Monday, February 25, 2008

Sweeteners May Make Weight Gain Easier

Artificial sweeteners make it harder for people to control how much they eat and their weight, according to a new study.

In fact, researchers from Purdue University said those who want to lose weight may want to pour the diet soda down the drain.

Their report in the journal Behavioral Neuroscience looked at rats that ate yogurt sweetened with glucose, which has the same calories as table sugar, and those that ate saccharin. .

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Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Low-carb diet may remedy bowel illnesses


The diet could also help those with irritable bowel syndrome.

Gearry said patients were usually put on the diet for six to eight weeks.

"Most patients found that the diet was easy to implement and that the taste was acceptable, which is very important if people are to follow this diet."

Gearry has presented his findings to the Australian Gastroenterology Week conference in Perth and will address the New Zealand Gastro Society 2007 Conference in Christchurch next month.

"I hope we can bring some of these ideas back home," said Gearry, "and help sufferers here as well".

Claire Worsfold, 37, who has suffered from Crohn's disease since she was 22, said she was "very excited about the news".

Worsfold, president of the Canterbury Crohn's and Colitis Support Group, said: "I know that each of us tries removing different things from our diet – it is all individual.

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Sunday, February 17, 2008

Shop Smart: Weight-loss promises: Too good to be true?


Claims like these continue to crowd the airwaves 11 years after actor Chuck Norris brought the Total Gym into living rooms everywhere. Recent offerings for exercise devices advertised in infomercials range from an ab machine that looks like a lounge chair to a freestanding personal-size ballet bar.

Are any of them worth buying? To test the claims made by manufacturers, Consumer Reports tested 10 exercise devices sold through infomercials on television or the Web, measuring muscle activity and calories burned by panelists and also getting staff members' impressions.

CR concluded that the weight loss touted in testimonials is more likely due to the reduced-calorie diet plans that most manufacturers recommend than to the devices themselves. Losing one pound of fat solely by exercising with the machines, using recommended workout guidelines, would take a 165-pound person anywhere from one month to nine months.

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Saturday, February 16, 2008

Get thee behind me, cake, cobbler and donuts


The problem is, of course - as those of you who know me thought as you read that title - that there is too much behind me already. I am not altogether unlike the subject of one of my creative writing students' profiles of a loved one which started with "My aunt was big on donuts; consequently she was big, on donuts."

And one of my New Year's resolutions is to continue doing something about that excess in the back yard and, more particularly, around my middle.

It is a goal that I share, I suspect, with many of you.

So, how are we going to go about it? Any ideas?

And don't talk to me about the South Beach Diet, or Sugar Busters, or Weight Watchers, or hypnotism, or stomach staples, or amputation.

Because I already know the formula that will take the pounds off of yours truly.

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Thursday, February 14, 2008

Diets don't provide long-term solution for weight control

As we move into a New Year, most Americans are making or have already broken their New Year's resolutions. For most of us, our main resolution was to go on a diet and lose weight. We know that diets don't work. If they did, the obesity rate would not be at its highest and the diet industry would not be a multibillion-dollar industry.Diets plans are like a buffet — there seems to be one for every issue, every food group and every body type. There's even one geared for your blood type.We know they don't work, so let's talk about some of the reasons why.- Many people lose weight, but almost all gain it back, often regaining more than they lost. Only 3 to 5 percent of those who diet and lose weight maintain significant weight loss. - Dieting can disrupt normal eating and lead to binge eating, overeating and chaotic eating patterns.

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Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Doctor behind South Beach Diet revamps his life, series


It's a new year, and Dr. Arthur Agatston, the man behind the ubiquitous South Beach Diet books, is putting himself back on his diet.His son, Evan, 23, was home from law school for the holidays, watching football bowl games with him, and the doctor packed on a few pounds from "those dark chocolate things my wife brings home from Epicure for guests even though I ask her not to." He adds: "Then Sari (his wife) tells me that if I don't take off those pounds, I'll only be able to promote my book on the radio."
His new book, "The South Beach Heart Health Revolution" (St. Martin's Griffin, $14.95), is out. It goes well beyond his "good-carb, good-fat" diet books, promoting a four-point plan he says can create a major change in Americans' heart health.He asserts: "I believe we have reached a point where the great majority of heart attacks and strokes can be prevented.""Prevented?" Heart disease is the No.

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Monday, February 11, 2008

Daily Blabber Celebrity Gossip Blog from iVillage Entertainment

Star Jones Reynolds better head to the manicurist to sharpen her nails, because her new co-host on The View is apparently Rosie O'Donnell. The comedienne is heading back to daytime TV talk land in May, when Meredith Viera heads over to NBC to join The Today Show, of course, taking over for Katie Couric who is heading to anchor the nightly news on CBS. Rosie, you'll remember, recently took on Star's weight loss claims on her blog by writing a little poem about her doubts.

The Daily News reports that the official announcement will come tonight during the Daytime Emmy Awards from none other than Barbara Walters herself. Since your regular Blabberer Suzy is going to be there live backstage at the event in Los Angeles, we're sure we'll get the full report on Monday, so stay tuned.

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