You may be hesitant about folic acid, especially if you're an expectant mother hoping to lower your baby's risk of spina bifida, after hearing about how this chemical can make you baby more prone to obesity. But don't be... Baylor researchers fed mice vitamin supplements of folic acid, vitamin B12, betaine and choline that add chemicals constituents called methyl groups to DNA. Just that addition alone affected animal genes over generations. The result: Mice pups in successive generations became obese. However, there's no evidence, researchers say, folic acid alone can have this health-harming effect on your babies and it may be the result of an interaction with another unknown gene. The more likely problem: Where you're getting folic acid in the first place. Eating whole foods rich in folic acid rather than taking supplements, as was described in this study, is the far superior option. Your best sources for folic acid are fresh, dark green, leafy vegetables preferably uncooked. The sole caveat about the amount of vegetables you eat: How much depends on your body's unique metabolic type. CBN.com – (CBN News) - Research on obesity is often not very practical, but research on a natural hormone in the body could be extremely useful now. In 1994, researchers discovered a hormone called Leptin. Leptin was found to play an important natural role in suppressing appetite and burning more calories. When you gain a few pounds, more Leptin is produced; your appetite goes down and you use more energy. The result: you lose the pounds. "Leptin is a very vital hormone in the control of obesity, and when Leptin does not work, you'll become obese,” said University of Florida pharmacologist Philip Scarpace. “And what's worse, once you become obese, then your susceptibility to gaining even greater weight is increased." Originally, scientists thought overweight people had a Leptin deficiency so they could just get Leptin shots. But then it was discovered that most overweight people had plenty of Leptin. So why wasn't Leptin doing what it was designed to do? Scientists began looking for the factors interfering with the normal Leptin process. One was insufficient sleep. Research has shown that not getting enough rest has a bad effect on Leptin's effectiveness. And nutrition research demonstrates that healthy food enables Leptin to work better. When Leptin works as it should, there is less appetite and the fat gradually disappears. Dr. Leo Galland began to understand the need to make Leptin work properly several years ago, and has now written a practical book to help those fighting the weight battle. The Fat Resistance Diet explains the science behind Leptin, with guidelines on lifestyle to overcome Leptin resistance -- the factor that keeps you fat. With Americans becoming more aware of all the dire health issues associated with soft drinks, the leading source of calories, fast-food marketers like Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts are flocking to newer, sweeter and more expensive frozen fruit drink concoctions (some made with soy, sorbet or yogurt) that are just as health-harming. The appeal is obvious to businesses that can make more money selling a single Smoothie, Slush or fruity Frappuccino for at least twice as much as the standard soft drink, one expert says. Even worse, a few of these drinks are being pitched as "meal replacements." No doubt concerned about the plague of obesity, many Americans have been duped into believing these sugary, sweet substitutes are a safer alternative: The Smoothies product line all by itself accounts for $1.2 BILLION in annual sales. Perhaps, that's a reason why the anything but sugar product Splenda is in such short supply these days... Fact is, one of the most important steps you can take to improve your health is one of the easiest: Switch from buying those sugary, sweet drinks and switch to pure, fresh water. The Five Huge Risk Factors That Make Gastric Bypass Surgeries Deadly In society's never-ending struggle against the obesity epidemic, patients and conventional medicine have become so desperate that both have resorted to unbelievable techniques to stop it, some of which involve surgically implanted balloons and gastric bypass procedures. Duke University researchers recently unveiled a five-point scoring system that can predict a patient's mortality risks associated with gastric bypass, based on a study of some 2,100 people who had the procedure between 1995-2004. The 31 patients who died after a gastric bypass procedure shared these four common traits: Scientists also added age as a fifth factor, based on previous studies that showed patients over age 45 faced the highest mortality risks. The point system makes some sense: Twenty-eight of the 31 bariatric patients who died shared two or more of those risk factors. Don't think you're out of the woods even if you have a "successful" gastric bypass procedures. You may suffer many more complications down the road -- think liver failure and bone loss. If you recall, the former half-ton man who underwent this same procedure lost most of his weight thanks to an exercise program and restricting his diet, likely by limiting his intake of grains and sugars. Some Supplements Might Make You Fat
By Gailon Totheroh
CBN News Science and Medical Reporter
It could be the key to weight loss and improved health. Smoothies No Smooth Move For Your Health
Once upon a time, it was generally accepted expectant moms were eating for two. That is, until the obesity epidemic reared its ugly head, increasing a woman's risks, among other things, of premature birth, preeclampsia and a Cesarean. There's no better time to drop those extra pounds than after your baby is born, according to a new study. Researchers compared the health of overweight, breastfeeding moms who followed an exercise program (walking, jogging or aerobic dancing for 45 minutes, four days a week) and reduced the amount of food they ate by 500 calories (largely cutting out soft drinks, potato chips and other junk foods) versus those who didn't over 10 weeks. No surprise, moms who ate less junk and exercised lost far more weight than those in the control group. And, the health of babies in both groups prospered as well. The only caution was for dieters to increase their intake of calcium and vitamin D while lactating. Your best sources for both: Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Vol. 106, No. 6, June 2006: 908-912 Teen Obesity a Killer in Middle Age I've warned you about the growing number of overweight or obese children suffering from classic health problems commonly associated with middle-aged folks. No surprise, obesity during the teen years elevates a woman's mortality risks once she reaches middle age. And to prove obesity is far more damaging to your health than smoking, non-smoking women who were overweight when they were 18 still had a higher risk of death. By the numbers: A failure to reverse this trend could mean your children may live shorter lives than you will. Nevertheless, I have faith parents will see the light very soon and make the changes it takes to reverse this horrible trend. That means, above all, being a good role model. If you're not sure where to begin, you can start by reviewing the seven risk factors for childhood obesity I posted last year. Annals of Internal Medicine, Vol. 145, No. 2, July 18, 2006: 91-97 Imagine my surprise to read the Chicago City Council -- one of the last big cities in the United States to enact a long overdue smoking ban -- is considering a similar ban on the use of artery-clogging, trans fatty cooking oils in city restaurants. Alderman Ed Burke is behind the ordinance, the first of its kind among major cities, although in smaller towns like Tiburon, Calif., restaurant owners follow a voluntary ban. And, I'm sure it has everything to do with the most recent list of America's fattest cities, topped by Chicago, in Men's Health. The proposal would fine restaurants as much as $1,000 a day for failing to comply, a joke to the some of the millions eating tons of trans-fatty food at the city's annual Taste of Chicago, considering a federal corruption scandal brewing at City Hall. Like Mayor Richard Daley, however, I'm very skeptical anything will actually change. Fact is, most of you realize trans-fatty fast foods are poor health choices for a multitude of reasons, but you do it anyway out of convenience. The real problem isn't our ability to distinguish the unhealthy from the healthy. Instead, it's our readiness to choose the easier and often health-harming course, not what is or isn't available at McDonald's. New York Times July 18, 2006 Registration Required Gadsden Times.com July 18, 2006 Almost Half of Weight-Loss Surgery Patients Suffer Serious Complications It's already known that gastric bypass and other bariatric surgeries for weight loss carry deadly risks, but what was perhaps not known was just how common these risks were. A new government report has found that while complication rates for bariatric surgeries was 22 percent in hospitals, the rate increased to 40 percent over the next six months. That means that four in 10 people who have the surgery develop complications. Among the most common complications were: A patient with complications not only has to deal with the health issues, but also the costs. Costs averaged $36,542 for obesity surgery patients who had complications in the six months after surgery, and for those who had to be readmitted to the hospital as a result, costs averaged over $65,000. Needless to say, I am not an advocate of this procedure, especially considering that far more effective, healthy and less expensive options exist . Create a
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New Moms: Get Some Exercise and Watch Your Weight
Is America's Fattest City Going on a Diet?