A new study from the Tel Aviv University found that eating dessert with breakfast may keep you from craving sweets later in the day. Many studies have shown the importance of eating breakfast for good metabolic function, in addition to showing that a bigger morning meal aids in weight loss. How can starting your day with chocolate or cake possibly help you reach your weight loss goals?
Researchers Prof. Daniela Jakubowicz, Dr. Julio Wainstein and Dr. Mona Boaz argue that cutting sweets entirely out of one’s diet makes it much harder for people to stick to their diet plans. However, the timing of your indigence is also important. The morning is the best time to eat a high-calorie meal, because it helps the body regulate the hunger hormone ghrelin. Gherlin levels always rise before meals, but they will rise less after eating a balanced breakfast.
The researchers, however, aren’t saying that you should abandon calorie counting. The 32-week study placed obese participants on calorie-controlled diets, with 1600 calories for men and 1400 calories for women. The subjects were then divided into two groups. One group of participants was placed on a low-carb diet that ate a 300 calorie breakfast. The other group was given a 600 calorie breakfast that was high in protein and carbohydrates, and also included a dessert item such as chocolate, cake or cookies.
Is Dr. Oz more showman than doctor? His theatrical endorsement of dubious weight loss products points to the former. On his show this week, in a 75-second segment, he introduced a ‘revolutionary metabolism booster that you’ve never heard of’: raspberry ketones. While displaying a generic purple jar of capsules, Dr. Oz said, “I have vetted these; I’ve looked at them carefully; I am absolutely enamored. I know they work.” His segment assistant Lisa Lynn, a supplement-selling personal trainer, was by his side, along with a morbidly obese woman who had “tried everything.” Was Dr. Oz laying it on thick for a questionable product? No, not when you consider Dr. Oz is on TV.
Raspberry ketones are compounds that give red raspberries their aroma. In the US, they are used primarily in the food flavor industry. In Japan, however, raspberry ketone capsules are used as a weight loss supplement. Raspberry ketones are not to be confused with blood ketones produced in diabetes and on very low carbohydrate diets.
The hypothesis is that raspberries ketones affect biological activities that alter lipid metabolism. That fat-blasting claim rests on two small mice studies that show when mice are fed a high-fat diet supplemented with raspberry ketones they gain less body fat than expected. But be clear: raspberry ketones have not been studied in humans and they have not been proven to work. To be fair, Dr. Oz said, “There have not been a lot of human studies, but animal studies are favorable.” Somehow, for me, that got lost in the hype. Read Full Post >
There are a lot of big things making some big headlines in the health space these past few weeks. We sought out some insight on the hottest stories of late from one of the most respected names in health and wellness, Dr. Melina Jampolis.
Known to most as Dr. Melina, she is an internist and board certified physician nutrition specialist whose focus is on weight loss and disease prevention. She’s previously published the No Time to Lose Diet, The Busy Person’s Guide to Permanent Weight Loss, and this spring will publish The Calendar Diet.
Watch our interview as she shares insight in to Paula Deen’s diabetes announcement, the new school lunch guidelines, and why heart month is pretty important.
Celebrated as the month of love, February can be a little sad for those who are without a special someone. Valentine’s Day, with all of its commercial grandeur and hype, doesn’t have to be a let down if you’re alone. No one else but you is required to feel love.
Several thousand years ago, Rumi, a Sufi poet and mystic, penned the beautiful verse, “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” Love is abundant. You don’t need much to feel it. All you need is an open heart and the remembrance that love is everywhere.
Aside from the many health benefits of yoga, we are also encouraged to be open to the enchantment that lies within when we practice. In other words, yoga helps us to dismantle those barriers that keep us from experiencing love.
The following suggestions will help you realign with love. They are not necessarily for couples, spouses or partners; they are for anyone wanting to rekindle a love affair with life.
The New Life Surgery Center in Beverly Hills and the Valley Surgical Center in West Hills have stopped performing Lap-Band surgeries while they conduct a top-to-bottom review of the medical procedure. These two California clinics are affiliated with the 1-800 GET THIN marketing company and the move to stop procedures comes after Irvine-based Allergan’s announcement that it would stop selling the Lap-Band device to companies affiliated with the ad campaign.
The 1-800 GET THIN marketing company has been targeted in state and federal investigations in recent months. The Lap-Band is an adjustable ring that is surgically placed around the stomach in obese patients to reduce the amount of food eaten to spark weight loss. 1-800 GET THIN actually markets to those that need to lose weight and allows them to call or go to the web site to find a Lap-Band provider in the California area. The company offers insurance verification, orientation and will answer any questions you have about the surgery. Basically, this company advertises and markets Lap-Band surgeries through billboards and other traditional advertising methods.
The FDA has recently issued letters of warning for misleading advertising to 1-800 GET THIN and all eight of the California surgical centers affiliated with them. There is a class action lawsuit pending as well for anyone that responded to advertisements by 1-800 GET THIN for surgery. While these ads highlighted and glamorized the benefits of Lap-Band surgery, they didn’t address some of the drawbacks of the procedure.
A new study from the Tel Aviv University found that eating dessert with breakfast may keep you from craving sweets later in the day. Many studies have shown the importance of eating breakfast for good metabolic function, in addition to showing that a bigger morning meal aids in weight loss. How can starting your day with chocolate or cake possibly help you reach your weight loss goals?
