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Thursday, October 9, 2008

The Top 3 Things You Can Do, Starting Right Now, To Lose Weight And Win The Battle Against Obesity

obesity


Obesity is defined "clinically" as being 30 pounds or more over your ideal weight and is recognized, in North America - especially the U.S., to be a major killer taking 300,000 lives each year from heart attack, stroke, cancer and diabetes which have ALL been strongly linked to obesity. Think about that and put it in proper perspective.

* 52,000+ American soldiers died in Viet Nam during that 10 year war
* 35,000+ Americans die each year from car collisions
* 100,000+ Americans die each year from prescription drugs

But...

300,000+ Americans die each year from obesity-linked diseases. And that isn't my uneducated guess, that's the number given in the 2001 Surgeon General's Report.

The report also said that 31% of Americans are obese.

With a population now of around 300 million people that means 93 million Americans are walking time bombs due to the health risks of obesity. People who may die prematurely from a disease directly linked to being obese. And unfortunately the problem has continued to become worse with obesity now taking a foothold in children.

An estimated 14% of children under 18 are obese.

Instead of eating to live people, more than ever, are living to eat and that fact, along with poor nutrition (Fast Food), is causing a major problem.

What can you do right now, today, to wage war on obesity and lose weight?

Here are 3 strategies that you probably won't take seriously until you are told you have an obesity-linked disease and even then, you may not do anything to help yourself. But, if you are ready to take control of your life and health these 3 things could save your life.

1) Change your eating habits. Eat to live instead of living to eat. Which means:
a) Eating smaller meals 3 - 5 times daily
b) Exercising portion control
c) Cutting useless, empty calorie foods from your menu
d) Consuming less calories than you burn daily

2) Get Moving!
a) Walk at least 30 minutes per day to burn calories
b) Take the stairs not the elevator
c) Participate in a physical sport at least 3 times per week

3) Use safe diet products to help you:
a) Burn fat
b) Suppress appetite and curb cravings
c) Block excess carbs and fat and
d) Cut calorie consumption...

Doing the things mentioned above will pretty much guarantee you reach your weight loss goals...Even if it takes you a little longer than you first forecasted. And, by continuing to adhere to this new, healthy lifestyle you'll keep your lost weight off and continue to enjoy a healthier life.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

New Epidemic in America: Fatty Liver Disease


There's a medical condition that is frightening physicians and patients alike because it is growing much more common. Called Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD or hepatic steatosis), it affects about a third of the American adult population (13% of children) and the numbers are rising. Many are unaware they have this problem, since in and of itself it rarely causes symptoms, but NAFLD can progress and, though it is rare, when it does it can lead to serious liver damage or even death.

INTEMPERANCE IS THE PROBLEM

A fatty liver has long been associated with long-term and excessive alcohol consumption, but this "non-alcoholic" version of the disease is not about drinking -- it's believed that its main cause is poor diet, notably, one loaded with simple sugars and complex carbohydrates.

Exactly how NAFLD develops is still being studied, but there seems to be a connection between disease progression and the combination of a sedentary lifestyle and metabolic syndrome. In Sweden, researchers asked 18 healthy, normal weight people to consume two meals loaded with carbohydrates and sugar a day, as well as to restrict their physical activity for one month, with the goal of a 5% to 15% increase in body weight. After just one week participants had elevated blood levels of ALT, an enzyme that when elevated indicates NAFLD. In another study, at Saint Louis University, researchers fed sedentary mice a diet that was 40% fat and included lots of high-fructose corn syrup. After a month, they too showed signs of liver damage and also had the beginnings of glucose intolerance, a marker of type 2 diabetes.

FAT GETS STUCK

Brent Tetri, MD, professor of internal medicine at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine and an expert on NAFLD, was the lead author of the mice study. He explains that one of the liver's functions is to turn carbohydrates into fat and send it off to be stored in adipose (fat) tissue as fuel reserves. This is the normal metabolism in action, but when people consume excessive amounts of carbohydrates -- in particular from calorie-dense high-sugar and fatty foods -- it overwhelms the liver's ability to function, thereby slowing the delivery of fat into storage. The converted fat therefore lingers, clogging the liver. It is important to note that the fat in the liver is not what was consumed in food... rather it results from the liver's conversion of carbohydrates from food into fat. Insulin resistance increases the problem even further, resulting in yet more fat accumulation in the liver.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

At present there is no easy and truly reliable means to test for liver damage, just a test that measures levels in the blood. This is typically included in the routine blood tests conducted as part of adult exams. If you have children who are overweight and sedentary, request this test for them as well, given how pervasive obesity and poor eating habits have become.

Fortunately, it isn't difficult to protect your liver and it is possible to reverse liver damage if you catch it early. It is, however, the same song we always sing, which people hear all the time and yet disregard... following a healthy diet and exercising regularly are the best strategies for maintaining a healthy liver, along with a healthy everything else. Dr. Tetri suggests following a Mediterranean diet with plenty of vegetables, some fruit and some whole grains, olive oil and fish. People with any damage to their livers should avoid alcohol, but Dr. Tetri says others can safely enjoy a moderate amount of red wine.

Limit fast food and sugar-laden deserts/snacks to once a week or so. Avoid trans fats, as these challenge the liver. Drink water instead of soda. Personally, I was horrified to hear from Dr. Tetri that the sugar from high-fructose corn syrup in just two super-sized sodas amounts to more than you could possibly hold in your hands... that's a visual to call upon when you need help saying "no." High fructose corn syrup, especially in high quantities, suppresses the satiety mechanism in the brain, the one that tells you "that's enough, stop eating." Dr. Tetri suspects that the reason people can polish off huge burgers and piles of French fries is the high-fructose corn syrup in the soda that comes with the meal.

Drugs and some not-so-good-for-you supplements may also be contributing to the surge in liver damage. Acetaminophen in high doses can be extremely toxic to the liver. Also, several popular herbal supplements (Dr. Tetri specifically mentioned kava kava, for weight loss, and germander, ironically used to support liver function) have potential to harm the liver. If you are concerned about liver health, consider working with a physician trained in the use of natural substances to promote health -- there are supplements that might be quite effective when used properly, including milk thistle and possibly Vitamin E and other antioxidants.


Source(s):

Brent Tetri, MD, professor of internal medicine, division of gastroenterology and hepatology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Need To Lose Weight? 10 Science-Backed Ways to Lose Weight That Actually Work

In a world full of fad diets and quick-fix solutions, finding evidence-based methods for sustainable weight loss can be challenging. Here are ten proven strategies, backed by scientific research, that can help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

10 Science-Backed Ways to Lose Weight

1. Practice Mindful Eating


Research shows that mindful eating is a powerful tool for weight management. According to UC Davis Health, simple practices like:

  • Using smaller plates (nine inches or less)
  • Eating slowly and savoring each bite
  • Pre-portioning snacks
    can significantly impact portion control and overall calorie intake.

2. Focus on Plant-Based Foods

Recent studies indicate that plant-based diets may be more effective for weight loss than conventional diets. Research published in Nutrients shows that emphasizing whole, plant-based foods can lead to sustainable weight loss while improving overall health markers.

3. Develop a Growth Mindset

The psychological aspect of weight loss is crucial. According to research published in BMC Public Health, success in weight management is strongly tied to:

  • Internal motivation
  • Positive self-perception
  • Flexible thinking about food and exercise
  • Resilience in facing setbacks

4. Establish Consistent Exercise Habits

The Mayo Clinic emphasizes that regular physical activity is non-negotiable for long-term weight management. Aim for:

  • At least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise most days
  • Strength training twice weekly
  • Activities you genuinely enjoy to ensure consistency

5. Prioritize Sleep and Stress Management

Recent studies have highlighted the critical role of sleep and stress in weight management. Poor sleep and high stress levels can:

  • Increase hunger hormones
  • Lead to emotional eating
  • Reduce willpower for healthy choices
  • Affect metabolism

6. Track Progress Thoughtfully

Research published in Health Psychology shows that self-monitoring is crucial for success. However, focus on:

  • Behavioral changes rather than just numbers
  • Non-scale victories
  • Progress photos and measurements
  • How clothes fit and energy levels

7. Create a Supportive Environment

Environmental factors significantly impact weight loss success. Studies show that creating a supportive environment includes:

  • Removing trigger foods from home
  • Having healthy options readily available
  • Building a support network
  • Planning ahead for challenging situations

8. Implement Time-Restricted Eating

Time-restricted eating has gained scientific support. According to recent research, this approach can:

  • Help regulate hunger hormones
  • Improve metabolic health
  • Support sustainable weight loss
  • Be easier to maintain than traditional dieting

9. Focus on Protein Timing and Quality

Protein plays a crucial role in weight management by:

  • Increasing satiety
  • Preserving muscle mass during weight loss
  • Supporting metabolic health
  • Reducing cravings

10. Develop Sustainable Habits

Long-term success depends on sustainable lifestyle changes. According to behavioral intervention research, successful weight management requires:

  • Gradual, consistent changes
  • Building new habits slowly
  • Finding enjoyable ways to maintain healthy behaviors
  • Regular self-monitoring and adjustment

The Science of Success

Recent meta-analyses have shown that successful weight loss interventions share common elements:

  • Personalization to individual needs
  • Regular monitoring and feedback
  • Focus on behavior change rather than just diet
  • Long-term support and accountability

Important Considerations

Remember that weight loss is highly individual. What works best is:

  • Sustainable for your lifestyle
  • Aligned with your preferences
  • Supported by your healthcare provider
  • Focused on health rather than just numbers

Moving Forward

The most effective weight loss strategies are those you can maintain long-term. Research published in Annals of Internal Medicine shows that successful weight management is about:

  • Making lasting lifestyle changes
  • Building sustainable habits
  • Focusing on overall health
  • Being patient with the process

Remember, the goal isn't just to lose weight but to maintain a healthy weight long-term through sustainable lifestyle changes. Choose strategies that fit your life and that you can maintain indefinitely.

By implementing these evidence-based strategies and focusing on sustainable changes, you're more likely to achieve and maintain your weight loss goals. Remember that progress isn't linear, and small, consistent changes often lead to the most sustainable results.

Sometimes we need extra help when trying to lose weight. Here are some products that may be beneficial: Check them out on Amazon.


Thursday, July 10, 2008

Are Doctors Lying About the Cure for Heart Disease?


Are doctors lying about the cure for heart disease? Do you suffer with clogged arteries, arrythmia, or have you already experienced a heart attack? Is there a cure? You be the judge but...

"The People" have had enough apparently!

An "insider" revealed today that the "World of Medicine" is scamming people - and even worse: with the help of "law-makers!"

It seems that "money" (as usual) has blinded doctors and medical practitioners to the degree that they are now willingly *suppressing* the truth regarding Heart Disease - its control, management, and even its cure!

That's right: "cure!"

And what should shock you even more:

Heart Disease Is A Cash Cow Disease!

It seems that it's against the law to say the word "cure" when describing anything that actually cures you.

Yet it's very much okay to say that something "treats" or helps "offset" the symptoms of some health condition or disease.

But if you say "cure" (and even including when you in fact have a real and bona fide cure for something and can even prove it!) you can get arrested.

Ever wonder why we have a "healthcare" industry and not a "healthcure" industry? Our healthcare is actually sickcare not healthcare because ...

No one, especially big Pharma and the white coats, wants to "cure" anyone because there's little money in doing so. And if you think its not about money think again because heart disease, cancer, arthritis, diabetes and other "chronic diseases" are CASH COWS! they bring in 100s of BILLIONS yearly. Do you really think these parasites are going to shoot their golden geese?

Not a chance!

Instead, keeping you sick and marginally pain-free is all anyone's really out to do for you these days - as doing so means you being "forced" to buy all the same drugs over and over again, and again, and ? (you get the point!)

Of course, if a cure came along it would mean you buy it one time, and then you're cured - and that's that (over and done!)

But a number of doctors, philanthropists, and just plain old "good folks" armed with "real answers" and "real solutions" are stepping up and are NOT afraid of "Uncle Big-Bully Brother!"

One courageous fellow by the name of Linus Pauling, did exactly this, as he's helped others overcome "naturally" the condition known as "Heart Disease!" Pauling is a 2 time Nobel Prize winner with one prize in chemisty. He found that everything but humans, most primates and guinea pigs produce or make their own vitamin C. With further research he found that human heart disease is actually a lack of enough vitamin C in the body.

Not only that, but Pauling has lectured and personally helped individuals beat heart disease with high dose vitamin C and lysine to the point that proven sufferers have actually gotten re-diagnosed as "no longer having the disease at all!" (Something that's pretty much always been ruled out as a possibility altogether! - and now which may even be against the law!)

But Pauling was laughed at and ridiculed by mainstream medicine and Big Pharma. Pauling died at the ripe old age of 94 but not from heart disease. So, if you're wise and want to find out about this protocol by Linus Pauling while it's still possible for you to do so, then just watch the following video: 


But don't be surprised if one day soon you return to find this site completely removed with a US Flag waving in its place (in the name of "freedom" no less!)

Would you like to buy the two components to this protocol? It's inexpensive and the mainstream medical people can't make gobs of money. Just visit the links below.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Surgical "Cure" for Diabetes?


Every once in a while, a scientific breakthrough alters much of what is known about a disease, and opens new avenues for research, treatment and even cure. This appears to be happening with type 2 diabetes, the chronic and relentless condition that accounts for fully 90% to 95% of the more than 240 million cases of diabetes worldwide. Long considered a disease that can only be managed with medication and lifestyle changes, a surgeon-researcher from New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Medical College of Cornell University recently found evidence that the small intestine may play a major role in the origin of type 2 diabetes and that a form of gastric bypass surgery may bring hope for remission and possibly a cure.

IS THE "MIRACLE" THE SURGERY OR THE WEIGHT LOSS?

Scientists have long suggested a link between bariatric surgery for massive weight loss and the subsequent improvement of diabetes in obese patients. Most recently, an Australian study found that adjustable gastric banding surgery caused a remission in three-quarters of obese patients two years after they underwent the procedure. In that study, the authors believed remission was due to weight loss after surgery, not the surgery itself.

Two years earlier, however, Francesco Rubino, MD, then at the European Institute of Telesurgery, Louis Pasteur University in France, had led research on another form of bariatric surgery, supporting the hypothesis that the small intestine may be the site of signals involved in insulin resistance and diabetes. Bypassing it silenced the signals, due to the lack of stimulation from nutrient passage. This study was published in the November 2006 issue of the Annals of Surgery. Dr. Rubino, now an assistant professor of surgery and chief of Gastrointestinal Metabolic Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College, says this means type 2 diabetes may be treatable with surgery. A discussion of his research conclusions and implications was published in the February 2008 issue of Diabetes Care.

HOW COULD SURGERY CURE TYPE 2 DIABETES?

It is well known that the gastrointestinal tract produces incretins, hormones that control blood sugar metabolism by regulating insulin secretion. According to Dr. Rubino, a counter-mechanism produced by the small intestine, the "anti-incretin" system, may also exist to ensure the proper balance of blood sugar in the bloodstream. When the anti-incretin system becomes dysfunctional and produces an excessive amount of anti-incretins, the result is decreased insulin secretion, reduced insulin action, and eventually the onset of type 2 diabetes. Bypass of part of the small intestine, specifically the duodenum and a fraction of the jejunum, may offset the abnormal production of these anti-incretins, thereby resulting in remission of diabetes.

In his research, Dr. Rubino explored a specific type of gastric bypass procedure, removing a short segment of the upper small intestine and leaving the stomach intact. The procedure is called duodenal-jejunal bypass (DJB). Animal studies conducted years ago by Dr. Rubino and his team demonstrated that this operation improves type 2 diabetes in both lean and obese rodents. More recent studies have shown that the DJB operation can also bring improvement or remission of type 2 diabetes in non-obese diabetic humans.

HOPE FOR A CURE

Acknowledging this research may someday lead to a cure, it's important to proceed with caution, said Dr. Rubino. "We don't yet fully understand the causes of the disease nor the long-term impact of the procedure -- so it's technically not possible to use the term cure, but this is something that looks very close to it." Gastric bypass surgery should be considered for morbidly obese patients who have diabetes, he said, since studies have widely demonstrated that over 80% of patients experience dramatic improvement of the disease after the surgery and their risk of dying from diabetes is reduced by over 90%, according to a study published last summer in the New England Journal of Medicine. He adds that mortality from the surgery is under 1%. Researchers are examining whether gastric bypass surgery might be helpful to non-morbidly obese patients with diabetes. Dr. Rubino said that preliminary data looks "extremely encouraging." However, long-term safety and efficacy have yet to be established.

But this is not a quick and easy fix. For the moment, surgical treatment of type 2 diabetes in non-obese patients remains investigational. Dr. Rubino does not believe the surgery should be offered as a standard of care, but only within carefully conducted clinical trials in centers with adequate expertise and where a multidisciplinary team is involved. Clinical trials are now starting at New York-Presbyterian-Weill Cornell as well as in other centers in the US and worldwide. Patients may be enrolled in these studies, but they have to meet the inevitably strict criteria of clinical trials.

________
Source(s):Francesco Rubino, MD, is chief of gastrointestinal metabolic surgery and an assistant professor of surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College. He is an assistant attending surgeon at New York-Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center. Dr. Rubino is heading the first academic-based Diabetes Surgery Center at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical College.