Nectarines, Plums And Peaches May Fight Obesity And Diabetes
Stone fruits, also known as drupes, such as nectarines, plums and peaches, may contain useful compounds that help fight-off metabolic syndrome, which can lead to diabetes, heart attack and stroke, say researchers from Texas AgriLife Research, a member of Texas A & M University System.
Food scientist, Luis Cisneros-Zevallos and team showed that compounds that exist in stone fruits could be useful in the fight against metabolic syndrome, in which inflammation and obesityeventually lead to serious illnesses and health problems.
The scientists will present their findings at the American Chemical Society in Philadelphia in August, 2012.
Cisneros-Zevallos said:
“In recent years obesity has become a major concern in society due to the health problems associated to it. In the U.S., statistics show that around 30% of the population is overweight or obese, and these cases are increasing every year in alarming numbers.”
Max Out and Cut Fat – Workout
I hear it every time I ask someone their opinion on fat loss. I see it every time I go online. Looking to lose fat? Cardio, cardio and more cardio! Well I have a problem with that, and I think every other muscle-bound guy out there does as well. I don’t like killing myself on the stationary bike in the gym while wearing a garbage bag and having the thermostat cranked up into the triple digits. Also, another problem I have with this method, is the loss of muscle size and strength during cutting phases. So why not lose some fat while lifting heavy? I’ve devised a density program to reduce or eliminate strength and size loss during a hardcore cutting phase by placing emphasis on the powerlifts. I promise, you won’t have to touch an elliptical, treadmill, or stationary bike. This program should be a favorite among heavy lifters because it allows you to have a max effort on a powerlift every day, even though it’s a cutting cycle. Because of its uniqueness and difficulty to adapt to, you may even see gains in size and strength while simultaneously cutting fat.
This program is designed as a full body workout with emphasis on a powerlift each day.
- Day 1: Bench Press
- Day 2: Deadlift
- Day 3: Squat
New Chromium Supplement May Help Type 2 Diabetes
For years, some studies have suggested chromium supplements may lower blood sugar levels in people who have type 2 diabetes. Those studies usually used chromium picolinate, but now new research indicates chromium dinicocysteinate is superior to both placebo and chromium picolinate inmanaging type 2 diabetes.
How effective is chromium in diabetes?
Chromium is an essential mineral that has a role in how insulin works with the body to regulate blood sugar (glucose) levels. When it comes to whether chromium supplements can help people with type 2 diabetes, however, study results have been mixed.
While some clinical studies have reported no benefit for people with type 2 diabetes when they took chromium supplements, others have claimed chromium supplements reduced blood sugar levels and the amount of insulin people needed to take. Now a new form of chromium supplement sheds a different light on the subject.
Investigators at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center tested a new chromium supplement that contains chromium (400 micrograms elemental chromium) , niacin, and L-cysteine (chromium dinicocysteinate, or CDNC) in people with type 2 diabetes. Previously, animal studies have shown that a combination of chromium and cysteine supplementation can improve glucose metabolism.
Pistachios shown to help reduce blood pressure
A Pennsylvania State University study published online this month in Hypertension, an American Heart Association Journal, reveals that including pistachios in a healthy diet may positively reduce the body’s response to the stresses of everyday life.
Adults with elevated cholesterol were enrolled in a randomized, controlled clinical trial comparing diets containing pistachios to a low fat diet. The results show that a healthy diet supplemented with pistachios helps decrease systolic blood pressure, peripheral vascular resistance and heart rate during acute stress. Cardiovascular responses were measured while participants engaged in a challenging mental arithmetic test and again as they immersed their foot in cold water.
The study conducted at Pennsylvania State University by Drs. Sheila G. West and Penny M. Kris-Etherton and colleagues examined how diets containing pistachios (one-and-a-half and three ounces per day) versus a low-fat diet without pistachios, affect responses to stress on subjects with elevated LDL cholesterol, but normal blood pressure. This study is the first to show that including both salted and unsalted pistachios in a healthy diet helps reduce blood pressure and lessen the vascular load on the heart.
The people in the study were healthy, non-smoking men and women with elevated LDL cholesterol (commonly regarded as bad cholesterol) but normal blood pressure. All of the meals were provided and calorie levels were customized to maintain body weight. Pistachios were substituted for other foods in the diet to prevent weight gain. Participants followed three different diets — one low fat diet (25% fat) without pistachios, and two with different levels of pistachios (approximately 1.5 oz or 10% of calories from pistachios and 3.0 oz or (20% of calories from pistachios). The pistachio diets contained higher amounts of potassium, healthy fats and protein. All diets were rich in fruit, vegetables, lean meats, and whole grains, consistent with current food-based dietary recommendations. Participant demographics and the diet design have been published previously.(2)
Vitamin D Supplements May Stave Off Disability And Mobility Issues In The Elderly
According to a new study published online in the Journal of Gerontologyelderly individuals with insufficient levels of vitamin D, regardless of whether obtained through diet, supplements or sun exposure, could have a higher risk of developing mobility problems and disability.
Leading researcher, Denise Houston, Ph.D., R.D., a nutrition epidemiologist in the Wake Forest Baptist Department of Geriatrics and Gerontology who studies vitamin D and its impact on physical function, declared: “This is one of the first studies to look at the association of vitamin D and the onset of new mobility limitations or disability in older adults.”
The team analyzed the link between vitamin D and onset of mobility limitation and disability over a period of six years, having obtained data from the National Institute on Aging’s Health, Aging, and Body Composition (Health ABC) study that included 3,075 black and white men and women between the ages of 70 to 79 years, of which they 2,099 proved eligible for their study. The team defined the limitation of mobility and disability as any difficulty or inability to walk several blocks or climb a flight of stairs.
Fish Oil Isn’t Suddenly Useless–Here’s Why You Should Still Take It
A UK study released today has Web news headlines blaring that omega-3s may not protect your brain after all. Oh really? We say don’t chuck your fish oil supplements just yet. There are plenty of good reasons to take omega-3 supplements, even if they don’t wind up helping with memory and brain health. But more importantly, the study was only conducted in adults 60 to 80 years old.
Study author and nutrition researcher Alan Dangour told Reuters Health that people shouldn’t rule out fish oil’s brain benefits; it’s possible long-term use of the supplements could be helpful for warding off cognitive impairment and dementia.
Dangour’s study is actually an analysis of three previous fish oil studies, each lasting between six months and three years. It could be that a longer period of taking fish oil is needed to make a difference. Or that we won’t see the difference until some time from now. It could be that fish oil supplements only help people who didn’t get enough dietary omega-3′s already, and most of these subjects did.
Or it could be that the subjects in this study were all relatively old.
Role of Omega-3 in Preventing Cognitive Decline in Older People Questioned
Older people who take omega-3 fish oil supplements are probably not reducing their chances of losing cognitive function, according to a new Cochrane systematic review. Based on the available data from studies lasting up to 3.5 years, the researchers concluded that the supplements offered no benefits for cognitive health over placebo capsules or margarines, but that longer term effects are worth investigating.
Omega-3 fatty acids are fats responsible for many important jobs in the body. We get these fats through our daily diets and the three major omega-3 fats are: alpha linolenic acid (ALA) from sources such as nuts and seeds and eicosapentoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) from sources including oily fish such as salmon and mackerel. A number of studies have hinted that omega-3 fatty acids and DHA in particular may be involved in keeping nerve cells in the brain healthy into old age. However, there is limited evidence for the role of these fats in preventing cognitive decline and dementia.
The researchers, led by Emma Sydenham at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), London, UK, gathered together evidence from three high quality trials comparing the effects of omega-3 fatty acids taken in capsules or margarine spread to those of sunflower oil, olive oil or regular margarine. A total of 3,536 people over the age of 60 took part in the trials, which lasted between six and 40 months. None of the participants had any signs of poor cognitive health or dementia at the start of the trials.
The Effect of Three Sources of Garlic on Plasma Lipids
Garlic supplements are the most consumed herbal products in the US and are frequently consumed to lower cholesterol. Despite garlic’s popularity, this claim has not received adequate research support.
We conducted a rigorous trial directly comparing the effects of three different types of garlic preparations – fresh garlic and two commonly used garlic supplements – on serum lipids in subjects with moderately high LDL cholesterol levels.
Our results showed that neither fresh garlic nor the garlic supplements, given at an approximate dose of a 4-gram garlic clove per day, 6 days per week for 6 months, were able to lower LDL cholesterol. To learn more about the details of the study, read the Stanford University News Release or the Abstract published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.
Calcium Supplements Linked to Significantly Increased Heart Attack Risk
Calcium supplements might increase the risk of having a heart attack, and should be “taken with caution,” concludes research published in the online issue of the journal Heart.
Furthermore, boosting overall calcium intake from dietary sources confers no significant advantage in terms of staving off heart disease and stroke, the findings indicate.
Previous research has linked higher calcium intake with a lowered risk of high blood pressure, obesity, and type 2 diabetes, all of which are risk factors for heart disease and stroke.
And calcium supplements are commonly recommended to elderly people and women who have gone through the menopause to prevent bone thinning.
The authors base their findings on almost 24,000 participants of one of the German arms of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study in Heidelberg.
All the participants were aged between 35 and 64 when they joined the study in 1994-8.
Seaweed supplement may aid weight loss: study
A seaweed-based fiber supplement, taken daily before meals, helped people lose weight in a new study.
But that was only the case among people who stuck with the diet study over a few months. More than one-fifth of people dropped out when they couldn’t tolerate the supplement’s taste, texture and side effects.
Researchers have explored the potential of seaweed as an appetite suppressant, but so far products haven’t panned out.
“There have been problems in the past to develop something (that tastes) acceptable,” said Dr. Arne Astrup, one of the study’s authors from the University of Copenhagen and a member of the advisory board to S-Biotek, a Danish company that provided funding for the study.
Previous seaweed-based supplements were slimy and caused bloating, and they also had a fishy taste. The new supplement used in this study is less unpleasant — but there’s still room for improvement, said Astrup.
The supplement is based on the seaweed extract alginate, a thickening agent and a common ingredient in foods like soups and jellies. It’s also increasingly used by the weight-loss industry, marketed as an appetite suppressant.
