Obesity and Exercise

Obesity and Exercise

At one time walking was considered to be one of the very important exercises which never required a specific time in many people's daily life. All religions advocate that people should attend morning prayers, pooja or namaz at their respective place of worship. People walked in groups almost regularly in the mornings before they started other activities of the day, some still do. They used to walk long distances to their work place, or travelled by bicycles.

Automation has modified the need for physical activities. Elevators, automobiles - two and four wheelers - and the like, have replaced walking, cycling and other natural exercises in our lives.

Walking and cycling, though tire a person while doing them, give much needed exercise and mental relaxation. Travelling by crowded buses and trains do not give exercise but only physical exertion and exhaustion. When two and four wheelers were rare, youngsters walked down to the marketplace for shopping and for other such chores but nowadays even a very young boy depends on two wheelers - bicycle or scooter, for going to even the nearest shop. When compared to two and four wheeler drives, a journey by bus or train is better because at least a bit of walking is involved in it.

Aversion to physical exertion leads to mental exhaustion

Today we come across people who go for a walk in their cars! Yes, they drive to a specific place, mostly sea- shores, park the car there and walk on the sand for a few minutes, and get back into their car to return home, having completed their walking! This has actually happened in a family known to me, where both the husband and wife tried reducing weight. While the lady of the house took to the correct route of reducing through diet, and other activities, the husband by going for walking in the car has remained obese and more so, till date.

Physical exertion in housekeeping has also tremendously reduced due to labour saving devices. But all this has not spared people from getting as tired as the older generation used to who did not have these facilities. They got tired because of their physical exertion. Any amount and all types of food they consumed were instantly converted to energy because of their labour consuming activities. Their overtired body regained freshness after a very sound sleep. Nowadays people experience tiredness which is nervous in origin and not physical. So the same type of food is not converted to energy but fat. Absence of physical tiredness causes loss of sleep or disturbed sleep. This makes them more exhausted than ever.

All about aerobic and rigorous exercise

Though aerobic and rigorous exercises are recommended to lose weight,they are not without disadvantages in a long run. In rigorous exercises there are three stages. First, when you take up a programme like aerobic exercise, spot reducing, weight lifting and the like, the first few days make you a bit tired. But by watching others do it with enthusiasm, you are encouraged to continue for a few more days. This encouragement forces you to wait and see the result. This is the second stage when you experience a well-being and regained strength. The third stage is when doing these exercises very regularly without break, limbs, joints and back start aching a bit, the body too becomes quickly tired. If you stick to it despite the tiredness, the pain slowly disappears. You continue to enjoy the exercises and its benefits. A stage comes when for some reasons you skip such exercises, you become restless unless you resume them. A dependence on these exercises as with drugs or food, slowly takes hold of you.

Home Remedies for Obesity And Weight Loss

Home Remedies for Obesity And Weight Loss

1. Extract juice of one lemon in a glass of lukewarm water. Add a teaspoonful of honey, mix well and take in the morning immediately after waking up and before taking anything else. In the same type of drink, in place of honey, add first a pinch of black rock salt, mix well and take in the afternoon. These two doses must be taken regularly.
2. Roast barley seeds and powder it. Mix it with a little milk and honey. Make a small ball and take it in breakfast. A pinch of salt can be added with a little water and a small ball can be taken at noon.
3. Sieve wheat flour and remove the bran. Mix two tablespoonfuls of this bran in a glass of skimmed milk, add honey and take it at least once a day. Do not add sugar. Bran can also be taken with buttermilk.
4. Take a ripe banana mashed in plain diluted cow's milk with a tablespoonful of fresh banana flower juice during breakfast for a couple of months.
5. Ten drops of tulsi leaf juice with two teaspoonfuls honey in water for one month.
6. Raw tomatoes and onions, mixed with the juice of one lemon is a very good salad for obesity.
7. Honey in pure raw tomato juice.
8. Potatoes boiled with skin or roasted in hot sand or coal fire for breakfast.
9. Dilute buttermilk made out of skimmed milk.
10. 10. 100 gms horse gram soaked overnight for breakfast.

Note: All the above said things should not be taken at the same time.

Osteoporosis and Obesity

Osteoporosis and Obesity

Obesity causes one more disease known as osteoporosis. It is common mostly in women. Adetailed description of this disease enables one to understand the damage it can cause.

We tend to think that the bone is a solid stony mass but it is not so. Bone is a cavity. This cavity holds minerals, mostly calcium and phosphates and protein-rich fibrous connective tissues that keep changing. Bones keep on breaking down in minute amounts and are replaced constantly. This function is known as remodel­ling. This remodelling process helps in maintaining strong bones. Between the age of 35 to 40, there is a steady loss of bone, (around 4 percent in a year), especially in women, though there is enormous remodelling. This loss steadily continues till meno­pause. Bone remodelling requires calcium and other nutrients that are stored in the cavity. Since the body needs calcium for other activities, it tends to restore the calcium from the bones, thus the calci urn level in the blood drops too low. As a result the bones become porous with a spongy appearance. This condition is known as Osteoporosis.

Production of the hormone oestrogen decreases sharply during menopause in women. Hence, the ability to absorb calcium becomes poor. That is why intake of calcium in the form of pills does not improve the condition. In case of obesity, overburdened joints and lack of exercise makes this condition worse. Exercise increases bone mass and helps to reduce bone loss. Anything that puts a mechanical stress is often beneficial because it encourages the mobility of the joints in various actions. Only exercises comprising manual labour, movements that aid the mobility of joints and a calcium rich diet can help.

Coffee, tea and other beverages and drugs containing caffeine speed up the excretion of calcium and other minerals. In case of inclined to sit for long hours obese people, the tendency to consume caffeine in all forms other than coffee tea, (analgesics, softdrinks etc.) plays a major role for this condition besides lack of exercise and manual labour. As one grows old, it is a wise thing to avoid these unnecessary evils.

Losing Weight Naturally

Losing Weight Naturally

At present obesity and overweight is the major problem. There are many ways to solve this problem. In market there are many products available which helps us in weight loss very rapidly and easily. But there are side effects by using such products. There are products like diet pills, laxatives, weight loss earrings etc, But the right way to lose weight is doing exercise regularly and taking correct diet for healthy life which takes some time period but people want to lose weight in overnight and use products available in market without knowing the side effects that cause by these products.

It is very easy to gain weight but it is difficult to lose the gained weight. We can lose the overweight and obesity by eating healthy food right time and in right manner. Healthy food includes food with fewer calories, less fats, less carbohydrates, and rich in vitamins and proteins. We should check our weight regularly from the day we start our diet plan. Eat food items such as fish, vegetables, nuts, and grains. We should avoid taking poultry products in more quantity. We should also take fewer carbohydrates in our diet as carbohydrates changes into fat in digestion process.

Eat wide variety of foods as wide variety includes more vitamins and nutrients in them. There are many reasons for overweight such as genetic problem, eating without proper diet, and no proper exercise to the body. Healthy diet plan is the best way to reduce the obesity. Fat does not get digested as the other food products get digested so it better we take very less fat quantity food items. In market there are wide range of items, which are said as fat free, but we should check the fat content in the item before we buy them for that we should have knowledge on fats which are harmful to the health.

So we can lose weight naturally by taking care of food we eat daily and check the contents of fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, proteins, etc, If we take food with more fats and calories it causes overweight which leads to some health problems such as heart attack, blood pressure, diabetes, etc, weight loss by natural process will definitely help in weight loss but it is some what time taking process and we should be positive while following this process. So weight loss by natural ways is safe process without any side effects.

Eat Less Fat and Sugar

This will help you cut calories. Fried foods and fatty desserts can quickly use up a day's calories. And these foods may not provide the other nutrients you need.

What About Diet Pills?

Diet pills you buy without a prescription won't make a big difference in how much you lose each week or how long you keep the weight off. If you do use them, read the label carefully. Because of possible side effects, like high blood pressure, never take more than the listed dose.

Adequate Sleep

Learning how to lose weight naturally must include understanding the importance of getting adequate sleep. Sleep deprivation can wreak havoc on your weight loss efforts. You need muscle to burn fat. Your muscles repair themselves from exercising and actually do the growing when you sleep! If you don't get enough sleep, you limit your ability to repair and build muscle and therefore you limit your ability to burn fat. In addition, lack of sleep will result in less energy to exercise and lack of mental focus to follow your goals.

Obesity Diet

Obesity Diet

Diet plays a vital role in maintaining our body fat contents on a normal stage. When taken properly then the diet plays a crucial factor in reducing this obesity for anyone. Many think that inorder to reduce their obese condition they can stop eating food, so what they do is take the food contents very less when compared with their normal diet habits, the result is not reduction in obesity but some other organ failure in their body. Obese people must take a lot of precautions, like they must use proper medicines as prescribed by the medical practisener.

The foods that have rich contents of sugar, carbohydrates, salts and like wise must taken in a proper quantity, there must be habit developed which makes us to take our intake of food in less quantities frequently rather stopping it fully. The other diets are like taking fresh vegetables, fruits, some dry fruits and milk (which must be taken on a cyclic basis). Oily foods must be stopped as mush as possible so that other side effects will be reduced as much as possible to our body.

Obesity as a lot of side-effects, in order to make ourselves safe from these side effects then we must take a proper diet which has less fat contents and which makes you feel more comfortable after finishing our meal in the morning or dinner at night. Many people now-a-days are practising some more easy ways to reduce this obesity to reduce their fat contents.

Much of the information is available on the internet which will be very useful for anyone to know how to reduce this obesity to some extent. The one who makes this information to put into a proper way will definitely get succeeded in reducing obesity based upon his food habits.

Sometimes there might be a situation where people have to migrate from one country to another due to which there food habits will also get affected a lot, if such a situation arises then there is a lot of chance to get obesity. The best way to reduce in this type of situation is to follow good exercises and also to take food in small quantities and that to on time and not to neglect their sleep. A sound sleep is always a good indication for a healthy person that he is somewhat safe from many diseases getting infected, so these situations give us a picture on how simple ways that each and every individual can follow to reduce this obesity.

Obesity Causes

Obesity Causes

Obesity is a very dangerous disease that really comes into picture due to many reasons which depend upon different conditions that really effect an individual in how he manages his diet, sleep, exercises and others like what type of lifestyle his he following and which type of job he is doing etc. Genetic reasons are there which really affect this lot, many people around this world are falling prey to this disease due to hereditary factors. This disease will also affect when we are lazy and neglect what we have to do normally for our body to be perfect. Improper diet intake will really play a vital role in easily effecting with this so called obesity.

When anyone starts consuming food which has rich contents of sugar, starch, fat and highly processed foods then there is a chance to gain weight easily. Also people now-a-days are using many appliances which do many of the human tasks, due to which the normal exercise that used to be there for an individual to reduce his calories is being effected, the result is fat increment in the body and being obese easily.

So when planning to reduce your weight and decreasing our fat contents in the body then we have to follow proper planned rules which will really be helpful for our life as a whole. If neglected then there is usually a very less chance of becoming normal in our living, an individual faces many problems apart from this obesity, the side effects that come into picture are most worse foreseen for many people around the world.

The food that we have to take and working late-nights and sleeping hours being reduced then wanted and no exercise at all to our body is really effecting many people to get effected with this obesity. Reasons might be many to explain this disease being affected but the way we take precautions to increase this must be followed properly, if we don’t have a clear cut idea then its always a good practice to consult a family medical practitioner for knowing in depth information about this obesity.

To reduce the calorie content we must be able to take a proper diet and do a lot of exercise always and that to daily as per indications given by many professionals all around the world. Even though there will not be time to practice this daily somehow we must adjust our daily calendar so that we might be in a position to overcome this threatening disease called as obesity.

Weight Loss Surgery

Weight Loss Surgery

Weight loss surgery has an safe and effective method for the long term treatment of the patients with severe obesity if you decided to have weight loss surgery it is important that you have a permanent lifestyle change. the most important step in weight loss surgery is getting all the information you need about the various surgical options and you should be aware of the signs or symptoms of complication to look for which may occur after your weight loss surgery. Now a days people are taking more interest on health conscious with weight gain and some people are doing dieting to avoid weight loss surgery obesity can cause serious health issues it is often associated with health problems such as hypertension, gall bladder disease, diabetes and high cholesterol today people are trying more unorthodox methods of losing weight but later on there are turning to weight loss surgery.

With the help of present technology, it is possible that the physicians can make diagnosis with the help of clinical examinations. Therefore people who are suffering from obesity problem can undergo surgery without any hesitation or doubts. Weight loss surgery claims to increases longevity and improve health. It has been defined to prevent complications and discomfort for patients. There are some critics that currently there is no evidence to suggest that the weight loss surgery increases life span and improves health. The purpose that weight loss surgery often involves a second or third operation to fix problems which arise after the initial surgery. It will be a life threatening if it all the weight loss surgery goes wrong.

Severe obesity is very difficult to treat for some people for some people surgery will promote weight loss by restricting food but the surgery to weight is a serious undertaking. You should clearly understand the problem before making any decision to make weight loss surgery. Normally as food moves along the digestive tract, digestive juices and enzymes arrive at the right place and at the right time to digest and absorb calories. After we chew and shallow our food it moves down the esophagus to the stomach where there will be a strong acid continues that digestive process most of the iron and calcium in the foods we eat are absorbed in the duodenum the food particles that cannot be digested in the small intestine are stored in the large intestine until eliminated. Therefore it can be said that losing weight depends on the motivation and positive attitude. We must chance our food and do proper dieting in order to live a happy life.

How Does Surgery Promote Weight Loss?

The concept of gastric surgery to control obesity grew out of results of operations for cancer or severe ulcers that removed large portions of the stomach or small intestine.

Because patients undergoing these procedures tended to lose weight after surgery, some doctors began to use such operations to treat severe obesity. The first operation that was widely used for severe obesity was a type of intestinal bypass. This operation, first used 40 years ago, caused weight loss through malabsorption. Two types of surgical procedures used to promote weight loss are:

• Restrictive surgery
• Malabsorptive surgery.

Nutrition and Weight Loss

Nutrition and Weight Loss

Now a days people around the world are very much interested over there health. They want look good and spend lot of money for weight loss so that they can increase their body metabolism and can lose their weight at a rapid rate. By doing this exercise they had ro inspire each and everybody to do the exercise and tell them the advantages to them so that they will follow it and do the exercise daily for the weight loss. there are two basic motivations for weight loss .one is for health reason and other is more personal. Maintaining a healthy weight and eating well are both done for the same reasons one exercise the things that a person feel healthy and fit both mentally and physically are don’t smoke, drink alcohol in moderation and get sufficient sleep.&

The other motivations for weight loss are often discussed because they are more personal or psychological. when someone is not happy with is body and concerned with being overweight it will often become unhappy .many people avoid activities because they feel unfit and unworthy .many physical and social are suspended because of the low self image. They will also avoid relationships intimacy and even searching for jobs. Some may thing that if I got job then I do everything for my health. These strong inhibitions often leads to depression, thus compounding the initial weight problem. Being overweight is not a minor problem and should never be disregarded. The medical profession is taking it seriously as it effects both mental and psychological well being of the person.

There are other weight loss supplements that people can lose weight by having active ingredients that prevents absorption of carbohydrates. Chitosan is one compound that really work good in preventing fat absorption but it take several months before they lose even of pound of fat but it is safer not to try these medicines but to work on eating healthy and according to requirement of a person. you must take some decision to take care of your health such as walking, doing exercise daily and eating healthy food this can do your body reducing weight. There are different reasons that one should know how the weight loss products promising people to help to reduce weight. People just want to lose weight quickly and they use these supplements and looking for a miracle to happen by doing proper exercise daily your health will be happy forever.

How to loose weight?

The most importanty how to loose weight is to eat slightly less( i.e. 500 to 800 k cal )than the daily energy requirements. This should result in weight loss of about 1 to 2 pound in a week. Weight loss may vary from person to person and will be a bit fast in the beginning( 1st 1 or 2 weeks) due to water loss . But along with a little reduction in diet to loose weight & some aerobic exercises should also be done. To find out how much carbs ,fats, proteins and calories you are taking visit our calorie in foods page .

The reduction in calories to loose weight can be achieved in the following ways:

• Cut down on all visible fats such as butter , margarine , cream and cooking oils as well as invisible fats present in pastries , biscuits and cakes . choose low-fat milk, cheese and yogurts

• Choose lean cuts of meat and avoid processed meat such as salami. grill or roast meat without adding fat instead of frying

• Eat more boiled legumes (e.g. lentils and beans and beans) , which provide protein but contain very little fat

• Avoid refined carbohydrates like sugar(sucrose) as well as refined grain products such as white floor and white rice

• Increase your consumption of unrefined carbohydrates eat wholemeal bread,whole-grain rice and cereals ,fresh fruit ,and plenty of vegetables

• Reduce your intake of alcoholic drinks , which are high in calories

HEALTHY DIET

Weight Loss Through Diet

In this article, we are going to discuss different recipes that can help you create a healthy diet, as well as different tips so that you can lose weight in the best fashion.

1. You can make a delicious low fat mayonnaise by adding one teaspoon of Dijon mustard or stay sauce with low fat yogurt, which will provide you a refreshing taste, as well as excellent low fat diet.

2. You can stuff the vegetables such as capsicum and zucchini with fillings of minced chicken, white meat or fish. These are healthy and contain the right nutrition that you need. The best of all is that they are low fat.

3. You must not skip meals as they are only going to make you weak and will slow down your metabolism as well as will lead you to lose protein. So it is terribly important that you must not skip your meals at all to maintain your health. Remember that eating increases your metabolism and will help you lose excess fat and eating healthy is the key to lose the weight effectively.

4. You can take pita bread and add the salad filling to it in the center and then roll it up and this is the light and the nourishing food that you will need to have as a part of your daily food routine.

5. As a fact, after eight hours of waking up, the metabolism of our body just slows down and it is there very important that we prevent our metabolism from slowing down. We can increase our metabolism by working out in small patches throughout the day so that our body just maintains the metabolism and help us maintain the pace of burning our fat through this process, as the fat keeps burning through our body even if we are at rest.

6 You must have extra iron by adding alfalfa or mung beans to the salad.

7 It is really important that you learn as to what foods are healthy and what amount of carbs and proteins and fats you are ingesting, so that you can track your health through the foods you are selecting for yourself. It is also important that you learn to cook these foods in the least greasy way so that you can maintain the balanced daily dietary intake during the entire day.

8. There are a few things that you must always take care of when cooking your family recipes; you must always make sure that the amount of fats, salt and sugars are at their minimum. You can always choose to use the non-fat yogurt instead of using cream in your foods and you can stir fry the foods without oil and in place of salt you can use herbs and spices to add taste to your food and in this way you can just make yourself an excellent dish with which you can achieve your goal of managing your increasing weight.

9. You must always remember to consult your physician before starting the exercise or the weight loss program. It is really necessary that you have the guidance of a professional with you so that you are not making any decisions that are going to affect your health in an adverse way.

10. It is best for you if you eat slowly and chew your food rather than swallowing it, as eating the food slowly will give you a feeling of full stomach and would prevent excessive load on your stomach and would also keep you from overeating. This is going to help you a lot to maintain the weight and keep you healthy.

11. It depends greatly that you do not do a bad diet by skipping meals or not eating at all and for that matter you must eat about three small meals in a day and eat at least two snacks so that you can maintain a balanced diet throughout the day and you not lack in the vital nutrients for your body to function effectively.

12. You can always use the chicken stock when stir frying and this will cut down the hidden fat and keep your calories balanced according to your needs.

13. You can buy the non-toasted muesli instead of the toasted ones because the plate of toasted muesli contains more fat than a plate of bacon and eggs. There it is pretty important that you are fully aware as to what choices and selections you need to make regarding your diet.

14. It is always good to eat the skin of the fruit as it contains fiber in it and other important ingredients. Therefore it is pretty important that you do not remove the skins of fruits and vegetables and get all the important ingredients present in the skin of the fruits.

15. There is another cool recipe that would keep your metabolism going throughout the day and you can do it by adding lemon juice to warm water and have it before breakfast. This will help you get your metabolism going on as well as preventing any constipation episodes and it is also amazing for your skin.

16. Proteins are the essential part of your diet and you can get the proteins from the soya beans or tofu apart from having them from meat. You must remember that all legumes contain proteins in them, which includes lentils, beans, and you can add them to soups to have a better taste as well as excellent nutrition.

17. Another best thing for you would be to look for a club or gym where you can exercise, which is much better for you rather than working alone, as in a gym environment you will get a partner and a coach with which you can work out and they will help you stay right on the path and will motivate you throughout the process and this will help you maintain the regularity that you need to work out and lose weight. This will definitely be a very good source of enjoyment and fun.

18. This is the most tough deal to ask for, but it would be in your best interest if you do not eat three hours before bedtime.

19. You can learn to make the food for you that cooks in the least time possible and that is pasta, as preparing pasta would require only about 10-12 minutes at most.

20. It is another very important fact that the chilli helps you to speed up your metabolism. Even the milder varieties of chilli increase the metabolism.

21. You can also reduce the fat intake by not using the yolks of egg and you can make the omlett by not adding the yolks at all and this will help you prevent from taking fat intake, which would be a wise decision.

22. You can also prevent the intake of fat by putting the ice cubes into the baking tray and then the fat will just get stick to these cubes.

23. You must make a wise shopping list so as to buy only those foods, which have the least amount of fats in them. You can buy food for a week and thus making the right choices for yourself and do not tempt to buy things that are not right for you such as foods that have a lot of fat in them.

Cost of Lap banding surgery

On an average, the cost of Lap Band surgery comes from $17,000 to $30,000 that includes treatment and travel.

Reimbursement from insurance companies

Although there was no provision from the insurance companies to reimburse the cost of Lap Band surgery (mainly because it was mistaken as cosmetic surgery), slowly the life risk aspect of the surgery is being realized which is why they are paying for most part of it certified by the doctor according to the NIH standards.

Expense overheads borne by the hospitals

The arrangements are such that the patients are received from the airport to the hotel where a stay of 4-5 days is arranged. The hospital stay is just for one night.

The out-of-town patients get scheduled within three weeks. Most patients can go back to work within 5 days and can start their exercise regime within 10 days. All required Pre-Operative Exams are done on the day prior to surgery.

High Salt Diet may lead To Ulcers

Hight salt diet = ulcers

Bethesda, Md--Scientists from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) have discovered that diets high in salt may increase the virulence of the pathogen Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), which is the most common cause of ulcers in the stomach and duodenum.

"Apparently the stomach pathogen H. pylori closely monitors the diets of those people whom it infects. Epidemiological evidence has long implied that there is a connection between H. pylori and the composition of the human diet. This is especially true for diets rich in salt," says Hanan Gancz, Ph.D., of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland, who presented the research May 22, 2007 at the 107th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Toronto. The research was conducted in the USU laboratory of D. Scott Merrell, Ph.D., assistant professor of microbiology and immunology. High concentrations of salt in the stomach appear to induce gene activity in H. pylori, making it more virulent and increasing the likelihood of an infected person developing a severe gastric disease.

H. pylori is a spiral-shaped bacterium that can live in the acidic environment of the stomach and duodenum which is the section of intestine below the stomach. It is the most common cause of ulcers of the stomach and duodenum, accounting for up to 90% of duodenal ulcers and up to 80% of gastric ulcers.

Infection with H. pylori also causes gastritis, and infected persons also have a 2- to 6-fold increased risk of developing mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma, and gastric cancer compared with uninfected counterparts.

H. pylori infection is common in the United States and is most often found in persons from lower income groups and older adults. About 20% of persons less than 40 years of age and about 50% of persons over 60 years of age are infected. Most infected people do not have symptoms and only a small percentage go on to develop disease.

Previous research has focused on the affects diet has on the stomach environment where H. pylori resides, but until now scientists have overlooked the response of the microorganism specifically to these dietary queues. Working from the epidemiological evidence that H. pylori infection combined with a high-salt diet results in an increased incidence of severe gastric maladies, Gancz and colleagues decided to look at the direct effect a high concentration of salt had on both the growth and gene expression of the bacterium.

"We noted that H. pylori growth rate shows a sharp decline at high salt concentrations. Moreover, bacterial cells exposed to increased salt exhibited striking morphological changes: cells became elongated and formed long chains," says Gancz. "We conclude that H. pylori exposed to high levels of salt in vitro exhibit a defect in cell division."

They also discovered transcription of two genes responsible for the virulence of the bacterium was increased during high-salt conditions.

"The altered expression patterns of some virulence genes may partially explain the increased disease risk that is associated with a high salt diet in H. pylori infected individuals," says Gancz.

The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences is located on the grounds of the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. The University provides military and public health-relevant education, research, service and consultation to the nation and the world. USU is a typical academic health center with a unique focus on health promotion and disease prevention and the specialized mission of educating health care practitioners to deal with peace and wartime casualties, natural disasters, emerging infectious diseases and other public health emergencies.

This work was supported by a grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Weight Loss Surgery can Brain Damage

Weight Loss Surgery Risk

Weight Loss Surgery Side Effect

After weight loss surgery, some patients risk brain damage from vitamin B-1 deficiency, researchers report.

Too little vitamin B-1 -- thiamine -- causes a syndrome called Wernicke's encephalopathy. It's most often seen in malnourished alcoholics.

If treated right away with vitamin B-1 shots, patients quickly recover. But if the syndrome isn't recognized quickly, it can result in permanent brain damage.

And that can be a problem, says Wake Forest University researcher Sonal Singh, MD. Singh and Abhay Kumar, MD, of the University of Iowa, found 32 reports of Wernicke's encephalopathy in weight loss surgery patients.

"Early diagnosis is essential," Singh tells WebMD. "Yes, thiamine shots are helpful. But you get full recovery only when it is given early. Once [advanced symptoms] develop, there is going to be neurological damage."

Singh and Kumar report their findings in the March 13 issue of the journal Neurology.

Tricky Symptoms

Wernicke's encephalopathy has three classic symptoms: jerky, uncoordinated movement; uncontrollable eye movements; and mental confusion.

That sounds easy to recognize. But not all weight loss surgery patients who develop the syndrome get all three symptoms. And some patients have unusual symptoms, such as hearing loss, weakness, convulsions, and tingling or numbness in the arms and legs.

Symptoms of Wernicke's encephalopathy most often occurred four to 12 weeks after weight loss surgery. However, one case began a year after surgery, and another started only two weeks after surgery.

There's one major warning sign for weight loss surgery patients: frequent vomiting. Twenty-five of the 32 reported patients were vomiting after their surgery.

However, not all the patients had this symptom. And many developed vitamin B-1 deficiency even though they were taking oral thiamine supplements, suggesting that deficiencies in other nutrients may also play a role.

How often do weight loss surgery patients get Wernicke's encephalopathy? That isn't yet known. Singh says it's an issue that clearly needs study.

"Maybe giving shots of thiamine after surgery would prevent this," Singh says. "We might do it preventively rather than waiting for symptoms to appear. That, too, needs to be studied."

Bariatric surgeon Ioannis Raftopoulos, MD, assistant professor of surgery at the University of Pittsburgh, says he regularly monitors thiamine levels in his patients and routinely gives his patients thiamine supplements, either orally or by monthly injections.

The result: Raftopoulos says he has never had a patient develop Wernicke's encephalopathy.

"This kind of thing only happens when a patient has been vomiting for weeks," Raftopoulos tells WebMD. "That kind of neurological impairment means a patient has had a lot of problems for a long time. That is why the key here is patient follow-up. All my patients have my personal beeper number so they can contact me immediately, before there is a serious problem."

Singh says patients should immediately call a doctor if, after weight loss surgery, they have coordination problems -- especially changes in their gait -- or any changes in their hearing or vision.

Top 10 antioxidants for Weight Loss

1. Blackberries
5,75 millimoles per 100g serving

This wonderfully delectable summer fruit came out tops. Blackberries give an antioxidant kick of 5,75 millimoles per serving.

Blackberries are also fat-free, and a source of folic acid and vitamin C, so there's no holding back. Whip them into smoothies, make a wicked fruit coulis to serve with desserts, or simply have them fresh.

You can freeze blackberries and use them all year round. This can be done by coating the berries with a mixture of sugar and ascorbic acid (ask your pharmacist), but it is generally better to freeze lightly boiled berries to which sugar has been added.

2. Walnuts
3,72 millimoles per 100g serving

Nuts are great health foods – they're cholesterol-free, generally low in sodium and a great source of vitamins and minerals. But in terms of antioxidant content, walnuts seem to beat the rest of the nut family with 3,72 millimoles per serving.

Toss these nuts into salads, mix them into muesli, or include them in rice pudding or apple tart.

Just make sure that you have no more than a handful of walnuts per day. If you're overweight, cut this amount to a handful no more than three times per week.

3. Strawberries
3,58 millimoles per 100g serving

Strawberries are sexy, fun and – best of all – so low in calories that you can eat as much as you like without giving your weight a second thought.

These fruits should also form part of your diet for another reason: they're packed with antioxidants and clock in at 3,58 millimoles of these health-boosting components per 100g serving.

There's no need to tell you that strawberries are a great addition to desserts, smoothies, salads, and even cocktails – just make sure you eat them as fresh as possible.

4. Artichokes, cooked
3,56 millimoles per 100g serving

The humble artichoke also made the top-10 list. Apart from the 3,56 millimole/100g antioxidant punch, artichokes are a good source of iron.

These veggies also help to reduce bowel upsets and help to let good bacteria flourish in your gut.

Cook artichokes for 20 minutes with a slice or two of lemon, a bay leaf and salt. The leaves and the heart can then be eaten.

5. Cranberries
3,13 millimoles per 100g serving

The cranberry really is a super-food. Numerous studies have shown that the anti-inflammatory properties of this fruit can help to prevent and treat urinary tract, and possibly other, infections.

One reason why cranberries are so healthy, is because of their high antioxidant content (3,13 millimoles per 100g).

As cranberries are generally too tart to eat fresh, go for the canned varieties and use these in both sweet and savoury dishes.

6. Raspberries
2,87 millimoles per 100g serving

Raspberries have a long history of being used to treat conditions ranging from tonsillitis to stomach aches and also to strengthening the womb in pregnancy.

Now we know that these berries are not only a good source of antioxidants (2,87 millimoles per 100g serving), but are also high in vitamin C.

Ask your grocery store if they stock fresh or frozen raspberries, and use them in fruit salads, deserts or eat them with yoghurt for breakfast.

7. Blueberries
2,68 millimoles per 100g serving

Another berry, this time the blueberry, made the list. This only goes to show that berries really are super foods.

Apart from the high antioxidant content (2,68 millimoles per serving) there is also preliminary evidence that berries can thwart cholesterol and help prevent liver cancer.

Blueberries are not sour and can be eaten raw. This will preserve their vitamin C content.

8. Cloves, ground
2,64 millimoles per 100g serving

Who would have thought that cloves, a great addition to anything from chicken dishes to Christmas mince pies, could have magic health-boosting properties?

Well, this spice made the top 10 antioxidant list – and with good reason. It contains 2,64 millimoles of antioxidants per 100g serving.

While it's more difficult to get your daily antioxidant injection from this spice – simply because we generally use it in small quantities – you should still try to incorporate it in your diet.

9. Grape juice
2,56 millimoles per 100g serving

You already know that a daily glass of wine can kick-start your health. But plain old grape juice seems to be even better – at least when it comes to levels of antioxidants (2,56 millimoles per serving).

Research shows that red grape juice can improve cholesterol levels and inflammatory markers associated with heart disease. This action has been linked to the antioxidant content of the juice.

But be warned: grape juice has a high sugar content and can add quite a few calories to your diet. Don't drink more than one glass of juice, diluted with water, per day.

10. Cranberry juice
2,47 millimoles per 100g serving

As mentioned above, cranberries have strong anti-inflammatory effects and are particularly useful in preventing urinary tract infections.

As fresh, raw cranberries are too tart to eat, cranberry juice is the ideal way to tap the benefits of this fruit.

Try to drink a small glass of cranberry juice every day – especially if you're prone to urinary tract infections. Or combine cranberry juice with iced Rooibos tea for a refreshing summer drink.

Is the weight loss program that you have chosen safe?

Since the awareness about obesity has increased widely. There is also mushrooming of weight loss solution companies .It has become an industry owing to the inquisitiveness of people to turn slim overnight .Even those who are little obese are also joining the bandwagon. But caution must be employed while choosing the weight loss solutions Read on.This article covers

• Why people join weight loss programs?
• What all are the options available for them?
• Which is the best weight loss program?

With the percentage of obesity and overweight rising in the world, especially drastically in the United States, it comes as no surprise that people have started to opt for one or the other weight loss solutions available today.

Many people gain weight due to stresses in lives and very little exercise combined with a high-fat and on-the-go diet. However, whatever the reason may be, it is always good and healthy to lose weight and with so many options available today, losing weight has become easier than never. However, be aware of any program or supplement which promises magical results to you.

Weight Watchers

One of the most common and fast weight loss solutions available on the market today is Weight Watchers. Weight Watchers offer individuals looking for weight loss, a complete range of weight loss solutions, along with corporate solutions as well, which can be tailored according to requirements of any company, or individual. You can sign up for Weight Watcher's online program, attend their meetings, or find about other e-tools which the company offers. By subscribing to their web site, you can also receive their newsletter and low-fat recipes. The program never claims that it is possible to lose weight by simply a magical solution and stresses the importance of a healthy lifestyle in order to lose weight. Weight Watchers has been established for quite some time now and has proved to many customers about the efficiency of their weight loss solutions.

NutriSystem

Another popular weight loss solution is NutriSystem. A commercial weight loss program, NutriSystem also provides a host of services for people who are looking for weight loss solutions. Similar to Weight Watchers, NutriSystem also provides consultation online, through meetings, and other e-tools which are available on their website. NutriSystem focuses on the consumption of a low-caloric diet which stresses the importance of balanced nutrition. The diet follows the Food Guide Pyramid and follows the basic 60% carbohydrates, 20% fat, and 20% protein diet theory. However, NutriSystem also focuses on the "glycemic index". This index measures the quality of carbohydrates and divides them as good or bad carbohydrates. For an individual who is following the NutriSystem weight loss solution, the program will stress on the consumption of their pre-packaged meals which are supposedly containing food in the correct portion size. However, the drawback being that once the program ends, dieters usually have no idea about which food items to take or how to prepare low-caloric food items. The dependency on packaged food increases drastically. NutriSystem does not claim to be a fast healthy weight loss solution and emphasizes a healthy lifestyle along with a regular workout session.

eDiets

eDiets is an online weight loss program which promotes itself as a program which understands that every person requires a different dietary program, and the site sells customized eating plans to people who are willing to invest. With very reasonable prices for their eating plans, eDiets also offers information on caloric consumption, food items to eat and not to be eaten, lifestyle changes required, and also informs individuals about various types of exercises which are good for weight loss.

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The latest weight loss advice

Latest weight loss advice

Feeling fat? Forget the diet and dump your tubby friends instead. That's the conclusion of a study reported widely today that looked at the social networks of 12,067 people researchers followed for 32 years. The American research found that obesity can spread from person to person, much like a virus.

"People were most likely to become obese when a friend became obese. That increased one's chances of becoming obese by 57%," reports the IHT.

"There was no effect when a neighbour gained or lost weight, however, and family members had less of an influence than friends. It did not even matter if the friend was hundreds of miles away - the influence remained. And the greatest influence of all was between mutual close friends. There, if one became obese, the other had a 171% increased chance of becoming obese too.

"The same effect seemed to occur for weight loss, the investigators say, but since most people were gaining, not losing, weight over the 32 years, the result was an obesity epidemic."

The researchers say that they do not want people to drop their fat friends, because friendship is good for overall health. Instead, they suggest, "why not make friends with a thin person, and let the thin person's behavior influence you and your obese friend?"

Weight-loss pills

Popular weight-loss pills

A number of weight-loss pills are available at your local drugstore, supermarket or health food store. Even more options are available online. Most haven't been proved safe and effective, and some are downright dangerous.

Herbal or dietary supplement	The claims	What you need to know
Bitter orange	Decreases appetite	Touted as an "ephedra substitute" but may cause health problems similar to those of ephedra Long-term effects unknown
Chitosan	Blocks the absorption of dietary fat	Relatively safe, but unlikely to cause weight loss Can cause constipation, bloating and other gastrointestinal complaints Long-term effects unknown
Chromium	Reduces body fat and builds muscle	Relatively safe, but unlikely to cause weight loss Long-term effects unknown
Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)	Reduces body fat, decreases appetite and builds muscle	Might decrease body fat and increase muscle, but isn't likely to reduce total body weight Can cause diarrhea, indigestion and other gastrointestinal problems
Country mallow (heartleaf)	Decreases appetite and increases the number of calories burned	Contains ephedra, which is dangerous Likely unsafe and should be avoided
Ephedra	Decreases appetite	Can cause high blood pressure, heart rate irregularities, sleeplessness, seizures, heart attacks, strokes and even death Banned from the marketplace because of safety concerns, but may still be legally sold as a tea Despite the ban, many ephedra products still sold on the Internet
Green tea extract	Increases calorie and fat metabolism and decreases appetite	Limited evidence to support the claim Can cause vomiting, bloating, indigestion and diarrhea May contain a large amount of caffeine
Guar gum	Blocks the absorption of dietary fat and increases the feeling of fullness, which leads to decreased calorie intake	Relatively safe, but unlikely to cause weight loss Can cause diarrhea, flatulence and other gastrointestinal problems
Hoodia	Decreases appetite	No conclusive evidence to support the claim

B-12 injections for weight loss: Do they work?

Injections for Weight Loss

There is no evidence that vitamin B-12 in any form — including vitamin B-12 injections — enhances weight loss. One study published in 2005 suggested that people who took a number of different supplements, including vitamin B-12, gained weight more slowly over a 10-year period than did those who took no supplements. However, many factors have to be considered, including the fact that people who take dietary supplements tend to be more health conscious, which may contribute to better weight management.

Although vitamin B-12 is an important vitamin, it is not likely to directly impact weight loss.

six pack abs

six pack abs

The Bicycle exercise is the best move to target the rectus abdominis (i.e., the 'six pack') and the obliques (the waist), according to a study done by the American Council on Exercise. To do this exercise correctly:

1. Lie face up on the floor and lace your fingers behind your head.
2. Bring the knees in towards the chest and lift the shoulder blades off the ground without pulling on the neck.
3. Straight the left leg out to about a 45-degree angle while simultaneously turning the upper body to the right, bringing the left elbow towards the right knee.
4. Switch sides, bringing the right elbow towards the left knee.
5. Continue alternating sides in a 'pedaling' motion for 12-16 reps.