Acupuncture & Massage BLOG

Eat more and weight less!

How would you like to eat more and lose weight? That sounds more like science fiction than nutrition advice. Yet it has been reported that some people can actually eat more and gain less weight by eating the proper foods. What are these so called proper food?

Scientist have designated some foods as being calorie dense and other as being low in calorie density. The foods that are calorie dense are food that you should avoid if you want to eat and lose weight, while the foods that are low calorie dense can be eaten as much as you want. Sound easy? Let us take a look at some of this food that we can eat and lose weight, and the foods that we may need to avoid.

The foods that we need to be mindful of that are calorie dense are chips, cookies, pretzels and crackers. These foods tend to be low in moisture and some also may be high in trans fat. The proper foods to concentrate on are foods that are water-rich foods. This includes vegetables, fruits and soups. Adding a hearty salad to our meals or consuming a bowl of soup before the meal may be the best thing that we may want to do.

We may want to look at the benefits of a vegetarian diet. I remember the old saying that after a meal at the Chinese restaurant first you’d be full to the gut then after an hour you’d be hungry. Why? The meal was 90% vegetables and 10% meat. Another fact to consider is the avoidance of fats. A low-density meal is the ultimate value meal. Remember to eat lots of fruits and vegetable and avoid the commercial snack foods.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. It can be used as long as credit is attributed to the author by including the following section :

“Written by Rev. Dr. Richard Browne

http://www.amcollege.edu

http://www.acupuncturistmiami.com”

LOW GLYCEMIC INDEX DIET MAY HELP WOMEN PREVENT WEIGHT GAIN

Glycemic index (GI) is a measure of how quickly a food causes blood sugar to rise. Foods with refined sugars and simple starches, like white bread and cookies, have a high glycemic index, while those with more complex carbohydrates and greater fiber content, such as whole grains and vegetables, have a low glycemic index. A GI value, on a scale of 0-100, determines how rapidly a particular carbohydrate turns into glucose.

Dr. Helle Hare-Bruun of Copenhagen University Hospital and colleagues reported in a recent study published in the October 1 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that a high GI diet, or a diet based primarily on foods ranked on the glycemic index scale from 73-100, was directly associated with an increase in weight, waist circumference and body fat in women, particularly sedentary women. Glycemic index had no effect on weight gain in men.

Hare-Bruun and colleagues used existing data to examine the relation of dietary GI with changes in body weight and composition over a 6-year follow-up period in 376 men and women aged 35 to 65, to see how dietary glycemic index might affect weight over time. A high GI diet could make a person feel hungry faster and eat too much as a result, the study finds.

“A low glycemic index diet may protect against increases in body weight and general and abdominal obesity in women—especially those who are sedentary—which suggests that physical activity may offer protection against diet-induced weight gain and obesity,” the researchers conclude.

A low GI diet focuses on changing eating habits so that the majority of foods consumed are from the low GI food group, on the scale ranking less than 55. These foods take longer to break down into glucose in the body. Low GI foods include fruits, vegetables, legumes, lean meat, fish, and whole grains. This produces a more even level of glucose throughout the day and minimizes cravings. As the holiday season approaches, a good GI diet plan can be effective in weight control as well as, according to health experts, may prevent onset of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. It can be used as long as credit is attributed to the author by including the following section :

“Written by Rev. Dr. Richard Browne

http://www.amcollege.edu

http://www.acupuncturistmiami.com”

COLA MAY BE CAUSAL FACTOR IN OSTEOPOROSIS

Women who are regular drinkers of cola may be more at risk for lower bone density and developing osteoporosis, according to a study in the October issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Researchers at Tufts University in Boston analyzed dietary questionnaires and weekly cola consumption of more than 2,500 people whose average age was just below 60. They also measured participants’ bone mineral density at the spine and three different hip sites. Cola consumption in women who had four or more sodas per week was associated with lower bone density at all three hip sites.

Phosphoric acid, an ingredient in cola might be responsible for the lower bone density but the mechanism is not yet fully understood. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, approximately 55 percent of Americans older than 50, mostly women, are at risk of developing osteoporosis.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) can be an effective preventative treatment for osteoporosis in addition to an adequate calcium intake and regular weight-bearing exercise. Kidney jing deficiency correlates to the Western diagnosis of osteoporosis. Oriental medicine defines the condition of osteoporosis as a yin or yang kidney deficiency. The kidney organ is the source for growth and aging, and deficiency of kidney essence (jing) is linked to symptoms of osteoporosis, including weakness in the lower back and legs and decreased bone mass density.

Chinese herbal formulas for prevention and treatment of osteoporosis such as Gui lu er xian jiao contain herbs that increase calcium absorption, prevent fractures and strengthen the bones. The use of herbs in gui lu er xian jiao (gui ban, lu jiao, gun qi zi, ren shen) has been found to increase bone mass density by an average of 3.4 percent in one year, according to a Clinic Medline of Taiwan clinical study.

Rehmannia is an herb commonly included in Chinese herbal formulas for treatment of osteoporosis to nourish yin, kidney energy, qi, and blood. Chinese herbs effective in the prevention of osteoporosis include cornus, hoelen and dioscorea. Other ingredients found in Chinese herbal formulas to treat kidney deficiency include yin and blood tonics (lycium, tortoise shell), yang tonics (epimedium), and qi tonics (baked licorice).

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. It can be used as long as credit is attributed to the author by including the following section :

“Written by Rev. Dr. Richard Browne

http://www.amcollege.edu

http://www.acupuncturistmiami.com”

E. COLI OUTBREAK TRACED TO SPINACH FROM SALINAS VALLEY

In the current nationwide spinach E. coli O157:H7 outbreak, officials have traced the contaminated spinach to three California Salinas Valley counties. Bagged spinach originating from Monterey, San Benito and Santa Clara counties have been pinpointed as the source. The three-county region produces more than half the nation’s spinach crop and has also been the source of eight E. coli outbreaks since 1995.

The recent spinach contamination has raised consumer concerns about fresh produce safety and officials are determining new food safety measures to minimize the occurrence of produce-related food borne illness. Fresh produce can become contaminated in the field from polluted irrigation water, in the plant from unsanitary equipment, or in the store from improper refrigeration. New measures could include taking water and soil samples and improved plant sanitation practices.

Since September 14, when the FDA first reported the outbreak, federal and state officials have inspected 10 fields and three processing plants in the Salinas Valley area. Officials have determined that the wide dispersal of illness across 25 states could have been caused by contamination early in the distribution process. To date, 173 cases of E. coli illness have been reported, including 27 cases of Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS), 92 hospitalizations and one death. New reports could be received into the first week of October.

Spinach from the rest of the U.S. has not been implicated in the current E. coli outbreak and is safe for consumption. While spinach has not yet returned to store shelves, food safety experts are in the process of devising new consumer buying safety measures which may include labeling fresh greens with information on product origin to strengthen consumer confidence in safe consumption of fresh produce. The CDC estimates that 73,000 cases of E.coli O157:H7 infection and 61 deaths occur in the United States each year.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. It can be used as long as credit is attributed to the author by including the following section :

“Written by Rev. Dr. Richard Browne

http://www.amcollege.edu

http://www.acupuncturistmiami.com”