Some people dismiss it as a myth, others believe it’s the sole cause of heart disease.

The truth lies in between.

Cholesterol is real, it matters, and the way we understand it can have a profound impact on cardiometabolic health.

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Myth 1: All cholesterol is bad

Cholesterol itself isn’t harmful. In fact, your body needs it to build cell membranes, produce hormones, and aid in digestion. What matters most isn’t whether cholesterol is present, but how it’s carried in your bloodstream.

LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol can contribute to plaque buildup in arteries if levels are too high.

HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol helps remove excess cholesterol from the bloodstream.

Although the balance matters, your LDL level is probably the most important value when it comes to avoiding heart disease. The lower your LDL, the lower your risk for cardiovascular events.

In fact, data from multiple randomized controlled trials show that populations with lower LDL levels consistently experience fewer cardiovascular events.

Myth 2: Cholesterol is a “myth”

At Step One, I sometimes hear from people who insist cholesterol doesn’t matter, or worse, that it isn’t even “real.” Nothing could be further from the truth.

High cholesterol is one of the most extensively studied risk factors for cardiovascular disease, with incredibly consistent results: lower LDL levels translate to better outcomes, no matter how you get there — through medications, diet, or favorable genetics.

There are even rare individuals who are genetically unable to make PCSK9, the enzyme that slows LDL receptor activity. Their LDL levels hover around 30 mg/dL for life. And they almost never get cardiovascular disease. That’s not myth — that’s biology.

Myth 3: Dietary cholesterol is the main cause of high cholesterol

For years, foods like eggs and shellfish were villainized for raising cholesterol. But dietary cholesterol has much less impact on blood cholesterol than most people think.

Your liver produces the majority of cholesterol circulating in your body. What influences blood cholesterol more strongly is the type of fat (and types of carbohydrates) you eat.

Saturated and trans fats can raise LDL cholesterol.  These fats are all solid at room temperature and include butter, cheese, the marbling in beef, the fat in chicken, coconut oil and all hydrogenated fats.

Unsaturated fats (found in foods like nuts, seeds, and olive oil) are liquid at room temperature and can help improve cholesterol levels.

The bigger picture: food has the power to harm and the power to heal. Poor nutrition doesn’t just raise LDL — it also drives up blood pressure, blood sugar, weight, and inflammation. Eat right, and you improve all of these risk factors at the same time.

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Myth 4: Cholesterol is the only thing that matters

Cholesterol is important, but it isn’t the only player. Cardiovascular disease is multifactorial. High blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, chronic inflammation, and genetics all layer on top of cholesterol to influence risk. Even with high LDL, some people may avoid disease, while others with normal levels may still experience events.

This is why reductionist thinking — blaming everything on a single risk factor — misses the mark. Cholesterol matters, but so do the other pieces of the puzzle.

Myth 5: Medication is the only solution

Statins and other cholesterol-lowering drugs can be transformative for some people. But they’re also an incomplete solution, because they only target one factor. If you lower cholesterol through medication but ignore blood sugar, blood pressure, weight, or inflammation, your risk remains elevated.

Nutrition, on the other hand, is comprehensive. Eat poorly, and you worsen multiple risk factors at once. Eat well, and you lower LDL, improve blood pressure, stabilize blood sugar, reduce inflammation, and support healthy weight — all in one step.

The bottom line

Cholesterol is not a myth. It’s a proven, powerful risk factor for disease. But it’s also not the only one, and it shouldn’t be viewed in isolation. The good news is that food gives us an opportunity to improve cholesterol while simultaneously improving overall cardiometabolic health.

At Step One Foods, we’ve made it easier to take control of your nutrition with convenient options proven to help support cholesterol management. 

The post What everyone gets wrong about cholesterol appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Not only do they increase your risk of developing heart disease and 30 other health conditions and diseases, but they’re also behind the obesity epidemic.

In fact, I wrote about the research that confirmed it’s these foods, not lack of exercise — as previously thought — that’s fueling rising rates of obesity.

But what’s truly disturbing is their impact on reproductive and metabolic health…

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Weight gain is just the beginning

A 2025 study at the University of Copenhagen has confirmed that no matter how little of them you eat, ultra-processed foods lead to weight gain.

Researchers compared the health effects of an unprocessed vs. an ultra-processed diet on the same person, in order to get the most accurate results.

Forty-three men spent three weeks eating each of the two diets, with a cleansing period in between.

The unprocessed and ultra-processed diets had the same amount of calories, protein, carbs, and fats. But half the men were given an extra 500 calories per day.

Regardless of whether those extra 500 calories were involved, men on the ultra-processed diet gained about 1 kg (just over 2 pounds) more fat mass than those on the unprocessed diet.

But it doesn’t end there…

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“Our results prove that ultra-processed foods harm our reproductive and metabolic health, even if they’re not eaten in excess. This indicates that it is the processed nature of these foods that makes them harmful,” says Jessica Preston, lead author of the study.

Men on the ultra-processed diet showed:

• An increase in levels of phthalate cxxMINP, a hormone-disrupting chemical typically found in plastics.
• A decrease in testosterone and follicle-stimulating hormone, both essential for sperm production. In addition to affecting fertility, low sperm count impacts a man’s sex drive and can be a cause of erectile dysfunction.
• An increase in LDL (“bad” cholesterol) levels.
• Altered thyroid hormones.
• Altered markers of systemic inflammation and oxidative stress.

And in case you’ve forgotten, chronic inflammation causes the cellular damage behind a range of diseases from cancer to Parkinson’s disease to diabetes, not to mention an accelerated aging process that makes your body old before its time.

“We were shocked by how many body functions were disrupted by ultra-processed foods, even in healthy young men. The long-term implications are alarming and highlight the need to revise nutritional guidelines to better protect against chronic disease,” says the study’s senior author, Professor Romain Barrès.

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The choice is clear

I hope you don’t need any more convincing.

Whole foods are the best alternatives to ultra-processed foods. But for success, ease into eating more of them and fewer ultra-processed foods.

Ultra-processed foods are made to “hook” you, so don’t blame yourself if it’s hard to let them go. That being said, see about ditching the two ultra-processed foods considered the worst ASAP.

According to Heartfoundation.org, whole foods and minimally processed foods, like these, are what we all should be eating:

• Fresh, frozen and canned vegetables and fruit
• Dried, canned and frozen beans and legumes like lentils and chickpeas
• Whole grains like oats, brown rice, barley and quinoa
• Fresh and frozen poultry and meat
• Fresh, frozen and canned fish and seafood
• Milk and plain yoghurt (try sweetening with honey)
• Eggs
• Nuts and seeds.

An easy way to identify ultra-processed foods is that they are quick, easy, and require little to no preparation — the very definition of “convenience foods.”

They include foods like sweetened cereals, soda and white bread; frozen French fries, chicken nuggets and pizza; processed meats, like hot dogs and bacon; pre-packaged baked goods, like cookies and cakes; and microwaveable meals.

Make the choice today and start taking back your health and your longevity.

Sources:

Why ultra-processed diets make you gain fat even without extra calories — Science Daily

Effect of ultra-processed food consumption on male reproductive and metabolic health — Cell Metabolism

Here’s What Eating Processed Foods for Two Weeks Does to Your Body — Time

Five ways to eat less processed food — Heart Foundation

The post Ultra-processed foods: A metabolic and hormonal disaster for men appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Most people know that when they’ve been eating poorly, there’s a good chance they’ll put on some weight.

No big deal. To outrun the effects of a bad diet and lose those extra pounds, just ramp up the exercise.

Burn those extra calories, and you can avoid gaining or take off any extra weight that may have come from your “cheat days,” as we used to call them.

But in reality, that turns out to be almost impossible. Here’s the reason for that..

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Lack of exercise is not the cause of obesity

Over the last century, obesity has become as common as the common cold and lots of research has looked in potential causes. For decades it’s centered around taking calories in and the expenditure of energy to burn those calories.

So it makes sense that physicians and fitness experts alike blame weight gain and obesity on our increasingly sedentary lifestyles. But that’s just not the case…

An international team of researchers compared the daily amount of calories burned by people from 34 different countries and cultures worldwide, including hunter-gatherers and farming populations with low obesity rates, as well as people in sedentary jobs in places like Europe and the U.S., where obesity is widespread.

Dr. Herman Pontzer, a professor of evolutionary biology and global health at Duke University, led the research. And he and his team have debunked the idea that living a sedentary lifestyle leads to obesity.

Participants in the worldwide study included more than 4,200 adult men and women who drank a special water containing isotopes. These isotopes, tracked in participants’ urine, allowed the scientists to get an exact read on how much energy the subjects used.

They measured energy expenditures not just from movement and exercise but from vital processes and functions the body performs — including the energy it takes to keep the heart beating or the nervous system functioning — just to stay alive.

Surprisingly, they found that people from populations with high obesity rates burned only slightly less energy than those from populations without an obesity problem.

Dr. Pontzer says that this fits with what we already know about how the body burns calories.

“Surprisingly, what we find is that actually, the total calories burned per day is really similar across these populations, even though the lifestyle and the activity levels are really different,” he says.

In other words, someone foraging for berries all day may burn the same amount of calories as someone at a desk all day. But why?

“So if we burn more of our energy every day on physical activity, on exercise, after a while our bodies will adjust and spend less energy on the other tasks that we sort of don’t notice going on in the background.”

This finding is strong evidence that obesity doesn’t occur from lack of physical activity. It’s because of food… one kind in particular.

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Ultra-processed foods are the culprit

“It’s 100% diet,” says Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, director of the Food is Medicine Institute at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. “And I think then the question is, what is it about the diet?”

Dr. Mozaffarian was not involved in the research, but has shared insights pointing out that the modern diet has become dominated by ultra-processed foods (UPF), and that these are the drivers of weight gain.

“For decades, we’ve been telling Americans that you’re lazy, it’s your fault, you’re not moving enough, you’re eating too much,” he says. “And I think what this study shows is that there’s a really complicated biology happening and that our food is driving this.”

The researchers of the study listed several ways, in addition to long shelf lives and increased availability, that UPF contributes to obesity, including:

• The hyperpalatability, energy density, nutrient composition and appearance of UPF might disrupt satiety signaling and encourage overconsumption. (Remember the adage, “you can eat just one”? UPF, from snacks to quick breakfast foods, to frozen pizzas and more, are designed to hook you and make you crave more.)
• Processing has also been shown to increase the percentage of calories consumed that are absorbed into the body rather than excreted. (UPF has low fiber content, is absorbed by the body quickly and has additives that potentially disrupt normal digestive processes.)
• They also found data that supports the obesogenic effects of UPF. (Obesogens are chemicals, often involved in ultra-processing and packaging, that can disrupt the endocrine system and lead to weight gain and obesity.)

Avoiding obesity isn’t the only reason to avoid UPF…

The more UPF in your diet, the higher your risk of dementia, colorectal cancer, and at least 30 other health conditions, ranging from diabetes to Crohn’s disease to asthma.

Make every effort to stick to a healthy, whole foods diet that includes plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, and you’re well on your way to keeping control of your weight.

Of course, there are other good reasons to get regular exercise — but if losing weight is among your reasons, you’ve got to examine your diet and move away from UPF.

Sources:

You can’t outrun a bad diet. Food — not lack of exercise — fuels obesity, study finds — NPR

Energy expenditure and obesity across the economic spectrum — Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)

The post The food that won’t let you ‘outrun’ obesity appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But is it true?

Well, it’s not called the middle-age spread because there’s not some truth to it.

But the more we understand about how that fat gets there, the better our chances are of doing something about it…

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What’s really behind middle-age spread

City of Hope® is one of the largest and most advanced cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States. But few of us know it’s also a leading research center for diabetes and other life-threatening illnesses.

Their researchers recently discovered exactly why we tend to lose muscle and gain body fat as we age — even when our body weight remains the same.

They began with a well-known fact: that fat cells grow larger with age. But they suspected white adipose tissue (WAT), commonly known as white body fat, also expanded by creating new fat cells.

If true, that means it could have an unlimited potential to grow, something none of us wants to hear.

To test their hypothesis, the team transferred adipocyte progenitor cells (APCs), a group of stem cells in WAT that evolve into fat cells, taken from young and older mice, into a group of young mice.

The result? The APCs from the older animals began generating massive amounts of new fat cells rapidly. But that’s not all…

Using RNA sequencing, they compared the activity of the APC gene in young and old mice. The APCs were barely active in the young mice, but in middle-aged mice, the APCs began pumping out new fat cells as if there was no tomorrow!

“While most adult stem cells’ capacity to grow wanes with age, the opposite holds true with APCs — aging unlocks these cells’ power to evolve and spread,” said Adolfo Garcia-Ocana, Ph.D., the Ruth B. & Robert K. Lanman Endowed Chair in Gene Regulation & Drug Discovery Research and chair of the Department of Molecular & Cellular Endocrinology at City of Hope. “This is the first evidence that our bellies expand with age due to the APCs’ high output of new fat cells.”

It gets worse… the research also discovered that aging transforms APCs into a new type of stem cell called committed preadipocytes, age-specific (CP-As). Starting in middle age, CP-A cells begin churning out new fat cells that lead to weight gain.

The good news? The scientists plan future research in hopes of developing new strategies that could eliminate or block the cells to prevent age-related fat gain.

Until then, we’re all on our own to do something about that middle-aged spread.

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Going after WAT to beat middle-age spread

We already have a few tricks up our sleeves to fight the battle of the belly bulge. And that’s to shift the makeup of fat in our bodies from WAT (which is made to be stored) to a form of fat the body burns for energy — brown fat.

You know diet is important, and exercise can burn fat. But at middle age, we need a little extra help.

I’ll discuss what I think are the two best ways to get that…

The first is called BAT (brown adipose tissue) activation. Your body can activate white fat to turn into brown fat when it gets cold enough. One study showed that up to 30 percent of your white fat cells can switch to brown fat when exposed to cold.

BAT activation can happen with the help of cold water immersion, cold showers and keeping the temperature in your home cooler. However, for BAT activation to work, you also have to combat inflammation. My second recommendation does that and more…

Black seed oil (from the Nigella sativa plant) is a natural anti-inflammatory. But a study on mice found that when used in combination with omega-3 fatty acids, white fat cells were reprogrammed to beige cells, which turn brown much more easily than WAT. Obesity-related inflammation was also mitigated.

So who says that middle-age spread has to be inevitable?

Sources:

Why our waistlines expand in middle age: Stem cells — ScienceDaily

The effects of temperature and seasons on subcutaneous white adipose tissue in humans: evidence for thermogenic gene induction — The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism

The post The stem cell secret behind middle-age spread appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

However, the way those fats contribute to weight gain is more complex than we think…

The problem isn’t just the fat being added to your body as pounds. It’s what those fats do to your ability to lose weight in the first place and the metabolic dysfunction that leads to disease.

Here’s some research that has broken it all down for us — and a secret weapon to combat it…

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Dysregulation associated with weight gain

Dr. Tigist Tamir is an assistant professor of biochemistry and biophysics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and a former postdoctoral researcher at MIT.

Along with Dr. Forest White of MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Dr. Tamir is working on a new study that digs deep into how fatty foods disrupt our metabolism and cause weight gain that’s so hard to lose.

The doctors observed that many enzymes involved in the metabolism of fats and sugars are known to undergo phosphorylation, or the addition of a phosphate group.

This is all chemistry talk, I know, but stick with me here…

In mice that ate a high-fat diet, the phosphorylation of two specific enzymes, IDH1 and AKR1C1, rendered the enzymes dysfunctional, in a manner that impacts weight gain…

The two enzymes usually play a role in breaking down sugar and metabolizing fat, but the dysfunction interfered with their ability to do that. It caused an increase in insulin resistance and an accumulation of damaging molecules called reactive oxygen species (R.O.S., also known as free radicals). This caused the mice to gain weight and experience metabolic dysregulation, while mice on a healthier diet did not.

Antioxidants counter R.O.S. and fat

But here’s the good news: When the unhealthy mice were fed an antioxidant called BHA, the adverse effects were reversed, and the mice began to lose weight.

Mice who were treated with BHA showed a significant decrease in weight gain and did not become prediabetic, unlike the other mice fed a high-fat diet.

Dr. Tamir says, “They’re experiencing a lot of metabolic dysfunction, but if you co-administer something that counters that, then they have enough reserve to maintain some sort of normalcy.”

In other words, the damage done by a high-fat diet was undone by adding a powerful antioxidant to the mouse diet.

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A safer, natural antioxidant

The antioxidant used in this study was butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA). BHA is a man-made, synthetic chemical often used as a food preservative in the U.S.

It’s been restricted or banned in some countries because of health concerns that it is carcinogenic and an endocrine disruptor. However, you can find supplements that contain low doses of it. Still, prolonged exposure carries those risks I mentioned.

But don’t get disappointed yet. Resveratrol is a powerful antioxidant that has also been shown to have a significant impact on fat metabolism.

Researchers at Washington State University, who also studied mice, found that resveratrol stimulates white fat to turn “beige” for enhanced sugar and fat-burning power.

The researchers simply gave the mice resveratrol supplements (equal to eating 12 fruits per day) and found that they gained 40 percent less weight than control mice who didn’t receive the supplements.

Professor of animal sciences Min Du, lead author of that study said, “Polyphenols in fruit, including resveratrol, increase gene expression that enhances the oxidation of dietary fats so the body won’t be overloaded. They convert white fat into beige fat which burns lipids off as heat — helping to keep the body in balance and prevent obesity and metabolic dysfunction.”

As far as safety, supplementing resveratrol gets a thumbs up. It’s also available in more than 70 plant species, especially the skins and seeds of grapes. Berries are also polyphenols and antioxidant-rich. Acai berries contain antioxidant levels so high, they can only be estimated.

Sources:

A high-fat diet sets off metabolic dysfunction in cells, leading to weight gain — Eureka Alert

Structural and systems characterization of phosphorylation on metabolic enzymes identifies sex-specific metabolic reprogramming in obesity — Molecular Cell

The post How antioxidants reverse the damage of a high-fat diet appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

While she was always successful at losing weight, it always came back a few months later, along with a couple of extra pounds. Talk about frustrating!

Given how good she was at sticking to whatever diet she was following, we could never figure out why she struggled with weight cycling.

Now, a team of researchers at ETH Zurich may have hit upon the reason behind this “yo-yo effect” — and it has nothing at all to do with willpower…

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Fat cells remember how to put the weight back on

Unlike genetic markers, epigenetic markers are more dynamic; they can be changed throughout a person’s lifetime by factors such as environment, eating habits and body conditions like obesity.

ETH Zurich researchers decided to look for the molecular causes of the weight-loss “yo-yo effect” — also known as weight cycling — by analyzing fat cells from overweight mice and those that had shed their excess weight through diet.

They found that obesity leads to characteristic epigenetic changes in the nucleus of fat cells and that these changes persist even after a diet.

“The fat cells remember the overweight state and can return to this state more easily,” says research lead Ferdinand von Meyenn, a professor at ETH Zurich.

The researchers showed that mice with these epigenetic markers regained weight more quickly when they once again had access to a high-fat diet.

The team also found evidence for this mechanism in humans by analyzing fat tissue biopsies from formerly overweight people who had undergone stomach reduction or gastric bypass surgery. In these samples, the researchers analyzed gene expression rather than epigenetic markers. However, the results were consistent with those of the mice.

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How long do fat cells remember

The researchers have not investigated how long fat cells can “remember” obesity. But they typically live for ten years before the body replaces them with new cells. That’s potentially ten years of epigenetic “memory” that makes weight cycling easier.

Unfortunately, it’s impossible to change the relevant epigenetic markers that could erase those memories from fat cells.

“Maybe that’s something we’ll be able to do in the future,” says Laura Hinte, a doctoral student in the research group. “But for the time being, we have to live with this memory effect.”

Von Meyenn adds that this memory effect is precisely why it’s so important to avoid being overweight in the first place. “… That’s the simplest way to combat the yo-yo phenomenon,” he says.

It’s easy to take these findings to mean that losing weight and keeping it off is a hopeless battle. But that’s far from their intention.

They hope that children and young people can focus harder on preventing obesity to avoid the difficulty we’ve learned about fat cell memory.

But for adults already dealing with weight problems, the only answer is avoiding the yo-yo train that just reinforces fat cell memories over and over again.

If whatever you’re doing to lose weight is working, that’s great — but once it’s off, it’s time to shift gears. Here is where you need to change what you’ve done in the past. Keeping the weight off requires a different approach that focuses more on exercise and less on calories.

Sources:

Cause of the yo-yo effect deciphered — EurekAlert!

Adipose tissue retains an epigenetic memory of obesity after weight loss — Nature

The post Losing it just to gain it back? Blame fat cell memories appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Not so fast.

You’ll want to think twice before putting artificial anything into your body. Those fake sweetener packets you see on restaurant tables have been linked to poor gut health that contributes to heart disease, autoimmune disorders and colon cancer — among other things.

Now, believe it or not, research is finding that a popular artificial sweetener actually increases your craving for sweets!

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Low-calorie sweeteners disrupt brain signals linked to hunger

According to a study from the University of California, controlling your weight isn’t as simple as reducing calories by substituting artificial sweeteners for sugar.

They’ve found that sucralose (known commercially as Splenda®) increases activity in the hypothalamus, the brain region that regulates appetite and body weight.

The study builds on existing research that linked calorie-free sweeteners and obesity, but didn’t tease out how these substances affected hunger.

The UC study provides that missing link…

Dr. Kathleen Page is the study’s corresponding author and the director of USC’s Diabetes and Obesity Research Institute.

“If your body is expecting a calorie because of the sweetness, but doesn’t get the calorie it’s expecting, that could change the way the brain is primed to crave those substances over time,” she says.    

Compared to drinking sugar, drinking sucralose increased brain activity in the hypothalamus of study participants and increased feelings of hunger.

These effects were strongest in people with obesity.

This means that when obese people use this sweetener in lieu of sugar in an effort to cut calories and lose weight, they are actually stimulating their brains to make them hungrier.

In addition, MRI scans showed that consuming sucralose increased connectivity between the hypothalamus and the anterior cingulate cortex, which plays a role in decision-making.

That means sucralose could have a negative impact on cravings and eating behavior.

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Losing weight without artificial sweeteners

It’s clear that artificial sweeteners are not your friend if you’re trying to lose weight.

So, how can you start cutting sucralose out of your life? Start by ditching diet sodas.

About 40% of Americans regularly consume sugar substitutes, mostly in diet sodas, followed by other low-calorie drinks, including flavored water and teas.

Of course, you’ll find it in low-calorie foods made to appeal to dieters, such as foods and snacks labeled “sugar-free,” including breads, cereals, grain products, bars, condiments, yogurt and other dairy products.

It’s hard to kick the diet soda habit, but knowing they are working against you may make it easier. But don’t swap them for regular sodas that typically contain at least 10 teaspoons of sugar. Instead, try filtered water with fruit added, especially citrus, to give it a naturally tasty but mild flavor.

Next, stop reaching for diet foods made with artificial sweeteners and switch to a whole-food diet. Once you’ve made that change, you should consider leaning towards a diet that primarily includes plants to experience real and lasting weight loss.

In a study a colleague wrote about, one group of people eating a plant-based diet lost an average of 14 pounds in 16 weeks. They found that plant-based meals increased their metabolic rate, causing them to burn an extra 18.7% in calories after finishing. The group also experienced significant drops in overall fat and a substantial drop in visceral fat levels (the fat surrounding the organs).

Sources:

Calorie-free sweeteners can disrupt the brain’s appetite signals — Eureka Alert

Non-caloric sweetener effects on brain appetite regulation in individuals across varying body weights — Nature Metabolism

A Mediterranean Diet and Low-Fat Vegan Diet to Improve Body Weight and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors: A Randomized, Cross-over Trial — Journal of the American Nutrition Association

The post When low-calorie sweeteners backfire: Increasing cravings & weight appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

In fact, not only can yo-yo dieting damage your heart, but it also comes with additional health warnings to be wary of, including:

• Increased risk of diabetes
• Higher risk of gallstones
• Poor gut health
• Depression

Now, research is linking one more health danger to body-weight cycling. It’s one that anyone living with type 1 diabetes needs to be aware of…

Weight cycling and kidney disease

The study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism examined six years of body-weight data for more than 1,400 people who participated in the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) or the Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (EDIC) study.

Type 1 diabetes has long been considered a disease of lean individuals, but, as the authors noted, the prevalence of obesity is rising among those with type 1 diabetes, mirroring the increase in the general population.

The researchers specifically delved into the effect of weight fluctuation on six different criteria for kidney function decline and progression toward chronic kidney disease in this group.

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Here’s what they found…

The scientists determined that people who experienced more significant weight fluctuations suffered from a 40% decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), which measures how well the kidneys filter toxins from the blood.

Results also showed that those with greater weight fluctuations were more likely to experience moderately to severely increased albuminuria. This occurs when there are abnormally high levels of a protein known as albumin in the urine. Larger amounts occur in the urine of people with kidney disease.

Additionally, according to the researchers, in all of the indices they examined, similar findings of kidney disease were confirmed.

“We showed that high body-weight variability is associated with increased risk of different outcomes of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) progressions in people with type 1 diabetes, independently of traditional DKD risk factors,” said lead author Marion Camoin, M.D.

People with Type 1 should focus on the long-term

This is the first study to show a link between yo-yo dieting and kidney events in people with type 1 diabetes, according to the authors.

However, the mechanisms linking body-weight cycling to increased renal risks are still not fully understood.

The researchers hypothesize that insulin therapy, which is necessary to treat type 1 diabetes, is a contributing factor to body-weight cycling. Others have theorized that body-weight cycling leads to added strain on the heart and contributes to kidney and vascular damage.

It may be safest to work on weight loss with an expert in type 1 diabetes. That’s because first and foremost, managing insulin levels is a priority.

According to experts on type 1 diabetes, weight gain can be a common result of managing T1D due to:

• taking too much insulin and eating to match your insulin
• treating multiple hypos daily/weekly
• inactivity due to fear of highs and lows
• over-consumption of calories when trying to eat low carb (these foods are often higher in fat and therefore higher in calories).

To lower the risks of yo-yo dieting and the occurrence of kidney disease, the study authors suggest that “Strategies aimed at weight reduction in people with type 1 diabetes should focus on promoting long-term weight maintenance, as weight stability may have a positive impact on health outcomes.”

Sources:

Yo-yo dieting may significantly increase kidney disease risk in people with type 1 diabetes — EurekAlert!

What Happens to Your Body When You Yo-Yo Diet — WebMD

Consequences of Weight Cycling: An Increase in Disease Risk? — NIH

The Long-Term Effects Of Yo-Yo Dieting — Forbes

The post Type 1 diabetes: weight loss and kidney disease risk appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

White fat isn’t one of them. It accounts for more than 90 percent of the body’s fat and amounts to stored calories.

If those calories don’t get burned up, that fat just keeps building up on our bellies, buttocks and thighs — and around our internal organs where it’s termed “visceral fat.”

Then there are brown and beige fats — the “good” types…

Brown fat converts calories into heat. It gets activated when we need that energy to get warm, like when we’re exposed to cold.

People with more brown fat have less visceral fat and are less likely to have conditions like fatty liver and diabetes.

But the thing we probably appreciate the most about brown fat is that it’s key to cutting down on white fat. In fact, the more brown fat you have, the healthier the distribution of white fat in your body.

Beige fat are white fat cells that are in the process of converting to brown fat, and they behave much as brown fat cells do.

Scientists previously thought that only newborn humans and small animals like mice had brown fat. But research has since shown that some adults have brown fat throughout their lives.

So wouldn’t it be nice if they could help us figure out how to use it to our benefit? That’s exactly what they hope to do…

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Brown fat’s ‘off switch’

A group of European researchers discovered a protein named AC3-AT that, when activated is responsible for switching brown fat “off” and stopping it from burning calories.

“As AC3-AT is found not only in mice but also in humans and other species, there are direct therapeutic implications for humans,” says co-author, Ronja Kardinal, a Ph.D. student at the University of Bonn.

“When we investigated mice that genetically didn’t have AC3-AT, we found that they were protected from becoming obese, partly because their bodies were simply better at burning off calories and were able to increase their metabolic rates through activating brown fat,” says Hande Topel, first author of the study and a senior postdoc at the University of Southern Denmark and the Novo Nordisk Center for Adipocyte Signaling.

“Looking ahead, we think that finding ways to block AC3-AT could be a promising strategy for safely activating brown fat and tackling obesity and related health problems,” Topel adds.

Interestingly, the study also identified other unknown protein/gene versions that respond to cold exposure in a way similar to AC3-AT.

“However, further research is needed to elucidate the therapeutic impact of these alternative gene products and their regulatory mechanisms during BAT [brown adipose tissue] activation”, says co-corresponding author Prof. Dagmar Wachten, Co-Director of the Institute of Innate Immunity at the UKB and member of the Cluster of Excellence ImmunoSensation2 and the Transdisciplinary Research Areas “Modelling” and “Life & Health” at the University of Bonn.

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Enhancing your brown fat stores

As promising as this research is, it will be years before it results in any sort of therapeutic options. But if you feel left out in the cold, that’s not such a bad thing…

Although the prevalence of brown fat decreases with age, it can still be activated. And when it is, it can help to enhance the rate of metabolism and help stabilize weight loss.

I’ve written previously about ways to stoke your body’s fat-burning furnace. One is through cold exposure. This includes things like taking cold showers, turning down the thermostat in the winter and even sticking your feet in an ice bath.

Exercise is another fantastic way to get that brown fat working. One study shows that during exercise, brown fat signals the muscle to take up more fatty acids to use as fuel. Irisin, a hormone also released during exercise can help white fat cells turn beige.

Some foods and specific nutrients can also help stoke that brown fat furnace:

• A combination of black seed oil and omega-3 fatty acids
• Flavanols
• Coffee
• Vitamin A

One final caveat: you’ll want to control inflammation in your body since it can block brown fat activation. My colleague Virginia Tims-Lawson lays out some steps to combat that inflammation so that you can truly harness the power of turning your white fat brown.

Sources:

Breakthrough in brown fat research: Researchers from Denmark and Germany have found brown fat’s “off-switch” — EurekAlert!

Cold-induced expression of a truncated adenylyl cyclase 3 acts as rheostat to brown fat function — Nature Metabolism

The post Scientists find how to control body’s fat-burning switch appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

One reason is that research has uncovered a host of health benefits related to dark chocolate— like reducing heart disease and stroke risks.

It also lowers blood pressure, improves athletic endurance and boosts brain function. And a daily dose of dark chocolate may help prevent diabetes and insulin resistance.

That last benefit seems counterintuitive. After all, dark chocolate does contain some sugar, though not as much as milk chocolate. But a recent study has confirmed this sweet connection…

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Dark chocolate and type 2 diabetes risk

An international team of researchers analyzed three long-running studies of healthcare workers with a total of 192, 208 participants. Of those, 111,654 were included in the analysis on chocolate types.

The Information on the participants’ diets was assessed every four years, and questions about how much and how often they consumed dark and milk chocolate were added in 2006 and 2007.

There were 9 levels to track frequency, which ranged from “never, or less than once per month” to greater than or equal to 6 servings (based on one chocolate bar or 1 oz.) per day.

Researchers also assessed variables that included:

• Body weight, waist circumference, hypertension, high cholesterol and family history of diabetes.
• Physical activity and body mass index (BMI) were measured over time.
• Diabetes was self-reported in biennial questionnaires and confirmed by study doctors with a supplementary questionnaire collecting more details about diagnoses and treatment.

There was a definite effect and difference between dark and milk chocolate…

“We were surprised to see a stark contrast between dark and milk chocolate,” co-author Binkai Liu of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health told MedPage Today. “While dark chocolate was associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, milk chocolate showed no such benefit and was even associated with weight gain. This difference underscores the importance of chocolate type and its nutrient composition.”

Their results showed those who consumed weekly servings of dark chocolate greater than or equal to 5, had a 21% lower risk of type 2 diabetes compared with those who never or rarely consumed dark chocolate.

Eating dark chocolate was also linked with a higher-quality diet and greater consumption of fruit and vegetables, epicatechin and total flavonoids. The opposite was true for those who consumed milk chocolate.

“Advising patients to enjoy dark chocolate occasionally as part of a balanced and nutrient-rich diet could be a way to integrate these insights into practical recommendations,” Liu adds.

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The ‘right’ type of dark chocolate

Chocolate contains high levels of polyphenols, including flavanols, which are part of the larger flavonoid group.

Previous research has found a link between higher dietary flavonoid consumption and decreased type 2 diabetes risk.

Though flavonoids may provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and vasodilatory benefits by stimulating the production of nitric oxide (NO), the relationship between chocolate and diabetes remains “controversial,” the authors write in the study.

This is because some of the observational studies had inconsistent findings and lacked inquiry into health effects by chocolate subtype.

Still, existing evidence appears to indicate that if you’re going to consume chocolate, dark chocolate is the healthier way to go. So feel free to indulge in the occasional dark chocolate treat — just make sure you choose the right kind.

Most nutritionists recommend a cocoa content of at least 60 percent. But the higher the percentage, the more flavanols and other health-boosting compounds the dark chocolate contains, so go as high as you can while still enjoying the taste.

One caveat: many dark chocolate bars on the market contain both lead and cadmium, heavy metals that pose potential health risks. Check this Consumer Reports analysis to choose the safest option.

Sources:

New Study Teases Out Chocolate and Diabetes Connection — MedPage Today

Chocolate intake and risk of type 2 diabetes: prospective cohort studies — The BMJ

11 Healthy (and Delicious) Chocolate Bars That Dietitians Eat — Everyday Health

The post The sweet truth about dark chocolate, diabetes and weight appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But for those who have already faced a cancer diagnosis, the risk becomes even more concerning.

If you fall into this category, here’s what you need to know to save your life.

How obesity causes cancer

Experts believe that the connection between obesity and cancer risk lies in the inflammation caused by visceral fat — an especially dangerous type of fat known to build up around organs in the abdominal cavity, or midsection of the body.

Visceral fat cells are large, and there are a lot of them. This excess fat doesn’t leave much room for oxygen — and that low-oxygen environment triggers inflammation.

Inflammation caused by obesity can keep the body from properly responding to insulin. This is called insulin resistance. When the body doesn’t respond to insulin correctly, it produces more insulin to compensate for that.  

The increase in insulin due to insulin resistance triggers an increase in the number of cells produced, which can lead to cancer.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the following 13 cancers are obesity-related:

• Breast (in women who have gone through menopause)
• Colon and rectum
• Uterus
• Gallbladder
• Upper stomach
• Kidneys
• Liver
• Ovaries
• Pancreas
• Thyroid
• Meningioma (a type of brain cancer)
• Multiple myeloma

Obesity also makes a second diagnosis more likely

Researchers from the American Cancer Society have found that cancer survivors who are overweight or considered obese are at increased risk of developing cancer again.

They analyzed data from 26,894 cancer survivors in the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition study. Participants were surveyed starting in 1992 with follow-up occurring through 2017.

They found that overweight cancer survivors had a 15% increased risk for a second diagnosis of any cancer and a 40% increased risk for a second diagnosis of obesity-related cancers. 

In comparison, obese cancer survivors had a 34% increased risk for a second diagnosis of any cancer and a 78% increased risk for a second diagnosis of obesity-related cancers. 

Make weight maintenance part of cancer prevention

Whether or not you’re a cancer survivor, being overweight or obese clearly stacks the odds against you. That makes avoiding weight gain paramount.

But because cancer survivors deal with unique factors, including treatment-induced hormonal effects that can lead to weight gain, especially in breast, prostate and colon cancer treatment, fad weight loss diets may not provide the nutrition they need.

The Dana Farber Cancer Institute provides some specific advice for cancer survivors. They suggest that unwanted weight gain can be managed, and even reversed, by following some simple, healthy eating and activity guidelines including:

• Follow a schedule, and don’t skip any meals or snacks.
• Fill up on nourishing, naturally low-calorie foods, such as including a fruit/veggie at every meal or snack. The fiber will keep you full and help prevent overeating.
• Adjust your portions by using a smaller plate, which will make a smaller portion look bigger.
• Balance your plate by making at least half of your plate consist of vegetables and fruit, one-quarter of your plate should be lean protein and one-quarter whole grains.
• Incorporate moderate exercise.
• Get adequate sleep.

Their recommendations on how to eat for cancer prevention and survivorship are similar to the Mediterranean diet, which is considered a sustainable eating style because it’s not overly restrictive, making it easier to follow and stick to.

It’s heavier on fruits and vegetables and whole grains — two of the best ways to get more fiber into your diet. It also is heavier on fish and poultry, recommends healthier fats, like olive oil, and limits red meat.

As far as exercise, studies have found it has numerous benefits including:

• Helps reduce pain and increase energy during treatment.
• Kicks the immune system into gear against cancer
• Helps starve cancer and halt the spread.

Just remember to start easy and discuss any limitations with your cancer team, and start working on leaving cancer in the rearview mirror.

Sources:

Body weight linked to 2nd diagnosis for cancer survivors: Study — Becker’s Hospital Review

Excess Body Weight and the Risk of Second Primary Cancers Among Cancer Survivors — JAMA Network

Health Risks of Overweight & Obesity — National Institutes of Health

How does obesity cause cancer? — University of Texas MC Anderson Cancer Center

The post The high-risk factor for a 2nd cancer diagnosis appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Yet, while these GLP-1 drugs, better known by brand names like Ozempic and Wegovy, are having their moment in the sun, more and more reports of serious side effects are stacking up.

Luckily, recent research has proved that you don’t have to risk the dangers of these drugs to lose weight. In fact, the researchers say that embracing one specific dietary strategy can not only help you shed excess pounds — but also dramatically improve your health.

That’s a far cry from what we’re hearing about GLP-1 agonists…

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The dangers of weight loss drugs

But before we take a look at the diet trick that research shows really works, just how bad can those oh-so-popular weight loss drugs be?

It turns out pretty horrible.

Just ask Juanita Gantt, who was prescribed Ozempic and Wegovy and is now suing their manufacturer.

Gantt, who had always struggled with her weight, found herself at 62 weighing 242 pounds. After talking to her doctor about her weight and diabetes risk, she started the drugs.

According to CBS News, a few months later, her husband found her unconscious on the floor.

The problem?

Large portions of her large intestine had died inside of her and required surgery to be removed.

And her troubles weren’t over…

While still in the hospital, Gantt suffered a cardiac arrest. And though thankful, that she lived, Gantt now lives with a daily reminder of her ordeal in the form of an ileostomy bag to collect waste that’s attached to her abdomen.

A safer weight loss option

 Scary stuff, right?

That’s why it’s so important to consider natural options, like diet, for weight loss whenever possible.

And that’s where research from Qilu Hospital of Shandong University comes in.

Researchers there found that “A plant-based diet is a viable option for people who want to control their body weight and improve the quality of their diet to prevent and treat metabolic diseases.”

In fact, they didn’t just conduct a single study.

They reviewed 24 studies, combining data on more than 2,200 people on the effects of a plant-based diet on weight loss.

And they found that not only does going plant-based work, the positive impacts of plant-based diets increase over time.

The researchers found that while a strictly vegan diet leads to the most weight loss, it was not significantly more than diets that included dairy and eggs.

And they say that to grab the most benefits, what matters is eating more raw vegetables — a factor that had the strongest links to a lower risk of obesity and heart problems.

“Raw vegetables contain phytosterols and unsaturated fats that lower blood cholesterol concentrations,” explained the researchers. “They also contain various substances (e.g., tocopherols, ascorbate, carotenoids, saponins, and flavonoids) that can reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, thereby reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.”

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An evidence-based strategy that works

The news about regaining weight after stopping GLP-1 agonists is surely disappointing. But reports are mounting that, other than staying on the drug, it offers no evidence-based strategy to maintain weight loss.

Nate Wood, MD, MHS, of Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, told MedPage Today “We generally do expect that when folks discontinue this medication, they’ll gain at least some weight back, if not all of it. And the reason for that is that we really think about obesity as a chronic disease. And chronic diseases require chronic treatment.”

That puts these drugs in the same basket as those people take for high blood pressure or high cholesterol, for example. As soon as the medication stops, the health threat returns. However, the dangers of GLP-1 agonists cast doubt on the safety of taking the drugs for life.

So if you want to lose weight, without facing the possibility of serious adverse effects due to weight loss drugs, adding more vegetables (especially raw veggies) to your diet seems to be the way to go.

Just remember that you can take a raw vegetable diet too far since going 100% vegetarian or vegan can lead to nutrient deficiencies.

Additionally, while eating a plant-based diet is a powerful and healthy weight loss strategy, eating certain foods can give you an even bigger advantage thanks to specific nutrients.

So be sure to check out this shortlist of foods that have been shown to help promote a fat-burning metabolism.

Sources:

Weight loss drugs allegedly landed this woman in the hospital, prompting lawsuit about drug label warnings — CBS News

New Study Backs Simple Weight Loss Strategy That Doesn’t Require Drugs — Sciencealert

The post The safe simple drug-free weight loss strategy that works appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Spending time in a sauna does more than help you relax, soothe sore muscles and improve circulation. The practice has been associated with all kinds of health benefits. In fact, regularly spending time in the sauna can slash your risk of specific health conditions including:

• High blood pressure
• Heart disease
• Dementia
• Respiratory disease
• Stroke

And recent research has uncovered another reason to add sauna time to our list of daily health habits — especially for post-menopausal women…

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Sauna to burn fat, increase insulin sensitivity

The study involved removing the ovaries of older female mice to model post-menopausal conditions. The mice were also fed a Western diet (which mirrors what most Americans eat) that contained 45 percent calories from fat.

The mice were then divided into two groups: one that received 30 minutes of daily heat therapy in a chamber set to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) for 12 weeks and one that received no heat treatment.

The mice receiving the heat treatment had significantly reduced lactate dehydrogenase levels, which indicates less aging-related tissue damage — that’s a win, but there’s more…

What was really surprising was that the heat therapy also effectively countered the weight gain induced by the high-fat diet the mice were fed.

The mice also showed improvements in insulin sensitivity and insulin signaling, as well as reduced adipose fat accumulation in areas such as the liver and in brown fat.

While adipose fat stores energy and hangs around on the body, brown fat is metabolically active and helps the body burn more energy. Previous studies have shown that people tend to lose brown fat as they age and women do as well when entering menopause. That contributes to a slower metabolism.

In short, the study appears to demonstrate that spending time in a sauna each day might help older adults, especially women, fight age-related obesity and insulin resistance. This could help ward off metabolic disease, which often leads to type 2 diabetes.

“Compared to men, women have a higher likelihood of being obese or overweight,” says research team leader Dr. Soonkyu Chung, PhD, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. “This is especially true after menopause, due to the loss of estrogen in the body.”

“Heat therapy could be a practical option for those with increased abdominal fat and a higher risk of metabolic diseases triggered by menopausal hormonal changes,” adds Rong Fan, a doctoral candidate advised by Chung. “It could be easily integrated into routine healthcare practices through regular sessions in saunas, heated baths or with specialized heat wraps.”

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Triggering the body to beat menopause weight gain

The researchers dug deep into the mechanisms involved and found that heat triggers several molecular processes that help the body use energy more efficiently and burn fat. They identified a key player, TRPV1, that when activated by heat triggers a process known as futile calcium cycling where the body uses energy to pump calcium ions across cell membranes. This process helps raise the amount of energy burned by the body.

Those actions also stimulate the body to break down and burn fats, reducing fat accumulation in tissues like the liver. In addition, it helps improve the body’s insulin sensitivity, which is critical for overall metabolic health.

The researchers caution that more research is needed to determine how long and intense the heat exposure needs to be in people to trigger the health benefits. They also need to confirm its safety and effectiveness across diverse populations.

For now, if you’re a woman in post-menopause and you want to kick your fat-burning metabolism into gear, give a daily sauna a try. If you don’t have a sauna at home, you can probably find one at a nearby spa, gym, health club or even the YMCA.

One caveat: make sure you sauna safely. Don’t use a sauna if you have unstable angina, chest pain or recently had a heart attack. And older people with low blood pressure should be cautious as well, since using a sauna can be risky for them. It’s always a good idea to speak with your doctor before engaging in a regular sauna practice.

Source:

Daily sauna time might help prevent menopause-related weight gain — EurekAlert!

The post The spa secret that prevents menopause-related weight gain appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Then, when I entered high school, he took a new job — one that required him to work nights.

Suddenly, he began to gain weight.

While he tried to eat healthy and still focused on getting exercise during the day, his weight continued to go up. He said it seemed that no matter what he did, the pounds were easy to put on and impossible to take off.

Eventually, he was even diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

In his mind, the issue all started with his move to working the night shift.

And as it turns out — he was right.

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Shift work leads to chronic metabolic conditions

A study from scientists at Washington State University and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has found the link that proves that flipping your biological clock on its head by working nights and sleeping days is a recipe for disaster.

Their study used volunteers who were put on simulated night or day shift schedules for three days. Then, after their last shift, each person was asked to stay awake for 24 hours under constant conditions of lighting, temperature, posture and food intake in order to accurately measure their internal biological rhythms.

That measurement was done via blood samples that allowed the researchers to take a deep dive into how shift work affects proteins that are found in the cells of the immune system.

And the results clearly showed why night shift workers are so much more likely to suffer from obesity, diabetes and other chronic metabolic conditions than people who work during the day.

The scientists found that when you work at night, there is nearly a complete reversal in glucose rhythms, which has a significant negative impact on blood glucose regulation.

Additionally, they discovered that processes involved in insulin production and sensitivity, which normally work together to keep glucose levels within a healthy range, were no longer synchronized in night-shift participants.

The researchers say this effect can initially be a healthy response since it’s caused by the regulation of insulin trying to undo the glucose changes triggered by the night shift schedule. However, in the long run, it puts diabetes on the table.

 “What we showed is that we can really see a difference in molecular patterns between volunteers with normal schedules and those with schedules that are misaligned with their biological clock,” said Jason McDermott, a computational scientist and researcher.

The damage is almost immediate

If those results alone weren’t scary enough, the researchers have one more warning for night shift workers everywhere.

The changes seen in the study that can lead to metabolic damage are almost immediate.

In fact, the study shows that these disrupted rhythms related to blood glucose regulation, energy metabolism and inflammation can be seen in as little as three days.

This means that in as little as three days, night shift work can put you on the road to developing a chronic metabolic condition.

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Reducing the risks of shift work

So if you’re stuck doing shift work, is there a way to fight back against these metabolic risks?

Luckily, there are a few options provided by past research.

These include:

• Upping your vitamin D levels – It’s been shown that higher levels of the sunshine vitamin, which could be in short supply in your body if you work at night, are associated with lower numbers on your scale. So be sure to get out in the bright morning sun when you can and take a quality D3 supplement.
• Adding in vitamin E – If you’re already living with obesity or another metabolic syndrome, you could be vitamin E deficient, preventing vitamin D from working its weight loss magic.
• Protecting your vitamin E – Vitamin C has been shown to guard vitamin E against lipid peroxidation. This prevents an antioxidant cascade that leads to inflammation, obesity and metabolic syndrome.
• Switching to stevia – Research has shown that the natural sweetener, stevia, is a natural alternative for treating obesity, hypertension and elevated levels of blood sugar and lipids, all disorders associated with metabolic syndrome. Just be sure to buy 100 percent stevia not mixed with erythritol, as some may be.

Additionally, I recommend checking out the recommendations of my colleague, Joyce Hollman, on how to shift the heart disease, diabetes and stroke risk of shift work to avoid serious health issues.

Sources:

Study shows how night shift work can raise risk of diabetes, obesity — EurekAlert!

The post Why night shift leads to weight gain and diabetes appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

And unfortunately, modern medicine is still trying to catch up. Their latest attempts, despite FDA approvals, leave much to be desired as both lecanemab and donanemab are linked to swelling and bleeding on the brain.

Luckily, research continues to arm us with easy dietary do’s and don’ts we can put to work to reduce our risks — including the Mediterranean diet, full of nutrients that cross the blood-brain barrier that have been seen in the blood work of super-agers, and foods like blueberries that improved brains in just 6 months.

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On the other hand, they’ve warned us against canola, the oil that cooks up Alzheimer’s, and the sugar that supercharges brain inflammation.

Now, there’s one more recommendation researchers have backed up with proof.

Diets high in saturated fats are a no-go if you want to keep your brain sharp and ward off dementia.

Here’s what you need to know…

Fats and your RNA

Previous studies in mice had demonstrated that after a diet high in saturated fats the mice developed Alzheimer’s much earlier than mice on a conventional diet. However, no one knew exactly why.

This led a group of scientists in Spain to set out to find the mechanism behind the damage.

Specifically, the team zeroed in on the expression of 15 miRNAs, small molecules of RNA related to insulin that play a crucial role in genetic regulation in both plasma and brain tissues.

After feeding mice a high-fat diet for six months, they discovered that not only did their body weight increase significantly, but their response to glucose and insulin decreased dramatically.

Both of these changes are ones you would expect to find in people with obesity or type 2 diabetes.

Additionally, they found that significant changes occurred in the various miRNAs in both the blood and the brain. These changes were related to processes that can cause brain damage, including:

• The accumulation of β-amyloid plaques (protein deposits that form in the brain and which are markers of Alzheimer’s);
• Excessive production of the tau protein (which can damage brain cells when it gets out of control);
• And inflammation in the brain.

In other words, just six months of saturated fats led to Alzheimer’s-like changes in the brain.

When asked about the research, lead author Mònica Bulló had this to say, “The results of this study are a step forward in our understanding of this disease and may explain the relationship between obesity, type 2 diabetes and the onset of Alzheimer’s. The findings also offer new targets for the possible prevention and treatment of the disease.”

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Switch to brain-supporting fats

Saturated fat is considered an unhealthy fat — and that should come as no surprise after what we just read.

Foods that are high in saturated fats include red meat, cheese, butter and other full-fat dairy foods and pre-packaged baked goods, like snack cakes.

So if supporting your brain health is top of mind, those are foods you should eat less of. And maybe while you transition to a more brain-friendly diet, take a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) daily — straight up, or like I do — on a piece of toast, instead of butter.  

EVOO is an unsaturated fat, and Harvard researchers found that consuming at least 7 grams of olive oil every day was associated with a 28 percent lower risk of dementia-related death compared with those who never or rarely consumed olive oil.

In fact, replacing around 1.2 teaspoons of margarine or mayonnaise with olive oil daily was linked with an 8 to 14 percent lower risk of death from dementia. 

Olive oil is also loaded with phenolic compounds that combat the oxidative stress and inflammation that kicks off insulin resistance and can ultimately lead to type 2 diabetes.

Olive oil has been shown up to stand up to to heat to retain it’s nutritional magic, so it’s a good option to cook with as well.

Other healthy unsaturated fat options include fish, like salmon, and nuts and seeds.

Sources:

Researchers discover the mechanism that links a diet rich in fats with Alzheimer’s disease – EurekAlert!

The post Why high fat adds up to high Alzheimer’s risk appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

That means that approximately 28.3 million adults in the United States currently smoke.

And while many of them may want to kick the habit, for some the worry about weight gain keeps them reaching for those cigarette packs.

However, according to in the scientific journal Addiction, choosing to continue to smoking to avoid packing on a few extra pounds, might be rather ironic.

That’s because research shows smokers have already packed on those pounds — deep within their bellies.

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Cigarettes and deep-down fat

So how was the link between cigarettes and visceral fat discovered?

That took researchers from the University of Copenhagen who combed through genetic studies of a whopping 1.2 million people who started smoking, over 450,000 lifetime smokers and the body fat distributions of over 600,000 people.

If you think that sounds intense, it was!

First, the team used previous genetic studies to identify which genes are linked to smoking habits and body fat distribution.

Next, they took a deep dive to determine whether people with genes associated with smoking tend to have different body fat distributions.

Finally, they ruled out all other influencing factors like alcohol consumption to ensure that any connections they found between smoking and body fat distribution were clear.

And it all came down to this conclusion: “This study found that starting to smoke and smoking over a lifetime might cause an increase in belly fat, as seen by measurements of waist-to-hip ratio. In a further analysis, we also found that the type of fat that increases is more likely the visceral fat, rather than the fat just under the skin.”

The dangers of visceral fat

Visceral fat is the deep fat that wraps around your organs that you may not be able to see — but can have significant negative effects on your health.

In fact, you can have a flat stomach and still have unhealthy amounts of visceral fat, which raises your risk of serious illness, including metabolic syndrome, heart disease, diabetes, stroke and dementia.

Visceral fat has even been shown to fuel cancer growth by releasing a protein called fibroblast growth factor-2 in your body that causes non-cancerous cells to become cancerous.

It’s even possible that this could explain some of the connections between smoking itself and cancer.

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Kick the habit and blast the belly fat

So if you’ve been putting off quitting smoking because you’re worried you might gain weight, now’s the time to put that worry to bed and start thinking about how to get rid of the more dangerous type of fat buildup smoking causes.

Consider putting these six proven ways to quit smoking to work for you.

And partner up to give yourself a six-times higher chance of success.

Finally, to start blasting the deep visceral fat that smoking has left behind take pyrroloquinoline quinone, or PQQ, an antioxidant powerhouse that’s been shown to reduce both total body fat and visceral fat volume.

And try the Green Mediterranean Diet — a version of the original that’s been found to be twice as effective on visceral fat.

Sources:

Current Cigarette Smoking Among Adults in the United States – CDC

The irony of smoking to stay thin: smoking increases belly fat – EurekAlert!

The post Smoking’s link to dangerous belly fat appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But it can feel as if those pounds are not only glued on but also multiplying.

Now, we may know why it’s so hard to lose weight and so easy to gain more, thanks to researchers at the University of California San Diego.

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The diet mistake that dampens energy burn

Researchers focused on why, in the case of obesity, a fat cell’s ability to burn energy starts to fail, making it so difficult to lose weight.

And they discovered a surprising answer in the cell’s mitochondria…

They found that after consuming a high-fat diet, mitochondria within the fat tissue of mice began to break apart, splitting into many smaller mitochondria that are incapable of burning fat efficiently.

According to the researchers, too many calories from overeating not only causes weight gain, it also “triggers a metabolic cascade that reduces energy burning, making obesity even worse.”

They did have some good news though…

They discovered that a single molecule was in control of the entire process. When they turned off that molecule, known as RaIA, they were able to protect the mice from excess weight gain, even when they ate the same high-fat diet as other mice.

And they say that in the future, they may be able to help treat or prevent obesity by targeting the RaIA pathway with new therapies.

Of course, that doesn’t do a lot for those of us struggling right this minute.

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Supporting your energy-burning mitochondria

Luckily, there are things you can do to support your mitochondrial health and energy production in the meantime.

This includes:

#1 – Supplementing with nutritional oils

Research published in the journal Antioxidants found a two-supplement combo that boosts the body’s energy expenditure.

The combo, which included black seed oil and omega 3s not only shrunk fat cells and turned bad white fat into energy-burning brown fat, but it also elevated mitochondrial function.

#2 – Using a super-energizing enzyme duo

Two powerful enzymes have been shown in extensive research to be capable of boosting your mitochondria and reducing oxidative stress that fuels inflammation and with it, obesity.

This duo includes CoQ10 (coenzyme Q 10) which helps mitochondria make ATP, as well as PQQ (pyrroloquinoline) which increases the number of mitochondria, so you have more fat burners on board.

#3 – Staying active

Finally, be sure to get up and get moving.

Exercise is vitally important to mitochondrial health and it can take as little as two minutes of physical activity to boost your mitochondrial health if you do it right.

#4 – Avoid a high-fat diet

Turn the dial down on the fats in your diet. Fat has a role in the body, but steer your diet towards healthy fats — in moderation. The Mediterranean diet focuses on those healthy fats, like omega-3s from fatty fish, and olive oil and has been shown to be an easier diet to stick to.

So if you’ve been struggling to lose weight, you now have the secret to powering up your mitochondria to power up your weight loss and your health.

Sources:

How obesity dismantles our mitochondria — EurekAlert!

The post Why a fat cell’s ability to burn energy fails and how to avoid it appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Even worse, low testosterone is associated with everything from poor heart health and blood clots to memory problems and disease-causing inflammation.

This has many men in their 40s and 50s turning to testosterone therapy, despite its risks.

However, according to a study from the University of Western Australia which delved into the health data of over 25,000 men, true issues with testosterone numbers don’t begin until much later than mid-life.

And not only that…

The research found that plummeting testosterone is linked to just five health and lifestyle factors.

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What’s behind low T

#1 – BMI

The research showed that body mass index or BMI (a measurement that combines your weight and height to tell you if you’re overweight) was inversely associated with testosterone levels. In other words, as BMI goes up, testosterone levels go down.

The data also revealed a link between high BMI and elevated levels of a female reproductive hormone in men. The researchers found that only men with a BMI over 32 had higher estradiol (an estrogen hormone) concentrations.

For men, high estradiol can lead to:

• Infertility
• Erectile dysfunction
• Breast development
• Mood swings
• Fatigue
• Depression

#2 – Lack of exercise

In addition to BMI, the researchers found that exercise plays a role in whether or not men suffer from low testosterone. In fact, men who engaged in vigorous physical activity for 75 minutes or less per week saw significantly lower testosterone levels, with levels decreasing by 14.7 ng/dL on average.

#3 – Smoking

Men who are former smokers also have something to worry about when it comes to testosterone.

The study showed that smoker’s testosterone levels were approximately 9.8 ng/dL lower than that of men who had never smoked.

#4 – Relationship status

Interestingly, the study also found that married men (those who were otherwise in a relationship) also had significantly lower testosterone levels independent of age.

Those who were in a relationship showed an average or 16.4 ng/dL testosterone drop.

Although the study wasn’t designed to show why this drop happened, the researchers believe it could be due to a higher level of stress that can come with family responsibilities.

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#5 – Health conditions

Finally, the data showed that poor health plays a significant role in men’s testosterone levels.

Health problems linked to low testosterone included:

• Hypertension
• Cardiovascular disease
• Cancer
• Diabetes

When testosterone begins its plunge

However, the study also had some good news.

The researchers say that for most men, testosterone decline didn’t begin until far later than most of us believe.

“One of the findings which we were struck by, was that after allowing for other factors, testosterone levels are in fact stable until the age of about 70 years,” explained lead researcher, Bu B. Yeap, MBBS, PhD. “After that age, testosterone levels declined with age, despite increasing levels of the pituitary hormone that drives testosterone production by the testis.”

And there’s more good news…

Knowing the factors that lead to testosterone loss gives men something they can do to preserve their T-levels despite aging, like maintaining a healthy BMI, staying active and mitigating the risk of other diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

Sources:

Testosterone Loss in Older Men: Factors Beyond Age in the Mix – MEDPAGETODAY

High estrogen – Cleveland Clinic

What Happens When Estrogen Levels Are Too High or Too Low? – MedicineNet

Different levels of estradiol are correlated with sexual dysfunction in adult men – Scientific Reports

The post 5 factors that team up to destroy men’s testosterone appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

About that abundant food… My plan is to keep it in perspective.

After all, there is some good news: A study performed by the National Institutes of Health followed nearly 200 individuals over the holiday season and found that, on average, people gained only one pound over the months of November and December.  

So my advice is to enjoy the holidays. Enjoy the celebrations, spend time with the ones you love, and participate fully in your family traditions — guilt-free.

Having said that, I would ask you keep my advice in perspective as well. It’s not about abandoning every good habit you’ve built along the way! It’s about leveraging what you know so you can help yourself move through this time with maximum enjoyment and minimum collateral damage.

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A little indulging won’t erase healthy habits 

How I approach this time of year is to stick with my exercise routine and modulate my eating. If I over-eat at a party, the next day I will go right back to my default healthy dietary pattern, often cutting back on some of the more calorie-dense components (like cheese and nuts). 

And no matter how bloated or tired I am the morning after the night before, I will start my day with my usual 5K run/walk. No excuses. End result?  I typically come out of the holiday season pretty much unscathed. 

This is what works for me. But I fully acknowledge that food traditions and eating occasions during the holidays (and the emotions that surround them) can be complicated and stressful — and dealing with food the way I do might not work for everyone. If my approach is easier said than done for you, consider reframing the way you think about food. 

Instead of thinking of foods as “good” or “bad,” for example, think about whether they are “nutritious” and “satisfying”. Labeling foods as good or bad often leads to guilt and shame and can eventually lead to disordered eating. So thinking about your diet more holistically can promote a healthier perspective.

Here are some other mindful practices that may help too:

Slow down. Surround yourself with some of your favorite people, sit down to eat, chew your food slowly and enjoy it. Eating more slowly has been shown to increase food enjoyment while helping us naturally eat less.

Consider your food choices. Make extra room on your plate for nutritious and satisfying options such as colorful fruits, vegetables, and food that’s spiced with seasonal flavors such as cloves, ginger, rosemary, and sage. For options that are less health-promoting, save room only for those that you find truly pleasurable. In other words, maximize the nutritional impact of the calories you’re consuming and don’t waste them on less healthy foods you don’t truly enjoy.

Make less go farther.  Consuming colder weather favorites such as cheese, chocolate, red wine, and even red meat is possible on a heart-healthy diet so long as portions are reasonable.

Skip the scale. Focus on health, not weight. After all, you’re in this to live a longer and healthier life. If you do that, the weight will take care of itself.

Clear your head.  Make sure to take time for yourself, every day.  It bears repeating that this time of the year can be stressful, and stress can make us less mindful about how we take care of ourselves and what we load up our plates with. Physical activity is a great way to de-stress, so if you can’t get your regular exercise routine in, squeeze in a quick walk as your release valve. Or add a meditation session. Even closing your eyes and taking a few deep breaths can make all the difference in the world.

Finally, don’t beat yourself up when you overindulge. (Notice I said “when,” not “if!”  It’s going to happen to all of us.) Food effects are cumulative; you won’t erase weeks of healthy eating with one excessive holiday party. 

The post The cardiologist says: Eat without guilt over the holidays appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

One is their estimated $1,400-a-month price tag, which isn’t covered by all insurance plans. Another is their black box warning that cautions the drugs caused thyroid cancer in rodents (though the same hasn’t been reported in humans). And people who stop taking these drugs often regain the weight they lost — plus more.

Then there’s a side effect that no one seems focused on….

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The GLP-1 Agonist Plateau

GLP-1 agonists are synthetic versions of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), a hormone made in the gut that controls blood sugar and insulin levels, as well as influencing hunger and satiety centers in the brain.

When these drugs are used to control weight, they work… for a while. But at some point, people hit a point where their weight stabilizes. And that plateau can differ for each person.

What’s more, sometimes with stabilization comes the return of appetite, which is something the drug is supposed to control.

On average, the plateau comes a little over a year with semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy. In the STEP 1 and STEP 2 studies, participants’ weight loss gradually stopped after week 60 of the 68-week trial, with about 10 to 15 percent of body weight lost. In a longer 2-year study, STEP 5, patients plateaued at around 60 weeks, though they were able to maintain their weight for the rest of the study.

With tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Mounjaro, the plateau hit within 60-72 weeks. A 2-year trial of the drug is ongoing and expected to offer more insight.

While physicians aren’t surprised by this plateau, they say their patients often are upset by it.

“Everyone will plateau, of course. No one on my watch has disappeared. No one has vanished,” Dr. Jody Dushay, an endocrinologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, tells MedPage Today. “It’s alarming to me that people find that surprising, but everyone will reach a plateau and there’s no way to know when you start the medication what that will be, what percent weight loss that will be, and how quickly they will reach it.”

Different responses for different patients

Dushay notes the importance of providers setting expectations with patients before prescribing GLP-1 agonists for weight loss. It’s also important to note that different medical histories, medications, and comorbidities can all affect how well, and for how long, an individual responds to these drugs.

Dushay says a “drug holiday,” where a patient stops and restarts a GLP-1 agonist has typically had no impact on plateaus.

Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity medicine specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, tells MedPage Today she would like to see future studies on GLP-1 agonists that stratify patient response by various characteristics like genetics. Right now, she notes, weight-loss drugs require a lot of trial and error, so predicting how likely success will be would save time and money.

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“If I know that, on average, this person is going to be a really poor responder to a GLP-1 agonist, I won’t [prescribe it],” she says. “It is a really arduous pathway for a lot of reasons — access, coverage, prior authorization. It’s burdensome on the patient, it’s burdensome on the system, it’s burdensome on me.”

In the meantime, physicians do have strategies to help a patient move past a plateau if they still haven’t met important clinical markers. Some will increase the dose if the patient can tolerate it well, or they may supplement with a second drug that targets a different neuronal or hormonal pathway.

Natural alternatives to GLP-1 agonists

Are there any natural ways to get the same effects provided by these expensive, potentially toxic drugs? One has become known as “nature’s Ozempic” — berberine. This plant-based compound has been shown to help manage blood sugar, reduce cholesterol, and help with weight loss.

Another natural alternative, the humble chia seed, may also help reduce blood sugar and promote a feeling of fullness, keeping you from overeating. You could also try black seed oil, which has similar effects on blood sugar and could help manage obesity.

Finally, make sure your diet is rich in protein and soluble fiber, both of which can help with weight loss and blood sugar stabilization.

And remember, nothing beats diet and exercise. The best diet for weight loss is one you can stick to—and this one comes out on top!

Sources:

The GLP-1 Agonist Plateau No One’s Talking About — MedPage Today

Semaglutide Shines as Weight Loss Therapy — MedPage Today

Another Weight-Loss Trial Win for Weekly GLP-1 Drug — MedPage Today

The post The Wegovy plateau you should know about appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

I always feel a little guilty when I snack outside of mealtimes. But I’m far from alone. According to one survey, nearly 3 in 4 Americans report snacking at least once a day, most frequently in the afternoon.

Snacking in and of itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Unfortunately, we don’t always choose the healthiest options as the day goes on. The same survey found people’s snacking choices tend to get less healthy later in the day, with 40 percent of people who snack in the evening picking savory or salty snacks and 38 percent opting for candy, chocolate or other sweet treats.

But if we eat healthy most of the time, having an occasional indulgent snack should be fine, right?

Not so fast…

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Unhealthy snacking can tank otherwise healthy eating habits

Researchers in the U.K. analyzed the snacking habits of 854 people from the ZOE PREDICT study.

Not surprisingly, results found that 95 percent of those in the study snacked. Their average daily intake was 2.28 snacks a day, and snacking contributed 24 percent of their daily energy intake.

But the quality of those snacks made a bigger difference than anyone probably expected to see…

People who frequently ate high-quality snacks like nuts and fresh fruit were more likely to have a healthy weight compared not only to those who snacked on unhealthy foods — but also to those who didn’t snack at all. Healthy snacks also resulted in better metabolic health and reduced hunger.

However, 26 percent of participants reported eating healthy main meals and poor-quality snacks like highly processed foods and sugary treats. These unhealthy snacks left people feeling hungry and were linked with…

• higher BMI;
• greater visceral fat mass;
• and higher post-meal triglycerides.

All these markers are associated with metabolic diseases such as stroke, cardiovascular disease and obesity.

The most popular snacks were cookies, fruit, nuts and seeds, cheese and butter, cakes and pies and granola or cereal bars. Cakes and pies contributed the most to calorie intake, followed by breakfast cereals, ice cream and frozen dairy desserts, donuts and pastries, candy, cookies and brownies and nuts and seeds.

Also, snacking after 9 p.m. was deemed to have the absolute worst effects. Cheating this late in the evening was connected with poorer blood markers compared with all other snacking times. Those who snacked at this time also tended to eat energy-dense foods high in fat and sugar.

“This study contributes to the existing literature that food quality is the driving factor in positive health outcomes from food,” says Dr. Kate Bermingham from King’s College London and senior scientist at ZOE. “Making sure we eat a balanced diet of fruit, vegetables, protein and legumes is the best way to improve your health.”

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What to snack on, and when

Bottom line: if you’re going to be a snacker, it’s best to reach for something healthy.

For instance, instead of a packet of potato chips, take a handful of crunchy almonds, which studies show can reduce weight, lower cholesterol and slash heart disease risk by 32 percent.

If you’re craving a late-night bowl of ice cream, swap it out for a small bowl of cottage cheese instead. I know it sounds weird, but cottage cheese before bedtime can increase your metabolic rate and improve muscle recovery.

A handful of berries can put you back in control of your cravings — and they are great atop cottage cheese.

Another good way to keep your snacking options healthy is to snack earlier in the day when you’re more likely to make good choices. According to the survey I mentioned earlier, 52 percent of respondents reported having at least one snack in the morning, with a majority (43 percent) of those morning snackers choosing to eat fruit instead of pastries or other less-healthy options.

Sources:

1. A quarter of people are undoing the benefits of healthy meals by unhealthy snacking — EurekAlert!

2. 2022 Food and Health Survey Spotlight: Snacking — Food Insight

The post Snacks that come with a license to cheat appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

I figure I’ve got the genes for it. My mom passed away a year ago, two months short of her 101^st birthday.

I eat well, walk (almost) every day and don’t smoke.

But I weigh 150 pounds, compared with 130 pounds five years ago. I’ve gone up two pants sizes.

One would think that getting that extra 20 pounds off would be good for my health.

Not necessarily, according to new research … at least, not if I want to cross that 100-year mark.

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Think twice about weight loss after 60

Women who maintain a steady body weight after the age of 60 are more likely to reach the age of 90, 95, or 100, known as exceptional longevity, according to a study led by the University of California San Diego.

The study included 54,437 women who enrolled in the Women’s Health Initiative, a prospective study that looked at causes of chronic diseases among postmenopausal women.

During the follow-up period, 30,647 (56%) of the participants survived to the age of 90 or beyond.

The study found that maintaining a stable weight was tied to longevity, whereas:

• Women who lost at least five percent of their body weight were less likely to achieve longevity than those who maintained a stable weight.
• On the other hand, gaining five percent of body weight was not associated with exceptional longevity.

Further, subjects of the study who unintentionally lost weight were 51 percent less likely to survive to the age of 90.

“If aging women find themselves losing weight when they are not trying to lose weight, this could be a warning sign of ill health and a predictor of decreased longevity,” says first study author Dr. Aladdin H. Shadyab, associate professor at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at UC San Diego.

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Focus on weight maintenance after 60

Dr. Shadyab also says, “It is very common for older women in the United States to experience overweight or obesity with a body mass index range of 25 to 35. Our findings support stable weight as a goal for longevity in older women.”

In other words, I shouldn’t be running out and finding ways to drop that extra 20 pounds. That could set me up for what we used to call “yo-yo weight loss,” where we lose it, gain it back and try to lose it again. Past research has found that can lead to an increased risk of heart problems.

Instead, if I want to live to be as old as my mom was, I should hold steady at the weight I’m at, and stay healthy in other respects.

Women should also exercise regularly for the sake of fitness, not necessarily weight loss — and to avoid the number one killer of women, heart disease.

Good exercise capacity and healthy heart function are the two things that will grant a woman a longer healthspan.

Now there was one caveat to this research…

Dr. Shadyab and the other study authors caution that if your doctor advises a moderate amount of weight loss to improve other areas of your health and/or your quality of life, don’t ignore that advice.

Sources:

Maintaining stable weight increases longevity among older women — Eureka Alert

Association of Later-Life Weight Changes With Survival to Ages 90, 95, and 100: The Women’s Health Initiative — The Journals of Gerontology 

Dieting After 60: 4 Things You Need to Know — Web MD

The post The weird way weight affects women’s longevity after 60 appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

By substituting artificial sweeteners for sugar in your diet, you’re shooting yourself in the foot. Current research shows that one sweetener in particular actually increases body fat and may lead to other serious health concerns.

So why are major health organizations still recommending the use of this sweetener?

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Aspartame: Why it doesn’t work

University of Minnesota Medical School and School of Public Health researchers led a 2-year-long study on the relationship between dietary intake and cardiovascular disease risk factors.

In the process, they found that long-term consumption of aspartame was linked to increased fat stores in the abdomen and fat within muscle.

Aspartame is a non-nutritive sweetener (NNS) sold under the names Equal, Nutrasweet and Sugar Twin.

It is found in products including:

• Zero-sugar or diet sodas, including Diet Coke
• Sugar-free gums, such as Trident gum
• Diet drink mixes, including Crystal Light
• Reduced-sugar condiments, such as Log Cabin Sugar-Free Syrup
• Sugar-free gelatin like Sugar-free Jell-O

So why does aspartame actually make you gain fat?

The study authors pose the following explanation.

When aspartame metabolizes, it suppresses the action of intestinal alkaline phosphatase, an enzyme that, among other things, maintains gut homeostasis.

And poor gut health contributes to obesity (as well as upping your risk for diabetes, Parkinson’s, and other serious diseases).

Yet both the American Diabetes Association and the American Heart Association still recommend the use of artificial sweeteners like aspartame in place of sugar.

Ever heard the expression, “Out of the frying pan, into the fire”? It sure applies here.

Oh, and let’s not forget it’s “possibly carcinogenic to humans.”

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Healthier ways to “get sweet”

This study also looked at the harm done by diet sodas.

Many of them are sweetened with aspartame, and actually increase your waist size.

They also contribute to metabolic syndrome.

But the plant-based sweetener stevia can fight metabolic syndrome!

According to research, the stevia rebaudiana plant is a natural for treating obesity, hypertension and elevated blood sugar and lipids.

Another one to try is monk fruit extract. Monk fruit is a type of fruit native to Southeast Asia. It’s often used to make a natural sweetener called monk fruit extract.

Monk fruit contains antioxidant compounds known as mogrosides, which studies have shown may reduce markers of inflammation.

If you switch to stevia or monk fruit, take care to be sure erythritol is not used as a filler. Erythritol is linked to sticky blood and stroke.

If you’re looking to sweeten plain yogurt or oatmeal, dried fruits are a good choice. Pitted dates, figs, raisins, and any other dried fruit can be blended in a food processor for a smooth sweetener to mix into your food.

Sources:

Study links long-term artificial sweetener intake to increased body fat adipose tissue volume — Science Daily

Long-term aspartame and saccharin intakes are related to greater volumes of visceral, intermuscular, and subcutaneous adipose tissue: the CARDIA study — International Journal of Obesity

WHO advises not to use non-sugar sweeteners for weight control in newly released guideline — World Health Organization

WHO questions safety of aspartame. Here’s a list of popular foods, beverages with the sweetener. — CBS News

The post Long-term use of popular fake sugar increases belly fat appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

So when I started hearing about a technique that can burn more calories than working out, one that I could incorporate into my daily routine, I thought, “Sign me up!”

Turns out this method for burning calories is for real. Here’s what it is, why it works so well, and how you can make it part of your daily routine.

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Expending extra calories with little effort is NEAT

Perhaps you’re someone who carves out time for exercise each day. Unlike me, you make sure that you sweat and get your heart pumping on a daily basis.

But you also might be driving the half-mile to pick up your coffee each day instead of taking a 15-minute walk. Or you may be that person who takes the elevator up to your office instead of climbing the three flights of stairs.

No big deal, right? I mean, you exercise every day.

Actually, it’s a bigger deal than you think.

More than half the calories you burn each day are beyond your control. It’s a relatively fixed number…   

• Fifty to sixty percent go toward supporting basic bodily functions — your basal metabolic rate.
• Another ten percent goes toward digesting and metabolizing food.
• That leaves about thirty to forty percent of calories available for all your physical activity, including exercise.

That’s where non-exercise activity thermogenesis, or NEAT, comes in…

NEAT is essentially all the calories that a person burns through daily activity excluding purposeful physical exercise.

Think of low-effort movements like household chores, climbing the stairs, or cooking dinner.

Researchers are finding that even small behavior changes can increase or diminish how much NEAT you get — and that this can shape your health in powerful ways…

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NEAT prevents weight gain

Nearly 25 years ago, endocrinologist Dr. James Levine began to examine how NEAT affects metabolic health.

He looked at what happened to 16 non-obese people when they were fed an extra 1000 calories a day for two months.

Turns out it wasn’t exercise that predicted how well someone was able to avoid putting on fat.

It was their level of NEAT.

“People who have the capacity to burn off extra calories and remain thin are people who can switch on their NEAT,” says Dr. Levine.

And avoiding obesity isn’t the only benefit of getting more NEAT in your life.

Being sedentary is associated with other health problems, from cardiovascular disease to joint problems to mental health issues.

The internal Apple Watch that tries to keep us thin

Dr. Cathy Kotz is a biologist who studies obesity at the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Kotz was studying a compound in the brains of animals known as orexin, and how it influences feeding behavior.

But she noticed that orexin had another, unexpected effect.

“Through a lot of experiments, we discovered that when we either give the animals more orexin, or we stimulate their orexin neurons in the brain, it causes them to move more,” she says.

Orexin is also produced in the human hypothalamus.

It’s possible, says Dr. Kotz, that stimulating orexin in humans, either naturally or through medication, could eventually act like an Apple Watch, telling us, “Hey, it’s been a while – you should stand up and move around.”

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10 ways to get more NEAT

Here’s a finding from a totally different study…

For every 287 calories a person burned per day, there was about a 30 percent lower chance of dying in the next ten years.

But it wasn’t exercise that made the difference — it was NEAT.

A pretty good reason to add some NEAT to your life, right?

Here are ten ways to do that and burn those calories:

• Vacuuming
• Walking through the grocery store
• Climbing stairs
• Bobbing your legs up at down while sitting
• Cooking dinner
• Using a standing desk at work
• Chewing gum
• Pick the farthest parking spot and walk
• Gardening
• Washing the car

There are others — but you get the idea. Keep on moving!

Sources:

There’s a way to get healthier without even going to a gym. It’s called NEAT — NPR

Nonexercise Activity Thermogenesis in Obesity — Mayo Clinic

What is NEAT exercise? Plus, 6 easy ways to do more — Women’s Health

The post 10 NEAT ways to burn calories without trying appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

For that reason, I can’t say I’ve ever been more excited for fall to come and cool things down. In fact, I’m even looking forward to the colder temperatures winter will bring.

But I’m not looking forward to the “comfort food” struggle — that desire to seek out high-energy foods to make the long winter ahead bearable. For our ancestors, it may have been a necessity to help keep warm, but for us, it’s an invitation to trouble…

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From sugar high to hibernation

Fructose is the natural substance that makes fruit sweet. But in today’s Western society, most fructose is consumed as table sugar and high fructose corn syrup. These two ingredients are very different from the nutrients ingested by our ancestors as they prepared for the lean winter months.

Researchers believe that fructose works differently than other nutrients by lowering the body’s active energy, damaging mitochondria. Studies show fructose stimulates food intake and lowers resting energy metabolism in much the same way it does in an animal preparing for hibernation.

That means it leads to weight gain and obesity. But that’s not all. Insulin resistance, high blood pressure, fatty liver and other metabolic-related issues are more likely when we consume too much fructose.

While fructose’s contribution to obesity is well-known, a team of researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus decided to use a large amount of research to explore in depth the exact role fructose plays in developing obesity by looking to nature. And what they discovered was fascinating…

The impact of fructose on our “survival switch”

The researchers found the effect of fructose mediates this “survival switch.” Unlike glucose, which primarily serves to provide immediate fuel to the body, fructose’s primary function is to aid in the storage of fuel.

“We determine a recently discovered function of fructose in survival that stores fuel in case resources become scarce,” says Dr. Richard Johnson, professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and study lead author. “This is known as the ‘survival switch.’”

The study also suggests that two events occur that convert fructose’s fuel-protective pathway into one that causes disease. The first is the inhibition of “thrifty genes” that may significantly amplify the ability of fructose to induce metabolic syndrome. And the second is the marked increase in foods that either contain or produce fructose.

The researchers propose that these two events have led the “survival switch” to become overactivated, which is driving both obesity and many of the metabolic diseases affecting people today.

“This work puts together in one place the full argument for how a particular carbohydrate, fructose, might have a central role in driving obesity and diabetes,” Johnson says.

“This is a very exciting, new hypothesis that unites other hypotheses to point to the specific role fructose plays in the onset of obesity,” he adds. “And we can trace it back to our ancestors, as well as learn from hibernating animals, exactly how fructose causes this ‘switch’ within us.”

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Fruit isn’t the problem

Often when we talk about fructose and avoiding sugars, we get questions about fruit.

So let me clarify here that fruit is not the problem. In addition to naturally occurring fructose, fruit comes with antioxidants and fiber that make them essential to a well-rounded diet.

Plus, the phytonutrients in fruit help inhibit the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream, so you don’t get the sugar spike you do from industrial forms of fructose like sugar and high fructose corn syrup.

But fructose in the absence of those special nutrients found in fruit, supersizes the way your gut absorbs fat and calories.

So, the change that needs to be made is in the number of sugar-sweetened beverages and processed foods and snacks we consume. These are sources of added sugars.

By cutting out all sodas and other beverages sweetened with added sugars or high-fructose corn syrup, you’ll go a long way toward bringing down your fructose consumption. Also, try to skip candy, ice cream, sweetened yogurt and processed baked goods — or else keep them only to very special occasions.

But it isn’t just the obvious sources we need to watch for. I’ve become an avid reader of labels so that I can avoid the hidden sources of sugar on grocery shelves.

For instance, did you know that ketchup can have as much as a teaspoon of sugar in a single serving? And even many supposedly healthy “organic” ketchup brands contain sugar.

Other unexpected sources of sugar include salad dressings, pasta sauce, premade soups, frozen meals and pizzas, bread, barbecue sauce and baked beans.

Next time you’re shopping, keep an eye out for the words “added sugar,” “high fructose corn syrup,” and “fructose” so you can dodge this health destroyer.

Sources:

Fructose Intake Can Lead to Obesity in Humans, Just Like in Hibernating Animals, CU Researchers Say — University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

The fructose survival hypothesis for obesity — Philosophical Transactions

If Fructose Is Bad, What About Fruit? — NutritionFacts.org

The post The ‘survival switch’ fructose flips to make us fat appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

What if we could increase our healthspans, which means not just adding years to our lifespans — but healthier ones?

What if we could support and replenish our aging mitochondria so our cells have the energy they need to keep on going — and keep us going?

What a game-changer that would be — as long we could get enough…

Can an amino acid molecule slow aging?

These are the questions that Dr. Vijay Yadav, assistant professor of genetics & development at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, had in mind when he launched a study involving dozens of researchers around the world who study aging.

Taurine first hit Dr. Yadav’s radar during previous research into osteoporosis that uncovered taurine’s role in building bone. Other researchers, around the same time, were seeing how taurine impacted immune function, obesity and nervous system functions.

That’s when a lightbulb went off…

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“We realized that if taurine is regulating all these processes that decline with age, maybe taurine levels in the bloodstream affect overall health and lifespan,” Dr. Yadav says.

When the research team analyzed levels of the amino acid in the bloodstream of mice, monkeys and people, they saw something often revealed over and over again in aging research — a deficiency.

Taurine levels had dropped substantially with age. Specifically in people, the taurine levels in 60-year-olds were only about one-third of the levels in 5-year-olds.

“That’s when,” Yadav says, “we started to ask if taurine deficiency is a driver of the aging process, and we set up a large experiment with mice.”

Taurine levels decline with age: what if we raise them?

The study included about 250 14-month-old male and female mice (the equivalent of 45 in human years). The mice were fed an amount of taurine or a control solution daily.

By the end of the experiment, they found taurine had increased the average lifespan of female mice by 12 percent and 10 percent in males. For the mice, that meant three to four extra months — the equivalent of about seven or eight human years.

But what about the impact on the animal’s health?

For that answer, Dr. Yadov looked to other researchers who investigated the effect of supplemented taurine on the health and lifespan of several species…

After measuring various health parameters in mice, they found that at age 2 (60 in human years), animals supplemented with taurine for one year were healthier in almost every way than their untreated counterparts. In fact, the amino acid:

• Suppressed age-associated weight gain in female mice (even in “menopausal” mice)
• Increased energy expenditure
• Increased bone mass
• Improved muscle endurance and strength
• Reduced depression-like and anxious behaviors
• Reduced insulin resistance
• And promoted a younger-looking immune system

At the cellular level, supplementation:

• Decreased the number of “zombie cells” (old cells that linger and release harmful substances)
• Increased survival after telomerase deficiency
• Increased the number of stem cells present in some tissues (which help repair other cells)
• Improved the performance of mitochondria
• Reduced DNA damage
• And improved the cells‘ ability to sense nutrients

But supplementing isn’t the only way they found we can increase our levels. The researchers measured taurine levels before and after a strenuous cycling workout. They found a significant increase in taurine levels in both seasoned athletes and sedentary people.

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Taurine: A natural anti-aging option

Dr. Yadav is quick to point out, however, that “these are associations, which do not establish causation, but the results are consistent with the possibility that taurine deficiency contributes to human aging.”

Randomized clinical trials, considered the gold standard in research, are needed for the definitive answer on taurine’s anti-aging benefits.

“Taurine abundance goes down with age, so restoring taurine to a youthful level in old age may be a promising anti-aging strategy.”

Dr. Bruce Ames, a Senior Scientist with a career spanning seven decades, would likely agree. His “triage theory” argues that, by skimping on inadequate amounts, we’re cheating ourselves of valuable “longevity vitamins” critical to long-term maintenance. He considers taurine one on a list of about 10 he considers valuable longevity nutrients.

Taurine is available in supplement form and is found naturally in foods like eggs, dairy, scallops, tuna, tilapia, octopus, seaweed, chicken, turkey and beef. Adding more of these foods to your diet can only help.

Supplementing taurine in reasonable amounts is safe. But if you have kidney health problems, discuss with your doctor first.

Sources:

Taurine may be a key to longer and healthier life — Eureka Alert

Taurine deficiency as a driver of aging — Science

The post Taurine: The anti-aging amino acid appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Absolutely. If they stay where they belong.

But when leaky gut syndrome exists, those bacteria and their toxins escape into your bloodstream, where they do not belong, and wreak havoc.

They can cause chronic bloating, headache, indigestion, diarrhea and nausea, as well as more severe conditions, such as irritable bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis.

What’s more, researchers have discovered they kickstart a vicious cycle of obesity by interfering with the metabolism of fat cells.

Here’s how that happens, and what you can do about it…

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White fat vs. brown fat

To understand how this vicious cycle works, you’ll need to understand the difference between two types of fat we carry in our bodies.

There’s white fat. That’s the kind your body stores that shows up in bulges around your belly, hips, and thighs. That’s the kind of fat we don’t want.

Then, there’s our hero: brown fat.

Brown fat (the kind you want) helps burn off the calories we eat each day.

Browning is the process that turns white fat into brown fat and can be stimulated by exercise, exposure to cold and calorie restriction.

How leaky gut starts the obesity cycle

An international group of researchers took a look at how weight is affected when substances called endotoxins are released into the blood.

Endotoxins are found within the walls of bacteria. They are a normal part of the digestive tract, and their function is to trigger inflammation when an infection is present.

But when a leaky gut allows endotoxins to escape the gut and enter the bloodstream, it interferes with the normal functioning of fat cells. Specifically, it slows or stops the browning process, which is crucial to reducing the amount of stored fat and maintaining a healthy weight.

And since obese people already have less resilient guts, endotoxins have more chance of escaping into the bloodstream.

And so the cycle goes.

But if you can work to prevent leaky gut and keep endotoxins out of your blood, you’ve already won half the battle.

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How to help a leaky gut

A leaky gut leaks because damage to the lining has made it more permeable. Normally the junctures are just tight enough to allow nutrients to be absorbed and passed into the body, but keep bacteria and waste inside the intestinal walls until they exit the body.

If you’re not sure if you’re affected by leaky gut, first familiarize yourself with the most common symptoms.

Studies have shown that what you eat, and what you don’t eat, are keys to keeping the gut in healthy shape.

One of the most powerful foods to do just that is broccoli. In studies with mice, it was found to contain molecules involved in signaling cells in the intestines to halt inflammatory processes and repair damaged cells. That process helps keep the gut lining intact.

Next are polyphenols, natural antioxidants found in a variety of foods like apples, berries and green tea. In the gut, they increase helpful bacteria, reduce harmful bacteria, and prevent damaging inflammation. A recent study found that eating foods rich in polyphenols increased products of cell metabolism that improve the health of the gut and decreased those that cause intestinal permeability.

Certain supplements can also help.

Now, the foods you want to eat much less of include processed junk foods because they contain refined oils, added sugars and artificial sweeteners — and are considered inflammatory. They also contain gluten — which can aggravate digestive symptoms.

A whole foods diet, like the Mediterranean diet, is probably the best way to ensure foods that can promote weight loss and a healthy gut — which is ultimately the best way to keep your gut in shape and break the cycle.

Sources:

Toxic Fragments of Bacteria Leaking From The Gut May Drive Weight Gain — Science Alert

The impact of metabolic endotoxaemia on the browning process in human adipocytes — BMC Medicine

The post How leaky gut leads to weight gain appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

You might be just as active as you used to be (well, almost) and even eat the same foods you have for years, but the weight starts hanging around your hips, thighs and belly a little more with each passing year.

Worse, that age-related weight gain increases our risks for obesity, type 2 diabetes, chronic inflammation, and, yes, heart disease.

Those are the main reasons that, over the years, scientists have begun learning more about the types of fat we carry.

And now they believe that by stimulating the production of certain types of fat cells, it may be possible to reverse the way metabolism slows with age and those ill effects…

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Three types of body fat

Mammals, including humans, have two main types of fat.

One is white adipose tissue (WAT), which stores energy from the calories we eat but don’t need right away. The other is brown adipose tissue (BAT), which burns calories to produce heat to maintain body temperature.

There’s also a third type, known as beige fat…

Beige fat cells have features midway between white and brown. They come from white parent cells, but function like brown fat cells by burning energy to produce heat when the core body temperature dips.

Beige fat cells are thermogenic (they burn energy), just like brown fat cells. Therefore, they help to reduce the excess blood sugar and fatty acids that lead to diabetes and heart disease.

Ramp up metabolism with beige fat

It’s this beige fat that the researchers hope to harness to ramp your metabolism back up. and here’s how…

‘Browning’ is the process by which white fat cells are turned into healthier beige fat cells. Being exposed to sustained cold temperatures stimulates adipose progenitor cells to form thermogenic beige fat cells.

“There are seasonal changes in beige fat in young humans,” says Dan Berry, assistant professor in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University. “But an older person would have to stand outside in the snow in their underwear to get those same effects.”

Obviously, this is not the best option.

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However, in mice studies, they discovered a signaling pathway that interferes with beige fat formation. By suppressing this pathway, the scientists were able to cause aging mice to produce beige fat again, instead of only white.

The hope is to develop a pharmaceutical that could block the same pathway in humans. Until then, here are a few ways to stimulate more of that good brown fat conversion in your body…

Kick the thermostat down. Some studies suggest that keeping your house at cooler temperatures and taking cold showers or baths can stimulate white fat to convert to beige fat.

Try resveratrol. Researchers at Washington State University found in a study on mice that the powerful polyphenol helps to stimulate white fat to turn “beige,” amping up its sugar and fat-burning power.

Spice things up. Research has found capsaicin helps trigger a process known as non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) — a term used for the energy the body uses for all activity apart from exercise, sleeping and eating.

Drink coffee. Researchers in England found that drinking coffee can stimulate the activity of brown fat cells.

Take fish oil supplements. Research out of Japan found in mice experiments that fish oil turned white fat beige and the mice on fish oil gained less weight and fat than the mice that didn’t get fish oil.

Eat foods that make beige fat. Certain fruits, nuts and vegetables contain a natural substance that encourages the body to create beige fat.

Exercise. Studies suggest that exercise activates the hormone irisin, which tells white fat in your body to burn like brown fat, which creates beige fat.

Add iron to your diet. Take a good iron supplement (check with your doctor first) or add iron-rich foods to your diet: meat and seafood, whole grains, dark leafy vegetables and beans.

Sources:

‘Beige fat’ could hold key to age-related metabolism change — Eureka Alert

Age-dependent Pdgfrβ signaling drives adipocyte progenitor dysfunction to alter the beige adipogenic niche in male mice — Nature Communications

Brown Fat — Cleveland Clinic

Brown, white and beige: understanding your body’s different fat cells could help with weight loss — The Conversation

The post Metabolism slowing with age? Reverse it appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

We’re not just talking about canned or frozen foods that have been minimally altered by removal of inedible parts, drying, crushing, roasting, boiling, freezing or pasteurization, to make them safe to store and eat later.

Ultra-processed foods are made up from substances extracted from foods, such as fats, starches, added sugars and hydrogenated fats. They’re filled with additives we can’t pronounce, including emulsifiers that make them artificially smooth and creamy, not to mention artificial colors, flavors and stabilizers.

It wasn’t too long ago that I wrote here about the strong correlation between these foods and both obesity and cancer.

But if you need another reason to avoid this fake food, here’s some news about what it does to your ability to control overeating…

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Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Astrocytes are star-shaped cells in the brain that express receptors for hormones and metabolic factors — including ghrelin, which signals hunger, and its counterpart, leptin, which signals fullness.

In tests on rats, scientists found that after longer periods of being fed a diet high in fat and calories, the signaling pathway between the brain and the gut apparently gets disrupted, no longer regulating calorie consumption.

“Over time, astrocytes seem to desensitize to the high-fat food,” says Kirsteen Browning, a professor of neural and behavioral science at Penn State College of Medicine.

“We have yet to find out whether the loss of astrocyte activity and the signaling mechanism is the cause of overeating or that it occurs in response to the overeating”

But they did find out how much ultra-processed food it would take before the astrocyte signaling pathway malfunctioned…

They found that only 10 to 14 days on an ultra-processed diet was enough to make astrocytes lose their ability to regulate calorie intake.

Not only that, but this also disrupts signaling to the stomach and delays how the stomach empties.

As mentioned above, we still aren’t sure whether eating too much fat makes astrocytes stop regulating intake, or whether astrocytes stop functioning and cause overeating.

Either way, it appears that about a week of frozen pizzas, chicken nuggets and other ultra-processed favorites seems to be enough to convince your brain that it should just keep eating more of the stuff.

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Gaining control back

Regardless of whether too much fat from processed foods or an astrocyte dysfunction is to blame, ultimately the brain’s ability to regulate hunger hormones becomes dismantled.

Leptin is made by fat cells. The more body fat someone has, the more leptin they have in their bloodstream. So you’d think the signals would come through loud and clear to stop taking in more calories.

But according to obesity expert Mary Dallman, Ph.D., from the University of California at San Francisco, obese people may build up resistance to the appetite-suppressing effects of leptin.

It likely starts when the astrocytes, as the current study has shown, become desensitized.

If you think about it, this is similar to what happens in the case of insulin resistance. With every spike in blood sugar, the pancreas pumps out more insulin to convert that to energy and get it into cells. But when sugar spike after sugar spike keeps coming, the cells stop responding — becoming resistant to all the insulin the pancreas is releasing to keep up.

A couple of years ago, I wrote about how to stop dieting and eat more to live better. And it sounds like that could be the best way to avoid the destruction of our hunger hormones by ultra-processed food. The secret starts, of course with ditching the ultra-processed foods and eating the right stuff. Read how, here.

Sources:

Why a high fat diet could reduce the brain’s ability to regulate food intake The Physiological Society

High-Fat Diets May Break The Brain’s Ability to Regulate Calories Science Alert

The post How ultra-processed foods destroy your hunger hormones appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

That’s the person who can go out to dinner and order a salad without the dressing and actually enjoy it…

The one who eats just one bite of cake at a birthday party…

Or can open a bag of potato chips and really eat just one — while the rest of us struggle to put down the bag.

Does this person have exceptional willpower — or is something more driving most of us to overeat?

A study from a team of researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University has finally given us the answer, finding that the problem lies not in our jeans — but in our genes.

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What stimulates the brain to overeat?

Recent research has linked a gene known as CREB-Regulated Transcription Coactivator 1 (CRTC1) to obesity. And that association is exactly what got researchers thinking that overeating isn’t just about not having the willpower.

The team already knew that when CRTC1 is deleted in mice, they become obese, a fact that indicates that a functioning CRTC1 gene actually has the power to prevent weight gain.

However, because the CRTC1 gene is found in all neurons in the brain and therefore, should help keep us all thin, they knew that something more had to be going on behind the scenes.

That’s when they turned their focus to another gene target – the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) – since mutations in the gene have been shown to cause obesity.

Their theory?

If brain neurons experience problems with the MC4R gene, CRTC1 function could be inhibited.

And sure enough, their theory paid off big dividends…

The scientists created a strain of mice that expresses CRTC1 normally other than having MC4R blocked, which resulted in a deficiency of that anti-obesity CRTC1 gene.

And the second those mice were fed a high-fat diet, they just couldn’t stop eating.

Yup, it was the old you can’t eat just one potato chip phenomenon all over again and the mice became more and more obese and even developed diabetes.

“This study has revealed the role that the CRTC1 gene plays in the brain, and part of the mechanism that stops us from overeating high-calorie, fatty, and sugary foods,” said Professor Shigenobu Matsumura. “We hope this will lead to a better understanding of what causes people to overeat.”

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Curbing overeating habits

This means those of us who have issues pushing away from the table, or putting down that bag of chips, aren’t simply lacking willpower — we’re likely lacking properly functioning genes. So stop beating yourself up.

And while it’s nice to think that with this new information, a magic anti-overeating drug could be developed, be careful what you wish for…

While the active ingredient semaglutide decreases appetite by causing food to move slower through the body, Wegovy and Ozempic are proving to be problematic — causing fast weight gain when users stop taking the high-priced drug, not to mention the miserable side effects.

A close friend gave it a try but waking up in the middle of the night with extreme acid reflux and feeling like she was going to throw up, followed by fatigue so bad she could barely function, were deal breakers.

Soluble fiber is a natural way to slow the transit of food through the digestive system to feel fuller longer — and it supports healthy blood sugar levels.

There are plenty of other natural and safe ways to curb your appetite if you need some extra support, including:

• Adding more berries to your diet helps increase feelings of fullness and tastes good too.
• Being aware of the most common triggers that can trick you into consuming too much food in one sitting.
• Choosing a healthy eating plan that has been proven to deter overeating, like the Mediterranean diet. It’s full of healthy and tasty foods that won’t make your feel deprived while promoting healthy weight.
• These top tips from 6,000 people who lost the weight they wanted to and kept it off.

Sources:

Understanding the ‘eating just one potato chip is impossible’ gene – ScienceDaily

The post The gene that makes eating just one potato chip impossible appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Or looking into the mirror and wondering if you’ll ever be able to lose the weight around your belly, hips and thighs — no matter how much calorie counting you’ve done.

Is it your diet? Are hormones to blame? Or could it be something much sneakier — like the air you breathe?

That last one may seem ridiculous, but according to researchers from the University of Michigan, the air you breathe may not be high in calories — but it’s high in something else that can pack on the pounds…

Weight gain in every breath

Researchers delved into data from close to 1,700 women with an average age of 50, tracking them for approximately eight years.

Specifically, the team kept tabs on the women’s body mass index (BMI), weight, waist circumference and body fat, comparing it to the annual air pollution in the area where each lived.

And sure enough, the scientists discovered that being exposed to increased levels of pollution can tip the scale toward obesity.

The results showed that exposure to air pollution was linked with higher body fat, a higher proportion of fat and lower lean mass.

In fact, air pollution caused an increase in body fat of 4.5 percent or about 2.6 pounds.

But how can simply being in a more polluted area cause you to pack on the pounds?

It all has to do with obesogens.

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Obesogens — a recipe for weight gain

Obesogens are chemicals that actually tip the balance and development of lipid metabolism to the dark side by disrupting your thyroid and liver function.

Your thyroid stops pumping out the hormones that keep your metabolism revved and your body burning off calories. And your liver becomes clogged with fat cells packed with those nasty chemicals.

When this happens the systems that normally regulate your body weight stop working the way they should and it can become virtually impossible to keep your weight at a healthy level.

To top it off, obesogens even send signals to your body that prompt it to make new, supersized fat cells, so that it’s easier for your body to store more fat and the pounds to accumulate.

It’s the perfect storm that stops you from losing weight and instead can keep you gaining.

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Beating the obesogen problem

Luckily, there are things you can do, even if you live in an area with high levels of air pollution.

First, the study that discovered the problem also found a potential fix.

After exploring the interaction between air pollution and physical activity on body composition, the researchers found that high levels of physical activity can mitigate the damage done by air pollution.

In other words, exercise, exercise and more exercise.

You can also support your liver. In addition to clearing contaminants from your body, your liver is responsible for breaking down fat, converting some for energy stores while synthesizing other fat, like cholesterol.It can’t adequately do all those jobs and fight toxic obesogens.

But certain foods and supplements can help take the load off the liver by helping cleanse and protect your body from pollutants.

It’s also important to improve your home’s air quality in order to minimize the pollutants you’re exposed to daily.

And don’t forget to hydrate. Water is vital to support your body as you eliminate the obesogens that make fat stick like glue.

Sources:

Air pollution tips the scale for obesity in women – ScienceDaily

The post It’s not your diet: Why breathing is making us fat appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Obesity rates among American adults have jumped from roughly 31 percent in 1999-2000 to about 42 percent in 2017-2018. That means that more than 2 in 5 U.S. adults can now be considered obese, which is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher.

And rates of severe obesity — where BMI is 40 or higher — are growing even faster, from 4.7 percent of U.S. adults in 1999-2000 to 9.2 percent in 2017-2018.

These rising rates are worrying because obesity contributes to the onset of chronic diseases, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease, among other conditions.

Given how busy we all are, it’s just too easy (and often cheaper) to ignore what we know about healthy eating and grab what equates to ultra-processed convenience foods instead.

That’s why scientists are doing everything they can to figure out the mechanisms behind obesity so that they can offer additional tips, like this one…

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Don’t eat late at night. We’ve written before about how eating late at night can affect memory, increase your risk of diabetes, obesity and acid reflux and leave you feeling hungrier in the morning.

And now we know eating late changes everything about how your body processes calories and fat…

More perils of late eating

To further understand why eating late has such a negative impact on weight loss, investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital studied a group of patients with a BMI in the overweight or obese range. They prepared the participants for the laboratory by having them follow a fixed sleep/wake cycle for two to three weeks before and identically prepared diets and meal schedules three days before entering the lab.

But once in the lab, their meal regimes changed. One protocol had meals strictly scheduled early in the day. The other had the same meals but they were scheduled about four hours later. During both meal schedules, the participants regularly documented their hunger and appetite levels and underwent a number of tests and measurements to monitor markers of energy expenditure and fat storage.

“In this study, we asked, ‘Does the time that we eat matter when everything else is kept consistent?’” says first author Dr. Nina Vujovic, a researcher in the Brigham’s Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders. “And we found that eating four hours later makes a significant difference for our hunger levels, the way we burn calories after we eat and the way we store fat.”

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Appetite increases, calorie burn decreases

According to the results, eating later played havoc with appetite-regulating hormones. Levels of the hormone leptin, which signals when we are full, were lower across the 24 hours in the late-eating group than they were in the early-eating group.

When participants ate later, they experienced a 5 percent drop in calorie burn compared to when they ate earlier in the day.  

Eating later also affected pathways related to lipid metabolism. Participants eating later showed increased adipogenesis and decreased lipolysis — both of which promote fat growth.

In future studies, the researchers hope to better understand the effects of the relationship between mealtime and bedtime on energy balance.

If you find yourself raiding the fridge late at night, there are a few ways you can bolster your willpower to resist that late-night snacking urge. Make sure you’re eating enough during the day and that you have a healthy dinner planned for no later than 6 p.m. And try to avoid the urge to mindlessly snack when you’re stressed or during activities like watching TV or scrolling through your social media feeds.

Another step you can take is to limit the amount of blue light you’re exposed to at night. One study shows blue light can cause a spike in hunger 15 minutes after you’re exposed to it. You might also appreciate tips on how to boost your natural appetite suppressant and reset your hunger hormones.

Sources:

Eating Late Increases Hunger, Decreases Calories Burned, and Changes Fat Tissue — Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Late isocaloric eating increases hunger, decreases energy expenditure, and modifies metabolic pathways in adults with overweight and obesity — Cell Metabolism

Overweight & Obesity Statistics — National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Prevalence of Obesity and Severe Obesity Among Adults: United States, 2017–2018 — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Obesity Prevention Source — Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

The post How eating late makes body fat ‘grow’ appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Still, more than one-third of us routinely don’t get enough.

According to researchers at Mayo Clinic, this lack of sleep is causing dangerous changes to your body fat — and not just the kind of change that makes it harder to zip up your favorite jeans.

They’re talking about changes that could mean cardiovascular disease, blood pressure problems and even blood clotting disorders may be in your future…

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As sleep goes down, visceral fat goes up

In a randomized controlled crossover study, researchers followed 12 healthy people who were not obese. Each participant agreed to spend two 21-day sessions in the hospital where they could be closely monitored.

Participants were randomly assigned to either a normal sleep group (nine hours per night) or a restricted sleep group (just four hours a night) during one 21-day session and the opposite for the next session.

During both sessions, the researchers monitored how much food they ate, how much exercise they got, body weight and composition, fat distribution, including visceral fat (fat inside the belly) and even circulating appetite biomarkers.

And here’s what happened…

When sleep was restricted, participants consumed more than 300 extra calories per day. Yet, their level of physical activity and the number of calories burned remained the same.

I bet you can imagine what happened from there.

You’re right. Their body fat went up — way up, when you consider it took just three weeks.

In fact, insufficient sleep led to a 9 percent increase in total abdominal fat area and a whopping 11 percent increase in abdominal visceral fat.

“Normally, fat is preferentially deposited subcutaneously or under the skin. However, the inadequate sleep appears to redirect fat to the more dangerous visceral compartment. Importantly, although during recovery sleep there was a decrease in calorie intake and weight, visceral fat continued to increase. This suggests that inadequate sleep is a previously unrecognized trigger for visceral fat deposition, and that catch-up sleep, at least in the short term, does not reverse the visceral fat accumulation.

“In the long term, these findings implicate inadequate sleep as a contributor to the epidemics of obesity, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases,” says Virend Somers, M.D., Ph.D., the principle investigator of the study.

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Sleep better, banish belly fat and support heart health

So, what can you do to protect yourself against the visceral fat that leads to disease?

The obvious first answer is to improve the sleep you get each night. Start by addressing the light in your life, both on your computer and electronic devices and in your bedroom, where it’s been tied to metabolic syndrome previously.

Then, set the thermostat to a cooler temp at night — that’s been shown to improve sleep.

Next, if you’re still having trouble, many supplements promote sleep. Give these a try.

Once you have your sleep problems under control, it’s time to focus on that dangerous belly fat.

Just in time, research has zeroed in on a beneficial molecule well-known for promoting heart health that’s been found to go after fat — including visceral fat — in a big way…

That’s why helping your body produce more nitric oxide (NO) just may be the double whammy you need.

Next, change your diet. The Mediterranean Diet not only supports heart health, it’s been found to be the easiest diet to stick to and great for maintaining a healthy weight.

And, just because it’s so easy, eat an avocado a day…

Just one avocado per day results in a reduction in deeper visceral abdominal fat.

Sources:

Lack of sleep increases unhealthy abdominal fat, study finds — ScienceDaily

The post The link between poor sleep, deep belly fat and your heart appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

It’s a fact that has led to the recommended age for colonoscopy screenings being lowered in the hopes of catching any signs of cancer even earlier — particularly polyps.

There’s also been a lot of speculation about what’s behind the uptick in younger people — including the possibility that antibiotics could be driving it and even sedentary behaviors like binge-watching too much TV.

In addition to investigating causes, researchers are, thankfully, also looking at how we can lower the risk in the first place. News out of the University of Maryland School of Medicine shows that if you’ve been thinking about losing weight, avoiding colon cancer is one very good reason to go for it…

Keeping your colon clear of risky polyps

For the study, the scientists gathered massive reams of data from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial. I say massive because the trial involved a whopping 154,942 people and spanned a period of eight years.

For each person, weight gain and weight loss were assessed over three periods of adulthood. Health was tracked and a variety of screening measures were put in place to focus on different cancers.

To monitor for the development of colon cancer, participants were screened first at the beginning of the study and then a second time three or five years later.

What did the results show when it came to weight and colon health?

According to the researchers, the results clearly showed that weight loss confers some serious colon cancer protection.

Specifically, they found that people who lost weight during adulthood benefitted from a 46 percent lower risk for colorectal adenoma than those who maintained a stable weight.

For reference, a colorectal adenoma is another name for a polyp. And while not all turn into cancer, approximately 10 percent do go on to become cancerous.

The protection against colon growths that weight loss conferred was especially prominent in participants who started out overweight or obese, as opposed to those who only needed to lose a little weight.

It goes both ways

Just as weight lowered the risk for the development of polyps, weight gain, conversely, increased the chances they would develop. Participants who put on more than 6.6 pounds over approximately five years were found to be at special risk for colon growths.

Study senior author, Dr. Kathryn Hughes Barry, had this to say when asked about the results, “Our findings suggest that avoiding weight gain in adulthood may help lower someone’s chance of developing a pre-cancerous growth called a colorectal adenoma, which may, in turn, reduce the risk of developing colorectal cancer.”

Her recommendation?

“Based on our findings, we would not recommend weight loss for all adults. But the results suggest that overweight and obese adults may benefit from weight loss.”

So if you’ve been thinking it might be time to take off a few pounds or ten, you’ve certainly got more incentive. Here are some tips to help you get started:

• Researchers have found that the Mediterranean diet is your best bet if you want to lose weight — and keep it off. They also found that it’s the diet most people stick to. Eating more fruits and vegetables and less red meat, as you will in the Med diet, leans towards alkalinity and less acid, which helps create a healthier environment in the body as well.
• In addition to diet changes, exercise should always be part of any weight loss plan. Short bursts of HIIT don’t just kick up your body’s fat-burning mechanisms but have also been shown to reduce the growth of colon cancer cells.
• There are also a few weight loss supplements that have been shown to be safe and effective.
• And if you need more advice on losing weight, here are tips from 6,000 people who have!

Sources:

Key Statistics for Colorectal Cancer — American Cancer Society

Colorectal Cancer Statistics — CDC

Weight Change and Incident Distal Colorectal Adenoma Risk in the PLCO Cancer Screening Trial — Oxford Academic

Weight loss reduces risk of developing growths which could lead to cancer — StudyFinds

The post Why cutting calories could cut your colon cancer risk appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

We’re inundated with commercials telling us if we join this or that program and eat their special pre-packaged meals mailed to your doorstep, the pounds will drop.

Maybe you’ve given them a try or followed a weight loss diet at home, working out on top of all of that — but the scale keeps going up.

Let me be the first to tell you to stop beating yourself up.

According to research from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, it’s definitely not all your fault…

If you hate your scale, blame plastic

The researchers say that, while it may sound strange, the chemicals in plastic may be the reason visiting your bathroom scale is unpleasant.

Their study took a hard look at 34 different plastic products to get an idea of which chemicals they contained and how many. They chose normal products that you and I are very likely exposed to every day, like yogurt containers, water bottles and kitchen sponges.

And you won’t believe the results…

They determined that those 34 plastic products contained over 55,000 chemicals. (No, that’s not a misprint.)

And they leach into our bodies. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t sign up for that.

While we don’t know as much as we should about all of them — the researchers say, for a fact, that 11 of the chemicals they found interfere with our metabolism.

Additionally, chemicals from one-third of the plastic products investigated were found to contribute to “fat cell development.” In lab experiments, they actually spurred the production of more fat cells and the accumulation of more fat.

What’s really frightening is that even the products that didn’t have known metabolism-disrupting chemicals also triggered fat cell development and “fattening.”

“Our experiments show that ordinary plastic products contain a mix of substances that can be a relevant and underestimated factor behind overweight and obesity,” says Martin Wagner, an associate professor at NTNU’s Department of Biology.

And his colleague, Johannes Völker, the first author of the study, weighed in with more explaining, “It’s very likely that it is not the usual suspects, such as Bisphenol A, causing these metabolic disturbances. This means that plastic chemicals other than the ones we already know could be contributing to overweight and obesity.”

Reduce your toxic burden and support the breakdown of fat

So what in the world can you do if chemicals from the plastic that surrounds you are busy encouraging your fat cells to multiply and store even more fat, when clearly diet alone isn’t going to fix the issue?

Well, I’ll be honest and say that there’s no perfect answer as long as companies keep using plastic. It’s cheap and they have little incentive to do otherwise.

But that doesn’t mean that we’re helpless.

First, it’s important to avoid as much plastic exposure as possible. This means:

• Skipping bottled water and investing in a high-quality water filter for your house
• Buying organic fruits and vegetables whenever possible
• Avoiding fast food, since plastic is in the coating of every wrapper and container
• Choosing to cook fresh rather than packaged foods

Additionally, encouraging your body to detox from what’s already accumulated could help at least diminish what’s already built up in your tissues.

And since your liver is your main detox organ, keeping it running optimally is the place to start—especially since we sometimes forget that the liver also helps the body break down fats. This means the plastic onslaught has it doing double duty.

I recommend taking the following supplements to support your liver so that it can better do its job:

• N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) – This powerful amino acid promotes gentle detoxification while offering liver support.
• Milk Thistle – Milk thistle has been found to help support the elimination of heavy metal build-up, medication residue (which is often packed with plastics), environmental pollutants and alcohol.
• Turmeric – This herb helps guard the liver from oxidative stress and promotes healthy liver function.
• Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) – ALA is a potent antioxidant that helps keep fats from accumulating in the liver.
• Selenium – This trace element helps promote detoxification.

Sources:

Chemicals in plastic may contribute to weight gain – EurekAlert!

The post ‘Everyday’ plastics mess with metabolism, increase fat cells appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

That’s because some studies have shown that body fat had either a positive or neutral effect on bone health. For this reason, people who fit this bill were less likely to be screened for osteoporosis.

So, while carrying around extra weight doesn’t thrill anyone, at least we thought there may have been an upside for our bone density.

But what if it was all a mistake?

Well, that’s exactly what research published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism has revealed. Especially when it comes to men’s bone health…

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Extra risk, with no reward

Researchers from the University of Chicago Medicine delved into the connection between body weight and bone mineral density. Despite what the past research has shown, they theorized there was something more going on — and they were right…

That something was the difference between lean body weight and fat mass.

In other words, “Our research suggests that the effect of body weight depends on a person’s makeup of lean and fat mass, and that high body weight alone is not a guarantee against osteoporosis,” according to lead researcher Rajesh K. Jain, M.D.

To come to this conclusion, they analyzed the bone mineral density and body composition data of almost 11,000 men and women under the age of 60 who took part in a national health survey between 2011 and 2018.

They found a strong positive association between lean mass and bone mineral density in both men and women. Conversely, fat mass had a moderately negative association with bone mineral density — especially in men.

“Health care providers should consider osteoporosis screening for patients with high body weight, especially if they have other risk factors like older age, previous fracture, family history, or steroid use,” Jain said.

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Forewarned is forearmed

Traditionally, advice for improving bone density has been geared toward women. So it’s no wonder that men may feel left out in this area.

Hopefully, this research will remedy that situation and more doctors will pay closer attention to their male patient’s bone density and weight.

Also — traditionally — vitamin D is the most suggested vitamin to help improve bone health — regardless of sex. And a big plus, since this study ties together the bone density/body fat problem, vitamin D has also been shown to help in weight loss.

But based on this study, and others you may not be familiar with, vitamin D carries even more benefits that are very specific to male health.

According to Dr. Geo Espinoza, a naturopathic functional medicine doctor, recognized as an authority in men’s health, vitamin D is “the” vitamin every man needs. Here are just a few reasons why…

• Prostate health: Studies have found that vitamin D helps men lower their prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level. Another way vitamin D can help prostate health is by lowering the risk for enlarged prostate.
• Heart health: Vitamin D and cardiovascular health are closely related. Not only can vitamin D lower your risk for developing cardiovascular disease, according to one study it can lower your risk for a heart attack by 33 percent and heart failure by 20 percent.

And according to another male health expert, there’s a pretty strong connection between erectile dysfunction and low vitamin D levels.

So, if you’re a guy carrying a little extra body fat and now know that could cause harm to your bones, it’s time to get serious about vitamin D levels.

But pay attention to the kind of vitamin D you supplement. Very recent research has shown that vitamin D2 is practically a dud, and vitamin D3, which is the type produced by sunlight exposure — has the most impact on human health.

Sources:

Men with high levels of body fat may be at risk for osteoporosis — Endocrine Society

The post The scientific myth putting men’s bones in danger appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

I’m on a mission to lose several pounds. Maybe you’re in the same boat.

So, in spite of the extra weight I’ve gained from sticking closer to home all spring and summer, I’d like to fit into at least one pair of jeans by the time next spring arrives. But it’s not going to be easy.

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Sure, Thanksgiving is behind us. But here comes Christmas — and all the cookies and cakes. And Chanukah (fried potato latkes for a week, drenched in sour cream). Obviously, winging it is not going to work, so I decided to look for guidance — and found it.

Some of these tips are ones you may have heard of before, but maybe you were just too busy to stick to them. But, with everything else feeling so very different these days — and having extra time at home — I’m thinking it might be easier for us to slip into a new routine.

Who couldn’t use something like that, right about now?

6 tips for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner success

1. Get moving. Sure, the gym is closed. Sure, it’s getting colder outside. But, let’s face it, I tell myself. It was sitting in one place for months that got you here in the first place. Time to find ways to get moving.

“‘Eat less and exercise more’ is the winning formula to prevent weight gain during the holidays,” says Connie Diekman, a registered dietitian and former president of the American Dietetic Association.

By burning off calories before you indulge in those holiday foods, you’re creating a calorie deficit, a state where you’re burning more calories than you consume. That’s the ticket to weight loss.

Here are some ways to get active:

• Walk outdoors. Find a walking buddy so you have an accountability partner.
• The internet is full of free exercise videos. Pick one that appeals to you, and cross off a day on your calendar every time you stick to it.
• Try yoga. It may not seem so strenuous, but it does build muscle, which helps burn calories.

2. Eat breakfast. A lot of people think that it makes sense to “save up” their calories for that big holiday dinner. But eating a small breakfast that includes protein and carbs is actually a better way to have control over your appetite.

Try an egg and a slice of whole wheat toast, or a bowl of whole grain cereal and low-fat milk. That way, you’re not starving when the holiday meal is served and can have more control over what you eat.

3. Police your portions. When you’re looking at all those platters of food on the holiday table, select foods that you can’t have any other time of the year.

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If you keep your portions small, you can eat all your favorites and still come out OK. And resist the temptation to go back for seconds. Eat slowly and savor each bite. Chances are, you won’t be hungry once you’re done.

4. Be realistic. You’ll probably be eating foods you wouldn’t normally eat on a weight loss eating plan, even in small portions (think yams with marshmallows). Make it your goal to maintain your weight during the holidays and not gain weight, rather than to lose weight.

5. Go easy on the alcohol. Remember, the calories you drink can add up just as quickly as those you eat. A glass of wine with dinner is fine. Also, enjoy some sparkling water, which helps fill and hydrate you.

6. Focus on family and friends. Sure, the food is amazing. But the holiday is more about the people you’re with. “The main event should be family and friends socializing, spending quality time together, not just what is on the buffet,” says Susan Finn, chair of the American Council on Fitness and Nutrition.

One final suggestion: Pay as much attention to the people you’re with and listening to them as you do to those amazing-looking desserts, and you’ll get to the New Year without any extra weight to unload… and probably have a more memorable Thanksgiving and Christmas to boot!

Sources:

10 tips for a thinner Thanksgiving — Web MD

The post Half a dozen ways to avoid weight gain over the holidays appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

However, when it comes to reaching for artificially sweetened beverages for weight loss, you might be getting more than you bargained for.

In fact, according to a study led by researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, switching to diet soda to lose weight may cause you to suffer from more than just a synthetic aftertaste. It could actually make you eat more — a weird side effect researchers discovered that seems to unfairly target women…

The no-calorie gamble you might want to avoid

The study, published in JAMA Network Open, is considered to be one of the largest to date to examine the effects of artificial sweeteners compared to sugar on both brain activity and appetite.

And it’s been a long time coming.

Even though these sweeteners are widely used, there has been no clear consensus on their health consequences, when it comes to appetite, glucose metabolism and weight.

“While some studies suggest they may be helpful, others show they may be contributing to weight gain, type 2 diabetes and other metabolic disorders,” said Kathleen Page, MD, the study’s corresponding author and an associate professor of medicine at the Keck School of Medicine.

Additional studies have linked these sweeteners to other health problems such as autoimmune disorders, heart disease and even asthma thanks to their effect on the gut microbiome.

And when you consider the fact that statistics show that more than 40 percent of adults in the U.S. currently use artificial sweeteners regularly, not knowing their full effects seems like a roll of the dice we shouldn’t want to make.

So the researchers set out to do it a little differently. Their study delved into the effects of those sweeteners on different population groups in order to “tease out some of the reasons behind those conflicting results.”

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Worse effects for women and people who are obese

The team recruited 74 participants — both males and females — who were at a healthy weight, overweight or obese.  Each person was asked to attend three separate visits where they consumed either 300 milliliters of a drink sweetened with sucrose (table sugar), a drink sweetened with the artificial sweetener sucralose, or water as a control.

For the next two hours, the researchers kept track of three things:

• Activation of regions of the brain responsible for appetite and food cravings when participants were shown pictures of high-calorie foods like a burger and donut using brain MRIs
• Levels of blood sugar, insulin, and other metabolic hormones
• The amount of food each person chose to eat at a buffet offered at the end of each session

What did the researchers discover?

The team says that hands-down, artificial sweeteners work to make some people more hungry.

Specifically, brain MRIs revealed that after consuming drinks containing sucralose, activity in regions of the brain responsible for food cravings and appetite increased in both women and people who were obese.

To top it off, the researchers say that in all groups, artificial sweeteners caused a decrease in levels of hormones that send a “full signal” to your body. In other words, they not only don’t suppress hunger — they may drive it.

However, the effect on women seemed to go deeper. In the final stage of the study, female participants who consumed a drink containing sucralose ate more at the snack buffet than after they drank a sugary beverage.

So what it comes down to is this…

Artificial sweeteners may trick your brain into feeling hungry, causing you to consume more calories than you otherwise would. This is especially true if you’re a woman.

So, if you want to lose weight, skip those artificially sweetened beverages. In truth, nothing beats water if weight loss is your goal. According to the experts at Medical News Today, water is a natural appetite suppressant, increases calorie burn (in fact, it’s necessary to burn fat!) and helps reduce overall liquid calorie intake.

Sources:

Looking to lose weight? Diet drinks might not be the sweet spot, according to new USC study — Keck School of Medicine of USC

The post Diet soda’s weird side effect that unfairly targets women appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But scientists are still exploring the way thyroid hormone interacts with the cells of the body. In doing so, they have uncovered a fascinating aspect of the thyroid’s mechanism that until now hasn’t been clearly understood…

The subtlety of thyroid function

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have discovered that the thyroid operates less like an on/off switch and more like the dimmer that gradually adjusts the brightness of your light fixture.

“We were able in this study to show that thyroid hormone doesn’t just turn things on or off, as the canonical model suggests, but instead more subtly shifts the balance between the repression and enhancement of gene activity,” says principal investigator and Penn Medicine professor Dr. Mitchell Lazar. “Yet, as people with hypothyroidism know, the lack of thyroid hormone can have profound effects on the body.”

The study focused on TR-beta, the main receptor in the liver. TR-beta regulates some of the thyroid hormone’s most important metabolic effects, including the lowering of cholesterol levels.

When thyroid hormone binds to TR-beta, it can function as a sort of dimmer switch, shifting the balance in favor of more gene activation at some sites and more gene repression at others — instead of simply turning the entire network of genes on or off, as once thought.

The researchers say more work needs to be done to clarify why thyroid hormone acts in this more subtle way when binding to TR-beta. But they believe the findings are a significant advance in understanding thyroid biology, and that they can be used to develop more precise medicines targeting a number of metabolic diseases.

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What’s the right level for thyroid treatment?

If your doctor suspects your thyroid may not be working properly, they will likely start by testing your level of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). According to the American Thyroid Association, adults with a TSH level of 0.4 to 4.0 milli-international units per liter (mlU/L) are considered to have normal thyroid function.

TSH levels under 0.4 mlU/L indicate you could have hyperthyroidism, a condition where your thyroid is producing too much thyroid hormone. Symptoms include heart palpitations, tremors, disrupted sleep, frequent bowel movements and unintentional weight loss. Untreated hyperthyroidism can contribute to abnormal heart rhythm and worsen osteoporosis.

When your TSH levels measure above 4 mlU/L, you likely have hypothyroidism, or underactive thyroid. Your TSH levels are abnormally high because your body is producing more TSH in an effort to get your thyroid to release more thyroid hormone.

Signs your thyroid is underactive include weight gain, fatigue, thinning hair, stiff or painful joints, memory issues and increased sensitivity to cold. Left untreated, hypothyroidism can lead to obesity, infertility and heart disease, so doctors will usually prescribe a thyroid hormone replacement medication like levothyroxine.

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Most physicians won’t prescribe thyroid medication unless TSH levels surpass the 4 mlU/L mark. However, the National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry has recommended beginning treatment at 2.5 mlU/L or higher, especially if the patient has cardiovascular risk factors. One study recommends clinicians consider gender, age, pre-existing conditions, symptoms and quality of life when deciding whether to prescribe thyroid medication to patients whose TSH is above 2.5.

If your TSH levels are in the 2.5-to-4.0 range, and you’re at higher cardiovascular risk and/or experiencing some or all of the symptoms of an underactive thyroid, you may want to talk to your doctor about whether you should begin thyroid hormone replacement.

It’s also a good idea to support good thyroid function with nutrients like iodine, copper, selenium and zinc. The thyroid needs iodine to produce thyroid hormone, so it’s important that your diet includes plenty of iodine-rich foods. Some good sources of iodine include organic yogurt, cranberries, iodized salt, navy beans and sea vegetables like kelp and wakame.

Be aware that it gets more difficult for your body to absorb iodine as you get older, so you may need an iodine supplement to ensure you’re maintaining healthy levels of the nutrient. Also, combining iodine with the amino acid L-Tyrosine can increase thyroid hormone efficiency.

Sources:

Discovery Illuminates How Thyroid Hormone ‘Dims’ Metabolism — Penn Medicine News

Interpreting Thyroid Levels Tests — Healthline

The Normal TSH Reference Range: What Has Changed in the Last Decade? — The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism

What do different TSH levels mean? — Medical News Today

Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) — Mayo Clinic

What Your Hypothyroidism Test Results Mean — Everyday Health

The post The health impact of ‘thyroid dimming’ appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

In fact, according to the CDC, a whopping two-thirds of us are now classified as either overweight or obese. And on average most of us are carrying around an extra 23 pounds more than our ideal body weight.

There are a lot of reasons that could contribute to our weight problems. And we’ve been conditioned to believe those reasons are within our control — and that not following a healthy diet or overeating is no one’s fault but our own.

But how true is it?

Well, according to a study from scientists at McMaster University, it may not be all about the food you’re eating, but what’s on that food that you don’t know about…

A banned pesticide is making us fat

You see, the problem they say is a commonly-used pesticide known as chlorpyrifos.

And it’s widely sprayed all over many of the fruits and vegetables we eat regularly. Yet, its health profile is bad enough that Canada has recently completely banned its use.

Now, you might think the U.S. would have already done the same — or at least banned imported foods from countries that use them agriculturally.

But no such luck…

Not only are fruits and veggies we import from other countries coated in this dangerous chemical, chlorpyrifos has been widely used right here in the United States since 1965!

According to the EPA, the pesticide is sprayed on crops like corn, soybeans, Brussels sprouts and broccoli, which means that you could be eating it with every meal.

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The good news is that the EPA has finally announced as of August 18, 2021, that they will be enacting measures to stop the use of chlorpyrifos on food in our country.

But the bad news is that this rule is at the mercy of the government red tape and bureaucracy. This means that there’s no telling how long this ban will take to go into effect.

In other words, don’t hold your breath that the food you buy at the grocery store will be “clean” and safe anytime soon.

Chlorpyrifos: a player in the global obesity epidemic

 So what does a pesticide have to do with your weight?

Well, those McMaster researchers discovered that when chlorpyrifos is consumed, it actually slows down the burning of calories in brown adipose tissue.

That’s the good fat on your body that helps you stay slim and trim.

And when the pesticide causes calorie burn to plummet this burning of calories, your body starts to store these extra calories as white fat (that’s the bad stuff that laps over your waistband). Obesity can then be just around the corner.

And the effects can really add up (at least on the scale).

According to the researchers, chlorpyrifos would only need to stop your brown fat from burning off just 40 calories every day to trigger obesity and translate to an extra five pounds of weight gain per year.

No wonder lifestyle changes like diet and exercise so often fail to help us lose the weight and keep it off!

The food we’re eating is poisoned with a chemical that stops us from succeeding and actually makes us pack on the pounds.

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Organic, organic and organic

And this isn’t the first time that pesticides on our foods have been shown to contribute to the deterioration of our health.

Studies have shown they can steal your sleep hormone, disrupt your hormones and even cause neurological issues.

That means it’s time to go all-in on eating organic produce whenever possible.

Whether you grow it yourself or you buy it in the grocery store, going organic could help stop the metabolic damage pesticides are doing to your body and get you back on track to a healthier weight and a healthier life.

Sources:

Common pesticide may contribute to global obesity crisis —  ScienceDaily

Is Fat the New Normal? — Nourish by WebMD

U.S. to ban use of pesticide chlorpyrifos on food crops over health concerns —  Reuters

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