Diet Detective’s news you should use to stay healthy
Hhappy. ere are a few news items that will help keep you healthy and
Lose weight, reduce the
effects of asthma
According to researchers from The Ottawa Hospital and University of Ottawa reporting in the scientific journal, Chest, the incidence of asthma is 1.47 times higher in obese people than non-obese people. The researchers measured the following asthma issues: airway hyper-responsiveness (AHR), asthma control, and quality of life. The study reports that weight reduction helped to normalize or reverse asthma conditions in the obese.
How to use and apply: You might need a bit of help to get started on a healthy eating program. Start by reading the Diet Detective’s diet starter kit. I give it away free on Amazon.com, http ://www. amazon.com/Diet-Detectives-Starter-Kit-ebook/ dp/B00GNOE0IA and also get the Automatic Diet free on Amazon, http://www. amazon.com/The-Automatic-Diet-10-Step-Breakingebook/dp/B00F4AQ8YI/ ref=cm_cr_pr_product_ top?ie=UTF8.
True, it is not a “human” study, but still it has merit. Researchers at Ohio State University found that “skipping meals sets off a series of metabolic miscues that can result in abdominal weight gain” in mice.
In the study, which appeared in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, “mice that ate all of their food as a single meal and fasted the rest of the day developed insulin resistance in their livers which scientists consider a telltale sign of prediabetes. When the liver doesn’t respond to insulin signals telling it to stop producing glucose, that extra sugar in the blood is stored as fat.
Fat around their middles, the equivalent to human belly fat, weighed more in the restricted-diet mice than in mice that were free to nibble all day long. An excess of that kind of fat is associated with insulin resistance and risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease.”
How to use and apply: I think you get the idea that you need to eat more than one meal a day. The problem that most people have is that they lack time and are just busy. If you don’t have time to eat breakfast or lunch, try these suggestions: 20 quick lunches (http://www. dietdetective.com/weeklycolumn/20-healthier-fastlunches-you-can-eat ) and 15 quick breakfasts (http:// www.dietdetective.com/ weekly-column/diet-detectives-15-five-minute-quickand-healthy-breakfasts).
Chinese herb may help fight
obesity
An extract from the Chinese herb, thunder god vine, which has a long history of use in traditional Chinese medicine, reduces food intake and causes up to a 45 percent decrease in body weight in obese mice, according to a study from Umut Ozcan, an endocrinologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. “The weight-loss compound, called Celastrol, produces its potent effects by enhancing the action of an appetite-suppressing hormone called leptin.”
According to the researchers, obese mice treated with Celastrol ate 80 percent less food than the untreated obese mice. That’s pretty amazing. The problem is that in-depth toxicology studies and controlled clinical trials will be needed to demonstrate the compound’s safety in humans. “Celastrol is found in the roots of the thunder god vine in small amounts, but the plant’s roots and flowers have many other compounds. As a result, it could be dangerous for humans to consume thunder god vine extracts to lose weight.”
How to use and apply: I would not start taking thunder god vine to lose weight. However, according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Healthy (NCCIH): “It has been used in China for health purposes for more than 400 years. In traditional Chinese medicine, it has been used for conditions involving inflammation or over-activity of the immune system. Currently, thunder god vine is used as a traditional or folk remedy for excessive menstrual periods and autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and lupus.”
Pregnant? A little exercise can help prevent gestational
diabetes and weight gain
According to research appearing in BJOG: an International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, women who exercise during pregnancy are less likely to have gestational diabetes, and exercise also helps to reduce maternal weight gain.
“Gestational diabetes is one of the most frequent complications of pregnancy. It is associated with an increased risk of serious disorders such as preeclampsia, hypertension, preterm birth, and with induced or cesarean birth.”
Women who gain more weight than is recommended during pregnancy are also less likely to lose the excess weight after the baby is born.
How to use and apply: Exercising during pregnancy is being supported more and more by physicians and researchers. Make sure to check with your obstetrician before starting any program. See American Council on Exercise: http://goo.gl/guHC5o and here for exercises: http://goo.gl/Qv8WEk.
If you eat with healthy eaters,
you will eat healthy
If you eat with those who eat healthy, you will eat healthy, too. At least there is a better chance you will eat healthy. According to researchers at the University of New South Wales, “This psychological effect, known as social modeling, leads people to eat less than they normally would if alone when their companion consumes a small amount of food. The research shows that social factors are a powerful influence on consumption. When the companion eats very little, people suppress their food intake and eat less than they normally would if alone.”
How to use and apply: It makes sense that whom you eat with matters. Here are a few tips to conquer social eating:
• Keep track of what you’re eating when socializing.
• Eat with a plan. Have an idea of what you’re going to eat before you get in the thick of it.
• Check out menus beforehand.
• Eat before attending parties or any social gathering. Don’t go starving.
• Don’t feel obligated to eat a bunch of snacks just because someone offered them. Learn to say no with style.
Charles Platkin is a nutrition and public health advocate and founder of DietDetective.com. Copyright 2015 by Charles Platkin. Sign up for the free Diet Detective newsletter at www. DietDetective.com.