Scientists are addressing the threat of antimicrobial drug resistance by launching two new clinical trials aimed at prolonging the effectiveness of currently available antibacterial drugs. The concept underlying both studies: Less is more.
The U.S. has taken the next step toward construction of the revolutionary Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI): a network of ocean observing components, and their associated cyberinfrastructure, that will allow scientists to examine ocean processes on global, regional and coastal scales.
Genes that regulate the energy consumption of cells have a different structure and expression in type II diabetics than they do in healthy people, according to a new study from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet published in
Blacksburg, Va. — Virginia Tech’s nuclear engineering program will receive 0,000 for faculty development and 9,948 for fellowships from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
Analysis of ancient DNA from skeletons suggests that Europe’s first farmers were not the descendants of the people who settled the area after the retreat of the ice sheets. Instead, the early farmers probably migrated into major areas of central and eastern Europe about 7,500 years ago, bringing domesticated plants and animals with them, says Barbara Bramanti from Mainz University in Germany and colleagues. The researchers analyzed DNA from hunter-gatherer and early farmer burials, and compared those to each other and to the DNA of modern Europeans. They conclude that there is little evidence of a direct genetic link between the hunter-gatherers and the early farmers, and 82 percent of the types of mtDNA found in the hunter-gatherers are relatively rare in central Europeans today.
An innovative collaboration among UC Davis engineers, physicists and radiologists has resulted in the first-ever fully 3-D breast imaging technique that uses both high-resolution PET and CT scanning.
A harmless shard from the shell of a common childhood virus may halt a biological process that kills a significant percentage of battlefield casualties, heart attack victims and oxygen-deprived newborns, according to research presented Sunday, September 6, 2009, at the 12th European meeting on complement in human disease in Budapest, Hungary.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin have identified pathways by which a reduced-calorie diet and exercise can modify a postmenopausal woman’s risk of breast cancer.
Although not as wildly popular as they were several years ago, the low carbohydrate diet still has a sizeable following. The simple reason for this is because it works! Clinical studies show that people on a reduced-carb regimen lost more weight than those on a traditional low fat diet within six months. But there’s a downside to this, not the least of which is health experts’ concern about the diet’s recommendation of fatty foods. Before you go on a low carbohydrate diet, weigh the positives against the negatives and decide whether it’s the right weight loss strategy for you.
Arguably the most popular low carb diet is the Atkins diet, founded by the late Dr. Robert Atkins several decades ago. Since its explosion onto the scene, similar diets have sprouted, including the South Beach Diet, the Zone Diet, Sugar Busters, and Protein Power. All these diets require you to vastly reduce the amount of carbohydrates you consume, but not eliminate them (as so many people assume). Your primary carbohydrate sources should be natural foods like vegetables and certain fruits. You will then find yourself eschewing many of the starchy and nutrient-deficient goodies that so many of us consume on a daily basis, like junk food and fast food (which, health experts agree, are bad for you anyway) and going for low carb foods.
Refined flour and sugar are perhaps the vilest villains that cause weight gain. Excessive intake of food products rich in these two ingredients can cause your blood glucose levels to increase, triggering the additional production of insulin, and causing the body to convert carbs to fat. Eating low carb foods would ensure that you get only the amount needed by your body. Deprived of surplus carbs, your body would then burn its fat stores instead of carbohydrates, and you start losing weight. What’s more, if you stick to the diet, you’ll find that you’ll tend to shed pounds at a faster pace.
Several studies show additional benefits of consuming low carb foods aside from weight loss. Lowered blood sugar levels will make you less vulnerable to diabetes. Also, clinical evidence shows that a low carb diet helps improve blood cholesterol, reducing your risk for heart disease and stroke. Another finding suggests a relationship between acne and carbohydrates. A diet high in carbohydrates increases insulin production, which would cause a series of hormonal changes that lead to clogged pores and oilier skin - fertile ground for the bacterium that causes pimples.
If the low carb diet has so many health benefits, why have many people abandoned it? One major reason is the diet’s advocacy of fat that is found in food like meat and dairy products. While it is true that low carb diets permit the consumption of fatty, low carb foods like butter, cheese, and pork chops, they do not in any way encourage the gluttony. You should eat only up to the point you don’t feel hungry anymore - there’s no “eat all you can” mentality involved.
Another reason may sound mundane, but is a serious challenge for many people: food boredom. A number of dieters find that they can’t do without the starchy, carb-rich they have become accustomed to; things like bread, pasta, candy, chips. However, if you do decide to go on a low carbohydrate diet, remember that there are many substitute products out in the marketplace that would still enable you to enjoy comfort food, but without the burden of carbs and sugar. For instance, instead of bread products made with refined flour, you can opt for whole grain breads or those made with soy flour and the like.
The abundance of naturally low carb foods cannot be underestimated. Fish, shellfish, and other seafood are rich in protein and low in carbs; so are poultry, meat, and many vegetables. Once you start incorporating all these natural and healthy foods back into your diet, you will find that you won’t miss the junk that you used to consume. And this practice of choosing nutrient-rich foodstuff will be something you will carry with you even after you reach your ideal body weight.
It’s not enough to go on a low carbohydrate diet, or any other diet for that matter, without getting the right amount of exercise. Even though the diet does not focus on calorie-counting, a calorie is still a calorie and if you eat more than what you burn, then you’ll become fat. So if you do decide to go on a low carbohydrate diet, make sure you do it right.
One of the most misunderstood aspects of weight loss is the belief that if you simply reduces fat intake, you will lose fat from the body.
While the average Australian does consume far too much of the wrong sorts of fats, and that this does contribute to certain disease conditions, when it comes to losing weight, fat intake is not the main problem.
The main player in successful weight loss is carbohydrate.
How many times have you seen overweight people in the supermarket and all the food in their shopping trolley is 98% fat free. These people only eat low fat food but continue to grow.
Here is an explanation of how that happens:
When you consume more carbohydrate (such as bread, rice, pasta, cereals, potato and products derived from them) than can be used or burnt as energy straight away, then the body will convert this carbohydrate to fat and store it in fat cells.
In Australia, we seem to be following the American trend of being an overweight population. In this increasingly overweight society we are seeing major increases in diseases such as mature onset diabetes, arthritis, bowel cancer and heart disease just to name a few.
If you consider that for every kilogram of fat you store, the body has to manufacture approximately 300 kilometres of blood vessels to feed it, you can see the increased stress that each kilogram of body fat is placing on the heart.
The SlimSafe program is designed specifically to limit the amount of excess carbohydrate consumed. The body will then gently mobilise the energy reserves in fat cells.
Mealtimes should also be pleasant and relaxed.
Encourage family mealtime interaction without stress.
Eating slowly is very very important.
About the Author – David Andersen is the founder of one of Australia’s most successful safe weight loss clinics, the SlimSafe Weightloss and Lifestyle program. He is also the author of 10 Golden Rules to Permanent Weight loss. David is based on the Gold Coast and runs weight loss camps locally and internationally as well as the SlimSafe program from his Naturopathic clinic. David also donates his time to give talks on nutrition to children and parents at Schools around Australia.
