Most experts concur that living healthy is the best way to prevent obesity or being overweight, but a recently-released study on mice (led by Andrew Gewirtz at Emory University) shows some promise.
The study concludes that your intestines harbor a universe of bacteria - the so-called gut microbiota - that may play an important role in whether your body will store the food you eat as extra pounds.
The authors explain in their paper (published in Science Express) the cause that may account for the extra weight. Inflammatory signaling can promote a condition called metabolic syndrome, which causes weight gain, high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels, and a higher risk for developing diabetes and heart disease.
Fatter mice were bred for the study, to lack a protein known as toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5).
The job of TLR5 is to control the mass of pathogens living in the intestine; without it, the normally harmless gut bacteria tend to over flourish and increase in number. When these bugs proliferate, it triggers an inflammatory state as the body attempts to respond to the increasing population of bugs, and at the same time makes cells less sensitive to insulin.
Inflammatory factors and insulin compete for the attention of the same intestinal cells; if the cells are busy responding to inflammatory factors, then they are less likely to take up glucose and process it effectively. This desensitization to insulin and glucose then leads to the symptoms of metabolic syndrome, such as weight gain, high cholesterol and triglyceride levels and elevated blood pressure - which were all present in the TLR5-deficient mice.
So, what causes changes in gut microbiota? Many things, says Gewirtz, including the use of antibiotics, cleaner water and improved sanitation and hygiene in general, which influences the type and amount of microbes that reside in the intestines.
Click here to read the full story.
Showing posts with label OVERWEIGHT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label OVERWEIGHT. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Healthy Living: Twelve Steps to Guaranteed Better Health
If you're looking for a healthy living book that packs some punch, then look no further.
How would you like to lose weight, live longer, regain your energy, look younger and attain vibrant health? If this sounds like you, then the book Healthy Living: Twelve Steps to Guaranteed Better Health was written especially for you.
This is what Dr Shawn Stipich, the former WWE wrestling superstar Shawn Staziak, had to say about the book: “Every once in a while a book comes along that is truly worth reading. Such a book is Healthy Living: Twelve Steps to Guaranteed Better Health. But I’ll go one step further. Every home in America should have a copy of this book. It’s mandatory reading. Unless the message in this book is heard loud and clear, our nation’s health will continue to decline.”
The book is available in ebook format and you can download it right now and be reading it in less than a couple of minutes. This is what you will discover in the ebook:
You can find out more here: http://www.healthy-living-book.com/
How would you like to lose weight, live longer, regain your energy, look younger and attain vibrant health? If this sounds like you, then the book Healthy Living: Twelve Steps to Guaranteed Better Health was written especially for you.
This is what Dr Shawn Stipich, the former WWE wrestling superstar Shawn Staziak, had to say about the book: “Every once in a while a book comes along that is truly worth reading. Such a book is Healthy Living: Twelve Steps to Guaranteed Better Health. But I’ll go one step further. Every home in America should have a copy of this book. It’s mandatory reading. Unless the message in this book is heard loud and clear, our nation’s health will continue to decline.”
- Have you ever wondered why there are twin epidemics of obesity and diabetes in America, the wealthiest nation in the world?
- Would you like to know precisely why that is so that you don’t fall into the trap?
- Are you striving for optimal health and somehow just don’t get there?
- Do you want to improve your health?
- Are you obese or overweight and need help? Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired?
- Do you lack energy and the ability to concentrate?
- Are you visiting your doctor regularly?
The book is available in ebook format and you can download it right now and be reading it in less than a couple of minutes. This is what you will discover in the ebook:
- The real reason for the twin epidemics of obesity and diabetes and what you need to do to avoid them.
- Practical tips on how to improve your health, energy and vitality without expensive supplements.
- How to lose weight for good.
- Twelve steps to holistic and balanced living that will improve your health, guaranteed.
You can find out more here: http://www.healthy-living-book.com/
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Compulsive Eating of Junk Food can be as Addictive as Cocaine and Heroin
Scripps Research Study Shows Compulsive Eating Shares Same Addictive Biochemical Mechanism with Cocaine, Heroin Abuse
The Research Provides New Clues to Obesity Epidemic
JUPITER, FL, March 23, 2010 –In a newly published study, scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have shown for the first time that the same molecular mechanisms that drive people into drug addiction are behind the compulsion to overeat, pushing people into obesity.
The new study, conducted by Scripps Research Associate Professor Paul J. Kenny and graduate student Paul M. Johnson, was published March 28, 2010 in an advance online edition of the journal Nature Neuroscience.
The study's startling findings received widespread publicity after a preliminary abstract was presented at a Society for Neuroscience meeting in Chicago last October. Articles heralding the new discovery appeared in news publications around the world, focusing on the point obese patients have been making for years – that, like addiction to other substances, junk food binging is extremely difficult to stop.
The study goes significantly further than the abstract, however, demonstrating clearly that in rat models the development of obesity coincides with a progressively deteriorating chemical balance in reward brain circuitries. As these pleasure centers in the brain become less and less responsive, rats quickly develop compulsive overeating habits, consuming larger quantities of high-calorie, high-fat foods until they become obese. The very same changes occur in the brains of rats that over consume cocaine or heroin, and are thought to play an important role in the development of compulsive drug use.
Kenny, a scientist at Scripps Research's Florida campus, said that the study, which took nearly three years to complete, confirms the "addictive" properties of junk food.
Click here to read the full story.
Commentary
So who is to blame for the twin epidemics of obesity and diabetes (they are related)? The people who eat compulsively, parents who don’t know any better and feed their families processed food, or the manufacturers of our food supply?
Have you ever looked at an obese child and wondered why they are overweight?
In my opinion the problem starts at home, and this is where the battle needs to be fought.
Through ignorance or simple laziness, parents are feeding their children processed food as opposed to healthy, nutritious, home-cooked meals. Ninety percent of the money spent on food in the U.S. is spent on processed food, food that lacks fiber and nutrition. To make matters worse, this food is heavily laced with man-made toxins that ensure that you become addicted to junk food and crave more (you over eat because the chemicals in your food have disabled your brain from telling you to stop eating).
AND THIS IS THE REAL PROBLEM.
Make no mistake: the manufacturers of our food supply know precisely what they are doing. They are turning our children into food junkies, and they are doing it on purpose - all in the name of profit.
Parents need to become more proactive. They need to stop buying processed food and prevent their children from eating junk food. They need to lead by example. Fresh fruit and vegetables need to become the norm. Exercise and outdoor activities should become a way of life. The solution to the problem needs to be family-based.
Collectively, we need to vote with our wallets. Boycott anything containing high fructose corn syrup (the real reason behind the twin epidemics of obesity and diabetes in the US), aspartame, bisphenol A (BPA), sugar, sodium benzoate, monosodium glutamate (MSG), nitrates and nitrites. Better yet, don’t buy anything that has a label.
The government can help by banning food additives such as high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, MSG, etc.
Eating healthful, fresh foods combined with moderate exposure to the sun and daily exercise is the solution to optimum health and wellness - and the ultimate solution to obesity.
The Research Provides New Clues to Obesity Epidemic
JUPITER, FL, March 23, 2010 –In a newly published study, scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have shown for the first time that the same molecular mechanisms that drive people into drug addiction are behind the compulsion to overeat, pushing people into obesity.
Junk food can be as addictive as cocaine or heroin.
The new study, conducted by Scripps Research Associate Professor Paul J. Kenny and graduate student Paul M. Johnson, was published March 28, 2010 in an advance online edition of the journal Nature Neuroscience.
View the video here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=AY-cA8V9GPo
The study goes significantly further than the abstract, however, demonstrating clearly that in rat models the development of obesity coincides with a progressively deteriorating chemical balance in reward brain circuitries. As these pleasure centers in the brain become less and less responsive, rats quickly develop compulsive overeating habits, consuming larger quantities of high-calorie, high-fat foods until they become obese. The very same changes occur in the brains of rats that over consume cocaine or heroin, and are thought to play an important role in the development of compulsive drug use.
Kenny, a scientist at Scripps Research's Florida campus, said that the study, which took nearly three years to complete, confirms the "addictive" properties of junk food.
Click here to read the full story.
Commentary
So who is to blame for the twin epidemics of obesity and diabetes (they are related)? The people who eat compulsively, parents who don’t know any better and feed their families processed food, or the manufacturers of our food supply?
Have you ever looked at an obese child and wondered why they are overweight?
In my opinion the problem starts at home, and this is where the battle needs to be fought.
Through ignorance or simple laziness, parents are feeding their children processed food as opposed to healthy, nutritious, home-cooked meals. Ninety percent of the money spent on food in the U.S. is spent on processed food, food that lacks fiber and nutrition. To make matters worse, this food is heavily laced with man-made toxins that ensure that you become addicted to junk food and crave more (you over eat because the chemicals in your food have disabled your brain from telling you to stop eating).
AND THIS IS THE REAL PROBLEM.
Make no mistake: the manufacturers of our food supply know precisely what they are doing. They are turning our children into food junkies, and they are doing it on purpose - all in the name of profit.
Parents need to become more proactive. They need to stop buying processed food and prevent their children from eating junk food. They need to lead by example. Fresh fruit and vegetables need to become the norm. Exercise and outdoor activities should become a way of life. The solution to the problem needs to be family-based.
Collectively, we need to vote with our wallets. Boycott anything containing high fructose corn syrup (the real reason behind the twin epidemics of obesity and diabetes in the US), aspartame, bisphenol A (BPA), sugar, sodium benzoate, monosodium glutamate (MSG), nitrates and nitrites. Better yet, don’t buy anything that has a label.
The government can help by banning food additives such as high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, MSG, etc.
Eating healthful, fresh foods combined with moderate exposure to the sun and daily exercise is the solution to optimum health and wellness - and the ultimate solution to obesity.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Children’s Foundation for Nutrition and Wellness
I’m angry!
Sometimes it takes anger to drive you to do something.
I’m passionate about health and wellness and my personal philosophy is to “Improve the Quality of Life.” This does not apply to me alone, but to anyone and everyone.
My dream is to live in a society free of disease where we can all live in peace and harmony. That’s the dream. And I know I cannot influence most of that. But I am determined to do what I can to improve the quality of life of others through education, helping them to live healthier and more productive lives.
So, why am I angry?
Every time I go shopping, I see parents with their shopping carts chock full with food – processed food. Not a single fresh item in sight! These parents normally have two or three children in tow - all of them overweight or obese.
And they are not alone.
The next time you go shopping, take a good look around you. Most people have shopping carts full of processed food: frozen foods, canned goods, instant meals, ice cream. Nothing but garbage in a pretty container or packet.
There’s nothing nutritious in these shopping carts. Is there any wonder that their children are overweight, obese and unhealthy?
I’ve made several blog posts lately about childhood obesity. In a couple of them, I’ve used the same image of an obese child. Every time I see this image, I get angrier and angrier. It’s not the children’s fault that they end up getting fat and unhealthy. They eat what’s given to them by their parents.
I now realize that merely writing about obesity is not enough. To make a difference I need to get more proactive.
This entire nation has been oversized and it’s time the madness ended.
We will start by educating the parents and the children. We will teach them about proper nutrition and reverse this perverse mindset that pervades our society.
The Children’s Foundation for Nutrition and Wellness is born.
Sometimes it takes anger to drive you to do something.
I’m passionate about health and wellness and my personal philosophy is to “Improve the Quality of Life.” This does not apply to me alone, but to anyone and everyone.
Happy, healthy children are what all parents desire - so
why are so many of our children overweight or obese?
why are so many of our children overweight or obese?
So, why am I angry?
Every time I go shopping, I see parents with their shopping carts chock full with food – processed food. Not a single fresh item in sight! These parents normally have two or three children in tow - all of them overweight or obese.
And they are not alone.
The next time you go shopping, take a good look around you. Most people have shopping carts full of processed food: frozen foods, canned goods, instant meals, ice cream. Nothing but garbage in a pretty container or packet.
There’s nothing nutritious in these shopping carts. Is there any wonder that their children are overweight, obese and unhealthy?
I’ve made several blog posts lately about childhood obesity. In a couple of them, I’ve used the same image of an obese child. Every time I see this image, I get angrier and angrier. It’s not the children’s fault that they end up getting fat and unhealthy. They eat what’s given to them by their parents.
I now realize that merely writing about obesity is not enough. To make a difference I need to get more proactive.
This entire nation has been oversized and it’s time the madness ended.
We will start by educating the parents and the children. We will teach them about proper nutrition and reverse this perverse mindset that pervades our society.
The Children’s Foundation for Nutrition and Wellness is born.
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