The Caruso Homeopathy Blog

An interesting article from the LA Times highlights the research on low carb dieting and weight loss and cancer.

Following a low-carb diet, even for only two days a week, was better than following a calorie-restricted diet every day for losing weight and lowering insulin levels, which are both associated with lower risks of breast and other cancers, says a new study presented Dec. 8 at the American Cancer Research Society meeting in San Antonio.

"Weight loss and reduced insulin levels are required for breast cancer prevention, but are difficult to achieve and maintain with conventional dietary approaches," said Michelle Harvie, a research dietitian at the Genesis Prevention Center, at University Hospital in South Manchester, England. Read on

It's a paradox that a problem like childhood obesity should crop up in a country like America where we are flooded with information about nutrition. At any age, obesity is generally considered a lifestyle disorder. Only a small percentage of patients suffer from hormonal issues, for example. For everyone else, weight gain is related to choices that we can make and unmake.

The implication is that children are now making the same bad choices that adults do, joining the epidemic of obesity that is associated in the long run with considerable health risks from diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. Yet the paradox goes deeper. The world teeters on the edge of drastic food shortages in the coming decades, while at the same time childhood obesity has spread beyond the developed world. Read on

       An interesting article from Dr. Eric Braverman's website highlights the mechanisms for why we are starving after eating a substantial number of calories.

     Most of us are aware that eating sugar and refined carbs are fattening. Bagels are a popular quick food for the busy on the run. The caloric hit on a typical bagel is 300 to 400 calories not including toppings like butter or cream cheese. Why do people feel starving after eating a bagel when that should tide them over until lunch?

     Dr. Braverman says that it is because it is a high carbohydrate food, that contains no protein and very little fats. Many of us crave simple carbs and get crabby if we miss out on them. Research has said that rats fed simple carbs and sugar have symptoms of withdrawal if they miss out on these foods. They have a drop in body temperature and aggression when their diet is suddenly removed. There is a hormone in our body called ghrelin which is a macronutrient that causes you to feel satisfied after eating. When you eat this bagel, gherlin drops which makes one feel satisfied, from eating this simple carb and then after a few hours it rises above the range it was before consuming the bagel. However, meals rich in proteins does not suppress ghrelin as quickly as a high-carb meal, but it promotes a longer satiety. You may not feel as satisfied immediately after eating an omelet as you would, had you chosen the bagel, but eventually you will, and the sensation lasts for hours with no dangerous spikes and crashes in your hunger hormones.

     Braverman says this can explain why studies have shown that people that eat two eggs with breakfast eat much fewer calories throughout the day than those that ate a high carb and low protein breakfast. What one can do is have a combination of carbohydrate with protein, like a piece of whole grain toast topped with a poached egg or if you are on the go, have a whole grain tortilla shell with scrambled eggs with veggies inside.

 Read more about Dr. Braverman, click here.

The study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, followed 120,877 men and women between 12 and 20 years to explore how multiple factors influenced weight loss or gain over a four-year period.

Let's get the bad news out of the way first. Participants gained an average of three and a half pounds every four years, resulting in almost 17 additional pounds over 20 years time.

Some conclusions weren't surprising. Non-exercisers, for instance, became fatter than exercisers. Likewise, TV-watchers and poor sleepers (fewer than six hours or more than eight) saw their scale numbers increase. Read on

The researchers evaluated data on 2287 young adults from the Project EAT-III: Eating Among Teens and Young Adults study, which was conducted in 31 public schools in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area between 1999 and 2010. Tracking data and analysis of that data showed that all the teens in the group who dieted were significantly more likely to be dieting in as adults than those who didn't diet when they were younger and "Diet pill use more than tripled in most of the age and sex groups," report the researchers. Read on

An interesting research article found that people who had a high BMI (body mass index) did not have an increased risk of heart failure, despite weight, but those who had metabolic syndrome did. Those who were overweight and not insulin resistant (or suffering from metabolic syndrome) had less incidence of heart failure than those who were a normal weight with metabolic syndrome. Typically the higher the body weight the more incidence of metabolic syndrome increases. Read the article

Even modest weight loss helps reduce blood pressure in real-world practice, researchers affirmed in an observational study.

Each 1 kg weight loss (2.2 pounds) was associated with a 0.39 mm Hg decrease in systolic and 0.26 mm Hg decrease in diastolic blood pressure, Marcello R.P. Markus, MD, PhD, of the University of Greifswald, Germany, and colleagues found in the population-based study of northeastern Germany.

A note about body weight, one size does not fit all. Your height and weight are looked at as a government table, but you may have a very solid muscular frame. It is better to do a BIA test to see what you body weight should be (takes into account your fat free body mass, your frame, muscles and ligaments etc, gives your body fat percentage) instead of a table. Here is an example where they look great but they are not great inside. I see a slim looking woman, tiny frame maybe a size 5 dress. Looks fantastic on the outside but her body fat percentage is actually high, her frame is ultra petite,  has little muscle mass and all of her fat is crowding in her internal organs, is not shown on the outside and she has sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass). This person fits into the government table but is not healthy at all. Here is another point, my massage therapist told me wow, look at your muscle definition now, you must weigh about 125lbs. I do fit into a small dress size but I actually weigh quite a bit more. My body fat percentage is also lower than most but my weight according to a government table is overweight. I have not always been this way, I have dropped a good 30 lbs over the years. I have seen this time and again women beat themselves up when they are just fine or only have a few pounds to lose because some table tells them so. In Arnold Schwartzeneggar's Conan days he was obese according to his BMI. Get your BIA done today and stop fretting! I do this testing at the clinic for $20.00 if you are not doing our weight loss groups (which it is free then) Go to www.carusohomeopathy.com for more information. It can help you achieve more realistic goals and may even set your mind at ease.

"It's pretty clear low-carb is effective for weight loss," said study author Kerry J. Stewart, director of clinical and research exercise physiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and its Heart and Vascular Institute. "The concern has been that because you are eating more fat this is going to put stress on your blood vessels." Read on

     One may wonder why skipping breakfast is related to weight gain rather than weight loss? Is it not less calories to not eat breakfast? A group of researchers from Imperial College in London, UK have been studying the way in which we eat and how it affects our pleasure or reward centers in our brain. In their preliminary short 2 day study of 20 normal weight and healthy people had people skip breakfast on their first day. They exposed the volunteers to photos of a series of foods, some fattening, like pizza, French fries, cakes and chocolate, some healthy, like salads, fish and vegetables. During the exercise, the researchers analyzed the manner in which their reward zones in the brain responded and they found that those who missed breakfast had this area very active.

     Interestingly one the second day they were asked to view the photos but they ate breakfast prior. Their reward zone was analyzed and it was not as active as it was the day without breakfast. Professor Tony Goldstone, endocrinologist and lead researcher, said that their results definitely support the advice that nutritionists give to always eat breakfast. The results show that when people skip breakfast, their brain response actually changes the way it responses to food and in turn may interfere with weight loss goals and accelerates weight gain.

     Scientists say that other things can trigger this reward zone in our brains such as smells and real food, not just photos. You may notice if you grocery shop whilst you are hungry, you may buy more candies, cookies or quick snacks. Now you know why!

     According to new scientific research, the latest and greatest food is strawberries. This berry has been included in the nutrient dense antioxidant berries like blueberries, cranberries, watermelon, cherries and pomegranates. Strawberries have been named as one way to help trim down for the summer months. A single cup of strawberries contains only 49 calories and contains nutrients like vitamin C, fiber, calcium, magnesium and potassium. They apparently even increase your metabolic rate and damper down your appetite.

     The University of Illinois did research on them and found them to have an antioxidant called ellagic acid, flavonoids quercetin, kaempferol anthocyanin and catechin. Strawberries also have been found to inhibit COX enzymes in laboratory experiments. Inhibiting COX enzymes help to reduce pain and inflammation in the body. Leo Galland M.D. wrote an interesting article on how strawberries promote weight loss in a few ways:

1.       “Chronic inflammation blocks the hormones involved in keeping you lean. Anti-inflammatory foods like strawberries help restore normal function to weight-reducing hormones.

2.       Anthocyanins actually increase the body's production of a hormone called adiponectin, which stimulates your metabolism and suppresses your appetite.

3.       Both ellagic acid and anthocyanins slow the rate of digestion of starchy foods, controlling the rise in blood sugar that follows a starchy meal. This effect is used to control blood sugar in people with adult-onset (Type 2) diabetes.

     These all seem like great reasons to eat more strawberries. It is amazing how much research comes out about foods and their health benefits. I have noticed the positive research is always to do with WHOLE foods in their natural state, not processed or altered. Some great whole foods would be things like Brussels sprouts, broccoli, flaxseed, quinoa, oats, chia seeds, cabbage, blueberries. Go back to nature and eat real food, slim down and be healthier for it.

A recent study published in the journal “Obesity” found that getting the right amount of sleep is critical to maintaining a healthy weight. This new study also suggests that timing may be key. Those who stay up late and sleep in tend to have the worst diets, eat more at night and gain more weight, compared with those who go to bed at a reasonable hour.

Some past research found that by messing mice’s' sleep and circadian rhythm (the body's internal clock, which is tied to the 24-hour day's light-dark cycle) causes them to eat at the wrong times and gain weight. The results were similar in the current study, led by researchers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, who said it is the first to examine the relationship between the circadian rhythm, diet and weight in humans. For one week, 51 people (23 late sleepers and 28 normal sleepers), aged 18 to 71, were asked to record what they ate in a food log, including the time and types of food and to wear a wrist actigraph that monitored their sleep and wake cycles. On average, the late sleepers went to bed at 3:45 a.m., awoke by 10:45 a.m., ate breakfast at noon, lunch at 2:30 p.m., dinner at 8:15 p.m. and had their final meal at 10 p.m. Normal sleepers, by contrast, were asleep by 12:30 a.m., woke up around 8 a.m., had breakfast by 9 a.m., lunch at 1 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m. and their last snack around 8:30 p.m.

The results showed that being a night owl appeared to do more harm than good. Those who stayed up late got less sleep overall (5 hrs. 33 minutes) compared to normal sleepers (6 hrs. 38 minutes). Oddly those who were late sleepers had a much less healthful diet and ate more fast food (five meals per week, compared with the normal sleepers' three), drank more full-calorie soda (4.5 servings per week versus 1.3) and got significantly fewer fruits and vegetables (1.9 servings per day versus 3.4). Notably, the late sleepers ate roughly the same number of calories per day as normal sleepers (actually, the study found that they ate 248 more calories than the normal sleepers — 2,153 calories versus 1,905 calories — but that difference wasn't statistically significant). However, they ate a larger proportion of their food later in the day — at dinner or after 8 p.m. On average, late sleepers' dinners contained 825 calories, while the normal sleepers' suppers totaled 630 calories. Those who stayed up late consumed 754 calories per day after 8 p.m., while the normal sleepers ate only 376 calories.

"Human circadian rhythms in sleep and metabolism are synchronized to the daily rotation of the earth, so that when the sun goes down you are supposed to be sleeping, not eating," said senior author Dr. Phyllis Zee, professor of neurology and director of the Sleep and Circadian Rhythms Research Program at Feinberg, in a statement. "When sleep and eating are not aligned with the body's internal clock, it can lead to changes in appetite and metabolism, which could lead to weight gain." When the researchers looked at participants' BMI, or body-mass index, they found that caloric consumption after 8 p.m. was most strongly associated with weight, after controlling for length and timing of sleep. The findings, while preliminary, suggest that in addition to the overall quality of your diet, it may be the time of day you're eating that matters — and your sleep-wake cycle has a lot to with the timing of your meals.

It's the same result found in studies of mice: when the animals' circadian rhythms are disrupted, they tend to eat more calories during times they would normally be sleeping, and they gain weight. But when the mice are restricted from eating outside their normally active hours, weight gain is curbed.

These findings could have implications for people who have a hard time losing weight or for shift workers, the authors said. "The study suggests regulating the timing of eating and sleep could improve the effectiveness of weight management programs," Zee said.

The current study is limited by its small sample size and its reliance of self-reported data, but the researchers said they are planning a series of additional studies to test the findings in a larger population.

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2011/05/06/for-weight-loss-eating-less-after-8-p-m-might-help/#ixzz1MQkwyzBk

Caruso Homeopathic Clinic has been holding weight loss workshops that focuses on whole foods and the Mediterrean Diet. It highlights healthy eating for life not a fad diet. Participants typically lose from 1 to 3 pounds per week. Herein are some excellent recipes that I found online using local resources from Ontario farmers.
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Curried Lentils, Sweet Potato and Cauliflower Stew
Italian White Beans with Tomatoes and Garlic
Tuna Bulgar Salad
Morrocan Chicken with Apples
Mediterrean Grilled Trout
Have a look around Ontario Foodland's site, they tell you when things are in season and give some awesome recipes as well.

     Since I got a BIA machine in my office, that tells what someone's body fat percentage is and fat free mass, I am saddened by the number of people who have felt inadequate for not measuring up to our manmade criteria such as the BMI or body mass index. People who don't fit into the normal BMI range suffer on extreme diets trying to shed pounds that simply will not budge. Their feelings of shame and inadequacy are tough to handle. Yet many people do not know what their lean body mass weighs. Some people can have a very solid frame and without doing a BIA test, one would assume that they are overweight or obese.      An interesting study shows some of the research on obesity is not statistically significant. How people are categorized as obese is just measurements from manmade scales. Perhaps those people who fit in the obese category who dont suffer from high blood pressure, arthritis and other issues are similar to the clients I have tested who have a heavier solid body frame. Have a look at the study, click here.

TUESDAY, March 29 (HealthDay News) -- If you're looking to lose those extra pounds, you should probably add reducing stress and getting the right amount of sleep to the list, say researchers from Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research in Portland.

In fact, although diet and exercise are the usual prescription for dropping pounds, high stress and too little sleep (or too much of it) can hinder weight loss even when people are on a diet, the researchers report. Read on

Vanessa Sarraino is a nutrition educator at St. Joan of Arc Catholic High School. She also has a B.Ed. in food, nutrition and family studies. She has developed a system that schools can clean up kid's diet by having a red, yellow or green light system. She also asks parents to take responsibility for their children's weight. Read on

Rats consuming green tea along with a high fat diet gained less body weight and accumulated less fat than animals not supplemented with tea, says a new study.

Austrian women and men were found to be among the skinniest citizens in Europe. Extensive research by scientists and nutrition experts across the continent disclosed that Israeli women were the most overweight in 23 European countries in 2008 with an average body mass index (BMI) of 27.3. Malta came second (27) followed by Great Britain (26.9).

Austrian women are in 16th with an average BMI of 25.1. Women living in Italy (24.8) and Switzerland (24.1) were found to be the skinniest among the examined countries, according to medical journal The Lancet. What we see is Austrians spend more time outdoors and walking than travelling via cars. Read on

An interesting post on eatdrinkbetter.com highlighted that a low fat diet alone is not a healthy one, and randomized studies show that low fat doesn’t even correlate to weight loss. Read on