The growing obesity problem

Drink's Possible Ties To Deaths Are Probed - Yahoo! Finance

Drink's Possible Ties To Deaths Are Probed - Yahoo! Finance:

"The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday it has received reports of 13 deaths since 2008 possibly related to the use of 5-hour Energy shots, a disclosure that could heighten scrutiny of drinks and dietary supplements that promise to deliver an energy boost.

A spokeswoman at the federal agency, confirming an earlier report published on the New York Times website, said 5-hour Energy was named in 92 so-called adverse event reports, including 33 involving hospitalization, over the same period."

How Fat Hurts Your Health | Men's Health

How Fat Hurts Your Health | Men's Health:

"When researchers in St. Louis tracked a group of liposuction patients after surgery, they found zero improvement in blood pressure, triglycerides, glucose tolerance, or HDL or LDL cholesterol profiles. The pale, gloppy fat that a patient pays to have removed isn't pretty, but its absence doesn't guarantee the health profile of a lean, fit person. That's because visceral fat, the kind that wraps around your organs and makes you unhealthy, is also the kind that liposuction can't reach."

Interesting article on the differences of how men (around the abdomen)  and women (lower body) store fat and speculates that the differences go back to ancient (and in hunter-gatherer) days. 

It's not just how many calories, but what kind, study finds - latimes.com

It's not just how many calories, but what kind, study finds - latimes.com:

"...from a metabolic perspective, all calories are not alike," said study senior author Dr. David Ludwig, director of the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center at Children's Hospital Boston. "The quality of the calories going in affects the quantity of the calories going out."

and later:

"...each subject was fed three different diets for four weeks at a time: a traditional low-fat diet (60% carbohydrates, 20% fat and 20% protein), a low glycemic index diet (with 40% carbs, 40% fat and 20% protein) and a very low-carbohydrate diet a la Atkins (with 10% carbohydrates, 60% fat and 30% protein).

the results? The low fat diet had the most severe metabolism reduction.

FYI this is very similar to what Metabolic Effect has been preaching for a while now! :)

To quit smoking, try eating more veggies and fruits

To quit smoking, try eating more veggies and fruits: If you're trying to quit smoking, eating more fruits and vegetables may help you quit and stay tobacco-free for longer, according to a new study published online by University at Buffalo public health researchers.

It's been a great year for asparagus, so I decided to see how nutritious it is:

How Asparagus are You? : Disease Proof:

"...asparagus is a great food. Dr. Fuhrman tells us why:

Asparagus is one of the most healthful foods on the planet. It leads nearly all fruits and vegetables in the wide array of nutrients it supplies. Ten ounces (one box of frozen spears) have only 68 calories and 9 grams of protein, yet it is like a vitamin pill, giving you a variety of minerals such as selenium, zinc, calcium, copper, and manganese. Plus, it is very rich in folate.


Asparagus has an exceptionally high nutrient-per-calorie ratio and is the perfect weight-loss food."

Cancer and LDL cholesterol | theheart.org

Cancer and LDL cholesterol | theheart.org

For well over a decade we have known that low cholesterol can be associated with cancer.  But the question was whether the cancer caused the low levels of cholesterol or the low levels of cholesterol were causing the cancer..  We still do not know but it appears the effect hypothesis (that is that the low levels are a by-product of the cancer) is a bit less likely given new research out of Tuft's:

""Based on these data, it would suggest that lower cholesterol predated the development of cancer by quite a long time. Now, that doesn't necessarily speak to [low cholesterol] causing the cancer; it could have been related to something else altogether, but it's not supportive of the hypothesis that cancer caused the low levels of LDL cholesterol. We don't know why it predates cancer, but it would be premature to attribute it to the cancer itself.""

I must admit I am not sure what to do with this information. Further study is definitely warranted.

Omega-3s May Guard Against Brain Decline | Healthland | TIME.com

Omega-3s May Guard Against Brain Decline | Healthland | TIME.com

"Eating a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids — healthy fats found in abundance in oily fish such as salmon — may protect against premature aging of the brain and memory problems in late middle age, according to a study published today in the journal Neurology.

Fish has long had a reputation as a brain food. The new study, however, is the first to link blood levels of omega-3s with brain shrinkage, mild memory loss, and declines in cognitive function, all of which are associated with a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia"

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2012/02/28/omega-3s-may-guard-against-brain-decline/#ixzz1ni3IqvzX

"Evidence of cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk is present in the blood of adolescents who consume a lot of fructose, a scenario that worsens in the face of excess belly fat, researchers report.

From ScienceDaily (a GREAT site: check them out!)


"Evidence of cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk is present in the blood of adolescents who consume a lot of fructose, a scenario that worsens in the face of excess belly fat, researchers report.

"An analysis of 559 adolescents age 14-18 correlated high-fructose diets with higher blood pressure, fasting glucose, insulin resistance and inflammatory factors that contribute to heart and vascular disease.

Heavy consumers of the mega-sweetener also tend to have lower levels of cardiovascular protectors such as such as HDL cholesterol and adiponectin, according to researchers at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Health Sciences University"

Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have A Dream" Speech - YouTube

In Honor of Martin Luther King Jr.