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People who have had obesity-related type 2 diabetes for years have been cured, at least temporarily, by keeping to an extreme, low-calorie diet for two months.

The discovery, reported by scientists at Newcastle University in the UK, overturns previous assumptions about type 2 diabetes, which was thought to be a lifelong illness.

In the UK about two and a half million people have been diagnosed with diabetes, the large majority with type 2, and numbers are rising across much of the world. The condition has to be controlled with drugs and eventually insulin injections.

Eleven people with diabetes took part in the study, which was funded by Diabetes UK. “To have people free of diabetes after years with the condition is remarkable – and all because of an eight-week diet,” said Roy Taylor, professor at Newcastle University, who led the study. “This is a radical change in understanding type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes, which used to be known as adult onset, is caused by too much glucose in the blood. The research, presented today at the American Diabetes Association conference, shows that an extremely low-calorie diet, consisting of diet drinks and non-starchy vegetables, prompts the body to remove the fat clogging the pancreas and preventing it from making insulin.

After just one week into the study, the pre-breakfast blood sugar levels of the study group had returned to normal. The pancreas regained its ability to make insulin.

After the eight-week diet the volunteers returned to normal eating but had advice on healthy foods and portion size. Ten of the group were retested and seven had stayed free of diabetes.

Taylor, the director of the Newcastle Magnetic Resonance Centre, had the idea for the study after it was shown that diabetes was reversed in people who had undergone stomach stapling or other forms of bariatric surgery because of obesity. “We believe this shows that type 2 diabetes is all about energy balance in the body,” said Taylor. “If you are eating more than you burn, then the excess is stored in the liver and pancreas as fat, which can lead to type 2 diabetes in some people. What we need to examine further is why some people are more susceptible to developing diabetes than others.”

He warned that only a minority of people, perhaps 5% or 10%, would be able to stick to the harsh diet necessary to get rid of diabetes. Iain Frame, director of research at Diabetes UK, said people should not embark on such a diet without a doctor’s approval and help. “We welcome the results of this research because it shows that type 2 diabetes can be reversed, on a par with successful surgery without the side effects.

“However, this diet is not an easy fix and Diabetes UK strongly recommends that such a drastic diet should only be undertaken under medical supervision.”

Read the full article here.

Is GMO food safe? What does “safe” mean? What are the risks? Do we actually know the risks attached to GMO food?

You will be surprised how prevalent GMO food is and how little we actually know about it.

In his hour long, in-depth interview Dr Mercola probes these issues and more with Dr. Philip Bereano, Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington and an actively engaged activist against genetically modified (GM) foods.

See all 6 parts of the interview here where you can also download the complete transcript of the interview.

By Yvonne McAllister

Do compound cholesterol supplements really help reduce cholesterol naturally or is this a scam perpetrated by manufacturers who want to boost their sales? In this article, I show you what to look out for when you consider using such supplements in your effort to maintain healthy cholesterol levels.

Nutrition and Cholesterol

One thing is certain: It has been established beyond doubt that proper nutrition and exercise can help reduce cholesterol and triglyceride levels and maintain these levels afterwards. In fact, some nutrient, such as those derived from red yeast rice or flax seed, can be as effective as statins but without the side effects created by medication. Plenty of clinical studies and experiential evidence testify to the power of nutrition. It is, therefore, possible to reduce cholesterol naturally.

Cholesterol supplements are fundamentally nutritional supplements. They do what their name implies: they supplement your dietary/nutritional intake when it is not possible to eat sufficient amounts to derive the benefits for your cholesterol levels without harming you in other ways, for instance through excessive weight gain.

These supplements come in two varieties: single nutrient supplements or compound supplements.

Compound Cholesterol Supplements

Let’s focus on compound supplements here. These compounds are manufactured from natural ingredients, in some cases entirely from organically grown plants. The nutrients in these natural cholesterol supplements are combined with the intention to boost the return to or maintenance of healthy cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Some compounds include detox properties that particularly target the liver, the source of at least 75 percent of our body’s cholesterol.

These compound cholesterol supplements are designed to help achieve one or a combination of several of the following:

• Reduce LDL levels
• Raise HDL levels
• Reduce overall cholesterol
• Reduce homocystein levels
• Maintain healthy cholesterol levels
• Reduce plaque
• Detox, especially the liver
• Maintain healthy glucose levels.

Which Supplements Should You Choose?

Manufacturers and vendors of supplements have to abide by labeling laws and display ingredients, daily values, quantities of ingredients and active substances of their products. We, as consumers, can use this information to determine whether the specific supplement is fit for our purposes.

How can we tell whether this is so? By doing our due diligence, as it were, on which nutrients are useful and which ones are not quite what they are sometimes claimed to be. One way of carrying out this research is to check listed ingredients against their known nutritional properties. The Internet will provide you with all the information you need.

In addition, some compounds have been clinically tested. Where they exist, test results are generally made available on the manufacturer’s website. It pays to read trial results carefully and perhaps cross reference them with a bit of online sleuthing. After all, it’s our health that is at stake here.

Most importantly, do not forget to consult a suitably qualified medical professional if you think that your cholesterol levels are too high. You should definitely do this if you are on cholesterol medication and are considering supplementing in order to aid your recovery.

All the information you need is available on the internet. I invite you to visit http://mylowcholesteroldietplan.com/ for details about foods to lower cholesterol. Detailed information about supplements and what to look out for is in the section on Cholesterol Supplements.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Yvonne_McAllister

By Yvonne McAllister

Supplements lowering high cholesterol can be an important part of your diet. They take the impact of foods to lower cholesterol a step further. It may not always be possible to obtain the necessary cholesterol lowering nutrient levels through your food. This is where supplements step in.

They provide concentrated plant extracts or oils that, if taken in the correct quantity, help you control you cholesterol levels. Taken at sufficient levels, some plant extracts can be as effective as prescription drugs. However, cholesterol lowering supplements are, above all, nutritional supplements. They are not medication nor should they be used to replace drugs without consulting a suitably qualified medical practitioner first.

Let’s clarify what we mean by ‘lowering high cholesterol’:

There are two types cholesterol in the bloodstream: LDL (low-density lipoprotein) and HDL (high-density lipoprotein). LDL, the “bad” cholesterol, carries cholesterol from the liver into the body and HDL, the “good” cholesterol, takes the excess cholesterol from the body for disposal back to the liver.

‘Lowering high cholesterol’ means lowering LDL levels and raising HDL levels while bringing down total cholesterol levels.

We can classify cholesterol lowering supplements into three groups:

1. Extracts of specific plants
2. Foods ‘designed’ to lower high cholesterol
3. Compounds

1. Extracts of Specific Plants

Supermarkets, health food stores and specialist retailers sell a large variety of ‘heart healthy’ supplements containing extracts of specific plants. It is important to get sufficient information about these extracts because not all of them will have the desired effect on cholesterol.

Some extracts, such as fish oils, will lower triglycerides, another blood lipid, but will have no effect on cholesterol.

Other extracts, such as chromium and niacin, are best taken in combination as this has been shown to produce the desired results without the side effects of high niacin consumption.

Most people don’t seem to be aware that fibre comes in two forms – soluble and insoluble fibre. Only soluble fibre helps lower high cholesterol levels while insoluble fibre has no impact.

Health effects of garlic and ginseng supplements are undisputed but their ability to lower high cholesterol levels has not been conclusively established.

Especially in the case of garlic, the form in which it is taken has no impact on its effectiveness. This means that there are no disadvantages to taking it as a supplement for those of us who don’t like raw or cooked garlic in their food.

One specific supplement, red yeast rice, has been very controversial as it contains naturally occurring lovastatin, a statin that is also found in prescription drugs. Depending on the concentration, red yeast rice supplements can have severe side effects. This danger is aggravated by the lack of clear labelling on many of the red yeast rice supplement products.

2. Foods ‘Designed’ To Lower Cholesterol

Foods designed to lower cholesterol are not, strictly speaking, supplements. They are foods enriched with sterols and stanols by the manufacturer and include spreads, yoghurt products and juices.

Their consumption is recommended by organisations such as the American Heart Association for people who need to lower their cholesterol levels. There is no evidence that others will benefit from these foods.

They are specifically not advised for pregnant or breastfeeding women and for children.

3. Compounds

The final group of supplements, such as Hypercet and Premia, consists of compounds of nutrients that are designed to maximise their effectiveness to lower high cholesterol levels. Before buying these compounds, make sure that they have been clinically tested.

For more detail about all three groups of supplements to lower high cholesterol levels I invite you to visit my blog. You can also find more information about low cholesterol diet plan and foods to lower cholesterol at http://mylowcholesteroldietplan.com/

Article Source:  Supplements Lowering High Cholesterol

By Yvonne McAllister

High cholesterol levels, more specifically high LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels are a major contributor to heart disease. It is very easy to modify your diet and integrate foods to lower cholesterol in a low cholesterol diet plan. They will help you not just to reduce but also to control your cholesterol levels in the long run.

It is now generally accepted what a “heart healthy” diet is and that a diet for high cholesterol must be part of it. Most people won’t even be aware that nutritional guidelines for healthy living automatically embrace lots of foods to lower cholesterol. These guidelines are now pretty much universal and include:

• Eat less fat. Drastically reduce your consumption of saturated fats, and cut out trans fats (“hydrogenated” vegetable oils). Saturated fats can increase total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. Replace these with mono- and polyunsaturated fats.
• Substitute meat with lean meat, poultry or fish
• Increase your consumption of fruit and vegetables.
• Replace refined carbohydrates in your diet for high cholesterol with complex carbohydrates.

Let’s look at what this means in detail.

Fats:
Avoid as much as possible or cut out altogether: butter, hard cheese, fatty meat, meat products, biscuits, cakes, cream, lard, dripping, suet, ghee, coconut oil, palm oil, hardened (“stick”) margarine.

Replace by:
Monounsaturated fats: These fats can lower the LDL level but do not lower the level of HDL cholesterol. They are found in olive oil, rapeseed oil, avocado, nuts and seeds such as almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, peanuts and pistachios.
Polyunsaturated fats: These fats are an essential nutrients and must be part of a diet for high cholesterol. They can help lower LDL cholesterol (which is a good effect), but they also lower HDL cholesterol. They are found in corn oil, sunflower oil, soya oil, nuts and seeds such as walnuts, pine nuts, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds.
Oily fish contains Omega 3 fatty acids, a particular type of polyunsaturated fat that can help to reduce triglyceride levels in the blood. Although it does not modify cholesterol levels, triglycerides are equally important.
Oily fish includes (wild) salmon, halibut, herring, mackerel, pilchards, sardines, lake trout, tuna.

Meat:
Avoid as much as possible or cut out altogether: Fatty or marbled meat and meat product as they are high in saturated fat. Also avoid roasting or frying.

Replace by: poultry (without the skin), fish, or lean cuts of meat that are best steamed, poached, grilled or boiled.
Additional protein can be obtained from soya (soya milk, soya yoghurts, tofu), beans and pulses. Beans and pulses are also good sources of fibre.

Fruit and Vegetables:
The benefits of eating above all fresh fruit and vegetables cannot be overstated. Conservative advice now tells you to eat 5 portions a day. You really ought to have from 7 to 11 portions each day. A portion is roughly a handful.

Among the major benefits of eating fruit and vegetables are:

• Natural antioxidants – they play a key role in a diet for high cholesterol as they help reduce damage caused by LDL. LDL cholesterol is not very stable. It oxidises easily and can then damage your arterial walls. There is evidence that it is oxidised LDL cholesterol, rather than cholesterol itself, that contributes to cardio vascular disease.
• Soluble fibre provided by fruit and vegetables helps eliminate cholesterol from the intestine.

Carbohydrates:
Avoid as much as possible or cut out altogether refined carbohydrates: white bread, rice, pasta. Refined carbohydrates have been stripped of most nutrients.

Replace by: Complex carbohydrates such as whole grain bread, brown rice, wholemeal pasta, oats. Complex carbohydrates contain fibre and other nutrients the body needs.

This general framework of a healthy diet includes a low cholesterol diet plan will automatically take care for you of foods to lower cholesterol.

I invite you to find out more about specific foods to include in a low cholesterol diet plan at http://mylowcholesteroldietplan.com/foods-2/best-foods-to-lower-cholesterol/
You find more information about various aspects of a diet for high cholesterol at http://mylowcholesteroldietplan.com/

Originally published by Ezinearticles.com

From: Abstract (provisional) of “Arginine and antioxidant supplement on performance in elderly male cyclists: a randomized controlled trial”

A study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (23 March 2010) has shown that an arginine and antioxidant-containing supplement increased the anaerobic threshold at both week one and week three in elderly cyclists.

Background to the Study

Human exercise capacity declines with advancing age. These changes often result in loss of physical fitness and more rapid senescence. Nitric oxide (NO) has been implicated in improvement of exercise capacity through vascular smooth muscle relaxation in both coronary and skeletal muscle arteries, as well as via independent mechanisms. Antioxidants may prevent nitric oxide inactivation by oxygen free radicals. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an L-arginine and antioxidant supplement on exercise performance in elderly male cyclists.

To carry out the study, sixteen male cyclists were randomized to receive either a proprietary supplement (Niteworks(R), Herbalife International Inc., Century City, CA) or a placebo powder. Exercise parameters were assessed by maximal incremental exercise testing performed on a stationary cycle ergometer using breath-by-breath analysis at baseline, week one and week three.

Result

L-arginine and antioxidant supplementation can improve exercise performance in the elderly.

You can read a provisional pdf version of the full study here.

Physicians and nutrition scientists from around the world gathered today in Orlando for the opening of the Global Nutrition Transition Conference in order to discuss emerging trends and grass roots solutions to the global obesity epidemic employing balanced nutrition and teaching healthy active lifestyles.

The conference is addressing what is termed the “Nutrition Transition” – the effect of the globalization of the Western diet which is changing dietary patterns and the incidence of overweight and obesity throughout the world. Conference presenters focused on the dramatic increases in the incidence of overweight and obesity in countries where, until recently, obesity was virtually unknown.

Today’s speakers included Dr. Adam Drewnowski, director of the Center for Public Health Nutrition at the University of Washington, Seattle; Dr. Anoop Misra, director of the Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases department of the Fortis Group of Hospitals in New Delhi, India; Dr. Nataniel Viuniski of Unimed Hospital, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; Dr. Linong Ji of Peking University in China; and Dr. Marion Flechtner-Mors of the University of Ulm, Germany.

As developing countries become more prosperous, they begin to share some of the health problems of the industrialized world – including huge increases in the number of adults and children who are carrying excess weight. In countries such as India and China, the recent migration to cities from rural areas and the increase in personal incomes has been accompanied by an increased incidence of overweight and obesity.

“While America and Mexico currently have the highest rates of overweight and obesity worldwide, rates are skyrocketing in Asia, particularly in India and China,” said Ji.

Current trends in the global diet have led to rising consumption of high fat, high sugar foods, which can displace local eating habits. As the food supply shifts, calorie intake goes up, but nutrient quality suffers. And activity levels are dropping, too. “As a result, China has seen its obesity rates nearly double since 1989, and 20% of India’s citizens are overweight or obese,” notes Ji.

At the same time, the incidence of obesity-related diseases is also on the rise. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations predicts that between 1998 and 2025, the number of people with type 2 diabetes worldwide will double – to 300 million – and that the majority of the increase will be in the developing world. Moreover, 80 percent of all heart disease in the world in the next 10 years will be due to diabetes type 2 associated with overweight and obesity.

The benefits of a total nutrition solution – one which encompasses the inclusion of a range of plant foods, and an emphasis on low fat proteins and healthy fats – is a cornerstone in building new dietary patterns. But the challenge will be to improve the nutritional quality and diversity of the world’s diet, while meeting demands for taste, convenience and value.

“One consequence of globalization is that the world’s people are consuming more foods that are energy rich, but nutrient poor,” notes Drewnowski. “And while convenience foods save time and money, restoring the nutrient balance of the global diet should be top priority. As long as there is limited access to healthy, affordable foods, nutrient supplements will be needed to help fill nutrient gaps,” he adds.

The Global Nutrition Transition Conference aims to explore the impact of this dramatic shift in diet and exercise patterns on world health, and to present insights into combating what is now a universal concern.

The two-day Conference is being sponsored by Herbalife. Drs. Flechtner-Mors, Ji, Misra, and Viuniski are members of Herbalife’s global Nutrition Advisory Board.

(Source: BUSINESS WIRE, Mar 15, 2010)

Fruit, whole or as juice, is an indispensible part of a healthy breakfast. Now, it seems, we have to watch out how our juices are packaged if we want to avoid causing the opposite to what we intend.

Scientists University of Copenhagen found that bottles of fruit juice and squash/cordial contain levels of antimony that were 2.5 times higher than deemed safe in drinking water under EU guidelines. In some cases the levels of antimony were ten times higher.

What is antimony? Antimony is often used in the production of PET bottles, the clear plastic bottles in which we like to buy our fruit juices.

The study has now shown that sugary drinks (fruit juices…) can be dangerous if bought and stored in these clear plastic bottles. Other studies have shown that the danger is not only that of cancer but also of disruption to our endocrine system. This means that this causes disruption to the functioning of our body’s own hormones.

Not a pretty picture? See for yourself:

You can read the full article on “Carcinogen antimony found in fruit juices” here.

Definitions and explanations of PET and antimony are most easily accessed at the Wiki articles on PET – Polyethylene terephthalate.

Here is a useful definition of Endocrine disruption and which chemicals cause it.

Healthy breakfast, balanced meals, healthy snacks – are these just slogans that others wield to make us feel guilty? Or do they have solid, scientifically based foundations that can offer us guidance for day-to-day living?

A few weeks ago, …
…at dinner in one of our local eateries, my friend pointed to his plate: “It’s great, this is a balanced meal; carbs, protein, vegetables, fat. Everything the body needs. You should be proud of me the way I’m eating.”
On the face of it, he was right about the pizza in front of him. His pizza did offer all these goodies. Only they weren’t all that good when you looked at them in detail.

Carbs – naturally, the pizza base was carbohydrate but as it was made from refined, white flour, it offered little else but calories as far as nutrition went. No fibre, vitamins or other essential nutrients. Plenty, though, for his spare tyre.

Protein – sure, cheese and pepperoni are protein. But what they brought to the table was a lot of saturated fat, the “bad” high cholesterol stuff that clogs our arteries, which far outweighed the benefits gained from the other nutrients they still contained. Let’s not talk about preservatives, either.

Vegetables – certainly, there was tomato sauce and an infant’s handful of sliced mushrooms and red pepper. It hardly satisfied the need for fibre and other plant based nutrients of the body of a grown man on a daily basis.

Fat – of course, there was plenty. In addition to the fat served up by the pepperoni and cheese, the waiter had sprinkled heart healthy olive oil on his pizza. No wonder that my friend’s wonder wheel weighed in with about 1,500 calories. That is the total daily calorie consumption for someone who wants to lose weight. All that in one meal in front of him, not not counting the wine, crackers, coffee and dessert. Which may explain why he didn’t really like my reply to his ‘balanced meal’ analysis.

The Golden Arches
In the last couple of weeks, the famous golden arches have started advertising massively again that they are now open from 6am to help people get started while still half asleep. I guess you have to be if you go for a Big Mac for breakfast. But does it really give us everything we need to get our day off to a great start?

Whatever your answer to this question, let’s not knock individual brands or types of food. What we need is a guide that tells us what’s what; that tells us reliably what to look out for, what we need, and how to avoid the common pitfalls – in other words, someone who explains Nutrition For Dummies.

Nutrition For Dummies is best used as a reference book to start you off on your journey. For that, it’s unbeatable. Use it as a starting point, and when you feel like it, dig deeper. It’ll pay off. I’ll give you some examples as we go along.

Take water, for instance. Nutrition For Dummies gives us 7 pages for starters. OK, I’ll resist the usual puns here. But after you’ve perused what the author has to say about this vital topic, you can do a lot worse than carry on with “Your Body’s Many Cries For Water” (reviewed a week ago in this blog).

The authors, Carol Ann Rinzler et al., take us through macro-nutrients (carbs, protein, fat, fibre), micro-nutrients (vitamins, minerals) and phyto-nutrients (plant based nutrients we get from fruit, vegetables and herbs). Again, once you’ve satisfied your initial curiosity about, say, fruit and vegetables, you can go on to “What Color Is Your Diet?” which I’ll be reviewing here shortly.

Do you want to know if it’s safe to take supplements? There is a well reasoned chapter on food and dietary supplements, when to take them and when to avoid them. Of course, “if you’re willing to plan and prepare nutritious meals, you can almost always get your nutrients less expensively from a varied and balanced diet. This means plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables, whole-grain cereals, dairy products, meat, fish, and poultry.” Who’d want to argue with the authors about that?

Superfoods are all the rage. Instead of going for the exotic, weird and wacky, you can opt for the home grown variety by following the book (I have the UK edition of Nutrition For Dummies is). Not everything has to come from far away. Apples, yoghurt, salmon, wholegrain seeded bread, and baked beans make up half the list on these isles. I’d better not tell my daughter that baked beans are classed as superfood. She might stop asking for them.

Nutrition For Dummies also has a great index, which is really helpful when you want to get your bearings fast. My recommendation: use it frequently, satisfy your curiosity about one topic or question at a time, and then move on to more detailed explanations elsewhere. Your body will certainly thank you for it.