Thinz and Eatless, are not available without a doctor's prescription anymore

The department of health adjusted the scheduling of some medication containing ephedrine, pseudo ephedrine and d-nor-pseudo ephedrine. Over-the-counter appetite suppressants with d-nor-pseudo ephedrine used to be schedule 2 medication, but since last month they have been changed to schedule 6 medication.



"It's about the safety of the public," Mandisa Hela from the South African Medicine Control Council (MCC) told Die Burger.

Criminals use ephedrine products to make the drug Tik, and teenagers abuse appetite suppressants by using them as stimulants when they go to parties or to stay awake when studying into the early hours of the morning. Pseudo ephedrine products were rescheduled overseas years ago.

Source: Health 24

Women who are obese are at a significantly increased risk of developing Barrett's oesophagus

Women who are obese are at a significantly increased risk of developing Barrett's oesophagus, researchers reported here at Digestive Diseases Week 2008 (DDW).
Dr. Jacobson and colleague Charles S. Fuchs, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, analysed data on 18,428 women participating in the Nurses' Health Study, a large prospective cohort study ongoing since 1976.

All the women had undergone oesophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD); at the same time, they were each asked if they had been diagnosed with Barrett's oesophagus and about the presence and frequency of heartburn/acid-reflux symptoms.

The investigators obtained and reviewed endoscopy and pathology records from the women reporting Barrett's oesophagus, and they used data from oesophageal biopsy to identify cases with specialised intestinal metaplasia (SIM).

The researchers excluded women reporting Barrett's oesophagus who did not have documented SIM and women with a history of cancer before 1980.

The researchers categorised the women by their BMI in 1980 (<25,>30 kg/m2), and they used standard statistical models to calculate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the risk of Barrett's oesophagus. They adjusted their calculations for age and potential confounding variables as reported in 1980, including physical activity, smoking, menopause status, postmenopausal hormone use, diabetes, and intake of calories, alcohol, coffee, tea, soda, and chocolate.

The investigators reported that, among 18,428 women who underwent EGD, 763 reported having Barrett's oesophagus, and 255 were confirmed to have SIM diagnosed after 1980.

They found that the mean Barrett's oesophagus segment length was 1.7 cm.

Compared with women with a BMI <25,>30 had an OR of 1.62 (95% CI, 1.08-2.42).

Notably, a history of frequent reflux symptoms was significantly associated with Barrett's oesophagus (multivariate OR = 2.79; 95% CI, 1.96-3.97).

When the investigators added symptoms of gastro-oesophageal reflux to the multivariate model, the relation between BMI and Barrett's oesophagus was markedly reduced (OR = 1.22; 95% CI, 0.72-2.08 for women with BMI >30).

The researchers found that height, waist-to-hip ratio, and waist circumference were not significantly associated with Barrett's oesophagus.

The authors concluded, "Obesity (BMI >30 kg/m2) is associated with a significant increase in the risk of Barrett's oesophagus. This risk appears to be mediated through gastro-oesophageal reflux."

Source: Digestive Diseases Week

Anti-obesity drug taranabant demonstrated significant weight loss

Results of a phase 3 study on the experimental anti-obesity drug taranabant demonstrated significant weight loss with relatively few treatment discontinuations, according to a presentation here at the 16th European Congress on Obesity (ECO). Taranabant, however, carries an appreciable risk of adverse psychiatric and gastrointestinal side effects depending on dosage.

The randomised study of 2,502 obese patients, presented on May 16, took place over 52weeks, noted Joseph Proietto, MD, Sir Edward Dunlop Chair of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia.

Part of the cohort received placebo, he explained, while the others received taranabant in doses of 2, 4, or 6 mg.

Early in the trial, Dr. Proietto and colleagues re-randomised the subjects, taking those who had received 6 mg of taranabant to 2 mg or placebo after it was observed that the patients had a higher incidence of adverse psychiatric and gastrointestinal effects without obtaining significantly greater benefit.

The patients in the placebo arm achieved an average weight loss of 2.6 kg. The patients in the 2-mg arm achieved an average weight loss of 6.6 kg. The patients in the 4-mg arm achieved an average weight loss of 8.1 kg.

Approximately 57% of the patients in the 2-mg group achieved a minimum weight loss of 5%, compared with approximately 27% of patients in the placebo group.

There were other positive effects as well. Waist circumferences, for example, shrank an average of 3.1% in the patients receiving placebo, 7% in those receiving 2-mg taranabant and 7.5% in those receiving 4 mg. High-density lipoproteins (commonly known as "good cholesterol") increased, too -- by an average of 7% in the patients receiving placebo, 13.2% in those receiving 2-mg taranabant, and 14.1% in those receiving 4 mg.

At the same time, high proportions of patients suffered adverse effects. In patients who received placebo, 28.5% had gastrointestinal problems, compared with 41.8% in patients who received 2-mg taranabant, and 46.7% in patients who received 4 mg. The gastrointestinal problems included nausea and diarrhoea.

Similarly, 20.4% of patients who received placebo encountered psychiatric problems, compared with 28.3% who received 2-mg taranabant and 40.2% who received 4 mg. The psychiatric problems included depression, anxiety, and irritability.

Nevertheless, there were relatively few discontinuations of the treatment due to the adverse gastrointestinal and psychiatric effects. Discontinuations due to adverse gastrointestinal effects were 0.7 % in the placebo arm, 1.7% in the 2-mg arm, and 2.7% in the 4-mg arm. Discontinuations due to adverse psychiatric effects were 4.6% in the placebo arm, 8.9% in the 2-mg arm, and 12.5% in the 4-mg arm.

"In combination with diet and exercise, treatment with 2 mg of taranabant was generally well tolerated and led to meaningful weight loss and improvements in obese and overweight patients," Dr. Proietto concluded.

Taranabant is known as a cannabinoid-1 receptor (CB1R) blocker.

Source: Doctor's Guide

The typical woman will go on two diets every year

With each one lasting an average of five weeks. That adds up to 104 diets between the ages of 18 and 70, in total lasting the equivalent of ten years. One in ten women goes even further, spending 25 years or more dieting. The poll of 4,000 women by LIPObind, a firm which makes natural weight-loss supplements, found a third started their first diet at the age of 16 or under.
Thirty-nine per cent said they tried to lose weight because they were embarrassed about their looks.

However, 32 per cent were concerned they will be responsible for making their own children fat or obese.
With each diet seeing an average of 6.3lbs dropping off, that means women could lose almost a stone every year.

However, a quarter of all women lose nothing at all, and the fact that the average woman embarks on at least two diets every year suggests any weight they do lose does not stay off.

Dr Glenn Wilson, of the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College, London, said: ‘This highlights just how much women think about their weight and the pressure associated with keeping in shape.’
"Women's weight is bound to fluctuate due to life changing events such as having a baby, emotional factors associated with relationships and changes in their working environment. "These changes and yo-yo dieting seems often to go hand in hand.

"Feeling healthy and in shape can make such a difference to overall well-being yet many people struggle to reach and sustain their ideal figure with a shocking 25 per cent who would even be willing to go under the knife to get rid of their extra pounds."

The survey also showed that more than 41 per cent of women admitted they feel like they are constantly on a diet or watching what they eat, 44 per cent say that no matter what they do, they never seem to lose weight, and 59 per cent don't think they will ever achieve the shape they want.

According to the research, the average woman aspires to be a size 10, however a quarter believe being a size eight or under as ideal. Thirty nine per cent of people have been so embarrassed by their looks, they have lied about their dress size or weight.

And 77 per cent of people would support a ban on airbrushing pictures of celebrities and models in a bid to take the pressure of normal women. Another 39 per cent even get shy when they come to stripping off in front of their partner.

However, it's not just our own weight we are worrying about. A total of 32 per cent of women are concerned that they will be responsible for making their own children fat or even obese.

Source: DailyMail

Tesofensine helps patients with obesity to lose weight

The experimental anti-obesity drug tesofensine not only helps patients with obesity to lose weight, but also helps them to lose the right kind of weight and in the right places, researchers reported here at the 16th European Congress on Obesity (ECO). Danish researchers studied the effects of tesofensine on body composition, including body weight, fat mass, waist circumference, and sagittal diameter (a measure of the upper abdomen).

The team was led by Anders Sjodin, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Human Nutrition, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

The study, presented on May 16, was a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2b trial of 203 otherwise healthy men and women with obesity (defined as body mass index between 30 and 40).

After a diet and exercise lead-in period of 2 weeks, the patients were put on 24 weeks of tesofensine in once-daily doses of 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1.0 mg, or corresponding placebo.

Body weight loss was 2.3 kg for the placebo group, 6.8 kg for the 0.25-mg group, 11.4 kg for the 0.50-mg group, and 12.7 kg for the 1.0-mg group.

Sagittal diameter decreased 0.6 cm in the placebo group, 2.1 cm in the 0.25-mg group, 3.3 cm in the 0.5-mg group, and 3.5 cm in the 1.0-mg group.

Waist circumference decreased 3.0 cm in the placebo group, 6.4 cm in the 0.25-mg group, 9.8 cm in the 0.5-mg group, and 9.8 cm in the 1.0-mg group.

Of particular importance to the research were the measurements for reduction in fat mass. Fat mass decreased 2.8 kg in the placebo group, 5.7 kg in the 0.25-mg group, 9.2 kg in the 0.5-mg group, and 10.1 kg in the 1.0-mg group. The reductions accounted for 108% of total weight loss in the placebo group, 85% in the 0.25-mg group, 81% in the 0.5-mg group, and 79% in the 1.0-mg group.

"Eighty percent [of the weight reduction] could be accounted for by a reduction in fat mass," said Dr. Sjodin.

"The concomitant decrease seen in sagittal diameter and waist circumference, therefore indicates that tenofensine is highly effective in reducing central obesity," Dr. Sjodin concluded.

Dr. Sjodin and his collaborators also claimed that tesofensine was shown to result in weight reductions that are twice that produced by currently available anti-obesity drugs.

Tesofensine acts by inhibiting the presynaptic uptake of the neurotransmitters noradrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin.

Source: Docguide.com

Probiotics helps you to lose more weight after gastric bypass surgery

In a study conducted at Stanford University, obese patients who took probiotics after undergoing gastric bypass surgery lost more weight than patients who had the surgery but did not take the supplements. These findings were presented Tuesday during Digestive Disease Week 2008 by Dr. John M. Morton, during a session on the management of patients with obesity.


"We have better treatments for crack cocaine addiction than we do for obesity," Dr. Morton asserted, "but there has been a real revolution with bariatric (obesity) surgery. It provides strikingly durable weight loss...As a result, blood pressures will normalize...We have seen diabetes cure rates of 82 percent, and this can occur within weeks of surgery."

According to the World Health Organization: "probiotics are live microorganisms which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit." Most probiotics are bacteria similar to the type normally found the people's guts, the "good" bacteria, which helps maintain a balance in the digestive tract and may confer natural protection against disease. The most common probiotics taken as supplements are Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium.

The trial involved 44 patients who underwent gastric bypass surgery and were randomly assigned to receive either 2.4 billion lactobacilli daily or no probiotic therapy for the next 6 months. Quality of life, hydrogen (H2) breath tests, vitamin B12 levels and weight were measured before surgery and at 3 and 6 months afterward.

At six months, the probiotic group had lower H2 breath tests, lower fasting insulin, lipoprotein A and triglyceride levels, and higher HDL cholesterol levels compared with the placebo group, although the differences were not statistically significant.

There was, however, a significantly greater improvement in quality of life in patients taking probiotics compared with those taking placebo.

"What was surprising was that probiotic patients lost more weight after surgery," Morton told Reuters Health. The study group lost 70 percent of their excess weight after 6 months compared with a loss of 66 percent of excess weight in controls.

He added, "This suggests that the cause of the weight increase may be bacterial...and may help explain the observation that fat people have fat friends...Some of it may be environmental and related to social factors, but it may also be related to high bacteria levels in some way."

"We know that probiotics have to be live cultures and you have to (ingest) a minimum of two billion colonies a day," Morton said. "We don't know exactly which probiotic organisms are best and how much to recommended...The populations vary. They are different in the gut flora in different patient types."

At the very least, probiotics are safe, Morton said. "There doesn't seem to be any downside to taking them," he added.

Source: Yahoo news

A high protein, low carbohydrate diet is most effective

A high protein, low carbohydrate diet is most effective at reducing hunger and promoting weight loss, at least in the short term. Healthy, obese men were given two different diets during their stay in the Rowett’s specialised Human Nutrition Unit. Both diets had a high protein content (30% of total energy value of the diet) but they differed in the amount of carbohydrate: One diet was low in carbohydrate (4%) and the other contained a moderate amount of carbohydrate (35% total energy value).

“Our volunteers found both diets to be equally palatable, but they felt less hungry on the high-protein low-carbohydrate diet compared with the diet which contained high-protein but moderate amounts of carbohydrate,” said Dr Alex Johnstone, the Rowett’s weight-loss expert who led the study.

“Weight loss during the two four week study periods was greater on the high-protein low-carbohydrate diet, averaging 6.3 kg per person, compared with 4.3 kg on the moderate carbohydrate diet,” said Dr Johnstone.

An important part of this study was to unravel the physiological mechanisms behind this type of diet. It is known that when people eat low carbohydrate diets, within a relatively short time their body has to switch from using glucose as a fuel to using something different called ketone bodies. Ketone bodies are appetite-suppressing and they may have an effect on the appetite centres in the brain. It’s also well known that protein itself is very good at making people feel full-up.

“In this study, we showed that on the high-protein low-carbohydrate diet the volunteers became ketogenic within 1-2 days of starting this diet and so it may be that high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets are particularly effective because of the combined effect of the protein and the ketone bodies,” said Dr Johnstone.

“We showed that the volunteers on the ketogenic diet reduced their energy intake without increasing their hunger and this was a very important factor in their ability to stick to the diet.”

Dr Johnstone sounds a note of caution about her findings: “A paper published last year from the same study showed that low carbohydrate diets may have consequences for the health of the gut by dramatically reducing the numbers of particular types of bacteria. So we will be looking in more detail at the complex way in which we respond to changes in our diet before we can say whether low-carbohydrate ketogenic diets are a suitable tool for everyone who wants to lose weight.”

When the phase of the study which involved the volunteers finished in October 2004, it attracted considerable interest because of its celebrity volunteer, Cameron Stout, who lost just over 12 kg during his nine week stay at the Rowett Institute. At the time, Cameron mentioned his surprise at not feeling hungry during the study and said he had adjusted to eating smaller portions.

Source: ScienceDaily

REALIZE Band technology latest FDA-approved surgical device for weight-loss surgery

Cabell Huntington Hospital has introduced the latest FDA-approved surgical device for weight-loss surgery for patients who are morbidly obese. REALIZE Band technology is ideal for many patients who are between 75 and 100 pounds overweight, according to Dr. Blaine Nease, director for the Cabell Huntington Hospital Center for Surgical Weight Control.


Nease said the REALIZE Band can be put into place easier, meaning patients are under anesthesia for less time. The procedure is minimally invasive, so only four small incisions are used and patients usually have a shorter recovery time. In a majority of the cases, patients are able to go home the same day as their surgery.

Because the procedure is so much simpler, patients receiving the REALIZE Band may experience fewer side effects than those associated with other surgical weight-loss procedures.

Patients are also able to keep up with their post-surgery progress using a customized program that comes along with the REALIZE Band. The program features online resources like individual nutrition plans, fitness plans and discussion boards to help maintain healthy post-surgery lifestyles.

Source: The Ironton Tribune

Baby bottles or plastic food wraps may lead to obesity

Early exposure to chemicals used in the making of products such as baby bottles or plastic food wraps may lead to obesity, according to new research presented Wednesday. Three separate studies presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Geneva found that mice which were exposed during early development to chemicals used in products such as plastic food containers or even boat paint tended to become fat later in life.

The findings could change how obesity is viewed and dealt with, according to an expert on the subject. Jerry Heindel from the United States National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences said: "If these findings are proven to be true in humans, then the focus must change from losing weight as adults to prevention of weight gain during development, through reducing the exposure to such substances."

In one study, female mice whose mothers were exposed to bisphenol A -- commonly used in plastic good containers and bottles -- were found to grow up into fat mice.

Food intake and activity levels were no different between the mice who became fat and those that did not, according to the study by Beverly Rubin from the US Tufts University.

Another study found that pregnant mice which were exposed to the chemical perfluorooctanoic acid -- used as a greaseproofing agent in products such as microwave popcorn bags -- had mice which were unusually small at birth but then became overweight as adults.

Suzanne Fenton from the US Environmental Protection Agency, who conducted the research, pointed out that the effect is only seen when low doses are applied.

This indicates that different doses may "trigger health problems in the body by various mechanisms or that the high doses cause more serious problems, and potentially mask the abnormal weight gain", she said.

A third study found that when pregnant mice were treated with doses of tributylin that is comparable to that found in humans, a genetic programme would be triggered in their offspring, causing them to become fat as adults.

Tributylin is a chemical used in plastic food wrap and as a fungicide.

"Developmental exposure is probably more serious than adult exposure because the data with other such exposures suggest that the pro-obesity reprogramming is irreversible, which means you will spend your life fighting weight gain," said Bruce Blumberg from the University of California at Irvine who conducted the research.

Source: Yahoo News

Heavy adults have higher rates of psychiatric disorders.

Using data from a national health survey of more than 40,000 Americans, researchers found that obese adults were up to twice as likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions as normal-weight adults. In addition, even moderately overweight people had elevated rates of anxiety disorders, the study found.


Whether excess pounds somehow lead to mental health problems is not clear, according to the researchers. But the findings do indicate that a range of psychiatric disorders are more common among overweight people.

They also suggest that briefly screening obese patients for such conditions could be useful, lead researcher Dr. Nancy M. Petry told Reuters Health.

She and her colleagues at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington report their study findings in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.

The findings are based on a government study of 41,654 U.S. adults who were assessed for recent and lifetime psychiatric disorders.

In general, Petry's team found, obese adults had higher risks of major and milder depression, anxiety disorders like panic disorder and phobias, and "manic" episodes. They also showed higher rates of alcohol abuse and personality disorders, such as obsessive-compulsive behavior and paranoid personality disorder.

Among adults who were moderately overweight, rates of anxiety disorders were higher than those of normal-weight men and women.

The researchers could not fully investigate the reasons for all of these links, but use of psychiatric drugs -- which can cause weight gain -- did not explain the findings. They say behavioral, biological or genetic factors could all plausibly play a role in the relationship between weight and mental health.

For example, Petry explained, the links between weight and certain psychiatric disorders could point to a general "behavioral dysregulation," where people deal with stress by overeating, as well as doing other things in excess.

Eating can also become in a "conditioned reinforcer" in some people, she said. This means that if a person habitually turns to food in response to anxiety, then eventually even minor stress may spur overeating.

Source: MedlinePlus

Weight loss surgery

Weight loss surgery is a usually perceived as a surgical procedure that decreases the size of your fat around the body, thus this enables you to lose a significant amount of weight. It is a permanent procedure, which requires a lifetime’s commitment to maintain a healthy lifestyle.



Weight loss surgery not only helps you to lose weight, but also helps you to improve your overall health, well-being and self-esteem. Weight loss surgery, in certain instances, limits the amount of food you consume. Many people, who have undergone the surgery, lose weight quickly. If you follow a proper diet and exercise, you can keep most of the weight off.

After weight loss surgery, usually a person can resume a normal life with zest and challenges. You tend to notice significant change in the amount of food you will be able to eat. Weight loss surgeries reduce stomach capacity to a few ounces. Initially, you may have less energy for daily activities.

Types of Obesity Surgery:
Liposuction is a renowned type of weight loss surgery. It is a type of cosmetic surgery to remove fat from several different parts of the human body. Liposuction is carried on many parts as such neck, thighs, buttocks, abdomen, arms, and elsewhere.

In liposuction, a cannula (a vacant tube) and aspirator (a suction device) eliminates the fat. It is not a low-effort alternative for dieting and exercise. The amount of fat removed from the body varies by the method, patient, and doctor, but is usually less than 10 pounds (5 kg).

Another kind of surgery that is well renowned is gastric bypass surgery is the most widely practiced type of weight loss surgery. During the gastric bypass surgery, the weight loss surgeon staples the smaller and upper part of the stomach separating it from the rest of the stomach. The net result is minimized food consuming capacity.

The recovery time varies from person to person, but many people return to normal activities within few weeks of the surgery.

Although, the results of weight loss surgery can be drastic, there are some potential risks and complications:

1. The primary threat is allergic reaction, such as rash to sudden overwhelming reactions that may even cause death.
2. Bleeding
3. Blood Clots
4. Infection
5. Indigestion
6. Bowel obstruction
7. Loss of Bodily Function

Some weight loss programs offer better dietary and motivational support from others and may be considered as weight reduction options before opting for surgical option.

Losing weight may help resolve erectile dysfunction in obese men

According to research presented at the 103rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA). Morbid obesity can cause sexual dysfunction independent of other common confounders, including diabetes, hypertension and smoking. In this study from researchers in Boston and Philadelphia, sexual function was normalized in some men who underwent gastric bypass surgery for weight loss. Researchers will present data to reporters during a special press conference on May 19, 2008 at 10:30 a.m.


This study shows that weight loss and other risk factors which are alleviated by weight loss may be keys to restoring sexual function," said Anthony Y. Smith, M.D. These results give men another reason to improve their health by losing weight."

In this study, 95 patients undergoing gastric bypass surgery for weight loss completed the Brief Sexual Inventory (BSI) pre- and post-operatively. On average, BSI scores improved in all categories, including sexual drive, erectile function, ejaculatory function, problem assessment and sexual satisfaction. The amount of weight lost predicted the degree of improvement in all areas of the survey. Results were then compared to data from the Olmstead County Study of Urinary Health Status Survey, a community-based prospective study often used as a baseline for study comparison. After an average of 67 percent weight loss post-bypass, BSI scores were comparable to patients in the Olmstead Study.

Gastric bypass surgery, a procedure that reduces the body's caloric intake, can be used to induce significant weight loss in the obese. Calorie reduction is accomplished by making the stomach smaller and bypassing part of the stomach and small intestines so that fewer calories are absorbed. The patient feels full faster and learns to reduce the amount of food that he/she eats.

Source: Medical News Today

Can the cabbage soup diet helps you to lose weight?

The cabbage soup diet is a short-term weight loss diet rich in fiber and low in fatty substances. It helps to lose your body weight rapidly. The main emphasis of this diet is simply plain cabbage soup. Dieticians recommend that the more you stick to this diet, the greater will be see a reduction of weight in your body. The cabbage soup diet is a seven-day diet plan, aimed to achieve rapid weight loss. On each of these seven days, you can taste a new nutritious food along with the soup. Unlike other dieting plans, the cabbage soup diet is not a long run weight loss resolution.

However, you can witness the effectiveness of the diet within a short period of its commencement. This diet offers quick weight loss and at the same time, it lacks nutrition, variety and flavor. During the 7 day diet plan, you mostly will have soups of onion, cabbage, celery, tomatoes, mushrooms and carrots. Dieticians say that most people gain weight due to the dramatic intake of calorie food. This diet plan avoids the consumption of high calorie food and helps you to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Cabbage Soup diet is extremely easy and economical diet. You are able to enjoy having as much as soup you desire during these seven days, to avoid gaining extra weight. Avoid continuing the diet plan for more than seven days or else you may lose essential minerals and vitamins from your body.

Cabbage Soup Diet - 7 Day Diet Plan:

The one week diet plan of cabbage soup diet involves:
• Day-1: All you can have is soup and fruits (avoid bananas). Drink plenty of cranberry juice, water, and sugarless tea.

• Day-2: Take all the vegetables and soup that you desire (avoid peas, corn and beans). Consume a buttered grilled potato at dinner. Avoid taking fruit.

• Day-3: Consume all the fruits, vegetables and soups you desire and nothing else.

• Day-4: Consume soup, not more than 8 bananas and have skim milk.

• Day-5: Have not less than one cup of soup. You can have 10 to 20 oz. of skinless beef or chicken and not more than 6 tomatoes. Drink plenty of water.

• Day-6: Have sufficient vegetables and skinless beef. At the sixth day, you can go ahead with the animal protein. Be sure to add vegetables and salad and avoid mainly carbs. Do not fry the meats and potatoes.

• Day 7: Consume at least one cup of soup. Eat only brown rice, sugarless fruit juice and vegetables.

Top 10 Diets, Atkins, Sout Beach, Cabbage Soup Diet

Atkins Diet
The Atkins diet is the most admired of the top 10 diets. This low-carbohydrate diet encourages the elimination of carbohydrates from your diet. The diet really works and you can munch as much as fats and proteins you want. However, before starting this diet, study a bit to know the suitability of this diet for your body.

South Beach Diet
This diet is one of the most successful of the top 10 diets to lose weight. It is not a low-fat or low-carb diet. Instead, it focuses on consuming the correct amount of fats and carbs. The diet depends on the glycemic index. It limits the intake of carbs in the initial two weeks and then re-introduces those carbs with a low glycemic index. You need to eat three healthy meals daily, along with some snacks, provided they are healthy enough.

Cabbage Soup Diet
It is also one of the effective of the top 10 diets. The diet contains insignificant amount of calories. You will observe instant weight loss, if you stick to cabbage soup diet for a week. The more soup you consume, more pounds you drop.

Grapefruit Diet
This is the finest weight loss diet for obese people. The advantages of this diet arrive from the addition of grapefruit to a low-calorie and low-fat diet.

SlimFast Diet
This is also one of the superior of the top 10 diets. The diet restores your breakfast and lunch meals, with two SlimFast shakes, and puts ahead for a usual meal for dinner. These low calorie shakes will help you to lose weight.

Other Superior Diets:

Subway Diet
It is also a well-known diet of the top 10 diets. The low fat content in the Subway sandwiches assist you to lose weight.

The Beverly Hills Diet
This diet reaps the benefits of the natural chemical reaction of foods when consumed to lose weight. The diet is quite strict, as protein needs to go with proteins and carbohydrates with carbohydrates only. The diet is exceptionally restrictive, but motivates rapid weight loss.

3-Day Diet
This is also one of best of top 10 diets. The diet can be ideal to lose weight, if you can follow a three-day meal plan without wandering from it.

Apple Cider Vinegar Diet
This is one of the sensitive diets of the top 10 diets. Hence, you need to follow it carefully. It is a low-calorie diet, which stimulates quick weight loss.

Negative Calorie Diet
This is one of the ultimate types of diet among the top 10 diets to reduce weight. It includes addition of healthy vegetables to your diet as much as possible.

Water plays an important role in you lose weight

Many people are very skeptical of the suggestion that water can play very effective role in helping them achieve weight loss. Very few people realize that a large proportion of our body is water. Naturally it plays a very important part in our existence. 75% of the lean muscle tissues are water, over 80% of blood is water, body fat and bones account for over 20% of water each. Is it surprising then that water plays a very important role in how our bodies function?

Proactol, clinically proven fat binder with the backing of 4 clinical studies

Of course, drinking water alone is not going to help you lose weight. If you desire to lose weight in a gradual but sure way, eating right and drinking right are the two major components of the natural weight loss method.

Remember that “bad” fats are the main culprits causing excess weight – eat “good fats” that provide essential fatty acids; eat Salmon, Mackerel, Herrings, and Sardines. They help regulate blood pressure, prevent blood clotting and lower risk of heart failure.

Good proteins help you in suppressing cravings for food. They are essential in building muscles. Low fat milk products such as skimmed milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, and fish are “good“ proteins.

Carbohydrates such as beans, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains are consumed by the body slowly and hence they are natural hunger-suppressants; they are also moderate on fats and calories.

Eat adequate fiber food. Good fiber foods do not contribute much of calories and they are filling. They thus help in suppressing hunger. Moreover fiber does not get digested by the body and while passing through the body it attaches to some of the fats and proteins that we eat; thus they are taken out of the system without being digested! Apples, figs, broccoli, strawberries, brown rice, beans, bran and nuts are good fiber foods.

Water plays two important roles in helping you lose weight. Cravings for food are felt when the body dehydrates; if water is consumed in reasonable and adequate measure it suppresses hunger pangs. Liver provides stored fats for energy; water helps metabolism allowing kidneys to flush out waste. Many people will find it surprising that drinking cold water can burn the extra fat in the body; if you drink ice cold water it uses over 60 calories a day from the body – thus the body has to burn over 420 calories a week to raise the temperature of the ice cold water to the body temperature. What a way to beat that excess fat!

As we see here water plays an important role in you lose weight; it is a natural appetite suppressant, it helps in dieting and generally a major component in natural weight loss practice.

Losing weight is possible

Generally people confuse weight loss with fat loss from the body. This is a serious misunderstanding. Well-being of a person depends on a certain amount of fat in the body. Fat is emergency storage of energy in your body. Indiscriminate fat loss from the body can be dangerous. Clinically men are considered obese if their body fat level is over 25% and women are considered obese if their body fat level is over 30%; by this reckoning about 60%of population can be categorized as being obese.

A program for fat loss basically has two components; first, cutting down consumption of excess calories which cause a build up of fat in the body and secondly gradually burning off the excess fat the body has acquired in the past. Cutting down on intake of excess calories is a matter of observing healthy diet in a disciplined manner; burning off excess fat from the body is generally done by suitable exercises and it can be supplemented by some dietary practices. Some fat burner preparations are available on the market, but it is advisable to avoid them as far as possible.

Any program for fat loss must incorporate appropriate routine of exercises. Exercising you will undertake is not for building a six-pack body but to help burn the stored fat and at the same time maintain your health. Aerobic exercises and jogging are the barest minimum that you must include in your routines. Exercises increase the rate of metabolism which helps burn off the fat; muscles burn more calories than fat.

Healthy dietary practice would require consumption of appropriate amount of “good” proteins, “good” carbohydrates, and “good” fats. I have used the word “good” deliberately, to be able to clear certain notions people have regarding desirability of certain components of diet.

As I mentioned earlier, exercises are essential for general well-being and also for burning calories. Protein is essential in building muscles. Low fat milk products such as skimmed milk, cottage cheese, yogurt as well as fish are rich in proteins but are low on fat. So they are good proteins.

Similarly carbohydrates are essential for the body as source of energy. Beans, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains not only supply carbohydrates to the body but they are natural hunger-suppressants because body can consume them slowly. They are also moderate on calories and fats.

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Contrary to popular belief certain fatty foods are very helpful to the body. Fatty acids the body can get from eating fish such as Salmon, Mackerel, Sardines and Herrings help regulate blood pressure, they can lower risk of heart failures, and they prevent blood clotting.

Fiber foods hardly contribute any calories, and they are filling. They are natural hunger suppressants. Moreover they are not digested by the body and while passing through the body undigested they help in carrying away some fats and proteins. Apples, beans, broccoli, brown rice, nuts and bran are good fiber foods. Eat adequate fiber food.

While trying to lose fat from the body, drink plenty of water - especially ice cold water. Water is a natural appetite suppressant and it is essential in the process of burning up the stored fat. It helps natural weight loss.

You will see it is possible to achieve fat loss if realistic practical steps are taken.

What happens to people who are thin until adulthood and then gain a lot of weight?

Every year, whether you are fat or thin, whether you lose weight or gain, 10 percent of your fat cells die. And every year, those cells that die are replaced with new fat cells. The result is that the total number of fat cells in the body remains the same, year after year throughout adulthood. Losing or gaining weight affects only the amount of fat stored in the cells, not the number of cells.


Obesity investigators say the study raises tantalizing questions: What determines how many fat cells are in a person’s body? When is that number determined? Is there a way to intervene so people end up with fewer fat cells when they reach adulthood? And could“This is a new way of looking at obesity,” said Dr. Lester Salans, an obesity researcher and emeritus professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.

But for now, researchers say, they do not have a clue about how to answer those questions.

“There is a system waiting to be discovered,” said Dr. Jeffrey S. Flier, an obesity researcher and dean of Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Flier and other obesity researchers cautioned, though, that even if scientists knew how the fat cell system worked, it was not clear that it would be safe or effective to treat obesity by intervening. One of the hard lessons of the past couple of decades has been that the body has redundant controls to maintain weight.

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“I suspect that the body’s regulation of weight is so complex that if you intervene at this site, something else is going to happen to neutralize this intervention,” Dr. Salans said.

But the discovery is also leading to new ways to address other questions about obesity. For example, what happens to people who are thin until adulthood and then gain a lot of weight? The study focused on people who had been fat since childhood, the usual route for adult obesity. The situation may be different for people who got fat later. They may actually grow new fat cells — the ones they had may have become so stuffed with fat that they could hold no more.

Another question is whether fat cells removed with liposuction grow back.

Both questions are now under investigation by the Swedish researchers.

In a way, Dr. Flier noted, the discovery is a sort of back-to-the-future moment. There was a time a few decades ago, before the current interest in how the brain regulates how much is eaten, when obesity researchers spent all their time studying and discussing fat cells. Investigators discovered that fat people had more fat cells than thin people and that fat cells shrank with weight loss and bulged with weight gain.

Dr. Jules Hirsch of Rockefeller University in New York, who did many of the initial studies with humans, said he started because he could not understand why people who lost weight regained. “They should have been cured,” Dr. Hirsch said. After all, he said, if you cut out a fatty tumor, the fat does not grow back. Why was fat lost from dieting different?

The result was the fat cell hypothesis, a notion that obsessed researchers. Fat cells, the hypothesis said, are laid down early in life and after that, they can change only in size, not in number. When people lose weight and their fat cells shrink, that creates a signal to fill the cells again, making people regain. “We didn’t know a lot about obesity, so that was what we talked about,” Dr. Flier said.

But the discussions stalled. It was not clear what to do about those discoveries or what they meant to efforts to help people lose weight. And no one had a method to ask whether fat cells were being created and destroyed during life. Few even thought to ask that question.

That changed only recently when the new paper’s first author, Kirsty L. Spalding, a neurobiologist at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, developed a way to ask whether new cells grow in the cortical and cerebellum regions of the human brain. She found no new cells there since birth. One day, she was giving a talk on her brain study when a scientist in the audience, Erik Arner, suggested she use the method to look at fat cells. (Dr. Arner is the second author of Dr. Spalding’s paper.) The method for dating human cells takes advantage of an effect caused by above-ground nuclear bomb testing that took place from 1955 to 1963.

When the bombs were tested, their radioactivity created a spike in the amount of a carbon isotope, C14, in the atmosphere. The C14 made its way into plants and animals that ate the plants. When people ate those plants and meat from the animals, the C14 was incorporated into their human DNA. After the nuclear test ban, C14 levels started to drop. The result is that every cell has a C14 level that reflects the level in the atmosphere at the time the cell was born.

“Each cell is a time capsule of sorts,” Dr. Spalding said.

First the researchers confirmed that the number of fat cells remained constant in adults. Obese people who had weight loss surgery had as many fat cells two years after the surgery as before it, even though they were much thinner.

Then the investigators asked whether fat cells were being born and dying. To do that, they examined fat cells taken from 35 people, fat and lean, who had had liposuction or abdominal wall reconstruction. The amount of C14 in the cells would reveal how old the cells were. Since the number of fat cells remained constant, the number being born had to equal the number dying. And a mathematical model would reveal the dynamics of the cell turnover.

“We found the cells were really quite young,” Dr. Spalding said. “That tells us new cells are being born.” She added: “The million-dollar question now is, What regulates this process? And where can we intervene?”

Source: The New York Times

Suicide attempts are "not uncommon" among people with anorexia nervosa

The risk appears to be significantly higher among those who purge rather than just restrict the amount they eat, Dr. Cynthia M. Bulik and colleagues report. Suicidal ideas and behaviors by anyone with anorexia nervosa "should not be overlooked as something that will just pass," Bulik said. Suicidal gestures "should be considered very seriously, and dealt with appropriately by a professional," she told Reuters Health.

Bulik, director of the eating disorders program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and colleagues looked at patterns of attempted suicide among people with anorexia nervosa who enrolled in the Genetics of Anorexia Nervosa Collaborative Study.

The 413 study participants, nearly all female, ranged in age from 16 to 76 years. Almost 17 percent of the group reported at least one suicide attempt, initially occurring between 7 and 40 years of age. More than half of these cases required medical attention, the investigators report in the medical journal Psychosomatic Medicine.

Those with the restricting subtype of anorexia nervosa, defined as severe restriction of food intake but no lifetime history of binge eating or purging, appear to have the lowest risk, as the researchers found just over 7 percent of this group reported at least one suicide attempt.

By contrast, 26, 29, and 21 percent of participants with the purging, binging, and combined anorexia/bulimia subtypes reported at least one suicide attempt, the researchers note. These subtypes involve single or combined behaviors such as vomiting, laxative or diuretic abuse, and binge eating.

Besides the known association between depression and suicide risk, Bulik's group found suicide attempts were linked with additional factors such as panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse or dependence, dramatic or erratic behavior, impulse-control disturbances, and self-harm or stealing behaviors.

"This study underscores again that anorexia nervosa is a serious mental illness," Bulik concluded.

Source: MedlinePlus

Don't get jealous of your friend's dress size. It may be mostly out of your hands and in your DNA

Your friend can eat whatever she wants and still fit into her prom dress, but you gain five pounds if you just look at that chocolate cake. Before you sign up for Weight Watchers and that gym membership, though, you may want to look at some recent research from Tel Aviv University and save yourself a few hundred dollars.



A woman's waistline may have less to do with rigorous exercise and abstaining from sweets than it does with the genes of her parents, according to a new study by Prof. Gregory Livshits from the Sackler Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University and colleagues from King's College in London. Dr. Livshits and his colleagues have found a scientific link between the lean body mass of a woman and her genes. They've determined that thinness -- like your smile or the color of your eyes -- is an inheritable trait.

Bad news first, then the good
Prof. Livshits, whose findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (2007), says, "The bad news is that many of our physical features, including our weight, are dependent on our genes. The good news is that women still have an opportunity to go against their genetic constitution and do something about it."

Until now, scientists were not sure to what extent environmental influences and genetics played a role in a woman's body size. When controlling for the variance of age, the differences in womens' body sizes can be predicted in the genes more than 50percent of the time, the researchers found.

Prof. Livshits conducted his study on more than 3,000 middle-aged women in the United Kingdom who belonged to either an identical or fraternal twin pair. He measured their "total lean mass," one of the three major components of body weight, and compared it to markers in their genes.

A slim chance?
Additional collaborative research between the two teams, which builds on the past study, is to be published in the next few months. It may help pave the way for a "skinny gene test," which one day may help women trying to lose weight understand what kind of battle they can expect.

Those without the lean genes, however, will always find it harder to stay slim, predicts Prof. Livshits. But before your diet falls by the wayside, consider Prof. Livshits' contention that genetics can be overcome.

Curb your enthusiasm
It's important to not have high expectations, he warns. "Women need to know that what they can do about their body weight especially when they age is relatively little, and they will do it only with much difficulty."

Very few studies to date have been able to associate a body's lean mass with genetics. The topic is a specialty at the Tel Aviv University lab, one of the top labs in the world to study the genetics of aging of body composition. This area includes the study of bone, fat and lean mass as it develops in a person over time.

Research on body composition components -- their growth, degradation and genes -- is part of Prof. Livshits' ongoing work on aging and health. Issues such as weight gain are complex, he says, especially when age is factored in.

Source: ScienceDaily

Am I Hungry? What to Do When Diets Don't Work

It's no mystery that a diet full of fried foods, giant portions, decadent desserts, alcohol, and sugary soft drinks will lead to weight gain. And there's little question why the pounds pile up when you take in more calories than you burn in physical activity. But how do you explain weight gain when your lifestyle includes regular exercise and a healthy diet that is controlled in calories?


Gaining weight is absolutely maddening, especially when you really don't understand why the needle on the scale keeps going up.

Several things should be considered if you are gaining weight while watching calories and being physically active. More than likely, it's a variety of things working together that have resulted in the weight gain.

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"Weight gain is so complicated; there are so many factors that can impact your weight. It is more likely a combination of things more than just one factor," explains Michelle May, MD, author of Am I Hungry? What to Do When Diets Don't Work

Some popular blood pressure medications may help you lose weight

Some popular blood pressure medications may help you lose weight and body fat, according to a study done in mice. Angiotensin-converting enzyme(ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers are blood pressure drugs that block key steps in a system that helps control blood pressure and reduce fluid buildup in the body. This pathway is known as the renin-angiotensin system. Previous studies have suggested that the renin-angiotensin system plays a role in body fat and obesity.

Michael Mathai and colleagues in Australia examined mice that were missing a gene that encodes for angiotensin-converting enzyme, a key protein for the renin-angiotensin system. They discovered that those without the gene weighed 20% less.

The lightweight mice also had about 50% less body fat than their heavyweight counterparts, particularly in the belly area. However, both groups of mice seemed to eat and exercise the same amount, leading researchers to theorize that the slimmer mice might have a faster metabolism.

The researchers found that the ACE-deficient mice not only broke down fats faster in the liver, they processed blood sugars more quickly than the other mice, making them less likely to develop diabetes.

The study results demonstrate that an ACE deficiency leads to reduction in body fat accumulation in mice and suggests that drugs that affect the renin-angiotensin system, such as ACE inhibitors, might spark weight loss, especially in the midsection. Having a so-called spare tire around your belly is a strong risk factor for cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Source: WebMD

Overeating is the actual cause of metabolic syndrome

Overeating, not the obesity it causes, is the actual cause of metabolic syndrome, suggests a study with mice by researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. Metabolic syndrome is a collection of health factors that increase the risk of developing insulin resistance, fatty liver, heart disease and type 2 diabetes. This study was among the first to propose that weight gain is an early symptom, not a direct cause, of metabolic syndrome, the researchers said.

"Most people today think that obesity itself causes metabolic syndrome," senior author Dr. Roger Unger, professor of internal medicine, said in a prepared statement. "We're ingrained to think obesity is the cause of all health problems, when, in fact, it is the spillover of fat into organs other than fat cells that damages these organs, such as the heart and the liver. Depositing fatty molecules in fat cells where they belong actually delays that harmful spillover."

In this study, Under and his colleagues compared normal mice to mice that were genetically altered to prevent their fat cells from expanding. Both groups of mice were overfed.

The normal mice got fat but didn't develop signs of metabolic syndrome until after about seven weeks of overeating. The genetically altered mice stayed slim but became seriously ill within a few weeks and displayed evidence of severe heart problems and major increases in blood sugar levels eight weeks before minimal heart problems developed in the normal mice, the researchers said.

The genetically altered mice showed significant damage to heart cells and to the insulin-secreting cells in the pancreas. They also got sick quicker, because the extra calories they consumed weren't stored in fat cells, but rather in other tissues, the researchers said.

Source: Medline Plus

Think yourself thinner

The Daily Mail reports that you can "think yourself thinner". It says that researchers have found that "actively remembering your last meal suppresses appetite and reduces the desire to snack on junk food". It also says the study found that concentrating on food while eating makes you less likely to get hungry later on.

These results are based on three experiments in healthy young people with a normal body mass index (BMI). It's therefore not clear whether these results would apply to people who were underweight, overweight or obese. It's also not clear whether this technique would be able to reduce snacking in the longer term, or to reduce a person's overall calorie intake or weight.

Although thinking of a recent meal might help someone reduce their snacking, unless this is part of a programme that includes a healthy diet and increased physical activity, this technique seems unlikely to have much effect on weight loss.

Where did the story come from?

Dr Suzanne Higgs and colleagues from the School of Psychiatry at the University of Birmingham carried out the research. The study was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. It was published in Physiology & Behavior, a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

What kind of scientific study was this?

In this experimental study, the researchers tested whether remembering a recent meal had an effect on snacking. They also wanted to see whether this effect varied depending on how appealing the snack was, how long ago the meal was eaten, and the person's normal eating behaviour (specifically whether or not the person was usually restrained in what they ate).

The researchers carried out three experiments. All the participants answered a questionnaire about their lifestyles, including eating behaviour. This included 10 questions about dietary restraint (attempt to restrict food intake to control body weight) and 13 questions about disinhibition (tendency to overeat in certain situations).

The first experiment involved 14 healthy male students (average age of 21) with a normal BMI (19 to 25kg/m2). Afternoon test sessions were conducted on two different days and the participants were asked to eat their lunch at least two hours before the session. At the start of the first test session, they rated their appetites and mood at that time using a visual analogue scale (VAS). The VAS scale is a 10cm-long line; its opposite ends represent the extremes of the feeling being tested.

After this, the group was split into two. One group was asked to record in as much detail as possible what they ate for lunch that day, while the other was asked to write down what they had for lunch the day before. After this, the participants again gave their appetite and mood ratings.

All the participants were presented with three bowls of popcorn with differing levels of salt (high, low, and no salt). They were then asked to rate how tasty, sweet, salty, and sour each bowl of popcorn was using a VAS scale ranging from 'not at all' to 'extremely'. They were also asked the likelihood that they would choose to eat from each bowl again. The participants were told to eat as much of the popcorn as they needed to rate its taste, and that after rating the popcorn they could eat as much of it as they liked. After the experiment was finished, the bowls of popcorn were weighed to see how much had been eaten.

On the second test day the groups switched tasks. The researchers analysed how much popcorn was eaten, taking into account what the volunteer was told to recall, how salty the popcorn was, and the order in which they were tested (i.e. whether they had to recall that day's or the previous day's lunch).

The second experiment involved 73 healthy female students (average age of 20). Using the questionnaire, the participants were given scores of their eating restraint and disinhibition and people with different combinations of these characteristics were randomly assigned to recall that day's lunch or that of the day before. They also all had an introductory day where there was no recall, and they tasted and rated the popcorn. After this, the procedure remained similar to the first experiment, but the groups were not switched. The researchers then compared the effects of different eating restraint and disinhibition scores to the results.

In the third experiment, 47 healthy female students (average age of 22) were given a standardised lunch containing 400 calories. They then completed the snack experiment, this time with three types of cookies rather than popcorn. The experiment was carried out on two days, the first occasion one hour after lunch, and the second three hours after lunch. Half of these participants were asked to recall their lunch, while the other half were asked to recall their journey to the test centre.

What were the results of the study?In the first experiment the researchers found there was no difference in appetite ratings either before or after recall, between people recalling either that day's or the previous day's lunch. Despite this, when people recalled that day's lunch they ate less popcorn than when they recalled the previous day's lunch.

Overall, people ate more salted popcorn than non-salted popcorn, and this was not affected by what meal a person had recalled. The more salt the popcorn had, the more pleasant people thought it tasted, and again this was not significantly affected by what meal a person had recalled.

In the second experiment they found that a person's normal eating restraint did not affect how much they ate, but that only people who had low disinhibition scores (i.e. did not have a tendency to overeat) reduced their intake after recalling today's lunch.

What interpretations did the researchers draw from these results?

The researchers concluded that recalling that day's lunch reduced consumption of both low and high calorie snacks (popcorn or cookies). This was not related to how pleasant the snack tasted, and seemed to be greatest in people who did not have a tendency to overeat, and appeared to depend on memory, as there was a delay before recall had an effect.

What does the NHS Knowledge Service make of this study?

This was a small study that looked at the effect of recent meal recall on snacking. There are a number of limitations to consider:

- All of the participants were healthy young people, with BMIs in the normal range. It's not clear whether the same effect would be seen in older people or children, people who were less healthy, or people outside of the normal BMI range.

- This study only looked at the effects of meal recall on snacking in the short term. It's not clear whether this technique could reduce snacking if used on a regular basis, or whether the reductions in snacking seen would have any effect on a person's overall calorie intake or weight.

Reducing weight is difficult for some people, and thinking of a recent meal might help them reduce their snacking. However, unless this is part of a programme that includes a healthy diet and increased physical activity, this technique seems unlikely to have much effect.

Source: The Daily Mail