Improving your health with a serving of nuts?

Written by Tena Moore



You can definitely improve your health with a serving of nuts. Studies have shown they can help decrease risk of diabetes and heart disease, and they are chocked full of healthy vitamins and minerals. They are also fiber rich, helping to reduce cholesterol. The reason many people shy away from these nutritional powerhouses is because of their fat content. Many dismiss the notion that high-fat could be good for you, but the heart-healthy fats in nuts are the very reason they are heart-healthy. One study showed that eating an ounce of nuts a day could reduce the risk of heart disease by nearly 30 percent.

The key to nuts is portion control. Think of nuts the way you think of chocolate. Dark chocolate, in small amounts, is very healthy and high in antioxidants. It’s healthy to have an ounce or two of chocolate and some people do so every day. Nuts are the same; it’s great to have one or two ounces a day. Unfortunately, many people think of nuts more like potato chips and want to eat the whole bag. Nuts, wine, and dark chocolate are all healthy in small amounts.

Nuts, although each one is different in content, are rich in phytochemicals, fiber, vitamin E, magnesium, copper, folic acid and antioxidants; some nuts even offer Omega-3 fatty acids. If you’re worried about the fat content, lower your intake of calories or unhealthy fats to make some extra room for nuts as a nutritious snack.


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Sugars and Starches, what's the difference?

Written by Tena Moore



Believe it or not, sugars and starches aren’t that different, since they are both carbohydrates. There are many different forms of sugar. It is also referred to as glucose, fructose, lactose, sucrose, etc. Sugar is a monosaccharide, oftentimes referred to as a simple sugar, and it can be found naturally in milk and most fruits. It can also be added to foods, as I’m sure you are aware of. When you see sugar grams listed on the nutritional information of food items it includes naturally occurring and added sugars.

Starch is a polysaccharide, meaning that it is a complex carbohydrate> that consists of many different glucose units bonded together, from 300 to 1000. Starch is made of sugar. Starch is also naturally occurring in many foods, from potatoes, peas, pinto beans and corn, to oats, barley, rice, wheat, pasta, and lentils. Starch is also the most important carbohydrate for the human body and a major source of energy. Since starch is made of glucose, it breaks down into glucose (sugar) units.

Sugar is a simple carbohydrate and starch is a complex carbohydrate made of many sugars. Both sugar and starch are needed for the body to be provided the energy needed to function properly.



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Found: A Gene That Controls Fat Cells

Written by Tena Moore

Wouldn’t it be nice if scientists could find the ‘fat cell gene’ and figure out how to disable it for good? It would be better than health care reform; it would be health reform! Not only would it decrease the amount of obesity in the world, but it would also decrease the amount of depression, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and a whole host of other illnesses that are either caused by obesity, or made worse by the condition.

It may seem a little farfetched, but researchers are doing just that. A team of researchers from the University of Central Florida (UCF) have actually found a gene that is in control of fat cell creation. Until this gene was found, the medical community thought the protein known as PPAR gamma was the main regulator of fat cell formation, but now things have turned in a whole new direction.

The UCF researchers, led by Pappachan Kolattukudy, have identified a gene formerly known as a factor in heart disease, Monocyte Chemotactic Protein-1 Induced Protein, otherwise known as MCPIP, as the leading director for fat cell formation.

The researchers are currently conducting studies to find out how they can use this information to create pharmaceutical solutions that could potentially stop the functioning of MCPIP or at least slow it down, bring an end to insulin resistance in the body, and prevent obesity. Although it could be years before any developments emerge, there is hope for the more than 300 million people who are living with obesity worldwide.



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Weight Loss Surgery Eradicates Diabetes Symptoms

Written by Tena Moore

A new study, presented at the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders in Paris, has found that bariatric surgery for weight loss can also help eradicate diabetes type 2 symptoms. Bariatric surgery (aka, gastric-band operation) is a weight loss surgery where a staple or band is fitted around the upper part of the stomach to shrink the stomach and decrease appetite. Bariatric surgery can be gastric bypass.

The study was led by Professor Henry Buchwald from the Department of Surgery at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and involved a medical research review of 135,000 patients. The study proved that bariatric surgery helps to eliminate diabetes type 2 symptoms: 78 percent of the participants had a ‘complete resolution’ of their diabetes for up to two years after bariatric surgery. Eight-seven percent saw an improvement in their diabetes or a ‘complete resolution’. This makes sense to researchers, since type 2 diabetes is most often caused by obesity. Once the weight is lost and health resumes to the body, diabetes caused by obesity disappears.

Bariatric surgery is a last resort for those who cannot lose weight by other means. Patients must have a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or over and prove serious weight loss failure. Most people that have the surgery lose around 50 percent of their excess weight.

Although this seems like the perfect solution to obesity and diabetes for some, it is not for everyone. Even when patients have bariatric surgery, they must eat a healthy, balanced diet and get plenty of exercise or they can gain weight back. In addition, there are certain risks associated with surgery which must be understood beforehand.



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Can Plastic Surgery Help Migraines?

Written by Tena Moore

Plastic Surgery is growing in popularity. In fact, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) reports that Americans got over 11.5 million cosmetic procedures (surgical and nonsurgical) during 2007. Wouldn’t it be nice if something that helped improve self esteem could also help improve or erase a painful health issue such as migraines? Plastic surgeons are reporting that it can, and a study led by Bahman Guyuron, MD, of Western Reserve University, has shown their reports are true.

The study involved 75 patients, with 49 having plastic surgery and 26 receiving a sham surgery. The participants weren’t told whether they were receiving sham or true surgery. The real surgery involved cutting nerves that relaxed crow’s feet wrinkles around the eyes, and lifting the forehead to ease frown lines across the forehead.

While the surgery helped to reduce wrinkles, it also helped reduce and eliminate migraines. One year after the study 57 percent of the patients who received the real surgery reported migraine elimination; only 4 percent of the sham group reported elimination. Eight-three percent of the real surgery group also reported a 50 percent decrease in migraines; only 57 percent of the sham group reported a 50 percent reduction.

Many doctors are already using Botox to help migraines with much success, even though the procedure is not approved for migraine treatment. Perhaps studies like these will help Botox and surgical procedures gain approval. Many doctors are reporting a 70 percent response rate, and many patients are quite enthusiastic about the results.





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Are Fish Toxins Linked to Diabetes?

Written by Tena Moore

A new study focused on boat captains fishing in the Great Lakes area found a link between DDE and diabetes. DDE is a fat soluble breakdown product of the toxic, synthetic pesticide DDT. DDE hardly ever gets excreted from the body, except through breast milk during nursing. For this reason, it tends to build up in the fat and liver of the body throughout life. Now it may be more than a toxin; it may be a diabetic concern.

The study found that Great Lakes fishermen were more likely to develop diabetes than the general population, and that they also had higher amounts of DDE in their blood. The results were published in Environmental Health Perspectives. The study was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

Why the Great Lakes area? DDT was used for farming in the area before it was banned in the U.S. over 37 years ago. It remains a toxin in the Great Lakes region. Since boat captains tend to eat more fish than other fishermen, they were the best fisherman to test. The boat captains used for the study had been fishing in the area for a minimum of 15 years.

The researchers aren’t sure what the link is between DDE and diabetes, but they are suggesting that people get a wide variety of fish types, from a wide variety of water sources in their diet. Since eating fish is a healthy dietary choice, the researchers do not want to discourage people from eating fish altogether, but simply make them aware that eating too much from the same water source is not the best idea.





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Diets that promise you will lose weight

Written by Tena Moore


There are countless diets out there claiming that you will lose weight if you buy their products and use them as specified. There’s usually a diet ‘du jour’ as well; a new diet making a splash with their claims of weight loss. Right now that diet in the acai berry diet, and before that it was a green tea diet. Rachel Ray has a diet and Dr. Atkins had a diet. All diets promise you’ll lose weight, but with obesity at an all time high it’s hard to believe those promises.

It is true that some people lose weight, and even large amounts of weight, on some diets. Some people keep the weight off and some gain it back. Other people fail at the same diet and some people have great success with certain diets.

All in all, it appears that most people can lose weight if they follow any diet that restricts calories. Add exercise into the equation and success is boosted.

The issue with most diets is not whether they work, but whether the person on the diet can stay away from fried foods, junk foods, fast foods, and highly-processed foods.

It’s challenging for many to cut out sodas and cut back on sugary coffees and alcoholic beverages. In the end, it’s less about whether the diet can help you lose weight, and more about whether you can eat less and move more.


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Is there a safe way to lose a lot of weight?

Written by Tena Moore


Losing weight can be a very safe, and a very healthy endeavor; it all depends upon your method. If you need to lose weight for your health, there are healthy and safe ways to take the weight off successfully. The safest and most effective ways to lose weight are extremely simple and there is nothing ‘unsafe’ about them: Eat Less, Move More.

Eat Less. Find out how many calories you normally eat a day, and then cut them. Never go under 1,200 calories per day; it is not safe. You need a certain amount of calories per day to have energy, think clearly, and keep your body agile and your mind sharp. Don’t starve yourself, but do cut your calories. Studies have shown that cutting calories can not only help you lose weight, but can also help you to live longer. Talk with your doctor or a nutritionist to find out what a safe calorie range is for you.

Move More. Incorporate movement into your daily schedule. Take the stairs. Walk around the block. Do some sit ups. Take a yoga class three times a week. Exercising is safe and healthy and not only will it help you lose weight, but it will also keep your body and mind healthier for the long-term.


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