Latest Diet News June 2013
Vegetarian diet can help you live longer
A new 6 year US study ,involving over 70,000 people, has revealed
that vegetarian diets are linked to lower death rates when compared
to meat-eaters. Latest polls show around 5 percent of Americans are
vegetarian. Scientists believe that the fruit and vegetables and increased
fibre in a vegetarian diet is particularly beneficial.
It was recognised that vegetarians are generally older, less likely
to drink alcohol or smoke, exercised more and slimmer. So the diet
cannot be taken as the only reason for boosting longevity. Previous
studies have shown that vegetarian diets are connected to a lower
risk for diseases such as :hypertension, diabetes and heart disease.
H&M use plus-size model
High street fashion store H&M have been the source of much
discussion since using American plus-size model Jennie Runk, in
their latest beachwear campaign. The model's Facebook fan page received
around 2,000 new 'likes' in 24 hours, after she wrote an article
suggesting that there should not be anything negative about being
the same size as the average American woman
(US size 12/14 ( UK size 16-18). Jennie believes teenage girls feel
pressured to all look exactly the same, which is impossible.
'Often, people assume there's one type of "perfect"
body and anything that doesn't fit that "perfection" isn't
good enough or is even downright ugly. This is all wrong!!!!!!!'
Facebook/Jennie-Runk
 The
Overnight diet
US doctor Caroline Apovian, of the Boston Medical Center, has produced
The Overnight Diet. The plan suggests that dieters consume
a high-protein diet for six days, with one day of a liquid diet
and get plenty of sleep.
The overnight diet is reported to help dieters to lose up to one
kilo of weight per night and four kilos in one week. The once a
week liquid diet involves specifically engineered smoothies that
are supposed to produce a reduction in the body's production of
insulin. This is believed to help combat bloating and the storing
of fat around the middle.
the Overnight
diet
Lack
of sleep makes losing weight harder
Lack
of sleep makes you eat more
The 40 years diet
Actress Kim Cattrall - one of the stars of Sex and the City -
has jokedly confessed to being on a diet for the last forty
years! It has been reported that her fabulous figure at the age of
56 is due in part to working out every other day and keeping stress
to a minimum.
 Mediterranean
diet lowers the risk of heart attacks and strokes
A trial in Spain, involving nearly 7,500 people (aged 55 to 80
years old) has shown that eating a diet rich in olive oil and nuts
can help reduce the rate of heart attacks and strokes by 30%, as
compared to eating a low-fat diet. A traditional Mediterranean diet
is rich in olive oil, nuts, fresh fruit and vegetables, beans, cereals,
fish, poultry and a moderate amount of wine.
Diet has been proved to be powerful in reducing heart disease risk.
Mediterranean diet
helps combat middle-age spread
Benefits of olive oil
Early lunch helps with weight-loss
420 overweight people took part in a 20-week Spanish study, and
it was found that those eating lunch earlier lost more weight than
those who had their mid-day meal after 3 p.m.
The Mediterranean diet tends to include a sizeable lunch - about
40 percent of their daily calories ( 550 to 570). Participants in
the study consumed about 1,400 calories a day and there was no difference
in exercise levels within the 2 groups. The early lunchers lost
an average of 22 pounds and the later eaters lost an average of
around 17 pounds.
It is believed that glucose is processed differently at different
times of the day, and also that the timing of meals can affect the
body’s internal clock which may disrupt liver function and
the fat cells.
The results of the study are in the latest edition of International
Journal of Obesity
 Strawberries
and blueberries reduce heart attack risks in women
A study of 93,600 women, aged between 25 and 42, has shown that
dietary flavonoids may help prevent coronary disease by dilating
blood vessels and by preventing the build-up of plaque in the coronary
arteries, which can cause heart attacks.
The group of women that ate the most blueberries and strawberries
during the study had a 32% reduction in their risk of heart attack,
compared to the women who ate the berries once a month or less.
Both strawberries and blueberries contain a high level of flavonoids,
but other foods such as: dark chocolate, blackberries, red grapes
and red wine are also high in levels of flavonoids.
The details of this study are printed in the journal Circulation.
Low-fat diet reduces menopausal hot flashes
A new study has shown that losing weight on a low-fat, high fibre,
fruit and vegetable diet may help to reduce, or even eliminate the
hot flashes (also known as flushes) and night sweats experienced
before and during menopause. The hot flashes affect about 85% of
women aged 50 plus.
Over 17,000 women were studied by The Women’s Health Initiative,
and those who lost 10 pounds or 10% of their body weight were 89%
less likely to have hot flashes, or night sweats a year after the
weight loss. Women who lost more than 22 pounds generally eliminated
their flushing. the findings have been published in the journal
Menopause..
 A
calorie controlled diet increases male's testosterone levels
A US study has revealed that weight loss can improve testosterone
levels by nearly 50 percent in obese, middle-aged men.
The latest study involved 900 men, with an average age of 54 years,
with pre-diabetes. The men were divided into groups : 293 adopted
lifestyle changes (exercising for around 150 minutes weekly and
eating less calories; 305 took the diabetes drug metformin and 293
took placebo pills.
At the start of the study, around one in four men had low testosterone
levels. The group who exercised and dieted, and consequently lost
an average of about 17 pounds (7.8 kilograms), decreased their low
testosterone levels from about 20% to 11% in one year - an overall
decrease of 46%. The low testosterone levels were unchanged in the
other two groups. The weight loss appeared to both reduce the risk
of diabetes and also increase the production of testosterone.
 Dessert
for breakfast can help you to lose weight
A new study from Tel Aviv University has reported that eating cookies
or cake with your breakfast can actually help you to lose weight.
The research followed a group of 200 people eating strict low-calorie
diets - 1,600 calories daily for men and 1,400 calories for women.
Two groups were studied - one consumed a 600 calorie high protein
breakfast which included a cookie, chocolate, cake or a doughnut;
the second group ate a 300 calorie high protein breakfast.
Both groups lost about 33 lbs on average after 16 weeks on the
diet. The final 16 weeks of the study, revealed those in the low-carb
group had regained an average of 22 lb, while the group eating a
dessert with breakfast went on to lose another 15 lbs on average.
So you can 'have your cake and eat it!'
The high-protein breakfasts in both groups reduced hunger, and
it is thought that the addition of carbs in oine group cut down
on cravings and helped the dieters feel more satisfied. When dieting
it is important to have treats to avoid bingeing.
 French
Fatten Up
A new survey shows that the French are losing their much-envied
place as the slim nation of Europe.
Changes in eating and work habits and the widespread adoption of
a fast-food lifestyle mean that 15 per cent of French people are
classed as obese, with almost one third officially overweight. The
Brits still weigh in as the heaviest nation in Europe with British
women the heaviest, and men the second heaviest after Malta according
to EU figures.
Daily
Telegraph
 Weight-loss
glasses from Japan
A Tokyo professor, Michitaka Hirose, has developed a pair of goggles
that can trick your body into thinking that you are eating more
food than you are actually consuming.
The camera, in-built in the glasses, shows the food being eaten
by the wearer, and researchers can then shrink or enlarge that image
via the computer.
When a biscuit was enlarged by 50% volunteers were found to eat
10% less, and the group whose image of the biscuit was shrunk by
two-thirds ate 15% more.
The eyes can send your stomach the message that it has had enough.
More research is needed as the body may not fall for such deception
repetitively. Also, the appetite may compensate at the next meal.
However, it shows how important the visual side of eating is. Past
studies have shown we eat less if we consume our meals off a smaller
plate - making the portion appear larger.
Even the colour of the plates can affect our appetite; people tend
to eat less food if the plate is not the same colour as the meal
contents. Journal
of Consumer Research study
Losing weight can cut breast cancer risk
A new US study has revealed that losing even a small amount of
weight can cut overweight postmenopausal women's risk of breast
cancer. 439 women were studied and it was discovered that weight
loss reduces the fat tissue from producing oestrogen and other hormones
which can increase the risk of breast cancer.
Exercise in combination with dieting further reduced the women's
hormone levels, although the study stated that exercise may lower
a woman's risk by other means than lowering hormones. Research scientists
calculated that even a 5% loss of body weight could lower the breast
cancer risk by 22%.
2 day diet lowers breast cancer risk
The OMG diet rules to help you lose weight
Secret Eaters show how we under-estimate calories
Channel 4's diet programme Secret
Eaters has revealed that we underestimate how much
we eat a day by around 20%. Keeping
a food diary can be helpful if you are honest
about what you eat, but it can be surprising how much food we nibble
daily without realising - pinching food from others, eating up leftovers,
snacking while we prepare meals,etc.
'Secret Eaters' closely observes the eating habits of different
overweight families by placing them under 24-hour camera surveillance.
Keep a check on your daily calories with my
fitness pal - a brilliant calorie
counter aid.
Exercise and diet may help prevent
osteoarthritis
A recent Netherlands study, involving 200 women, has shown that
even a small amount of weight-loss can help prevent osteoarthritis.
The group were studied over 2 years and only lost on average
7 poundswith a diet and exercise program. Out of this group only
19%, as compared to 25% of the control group, went on to develop
osteoarthritis.
Another study, involving 454 obese men and women who already had
knee arthritis, has shown that lifestyle changes, such as diet and
exercise, can help control the progression of osteoarthritis. The
study, lasting 18months, split the volunteers into 3 groups: diet
only, exercise only and diet plus exercise.
All experienced pain reduction, but the diet and exercise group
had a 50% reduction in pain, and one-third of this group reported
little or no pain.Their walking speed was also increased the most
of all the groupsand they also had a greater reduction in inflammation.
Exercise improves arthritis
symptoms
 Sitting
can make you fat
Researchers from Tel Aviv University have been studying how fat
cells react to pressure. Under laboratory conditions, fat cells
from mice were placed under mechanical force, to mimic what happens
to fat tissue when we sit.
It was discovered that under force the fat cells produce fat at
a faster rate - up to 50% more fat. This can triggger the metabolism
to slow down and cause the body to store energy, producing more
fat cells and less muscle. Other research involving the reaction
of pressure on the body has shown muscle loss in bed-ridden patients.
This study doesn't prove conclusively that sitting will give you
a big bottom, further research is needed. The best way to avoid
getting a fat bottom is to eat sensibly and exercise regularly.
If you have a sedentary job try and get up every now and then and
walk about.
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