Weight-Loss Diets and Lifestyle Change

There is a wide variety of weight loss diet plans on the market to choose from. Atkins, Zone, or Ornish? Low-fat, low-carb, or high-protein? "Which one is effective or the most effective?", you ask.

That used to be a hard question to answer, because of all the marketing twists and spins. A recent medical study published in New England Journal of Medicine was set to straighten this up. And, you may not be surprised by the findings, because your grandma already told you - burn off more calories than you consume.

The study included 811 overweight adults and randomly assigned them to one of four diets, each of which varied in fat, protein, and carbohydrates. Generally speaking, the group of dieters were recommended to cut 750 calories per day from their diet and exercise 90 minutes a week. After six months, the group reported an average loss of 13 pounds across the board. But, their weight climbed back up afterward and ended up only a loss of 9 pounds at two years.

In the end, the study found only 15 percent of the group achieved the goal of 10% weight loss from their starting weight. There was no winner among the four different diets. Dieters who stuck to their assigned diet plan and exercised as recommended reported better results.

So, the key to your success in weight loss is whether you can stick to your diet plan and continue to burn off more calories than you consume. Let's be candid. Practicing a diet plan for a long time or even for the rest of your life takes a personal commitment as serious as your marriage. The good advice for a successful marriage from your grandma has been the willingness to sacrifice some privileges as a single and compromise on a lifestyle that suits both parties in the marriage. That is perhaps the only sound advice to your successful diet plan - your commitment to a lifestyle change. And, that very same advice applies to people who look to manage their cholesterol levels with a heart-healthy diet like Fishtarian.

So, are you ready to make such commitment today?

(Click to see the full sized cartoon!)

Daily Drinking Increases Womens Risks of Cancer

Many of us have enjoyed a small glass of red wine every night thinking that the moderate amount of alcohol would help improve blood circulation and reduces the risk of heart disease. The thought sounds like a conventional wisdom and is supported by many medical studies. While that's still true, what you don't know is the risks or side effects for women.

Reported by Washington Post, a new medical study involving nearly 1.3 million middle-aged British women found that a glass of any type of alcoholic drink per day increases the risk of a variety of cancers. More specifically, the researchers found that about 5 percent of all cancers diagnosed in women each year in the United States are related to the result of low to moderate alcohol consumption. Breast cancer is the most popular; accounted about 11% of those cases - about 20,000 cases per year.

Although men are excused by the study, I'm not certain how long it would hold. The findings are not at surprising for both men and women who have liver problems, such as, Hepatitis B - a common disease found among Asian communities. Alcohol consumption is arguably the most common cause of liver cancer. Even for people who don't have any liver disease, alcohol consumption should be avoided, if they find suspicious reactions of their body after consumption of alcohol. The alcohol-induced reactions, such as, red face or red rashes in the chest, are the results of the effort made by liver in its attempt to rid the toxic chemicals from the alcohol.

The findings are not specific to red wine only, but to any type of alcohol. Consider to drink less than a drink or 10 grams per day? Too bad; a dink with as little as 10 grams does not appear to be a threshold.

To find out more, read the article from Washington Post.

[picture source: www.californiawinehikes.com]

Are You At Risk Of A Heart Attack?

I recently read an article from washingtonpost.com that discussed new findings from a study regarding a simple test to detect who are at risk for a heart attack and how to lower the risk. The study was presented by Paul M. Ridker of the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, who presented the findings yesterday at a meeting of the American Heart Association in New Orleans. For your convenience, I have included some excerpts from that article below.

A highly anticipated study has produced powerful evidence that a simple blood test can spot seemingly healthy people who are at increased risk for a heart attack or stroke and that giving them a widely used drug offers potent protection against the nation's leading killers.

In findings that could transform efforts to prevent cardiovascular disease, the study of nearly 18,000 volunteers flagged by the test in 26 countries found that a cholesterol-lowering statin slashed the risk by about half -- even if their cholesterol was normal.

The traditional model for how heart attacks and strokes occur is that high cholesterol causes fatty buildups to slowly accumulate inside arteries supplying blood to the heart and brain. But about half of all heart attacks and strokes occur in people whose cholesterol is normal. That has raised questions about what other factors may be involved and how more deaths could be prevented.

Evidence has been building that inflammation, part of the body's defense against infection and injuries, may play a crucial role by causing the most vulnerable plaques inside arteries to rupture, triggering blood clots that finally block blood flow. The blood test, known as the high sensitivity C-reactive protein (HSCRP) test, detects inflammation by measuring a substance in the blood called C-reactive protein. But it has remained far from clear how important or useful that information was.

In 2003, Ridker and his colleagues started prescribing either 20 milligrams of the statin Crestor or an inert placebo daily to 17,802 middle-age and elderly men and women who had what are considered safe cholesterol levels but high CRP: 2 milligrams per liter of blood or above.

Compared with those getting the placebo, those taking Crestor were 54 percent less likely to have a heart attack, 48 percent less likely to have a stroke, 46 percent less likely to need angioplasty or bypass surgery to open a clogged artery, 44 percent less likely to suffer any of those events and 20 percent less likely to die from any cause, the researchers reported yesterday.

I think this is a great study that presents a new and simpler way to detect whether you are at risk of a heart attack rather than traditionally rely on your cholesterol level. The study also proves that the subscribed satin drug helps reduce the risk. While agreeing that these are useful findings, I would only consider medication as my last resort. Here are my reasons:

1. All drugs have their side effects. Common side effects of statin include rising blood pressure, liver damage, and potential risk in cancers. No studies have been done to follow up over a long period of time on the patients who are subscribed to the use of statin drugs. I am sure that studies of this sort would have hard time in attracting sponsors (normally pharmaceutical companies) or securing necessary funds. If you are at middle-age, think about how much statin would end up being consumed by your body over next few decades.
2. Alternatives are available. Although statin drugs are proven effective in reducing cholesterol and inflammation levels, risks of a heart attack can be reduced in more natural ways, such as, with a healthy diet and an active lifestyle. After all, that is exactly what Fishtarian is about - eat healthy and live healthy. There are many live examples among your colleagues or friends including me who will be glad to share with you how we have done it.

I am not suggesting that you ignore the new findings or advice from your doctor. I am simply telling you there are other choices without medication.