Obesity Blog

I attended a symposium, put on by some of my fellow nutrition students, titled "Obesity: Why the Weight?". Four great speakers lectured on different areas of obesity, causes, treatments, and exercise.

One of the leading experts in obesity from the University of Alberta, Dr. Arya Sharma, writes a facinating blog on the subject. www.drsharma.ca I encourage you to check it out. This man is passionate about the subject, and and extremely knowledgable. I think it's important that we, as a society, get a better understanding of the many causes and factors that play into this condition, and eliminate some of the stigmas.

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Fitness Tip - Shapely Shoulders

Check out Kalev's video this week for shapely shoulders...

"The build of your shoulders affects how your shirt hangs on your body so it’s quite important to build a little mass and definition to really get those shirts to fill out nicely. In this video we show you a variety of shoulder exercises using resistance bands that you can easily make more difficult by lessening the length of the bands."

http://kalevtraining.com/personaltrainerblog/

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Nutrition and Health: Red Meat

Need another reason to cut back on the red meat? A recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine looked at over 545, 000 people (!) between the ages of 50 and 71, over a period of 10 years.

It's not news that a lot of red meat may be bad for your heart and cholesterol levels, but this study found that those who ate high amounts of red and processed meats had an increased risk of death from all causes, including cancer and heart disease.

Interestingly, white meat was found to have the opposite effect, in that those who ate higher amounts of white meats such as chicken and turkey, appeared to have a decreased risk for premature death or developing cancer.

In this study, red meat was defined as beef, pork, and foods containing red meat (like chili or stew) or processed meats from red meat, like sausage and bacon. While white meat included chicken, turkey, fish and even processed meats from poultry, such as turkey bacon.

How much does red meat increase your risk?

The numbers are quite significant. Men who ate the most red meat had a 31% increased risk of dying of cancer or heart disease, and women have even higher risk, at 36%. Among women in the highest quintile of meat intake, that risk of death from heart disease was as high as 50%!!

So what exactly is "a lot" of meat?

Those who ate about 5 oz. of red meat a day were considered to be in the high intake category (that's roughly the size of a small steak or a large hamburger). Less than 1oz per day was considered to be the least category.

"The researchers conclude that 11 per cent of deaths in men and 16 per cent of deaths in women could be prevented if people lowered their red meat intake to the level of those in the study who ate the least."

Why is red meat more dangerous?

There are a couple of reasons:

1) saturated fat is highest in red meat, and has been linked to certain types of cancer.

2) High-temperature cooking can cause some cancer-causing compounds to form.

On the other hand, there are a few benefits to red meat. The main message here is - as usual - is "everything in moderation".

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090323/red_meat_090323/20090323?hub=TopStories

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Visual Labels

If the government really wanted to deter people from putting unhealthy, processed food in their bodies, they would use visual labels. Wouldn't it be great if labels were made this way, so you could actually see exactly what you're putting in your body? Well, for now, here's an idea of what that might look like...

Although labels probably won't be overhauled anytime soon, you can use a similar method next time you're shopping. Just look at the ingredients on the label, and watch out for these red flags:

1) sugar listed in the first few ingredients

2) a whole bunch of words you can't pronounce

3) anything with the word "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated".

If any of the above warnings are there, chances are that product is full of unhealthy fillers, higher in Calories, and probably lower in nutrients too.

Happy shopping!

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Exercise intensity affects lean body mass

While scanning through the table of contents of the latest issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, I was surprised to find an article that pertained more to exercise than nutrition. For those who still think that lower intensity exercise burns more fat, maybe this will convince you to crank up the speed on your treadmill next time...

The study wanted to find out if exercise intensity altered the amount of abdominal fat loss of postmenopausal women on a calorie-restricted diet. 112 women were all put on the same diet and split into groups of diet only (no exercise), diet + moderate aerobic exercise, or diet + vigorous intensity exercise.

Although there was no difference in the overall weight loss or abdominal fat loss, the diet-only group lost significantly more lean mass than the exercise groups. Also, the VO2 max (measure of aerobic fitness) increased with exercise intensity. VO2 max was inversely related to fat loss as well, meaning higher intensity leads to better overall fitness, less lean body loss and more fat burning.

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Is Splenda Dangerous?

A new study recently published in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health has the chairman of Citizens for health in the U.S. up in arms over a recent study and the FDA’s failure to revoke its approval of the artificial sweetener sucralose, marketed under the name “Splenda”.

**Note: This study was done on rats, which is NOT the same as humans. HOWEVER, when dealing with anything as new and abundant in our food supply as Splenda, it does raise a red flag.

Splenda's slogan is “Splenda tastes like sugar, because it’s made from sugar”. The company faced scrutiny for this slogan, as the product is actually mainly chemically derived. Sucralose is a high-potency sweetener, combined with maltodextrin and glucose (that’s the sugar part) as fillers to make Splenda. Splenda is approved for use in Canada and the U.S. and was originally thought to have no real side effects in the body, as the majority of it is not metabolized or absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. This is the premise of most sweeteners.

This new study looked at the effects of sucralose on gut bacteria (good bacteria) and pH balance. For 12 weeks researchers fed rats amounts of sucralose that were well within the FDA’s approved limit in the food supply, and found adverse effects. After 12 weeks, half of the rats were given 12 weeks of “recovery time”.

The results indicated that after only 12 weeks, the number of beneficial gut bacteria were reduced, gut pH was increased and expression of certain compounds in the body, which are known to reduce the absorption of some drugs and nutrients (P-glycoprotein and Cytochrome P-450) were increased.

Perhaps the most ironic result was that body weight among rats, even at the lowest doses of Splenda, increased compared to the control group and continued to increase even after recovery time. The researchers suggest that there may be a type of bodyweight dysregulation occurring after continued intake.

So what does this all mean? Well, if you’re taking Splenda to lose weight, this most recent evidence suggests it may be working against you. Secondly, good gut bacteria (microflora) carry out a number of important roles, including fighting off bad bacteria and producing vitamins, and maintaining normal immune system function. A reduction in these helpful microbes may have an affect on medical conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, cardiovascular disease, obesity and cancer.

Although I’m an advocate of natural foods and sweeteners, I don’t believe that all man-made food products are bad for you, but there is one major disadvantage and that is that these products are new. It takes years and years before we will ever know the long term effects of these products. And unfortunately, if the first few studies conducted come back pointing to no major adverse effects, we consumers become the next line of guinea pigs. I think consumers have the false comfort that anything approved by the FDA or CFIA is safe, but it’s just not so. I believe the government generally tries to protect us from potentially harmful products (after all, they don’t want to pay for our health care if we end up sick), but the bottom line is that they can’t protect us from things that haven’t emerged yet.

As for Splenda, - well, if I need something sweet, I’m reaching for good old sugar or honey.

You can read the article here: http://whattoeatbook.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/splendap-gpcyppublished.pdf

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Tea and Coffee vs Water

There has been some debate about how much water one should drink each day, and whether or not beverages like coffee and tea count towards that amount. As most of us know, coffee and tea contain caffeine, which is a diuretic, and diuretics do the opposite of hydrating you.

A cup of coffee has about 200mg of caffeine. A cup of tea has quite a bit less (40-100mg), depending on the strength of the tea. However, the general consensus as of late is that, despite the caffeine, these beverages still count towards your fluid intake for the day. The reason is that, although caffeine is a diuretic, the amount in a strong cup of coffee or tea is simply not enough to dehydrate, and there will still be a net gain of fluid.

Although coffee and tea may be equal in their hydration factor, tea still gets the upper hand for your health. A recent sutdy in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition says that drinking tea is not only as good as drinking water, but possibly better, as it may carry extra health benefits in protecting against heart disease and some cancers.

The beneficial ingredients in tea are flavinoids, polyphenol antioxidants that are found in many plants (including tea leaves) that protect against oxidative cell damage. Other benefits were found to be bone strengthening and protection against tooth plaque, due to the flouride content. Researchers from this study recommend 3-4 cups of tea per day to help reduce the risk of heart attack.

One thing not mentioned in this article is the difference between types of tea. Different teas have different amounts of processing and, therefore, have different degrees of health benefits, with green tea found to be the strongest. More on that in another post...

*This particular study was funded by the Tea Council, which usually leaves me extremely skeptical of a study's results. However, this is not new evidence nor is it the first time these findings have been reported.*

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What to Watch?

People want to know: Is it Calories that matter when trying to lose weight, or is it the types of foods you eat? Can I still have my favourite treat, or do I have to cut all "bad" foods out? It’s true that different types of foods affect your body differently, but at the end of the day, a Calorie is a Calorie. Here’s why:

The difference between eating 200 Calories of something like candy versus brown rice is the insulin response. With the candy, you will trigger a quick insulin release, which signals cells to take in the glucose (sugar). Muscle and other various cells take what they need, and when they’ve had enough, fat cells are happy to take the rest and store them as fat. When there aren’t things around like protein and fiber to slow this process down, this all happens quickly and you'll be hungry soon after. Hunger is not only a problem for your will power, but for your muscle mass as well. If you’re using up all your Calories on energy-dense, nutrient-sparse foods and finding yourself starving later on, your body will eventually break down muscle for energy is you don’t feed it. Muscle loss = metabolism slowing. With the brown rice, it's a slower process. Insulin will rise slower and to a lesser degree due to fiber content and complexity of the starch, which gives your body more time to use the energy being released, and resulting in less storage in fat cells.

Some foods take more work for your body to break down and turn into fat, such as proteins and complex carbs, which is a good reason to make them a staple in your diet. These foods are generally more filling too, which can make you feel more satisfied and less like a diet.

However, all complex science aside, at the end of the day, regardless of what you’re eating, if you're over your Caloric expenditure for the day - it's going to be stored as fat! If you're under, be it all candy or brown rice, you will still burn fat. Programs like Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig are based around this principle, allowing clients to eat what they want but with strict Calorie limits. This method can be very successful and feel less like a diet, leading to long term adherence. Even more so when you throw exercise in the mix, which helps keep your metabolism from slowing down and adjusting to the lower energy intake. However, the downside to these types of diets is that you can spend an entire day's Calorie allotment on energy-dense, nutrient sparse foods that don’t fill you up and can leave you more likely to fall off the wagon. The foods you choose have more of an effect on weight indirectly, through satiety (fullness), maintenance of muscle mass, and energy levels.

The bottom line is everything in moderation. There is no need to cut out every bad food entirely, but try to aim for the “80/20 Rule”. Eat what you should 80% of the time, and allow yourself a bit of lee-way the other 20%. In the end, the ultimate way to succeed in losing weight is finding what works for you.

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Kalev's Fitness Tip - Core training

"You use your core muscles including your Obliques in almost every sport and in daily life so try this exercise out to tighten those abs and also prevent back pain problems."

Click here for the video!

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Stem Cell Research

Autoimmune diseases have been linked to some aspects of nutrition, and dietary adjustments have even been successful as a way to reduce symptoms in some cases, such as increasing omega-3’s in Lupus patients. It has been proposed by some researchers that our changing diet over the past decades has contributed to the increasing prevalence of these diseases which include Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Lupus and Diabetes. Although we can’t change the diet of our society overnight, it’s important that we look at all avenues of treatment and possible cures for those already affected or who will develop these diseases.

A few years ago, stem cell research looked promising. But in 2001, President Bush laid strict restrictions on further stem cell research based on religious and political agenda, by banning federal funding. As a result, researchers spent more time looking for private funding than actually doing research. Today, as a huge step forward and motion to separate politics and religion from science, President Obama has overturned this motion.

Obama said “As a person of faith, I believe we are called to care for each other and work to ease human suffering. I believe we have been given the capacity and will to pursue this research and the humanity and conscience to do so responsibly”.

It’s a touchy issue, no doubt, but I commend this move and believe it will open many new doors and bring us closer to increasing quality of life for those suffering from disease and, hopefully, even lead to cures.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/09/politics/100days/domesticissues/main4853385.shtml

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"Natural" foods

I found these pictures floating around the net. I thought the one above is pretty funny and a little bit reminiscent of the "natural" labelling going on with foods these days. The term Organic is regulated somewhat, but the term "natural" is not, and leads consumers to believe they're choosing a healthier product. What constitutes "natural" is open for debate. I have even seen "natural" used to describe items like cookies. Cookies?! Marketing companies get away with using the term loosely because some of the ingredients used to make said cookies are natural (as most ingredients are before processing), and they don't use artificial sweeteners.... but "natural" is still a stretch. Be skeptical when you see "natural" on the package. It seems to me to be used primarily by companies whose products aren't organic to appeal to health-conscience consumers, and cash in by piggy-backing on the organic bandwagon.

The picture below... I believe it's meant to depict what Ronald McDonald would look like if he ate his own food everyday. :)

http://www.koert.com/work/

http://www.foodmuseum.com/images/exfat.FatRonald.jpg

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Mindless Eating

We’ve all been guilty of having another serving when we didn’t need it, but most overeating is done without even realizing it. Mindless eating (ME) can be detrimental to your diet, and even more so because it often goes unnoticed.

ME is any decision you make to eat food without really being consciously aware of it. It is usually done while you’re doing something else and without making a conscious decision to eat or how much. Some common ME situations are: eating out of the candy jar at work, picking off the buffet table at parties, sampling foods while you’re cooking/baking, and snacking in front of the TV. But ME also includes restaurant meals. We all know restaurant portions are much bigger than they should be, and studies have shown that when we’re presented with more – you guessed it – we eat more, whether we need it or not. When eating out, studies show we tend to listen to our eyes instead of our stomachs. To keep portion sizes in check when you're out, ask the server to pack up half your meal before they even bring it out. Try it - it works!

Another ME pitfall is saying “yes” when asked if you’d like to upsize your meal, or going for the large latte (even though you only wanted a medium) because it’s only 10 cents more. It's not your fault! Restaurants and food companies are notorious for using marketing strategies to get you to eat more, and spend millions on research to make sure you do. One of the key marketing tactics for food companies is VALUE! We, as consumers, are naturally inclined to think that getting a lot more food/drink for a marginal increase in price is a great deal and it can feel wrong to say “no” to a good deal. Have you ever bought the larger popcorn at the movies just because that's the one that comes in the combo? Think of it this way: from now on say “no” to the deal, and not only are you saving a few cents (which, like Calories, add up!), you are also saving your waste line.

Sometimes we are aware of extra Calories we’re adding to our day, like milk in your coffee or even chewing gum, but we consider the amount to be so minimal that we don’t think twice about it. Did you ever add up all those trivial amounts in a day or week? The amounts may surprise you. I have had clients who followed their diets religiously, but weren’t losing weight. When I pried further, I discovered they were drinking 3 cups of juice per day on top of their meal plan! That’s almost 400 Calories! To some people, beverages don’t register as Calories. This may not be you, but the point is, nearly everyone has something they eat without thinking about.

In the end, awareness is key. Making people neurotic about Calories is not the goal here. Just be aware that little bits here and there add up to a significant amount. So next time you’re about to upsize an item, or go for the “bigger, better” deal, be sure to stop and ask yourself “Do I really need this?”

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Fitness Tip - Advanced Push ups

Check out Kalev's video demo this week for a great upper body exercise...

Advanced Push Ups - An interesting technique to increase the difficulty of your push ups workout. This one is a great exercise to add definition to your chests and pump up your triceps...

www.kalevtraining.com/personaltrainerblog

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Multivitamins

Everyone wants to know – should I be taking a multivitamin? In short, probably. It would be great if everyone ate a balanced diet full of variety to get a wide away of nutrients every day, and you would make us nutritionists very happy. But the fact is that most people just don’t get all the vitamins and minerals they need from their diet on a daily basis.

Multivitamins are not a license to eat poorly. Think of it as an insurance policy. Vitamins in supplement form don’t have the same benefit as whole foods. For one, vitamins and minerals work in concert with others. Some work well together and increase absorption, such as vitamin C and iron. Others, such as calcium and zinc, compete for absorption. When you take a slew of vitamins and minerals together, such as in a multivite, you have more chance for competing absorption. That said, taking a multivite is definitely better than not taking one, for most people, because you will get some benefit out of it. However, again, no pill is a substitute for a quality diet.

The brand of multivitamin you buy also matters. People will often choose the cheaper brand of multivitamins if the amounts listed on the labels are comparable. However, different brands have different absorption capabilities. If the vitamins and minerals aren’t being dissolved by your body, they’re not going to do you much good and you’ll be wasting your money. There have also been some brands found to contain some scary contaminants, such as lead. For your peace of mind, a couple brands that have passed the rigorous ConsumerLab.com test are Centrum, One-a-Day Women’s and Flinstone’s complete.

There are also gender differences to consider. For women of childbearing age, your multivite should contain at least 400mg of Folate. Calcium is also a big deal, and if you’re not big on dairy, you may want to consider adding a calcium supplement as well.

On a final note, always be cautious when taking supplements. More is not always better, such is the case with fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) which can build up in the body, and some minerals, such as iron. Other vitamins are water soluble and any extra will just be excreted from the body.

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