- BASIL & SPICE OPINION

Entries in Weight Gain (14)

Tuesday

01Sep2009

Prostate Cancer Risks: Age, Race, Family, And Now Weight Gain

Sep 1, 2009

Patrick Walsh, M.D., author of Guide To Surviving Prostate Cancer and Distinguished Service Professor of Urology--The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, is the world's foremost authority on prostate cancer. His book provides some striking news for men:

More than 200,000 American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year.
27,000 will die in the U.S. from it this year.
Prostate cancer is the most common major cancer in men.
Because prostate cancer is silent, generally without symptoms, early detection is the key.
Men should begin being screened for prostate cancer at age 40.
When prostate cancer is small, it is curable.
More than 95% of men diagnosed with prostate cancer are alive ten years later.

Dr. Walsh evaluates the three major risk factors--age, race, and family history. Prostate cancer is the scourge of older men (age 60-79) with a risk rate of 1 in 7 developing the cancer. The cancer frequently takes time to grow, over the course of decades.

The highest risk of prostate cancer hits African American men. Why this is, is not completely understood, but may involve genetic susceptibility, diet, and lack of vitamin D. Their cancers are also more likely to be severe types and recur.

Risk of prostate cancer grows higher with familial links. In fact, the risk is 2.5 times higher if your father or brother had prostate cancer. Hereditary prostate cancer, (possible risk of 50%) is believed to occur when three first degree family members had it, the disease shows itself in three generations, or if two relatives developed the disease earlier (less than age 55).

The most important action to take is to get screened, beginning at age 40. The PSA test can provide a baseline for later years. Dr. Walsh adds that those between the ages of 50 and 64 who die of prostate cancer, could very well have been saved if the disease had been caught while in their forties.

A recently released study from the online journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention (Sep 2009) has found that weight gain plays a major role in the development of prostate cancer.

Dr. Walsh includes a prevention chapter in his new second edition. He recommends men eat a minimum of five fruits and vegetables a day, especially focusing in on the cruciferous vegetables as cited from the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, and broccoli are examples of the type of vegetables which contain sulforaphane--an important anticancer ingredient which helps to increase potent enzymes in the body. In turn, the body is assisted in creating its own antioxidants to help ward off cancer.

Why Healthy Men Are Having Sex

1 Comment | |

Email Article |

Permalink

tagged

african american,

genetic,

guide,

johns hopkins,

patrick walsh,

prostate cancer,

psa,

weight gain in

PSA,

Wednesday

08Apr2009

Top 10 Food Myths

Apr 8, 2009

Joanna Dolgoff, M.D. is a pediatrician whose practice solely deals with child and adolescent weight management. A graduate of Princeton University, she completed her education at NYU School of Medicine and finished her Pediatric Residency training at Columbia Presbyterian's Children's Hospital of New York. She has previously worked as a private practice pediatrician, helping children reach their weight loss goals. A Board Certified Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Dolgoff is also the proud mother of two children. Click here to learn more about Dr. Dolgoff's Weigh Child and Adolescent Weight Management Program.

Joanna Dolgoff--

Sometimes it seems that there is more nutrition misinformation floating around than actual truth. It is hard to distinguish between what is fact- and what is mere fantasy. Read on for the debunking of some of the more common food myths.

1. You will gain weight if you eat after 8 pm.

The bottom line for weight loss: calories in must be less than calories out. It doesn’t matter when you eat the calories. The problem with late night eating is that most people eat the appropriate number of calories during the day and then go overboard at night, especially when eating in front of the television. So feel free to eat at night- just keep your total number of calories in check.

2. Fat-free foods are healthy.

Not all fat-free foods are healthy. In fact, sugar is the quintessential fat-free food and nobody would dare say that sugar is healthy. Many fat-free products actually contain more calories than the original. To maintain flavor, manufacturers have to add something back when they take out the fat, and that something is usually sugar. Be wary of fat-free snacks and always look at nutrition labels.

3. You should not eat carbohydrates if you want to lose weight.

Carbohydrates are a part of a healthy diet! However, some carbohydrates are healthier than others. Whole grains, like brown rice, whole wheat pasta, and whole wheat bread, can help facilitate weight loss by keeping you full. Diets that don’t include any carbohydrates often fail because dieters get too hungry and feel deprived, increasing the likelihood of a binge!

4. Some foods have ‘negative calories.’

It is a commonly-held belief that chewing and digesting certain foods burns more calories than the foods actually contain. It is said that you can lose weight by eating these foods. These purported miracle foods include cucumbers, celery and grapefruit. Unfortunately, this is not true. No food truly has ‘negative calories.’

5. Decaf coffee has no caffeine.

Decaffeinated coffee contains caffeine; it just contains less caffeine than regular coffee. A cup of regular coffee has 100-150 mg of caffeine while a cup of decaf has 8-32 mg of caffeine. You are better off drinking herbal tea with is truly caffeine-free.

6. Margarine is healthier than butter.

Neither margarine nor butter is healthy. Butter has saturated fat that can increase LDL (bad cholesterol) levels, increasing the risk of heart disease. Margarine, however, often contains trans fats which not only increase LDL but also lower HDL (good cholesterol) and can increase the risk of heart disease even more! I recommend using a little bit of heart-healthy olive oil instead. Olive oil contains monounsaturated fats which are proven to decrease the risk of heart disease.

7. Bananas are fattening.

One medium banana has only 105 calories and is full of fiber, magnesium and potassium which can help manage blood pressure. Bananas also contain vitamin B6 which helps with immune function. It is true that, per serving, bananas may have slightly more sugar, carbohydrates and calories than some other fruits. But they are still a very healthy part of a balanced diet.

8. Cooking veggies destroys their vitamin content.

Cooking vegetables actually increases your body’s ability to absorb the nutrients in certain vegetables. Tomatoes are a great example of this. Lycopene, a phytonutrient that helps prevent cancer, is much stronger in cooked forms of tomatoes than in raw tomatoes. It is true, however, that overcooking some vegetables in large amounts of water can decrease their vitamin levels by allowing the nutrients to slip out of the vegetables into the water. To prevent this, do not overboil veggies. Try to steam, roast, or microwave vegetables with as little water as possible and keep cooking time to a minimum.

9. High-fructose corn syrup is more fattening than regular sugar.

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and table sugar (sucrose) contain similar amounts of fructose. The two most commonly used types of HFCS are HFCS-42 and HFCS-55, which are 42 and 55 percent fructose, respectively. Sucrose is almost chemically identical, containing 50 percent fructose. The bottom line: there is no evidence to show any differences between these two types of sugar. Both will cause weight gain when eaten in excess.

10. Salt causes high blood pressure and should be avoided.

The truth is that restricting salt in people with high blood pressure can help lower blood pressure. But that doesn’t mean that salt causes high blood pressure in normal individuals. There is no reason for people with normal blood pressure to restrict their sodium intake.

I hated every second at the gym today…

How Not To Die: 10 Lessons to Save Your Life

The Ozner 10-Step Heart Disease Prevention Program

1 Comment | |

Email Article |

Permalink

tagged

banana,

vitamin content in

10,

Food,

Friday

21Nov2008

Tips to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain from The Biggest Loser Nutritionist

Nov 21, 2008

A registered dietitian and professional chef, Cheryl Forberg is the nutritionist for the NBC reality series The Biggest Loser and an advisor for Prevention magazine. She has written or contributed to nine books, including Stop the Clock! Cooking, The New Mayo Clinic Cookbook, and The Biggest Loser: The Weight Loss Program, and the recently published Positively Ageless. She is also a recipient of the prestigious James Beard award for healthy recipe development. To learn more about Cheryl and her work, visit her Web site at www.cherylforberg.com.

Cheryl Forberg--

Who says Thanksgiving dinner isn’t healthy? The staple ingredients of this holiday’s comfort food have redeeming healthful properties that make this meal extra scrumptious. Adding a little culinary know-how to traditional recipes can transform this food fest into a guilt-free feast.

The first rule of thumb for holiday gatherings is never go to the party hungry. Maintain your normal daily routine starting with breakfast and a workout. Have a snack before you go — a half a sandwich, yogurt and fruit or a glass of milk.

If there’s a buffet, try to remember that most of your choices should be whole grains, fruits and vegetables; the remaining third can be lean meats. Fill up on veggies that aren’t drenched in butter or sauce.

If it’s impossible to resist trying everything on the table, make sure you take very small “tastes” of high-calorie dishes. If you’re trying to watch your weight, remember that this is just one day, so it’s OK to indulge yourself a little. Many people, however, begin a downward spiral over the holidays beginning with Thanksgiving. One day of temptation leads to another and soon they’ve spiraled out of control. Don’t let that happen to you. If Thanksgiving finds you being a little too indulgent, begin Friday by eating a little less, exercising more, or both.

The healthier flavors of Thanksgiving:
Cranberries: The sweet side of a puckery cranberry is its high-powered nutrition profile. An excellent source of fiber, potassium and vitamin C, it’s also packed with powerful compounds that kick up the immune system and slow the aging process. They freeze well, so stock up and put a few pounds in the freezer.

Sweet potatoes: Why disguise this veggie’s naturally delicate flavor with gooey marshmallows or a brown sugar glaze? This year try roasting peeled sweet potatoes cubes in a hot oven with a little olive oil and your favorite herbs (such as rosemary or oregano).

Not to be confused with the yam, sweet potatoes possess a higher degree of moisture and sweetness. And they’re higher in nutritional oomph with a slew of antioxidant vitamins. Sweet potatoes should not be refrigerated. Store in a cool dry place between 55 and 65 F.

Turkey: Turkey is low in fat and high in protein, Use a rack to roast your turkey so the fat drips away. Baste your bird with fat-free broth, instead of butter.

If you’re trying to shave off calories and fat, choose a turkey breast roast this year instead of the whole bird.
Be sure to have a gravy separator on hand. This indispensable tool quickly skims excess fat from your pan drippings.

Stuffing/dressing: Whole grains deserve a place on your holiday table. Skip the tired old white bread stuffing and whip up a savory batch of cornbread croutons for a memorable holiday dressing peppered with chunks of spicy low fat turkey sausage and dried fruit.

If you’re using broth for stuffing or gravy, be sure to choose fat-free.
If the stuffing calls for sautéed veggies such as celery, onions and mushrooms, use a nonstick pan to minimize the amount of oil required to cook them.
If you bake your stuffing outside of the bird, it’s called dressing. This also means that no juice (or fat) from the baking turkey is absorbed, resulting in a drastic calorie reduction. The right combination of ingredients can result in a dressing that is just as delicious and moist when baked outside the bird.

Pumpkin pie or sweet potato pie: Make pumpkin (or sweet potato) pies with canned, evaporated, skimmed milk. It’s more concentrated — rich and creamy with lower calories and fat than regular evaporated milk

Try to decrease the amount of sweetener in your favorite recipe by about 25 percent. And try using agave nectar as your sweetener. Unlike sugar, it’s loaded with antioxidants. Yes, it has calories, similar to those of honey, but it’s natural — not artificial or chemically processed. Sometimes kicking up the sweet spices a notch, e.g., cinnamon, cloves, ginger, helps to stretch the flavor so the lesser amount of sweetener isn’t as noticeable.
Substitute most or all of the whole eggs with egg whites.
Eat just the filling of the finished pie and skip the high fat crust. Or, bake the filling in a springform pan without any crust at all.
Try a different pumpkin dessert this year and start a new family tradition. Below is a recipe for Sweet Pumpkin Polenta from Positively Ageless.

Miscellaneous tips: Season vegetables with fresh herbs and low sodium seasonings — skip the butter.

There’s plenty of starch at this meal — why not skip the dinner rolls altogether? If that’s not an option, be sure to choose whole grain rolls.

Happy Holidays and happy cooking!

Why Build Muscle As You Age?

Protective Antioxidants In Every Bite

Sweet Pumpkin Polenta

Is Holiday Weight Gain Inevitable?

Nov 17, 2008

Family doctor James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H., publishes James Hubbard's My Family Doctor, a magazine written by health-care professionals for the general public. It provides fun-to-read, in-depth insight and advice on staying healthy, combating disease and learning about how your body works. Topics include nutrition, mental health, children's health and much more.

Dubbed “An Apostle for Fitness” in her profile in the Wall Street Journal, Carole Carson has been a featured guest on more than sixty radio and television shows, including NBC’s Today show, CBS’s Early Show, MSNBC’s Countdown, and CNN News. Carole has been featured in magazines such as American Fitness, Diet & Exercise Magazine, and Today’s Health & Wellness, as well as in newspapers such as the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Carole CarsonTampa Tribune, Sacramento Bee, Baltimore Sun and the Los Angeles Times. Carole’s book, From Fat to Fit, was named a finalist in the health and fitness category of the National Best Books 2007 Awards, sponsored by USA Book News.

Besides teaching and consulting, Carole has produced a weekly community television show, The Tipping Point and a reality show, Go Fat to Fit.

Carole Carson--

Is weight gain during the holidays inevitable? For the answer, I turned to Dr. James Hubbard, a family doctor for over 25 years and the publisher of James Hubbard’s My Family Doctor. My questions and his insight, comments and advice follow.

Carole Carson: Does holiday weight gain become permanent?

James Hubbard: A March 23, 2000, article in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests most does, at least in the people who were studied. The researchers weighed volunteers four times (in mid-November, January, March and September). The average weight gain during the November-to-January holiday season was three pounds. (Volunteers thought they had gained about double that.) Only 10 percent gained more than five pounds, and 50 percent gained two pounds or fewer.

The volunteers gained minimal weight during the other periods of the year, but come the following fall, an average of one pound was still hanging on. Past studies suggest that people gain an average of about a pound a year during adulthood. It was not known, until now, if the weight gain was steady or sporadic.

Carole Carson: How can I prevent the unwanted gift of surplus inches and pounds during the holidays?

James Hubbard: Plan ahead. Be ready to react to situations before they occur. For example, just say no. Whether at work, home or parties, no one is forcing you to imbibe. If you are afraid you will offend the ones offering, respond with a story: “I’m watching my blood pressure” (or sugar or cholesterol—fill in the blank). If the host replies, “Oh, just one won’t hurt,” then reply, “I just ate; I’ll take one with me," (then throw it away) or "My doctor said just one could kill me." Or make up your own story.

Carole Carson: What are the pitfalls of holiday eating and entertaining?

James Hubbard: During the holidays, treats abound. Eat only the ones you really like (in moderation). Don’t try them all. Using a small plate, select your favorite treat, some veggies and water, and get away from that food table. And watch the liquor. It contains hidden calories, makes you hungry and lowers your will power.

Carole Carson: With all the extra demands on my time during the holiday season, I’m tempted to abandon my exercise routine and pick it up next year. What’s your advice?

James Hubbard: If you want to avoid adding weight, keep exercising. In the study cited above, the subjects who reported the most physical exercise gained the least weight. Find creative winter activities such as walks in the mall, skiing, gym activities or indoor swimming that will inspire you to keep moving.

Carole Carson: Can I entertain guests without sabotaging their efforts to stay trim?

James Hubbard: If you throw a party, plan activities other than just food, drink and talk. Add the element of games such as table tennis. Or entertain with a brunch followed by a walk.

Carole Carson: Do I have to watch others indulge while I deprive myself?

James Hubbard: Enjoy the holidays. Enjoy the food. At the same time, remember that you are not a kid anymore. You don’t have to eat until you are stuffed or sick.

Carole--If we don’t want to begin the New Year looking at a higher number on the bathroom scale or begin the holiday season in November 2009 with even more surplus weight, we’d best heed Dr. Hubbard’s excellent advice.

Balance Your Fitness Portfolio on a Shoestring

CDC Broadens Age For Flu Shots In Children

Penny-Wise But Pound-Foolish

Update on Nov 18, 2008 by

At Basil & Spice

Reuters!

Artificial Sweeteners Cause Obesity

Oct 22, 2008

Dr. Mark Hyman is a sought-after medical consultant, three-time New York Times bestselling author, educator, and a leader in the emerging field of functional medicine. Functional medicine treats the underlying biological cause of disease, instead of managing or masking symptoms. It is the change people have been waiting for—the future of conventional medicine, available now. Functional medicine is more successful in treating illness and disease, and the solution to the epidemic of chronic disease. Dr. Hyman’s new book, The UltraMind Solution, will be published in January 2009 by Scribner. An award winning author, with over 1 million copies in print in the United States, he has also published several other books, including UltraMetabolism: The Simple Plan for Automatic Weight Loss.

Editor-in-chief of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, the most prestigious journal in the field of integrative medicine, Dr. Hyman is the medical editor of Natural Solutions and on the editorial board of Body and Soul and Integrative Medicine: A Clinician’s Journal. Dr. Hyman collaborates with Harvard Medical School’s Center for Complementary and Integrative Medicine, and other of America’s leading medical schools.

Mark Hyman--

There’s no doubt about it.

Artificial sweeteners cause obesity.

I always thought it was funny to see a very large person order a Big Mac, large fries -- and top it off with a Diet Coke. I also found it peculiar that I rarely saw thin people drinking diet sodas.

So I began to wonder if there could be a link between diet beverages or artificial sweeteners and obesity.

As I began to explore this notion, I discovered a number of different research findings that pointed to this very phenomenon.

First, our current obesity epidemic has coincided perfectly with the introduction of large amounts of artificial sweeteners into our food supply. Although we cannot say for sure that this means artificial sweeteners cause obesity, it certainly makes me wonder.

Next, a body of research indicates that just the thought or smell of food initiates a whole set of hormonal and physiologic responses that get the body ready for food.

This is familiar to us from Pavlov’s dog experiment, where he trained dogs to salivate by associating the ringing of a bell with the presentation of food. By doing this repeatedly, he eventually trained the dogs to salivate in anticipation of food simply by ringing the bell -- without any food at all.

Think of diet sodas and artificial sweeteners as ringing the bell for your physiology.

But why is that bad? And why is it even worse to ring the bell with artificial sweeteners and then not provide any sugar along with the bell?

What happens to the body?

Our brains know how to get our bodies ready for food. It is called the cephalic (for “head”) phase reflex. Your brain is preparing for food even before your fork or cup crosses your lips.

This allows you to anticipate and prepare for the arrival of nutrients in your intestinal tract, improves the efficiency of how your nutrients are absorbed, and minimizes the degree to which food will disturb your natural hormonal balance and create weight gain.

So in a way, your body is already preparing to regulate your energy balance, metabolism, weight, calorie burning, and many other things -- just by thinking about food.

Any sweet taste will signal your body that calories are on the way and trigger a whole set of hormonal and metabolic responses to get ready for those calories.

When you trick your body and feed it non-nutritive or non-caloric sweeteners, like aspartame, acesulfame, saccharin, sucralose, or even natural sweeteners like stevia, it gets confused.

And research supports this.

An exciting new study in the Journal of Behavioral Neuroscience has shown conclusively that using artificial sweeteners not only does not prevent weight gain, but induces a whole set of physiologic and hormonal responses that actually make you gain weight.

The researchers proved this by giving two different groups of rats some yogurt. One batch of yogurt was sweetened with sugar. The other was sweetened with saccharin.

They found that three major things happened over a very short period of time in the rats that were fed artificially sweetened yogurt.

First, the researchers found that the total food eaten over 14 days dramatically increased in the artificial sweetener group -- meaning that the artificial sweetener stimulated their appetite and made them eat more.

Second, these rats gained a lot more weight and their body fat increased significantly.

And third (and this is very concerning) was the change in core body temperature of the rats fed the artificial sweeteners. Their core body temperature decreased, meaning their metabolism slowed down.

So not only did the rats eat more, gain more weight, and have more body fat, but they actually lowered their core body temperature and slowed their metabolism.

As I have said many times before, all calories are not created equal.

The most astounding finding in the study was that even though the rats that ate the saccharin-sweetened yogurt consumed fewer calories overall than the rats that ate the sugar-sweetened yogurt, they gained more weight and body fat.

These findings turn the conventional view that people will consume fewer calories by drinking artificially sweetened drinks or eating artificially sweetened foods on its head.

Despite their name, these are not “diet” drinks. They are actually “weight gain” drinks!

We’re surrounded by low-calorie, “health conscious foods” and diet soft drinks that contain sweeteners. As a result, the number of Americans who consume products that contain sugar-free sweeteners grew from 70 million in 1987 to 160 million in 2000.

At the same time, the incidence of obesity in the United States has doubled from 15 percent to 30 percent across all age groups, ethnic groups, and social strata. And the number of overweight Americans has increased from about 30 percent to over 65 percent of the population. The fastest growing obese population is children.

My bottom line?

Avoid artificial sweeteners, including aspartame, acesulfame, sucralose, sugar alcohols such as malitol and xylitol (pretty much anything that ends in “ol”), as well as natural artificial sweeteners like stevia.

Stop confusing your body. If you have a desire for something sweet, have a little sugar, but stay away from “fake” foods.

Eating a whole-foods diet that has a low glycemic load and is rich in phytonutrients and indulging in a few real sweet treats once in a while is a better alternative than tricking your body with artificial sweeteners -- which leads to wide scale metabolic rebellion and obesity.

So, put that teaspoon of sugar in your tea and enjoy!

Now I’d like to hear from you…

Do you use artificially sweetened products?

How have they affected your weight?

What sweet treats do you indulge in?

Has this finding taken you by surprise?

Please let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment.

To your good health,

Mark Hyman, M.D.

Eating a Low-Fat Diet Doesn't Lead to WeightLoss

Are Your Food Allergies Making YouFat?

Update on Oct 27, 2008 by