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FOR the past century, the advice to the overweight and obese has remained remarkably consistent: consume fewer calories than you expend and you will lose weight. This prescription seems eminently reasonable. The only problem is that it doesn't seem to work. Neither eating less nor moving more reverses the course of obesity in any but the rarest cases. ...There is considerable evidence that the obesity epidemic is caused by a hormonal phenomenon, specifically by the consumption of refined carbohydrates, starches and sugars, all of which prompt (sooner or later) excessive insulin secretion. Insulin is the primary regulator of fat storage....

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who opt for a meal at a "healthy" restaurant often consume more calories than they would dining at fast food joints that make no health claims, a new study shows. The researchers found that individuals underestimate the calorie content of foods served at restaurants they see as healthier, to a degree that could easily lead to weight gain. For example, "People think that the same 1,000-calorie meal has 159 fewer calories if it comes from Subway than if it comes from McDonalds," Dr. Pierre Chandon, at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France, told Reuters Health. "If...

SAN DIEGO, June 11 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say a synthetic form of a hormone that produces a feeling of fullness when eating, may also help cut binge eating and the desire for sweets. The findings on fast food consumption and binge eating tendencies are based on a six-week research study of 88 obese individuals that found pramlintide -- the synthetic form of the hormone amylin -- reduces 24-hour caloric intake and meal sizes and improves control of eating in obese subjects. "Satiety hormones are commonly thought to control food intake by signaling to the brain when we are full,"...

'Atkins hormone' discovered 05 June 2007 They are loved and endorsed by celebrities and dismissed as an unhealthy diet craze by critics. But 'low carb', high protein and high fat diets have proven their metabolic worth: scientists in the US have discovered a fat-burning role for a specific hormone stimulated by these eating regimes. The work has also raised the intriguing question of whether the Atkins diet could make you live longer. A group of researchers led by Steven Kliewer at Southwestern University in Dallas, Texas found that a growth hormone called fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) stimulates fat metabolism in...

All of a sudden, mayonnaise is in the news. Kraft touts its "first-of-its-kind" Big Mouth jar, a 32-ounce shatterproof container with an opening double the size of the one on a regular jar. Spatulas and even measuring cups fit neatly into the jar, which is available in Real Mayo and Light Mayo. It's about $2.65 in supermarkets. Not to be upstaged, Best Foods has introduced Canola Real Mayonnaise, made with canola oil instead of the soybean oil usually used in bottled mayo. Canola oil is said to have a better fatty-acid profile, meaning it contains higher levels of monounsaturated fat...

It was 1959. Jules Hirsch, a research physician at Rockefeller University, had gotten curious about weight loss in the obese. He was about to start a simple experiment that would change forever the way scientists think about fat. Obese people, he knew, had huge fat cells, stuffed with glistening yellow fat. What happened to those cells when people lost weight, he wondered. Did they shrink or did they go away? He decided to find out. It seemed straightforward. Dr. Hirsch found eight people who had been fat since childhood or adolescence and who agreed to live at the Rockefeller University...

Diets damage health, shows biggest ever studyBy FIONA MacRAE - Last updated at 00:24am on 10th April 2007Most people pile the pounds straight back on after dieting The world's largest study of weight loss has shown that diets do not work for the vast majority of slimmers and may even put lives at risk. More than two-thirds pile the pounds straight back on, raising the danger of heart attack, stroke and diabetes. Indeed most dieters end up heavier than they did to start with, the researchers found. They warn this type of yo-yo behaviour is linked to a host of...

This is from the Journal Of American Medical Association published on 7 March 2007. The authors are Christopher D. Gardner, PhD et al and the study was sponsored by Stanford University. This is a prospective study of these diets. The Atkins Diet is very low carbohydrate. The LEARN DIET is a comprehensive lifestyle, excercise, attitude and relationship approach that includes a diet low in fat and high carbohydrate. The Ornish Diet is very high in carbohydrates. The Zone Diet is low in carbohydrate. These diets are popular and can be easily Googled. Seventy or more premenopausal women randomly assigned to...

New Insights Into Healthful Compounds In Native American Diets In an advance toward understanding the early California Native American diet, food scientists have identified the full range of phytochemicals in tanoak acorns. Acorns were a staple in the diet of early Native Americans in California, comprising up to 50 percent of total food intake, Alyson E. Mitchell and colleagues note in a report in the current (Oct. 4) issue of the ACS biweekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Acorns are still used by Californian Native Americans -- special processing is needed to make the nuts edible -- to make...

    Perfect Diet? Eat Everything Fat, Carbs, Protein Must Balance, Dietitian Says Shiloh Woolman, Staff Writer Put down the diet book that touts a carb-free, protein-rich diet and tells you all fat is your mortal enemy. Get ready to learn the mystery to permanent weight loss.  Eating everything is the magic bullet, experts say. Variety is the key to not only a good-looking exterior, but a healthy body that can fight disease, according to Ann C. Grandjean, director of Omaha's Center for Human Nutrition, Inc. Grandjean suggests three golden rules for eating: balance, variety and correct servings. Mindful...

Hmmmm…. Starvation Could be BAD for Your Health ! Washington: Two UCLA researchers – working independently – have confirmed what millions of people in Africa already know : Starvation is NOT likely to increase one’s life span !! The reason research into this (rather well-settled) matter was done at all was: ( Ta-da !) Another “miracle diet”. Some researcher – who shall remain nameless – came up with the idea that cutting one’s caloric intake by one third would result in weight loss, better health, and increased longevity : as much as 125 years ! The UCLA researchers concluded :...

All the research shows that eating a good breakfast is critical to a healthy lifestyle. Skipping this important meal only ensures that you'll be hungrier when lunch rolls around. According to a study reported in the "American Journal of Epidemiology," people who skip breakfast are four-and-a-half times more likely to be overweight than those who don't. That all sounds splendid, but in the meantime, your cell phone is ringing and you're trying to get the kids to school, all while making a mad dash to work. Even when experts are faced with the question, "Is it better to eat nothing...

I wasted $3.99 last night renting "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason." Well, I hated it. First of all, it is quite annoying to me that everyone treats this girl like she is so unbelievably fat, what with all the references and snide comments about her weight. What does she weigh, like 135-140? Hello, I haven't weighed that since... 9th grade. Give me a freakin' break. I have news for you fat-phobes out there, I am well over 200 pounds and I don't have as much of a problem with my weight as this gal, who is maybe 10 lbs....

Fat, But not an Actress Tomorrow is the big premier of Kirstie Alley's new show "Fat Actress." I'm excited because I too, am fat. But to clarify, I'm NOT an actress. However, I'm starting another "Big Diet" tomorrow, maybe even inspired by this show. It's one of many diets I've been on over the years. My last one was successful, having lost about 50 pounds in, oh, about 6 months. But alas, after a few years, back surgery, and a new boyfriend (who claims he loves "all" of me) I gained it all back. I consider him responsible for 99...

  Holiday weight loss? Here is a New Years Resolution, that you can Keep!!TAKE IT OFF.. TAKE IT ALL OFF!By, Carlo3bI can barely recall those carefree days when TAKE IT ALL OFF, had a much more appealing connotation. Today, taking it off, too often means shedding unwanted pounds. Now the dreaded Happy Holidays feasts only add to the burdens, more of a OH NO, than a HO HO! Today, I am making a New Years Resolution that can actually come true, not just for me, but for you too.  How about this; TAKE IT OFF.. AND KEEP IT OFF!Many of...

Dieters hoping for a slew of new products with the sugar substitute Splenda may be disappointed next year. That's because the maker of sucralose, the key ingredient behind the increasingly ubiquitous no-calorie sweetener, is having trouble keeping up with demand. Tate & Lyle PLC, the world's only manufacturer of sucralose, said interest has so outpaced expectations the company won't take on new U.S. customers until it has doubled production at it's plant in McIntosh, Ala., sometime in early 2006. The company also plans to open a second plant in Singapore, according to a written statement. Buoyed by a surge in...

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - So much for the low-carbohydrate lifestyle. More than half of all U.S. consumers that have tried following diets that eschew carbs such as bread and sugar have given up, a survey released on Wednesday found, and interest in the popular regimens appears to have plateaued. According to research firm InsightExpress, which conducted the survey online, fewer than 10 percent of Americans are currently on popular low-carbohydrate diets such as the Atkins, South Beach and The Zone. In contrast, a survey conducted in December of last year by Opinion Dynamics Corporation found that, at the time, 11...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Popular low-carbohydrate diets are leading Americans to poor health and are spawning a rip-off industry of "carb-friendly" products, health experts and consumer advocates said on Tuesday. They announced a new group, called the Partnership for Essential Nutrition, to help educate Americans about the need for healthy carbohydrates such as vegetables, fruits, beans and whole grains. "When unproven science becomes a sales pitch, some people get rich and the rest of us get ripped off," Jeffrey Prince of the American Institute for Cancer Research told a news conference. "Eating vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans, which are all...

<p>May 16, 2004 -- Dr. Atkins' disciples are eating major food companies alive. The low-carb diet trend is turning the stomachs of the makers of traditional staples like bread and pasta, who are blaming their shrinking profits on shrinking waistlines.</p>