exam to check for loss of feeling.
Small cuts or abrasions on the neuropathic foot can go unnoticed if daily foot checks are not performed. The cut can easily become infected, which in turn leads to an infected ulceration and could eventually result in the loss of the lower limb. Therefore the importance of daily foot checks, foot care & Diabetes in general cannot be underestimated.
High Risk Factors Leading to Diabetic Foot Ulcers
A small percentage of diabetic patients develop foot ulcerations, some of which may lead on to amputation. The foot is at a higher risk of ulceration if the individual suffers from conditions such as vascular disease or neuropathy. However there are many other factors that can increase risk of ulcers such as: - Cold feet or absent foot pulses History of Foot Problems Foot Deformities Limited mobility Poor circulation Inappropriate shoes Uncontrolled blood sugar levels
A painless abrasion or corn can steadily progress to a distressing foot ulcer, and if left untreated skin deterioration may occur.

Mikey Doesn.t Like It!

Let's give the late Dr. Robert Atkins some credit. Over more than a quarter of a century he made us realize that we can get along with fewer carbohydrates than most of us have become used to. It's too bad that his weight loss plan has not lived up to its promise. There are some successes, to be sure, but since the beginning of the Atkins Revolution obesity has tripled in adults as well as children.
Physicians who care for children are aware that a high fat, low carbohydrate diet is nearly impossible to maintain. This is the ketogenic diet that they have been using for nearly 80 years in order to limit seizures in their patients. It is exceedingly difficult for parents to keep kids on this diet because of its unpalatability.
Low carbohydrate diets have reached their apogee. In rocket scientist jargon, that's the point where a missile's trajectory reaches its highest level and starts heading downward. Makers of low-carb foods are taking a hit, as did their high carb cohorts a few years earlier. Their timing was pretty bad. According to NPD, a research group, the number of Americans on a low carb diet dropped by half, to 4.6 percent, in September 2004.
There are no long-term studies that validate a low carbohydrate diet plan. After more than 25 years, the longest trial described in peer-reviewed medical journals lasted only 12 months. The dropout rate was high among all types of dieters, approximately 40 percent of the weight loss consisted of perfectly good muscle and other lean tissue, not fat, and weight loss was so modest as to be insignificant -- it averaged one pound per month. After all, when a person that weighs 250 pounds loses 12 pounds he or she is still seriously overweight. It's true that such a modest weight loss does lower the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease, but not dramatically. Without lifestyle changes that go far beyond carbohydrate control, 90 percent of dieters regain the weight that they have lost, and then some.
What's the future of low-carb? Diets never seem to die. You will see variations on that theme for the rest of this century. The entire industry somehow ignores the Mediterranean diet, whose original adherents in the Greek islands have been among the longest-lived and heart-disease-free people on the globe. Fifty percent of their calories come from carbohydrates and 40 percent from fat, almost all of that from olive oil. It relies heavily on fruits and vegetables, whole grains and very little red meat. Alas, no money-making potential there!
Even Mikey knows, this isn't rocket science

Unsung Benefits of Breastfeeding

From the Stone Age until just a few generations ago, human infants' only sustenance was mother's milk, but modern infant formula seems to be an adequate substitute. After all, infant mortality in Western societies is at historic lows and growth patterns are normal. But is that all there is to it? Could there be other advantages to breastfeeding, both to the mother and to the infant?
Post-delivery stress discomfort. All those hours of labor may be natural, but they are exhausting and stressful for mom. It's not so easy on baby, either! First, that cushion of fluid suddenly vanishes in a big gush as labor begins. Then comes the big squeeze as the infant is mashed against the opening of the uterus, and through a birth canal that is so narrow that the baby's skull elongates just to fit through. It takes a day or so before a newborn's head gets its normal rounded shape back.
Enter endorphins, morphine-like hormones that the body produces, and that relieve pain and stress. Beta endorphin appears in the early milk (colostrum) of mothers who deliver naturally, but there is much less in the breastmilk of mothers who undergo Caesarian section, and who bypass a stressful labor. Even higher levels appear in the colostrum of those mothers who deliver prematurely, and whose infants might have undergone even more stress before and during delivery. Nature thus helps to make the transition from the cozy, quiet womb to the outside world a little easier.
Baby's suckling helps healing. After a successful delivery, the new mother feels the continued contractions of her uterus as it begins to return to normal size. That shrinking is critical in reducing blood loss after separation of the placenta. The baby that is put to the breast during the first hour or two gets nothing but a few drops of colostrum for its effort, but sucking on the empty breast increases the contraction of the now-empty uterus. That helps to limit the mother's blood loss, and it could have been a critical factor in primitive humans.
A breast has to grow up. A woman that has never been pregnant may think that her normal-appearing breasts are fully mature, but from a biological point of view, they are not. The normal cycle of breast development begins with adolescent budding, but it does not end until the breast secretes at least some milk. During that interval, especially during the adolescent years, breast tissue is susceptible to toxic agents. That might explain two observations about breast cancer. First, women who smoke during their teen years have a greater risk of breast cancer than those that do not. Second, women who breastfeed are less likely to develop breast cancer, at least in their premenopausal years, as well as ovarian cancer.
Infant formula: how boring! The can of infant formula that Dad plucks off the supermarket shelf on the day of baby's birth contains exactly the same ingredients as the formula that the infant will receive 2 weeks, 2 months or 12 months later (unless Dad switches brands). That's not so for breastmilk. Colostrum contains antibodies and live cells that will protect the newborn from infection and help to develop its immune system. Day by day the mother will notice that her breastmilk becomes thinner and more bluish, until by 6 weeks it becomes consistently the same in appearance. Actually, the composition of breastmilk changes every single day until weaning occurs. That's because the baby's developing body, especially the brain, has different requirements every day. There are hundreds of components of breastmilk that vary according to the growing infant's needs, in a sequence that was laid down by Nature hundreds of thousands of years ago.
Thanks, Mom. That was delicious! You won't find mint-flavored infant formula at the local market, or any with a distinctive flavor. That would never get past the folks at Quality Control. But mother's milk reflects mother's diet. In years past, pediatricians advised breastfeeding mothers to avoid onions, garlic or spicy, highly flavored foods. That was the wrong advice, and I was guilty of it. Babies that are exposed to a variety of flavors that come through mothers' milk take more readily to solid foods than formula-fed infants, for whom every food flavor is new and strange. Think of all the mealtime fussiness that would avoid!
And it will make you feel better. During the first year following delivery, mothers who breastfeed are only half as likely to suffer from depression as those who do not nurse their infants. That is not a minor issue, because approximately 10 percent of women become depressed within the first 6 weeks of delivery. This mental boost may be due to a hormone called oxytocin, which is released during nursing and also causes those contractions of the uterus that I mentioned earlier.
There were no feeding options back in the Stone Age, but the decision to not breastfeed may be unavoidable for some mothers. For those who are ambivalent, these benefits may provide a little incentive.

Make it a Gainless Holiday

Christmas gain is New Year's pain! Starting early is the secret to avoiding the typical 10-pound holiday season accumulation of fat. (Come now – you didn't think it was muscle, did you?) Develop a few good habits before Thanksgiving and you're likely to start 2005 weighing no more than you did before, maybe even less. Here are 5 tips that will help you through the holidays.
1. Set a mental limit now on the food items that are your biggest temptation. Cookies? Make 2 your limit at every holiday affair. Chocolate? Two pieces will probably satisfy your sweet tooth, especially if you eat them slowly, not in one bite. If it will make you feel better, remember that dark chocolate has some beneficial nutrients such as antioxidants and magnesium. If eggnog or other alcoholic drink makes you put on pounds, always ask the host for the smallest glass, and nurse it slowly. It will be easier if you tell yourself that it's only until the holidays are over. (By then it might have become a good habit.)
2. If you really enjoy baking for holiday feasts, make every batch of cookies half as large as usual. Make fewer varieties. Look for recipes that yield lower calories.
3. Don't go out to celebrate on an empty stomach. You're likely to eat more and drink more and indulge in more of those high-calorie appetizers. Eat an apple on the way, or a handful of almonds or walnuts.
4. When you get there don't hang around the buffet table. The closer you are, the more likely that you'll half-consciously keep reaching for food while you're in a pleasant conversation. If it's an unpleasant conversation, you'll nosh even more.
5. Make room on your body and rev up your metabolism. You probably won't have as much time to exercise when the relatives arrive or you travel to them, so get in a few extra exercise sessions before the feasting begins. You might lose only 3 or 4 pounds in a month or two by exercising a couple more days a week, but if your routine includes resistance exercise (and it should) the added muscle will raise your metabolic rate so that you'll be burning more calories even while you sleep.
You only need to make a few minor adjustments in order to avoid gaining weight at any time of the year. If you can arrive at January 2nd weighing the same, or less, than you did back at Thanksgiving, it will give you a boost of confidence that will spill over into everything that you do.

Whither Low-Carb?

Fads fade for a reason. Like pet rocks, low-carb diets will disappear because they just don't do anything worthwhile. The dropout rate is high – about 50 percent – because the diets are boring and are unpalatable to most people. More than 90 percent of dieters return to their previous weight within 5 years, most of them even sooner. Minor side effects such as headache, fuzzy thinking, irritability, halitosis and constipation are almost universal among Atkins adherents. Severe side effects are, fortunately, rare.
Physicians are concerned that long-term adherence to a high-fat, high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet may lead to kidney stones, osteoporosis and heart abnormalities. Kidney stones and disturbances of heart rhythm are well-documented complications of the decades-old ketogenic diet (high fat, low protein, low carbohydrate) that pediatricians have used to lower the seizure frequency in children with neurological disorders.
A reputable journal reported in May 2004 that low-carb diets helped people lose weight without causing adverse effects on cholesterol levels. There was joy among food manufacturers, who had already rushed to market low-carb products that covered the spectrum from beer to bonbons. Lost in all this was the cool scientific observation that overweight persons experienced only a moderate weight loss, and that severely overweight individuals lost, on average, only one pound per month during the study year. The cholesterol profiles did, indeed favor the low-carb dieters, but those levels remained high – because that's where they started out. Finally, few journalists revealed that the Atkins Foundation funded one of these studies
Those who can successfully navigate the inconvenience and side effects of the low-carb diet and then maintain a significant loss of fat will gain much benefit. The early weight loss, however, is mostly water. Much of the later weight loss consists of lean body mass, mostly muscle. Long-term success depends not only on careful attention to diet, but also to regular exercise. Those who do not incorporate an exercise routine into their life are destined to gain all the weight back, and then some.
In what direction is the low-carb phenomenon going? First, proponents are already backing away from saturated fat. The South Beach diet recognizes that polyunsaturated (from fish) and monounsaturated (from olive oil) fats are not only acceptable, they are essential to good health. Second, the distinction between refined carbohydrates (white flour, sugar) and whole grains is one that needs to be widely disseminated. Third, the low-fat establishment cannot – and must not – ignore the overwhelming benefits of fruits and vegetables in the prevention of cancer and heart disease.
The low-carb craze has probably reached its peak, but remnants will persist for a generation or more, and permutations of it will rise episodically like phoenixes among those who are looking for effortless weight loss. Like the phoenix, that is a myth.

Breaking the Breakfast Barrier

Why was breakfast fun when you were a kid? Because Mom made it, it was probably sugary, and you didn't have to do the dishes!
Now you're the whole show, maybe for the rest of the family, and there's just never enough time in the morning to get the kids to school and for you to get what most nutritionists have pegged as the most important meal of the day. You know that sugar coating is not good, that persons who eat breakfast have an easier time maintaining their weight than those who don't, and a news report just informed you that breakfast-skippers don't perform as well at school or on the job. What a dilemma!
Can you make a breakfast that's convenient, quick and healthy? Sure, and here are a couple of examples.
The Thirty-Second Slammer. Atkins it's not, but it's quick, healthy and tasty. A cold cereal is still at the top of the list for most Americans, but without sugar it usually tastes like wet cardboard. It takes literally about 30 seconds (I timed it) to slice half a banana or a couple of strawberries, or dump some blueberries or raspberries in the bowl before adding milk. If you can't take dairy products because of lactose intolerance, the latest soy milks, with their subtle-not-sweet flavors give you even better nutrition.
Sweet, Hot and Easy. Perfect for cold mornings: oatmeal and spice. Not the individual packets, which have way too many calories, but regular (not instant) oatmeal. Pop it in the microwave with a little skim milk, soy milk or other substitute (easy on the non-dairy coffee creamers with their load of trans fat) for about one minute and 45 seconds. Then sprinkle some cinnamon and a few raisins over the top. (Recent studies suggest that about Ѕ teaspoon of cinnamon per day can help to lower cholesterol levels, and might also reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.) Ignore the longer microwave cooking directions on the box; overheating spoils the flavor.
If you can spare another 30 seconds, try the fruit here, too.
High-Tech Omelette. Non-stick fry pans, egg substitutes and frozen veggies make it a breeze to have a filling, heart-healthy breakfast with no fuss and minimal cleanup. Preheat the pan and pour in the Eggbeaters or something similar. (These are not artificial eggs, they're egg whites with a little coloring, vegetable oils, tofu, etc.) If you think of it the night before, pour some frozen stir-fry vegetables into a measuring cup (1/2 cup per serving) and let it thaw in the refrigerator. That helps it to cook a little faster in the morning. Besides stir-fry vegetables there are plenty of other choices in the frozen foods section.
When the eggs are partly cooked, toss in the veggies.
Anything that needs cleaning up can go into the dishwasher and you and the kids can be on your way.
Breakfast Au Natural. The ultimate in speed and convenience, but which will likely keep hunger away until lunchtime, it's nothing more than a few ounces of yogurt to which you add two handfuls of trail mix. The latter will cover the blandness of the yogurt, but choose it carefully. Skip the ones with chocolate chips!

Eat Like a Stone Ager Without Feeling like One

The word is getting around that the modern dietary lifestyle is one of the reasons why Americans are overweight and burdened by chronic disease. The diet that's right for us, according to many experts, is what our Stone Age ancestors ate. But is that realistic? Didn't they eat food raw, and have lots of meat?
"There are loads of misconceptions about the Stone Age," says physician-author Philip J. Goscienski, M.D. "Sure, they ate most foods raw, but keep in mind that man has controlled fire for more than a hundred thousand years, and not all their barbecues were accidental."
We eat lots of our vegetables and most of our fruits raw, according to Dr. Goscienski, whose book, Health Secrets of the Stone Age, is due for a January 2005 release. Cooking, on the other hand, releases nutrients that would otherwise be less readily available, such as those in cereal grains and meats, and it gives us a head start on digestion.
Here are 10 foods that Stone Agers would find familiar if they were to drop in for dinner.
1. Lean meat. Remember that animals in the wild enjoy a huge variety of foods, not like farm-raised cattle, hogs and poultry. T-bone steaks from grain-fed cattle that stand around all day contain about 38 percent fat; the meat from active, grass-fed animals contains about 7 percent fat. Lean cuts of range-fed beef are not perfect substitutes for wild game, but it's a start.
2. Poultry. Back in the Stone Age they could choose from hundreds of different kinds of birds whose meat and eggs provided plenty of nourishment, especially protein. We could have lots of variety too, if we worked at it. Instead, we settle for only two kinds of fowl: chicken and turkey. If you would really like to enjoy something from the Stone Age, try some wild game. You'll find plenty of sources on the Internet. Search for "wild game meat." Most meat markets can order pheasant or quail. Duck, goose and Cornish game hen are available at most major supermarkets.
3. Fish and other seafood. This includes lake and stream varieties. Their high content of omega-3 fatty acids may have helped our species become the dominant animal on the planet. Omega-3 fatty acids are essential to the proper development of the brain and eyes, just what slow-moving humans with no claws or fangs needed eons ago in order to survive.
4. Leafy green vegetables. Until humans became skilled hunters, which took them a couple of million years, they were mostly vegetarians, as apes are today. It's important to recognize that this food group is what our body chemistry was designed for, with its abundance of vitamins, folate, flavonoids and thousands of other nutrients that are essential for optimum health. Of course, they had no salad dressings, which are definitely not health foods, especially when eaten in the large quantities that most of us find so hard to resist.
5. Fruits. Hunter-gatherers, which we all were during the Stone Age, had an enormous, seasonal variety of fruits from which to choose. Of course, these plant products weren't as large, plump and juicy as the ones in your local market, but without chemical fertilizers, pesticides and other pollutants they probably were a lot more nutritious. They certainly were not as sweet as our commercial hybrids, and they all contained much more fiber than domesticated fruit.
6. Berries. We tend to think of berries and fruits together, but there are some differences. Back in the Stone Age, berries, like fruits, were smaller and less sweet than our highly domesticated varieties. However, they are easy to gather, vary with the season, and are even more richly endowed with antioxidants than most fruits. Nutritionists advise that we eat some variety of berries every day.
7. Nuts. The health benefits of nuts become more apparent year after year. Walnuts, almonds, pecans, hazelnuts and pistachios contain healthy amounts of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, as well as substances that have heart-protective (saponins) and cancer-preventing (squalene) properties. So do peanuts, although strictly speaking they are not nuts, but legumes. The FDA recommends that we eat about 1.5 ounces of nuts a day, which is about 30 almonds, or the equivalent volume (one-third cup) of the other nuts. Depending on the type of nut, that's about 240 to 300 calories, comprising one-tenth or more of the calories we take in every day, so don't overdo it.
8. Roots. Folks back in the Stone Age probably got some of the minerals they needed (iron, copper) from the dirt left on the outside of edible roots. A modern Ms. or Mrs. Clean wouldn't think of serving unscrubbed carrots! All root vegetables, with their abundance of fiber, vitamins and antioxidants, provide healthful substitutes for refined carbohydrates. Think of beets, yams, turnips, parsnips or carrots to replace rice or pasta, neither of which was available during the Stone Age.
9. Mushrooms. Mushrooms are such ancient forms of life that thousands of species populated the planet by the time humans arrived. More than likely, Stone Age people were aware of mushrooms that could kill as well as those that caused hallucinations. The several kinds of mushrooms that we find in the supermarket, fresh or canned, have moderate amounts of B vitamins and small amounts of healthy polyunsaturated fat. Mushrooms are likely to become more popular as their cholesterol-lowering and immune-boosting properties become better known.
10. Grains. I deliberately left this group for last because they are latecomers to the human diet. Before the Agricultural Revolution, which took place roughly 12,000 years ago, grains were not a major food source. Grain harvesting requires cutting tools, a method for removing the seed from the stalk, and storage containers, none of which were available tens of thousands of years ago. Without heating and grinding, humans cannot easily digest most grains. Our ingenuity and skill, however, eventually overcame these problems, and grains (including rice and corn) now constitute more than half the calorie intake of most people throughout the world. As long as these are whole-grain products, they bear at least a little resemblance to what our ancestors ate during the Stone Age.
None of these food items exist today exactly as they did in the Stone Age, but they form a healthy approximation, with good fats, phytonutrients, fiber, vitamins and minerals. A diet that contains only these ingredients is far from boring and is readily available. But be sure to wash those carrots!

Kids and The Low-Carb Lifestyle

Some pediatricians have been prescribing a low-carb diet for a select group of children for decades, and what they have seen is very unsettling. The ketogenic diet was developed more than 80 years ago in order to control seizures that did not respond to the anticonvulsant medications that were available then. There are now dozens of medications that help to control seizures but the ketogenic diet is still used. The good news is that it does stop or slow down the frequency of seizures. The bad news is that it has some unhealthy effects on the heart.
The ketogenic diet is not identical to the Atkins diet. Although it contains very little carbohydrate it also has little protein, and 90 percent of calories come from fat. As you might imagine, keeping a child on this very unpalatable diet is every difficult, and many parents simply give up when faced with tantrums and food-stealing.
In a study done at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, children on a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet developed marked increases of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, all of which are risk factors for coronary artery disease. These effects persisted for at least 24 months. Children on a ketogenic diet are also at risk of kidney stones, which are usually rare during childhood.
There's plenty of evidence that low blood sugar levels, an inevitable consequence of a low-carbohydrate diet, produce memory and mood problems, irritability and aggressive behavior. Those who live with diabetic patients are aware that an overdose of insulin causes a severe drop in blood sugar that can lead to seizures or death. It doesn't take any great leap of logic to conclude that a diet that results in frequent low blood sugar levels isn't good for the brain. For the developing brain of a child, even an adolescent, it could lead to individual tragedy and social disaster.
There's no single solution to childhood obesity
What a child eats is only one factor in what is clearly an epidemic of childhood obesity. At any age, weight gain comes from using too few calories as well as eating too many. Computer games, television viewing, lack of physical education classes, reliance on Mom for transportation, disrupted family conditions and fear of crime in urban neighborhoods are just a few of the reasons why physical activity has taken a nosedive among children in the past generation, a period during which type 2 diabetes in children has risen tenfold. Careful analysis shows that almost all the fat gain of modern children is due to their sedentary habits, not to their eating habits.
Diabetes will soon be an intolerable burden
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a report that should have stunned the actuaries of health insurance companies. Of children born in the year 2000, one-third will develop type 2 diabetes as adults. For African-American and Hispanic females that number will be approximately 50 percent.
Who will pay for the health care costs of one-third of our population, a group that will be unable to support themselves because of heart disease, kidney failure, amputation of limbs and blindness? The very fact that modern medicine is able to prolong the lives of these sufferers only adds to the enormous cost of extra decades of survival. Directors of kidney dialysis centers already agree that they are behind in the capacity to treat the present population of diabetics whose kidneys have been destroyed. Yet, this is where our children are headed, as even 6-year-olds are now being diagnosed with the disease.
Healthy nutrition in a free fall
French fries are vegetables in only the loosest possible use of the word, but they comprise 25 percent of the average child's vegetable intake. The value of a diet that is high in fruits and vegetables cannot be overestimated. Heart disease and cancer are much less common in persons with a high intake of these foods, but on any given day in the United States, 40 percent of children have not eaten a single vegetable. In actual surveys of children's eating habits, no fruit or vegetable – even French fries – makes it to the top ten.
High-fructose corn syrup is the only sweetener of soft drinks in the United States. It comprises more than 15 percent of the calorie intake of the average child; it is more than double that among many adolescents. More than simply adding to an already excessive calorie intake, fructose bypasses the usual digestive processes and leads to formation of heart-damaging chemicals and adds to the complications of diabetes.
This is only a sample of the issues that I have discussed in my book Health Secrets of the Stone Age, the second edition of which will be released in January 2005 by Better Life Publishers, Oceanside CA.

Hard-wired for Exercise

Exercise will make you more fit, but that's only a small part of the story, according to Philip J. Goscienski, M.D. "Humans are designed for much more physical activity than most of us get," says Dr. Goscienski, author of Health Secrets of the Stone Age, "and every cell of the body benefits from it. Barely 20 percent of Americans are physically active enough to enjoy those benefits."
The 80 percent of us who savor the soft life now will have to endure a hard life later, he says. The human body evolved under conditions that involved lots of activity for so many thousands of years that it depends on moderate physical stress in order to function well.
"If we don't stress our bones with fairly heavy lifting, carrying, pushing and throwing, those bones will become thinner. After all, why should the body maintain a strong, heavy skeleton if it doesn't need it to support a lot of muscle? Thin bones are fragile, a condition we all know as osteoporosis." That's a pretty obvious example, but there are lots of subtle ones.
Most people would be surprised to learn that there is a connection between exercise and gallbladder disease. The more you exercise, the less likely it is that you will ever have to undergo surgery to have your gallbladder removed. In a study of more than 60,000 women, those who exercised 2 or 3 hours a week had 20 percent fewer gallbladder operations than their inactive counterparts.
Calling someone a musclehead is no compliment, but if you maintain your muscle mass with exercise, it's a good bet that your brain will work better, too. Exercise not only improves short-term memory, it will improve your mood and protect you against depression. Persons who are physically active throughout their lives are less likely to suffer from stroke or Alzheimer's disease, so that their last decades truly become their golden years.
Ever notice that athletic individuals don't get colds as often as couch potatoes? Regular, moderate exercise powers up the immune system. That becomes a life-and-death matter in the elderly, few of whom get much exercise. Inactivity results in loss of muscle mass, which diminishes our reserves of protein, a nutrient that we need to form infection-fighting blood cells and antibodies. It's no wonder that hospital-acquired infection is so common among the senior population. By retiring from physical activity as well as their jobs, they lower their resistance to germs that younger, fitter persons are able to overcome.
You can lower your chances of getting several forms of cancer – breast, prostate and colon – by exercising throughout life. The reasons are not yet understood, although women who accumulate fat by being inactive raise their estrogen levels, which increases the risk of breast cancer.
From middle age onward, poor sleep patterns and arthritis become annoyances that interfere with lifestyle. Both will improve with regular exercise. Persons who exercise with moderate intensity, such as walking for at least 45 minutes several times a week, fall asleep more quickly and average about one hour more of total sleep than persons who never exercise. Osteoarthritis, which affects more than half of the elderly population, is less painful and limiting among those who engage in exercise that is appropriate for their age and condition.
We haven't even discussed obesity and type 2 diabetes, but as Dr. Goscienski points out in Health Secrets of the Stone Age, these have now become frank epidemics in Western societies. Both conditions are totally absent in present-day hunter-gatherer populations, whose lifestyle is identical to that of the Stone Age. He notes that the 4-fold increase in the level of obesity in children since the early 1970s can be accounted for entirely by their lower expenditure of calories, not by their increased food intake. Type 2 diabetes is now so common among children that they are suffering from its complications before they reach the age of 30.

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DO YOU HAVE ACHY JOINTS?

Regardless of your age, you could have Arthritis. In North America over Fifty five million people suffer from this debilitating disease.
Arthritis is an inflammation of one or more joints. It is characterized by pain, swelling, stiffness, deformity, or a diminished range of motion.
The most common types of Arthritis and their symptoms are;
Osteoarthritis; the symptoms are, stiffness, and pain on joint motion. Usually this comes on gradually and occurs after the age of forty.
Rheumatoid arthritis; the symptoms are joint stiffness upon awakening; this usually lasts for a couple hours, also swelling in the finger and wrist joints. This usually affects people between the ages of, twenty five to fifty.
Spondyloarthropathies (including psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Reiter's syndrome) this group of disorders tends to affect the spine, causing pain, stiffness, inflammation, and changes in body position. This usually affects people between the ages of twenty and forty years of age.
Gout; The symptoms come on quickly with extreme pain and swelling. It usually affects people over forty years of age.
Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis; the symptoms are joint stiffness, often in the knee, wrist and hands. It can also involve the organs and the nervous system. It usually affects children under eighteen years of age.
If you have this disease here are some of the choices available to you.
You can take pain killers, steroids or anti-inflammatory drugs, and manage the disease, or you can use holistic products, and cure the disease.
You can learn more, visit The Arthritis Foundation at www.arthritis.org. Knowledge is power and life style diseases are curable!
You can change your lifestyle and be good to your joints.
Here are 12 life style changes that will help your joints and the rest of your body. Lose weight Turn off the T.V. Eat well Add color to your diet, fruits and veggies Eat a diet high in protein, eliminate refined carbohydrates, white bread, white pasta, white rice and potatoes. Visit the salad bar when you eat out Keep a food journal Cut down on caffeine intake; no more than two caffeinated drinks a day. Take calcium, vitamins and minerals each day. All supplements should be a high quality, liquid plant extract. Cleanse your body of impurities, to learn more about cleanses refer to www.herbs4health.net click on The E book "9 Steps To A Healthy Vibrant Body", Chapter three "Cleansing The Body" Eliminate the bad stresses from your lifestyle Address any addictions in your life, smoking, alcohol, or drugs Get plenty of exercise
Many people feel that having some form of an arthritic condition is inevitable; they feel it is part of aging. This is not true; many people who practice a holistic life style are free of this disease for their whole life. Our life style determines our health, if you have led an unhealthy life style, you can change your lifestyle, rebuild your body, and you too can have a healthy vibrant body.
© Jane Kriese
Please feel free to use this article in your Newsletter or on your web site. If you use this article, please send a brief message to let me know where it appeared: mailto:janes-store@telus.net Thank you.
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Double Whammy: Prevent Cancer and Lose Weight in One Fell Swoop!

Today, I've learned some great news and I'm shouting it from the rooftops! Hear Ye! Hear Ye! According to new research, you can prevent cancer and lose weight: both at the same time! What's more? It's easy! Easy, that is, if you are willing to make just a few lifestyle adjustments (You are willing, aren't you?).
Here's the skinny: In her new book titled: "The Body Restoration Plan," Dr. Paula Baillie-Hamilton tells us, ingesting chemicals - the bad ones that cause cancer and illness – will also prevent weight loss. Yes, you've heard me correctly. And here's just one reason the accusation makes perfect sense: If farmers are using hormones to plump up cattle for farming, this plumping up can wind up you-know-where!
What I'll attempt to do in this article, then, is weave together both this newfound weight-loss information with the ongoing cancer prevention study of Dr. Samuel Epstein, Chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition (Check out his cancer report through the link in Step One, below). What follows are the preventative measures I've created with this insight. See if you can use this simple action plan in effort to adjust your lifestyle, keep you body free of toxins and induce or maintain weight loss.
Step One: Get Informed
The first step in your action plan: Inform yourself. Get the big picture. To stay on top of the latest research and prevention recommendations, visit the Cancer Prevention Coalition's website. Check them out at: http://www.preventcancer.com
Here, you will also find the Dr. Samuel S. Epstein, M.D. "The How To Stop Cancer Before It Starts Campaign," 66-page report. Dr. Epstein is the chairman for the Cancer Prevention Coalition and is dedicated to keeping the public informed on the latest issues.
Step Two: Police Your Job
It may take a little effort to keep your workplace honest and hazard free. Here are a couple ideas: If you are working in manufacturing, check with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Be sure your company complies with all anti-hazard requirements. Here's their site: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/homepage.html Also, check out the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA): http://www.osha.gov publications to be sure your company is in compliance.
All offices and workplaces (especially ones dealing with hazardous substances and volatile chemicals) should aim to create a safety group assembled of employees. If your company doesn't have one, talk to your supervisor about forming a safety group. Demand excellence and safety in your workplace. Again, review the OSHA standards and aim to comply.
Also, if you are looking for a job, check out the company track record. Be sure to check up on any health issues or cancer incidences before you accept the position.
Step Three: Police Your Lifestyle
There are several, obvious ways to clean up your own atmosphere and make it safe from cancer causing agents. Here are just a couple lifestyle changes to pay closer attention to:
If you smoke: Quit, period! If you are finding it difficult to quit, however, employ some extra help. In many states non-smoking laws are helping but, if you're still having a difficult kicking the habit, check out your local Smoke Enders. Log on to the Smoke Enders website to find a group nearest you: http://www.smokenders.com
If you are a drinker, use alcohol in moderation. Although there is no substantial proof that alcohol causes cancer, heavy drinking can increase your risk.
Step Four: Police Your Diet:
In the same way that moderate drinking is safer than indulging, be aware of your overuse of high fat and high calorie food sources.
Most sources suggest a diet low in fat and high in fiber to protect your body against disease. Make small changes: aim to replace high sugar foods with increased portions of beans, grains, fruits and vegetables (Remember: rinse all fruits and vegetables before consumption).
Also, decrease large portions of dairy, red meat and animal fat. Replace them with protein sources from fish and poultry. For and excellent, preventative diet program check out "Eat To Beat Cancer," by J. Robert Hatherill, Ph.D.
Finally, be aware of the water you are drinking. There are some great carbon filtration systems that can be attached to your water source or externally to filter your water. According to Elson M. Haas, M.D. in his book "Staying Healthy With Nutrition," solid carbon block systems are superior.
Step Five: Police What You are Buying
When purchasing products for personal use, here are a few guidelines to consider: Drugs —- Read package inserts and check for any references to cancer. If you find something questionable, weigh your options; search for alternative methods.
Cosmetics —- Make every effort not to buy products with "Warning" messages. If the label says the safety of the product has not been determined, look for products which use natural ingredients and are free from synthetics.
Consumer Products -- Aim to avoid purchasing aerosol sprays; they will often cause you to inhale a higher than normal concentration of chemicals.
Pesticides -- If you use them, be aware that many pesticides are carcinogenic. Ask the retail store or company about biological friendly alternatives.
Cleaning agents -- Always check product labels. If there are "Warnings" listed, opt for something safer. Always check your shopping list against the current edition of the "Safe Shopper's Bible," written by David Steinman and Samuel S. Epstein, M.D., before making your purchases.
Step Six: Police Your Family History & Other Sources of Exposure
Does you family have a history of cancer? Early detection methods will often prevent you from big trouble. For women: a yearly pap smear and pelvic exam will often detect early signs of uterine or cervical cancers. Also, aim for a monthly breast self-exam.
Men and women: Ask your doctor for recommendations on colon exams, and Men: ask your doctor for recommendations on PSA testing. Also, keep your eyes peeled for new preventative strategies and get as much information as you can about them.
Always check your skin for any odd looking lesions; make it a habit to take a quick overall scan of your body, frequently. Also, aim to avoid UV lamps and over exposure to the sun. As often as possible wear a sunscreen, Dr. Epstein suggests one containing para-aminobenzoic acid. And, if you work outside, be sure to wear zinc oxide on your lips and nose.
With just a few hours of time, and these few simple steps, you could be extending your life and maintaining your waistline, to boot. It's well worth the effort! After all, in the words of Hippocrates himself, "Prayer indeed is good, but while calling on the gods a man should himself lend a hand."
'''
References:
'''
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention,
online: http://www.cdc.gov.
Epstein, M.D., Samuel S. "The Politics Of Cancer Revisited," 1998.
Haas, M.D., Elson M. "Staying Healthy With Nutrition," 1992.
Hatherill, Ph.D., Robert J. "Eat To Beat Cancer," 1998.

The MACS Lift. how it differs from Conventional Facelifts

The MACS lift (minimal access cranial suspension lift) was described as a modification of the S-lift by a Belgian group in 2001. It was reported in the Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery journal, which is the main scientific journal for plastic surgeons.
Essentially, it differs from a regular facelift in the following ways:
The incision is limited to the skin hairline junction above the ear and anterior to the ear. There is no extension behind the ear.
The area of undermining, unlike a conventional facelift, is much smaller and essentially involves a portion of the cheek. Because there is less undermining, the blood supply to the skin is much more robust and the technique is therefore safer in smokers. There is much less risk of any skin necrosis, unlike other lifts.
Permanent suspension sutures are used to elevate the underlying tissue. These pass down to the neck, jowls and malar fat pad. Unlike many other facelifts which do not include significant mid face elevation the MACS lift elevates the malar fat pad reducing the naso labial folds.
Because there is no undermining under the SMAS (superficial musculoaponeurotic system) there is very little likelihood of damage to the facial nerve.
Because the undermining and dissection is much more limited the post operative swelling and oedema is much less than in normal facelifts and recovery is therefore quicker.
Because the malar fat pad is elevated it combines very well with lower lid blepharoplasty, as can be seen in the illustrations. It essentially reduces the height of the lower eyelid giving a more youthful, smooth appearance.
In nearly all cases liposuction is performed to the neck area below the angle of the mandible, both to remove excess fat here and also to free up the skin to allow it to be re-draped by the suspension sutures.
In my opinion the MACS lift produces results at least equivalent, or in most cases, better than a conventional facelift. It is ideally suited to the younger patient with a sagging mid face. In patients with really excess skin facility in the neck region, it may be necessary in some cases to make an incision posterior to the ear to take up this slack, but in most cases this is not necessary.
DETAILS OF PROCEDURE
The operation is performed under a general anaesthetic and most patients stay in hospital for two days post operatively. The operation generally takes about three hours and in nearly all cases should be combined with lower lid blepharoplasty, as lifting up the malar fat pad also lifts up the lower eyelids and it is relatively simple to remove the excess skin. Usually no additional work needs to be done to the fat pads because of the suspension of the malar area.
During the post operative night, the patient is placed in a firm bulky woollen bandage and two small non-suction drains are inserted behind the ear. The bandage is removed the following day, along with the drains. Following this, a light chin-up bandage is worn for one week. Following this, the patient normally looks fairly reasonable, although there may be some residual bruising, particularly around the eyes. This is treated with Arnica cream and massage on a twice daily basis.
Stitches in the lower blepharoplasty incision are removed at three days, those in front of the ears and alternate stitches in the hairline are removed at five days and the remaining sutures in the hairline at ten days.
In my opinion the MACS lift is a significant advancement in facial rejuvenation surgery as it involves relatively little undermining and consequently the recovery is quicker. It also has the significant advantage of improving the mid face and malar area which other facelift techniques do not tend to help.
I use this type of facelift now exclusively, and as I mentioned, in patients with really severe neck skin excess I would do a posterior skin excision, but this is not necessary in 90% of patients.
This lift is ideally suited to the younger patient with mid face ageing changes and moderate changes in the neck.

Tips on a People Search and Doctor Search

How much information can you get for free?
Search engines competition is at the highest level and constantly embedding new technologies into searches. The result? Better information for the consumer, and it's only the beginning! Search engine technology is so precise (especially Google™) that conducting a doctor search or a people search can deliver googles of information.
Depending on the type and quality of information you're looking after, several different approaches can be used to perform your search.
A Doctor Search:
How can I find a Doctor?
Go to google.com and type in the full name of a doctor (i.e. Dr. Jerome Garden), the city or state, and a specialty field. These keywords gives you a general idea if the doctor has been involved in communities, written publications, media, and so on.
Visit your state medical board http://www.mdnationwide.org/choose_a_doctor.htm and find out if your medical board is one of the few who offer free doctor reports. Medical boards let you know if your (the) doctor has ever been disciplined in that particular state and give you doctor licensure status.
Next, check out the http://www.abms.org/ and the http://www.ama-assn.org for proper board certification and organizational status.
Finally, visit the http://www.fsmb.org/. This organization is the governing board of all (MD) State Medical Boards. I highly recommend you visit "FSMB" if you are looking for doctor disciplinary action information, A report will cost you $9.95 each. Depending on what your doctor's specialty, its always good if they belong to a medical society, for example, a pediatrician might belong to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Keep in mind, a doctor could belong to many society organizations.
A People Search:
How can I find a Person?
Like a doctor search, if you want detailed information, it will cost you. However, here are others ways to conduct a free people search:
Go to google.com and type in the first and last name (i.e. Hugo Gallegos), city, state, profession, business, and so on.
Visit http://www.reversephonedirectory.com, http://www.superpages.com, http://www.dexonline.com, http://www.anywho.com, http://www.switchboard.com, http://www.infospace.com, http://www.att.com/directory.
Many other sites exist where you can find information. However, most information comes from the same databases with different companies conducting the actual search.
A Background Check:
Can I do Free Background Checks?
Yes, you can. The question is will you be successful in finding the information you want?
Bottom line:
Most consumers prefer quality information and will pay for it. Therefore, before you pay for information, it's essential to find out what type of searches the company specializes in. Also, browse the site map on their web site to find the FAQs, testimonials, and contact information. If the company discloses very little information about themselves, start looking elsewhere.
Hugo Gallegos is the President of MDNationwide.org which provides Top Doctor credential information to consumers, and helps consumers select the best quality providers of medical care. Get your very own virtual top doctor consultant by visiting http://www.mdnationwide.org/search.php.

The Ritual of Food Addiction

If you've been trying to figure out the weight-loss game for as long as I've been coaching people – twenty five years – you've most likely been trying to avoid food, even though that point of view has not worked. What you need to do is to look at the ritual leading up to the part where you finish everything on your plate.
For many years I had either a radio show or a public access television cable show named "Changing Habits." The opening of both shows state: we cover eating, smoking, gambling, drinking, shopping, spending, and negative thinking. There was also discussion about low wage earning, debt accumulation, messy apartments, and procrastination. All of these things have something in common: they can be ritualized.
I, too, was seduced by the mesmerizing effect I felt when I was in the mindless, automatic state of a ritual. When in that state of mind, you're comfortable without having to think or feel anything else. I smoked cigarettes, spent too much, drank too much, and went into debt as if I were in a trance. Writing this book became a behavioral ritual; there was always another chapter to write or re-write or edit or type. I'm in the middle of construction in my apartment. What began as re-doing a bathroom and kitchen floor has turned into buying new furniture and designing built-ins.
One tiny part of the redecorating process was looking for knobs for cabinet doors. There were hundreds of styles and shapes and colors and prices from which to choose. I don't even want to tell you how many choices I had to make when it came to selecting a couch.
Whether gambling or drugging or eating, or writing a book, there is a ritual of things we do, and say, and think, before, during, and after the actual using of the drug. And I use the word drug here because a behavioral ritual is just as much a drug on your system as is food, or cigarettes, or alcohol.
The gambler knows the phone number of off-track betting or his/her bookie by heart; a bartender remembers your usual drink; you shop whenever you're bored. The drinker has a favorite drink with a specific amount of ice or mixer or water. He/she might sip the drink rhythmically, with or without others at specific times of the day or week or year, and many people only drink in particular places, i.e., it never occurs to me to order alcohol in a Chinese restaurant. Whereas my friend Tom always orders a beer and friend Sara orders one large and one small sake when in a Japanese restaurant. Each part of a ritual knits with the other parts to tighten the behavior more and more effectively. Add to your list the way you lock, and unlock, the door to your home or office, answer your phone, call a friend, get ready for bed, set your hair, or comb your moustache.
When I smoked, there was the buying and smoking of the cigarettes. But there was also my cigarette-case collection, a Dunhill lighter, and I used a Lalique ashtray, for goodness sake. I added additional behaviors to my ritual, too: I needed to shop for and have on hand, lighter fluid for the lighter and extra mouth spray and mouth wash to use after I smoked each cigarette.
The ritual paraphernalia is just as much a part of your eating- or smoking- or drinking-habit as the lighting-up and inhaling of a cigarette, or the swallowing of a bite of food. Each habit has its own ritual actions and reactions.
Think about other rituals and habits you mindlessly perform each day: You brush your teeth, shower, shave, or put on makeup. Checking on mail or retrieving telephone answering-machine messages may be a part of your repertoire. I've recently added to my ritual, the periodic checking of my email to see if "I've got mail."
Getting dressed in the morning is ritualized, too. You might comb your hair and put on makeup, then put on clothes. Some others put their clothes on first, and then comb their hair and put on makeup. I eat breakfast and take my one-a-day, two-a-day, three-a-day vitamins, minerals, and calcium pills. I even arrange them on a paper plate in four little piles for easy access later. That's a ritual, too. That's what we do:
We organize, and ritualize, so we can narcotize.
All this busy work distracts you, at least for the moment, from feelings or thoughts with which you don't want to deal.
I've practiced and perfected many constructive rituals into my life. After doing them consistently for many years, they are now automatic, and mindless and serve my needs. They help make my day run smoothly, like using a pencil when I write in my appointment book. There is comfort in the familiar.
It is the ritual of the first thought or word or action that leads to the next thought or word or action to the next, and the next, and the next. Eventually, you succumb to what you think is the allure of the taste or smell or even sight of food. But it is really the tail end of a ritual where you might be tired or bored and just used to surrendering to whatever is set before you. Some of us eat as an excuse to take a break, or to rest. It is hard to say no because it is all knitted together from the first thought of a ritual to the first feelings of remorse. There's always remorse. That's part of the ritual, too. This cycle of behavioral ritual needs to be interrupted and unraveled. Identifying these patterns, even acknowledging you have patterns, is a wonderful first step in changing habits.
As you become more aware of your patterns of thought, word, and action, you can begin the process of rearranging or omitting the automatic next steps and to create new constructive patterns for yourself. Eventually, you'll learn to be comfortable thinking, saying, and doing, something else instead of putting food into your mouth, just because it's there.
This unraveling of the ritual of food addiction helps you to make pro-active choices so you can become the person you want to be. Sometimes, the new way is quite different from what you've accumulated in the way of behavior. Your old way was built over a lifetime of unconscious actions and reactions. You now have the opportunity to create something new and wonderful that better serves your present need to weigh __________ pounds.
Bobby F. danced the I can go all day without eating, but once I start, I can't stop tango, a remnant from a previous weight-loss plan.
Since evening activities weren't as stimulating as the daytime ones, he was without things to occupy his mind; old feelings and thoughts bubbled up. With no place to go and no one to talk to, he incorporated going into the kitchen into his usual evening activity of killing time. One trip to the kitchen yielded a piece of candy, another trip yielded a nibble of leftover salad, another trip two grapes. The once- or twice-a-night ritual became more and more frequent. It really took off when he had a phone installed in the kitchen. He found himself sitting on a chair with wheels while speaking on the phone and rolling over to the refrigerator where he'd open the door and window-shop the shelves.
When he worked on breaking that ritual, I had him put a little tick mark on a piece of paper whenever he thought of putting something into his mouth. Between 9 p.m. and midnight, he found himself thinking about food forty-two times! That is approximately one episode every five minutes.
Forty-two times in three hours he had gotten in the habit of putting something in his mouth, even though he wasn't hungry. Forty-two times he nibbled a bite of this and a swallow of that, just because he was bored. Whether eating one item, or one bite from many items, it all adds up. It doesn't matter if it is salad or soda. You're eating when you're not hungry. If you practice this habit every day of the week, you've got a behavioral addiction that becomes a weight gain. Keep doing the same thing and it becomes a part of the evening's entertainment. When Herman moved the phone out of the kitchen, the picture changed. His weight changed. His habits changed. This was just one of many patterns he discovered as a result of being mindful. There were even more to find.
He realized how he always ordered a glass of wine when he took clients to dinner; or how each meal ended with a cup of coffee. Every visit to a theater to see a movie seemed to be bonded to eating a bag of popcorn or buying a soda. The buying – I call it a compulsion to spend – is a ritual, too.
When I talked about rituals with another person I teach, she commented that keeping the logbook, in which she enters her daily weights and what she eats, was a ritual. I agreed. Some rituals help us to become mindful of what it is we are doing and enable us to see, in writing, the patterns we've created. Some rituals are better than others.
Barbara J. had difficult times at 4 p.m. each day. It was clear that her desire to eat wasn't about hunger; her lunch was usually only a few hours before. It was connected to her children arriving home from school. When she had to prepare food for them, she mindlessly nibbled on the food herself. She also had a phone in the kitchen and practiced some version of talking on the phone and browsing amongst the bratwurst. You may be thinking: But I only pick at the broccoli. If you're eating when you're not hungry, it doesn't matter what it is. It all adds up.
In an office, an eating ritual might begin at the onset of a coffee-wagon bell ringing at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Rachel S. told me of a mindless habit she had when she commuted from Manhattan to her home in New Jersey. Every trip, five days a week for a year, she'd eat a candy bar. Just that one candy bar habit could add up to approximately twenty pounds by year's end.
I used to have a habit of buying a large bottle of fruit juice and would sip it a few swallows at a time – it's only juice I used to think – until all 64 ounces were sipped away and I'd buy another bottle. When I realized how often I repeated this behavior, I began buying juice in individual bottles of 4 ounces each, put the bottles on a different shelf than the top one in the refrigerator. If I didn't see it, I didn't think about it. If I didn't think about it, I didn't drink it. The habit started to collapse on its own. Sometimes, changing just one part of a ritual – whether thought word or action – loosens the entire knot of behavior without much effort. Sometimes it takes more thought. In this case, changing the size of the container did the trick (a physical action). I also thought (mental re-patterning), that I'd gone years without drinking juice so many times during a day and it had always been okay. It could be okay again. You get used to anything.
What are some of your rituals and habits?

No Finger Foods

If you're really convinced that you're hungry, it's time to eat. This means food on a plate to be eaten with utensils (knife, fork, spoon, chopsticks), not fingers. What a radical thought.
When I was losing weight, a friend called me at work: "Did you have lunch?" Franklin asked.
"No. I just grabbed a hot dog on the corner," I said.
To me, the words just, grabbed, and on the corner" meant it didn't count because, a) it was only a hot dog, a small amount of food, b) I could hold it in my hands, so it was too insignificant to count, and, c) it was eaten on the corner with fresh air and sunshine. How could it be bad?
I thought that eating food sold on a street corner wasn't really a meal. It was . . . well, that's the point. It didn't fit any category. So I ended up having a second lunch with my friend.
Another friend and I were walking down First Avenue in Manhattan around 5 p.m. as Paula spied Ray's Pizza. She said: "Let's have a slice." Knowing it was a visual stimulus that had pushed her salivating button, I asked: "Are you hungry?"
"Oh yes," she replied. "I'm starving."
"Okay" I said. "Then let's have a slice of pizza which we can eat with a knife and fork, and order a salad, too. It'll be dinner."
I'm not that hungry," she said. What she really wanted was to have a slice of pizza and eat dinner, too.
How frequently do you eat finger food and think it didn't somehow count?
When I talk about putting food on a plate and eating it with a knife and fork, I mean committing to the structure of a meal.
If you eat slowly and thoughtfully, cutting, spearing, chewing, sipping, and swallowing, you are present at mealtime. You experience the feelings of satiation and enjoyment. The meal registers. Then, an hour or two later, if you're thinking of eating again because you see or smell something tempting, you know you couldn't possibly be hungry. You just had this terrific breakfast, lunch, or dinner two hours ago. You remember it.
When eating finger foods, the reverse happens. Even a few minutes after consuming a finger food you think: "I can eat again because I didn't really eat. I only had a bagel chip, some black coffee, one rice cake, a low-fat pretzel, and a carrot stick. It was nothing. It doesn't really count towards my daily food consumption because it was so small, or so low in calories, or so insignificant. It couldn't possibly count."
By rushing through the eating experience, by shoving food into your mouth, by not savoring your food, you numbly fill up your body, without satisfying it.
One cracker may contain only 11 calories. That's not the point. The question is: How many crackers are in the box and how many boxes have you knocked off already and it's only Tuesday in the middle of February, May, September, or whenever?
An apple a day becomes bushels at the end of the year. Do you eat bread so often you could count it in loaves? How much of your food enters your mouth without your seeing it so you think none of it counts? It all adds up.
How often do you mindlessly put your fingers into a box, bag, or basket of something and put the contents into your mouth without thinking about it? Do you wonder every morning why the scale remains where it was the day before, or, more depressingly, goes up?
Are sandwiches, bagels, muffins, and hors d'oeuvres at parties a part of your life? Is a bag of popcorn your appetizer? Are nachos a main course? How many chicken wings make a meal? Hard to count. Hard to know.
Now think: Are you hungry enough to commit to a real meal with food on a plate to be eaten with a knife and fork? Or are you not that hungry?
* * * * *
"I finally understand about food on a plate, eating with utensils. Any bite on the run, even a raw carrot, is totally mindless – I'm not even aware of what I'm doing. And that goes for all sorts of Finger Food – whether it's pretzels and popcorn or canapйs, it just finds it's way to my stomach magically." Joseph K
"Every meal was a special event, even if I was only eating Oatmeal. It broke me of my eating-on-the run, eating-on-the-street, and eating-in-the-car habits." Karen C

Holyday Eating Strategy Sheet

"I'm glad it is over," say many people after Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year's.
If you are the food preparer, you are most likely shopping, mincing, dicing, and sautйing, days – possibly weeks before the event. The good china, crystal, flatware, and serving pieces are brought out of storage. They are washed, polished, and used once more before they are stored away for the next special event.
If you are the attendee, you may be feeling guilty that the food preparer did all the work, so you may be thinking of eating a second portion of everything to show appreciation to the preparer.
An enormous amount of food is put on the table(s). People come. They eat. They leave over an enormous amount of food. This brings us to Holiday Leftovers.
Holiday leftovers are not to be confused with the tunafish left on a platter after your family has had their share at lunch yesterday. I'm talking about vast quantities of many dishes. Leftovers are not left over if they are eaten.
For many, part of the ritual of Thanksgiving is the 11 p.m. raid on the refrigerator to join everyone else who is standing and eating in pajamas and bathrobes. Is a turkey leg one item? Two? Three? Might be more. You'd recognize the satiation component if you were eating slower and sipping water between bites. Plates and utensils are your friends. They keep you mindful.
You want to fit into your dress/pants at the end of the meal, at the end of the day, at the end of the weekend, as well as at the beginning when everyone arrives (or if you are the arrivee) and tells you how wonderful you look. Someone said, "A goal without a plan is just a daydream." And I know Yogi Berra said: "If you don't know where you're going, you could end up someplace else."
There are a few things you can do during a holiday meal day that can be practiced year round. If you set a goal to make this your new way, it becomes comfortable year round, then when a holiday meal comes along, you won't be looking to make it an overeating exception. You'll keep feeding the smaller person no matter who you are with, what country you are in, and what the holiday it is.
You are either striving to become a smaller person in which case you feed that smaller person you want to be. Or, you are a smaller person, in which case, you feed the smaller person you are.
Here's the plan:
Almost every month has a holiday where food is the centerpiece. The holiday eating strategies are helpful if you read the information before, during, and after the festivities. This will help you plan ahead, execute, evaluate, and adjust, for next time. That's the thing with holidays – there's always a next time. Fill in the following sentence. Go for it.
I want to weigh __________ pounds, 365 days a year, not just when it's convenient. I can do it!
1. Don't skip meals. Starving all day as an excuse to overeat at a party doesn't work. Plan ahead, instead.
2. In a relaxed, quiet atmosphere, envision what food and drink you'll be encountering and plan, in advance, in writing, what you want to do. Just scribble a few decisions in a 3 X 5 (or smaller) card: Is it going to be a one-item, two-item, three-item meal? How many items are appropriate? What are they to be? Chicken? Fish? Veal? Will you choose a potato? Do you want dessert more than bread? A salad more than a vegetable? To weigh __________ pounds or to continue weighing what you weigh. And 2b) What behavioral techniques do you plan to use to help lessen food-related anxiety? Will you carry around a goblet of water during the stand up portion of the festivities? Will you help the hostess set the table? Will you play with the children? Food is just a part of the day. What are you going to be doing when social anxiety and old family issues rear their heads in the guise of best sweet potato pie. If you always do what you've always done, you'll get what you always got.
3. Wear a belt with a buckle, whenever eating and whenever necessary. Buckle on snug. Wear a thin belt under your clothes if the outfit is of the cover-up variety.
When an elastic-waisted pants/skirt give, it gives oh so quietly. You're not even aware that you're growing back into that bigger person's pants/skirt. A waistband tells you at dinner that you haven't even digested what you had at lunch. When you reach for a second helping of something, your waistband will tell you: "don't do that." And you'll pick up the water instead.
4. While in attendance, keep moving. Help the hostess, play with children, and talk to everyone in the room before looking at the food. Don't linger near the buffet table. A wonderful three-part question to ask before eating anytime, anywhere, is: Am I hungry? Am I hungry enough to put food on a plate and eat with utensils (knife, fork, spoon, chopsticks)? Am I hungry enough to make my meal – whether one or two or three or more items – last a relaxing, pleasant, 20-minutes, or more?
5. Fill a glass with water. Carry it around and drink it. Throughout the party and whenever necessary, relax, deep breathe, and stretch to reduce socially anxious moments. If the dinner is to be very late, you might consider having a cup of soup or cereal at home in a quiet atmosphere before leaving for the festivities. Then when the flying Rumaki appetizers make an entrance and you're waiting for the entree, you'll be able to honestly say, no thanks, I'm not hungry.
6. If it is a buffet meal, walk the distance without a plate as you identify the protein and the vegetables and whether dessert is more tempting than the bread or the drink. Then go back to the beginning of the table and make yourself a plate as you might be served in a restaurant.
Plan the number of items in advance. Decide, before arriving, whether you'll choose a bread or beverage or dessert or alcohol, rather than deciding you'll have all four. (Is the bread really unique, the coffee unusual, the extra drink adding to your enjoyment?)
7. Find a place to eat where you can enjoy your meal in a relaxed manner while using utensils. If this is not possible, or the choices are really not to your liking, do the best that you can do under the circumstances.
It is okay to tell your hosts you don't want a second helping of everything. They only want you to have a good time. You won't be having a good time if you eat too much and your clothes become tight. Overeating is not a reward. Fill up on the ambiance. Food is just part of the day's events. Food is not entertainment.
8. Eat slowly and thoughtfully. Make each meal last a relaxing twenty minutes, or more. Put utensils down between bites, take frequent sips of water, and intersperse plenty of good conversation between bites. Finish chewing and swallowing each bite before inserting more food.
9. Alcohol causes lack of resolve, which may cause you to eat or drink too much of things you didn't plan for. Less and less alcohol is needed as your total body weight diminishes. If alcohol is your choice instead of bread, beverage, or dessert, toast the holiday but try to drink two or more sips of water for each sip of alcohol. Always make sure the alcohol is part of the meal where you will be coating the inner lining of your stomach. Before drinking an alcoholic beverage, bear in mind, nobody said you have to finish your drink either.
10. There will always be another meal, another holiday, another party. Keep in mind how much more fun they will be with a slimmer waistline, a more in control you.
11. Do the best you can. There are a lot of choices to make. The first time, your plan may not turn out exactly as you pictured it to be. By reading your strategies and planning in advance, in writing, what you want to accomplish, chances are you'll eat a little less, move a little more, put your fork down sooner, and feel a little better than had you not had a plan. But, no matter what happens, Get Back on The Program at the very next meal.
12. Most of all have a nice time. Feeling stuffed, bloated, or uncomfortable in your clothes does not enhance the enjoyment of the event. More is not better; it is only more.
13. Rewrite this Holiday Eating Strategy Review onto a compact piece of paper. Carry your Holiday Eating Strategy Review sheet with you to read before, and during the party. Repeat your weight loss goals to yourself several times during the day of the food encounter. I want to weigh ______ pounds. Any meal is not the Last Supper. It's just another meal. When sufficiently armed, the battle is won.
14. If all else fails, flee the city with a friend.

Breast Cancer The Cure

There is no known cure for breast cancer. More than 1.5 million people will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year worldwide. Scientists don't know why most women get breast cancer, yet breast cancer is the most frequent tumor found in women the world over. A woman who dies of breast cancer is robbed of an average of nearly 20 years of her life. Breast cancer knows no social boundaries. It's a disease that can affect anyone. Some prominent women who's lives that have been touched by breast cancer include Jill Eikenberry actress age 52; Peggy Fleming age 49 figure skater; Kate Jackson age 50 (Charlies Angels); Olivia Newton-John age 50 actress singer; Nancy Reagan age 77 former first lady; Melissa Etheridge age 43 singer; and the beautiful Suzanne Summers actress. These high rates of breast cancer are not acceptable to the women of the world and must be met with scientific research that provides results.
Despite over a decade of research, and more than $1.7 billion spent, hundereds of women worldwide are dying from breast cancer every day. Yet doctors don't know how breast cancer starts or how to cure it. Doctors are still approaching treatment for breast cancer in the same old fashioned ways: surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Barbarick treatments…And scientists keep doing the same old redundant research that's simply not working. It doesn't have to be that way. Gen Cells Cures is a scientific biotechnology company that is focused on a cure for breast cancer. The company is dedicated to curing breast cancer before it's too late for you. We're not interested in a cure in five, ten, or twenty years from now. We want your cure for breast cancer within a year or two. We don't want you to have to under go surgery, radiation, chemotherapy or take toxic drugs.
Why Gen Cells Cures? You can search the medical journals; you can search the internet until your blue in the face. You will find the same old news which is no new news about breast cancer research and treatments. Breast cancer research is locked up in a black whole. Gen Cells Cures is approaching the cure for breast cancer from different angles and using tomorrow's scientific technologies today. Our expertise is in stem cell research and genomics. Malfunctioning stem cells have already been linked to the development of breast cancer. We're not talking about using generic stem cells from an egg and sperm cell. There is no genetic match for you with the politically controversial generic stem cells that are always in the news. The isolation of cancer stem cells, coupled with our understanding of genetic mutations causing cancer, and our knowledge of genomics will result in ways to eliminate cancer cells while sparing normal breast tissues.
Genetics and Breast Cancer
People will tell you to accept what you can't change…Your genetics, your genes, the genes your mother and father handed you when you were born that came with their particular genetic make-up. Most inherited cases of breast cancer have been associated with two genes: BRCA1 and BRCA2. The past five years has been a period of unparalleled discovery in the field of genetics, genomics, and stem cell research, but these discoveries are not being applied to breast cancer treatments. A job that Gen Cells Cures definitely wants to get our hands dirty in. Recently researchers have found that by blocking a gene called beta1-integrin the growth of tumor cells can be stopped. When this gene was removed the tumor cells quit growing. You don't have to accept the genes that you were given at birth. Gen Cells Cures will be able to manipulate your genes to cure your breast cancer.
Our Cancer Stem Cell and Genomics Program will bring together the top scientific minds in the world under one tin roof to maximize the use of diverse approaches to the understanding of cancer genomics fused with stem cell solutions. Gen Cells Cures isn't looking for a multi-million dollar biomedical research center like the Stowers Institute in Kansas City, which is a medical center to be admired. A rented tin shack will do just fine. Of course, we would accept hand-me down michroscopes from the Stoweres (billionaires who bought their own multi-million dollar biomedical research center) if they would be gracious enough to grant them to us or we would accept a small prime the pump check to move forward with our research. The Stowerses and all the scientists from the Stowers Institute have an open invitation to visit our lab in the Caribbean. What we are looking for is a cure for breast cancer to stop the humiliation, pain and suffering this menace to society causes millions of women and thousands of men worldwide, and not a new biomedical center… Every dollar invested with us goes into pure medical research and equipment. The same offer goes out to all the millionaires and especially the billionaires of the world. People that come to mind are: Paul Allen, Bill and Melinda Gates, Jon Huntsman, William and Alice Goodman, Ann Lurie, Jamie and Karen Moyer, Harold C. Simmons, Alfred Mann, Sumner M. Redstone, Michael Milton and the Palm beach billionaires, there are simply too many to mention. The combined wealth of the three Microsoft billionaires alone is more than ten times the amount spent by the U.S. Federal Government on research to fight cancer and other deadly diseases. We know we're in the wrong business to become billionaires ourselves. This kind of biotechnology has never produced even one billionaire. It's the cure for breast cancer that we want.
Simply put the cancer research organizations are funding the wrong researchers. It's time to go outside the normal research channels. Do something different. The same story year after year after year and no cure. These unmotivated researchers just aren't getting results. Let someone else have a shot at it. It's time to try something new and different. A different approach. There are races for the cure, golf tournaments for the cure, there are walks for the cure, there are foundations for the cure. These foundations have been funding the same ineffective research for more than twenty years now. These foundations have been betting on the wrong horse. Joining the crusade won't help if the research being done doesn't take on a twenty-first century scientific approach. It's been time to move forward scientifically for five years now. But today's breast cancer researchers are stuck in a twentieth century mind-set. The Excuse is someday we'll find the cure, but someday doesn't help today's victims of breast cancer. We need top notch scientific action today.
The genetics are out of the bottle and stem cell research is moving forward whether the U.S. government likes it or not. Gen Cells Cures has moved off-shore to the Caribbean to avoid the political controversy over stem cell research. I am sure you won't mind a walk on the beach with me to talk about your cure for your breast cancer. Once we have the cure we can take the cure from the bench to the patient without a long and costly wait for FDA approval. There are many advantages to not having big brother breathing down your neck. The governments of the United States and Western countries have nothing to offer except road blocks, red tape and detours. Our patients don't have time for political smoke and mirrors. With a little luck we could have your cure before the time comes that you need that dreaded surgery and chemo.
Our gifted world-class researchers are visionary and have been schooled in winning and have courage, creativity, can-do attitudes, burning desires, unfaltering belief and an obsession that they will be there first. By first we mean years ahead of the other biotechnology companies. Like determined, fighting NASCAR drivers our scientists are living to take the chequered flag of biotech and win the coveted race for the cure for breast cancer.
Focused on breakthrough discoveries, Gen Cells Cures nurtures a culture that encourages high standards of excellence, original thinking, hard work and a willingness to take risks. Our world-renowned scientists believe in themselves and its belief that gets us there. The company will seek to develop a work environment that is results focused and team-orientated. We compete against time. Though we compete intensely we maintain high ethical standards and trust and respect for each other. Quality is the cornerstone of all our activities. We seek the highest quality information, decisions and people. Our success depends on superior scientific innovation. We see the scientific method as a multi-step process which includes designing the right experiment, collecting and analyzing data and rational decision making. It is not subjective or emotional but rather a logical, open and rational process.
Our success comes from one simple fact; we are committed to being a science-based, patient-driven company, driven by that one special breast cancer patient…you.
Gen Cells Cures lost most of our one million dollar start-up money in offshore bank scandal and currency devaluation last year. We are now actively pursuing financial support. Unfortunately, the Gen Cells Cures team is made up of great scientific minds and not great marketers, salesmen, or fund raisers. Yes, we are looking for a millionaire or billionaire without a cause to support our work, but if you are not our wealthy saviour, we welcome any help, be it financial or a donation of your time. The scientific team is on stand-by. What we're lacking is the funding to go forward. We could use motivated salesmen to sell our research, fund raisers, skilled internet marketers or someone just to pass out flyers or mail out promotional material. We could use help from the media with publicity stories, ads and promotions to get the word out. We are particularly interested in looking for assistance from the billionaires of the world; there are approximately 600 in the world. Billionaires like Sergey Brin and Larry Page (Google billionaires), Rupert Murdoch, Ted Turner, and Oprah Winfrey and others who control the media could get our life-saving message to the world fast. We are also hoping that some of my celebrities friends will come forward and spread their wings to help support our breast cancer research: Steven Seagal, Charlie Sheen, Wesley Snipes, Danny Glover, Erik Estrada, Tom Arnold, Dolph Lundgren, Roger Clinton, Bill Clinton, Usher, Hulk Hogan, Ivana Trump, John Secada, Sylvester Stalone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mike Reno, Richard Branson, Cindy Crawford, Cher, Demi Moore, Michelle Pfeiffer, and other stars that I have had the good fortune of meeting in person and others celebrities that I hope to meet in the future. (Photos of Gerald and the stars can be viewed at his promotional group listed below.) I am waiting to get my photo with Suzanne Summers!
Gen Cells Cure offers more than hope. We can do the job. If you're going to eradicate cancer you have to have the right people doing the right research. One thing is for sure. We couldn't do any worse than what the scientists before us have done. Which is virtually nothing! Help us alleviate the pain and suffering. Together, with your help, we can cure breast cancer.

Good Food/Bad Food What's Left to Eat?

What's Good Today is Bad Tomorrow: What Can I Eat?
We've entered the Twilight Zone when it comes to the multitude of diets being promoted today. Starting with the Atkins Diet, then the South Beach Diet, now the Hamptons Diet and more. All higher in protein, lower in carbs, but the distinction should be quality of carbs, not singling out one nutrient entirely. If you are on the Atkins Diet, South Beach Diet or any other variation of a high protein/low carb diet simply adjust from eating low quality carbs like refined flour and sugar products (think if it comes in a box, it's likely low quality) to eating more whole food products like fresh vegetables and fruits - yes fruits.
Apples vs. Apple Jacks - You be the Judge
I know the traditional Atkins Diet doesn't advocate much fruit (too high sugar) but think about that for one minute. My strong belief is that an apple is a good food, a bowl of Apple Jacks cereal may not be on an equal level. One is highly processed sweetened by added white sugar and corn syrup, and one is natural, plucked from a tree and sweetened by the sun. Which would you choose? Don't shun fresh fruit for the sake of following your low carb diet to the letter.
Eliminating healthy, wholesome foods is not the best way to learn to eat better, but severely cutting back on the frequency of eating highly processed foods is. I saw a site which called it GM or MM: God Made or Man Made. If you think of those terms when you go to choose your foods, it starts to make more sense. No one says you shouldn't eat chips, or whatever strikes your fancy, but make them a treat - and eat the GM foods more often.
Common Sense Diet
Common sense will answer the question about what to eat. If you are on Atkins, South Beach or any variation of low carb diet, avoid processed foods, not natural foods. Stop using "instant" breakfast, and cook whole rolled oats for instance. Sure you might have to get up 10 minutes earlier, oh well. You're worth it!
You can still stay on a higher protein food plan, but this one minor adjustment will allow you to continue with your eating plan for a lifetime, rather than a short-time. I'd go insane if I couldn't eat my daily apple, banana or other fruit. I love fruit. I think there's a very good reason humans desire sweet foods - Vitamin C, and other nutrients, including bio-flavnoids.
Can You Be Addicted to Fruit?
I heard someone complain they were "addicted to fruit" and I had to wonder, what do they eat? The person who refuses to eat fruit because they believe it is too high in sugar, probably does eat cookies, crackers and sugary cereals. They might even drink artificially flavored and sweetened drinks, but they refuse to eat a natural food, grown from our earth? That makes no sense, if you think about it. Did our planet develop and thrive based on processed foods? No, of course not. They are very recent in the evolution of our world. Very recent. In fact, we've had processed foods less than 200 years while our planet is millions of years old.
With the high incidence of obesity, and our high consumption of processed foods, it's hard not to draw the conclusion that one causes the other. You won't hear big industry stating that case because our economy depends on us buying the products being produced by the companies that employ us. You'll never see it reported that "scientists discovered refined flour kills," even if it were proven true because it doesn't support our way of life. We need industry.
Witnessing the epidemic of food illnesses such as Mad Cow, and now Bird Flu, I can envision a society without the mass produced meat industry. It will come to pass - nothing but your local farm will be allowed to sell meat because the big farm industry cannot guarantee safety of the food supply. Meat will become much more expensive because when they can no longer mass produce it, there is nowhere for prices to go but up. So do we whine and cry and moan about our misfortune or do we start to think of meat as something to savor and enjoy like the Sunday roasts we had years ago? We never ate meat every day then - and we weren't so fat either. We simply didn't eat as much processed foods. Most of us had moms at home cooking us dinner, making our lunches and even fixing our breakfasts.
Yes, progress marches on, but when it comes to your body, common sense rules the day. The Common Sense Diet! Try it on for size today.

What's The Real Cause Of Acne

Most acne medications only mask the symptoms of acne and does nothing to stop the real cause of acne. This is why acne sufferers buy acne products month after month (year after year). And every time they stop using the product acne would come back again and again.
What you need to do is find out what the real cause of acne is and stop it.
So What's The Real Cause Of Acne?
Acne occurs when your body contains more toxics than your kidneys and bowels can remove. (Your kidneys and bowels are the two primary channels of elimination that your body expel toxics and waste products through.)
These toxics can be the accumulation of fat stored chemicals the liver can not wash out or there may be a problem with fat digestion, fat accumulation, food allergy, or even the accumulation of hormones that your body produces.
Once these toxics build up, your kidneys and bowels can get overloaded and clogged up, causing it to not function properly.
When that happens some of the load will be dumped onto your liver. One of your liver's main roles is to metabolize pile up fat into usable energy for your body.
This means, your liver will be doing some of your kidney's work. So now, your liver gets overloaded and it too will not work at full capacity.
What happens when your bowels, kidneys, and liver gets overloaded?
When that happen your body will expel toxins through your lungs and skin (your secondary channels of elimination). And this is when acne occurs. This is when your skin starts to breakout.
So whatever the toxic source is that's causing this problem, acne is a sign that your bowels and kidneys are overloaded with toxins, waste products, or hormones.
It is a sign that your liver is growing weaker in its detoxification abilities (and it will continue to grow weaker if you do not do what it takes to get rid of the toxics in your body).
So if you think that acne is your only problem, think again, your liver, kidneys, and bowels are getting weaker every time you breakout.
Houa Yang is dedicated to helping acne sufferers get rid of acne fast and stop it from ever coming back without any acne medications or prescription drugs. For details visit: http://www.howtogetridofacne.com

"Cookie Cutter" Low Carb Diet Plans Explained

Most diet plans, including low carb diet plans are best taken with a grain of salt, because although one may work for your best friend, it may not work for you. For those with serious weight problems and have co-existing issues such as hyperglycaemia (high blood sugar levels) or like some of us hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar levels) etc., the popular diet plans usually will not be able to cater to individual needs. We are all individuals and as such we need to feed ourselves as individuals, having said this some diet plans will be more beneficial for the general population that others.
To assess which particular diet plan will be beneficial, you can follow these guidelines. They are very much common sense points, and provide a good framework which many nutrition professionals would broadly follow, and within which you can divide the scammy diet plans from those that can offer you safe and healthy diet ideas.
Diet offers sufficient balance and a variety of carbohydrates, protein and fats.
Diet does not exclude one particular food group, and encourage excessive consumption of another.
Diet encourages exercise to complement sensible eating habits.
Diet encourages awareness of portion sizes.
Diet does not encourage unrealistic quick weight loss.
Diet is backed up with medical research data.
In addition to these points, I've broadly outlined the low carb diet plans, which seem to be occupying the minds of dieters and researchers alike, as well as the research for and against pertinent to the low carb diet plans.
Low Carb Diets
A lot of the diet plans these days center around the low carb diet plans. These low carb diet plans are considered by some diet fads, others consider it the new wave in healthy eating. Diets such as The New Atkins Diet Revolution maintain that obese people are insulin sensitive and carbohydrates make them gain weight. Low carb diet plans such as The Zone lay down specific proportion of carbohydrates, protein and fats that should be consumed in order to lose weight and while fats are reduced, the main source of energy comes from the consumption of protein.
Low carb diet plans such as Sugar Busters, believe that sugar is your body's most heinous weight loss enemy and since carbohydrates are the foods that are processed into sugars – carbohydrates should be limited. The Scarsdale Diet also is a low carb, high protein diet and offers a 2 week crash dieting plan.
Popular diets such as the South Beach Diet and the Carbohydrate Addicts Diet are also low carb diet plans that have become popular with dieters who have tried and failed at the Atkins diet. All these diets see themselves as the worlds answer to the obesity problem.
To be fair, there are significant and many research papers that support and argue against the low carb revolution, as yet the wider medical community has not fully made it's mind up as to whether the diets are something that is favourable in the long term.
Recent research by Layman et. al., and Saris have found that the low carb and high protein diets provide little benefit to dieters. Researchers found that when protein was moderately increased and carbohydrates proportionately decreased, insulin levels stabilised but no significant weight was lost. Saris in his review concluded that it is probable that a low carb, high fat diet will increase the likelihood of weight gain.
While there is a lot of evidence against the low carb philosophy, there is also a lot of evidence to support it. Research published in May, 2004, found that when patients on a low carb diet were compared with patients on a low fat diet, those patients who had consumed a low carb diet had a greater weight loss, decreased triglyceride levels and increased levels of HDL's - in other words their cholesterol levels had improved. To put the icing on the cake research has just been published to support the long term efficacy of eating a low carb diet.Despite the evidence to support low carb diet plans, mainstream medicine still does not recommend them. The main points of contention with the low carb, high protein diets is that they don't offer balance and variety and could prove dangerous for people at risk of heart disease. Particularly with low carb diet plans such as the scarsdale diet, they are not realistic and cannot be maintained in the long term causing yo-yo dieting and no one wants that ! References:
Wim HM Saris Sugars, energy metabolism, and body weight control Am J Clin Nutr 78: 850S-857S
Donald K. Layman, Harn Shiue, Carl Sather, Donna J. Erickson and Jamie Baum Increased Dietary Protein Modifies Glucose and Insulin Homeostasis in Adult Women during Weight Loss Nutrition.org
Yamashita T, Sasahara T, Pomeroy SE, Collier G, Nestel PJ. Arterial compliance, blood pressure, plasma leptin, and plasma lipids in women are improved with weight reduction equally with a meat-based diet and a plant-based diet. Metabolism. 1998 Nov;47(11):1308-14.
Yancy WS Jr, Olsen MK, Guyton JR, Bakst RP, Westman EC. A low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet versus a low-fat diet to treat obesity and hyperlipidemia: a randomized, controlled trial. Ann Intern Med. 2004 May 18;140(10):769-77.