There are many myths surrounding weight loss. It’s difficult to tell if the bits of advice about weight loss are true or false. One commonly encountered bit of advice is that drinking a glass of water before a meal will help you lose weight. Is this true? Yes, if you drink a lot of water. […]
Myth or Fact: Drinking Water Helps You To Lose Weight Read More »
This week there have been many articles circling the web relating to the issue of childhood obesity. The First Lady is pushing her “Let’s Move” campaign towards taking a community approach to changing the way children are living today. The senate is set to discuss limiting the access of junk food in cafeterias and vending
The Good and Bad of School Lunch Read More »
In a recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers identified 4 factors tied to reduced disease risk: never smoking, having a body mass index (BMI) lower than 30, performing at least 3.5 hours per week of physical activity, and following a healthy diet. Participants with all 4 factors had a 78% lower
How To Prevent Cancer, Diabetes, Heart Attacks and Strokes Read More »
One of the few things patients can do is to ask their physician if there is a cheaper version of the medication you are being prescribed. If you take a once-a-day medication, there is often cheaper twice-a-day version that is just as effective. I try to always give my patients the option of the cheaper twice-daily version especially
How To Save Some Money When Visiting Your Doctor Read More »
I view the purpose of my blog as a source of scientifically valid and well-reasoned nutrition and health advice for my patients and I actively try to avoid entering discussions about health care economics and policy. But I believe the recent deterioration of health insurance benefits have crossed a critical threshold and are now a threat to
Does Your Health Insurance Put Your Health At Risk? Read More »
My recent post, Saturated (Animal) Fat Does Not Cause Heart Disease has generated numerous e-mails and comments that seem to focus on the connection between our dietary cholesterol intake and the fact that vascular plaques that lead to arterial blockage also contain cholesterol. One read wrote, “If dietary fat intake doesn’t lead to increased cholesterol
A Reply To Comments About ‘Saturated (Animal) Fat Does Not Cause Heart Disease’ Read More »
Ever since 1953 when a physiologist named Ancel Keys, Ph.D. compared fat intake and deaths from heart disease in seven countries including the U.S., the American medical establishment has clung to an unproven belief that saturated fat was evil. But in 1957, Jacob Yerushalmy, Ph.D. established this research was false and that Keys was guilty of only
Saturated (Animal) Fat Does Not Cause Heart Disease Read More »
While obesity has become a prevalent issue in America, the many Americans that are obese may not realize how they have become the weight they are today. Energy balance has been demonstrated repeatedly by many different organizations as a way to maintain or lose weight. This energy balance is demonstrated by examining the amount of
Lifestyle May Be a Reason to Being Overweight Read More »
A recently published study from the University of North Carolina looking at trends in snacking behavior probably won’t surprise you: Almost all adults (97%) now report snacking at least once a day (up from 71% in the 70s) Adults are snacking more frequently per day. Our snacks contain higher amounts of salt and carbohydrates (dessert foods, salty
America, The Snacking Nation Read More »
Obesity is now a bigger overall threat to people’s health than smoking, according to results of the longest ongoing health study of adults in the United States. Obesity causes as much or more disease than tobacco, says the study, conducted by researchers from Columbia University and the City College of New York. It adds that
French Fries Are The New Cigarette Of Health Read More »
In terms of carbohydrates, an overall reduction of processed, simple carbohydrates in the diet is the best approach for weight loss while maintaining satiety. Specifically, the carbohydrate reduction in the diet should focus on consuming more protein and less bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, and corn. Along with that list, a natural reduction of sugars and
Beans Are Good for You Read More »
For most of many of our adult lives, the common dietary recommendation for the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) has consisted of advice telling us to reduce out saturated fat (fats coming from red meat and dairy products) intake. Reducing saturated fat was thought to be the primarily means of lowering our LDL-cholesterol (the ‘bad
"Just Say No To Low (Fat)" Read More »
FDA notified consumers and healthcare professionals about a counterfeit and potentially harmful version of Alli 60 mg capsules (120 count refill kit). The counterfeit version contained the controlled substance sibutramine and did not contain orlistat, the active ingredient. Sibutramine is a drug that should not be used in certain patient populations or without physician oversight.
Caution: Counterfeit Alli Products Detected Read More »
Many patients I see in my practice are taking fish oil supplements and don’t really understand why they are beneficial but just that everyone seems to recommend taking them. Fish and certain plant and nut oils are common natural sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Fatty acids are special molecules that have a wide array of
How Much Fish Oil Should I Take And Why? Read More »
One of the most intriguing aspects about reducing your carbohydrate intake is the surprising sculpting effect it has on your body. This seems to be most notable in women because they genetically carry a greater proportion of fat in the hips and thighs are much more apt to notice a change in how their skirt
Your Pants Will Feel Looser Before Your Scale Says You’re Lighter Read More »
One of the most intriguing aspects about reducing your carbohydrate intake is the surprising sculpting effect it has on your body. This seems to be most notable in women because they genetically carry a greater proportion of fat in the hips and thighs are much more apt to notice a change in how their skirt
Your Pants Will Feel Looser Before Your Scale Says You’re Lighter Read More »
Waking still fatigued in the morning in spite of sleeping for many hours is referred to as ‘non-restorative sleep’ and is one of the hallmark symptoms of a variety of sleep disorders. The most common sleep disorder is Sleep Apnea. Sleep Apnea causes abnormal breathing when asleep and leads to prolonged periods of low blood
Tired Even After A Long Night’s Rest? Read More »
Waking still fatigued in the morning in spite of sleeping for many hours is referred to as ‘non-restorative sleep’ and is one of the hallmark symptoms of a variety of sleep disorders. The most common sleep disorder is Sleep Apnea. Sleep Apnea causes abnormal breathing when asleep and leads to prolonged periods of low blood
Tired Even After A Long Night’s Rest? Read More »
I wanted to give you just another reason to worry about your consumption of artificial sweeteners. A recent study has demonstrated that the intense sweetness of artificial sweeteners (in this case saccharin) is preferred as a rewards over cocaine in rats. This even applies to rats that were already addicted to cocaine! The cocaine-addicted rats
9 out of 10 Cocaine-Addicted Rats Prefer Artificial Sweeteners Over Cocaine! Read More »
One of the most well established concepts in psychology is that animals (including humans) learn about relationships among the events they experience. These repeated experiences can change how we react to the events we’ve experienced. This is the basis of Pavlovian psychology. Research on the use of artificial sweeteners suggests just such a mechanism may
Pavlov and Artificial Sweeteners Read More »
No. In terms of weight loss, breads are arguably one of the worst foods to be consuming. There are grocery aisles with thousands of bread loaves on the shelf, yet very few could even be charactarized as healthy. Many of them contain high amounts of sugars or high fructose corn syrup. There is a large
Is There A Weight Loss Wonder Bread? Read More »
The jump to starting exercise may be easier than most think, but usually the hardest part is jumping off the couch potato train. Most individuals don’t even think of themselves as couch potatoes, as they are busy with a pressing schedule of a building a career, raising a family, and having an active social life. Getting started
Jumping on the Exercise Bandwagon Read More »
What are the Symptoms of Insulin Resistance? People may have Insulin Resistance for several years without noticing anything. But in many individuals, Insulin Resistance causes a wide variety of common symptoms we often attribute to other medical circumstances. These symptoms often occur because of an imbalance of your autonomic nervous system. Common symptoms from autonomic
Does Insulin Resistance Have Any Symptoms and What Is Metabolic Syndrome? Read More »
What Causes Insulin Resistance and Metabolic Syndrome? The last 20 years has seen an epidemic rise in Obesity, Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes Mellitus in the United States. Extensive research has helped us to understand that the combination of high carbohydrate diets, lack of exercise and increased portion sizes has lead to this problem. Prehistoric humans
If I Have Insulin Resistance or Metabolic Syndrome, How Can I Make It Go Away? Read More »
Another measure of how processing has altered the nutritional value of foods is the increasing calorie density of food. This can be measured as the number of calories per pound of any given type of food. A shocking example of this is what happens to corn as if goes through modern food processing. One pound
Modern Day Life and Carbohydrates – Part II Read More »
So where does this unprecedented increase of dietary carbohydrates leave us in the modern era? Modern humans presently consume more carbohydrates in a single day than Stone Age humans consumed in a year, and 20-30% more than we did just a few decades ago. Part of the reason for the significant increase is that carbohydrate-based
Modern Day Life and Carbohydrates – Part I Read More »
Modern humans evolved from our Stone Age ancestors that lived within a hunter-gatherer society whose main sources of food were animal meat and plants. The animal meat provided a significant source of protein and fat while the plants they ate provided a significant amount of vitamins, minerals and fiber. Scientists estimate that Stone Age humans
Stone Age Humans And The Introduction Of Carbohydrates Read More »
I do! I’ve watched the show the ‘The Biggest Loser’ a few times and come away each time with the same thought, “This is the most dangerous, manipulative show I’ve ever seen on television.” Medically speaking, to encourage individuals to lose weight at these tremendous rates is very unhealthy and extremely dangerous. Weight loss experts
Do You Think 'The Biggest Loser' Is Exploitative? Read More »
Many of my patients who are working on the carbohydrate restriction to improve their blood pressure, blood sugars, triglycerdies and weight often tell me that if they “fall of the wagon” and start eating high carbohydrates foods, they can’t seem to stop. There are scientific reasons for this. Eating a diet high in carbohydrates results
Why Do We Crave Carbohydrates And How To Control It At A Party Read More »
For more than a decade there has been an ongoing debate arguing that organic products are better than non-organic. Both products have their pros and cons, but the biggest concern with consumers is the cost. While your organic red apple may be as red and blemish free as your non-organic red apple, the non-organic is
Is Organic the Better Option? Read More »
