Limit Your Daily Calories and Lose Weight

Written by Tena Moore  (if this post appears on any site other than Vitaminstuff.com it has been stolen)


There are too many diets out there to even count; the Adkins diet, the Zone diet, and the Mediterranean diet are just a couple. Researchers have recently wondered if it is the diet that matters, or whether it’s simply restricting calories that really matters when it comes to weight loss. To find out the answer, researchers did a weight-loss study involving over 800 overweight adults.

During the study, the researchers assigned the participants four different anonymous diets. The key was that all diets restricted calories and involved counting carbohydrates, protein or fat. Each of the diets cut around 750 calories from the participant’s normal daily diets, but never allowed them to eat under 1,200 calories. The study also involved group and individual counseling for the participants. The study lasted two years.

They found that the participants lost, and also regained, about the same amount of weight. It hadn’t mattered so much which diet they used, only that they restricted calories. It also did not matter as much whether participants went to counseling. While it seemed that those who attended had a larger weight loss, that was not true across the board; some participants lost a lot of weight while only going to a couple counseling sessions.

In the end, the researchers decided that calorie restriction, not a particular diet, is the key to weight loss. For best results, choose whichever diet appeals to you and stick with it.






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Integrative Medicine Moving Into Mainstream

Written by Tena Moore  (if this post appears on any site other than Vitaminstuff.com it has been stolen)


No one is saying that mainstream medicine doesn’t work; it undoubtedly does, but many are saying that it is only one part of the entire picture. Our current medical system doesn’t treat the person unless they are sick, and when they are sick they are simply given medications that treat the sickness not the cause, or the person as a whole being. On the other hand, complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) have not been studied quite enough yet and without studies, your doctor is not allowed (by oath) to recommend CAM therapies. What many are suggesting is a merging of the two types of health care, called Integrative Medicine.

CAM therapies treat the entire person, not just the condition. So while your doctor may give you a pill to cut cholesterol, CAM may suggest yoga to reduce stress, a nutritionist to help with eating habits, and dietary supplements such as omega-3 fatty acids. In Integrative Medicine, CAM therapies and conventional medicine would be integrated together to not only take care of the sickness, but nurture wellness.

Many new studies are being done on CAM, and more and more hospitals are taking an integrative approach to health. It seems that the biggest issue is not integrating the two types of medicine, but getting insurers to integrate CAM into their insurance programs.




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New test for mitochondrial disease

Written by Tena Moore  (if this post appears on any site other than Vitaminstuff.com it has been stolen)


New research has found a potential way to evaluate the severity of mitochondrial diseases, and give doctors insight into if and how their treatments are working. Mitochondrial diseases are caused by genetic errors in the cell’s mitochondria that cause toxic damage to the body’s cells. There are over 20 different types of mitochondrial diseases, and this research could be paramount for the people who have them – about 1 in every 9,000 adults in the United States suffers with some form of the disease.

According to the research, this variety of disorders may be caused by a glutathione deficiency.

Glutathione is a molecule that normally helps fight toxins and repair mitochondria damage. The research showed that those with mitochondrial disease had lower blood levels of glutathione than normal. The study was comprised of 20 healthy patients and 20 patients with mitochondrial disease; those with the disease had 25 percent lower levels of glutathione in their blood. This might not only be a marker for the disease, but it also shows that the body had a decreased ability to fight free radical damage and toxins, making it more susceptible to the disease.

According to the study, not only can measuring glutathione levels help indicate the disease and the severity of it, but it can also help doctors to measure whether their treatments are working along the way.




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The Low Glycemic Diet For Diabetics

Written by Tena Moore


Diets are hard to follow, but researchers are saying to forgo the diet approach if you are a diabetic and adhere to the low glycemic approach to food. A low glycemic diet is not really a diet per say; it is a type of food and if you know what to eat you can control your blood glucose levels without trying to adhere to strict plan. If you choose a high glycemic food you do not ‘break your diet’, you just choose better in the future.

For instance, instead of having a bagel for breakfast, you could have a piece of sourdough, pumpernickel or rye toast to have a lower glycemic count. For dinner you could choose a sweet potato or al dente spaghetti over a high glycemic baked potato.

One particular study involved 11 trials with over 400 people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes; children were included in two of the studies. They found that consuming low glycemic foods could lower and control blood glucose levels.

The key is to know the glycemic index (GI) of the foods you are eating. You can find the GI of foods by researching online or talking to your doctor. Foods are numbered on a scale of 1 to 100 and foods under 55 are considered low glycemic.




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What Good Is Calling About Your Social Security Disability Claim?

Many people who apply for social security disability find that, after putting in an application, getting information back on the status of the claim can be difficult and frustrating. In this article, we'll address the question: "What Good Is Calling About Your Social Security Disability Claim?"

Once you have filed your Social Security disability claim, your claim is sent to another agency for a medical decision. The state agency, usually known as DDS, is responsible for making a determination in your case and it handles thousands of disability claims per year. Naturally, it is possible for disability claims to get lost in the shuffle. And, there are times that you have filed your initial disability claim but it remains in your local Social Security office without being transferred to the state disability agency. Or, Social Security has had a need to contact you but have been unable to reach you because of an address change or phone number change. There are many reasons that a claim may become “stuck” in the system, and a timely call from you could get the ball rolling again so to speak.

Firstly, if you have occasion to change your address or phone number you should always notify you local Social Security office or the disability examiner working on your disability claim so that if there is a need for additional information or consultative examinations, Social Security will be able to reach you.

Additionally, if a disability decision has been made and you have not received a notice, your calling to check the status of your disability claim may preserve your ability to file a timely appeal. Social Security only allows you sixty-five days to appeal a denial decision.

Also if your disability decision is an allowance but Social Security has not way to contact you to come in for an end line review of for SSI, your disability claim may be denied.

As you can see, it is important to call and check the status of your social security disability claim. You may be wondering when you should begin to check the status of your claim. Well, it generally takes anywhere from thirty to a hundred days to make an initial disability determination, so it might be wise to start checking at about thirty days after you have completed your disability application and returned any needed information.

Remember, Social Security cannot even send your disability claim to the state agency for processing if you have not returned your signed medical release forms. Once your disability claim has been sent to the state disability processing agency, you should check every couple weeks after thirty days to make sure you do not miss any decisional notices. Of course, as I stated previously make sure that Social Security has a current address and phone number for you at all times during the processing of your disability claim.

A Headache Study Shows Acupuncture May Help

Written by Tena Moore


When you have a headache you probably reach for your bottle of aspirin, most people do. This may change with time, because studies are showing that acupuncture is better for headaches. One particular study was done by researchers from Duke University and involved 4,000 adults that suffered with some form of headache: tension, chronic, and/or migraine headaches. The study found that 45 percent of the patients that took medications found relief, whereas over 60 percent of the patients receiving acupuncture without medication found relief. Also, only 45 percent of those who received ‘fake’ acupuncture improved. This involved putting needles into the wrong areas and not actual meridian points.

There are some things to think about here. The first thing to consider is that over-the-counter medications are inexpensive. It is quicker and cheaper to pop an aspirin; in just a few moments you can have relief. While this is true, some are starting to consider the fact that acupuncture is relaxing and completely natural, with no side effects. Those who care about holistic health and not taking medications are more prone to get acupuncture.

Another thing to consider is that acupuncture can help with many ailments from headache, pain, asthma, allergies, fertility, quitting smoking and a variety of other conditions. One reason to turn to acupuncture for headache is because it can help with ‘whole body healing’, not just one condition.



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