Toxins Linked to Belly Fat and Obesity

Are plastics thwarting your best weight loss efforts? A new study from Harvard School of Public Health and published in the journal Environmental Health found that commonly-found toxins in plastics are linked to both general obesity and abdominal obesity. Known as Bisphenol A or BPA for short, these hormone disruptors have been primarily found in plastic, including plastic food and beverage packaging.

Harvard scientists studied the effects of BPA to see low-dose exposures of the toxin increased abdominal or general fat in humans. They were aware of previous studies showing that low-dose BPA increased obesity in rodents. The scientists assessed the urinary BPA concentrations, body mass index, and waist circumference in 2747 adult men and women ranging in age from 18 to 74.

Their findings aren’t surprising given the toxin is a known hormone and metabolism disruptor. The higher the urinary concentrations of BPA (indicating higher exposures), the more likely a person was obese and experiencing abdominal obesity. The adults with the highest amounts of BPA in their urine were 75 percent more likely to be obese than those with the lowest amounts of BPA.

They concluded that “higher BPA exposure is associated with general and central obesity in the general adult population in the United States.”

As a result of studies like the Harvard one, toxins like BPA, PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), and phthalates are increasingly being referred to as “obesogens.”

Keep reading to discover 6 ways to reduce your BPA exposure and 5 other things you can do to protect yourself…

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Read more: Conscious Consumer, Diet & Nutrition, Eating for Health, Eco-friendly tips, General Health, Health, Health & Safety, Michelle Schoffro Cook, News & Issues, Obesity, Smart Shopping, abdominal fat, belly fat, Bisphenol A, BPA, endocrine disruptor, fat, lose weight, lose weight naturally, metabolic disruptor, obese, obesity, obesogens, overweight, plastic toxins, toxins, weight loss

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Source : care2[dot]com

Can’t Live Without My Heart Rate Monitor

We’re numbers people. Data junkies. We know that weight-loss comes down to calories in versus calories out. And that equation works best when you have reliable statistics. That’s why we love heart rate monitors! These nifty tools track your workout time, calories-burned, and some models even calculate distance and how long you spend in your target training zone. That’s precious intelligence, which is why we wear them proudly. These top three picks are on our wrists right now!

Sportline 1010 Duo Heart Rate Monitor
The memory system saves your workout stats, so you can monitor your progress daily!
Buy it here!

MIO Motion Strapless Heart Rate Watch
The accelerometer accurately calculates your steps, speed, and distance. Amazing!
Buy it here!

Polar FT7 Female Fitness Computer
This high-tech trinket gives you feedback about how hard you should be working to meet your calorie-burning goals, sort of like a trainer!
Buy it here

Tags: Aerobics Biking Cardiovascular Elliptical Machine Equipment Healthy Living Running Spinning Step Machine Treadmill Weight Loss

Source : fitstudio[dot]com

The Fit Fat

Many of us measure our fitness, and that of others, by appearances. Slim people must be healthier than those who carry extra weight, or so we think. The truth is that your size is not the sole indicator of how fit or healthy you truly are. In fact, an individual can carry as many as 20 extra pounds and still have better cardiovascular fitness than her slimmer counterpart. On the flip side, someone can be at an ideal body weight, and still be unfit. Confused? Let me explain.

The Fat Factor

Excess body fat is usually an indicator that a person eats more calories than she burns on a consistent basis. However, you cannot conclude that she doesn’t exercise regularly just because she’s overweight. She may, in fact, follow a rigorous fitness program and be able to run a mile in 9 minutes, box 12 rounds, and complete a triathlon. We’ve seen larger-than-average-sized people perform beyond our expectations and outdo slimmer competitors (remember the Olympics!). Of course, there’s a point at which the excess fat would prevent such athletic exploits. That’s called obesity.

The Real Deal

Don’t get the wrong idea: Just because an overweight person can still be fit doesn’t mean that weight loss is off the table. Carrying more fat than your body needs, especially when it’s around the organs in your mid-section, poses serious health concerns, plain and simple. Exercising regularly may help moderate your risk for chronic disease, but it’s best to lose the weight. Even dropping 10 pounds can have a notable impact on your heart health and reduce your risk for type 2 diabetes.

The Bottom Line

If you’re fit and pack a little pudge, imagine how athletic and agile and amazing you’d feel if you were leaner. Think about it, really. Don’t settle for good enough when you can be at your best.

Alfonso Moretti, Jr., aka “The Angry Trainer,” has been a certified personal trainer for 20 years. He is also a nutrition consultant. You can follow him on Twitter at @AngryTrainerFit.

Tags: Fitness Healthy Living Motivation Weight Loss

Source : fitstudio[dot]com

Eating Green to Prevent Cancer

Why do people who eat more plants get less cancer? The largest prospective study of diet and cancer in history, for example, found that vegetarians had lower levels of all cancers combined. This could be due to what they eat less of:

• animal protein
• arachidonic acid
• endotoxins
• heme iron
• heterocyclic amines
• industrial pollutants
• nitrosamines
• poultry viruses
• saturated fat
• steroid hormones

There are also components of plant foods they are getting more of that can help eliminate excess estrogen; extinguish free radicals; and boost our antioxidant, detoxification, and DNA repair enzymes. What we do eat may be as important as what we don’t eat.

The healthiest food is dark green leafy vegetables, which we should ideally eat every day. Greens can improve our eyesight, immune function, athletic performance, and even our physical appearance. The green pigment itself—chlorophyll—may even intercept carcinogens. See my NutritionFacts.org video pick above.

For more on protective compounds in plants, check out my video Phytochemicals: The Nutrition Facts Missing From the Label. Green pigments are just one sliver of the rainbow though. There are benefits to the yellow ones, orange ones, red ones, and blue ones. Sounds like a Dr. Seuss book!

In health,
Michael Greger, M.D.

PS: If you haven’t yet, you can subscribe to my videos for free by clicking here and watch my full 2012 presentation Uprooting the Leading Causes of Death.

Image credit: Anderson Mancini / Flickr

Related:
Best Phytosterol Dose and Source
Antioxidants: Plant vs. Animal Foods
#1 Anticancer Vegetable

Read more: Cancer, Diet & Nutrition, Eating for Health, Food, Health, Vegan, Vegetarian, Videos, chlorophyll, Dr. Michael Greger, NutritionFacts.org

Source : care2[dot]com

Pumpkin Bread: 2 Ways

Sad as I am to say goodbye to summer’s bounty (especially the tomatoes…), there is considerable consolation in the foods that fall has to offer. Like pumpkins! Although I grew up carving them, not eating them, I have since come to appreciate pumpkin’s hearty, sweet flavor which is good in both sweet and savory forms.

The recipe for this quick batter bread is from one of my favorite cookbooks, Recipes From The Root Cellar. I doubled it and made one loaf with almonds and one loaf with chunks of crystallized ginger – had I had them on hand, I might have added mini chocolate chips to one of the loaves, too. Mmmmm, chocolate….

The result is gooood. A sweet, rich, moist loaf with just the right amount of spice and flavor. Excellent plain and even better toasted and spread with butter (or Earth Balance) or some cream cheese.

This recipe calls for butter but if you don’t eat dairy, there are many others out there that use oil instead of butter. I used canned pumpkin but you can also use leftover squash purees (and the more the better if they’re already flavored or spiced) or make your own pumpkin puree if you’ve got the time. If you do that, just remember to seek out a pumpkin that is meant for eating like the sugar pie pumpkin below — the ones meant for carving would taste really gross!

Next: Get the recipe!

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Read more: All recipes, Appetizers & Snacks, Basics, Blogs, Desserts, Food, Garden of Eating, Vegetarian, pumpkin bread, pumpkin bread recipe

Source : care2[dot]com

Eating Disorders and Labeling Negative Thoughts

I recently read this article in Elephant Journal entitled “Confessions of a Food Restrictor.” In the words of my beloved Oprah, it was an “Aha Moment” for me. The author , Anne Falkowski, explains her experience with a registered dietician who, after a conversation about her eating habits, informed her that he believed her to be a “restrictor”. He defined the term as, “someone who counts calories”or “someone who has so many rules around food and the rules give more power to food than food actually has.”

Wow. That’s exactly what I used to do. For years. The term “restrictor” really resonates with me because I have always been reluctant to refer to my past eating disorder as anorexia. My case was serious. My relationship with food was certainly unhealthy and it dominated my life. But I always felt as if I were a step or two away from all out anorexia (though I realize that what constitutes anorexia for me may be somewhat different for someone else).

Before I go any further, I want to clarify my feelings about the power of food. We give food as much power as we choose to. I don’t believe that power has to be negative. It can be very, very good. Sharing holiday meals with family, trying a new restaurant with a friend, preparing a meal for your partner, these are all very positive, powerful experiences. In fact, since recovering from my eating disorder, I’ve fallen in love with cooking and baking. A friend and I are even planning to start a cooking blog together.

However, for people with eating disorders, the power given to food is, of course, very negative. It is not a healing power, or a power that creates community and reinforces bonds. It is a power to overwhelm and control. It is a power that allows food to take on a life of its own – and to overshadow the person’s real life.

But when we understand where this power comes from – that it comes from negative thoughts that we can label (meditation can be particularly helpful in this regard), then we can defuse that power. This is why finding the term “restrictor”was so meaningful to me. If I’d had this term at the height of my eating disorder, I would have been able to mentally label my negative thoughts as “restriction.” That would have helped me to separate the thoughts from myself and my truth and to thereby begin to disregard them.

Humans like to quantify things. We like categories and names. This is sometimes helpful and sometimes detrimental – but it is undeniable that we like to make order out of chaos. Having a label for an eating disorder helps us understand that those negative thoughts don’t represent truth, nor are they an essential part of our being. They are simply the voice of the “restrictor,” something we can recognize and then move on from. The terms anorexia and bulimia are very familiar, but I believe there are a lot of people out there like me who have truly disordered relationships with food but may not consider themselves anorexic or bulimia. Perhaps those people would benefit from having a label that makes their experiences more tangible and helps them separate themselves from their negative thoughts.

Read more: Eating for Health, Food, Mental Wellness, Spirit, baking, cooking, eating, eating disorder, food restrictor, label, meditation, negative thoughts, power

Source : care2[dot]com

Roche Investigated For NOT Reporting SIDE Effects!!!

Europe’s top drug regulator announced that it is taking action against pharmaceutical giant Roche for allegedly failing to properly report the side effects of 19 drugs

If Roche is found guilty the company can be fined up to 5% of the price of their sales across the European Union

European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced that it is taking measures against the pharmaceutical manufacturer Roche which has not reported side effects of 19 of their medicines.
Eight of these drugs are used to treat cancers, including breast cancer. These include Avastin, Herceptin, Tarceva and Xeloda. Tamiflu is also listed.
British authorities draw the attention of European regulators to the problem in May when they see “serious deficiencies” in the reporting of side effects.
80,000 reports of adverse events submitted by users were not analyzed correctly. These include reports of 15,000 deaths, although it is unclear whether they are caused by drugs of Roche.
From EMA are calming down the consumers that they are not at increased risk. Authorities refused to describe what the side effects are, but only said that they are concerned of that they were not timely notified of them, which is a serious flaw in the system.
If Roche is found guilty the company can be fined up to 5% of the price of their sales across the European Union for the last year. The company’s shares lost 2 percent of its value on Tuesday when the scandal was announced.
The European Commission, the executive body of the EU, asked the European Medicines Agency to initiate criminal proceedings. A statement from the agency said that it will investigate the allegations against Roche.
EMA sends the manufacturer a detailed indictment list and is currently awaiting the response of the company. The investigation could take up to 18 months, after which the Commission must decide whether to impose sanctions.
Daniel Grotzky – Roche’s spokesman, said that the company is working with EMA to clarify the case and does not want to speculate on the subject. He said that patients’ safety is “of paramount importance”.

Source : dailyhealtharticles[dot]com