High About a New Low!

Hi,

I could hardly believe it when I stepped on the scale this morning and read 317.75!! It was like a miracle and I was able to picture myself getting below the 300 mark. This program is really working. As I thought about it, I realized that when I get just under the 300 mark I will again be the weight I was at Kellies wedding. Her son is a teenager now, so that is about how long ago that was. I believe he may be about 17, so it was about 18 years ago. I still have the dress I wore then and I will be very happy to wear it again one day.

I must say that I have been contemplating making a slight change based on my experience. I am not sure it is the right thing to do. I dont want to just succumb to my own trick thinking. Here is the problem that I am trying to solve. About two or three days after the cheat meal I begin to highly crave another bit of either high sugar or carb. I am considering adding, not another cheat meal, but one cheat item/serving on day three to carry me past that episode with less stress. I could also simply make it a "floater" and do it when the craving hits but limit it to one item, one serving, one day per week sometime between day one and day six.

I have indulged that one item crave nearly every week, but since that is a deviation from the program I end up feeling guilty and creating a lot of stress for myself. Yet, the program is still working, so it seems plausible that I might be able to simply work in one cheat item on day three (or whenever), simply as a regular part of the program. If it is part of the program I wont have to feel so guilty about it. It often seems to happen on a day that I exercise, too.

I certainly dont want to jeopardize my weight loss progress with my new addition. I just want to smooth things out for myself. I shall try it this week and see how it goes. If, over time, it becomes too hard to manage and I start wanting something every day, I will know that I am being tricked by the addiction. But, if it does not slow my progress and is not too hard to handle I will continue with it. So here goes. Making the change.

Today was day seven of week four and I had my cheat meal of tomato, black bean and hamburger soup with rice on the side. I ended up eating the whole pan of rice which had been made with 1.3 cups of dry rice and 3 cups of water with salt and spices. I set the timer (because of the one-hour time limit) and started with a large bowl of the beans and rice mixed together. It was tasty but something was lacking. I am still not sure what was missing. So then I had two bowls of plain rice with butter -- on the last one I liberally sprinkled some xylitol and cinnamon to make it like a dessert. It was not exactly like rice pudding but it was OK. It is now about 5 hours later and I still feel full. I am not exactly sure what to do with all the left over soup.

I am considering either putting the large jar of soup into the freezer to use at some later time or doling it into plastic bags for smaller portions that would be more convenient to use. I could also just throw it out. If I was not currently suffering with another sinus and bronchial cold, I would give it to some friends but I dont want to share my germs with them. Ill probably just place the jar in the freezer and be done with it. 

After a meal like that one I have found that I usually put on about two pounds the next morning but, so far, it has simply dropped off the next day and then the weight loss continues. After a meal like that one, I also find myself ready to return to my nice meals of raw vegetables and protein. They simply make my body feel better.

I hope you are doing well. Feel free to comment either on the content of the blog or on your life and situation. Please dont hide if things are not going well. You can get yourself out of a hole much faster by sharing about it and then moving on to better things. For me this blog seems to keep me headed in the right direction.

God bless you,

Be back soon,

Marcia

High Fructose Corn Syrup HFCS Promotes Obesity and Poor Health

Fructose has been implicated as a driving force behind a number of chronic illnesses including metabolic syndrome, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Scientists have theorized that the fruit-based sweetener derived most commonly from corn is a primary mechanism that has fueled the obesity epidemic.

Fructose and its evil twin high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) are used as inexpensive sweeteners in many processed foods, condiments, baked goods and snacks. Researchers at the Oregon Health & Science University publishing in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism demonstrate that fructose reacts differently than glucose in the brain causing chemical alterations that lead to increased body weight and obesity.

Brain Response to Fructose is Different Than Glucose

Researchers working with animal models know that the brain responds differently to a variety of different foods consumed, and that these responses have a strong influence on total calories eaten at each meal. Using new functional MRI technologies, scientists are able to examine electrical and chemical brain patterns that occur in response to consumption of different food groups (macronutrients such as fats, carbohydrates and proteins) and nutrients (from vitamins, minerals and antioxidant-rich polyphenol compounds).

The study involved pre and post meal MRI scans of nine individuals receiving an infusion of fructose, glucose or a saline solution. Researchers found no difference in brain activity in the hypothalamus, an area known to regulate food intake. Activity in the cortical brain control areas showed the opposite response from the sugar infusions. Activity was inhibited with the fructose solution and activated in the presence of glucose.

Fructose Does Not Cause Satiety Similar to Other Macronutrients

The cortical areas activated are important to determine how we respond to food taste and smell. The study showed that when glucose is consumed, a normal satiety response is triggered in the brain so we register caloric intake and can react with a satiety response. Fructose has virtually no effect on this automated feedback system we rely on to provide the `full` signal so we stop eating before over consuming.

The study authors found this to be conclusive evidence that fructose and its derivatives are a significant causative agent responsible for the rampant obesity plague affecting people around the world. In conclusion they write "For consumers, our findings support current recommendations that people be conscious of sweeteners added to their drinks and meals and not overindulge on high-fructose, processed foods."

HFCS has been slowly creeping into the processed food supply over the past 40 years. Health-minded consumers and scientists have theorized that it should be blamed for a contributing role in overweight, morbidity and chronic disease. The best way to avoid high fructose corn syrup is to avoid all processed foods in favor of a raw, natural diet focused on vegetables, lean protein and healthy monounsaturated fats. Your reward will be a healthy, sustainable weight and dramatically lower risk of metabolic disease.

Link Found Between High Fat High Calorie Diet and Pancreatic Cancer

Researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC) have found that mice made obese by being given high-calorie, high-fat diets (HFCD) developed abnormally high numbers of lesions known as pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasias (PanINs), which are known to be precursors to pancreas cancer. This is the first study to show a direct causative link in an animal model between obesity and risk of this deadly cancer.

The study was led by Dr. Guido Eibl, JCCC member and professor -in-residence in the department of surgery at David Geffen School of Medicine. It was published today in the journal Cancer Prevention Research.

Cancer of the pancreas (scientifically known as pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma or PaCa) is one of the most deadly forms of the disease in humans. Overall five-year survival rates are approximately three to five percent and the average survival period after diagnosis is just four to six months. It is a particularly aggressive disease and often beyond the point of effective treatment by the time symptoms appear. Current treatments are limited in number and effectiveness, thus researchers are turning to prevention strategies to try to make headway against the disease before it reaches advanced stages. Previous research in the study of the disease in large populations has strongly supported a positive association between obesity and increased risk of PaCa, but no studies recapitulated human PaCa in animals. The availability of genetically engineered model mice that have the same genetic mutation found in human pancreas cancer patients (the KR as mutation) has made study of the possible causes more feasible, because changes in the mouse metabolism caused by obesity are similar to those in humans.

Dr. Eibl and colleagues set out to develop diet-induced obesity and development of pancreas cancer in a set of mice and then compare them to another set of mice that are genetically identical but not given a high-fat, high-calorie diet. Obesity in these mice resembles several important clinical features of human obesity such as weight gain and disturbance of metabolism, and this mouse model was ideal for unraveling any underlying biological mechanisms of pancreas cancer that are put in motion by obesity.

The researchers also set parameters to assess the impact of the effects of the high-fat, high-calorie diet on mouse pancreas tissue, such as increased inflammation and other biological signs that indicate pancreas problems. These indicators were measured and used to create an overall score (pancreatitis score) to indicate negative effects on the pancreas. They then conducted pathology tests on mouse pancreas tissue to determine how many PanIN precursor lesions had developed.

Mice that ate the normal diet gained an average of approximately 7.2 grams, plus or minus approximately 2.8 grams over 14 months. Mice that ate the high-fat, high-calorie diet gained an average of 15.9 grams, plus or minus 3.2 grams. Mice fed the normal diet had mostly normal pancreases with very few scattered PanIN lesions. Mice fed the high-fat, high-calorie diet had significantly more PanIN lesions and fewer overall healthy pancreases.

The study showed that the mice fed a diet high in fats and calories gained significantly more weight, had abnormalities of their metabolism and increased insulin levels, and had marked pancreatic tissue inflammation and development of PanIN lesions. These observations strongly suggest that such a diet leads to weight gain, metabolism disturbances, can cause pancreas inflammation and promotes pancreas lesions that are precursors to cancer.

“The development of these lesions in mice is very similar to what happens in humans,” Dr. Eibl said. “These lesions take a long time to develop into cancer, so there is enough time for cancer preventive strategies, such as changing to a lower fat, lower calorie diet, to have a positive effect.”

Are Your Blood Sugars High in the Morning

Two common reasons for this are the Dawn Phenomenon and the Somogyi Effect:

Dawn Phenomenon

Every human being experiences the Dawn Phenomenon. While we sleep, usually around 3-8 AM, glucose is released in response to the stimulus of some hormones in order to repair and maintain our body. These hormones are growth hormone, cortisol, glucagon, and epinephrine (also called adrenalin), which are also known as counterregulatory hormones, since they have the opposite effect of insulin: they cause glucose levels to rise.
- About.com - The Dawn Phenomenon and the Somogyi Effect

Somogyi Effect

The Somogyi Effect happens when your blood glucose levels are high in the morning due to hypoglycemia (low blood glucose levels) overnight. [Low blood sugars can occur when there is extra insulin in the body.] This is also called rebound hyperglycemia, since your body reacts to low blood glucose levels by increasing the release of glucose from muscles, liver and fat, theore causing hyperglycemia.
- About.com - The Dawn Phenomenon and the Somogyi Effect

How Can You Tell the Difference?

• If the blood sugar level is low at 2 a.m. to 3 a.m., suspect the Somogyi effect.
  
• If the blood sugar level is normal or high at 2 a.m. to 3 a.m., its likely the dawn phenomenon.
  - A-Z Health Guide from WebMD: Dawn phenomenon and the Somogyi effect

What Can You Do?

Once you and your doctor determine the cause, there are a number of options. These include changing the time, the type, or the amount of insulin you take, making adjustments to your evening snack, or switching to an insulin pump.

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Resources:
About.com - The Dawn Phenomenon and the Somogyi Effect

A-Z Health Guide from WebMD: Dawn phenomenon and the Somogyi effect

WebMD - Diabetes: Morning High Blood Sugar Levels

CoQ10 Can Lower High Blood Pressure to Prevent Congestive Heart Failure

Reporting in the journal Biofactors, researchers found that patients with congestive heart failure that were supplemented with the active form of coenzyme Q10 (ubiquinol) improved ejection fraction by 39%. Ejection fraction is a critical marker of heart function used to determine the volume of blood pumped by the heart through the vascular system.

CoQ10 is essential to convert nutrients to energy and power the cellular engine, and natural production in the body declines with age. Extensive research explains how you can benefit from daily supplementation with this powerful co-enzyme to restore healthy energy balance and prevent age-related heart disease.

CoQ10 Improves Quality of Life for Heart Failure Patients

The study conducted at the East Texas Medical Center and Trinity Mother Francis Hospital focused on patients with advanced congestive heart failure that were classified as Stage IV, the most severe form of the disease. Patients were supplemented with 580 mg of the ubiquinol form of coenzyme Q10 daily to increase plasma blood levels by a factor of four.

The researchers found “the improvement in plasma CoQ10 levels is correlated with both clinical improvement and improvement in measurement of left ventricular function.” Prior to CoQ10 supplementation, most of the participants were considered critically ill and confined to bed or a wheel chair. After a regimen of ubiquinol, patients typically improved two classification levels (Stage IV to II or III to I) and were able to carry on a productive lifestyle.

CoQ10 Improves Blood Vessel Elasticity to Lower Blood Pressure

Hypertension is a serious problem that affects as many as one in three adults in the US today. High blood pressure is closely associated with coronary artery closure due to plaque formation and arterial stiffening as the normally elastic vessels require more pressure to fully circulate blood to the body. The result of a study published in the journal Nutrition and Metabolism found that coenzyme Q10 supplemented along with other potent antioxidant nutrients (vitamin C, vitamin E, and selenium) significantly increased small and large arterial elasticity that led to lower blood pressure and risk of a heart attack.

Subjects in this study received 60 mg of CoQ10 for a period of six months along with moderate amounts of the other nutrients. In addition to improved arterial elasticity, researchers found a significant decline in HbA1C blood sugar control and an increase in protective HDL cholesterol levels. The authors of the research concluded that the CoQ10 nutrient antioxidant cocktail “has beneficial effect on glucose and lipid metabolism, blood pressure and arterial compliance in patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors.”

It comes as no surprise to most alternative health-minded individuals that nutrients obtained from natural sources exert a powerful influence on human health. Adults will want to supplement with 50 to 100 mg per day (higher amounts may be necessary for existing cardiovascular disease) of the ubiquinol form of co-enzyme Q10 to maintain optimal health, energy and protection from age-related diseases of the heart.

High supplemental calcium intake may increase risk of cardiovascular disease death in men

A high intake of supplemental calcium appears to be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) death in men but not in women in a study of more 388,000 participants between the ages of 50 and 71 years, according to a report published Online First by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

Calcium supplementation has become widely used, especially among the elderly population, because of its proposed bone health benefits. However, beyond calciums established role in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis, its health effect on nonskeletal outcomes, including cardiovascular health, remains largely unknown and has become "increasingly contentious," the authors write in the study background.

Qian Xiao, Ph.D., of the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Md., and colleagues examined whether the intake of dietary and supplemental calcium was associated with mortality from total CVD, heart disease and cerebrovascular diseases. The study participants were 388,229 men and women ages 50 to 71 years from the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study in six states and two metropolitan areas from 1995 through 1996.

"In this large, prospective study we found that supplemental but not dietary calcium intake was associated with an increased CVD mortality in men but not in women," the authors conclude.

During an average 12 years of follow-up, 7,904 CVD deaths in men and 3,874 CVD deaths in women were identified and supplements containing calcium were used by 51 percent of men and 70 percent of women. Compared with non-supplement users, men with an intake of supplemental calcium of more than 1,000 mg/day had an increased risk of total CVD death (risk ratio [RR], 1.20), more specifically with heart disease (RR, 1.19), but not significantly with cerebrovascular disease death (RR, 1.14).

For women, supplemental calcium intake was not associated with CVD death, heart disease death or cerebrovascular disease death. Dietary calcium intake also was not associated with CVD death in men or women.

"Whether there is a sex difference in the cardiovascular effect of calcium supplement warrants further investigation. Given the extensive use of calcium supplement in the population, it is of great importance to assess the effect of supplemental calcium use beyond bone health," the authors conclude.

Effective Steps to Lowering High blood pressure levels

Hypertension is worrisome because doing so is usually that has a combination of other chronic diseases.

However, that doesnt mean you have to surrender into a state suffering from high blood pressure levels causing excessive anxiety that may can even make things worse.

Below are some effective steps not to mention safe for lowering blood pressure levels. Diet, the correct choice for almost any disease to regulate the intake of nutrients the body really needed.

Unhealthy lifestyles trigger a growth in high blood pressure, including obesity. Then, apply the correct diet for lowering blood pressure level, at least one having a low-carb diet.

Low-carbohydrate diet is done by lowering the intake of foods containing simple carbohydrates. Low-carbohydrate diet proved to be more appropriate than low-fat diet. Low-carbohydrate diet is able to reduce excess fat and fat expel blood vessel blockage.

Research proves which the folks who run over the-carb diet inside discipline experienced significant weight reduction a single year. Weight-loss alone is known to improve heart health.

Low carbohydrate diets generally restrict input to become 50 g carbohydrate and 150 g of carbohydrates every day. This type of diet emphasizes the intake of high protein food for instance chicken, fish, red meat, eggs, and foods containing starch.

Low-carbohydrate diet reduce fat by manipulating your body to digest food slowly. By eating carbohydrates, our bodies secretes insulin that sends glucose over the body.

When glucose in the body is less, our bodies will automatically require other energy reserves are from fat. Reducing carbohydrates means producing less insulin so your body uses fat to generate energy.

However, considerably more research has to be done about this carbohydrate diet. Thus, the implementation on the diet do not injure yourself. Reducing sodium consumption is usually a good measure to relieve high blood pressure.

Sodium is a mineral which is tasked to maintain fluid balance systems. An excessive amount sodium causes the entire body to retain fluid which actually increase blood pressure levels.

Foodis still as fresh as fruits and veggies, vegetables, meat, and wheat are examples of foods reduced sodium. Its also wise to limit the usage of salt in cooking.

Folks who suffer from high blood pressure levels should limit their sodium intake to at least one,500 mg each day. Conversely, potassium foods are strongly suggested for being consumed by those with high blood pressure.

Potassium results in the development of the latest cells and regulate the effort from the heart. Potassium likewise helps to balance sodium levels inside blood and indirectly help control hypertension.

Based on the American Heart Association, healthy people need at the very least 4,700 mg of potassium on a daily basis. Potassium-rich foods for instance sweet potatoes, potatoes, greens, mushrooms, spinach, lima beans, tomatoes, citrus, cantaloupe, plums, bananas, papaya, mango, yogurt, milk, fish, halibut, and tuna.

Similarly, potassium, magnesium intake was vital that you lower high blood pressure levels. Magnesium plays a role in the muscle and nerve function, cardiac rhythm, immune health, and bone health.

Men need 429 mg of magnesium on a daily basis, while women 320 mg. Foods that contain magnesium include halibut, almonds, cashews, soybeans, spinach, oatmeal, beans, bran, potatoes using the skin, avocado, lentils, peas, and yogurt.

Yes, understanding what recption menus ought to be avoided or may not be an efficient step for many who wish to overcome your hypertension.

High dose Vitamin D Prevents Fractures in Elderly

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new analysis of nearly a dozen studies testing vitamin D in older individuals has concluded that it takes a daily dose of at least 800 international units (IU) to consistently prevent broken bones.

A dose that high was found to reduce the risk of hip fracture by 30 percent and other breaks by 14 percent. Lower doses didnt have any effect.

The report, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, also suggests that too much calcium -- perhaps more than 1,000 milligrams (mg) per day -- can weaken the benefit.

"These hip fractures cost a lot and are a really serious event. They are usually the end of independent life for a senior person; 50 percent do not regain their mobility. Reducing the risk by 30 percent with just a vitamin supplement would be an enormous public health opportunity," study researcher Dr. Heike Bischoff-Ferrari of University Hospital Zurich in Switzerland told Reuters Health.

The Institute of Medicine recommends that most adults get 1,000 to 1,200 mg of calcium per day and 600 to 800 IU of vitamin D. It sets a recommended upper limit at 2,000 mg of calcium and 4,000 IU of vitamin D.
Bischoff-Ferrari said the lack of benefit seen in other studies "may be explained by adherence to treatment and vitamin D supplements taken outside the study medication."

Dr. Richard Bockman, a hormone expert at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, said the findings are an important counterbalance to last months widely-reported recommendation by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

The government-backed task force advised against taking doses of less than 400 IU of vitamin D with 1,000 mg of calcium and concluded the evidence was unclear for higher doses. It also said the supplements carry a risk of side effects such as kidney stones.

Bockman said the best trial is a 2003 study, known as the Trivedi trial, in which volunteers received an average of 800 IU per day as a single 100,000 IU dose every four months.

"It clearly showed a reduction in fracture risk in people who were getting vitamin D," he said.

In an editorial, Dr. Robert Heaney of Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska, said the problem with the conflicting studies may be that most have failed to consider each persons vitamin D levels to start with.

Giving it to people who already have enough, or not giving enough to people with very low levels, may show no benefit, he said.

"In this regard, as in several other respects, nutrients are unlike drugs. Once an adequate concentration has been achieved, additional intake has no effect," said Heaney.

Bischoff-Ferrari said the new results came without directly including the Trivedi results. "The authors lost the data sets to a computer accident," she said.

The new analysis is based on 11 trials that tested various regimens of oral vitamin D in people age 65 and older, mostly women, against an inactive placebo. Some of the trials also included calcium.

Overall, there were 4,881 hip and other fractures (not including breaks of the spine) among more than 31,000 people.

Vitamin D did not cut the rate of hip fracture significantly, and the drop in other fractures was small. When the researchers looked at people getting the highest doses of the vitamin, typically 800 IU daily, the benefits were clearer, with a 30-percent drop in hip fractures and 14-percent decline in other broken bones.

"Notably, there was no reduction in the risk of hip fracture at any actual intake level lower than 792 IU per day," the researchers said.

The benefits at the higher dose were seen regardless of age, additional calcium intake, whether the patients lived at home or in an institution, and baseline levels vitamin D.

Bischoff-Ferrari said the clearest impact was seen in nursing home patients, who were given the highest doses of vitamin D and regularly took their pills because the nurses were giving them.

Just as important is the discovery that too much calcium - more than 1,000 mg per day - may dilute vitamin Ds benefits to bones, she said. Because many supplements contain 1,000 mg, the calcium people get in their diets may send people over the limit.

"This is a very, very important public health message," Bischoff-Ferrari said. "There are still doctors around who are giving calcium without vitamin to hip fracture patients. Imagine giving a calcium supplement and increasing the fracture risk."

In an earlier study, she added, fewer than 10 percent of the people coming into the hospital for a hip fracture had been taking the vitamin. And 60 percent of them had suffered another fracture in the prior decade, yet "the red flag is not coming up."

"In the medical world, vitamin D seems like a very low priority. It may be the lack of lobbying for it, the fact that it costs almost nothing" and some people think its too good to be true, she said. "But the data are impressive."

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/NmCWUm New England Journal of Medicine, July 5, 2012.

DASH Diet The High Blood Pressure Diet

High blood pressure is dangerous as it can take one’s life. However, it can easily be prevented either through proper medications or a natural treatment which includes a high blood pressure diet. Avoid saturated fats and high cholesterol foods for these will cause clogging of arteries preventing the blood from circulating to the heart.

Make a food diary for your daily diet so that your eating plan is easy to follow. The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) can be your guide for your high blood pressure diet. This diet includes foods which are easy to prepare and includes most types of foods which are essential for good health.

Low fat food, lean meats, poultry, whole grains, fish, nuts, foods rich in potassium, calcium and magnesium are included in this diet. These are the foods which could fight for hypertension, high blood pressure, strokes, cardiovascular diseases and kidney diseases. These are considered as healthy foods for the heart.

Low fat food
Low fats foods are considered as healthy foods. These include bread, cereal, pasta, rice, vegetables, fruits, lean meat, fish, egg white, beans, nuts, seeds, skim milk, cheese, and low cholesterol cooking oil.

It’s better to bake, broil, steam, and grill instead of deep frying. In this way, you can make the most delicious and healthiest low fat foods which are needed for lowering your cholesterol and high blood pressure.

There are some tips of cholesterol lowering foods – make a list of low fat foods that can help you to start your healthy eating diet and lowering your cholesterol. Eating low fat food does not mean losing the taste or flavor. You still can prepare and cook them in a way that it becomes the healthiest and delicious low fat food you had ever eaten.

Lean meats and poultry
Lean meats and poultry are best choices if you want to include meat in your diet. Have a choice of skinless breast of chicken or turkey. These are best sources of protein. Have them grilled, boiled, or roasted.

Whole grains
Whole grains are needed in the manufacture of cereals, bread and other building blocks to some other foods. Whole wheat flour is unhealthy.

Fish and nuts
Fish and nuts are beneficial to our body for it help fight depression, prevent heart diseases, and maintain a healthy weight and keeps our eyes healthier.

Foods rich in potassium, calcium and magnesium
Foods under this group have many uses. They are important to the normal functioning of the body tissues from heart to the bones as well as other parts of the body.

As a whole, the DASH diet can help reduce cholesterol levels as well as saturated fats. It also helps lower high blood pressure, prevents heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases. Fiber can help in the functioning of the digestive system. Reduced sodium can lessen the risk of congestive heart failure and atheosclerosis. Avoidance of sweets and high sugar content beverages can maintain sugar balance in the body.

Since the DASH diets are rich in potassium, magnesium, calcium and protein, it can provide the major nutrients in the body.

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Article Source: DASH Diet-The High Blood Pressure Diet

Author : vicarius