Low Glycemic Index Diets may NOT Work

Low Glycemic Index (LGI) diets is a popular weight loss trend of recent years that enjoys growing popularity. Dieters are increasingly interested in the glycemic value of foods after some studies suggested that a low-glycaemic diet could help control weight. It just sounds more sensible than many others. However, many experts have questioned whether there is enough evidence to demonstrate that low GI diets can cause weight loss. A new study may just give more credence to the naysayers of the low glycemic index diets and could just nudge this diet trend further towards the thrash box that is labelled as "Fad Diets".

Researchers from the University of Minnesota tested whether reducing the glycaemic index of a diet already low in calories would have any further benefit for a group of obese adults. Although the new trial confirmed the benefit of lowering glycemic index on insulin sensitivity, it did not impact the subjects' weight, they write in the October 2005 issue of the Journal of Nutrition.

"In summary, lowering the glycemic load and glycemic index of weight reduction diets does not provide any added benefit to energy restriction in promoting weight loss in obese subjects," conclude the researchers.

Time to unload the faith on the glycemic load, folks. Base your faith on researched weight loss facts.

Weighty Problem for Dr. Phil's Weight Loss Venture

I was honestly alarmed when I first saw Dr. Phil peddling weight loss bars. It was totally out of character with the straight shooting people's therapist to suddenly be pictured as a snake oil salesman. Most trained nutritionists knew that the claims, whether expressed or implied by the food bar ads were simply unsubstantiated by studies. So what was he thinking? Bad advise by greedy agents perhaps. But hey, he's supposed to be the expert. Now, he's facing class-action lawsuits.

Welcome to the U.S of A. You milk your brand name for maximum $$. On the other hand if you're a brand name with $$ already and you're peddling fluff, also be prepared for other people's attempt to milk your money. False weight loss claims are littered with lawsuits, and he's lucky that so far the FTC had only asked him to stop selling his supplements, unlike the financial redress that they sought from others such as Thermalean and Lipodrene.

So far any supplement that claims to (and actually does) promote fat metabolism has gone down the road to hell - such as ephedra and Fen-phen. They either lack clinical support or worse, introduce dangerous side effects.

Take your medicine and stick to your knitting, Dr. Phil. As a pyscho-therapist, you're still our man.

Lew

Australia's Bestselling Csiro's Diet Book Questioned

There is a book in Australia that outsells the da Vinci Code and the latest Harry Potter book - the Csiro's Total Wellbeing Diet Book. In a country og 20 million people, it has sold over 370,000 copies and the publisher is targetting 1 million.

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (Csiro) is an Australian government-sponsored organization that gets involved in the wellbeing of the country's agricultural industry. This research was partly funded by the Meat and Livestock Industry and Dairy Australia. Should it be surprising that it would promote a high level of protein consumption in its recommended diet - in fact, 200g of red meat four times a week?

The book suggests that studies have "scientifically proven" that a high-protein diet is superior for weight loss - an exaggeration of the research findings. The claim that its diet reduces abdominal fat in women better than other diets, this applied only to women with high triglyceride levels. There is no evidence it helps other women and men with belly fat. Similarly, the claim that this high-protein diet is more "satisfying" and therefore easier to maintain than the high-carb diet is based on speculation. Don't end up as a slimmer but carrying a time bomb waiting to detonate a heart attack.

Read a more detailed review of the Csiro diet at weightlossadviser.com.

It goes to show that even government-sponsored diet programs can sink into fadism. For more on what the greater scientific body supports for weight loss, take a look at a free fact-based web-book.

Lew

The Obesity Myth's own Myths

Paul Campos has become something of a spokesman for the anti-establishment view on obesity through his book, The Obesity Myth. The idea that much of the spin we hear from official sources about obesity is myth strikes a chord with many independant theorists. But how much of Campos' views are themselves factual?

One of the big proponents of the dangers of obesity and its economical cost is the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), through its director Julie Gerberding. When she apologized for flawed data that overstated the risk of obesity, it was a triumph for Campos' The Obesity Myth, later reissued as The Diet Myth in May 2005.

Health Dangers are Always Overstated

People only take notice of a health danger when the media make it a big deal - like the AIDS, Mad Cow disease, Ebola, West Nile virus, the flu vaccine mismanagement, and so on. They may not live up to the hype but they sure carried the message. Obesity is no exception to this, and health advisers would generally agree with the message that the hype on obesity carries. Take a look at studies that associate the many ailmants with obesity regardless of the numbers.

How does Campos fare?

Campos claims suggests that America is obsessed with weight and is a nation of dieter. However, studies show the opposite to be true. According to a survey published in USA Today in 2002, only one out of every five women said that losing weight was a top priority. In 2000, a People magazine survey found that only a quarter of had dieted at any point in the previous year. Other studies show that one-third to one-half rarely or never diet.

He also suggests that "advising people to eat less and exercising more appears to have ended up Americans a good deal fatter". Any reasonable person will ask how this can be logical. It's not. Just because there is more advice out there, it doesn;t mean that people are following it. The facts as borne out by studies found that most Americans have poor eating habits and don't do much exercise.

Campos also blames the lack of self-esteem to be a cause of overeating and weight gain. In fact, in 1998, USA Weekend conducted one of the largest surveys taken of American youth, covering a quater of a million students. One of the results say that 93 percent of them feel good about themselves. A recent gallop poll show that 90 percent of adult Americans are confident of their looks. Other studies generally support the fact that the majority of the people feel good about how they look.

He goes on to denounce popular culture's obsession with thinness. It's true that popular media pushes the thin model to be associated with beauty. This is countered by the many voices that criticize underweight. There is also no evidence that the majority aim for a thin body, and make that an obsession.

Then there is the irrational suggestion that because obesity rate and life expectancy have risen in tandem, there may something in this correlation. Once again there are plenty of studies that link obesity with a host of ailments. So, it is really careless to associate obesity with longevity by highlighting the correlation. Increased lifespan today is attributable to better medical science, medical treatment, better facilities, and simply better medicines. Statisticians who think through what has been presented should cringe at how the numbers can be misinterpreted.

Conclusion

Obesity is associated with numerous poor health conditions and increased economical cost. There is no global or nationwide obsession with obesity, and even if there is, it does not cause obesity. So, some numbers were wrong. The hands that made the mistakes have been rapped, but it doesn't change the underlying picture.

Source:

This article is extracted from Weightlossadviser.com, "Review of The Obesity Myth and The Diet Myth by Paul Campos".

Watch out for Xenedrine EFX Side Effects

Xenedrine has been marketed by Cytodyne as a weight loss supplement for quite a while now in a number of health and fitness magazines. There evidence that this is a marketing success based on the claim that it "uses advanced thermogenic technology".

What the active ingredients actually do

The main ingredients buried under "Thermodyne™ Complex" include green-tea extract, bitter orange and caffeine of unknown quantity. More information can be glanced in a more detailed review of Xenedrine EFX.

It's hard to consider any of the ingredients as new technology. Green tea has been consumed by the Chinese and Japanese for thousand of years. However, a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition did find that when 10 men were given 270 mg of a green tea chemical called EGCG, and 50 mg caffeine, their metabolic rate increased by 4 percent, compared with less than 1 percent when they took caffeine alone. This result has been translated into a loss of 12 pounds a year. The problem with this conclusion is that that the study only looked at the effects of EGCG over a single day.

Side Effects Report

Of more concern is that according to a recent study by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco, Single doses of Xenedrine EFX has been found to cause increased heart rate by an average of 11 to 16 beats per minute over baseline. This would be the equivalent of an 18 percent increase if baseline rate is 80 beats per minute.

In addition, Xenadrine EFX also significantly increased blood pressure by 7 to 12 percent (9-10 mm Hg), the researchers reported. Xenadrine EFX appears to have similar acute cardiovascular stimulant actions as banned ephedra products, according to their report.

Conclusion

There is no easy way to know how much green tea extract is in each tablet of Xenedrine EFX. If it is green tea you're after, it is far cheaper to simply drink green tea. The bitter orange component has been tested to cause the unwelcome symptoms in other studies. With Xenedrine EFX you could be supplementing your way into hyperthyroidism-like condition that includes increased heartrate and blood pressure.

Atkins and low-carb diets ain't dead yet

If you're ever interested in news onthe subject of health and weight loss, you cannot avoid news about the bankruptcy of the Atkins organization. Atkins detractors celebrate the end of a fad. The company continues its misssion and undertakes a huge diet on its own to struggle for survival.

Meanwhile, many continue to swear by the diet. It is not a question that low-carb, high-protein, Atkins-type diets don't result in weight loss in the short term. Studies show that most dieters on Atkins eventually regain their weight, alongside other side effects.

At the end of the day, millions have reported very quick and substantial weight loss.
What is not fully understood, is exactly how Atkins works. At least one scientist, Dr Alex Johnstone, at the Rowett Research Institute in Scotland, believes that if she can crack that secret she might be able to develop an alternative diet that exploits the same mechanism, achieves weight loss on the same scale, but allows for healthier eating.

No, Atkins, low-carb and high-protein diets are far from dead. It would be a shame if they are dismissed without full understanding of why they work and why they don't.

Lew
www.slimlim.com
www.weightlossadviser.com

Hey, it's OK to be Fat (moderately)

What a bombshell week! The people at UC Berkeley were right all along. Overweight doesn't mean you're unhealthy. In fact, the shocker is that moderately overweight (BMI of 25-30) could be healthier than median weight.

Read the recent findings on the risks of being overweight here.

If this notion gets more support some things are going to change. For a start the definition of a healthy weight range will need to extend up to BMI of 30. Some emphasis may need to shift from weight to exercise and the quality of food. If you're overweight you can now chill a little.

Note that health risk increases significantly as you become obese, so it still pays to guard your weight. On the other hand it is found that being too thin also carries health risks.


Lew
www.weightlossadviser.com
www.slimlim.com
www.free-weight-loss-programs.net

Your Diet Program Costs Too Much?

If you are on the Jenny Craig, NutriSystem diet plans or just plain depending on other weight loss plans that supply your foods, you'd want to know how much more it's all costing you. Diet plans that also involve foods that are out of the ordinary like Atkins are also way up there. That's not surprising because everyone knows that protein and fat rich meats are expensive.

Here's what a study by Forbes found. Compared to a cost of about $54.44 a week for non-diet meals, the various popular diet plans cost as follows per week: Jenny Craig $137.65; Nutrisystem $113.52; Atkins $100.52; Weight Watchers $96.64; Zone Diet $92.84; Ornish Diet $78.74; South Beach Diet $78.61; Slim-Fast $77.73; Sugar Busters! $69.62; Subway Sandwich $68.60.

......and the rotten tomatoes go to Jenny Craig at more than three times the average cost of a normal diet.

You can read more details on the cost of these popular diets here.

Lew
www.weightlossadvser.com
www.slimlim.com

French Women DO Get Fat

Most people who have their radar up for weight loss information should have heard of the new weight loss bestseller, "French Women Don't Get Fat". The author publicly stated that you don't need to read statistics to know that French women are not fat. And that's because of their lifestyle - eating meals slowly and doing a lot of walking.

There is merit to the observation but I can't help feeling that such an unscientific approach is of little help. In fact over a third of French women are currently either overweight (fat) or obese (really fat). More worrisome yet are the trend lines. Obesity in French women rose from 8 percent in 1997 to 11.3 percent in 2003, an increase of over 40 percent. (For men it was about the same, from 8.4 percent to 11.4 percent.) So, French women don't get fat? Give me a break.

See the full article here on Statistics and Overweight French Women.

Lew
www.WeightLossAdviser.com
www.slimlim.com

Atkins Diet responding to reality

Are the Atkins Diet promoters finally recognizing the diet's failure? The consumers are voting with their checkbooks and the money propping up the Atkins fad is shrinking - and fast. The trend has been going the other way for Akins for more than one and a half years.

Bear in mind that the Atkins brand has been a commercial for at least a couple of years, selling and licenssing low carb products. Don't you think that there is a lack of credibility when you can't stick to your what defines you in the first place?

As a survival move they are now morphing into one of the many groups hailing the low glycemic index (GI) mantra - see the latest news. To be fair, Atkins was actually one of the earlier supporter of the GI concept. Hey, one's also got to do whatever it takes to survive.

But how good is the new GI fad? Read a fact-based article on the glycemic index and make your own conclusion. (I'm yet to be convinced.)


Lew
www.WeightLossAdviser.com
www.SlimLim.com

How to Lose 9 pounds in 11 days

There is a website out there promoting a software-driven diet program and ebook claiming that they can help you lose 9 pounds in 11 days. Let's see how this works.

Basically, you have to burn a net of 3500 kilocalories (kcal) to lose 1 pound. So, to lose 9 pounds in 11 days, you'll have to lose 31,500 kcal in 11 days or 2864 kcal a day. Most active men live on 2000 to 2500 kcal /day. Let's say you're at the upper limit of 2500 kcal/day. If you absolutely eat nothing and still manage to go about your normal activity for 11 days by which time you're probably dead, you would have lost only lost under 8 pounds.

Or look at at it in another way. The average man burns about 1800 kcal/day if he lies still, eats nothing and does nothing. Then in 11 days if he's still alive, he would have been short by 11,700 kcal and lost only 5.6 pounds. Let's say if he can still go running or walk (you'll burn 100 kcal/day by covering distances) while he's starving himself, he'll have cover 117 miles over the 11 days or 10.6 miles a day. Well that's one way to do it if you can miraculously survive all that after 11 days.

They claim that your body will adapt to a lower burn rate when you diet and the idea is to reach
that burn rate by switching to foods recommended by them. Even if you starve, you can't lose that weight, so how do you do that by eating anything?

Remember, losing more than 2 pounds a week is not recommended by any sane qualified dietician.

In conclusion, only a person with a death wish should try to lose 9 pounds in 11 days, or 10 pounds in 2 days, or 54 pounds in 6 weeks, etc. as the ads tell you. Follow what genuine researchers found. Try looking at their works at www.weightlossadviser.com.

Lew
WeightLossAdviser.com
SlimLim.com

Very Fat, Very Fit, but for how long?

Recent comments on a recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association about obese players on the NFL (National Fat(?) League) makes me rethink about the 'fat but fit' vs 'need to be slim at all cost' debate. See for example, comments in this news article .

My BMI is below 25 and these athletes are way above 30 judging by their height and weight - yet I wouldn't want to run a race against them. That's where measurements like BMI's are inadequate because some people have disproportionate amount of muscle mass. However, I dread to think of their downward slide in health when they eventually retire - think about the arthritis that will set in on their battered knees and the toll on the heart when their metabolic rate eventually slows down.

Seems to me that 'fat but fit' may be OK when you are young and for a relatively short duration. There are too many medical conditions attached to long term obesity to believe that it is healthy to remain grossly overweight into mature age.

Stay within a safe body weight range, people.

Lew
WeightLossAdviser.com
SlimLim.com

Hospitals retooling for Growing Obesity

The growing obesity is impacting daily service is interesting ways. Hospitals are now having to retool their facilities to cater for the growing number of obese patients.

The hottest-selling item in a local manufacturer's new medical equipment catalog is a hospital walker sturdy enough to assist a patient weighing up to 500 pounds. Throughout the Midwest and a nation suddenly acknowledging its mounting obesity epidemic, hospitals are adding new units, retrofitting their buildings, or simply investing in items such as heavy-duty wheelchairs, extra-strength toilets and even waiting-room chairs that can handle people weighing up to 1,000 pounds.

Big people make big impact, and the medical equipment suppliers are thanking the obese population for opening the doors to new opportunity. What's next - retooling for hotels?


Lew
www.WeightLossAdviser.com

Government Obesity Death Information Mess

What a mess the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) got itself into. Media all over have been taking pot shots at officials accusing them of scare-mongering when they earlier claimed 400,000 deaths a year being related to obesity. CDC even suffered the indignity of being accused of being influenced by big-money corporations into causing the alarm. The fact that they followed the methodology of a discredited researcher is an interesting one.

Still, I don't get the uproar. It was a correction from 400,000 to 365,000 - less than 10% correction. I've seen worse in corporate reporting and much worse in claims made by diet patch peddlers. The message is still that obesity is related to a lot of medical conditions, so stay within a healthy weight range.

Lew
www.weightlossadviser.com

Men Mars Women Venus Author is New Fadder

You remember the bestseller 'Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus' book don't you? I remember some sniffles from some renowned psychologists about the claims made in the book. But hey, it's pop culture and the author, John Gray made lots of money.

But I've got to say something about him peddling his milkshakes, MarsVenus Supershakes on the claims that they help you to lose weight because they balance the 'feel good' neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin. Sure smells of a bad attempt at a 'fad' diet. And that makes Gray a 'fadder'. One reason the claim's just not on because many people eat when they're happy too.

Sorry, to shake your shake Dr. Gray (pun intended) many substances affect your appetite. Some of the key ones are leptin (makes you feel full) and ghrelin (makes you hungry). Learn more about these and other hormones, and genes that affect weight.

Lew
WeightLossAdviser.com

Anna Nicole Smith will get Fat again

I'm not sure what's been motivating Anna Nicole Smith into looking that gorgeous again. All those ads she has done for Trimspa - when research shows that dietary supplements don't really work on ther own - is just plain irritating. Have you noticed that the script says nothing about the efficacy of the supplement? That's because the FDA will be after them if they do. The ads are type that push images that give you easy recollection of the product.

Anyway here's my theory, it's just plain easy for a sloppy celebrity to slip back into that great life of lying in and pigging out, when the job's done. But there are studies that support the theory that our genes cause 50%-90% of our weight structure. Then there is the Set Point Theory that claims that we ultimately settle down to a preset weight predisposed with us.

Sorry, keeping slim for many people is really a lot of work. The latest official dietary guidelines say that we need to work out 60 minutes a day to lose weight and 90 minutes to maintain it. Hope that's solidly backed by studies because it really is beyond what most people have the time to do.

Who's next - Kirsty Alley? I really do like her in 'Cheers', so I wish her well.

Lew
WeightLossAdviser.com