Weight loss gut bacterium found

Bacteria that live in the gut have been used to reverse obesity and Type-2 diabetes in animal studies.

Research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that a broth containing a single species of bacteria could dramatically alter the health of obese mice.
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Secret Supplement in Your Kitchen

Hi it's time for a  quick trick that will help you safely lose 10 pounds in a short space of time. But first let's talk about a serious health problem - weight gain with aging. Did you know that runners between the ages of 18 and 50 gain weight at the same rate regardless of the number of miles run per week. The average is 3.3 pounds every 10 years...for a runner. Weight gain as you age is inevitable. It's part diet, part exercise, and part gravity. If runners can't keep weight off by running, what are the rest of us supposed to do? Since we can't turn off gravity, we going to have to work on the other two. I have a simple solution that will help you start losing weight safely and naturally. I use it every day. We have a common enemy you and I. That common enemy is processed foods and their condiments. The amount of junk in today's factory-made food adds to our waistlines and our national obesity problem. It's one of the reasons I am so passionate about healthy eating. Let me ask you 3 simple questions: 1. Do you struggle to add green vegetables to your diet? 2. Do you add unhealthy condiments to veggies? 3. Do you want to lose weight eating healthy food that tastes great? Did you answer "Yes" to any of these questions? If so, I have a simple solution for you. And, it's the exact same solution I use. Find out exactly what I'm talking about here. Imagine what it would feel like to lose 5 pounds, 10 pounds...even 20 pounds. I remember when I started eating healthy and lost my first 10 pounds... - It felt amazing to put on my jeans without struggling. - The people around me  started making comments about how fantastic I looked. - I was ever so excited about heading to the beach with the family. Its alright, it's not your fault. The processed foods that we have been force-fed with for so many years have made it virtually impossible to keep the weight off. Why not check out Nick Pineault and his Truth about Fat burning foods Program

How to lose weight without getting hungry

“I really need to lose weight but I hate feeling hungry most of the time,” I suppose this has to be one of the most common statements, made by people who follow many of the so called fad diets. If your diet leaves your stomach rumbling every hour on the hour, your body is telling you it’s time to make a change. I used to think that losing weight meant starving yourself. It took me along time to accept the fact that I could actually eat heartily and still drop a few pounds in weight.
The times I spent starving myself in the name of losing weight were miserable. When I did manage to shed a few pounds, I would sadly put it all back on, in a matter of weeks. Sometimes I’d even gain a few extra pounds. Now that's what I call depressing!
What I learned through many years of research (trial and error) is that when you follow a healthy eating plan, you can eat until you’re full, and still see amazing weight loss results.

What Are Healthy Foods?

Healthy foods are not created in factory's where food is processed to death. If the food is dried, dehydrated, canned, frozen or filled with ingredients you can’t pronounce, I suggest that you stay away from it. Examples of healthy foods include fresh fish, naturally raised meats, legumes, seeds, organic poultry, organic whole eggs, raw nuts, and fresh fruit and vegetables.

How to Make Healthy Meals More Filling

There’s nothing more miserable than having to deal with hunger pangs all day. If your meals aren’t satisfying your nutritional needs, this is exactly what’s going to happen. Here are some tricks to make your meals more filling:

• Add a source of good quality protein and a source healthy fat (yes, fat) to each of your meals. Doing this should make your meals more appetising and curbs the hunger. Sources of healthy protein include natural meats, organic whole eggs, organic poultry and fish. Sources of healthy fat include avocados, fish, beans, raw nuts, coconut oil and olive oil.

• Fill your plate with veggies. They help to divide your plate into three sections, and fill the larger section with veggies. Leave the other two sections for meat and other foods. Veggies are full of fiber, so they expand in the stomach, digest more slowly so keeping you full longer. Try eating green leafs such as cabbage, spinach, broccoli which are rich in magnesium. (57% of the US population does not meet the US RDA for dietary intake of magnesium)

• Drink a glass of bottled water before each meal and throughout the day. This will help you feel full faster and reduce hunger.

Examples of Healthy, Filling Meals and Snacks

• At Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs, 1/3 cup of oatmeal with cinnamon and a small pear.

• Snack: 1 medium apple, 1 cup of cucumber slices and 1 oz of raw nuts.

• For Lunch: 4 oz ground turkey, 1/2 cup of cooked brown rice, 8 oz carrot sticks, and a small green salad with vinegar and olive oil dressing.

• Snack: 2 tablespoons of almond butter, 2 slices of rye crisp bread and 8 oz of celery sticks.

• For Dinner: 5 oz boiled halibut steak, 1/2 cup of green beans sautéed in garlic, small baked sweet potato and a small green salad with apple cider vinegar and olive oil dressing.

Diet plans that leave you hungry all the time (or even some of the time) are useless, why make life so miserable. Why not ditch the diet altogether and eat healthy instead? If you do it this way, you can eat delicious, filling foods and still lose weight.
Enough with the yo-yo dieting!
Why not check out Mike Geary's Fat Burning Kitchen Program for more great advice and recipes.

Bowel Colon Cleansing for better health

Post originated by Isabel De Los Rios There's nothing more frustrating than giving a goal all of your time and energy, just to come up with no results. Especially when it comes to losing weight. I get it. You're eating all the "right stuff" and there's still not much to show for it. What gives? I can tell you with absolute certainty one thing I know for sure...if this one thing is NOT happening, the excess weight on your body is most likely NOT going to budge. What is it? It's your bowels (poop for those who have children under the age of 10) and if your bowels are not moving 2 times (yes, 2 times) every day, than your weight loss will be dramatically stalled. For a very long time, I was only going once every day, in the morning. Sure, that's not so bad, as I know there are people who go DAYS without going to the bathroom at all (oh, my stomach hurts just thinking about it). The solution to my bowel movements (or lack thereof) was a very simple and easy-to-use cleanse (called Ultimate Digestive Cleanse) that I used last year. If you didn't hear me rave about it then, here are my results in detail (hope you're ok with bowels details). There are numerous benefits to bowel cleansing. A normal person usually has about 5 pounds of fecal matter stuck to the walls of their intestines. This is made up of rotting food, bacteria, toxins etc which the human body is designed to get rid of naturally, but in our modern stressed lives and poor diets this does not usually happen. Also did you know that about 50% of North Americans have parasites living in their intestines, whilst generally they can live for many years undetected, they can cause long term chronic health problems by feeding of the food that is meant for you, causing allergies, fatigue etc, this is especially true if you are dieting. Isabel's Cleansing Secret - Fix your bowels the easy way I used Ultimate Digestive Cleanse for the full recommended 30 days (since it is my golden rule to always try anything before recommending it to others). It very simply consists of a fiber drink you drink every morning, a probiotic, a natural parasite cleanser, and a cleansing tea you drink at night. Here are my results in listed form for ease of reading: I consistently went to the bathroom three times a day, every day, without any stomach pains or diarrhea. I have tried some other products in the past and after the first day just knew they weren't for me because I could NOT literally leave the house. This product is much gentler on your system and will help your body establish its natural rhythm. I cannot guarantee that this will be the case for everyone, especially if your bowels have been clogged for a long time, but I felt comfortable using this product every day and continuing all of my daily living activities unaffected. There was some stuff that came out of my body that was a bit scary to say the least. For someone like me who goes pretty regularly, this was a big shock. I couldn't believe that even after having 1-2 consistent bowel movements a day for several years, there was still some scary stuff in there that needed to make its way out. I'm guessing that the natural "sweeping" effect of the increased fiber helped to get any lodged fecal matter out of my large intestine and put it where it belongs...down the toilet...! My lower abs are super flat right now. I am pretty lean all year long (well, at least when I'm not pregnant) and I would attribute most of this leanness to my eating habits, but whatever little pooch was there is pretty much gone now. Many people (women especially) complain about "the lower ab pooch" and no matter what they try, it just doesn't go away. Many times, for men and women, this is a direct effect of not releasing what's in their bowels every single day. Ridding your body of all of the trapped fecal matter in your large intestine can have a dramatic effect on how your abs look, and have the added benefit of getting rid of gas, bloating, and digestive discomforts. Ultimate Digestive Health - Gentle Cleansing System I believe a detox meal plan like the Diet Solution Program, along with Ultimate Digestive Cleanse, will truly get your bowels moving and releasing all of the trapped fecal matter in your intestines that just might be preventing you from losing weight (and damaging your health). If you're not "pooping" 2 times every single day, please take my advice above very seriously. This is not just for your fat loss efforts, but for the sake of your health. Get your bowels moving consistently each day and this will make a tremendous difference in your fat loss efforts and your health.  Another of my friend's is using this program, you can read his comments here   Give it a try

Hi Picky eaters - Here's 2 easy solutions

My Good friend Isabel sent me this email.

Sandra I almost can’t believe it. It’s finally happened!

My once very agreeable and easy to feed 2 year old has now, all of a sudden, has become…

A picky eater!

How can this be. What happened to that little boy who used to steal brocolli off my plate?

Up to this point, my little guy, Christian, was more than happy to eat any healthy concoction I put together for him veggies, fruits, a variety of proteins everything I ate, he would eat and was more than happy with any meal Mommy made for him.

Now, he has started to voice his opinion on different foods…and by that I mean, waving his hands over his face with a strong “NO!”

But, I’m up for the challenge. As committed as I am to feeding myself and my husband healthy food, As you know I am even more committed to feeding my children healthy food.

Here are the rules I use to prepare Christian’s food (pretty much the exact SAME rules I use for myself)

1. Include a quality protein source into every meal (this includes snacks). I always make sure to include a natural protein source to keep his blood sugar from spiking and crashing during the day. I do think that many times children have meltdowns because of low blood sugar (and other times, they are just being kids!) Christian’s favorites are eggs, meatballs, chicken (only if it’s cooked in coconut oil) and scallops (only if they are on mommy’s plate…hahaha). For snacks, I will include a few raw almonds, brazil nuts, walnuts or almond butter.

2. Include raw food several times a day. It is not necessary to go “all raw”, as some people promote, but I do think that the inclusion of 1 or 2 raw foods into each meal, with all enzymes intact, assists in the proper digestion of the whole meal. I have known some people to go an entire day only consuming cooked foods, with nothing raw in their daily meals, only to suffer from gastrointestinal distress, gas pains and bloating. Many times this can be easily resolved by just adding a few raw foods into each meal. Christian’s favorites are raw carrots and cucumbers with Celtic sea salt and olive oil. He’ll also eat cauliflower (only if it’s raw), and that’s pretty much it. I’ve tried some other veggies, only to get the furious hand wave. He loves all fruits, so he’ll usually have an apple, pear, banana or kiwi with some raw nuts for snacks.

3. Include 1 complex carb that is wheat free and gluten free. I truly believe wheat and gluten create havoc in most people’s bodies…yes, even children. I know my son will be exposed to many different foods as he gets older, but at home, I will continue to feed him (as I do myself) wheat free and gluten free options. This does NOT mean I purchase any of those “gluten free” processed foods, which are overloading the supermarket shelves these days. It does mean I include rice, quinoa, and all varieties of potatoes.

4. Include 1 or more healthy forms of fat into his meal. Most children (and most adults) are just not getting enough healthy fats or Omega 3’s every single day. Christian is a huge fan of coconut, loves avocadoes and enjoys nuts with his snacks.
It sounds like my kid is eating pretty healthy right?

Well, I gave myself a pat on the back and said, yes, my child still does enjoy a variety of healthy foods, but there is just one problem…

He will NOT eat any other veggies than the few I mentioned above. Long gone are the days of zucchini, spinach, broccoli…not even the occasional asparagus. He will start saying NO even before you’ve put these foods in front of him.

So far I have used 2 very successful strategies to “trick” him into eating his veggies.

1. Hide veggies in meatballs. My Turkey-Vegetable meatballs are a perfect example of this strategy. These are so delicious and he’ll never know there’s healthy zucchini in them.

2. I’ve started giving him 1 Athletic Greens shake each morning. I wasn’t sure that he was going to drink this, but the first time I gave it to him, he drank the entire thing and asked for “mas” (that’s more in Spanish). I put water, 1/2 tsp Athletic Greens, and 1 tsp of raw honey in his sippy cup and shook it up really well. I told myself ahead of time that if he didn’t drink it, I would then take that mixture and put it in a blender with a banana…but that wasn’t necessary. He loved it.

Athletic Greens is really just “real food” in powder form which is why I feel 100% safe giving it to my son and drinking it myself every day. It has often been called “nutritional insurance”… exactly why I give it to Christian every day…because with his pickiness around veggies, I want to ensure that he’s getting all necessary vitamins and minerals every day. The added benefit is that he is also getting healthy probiotics and digestive enzymes.

Foods to Avoid in Your Healthy Meals to Lose Weight

You all know that people tend to get excited about many things, but I have yet to meet anyone who’s thrilled about being overweight.
However, I've met people who are sick of the up and down roller coaster of so-called healthy meal plans for weight loss. Rather than dealing with more disappointments, most of these people just resign themselves to believe that being big is inevitable for them, that its part of their genetic make up.

Throw your hands in surrender after deciding to spend the rest of your life being overweight is not a realistic choice of a lifestyle. A decision like this can knock your self esteem to the ground and knock years of your life. So Come on, you owe it to yourself and your family and friends to have much more than that.

When you realise there is no magic formula for losing weight - if there were, everyone and their mother would have been fine. The best way to achieve weight loss success is to know what kind of foods to keep away from your diet.

Say "no" to processed foods

Obviously processed foods are cheap, packed with junk ingredients, convenient and easy to prepare. Sadly, these foods are generally bad for your health. Of course, you’d never know this by watching those hyped up television ads. Since processed food manufacturers aren’t going to give you the low down on the ingredients they use in processed foods, I’m going to do it for them.

Let’s start with trans fat. This nasty ingredient lowers good cholesterol, raises bad cholesterol, and can increase your risk of cardiovascular disease. Considering heart disease is one of the leading killers of both men and women, trans fat is one ingredient you want to steer well clear of.

If you’re wondering where that double chin came from, the high fructose corn syrup used in some of your favorite processed foods may be partially to blame. This ingredient has been getting a lot of press lately because it is believed to be a major player in the rising obesity epidemic.

Don’t even get me started on the chemicals that manufacturer's use in processed foods. If I tried to name some of these chemicals, I’d be tongue tied for days. Anyway, you’d probably think I was reading the label on a can of insect repellant spray instead of the ingredients in your favorite fast meal.

Get rid of Sugar

The average person consumes about 150 pounds of sugar per year. When you think about the fact that sugar is in almost everything these days, it’s easy to eat tons of this stuff without even realizing it. So what’s all the fuss about? There isn’t enough time in the day for me to tell you about all the damage sugar can do to your health. However, I can give you a quick rundown.

Sugar contains nothing but empty calories. When you eat this stuff, a large portion of it gets stored in the body as fat. If your goal is to slim down, being heavy-handed with the sugar isn’t going to help. This is not even the worst of it. Sugar can also depress the immune system, feed cancer cells, cause bacterial and fungal overgrowth, contribute to heart disease, raise your risk of osteoporosis and make you look ill.

Artificial Sweeteners have to go

Before you run out and stock your fridge with a bunch of those zero-calorie diet drinks, there’s something you should know. The artificial sweeteners used in diet drinks and other low-calorie products are lab-created. Yes. You heard me right – mixed up in a lab like something out of a Frankenstein movie.

These chemical sweeteners can cause or contribute to a laundry list of neuropsychiatric disorders and chronic illnesses – depression, anxiety, migraines, mood changes, panic attacks, fatigue, vertigo, memory loss, Alzheimer’s, brain tumors – should I go on? And if you think you’re going to shed a couple of pounds using artificial sweeteners, think again. These sweeteners stimulate your appetite and make you eat more food.

When you’ve tried diet after diet and not one of them delivers results, it can certainly make you want to give up. But you owe it to yourself and to your family to live the healthiest life possible. Processed foods, sugar and artificial sweeteners are the main culprits when it comes to weight gain. When you get rid of these foods from your diet, you give yourself a fighting chance to improve your weight loss.

Effective Whey Protein Weight Loss Support - USDA Report

ProHealth.com
July 16, 2011

Why do weight-loss results of high protein diets vary? Not all protein is created equal, according to a new, rigorously controlled Agricultural Research Service trial. Specifically, whey protein (from milk) looks like a winner in terms of weight loss & body fat-to-muscle ratio, even when calories are not reduced.

With nearly 68% of American adults either overweight or obese, finding ways to help people lose excess pounds is a national priority. Though the most obvious advice is to eat less and exercise more, this long-standing recommendation has proven unsuccessful for the lion's share of the population struggling to maintain a healthy body weight.

An alternative approach is to help people focus on consuming specific foods that promote weight loss. Some studies have suggested that high-protein foods might function in this capacity, although the data are conflicting.

Scientists speculate that there are several reasons for these inconsistencies, including the type of protein used (animal vs. plant).

A Six-Month Comparison

To better understand the relation between protein intake and weight loss, researchers with the Agricultural Research Service - the principal scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) - recently conducted a rigorously-controlled human intervention trial comparing milk proteins (whey) vs. soy proteins in overweight and obese adults.

Their paper, published in the Aug 2011 issue of The Journal of Nutrition, reports Whey protein but not soy protein supplementation alters body weight and composition in free-living overweight and obese adults.

Pounds and Fat Lost Even Without Calorie Reductions

Subjects (n = 73) were relatively healthy, other than having a body mass index (BMI) between 28 and 38 kg/m2. As a point of reference, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers BMIs between 25 and 29.9 kg/m2 as signifying overweight; BMI values above this level are indicative of obesity.

For 23 weeks, participants consumed either:

• Whey (milk) protein (about 104 g protein),

• Soy protein (about 104 g protein),

• Or carbohydrate supplements.

All supplements provided 400 kcal/day. Overall dietary intake was assessed every 10 days, and sensations of satiety and hunger were monitored daily. Prior to the start of the intervention and then monthly thereafter, body weight and composition were measured; fasting blood samples were also collected.

There was no effect of dietary treatment on overall caloric intake. Similarly, dietary treatment did not influence hunger, desire to eat, or the feeling of stomach fullness.

Nonetheless, by the end of the study:

• Body weight of the group consuming the whey protein was significantly (2%) lower than that of the group consuming the carbohydrate treatment.

• Moreover, body fat mass was 2.3 kg (about 5 lb) lower in the whey protein group compared to the carbohydrate group.

These beneficial effects were not seen in subjects consuming the soy protein supplement.

Whey Protein Reduced ‘Hunger Hormone’

Consumption of the whey protein (but not soy protein) also resulted in lower circulating concentrations of ghrelin, a stomach-derived hormone thought to stimulate hunger.

Both groups consuming protein supplements exhibited lower fasting insulin concentrations when compared to that assigned to the carbohydrate treatment.

The researchers concluded that different sources of dietary protein may differentially facilitate weight loss and affect body composition.

They also suggested that dietary recommendations related to weight loss, especially those that emphasize the role of protein, consider the source of the protein in helping meet weight-loss goals.

Source: Journal of Nutrition media alert, Jul 14, 2011.

Footnote: This subject is mentioned in on of my other posts The surprising truth about protein powders.