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Despite the hype, intermittent fasting isn’t a magic weight-loss cure – Chicago Tribune
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I joined in a wave of the intermittent fasting trend about 10 years ago -- before I was a dietitian. That's when most of the writings on the topic were in the form of blog posts and self-published PDF e-books. Today, a perusal of the Internet turns up several best-selling books extolling the benefits of intermittent fasting for weight loss and improvements in the metabolic risk factors that contribute to Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Then, and even now, the intermittent fasting hype was way ahead of the science. Most early research data came from animal studies, with human data coming from observations of participants of religious-based fasts or from small, short clinical studies. A systematic review published last year in the journal Nutrients looked at studies of at least six months that assigned adults with overweight or obese BMIs to either intermittent fasting or daily calorie restriction, and found no evidence that intermittent fasting was superior. The authors cited the need for longer, larger studies to assess sustainability and effects on weight maintenance.
So I was eager to read the results of a study published in the May issue of JAMA Internal Medicine that was longer and larger, enrolling 100 participants for a year -- six months of weight loss and six of weight maintenance. Researchers randomly assigned metabolically healthy adults ages 18 to 64 who had BMIs in the obese category to an alternate-day energy restriction group, a daily-calorie-restriction group or a control group whose members ate their usual diet.
Researchers found that the intermittent fasters had a harder time following their diets and were more likely to drop out than daily calorie restrictors. Weight loss and weight regain were similar between the dieting groups, as were changes to fat and lean tissue -- which is significant, because one intermittent fasting claim is that it leads to less muscle loss than traditional calorie-restrictive diets. Reduction of cardiovascular risk factors, including blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides, were also similar between the two dieting groups. The conclusion? Intermittent fasting was no better, and no worse, than a standard, calorie-restrictive diet.
Although no one study should be taken as a be-all, end-all answer, the results add substance to what previous research studies have overwhelmingly found.
The JAMA study used alternate-day energy restriction for the fasting group, whose members ate one meal containing 25 percent of their usual daily intake on fasting days and "feasted" on 125 percent of their usual daily intake on the other days, for an average 25 percent calorie reduction. The calorie-restriction group reduced calories by 25 percent each day, spread over three meals. Participants started out sedentary, and researchers asked them not to increase activity.
The takeaway? Intermittent fasting may actually be less sustainable in the long term for most people than daily caloric restriction, which itself is not sustainable, as the majority of people who lose weight on calorie-restrictive diets regain the weight, sometimes repeatedly, as with yo-yo dieting. The authors questioned whether there was a difference in perceived hunger or actual levels of appetite-related hormones between intermittent fasters and calorie restrictors. The answer is no, according to a small study published in April in the journal Clinical Nutrition. Researchers found that neither method has an advantage for weight loss or for lessening the body's means of compensating for perceived starvation, which include slowing the metabolism and increasing levels of the "hunger hormone" ghrelin.
I tolerated the hunger that ebbed and flowed on fasting days and wasn't ravenous when it was time to eat, but not everyone has that experience. I stopped doing intermittent fasting when I went back to grad school to study nutrition because I had a hard time focusing on fasting days. My brain needed regular fuel! Today, I know that restrictive diets don't work, regardless of the form. Despite the hype, intermittent fasting isn't a magic bullet -- it's plain old calorie restriction in a new outfit.
Dennett is a registered dietitian nutritionist and owner of Nutrition by Carrie.
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Despite the hype, intermittent fasting isn't a magic weight-loss cure - Chicago Tribune
Experts warn of this kind of diet – Blasting News
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The mono #diet allows one to eat as much of his favorite fruit as he wants. However, to lose weight, one has to eat only one food for several weeks. Though experts say it could be successful in a short term, the diet that could be dangerous to ones #Health.
It was Leanne Ratcliffe, the YouTube star known as Freelee the Banana Girl, who made this kind of diet popular. According to New York Post, Ratcliffe first boasted her weight loss in 2014. After eating almost 30 bananas a day, she lost 40 pounds.
Aside from bananas, there are also other versions of the mono meal. In April, there was the sweet potato diet that is said to help one to lose 12 pounds in just two weeks.
A woman named Alicia Hunter ate only melon for 30 days. Though she lost seven pounds, she said that she does not want to eat melon ever again in her life.
In Instagram, there are more than 38,000 posts with hashtag mono meal. It highlights peoples meals which contain only a single food. In 2016, the popular diet was one of the most searched topics in Google.Celebrities who were reported to have taken this kind of diet include Matt Damon and Penn Jillette. The comedian and magician illustrated his journey to weight loss in a book published last year. He claims to eat nothing but potatoes for two weeks to jump start his diet. Meanwhile, Damon has revealed that to get into shape for his role in the Courage Under Fire, he has to eat only chicken breasts.
The mono diet is used to kick-start a long-term weight loss program.
People lose weight in the mono meal as a result of caloric restriction. According to Frances Largeman=Roth, a registered dietitian, and author of Eating in Color, there is no particular food magically producing weight loss. Its an incredibly restrictive and unbalanced diet and I do not recommend that anyone follow it, he added.
Another registered dietician and nutritionist, Amy Gorin of New Jersey, said that mono diet can have a negative effect on the metabolism. It could even cause muscle loss. Though advocates say that the diet is only to jump start a long-term weight management, Gorin believes that it is hard to maintain once the person is back to his normal diet. Some people are so desperate to see results quickly that they choose a diet that does not make any biological sense. Madelyn Fernstrom of NBC News Health and Nutrition editor said that mono diet is not an advisable plan.
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Breast-feeding good for mom later in life, new study says – Wichita Eagle
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Wichita Eagle | Breast-feeding good for mom later in life, new study says Wichita Eagle Previous studies have suggested that mothers get short-term health benefits from breast-feeding, such as weight loss and lower cholesterol, blood pressure and glucose levels following the pregnancy. The analysis of health data from nearly 300,000 ... Study: Breast-feeding Could Limit Mothers' Heart Attack, Stroke Risk Study says breastfeeding could lower mom's risk of heart disease, stroke Moms, Breastfeeding Could Slash Your Risk Of Heart Attack And Stroke |
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Breast-feeding good for mom later in life, new study says - Wichita Eagle
‘Keto’ diet good for quick weight loss, but caution advised – Tahlequah Daily Press
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Americans think of themselves as can-do people, but there is a battle they have been mostly losing for decades.
Today, 70 percent of Americans who have attained the age of 20 are overweight, and 38 percent are obese. A result of such flabby numbers has been widespread dieting, with mixed results.
A diet that has gotten some headlines in recent years is the ketogenic, or keto, diet. There is nothing new about its driving mechanism: the reduction of carbohydrate consumption. The Atkins diet of the 2000s also urged dieters to cut down on carbs, as does the "low carb, high fat" diet.
Atkins and LCHF can attain what the keto diet also seeks: ketosis, where the body obtains some energy from water soluble ketone bodies in the blood, as opposed to using blood glucose through glycolysis.
Health food stores are often visited by people following low-carbohydrate diets.
"People can ask for the keto bowl, but we call it the Protein Fat Bomb," said Eric McKee, who runs the kitchen at Oasis Health Foods. "We use turkey or chicken - usually turkey. It has coconut oil, which is a healthy fat. Some people have a personal preference for something like avocado."
McKee said creating a keto diet dish is difficult because carbs are ubiquitous.
"The Protein Fat Bomb is not on the menu," McKee said. "People have to ask for it, and we can tailor it. They usually want some modification. Sprouts have a few carbs, but they add a lot of flavor. Cheese is also good. I think it is also important to use ingredients that are delicious by themselves, so you can use them in other ways."
A number of Oasis customers are on the keto diet, and McKee said those who decided to follow it are taking on a serious regimen.
"The keto diet is pretty hardcore and challenging," he said. "If you absolutely have to lose weight, it is one way to do it, and we are a great place to find foods to follow the diet. Also, you need to have some carbs, and when you first go on the diet, your body has to adjust, and
a person can almost feel sick. We can help with the carb crash."
Though low-carb diets have enjoyed popularity for some time, they are not without controversy. While the diets have not been condemned outright by medical groups, there is skepticism.
The keto diet is recent, and there are few statements about its effectiveness, but commenting on low-carb diets in general, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services wrote in 2005 that they are not conducive to long-term weight management.
The American Heart Association believes high-protein diets are tough on the heart, the American Dietetic Association stated in 2003 that too many calories of any kind cause weight gain, and several foreign health services have taken similar positions.
Conversely, the American Diabetic Association and the American Academy of Family Physicians, while not offering enthusiastic support for low-carb diets, have acknowledged them as a method of losing weight in the short term.
Since carbohydrates cause blood sugar to spike, most doctors advise diabetics to limit their intake.
"A lot of people want to lose weight," said Kenneth Gibson, D.O., of the NeoHealth clinic in Hulbert. "Let your doctor know if you plan to change your diet, and the diet should be monitored to adjust for any missing nutrients."
Heather Winn, family and consumer sciences educator for Oklahoma State University's Cherokee County Cooperative Extension Service, endorses a "rainbow diet" with sensible portions.
"As Extension educators, we recommend the diet on MyPlate.gov," Winn said. "It suggests a variety of lean meats, all different colors of fruits and vegetables, and whole grains. You want to eat a lot of different foods, but also try to limit fat and sugar intake. They have long lists of foods for each category, and they promote a healthy diet, especially for children. We recommend these foods unless otherwise directed by your physician."
Winn also pointed to the necessity of being active. Calories ingested must be used.
"Part of what we do is teach yoga for kids and we have lots of programs in the schools," she said. "We go to the Head Starts and day cares. Not only do you need to eat healthy, but the calories in need to be equal to calories out to maintain a healthy weight."
What's next
A group of local residents has begun following the keto diet. In a few months, the Press will report on their progress.
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'Keto' diet good for quick weight loss, but caution advised - Tahlequah Daily Press
Breastfeeding May Lower Women’s Risk of Heart Attack, Stroke – Live Science
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Breastfeeding may literally be good for the heart: A new study suggests that breastfeeding may lower women's risk of heart disease and stroke.
For the study, researchers analyzed information from nearly 300,000 women in China. They found that those who were moms and had breastfed were about 10 percent less likely to develop heart disease and stroke during the study period, compared to the moms who never breastfed.
Although the new study cannot prove for certain that breastfeeding caused the women's lower risk of heart disease and stroke, "these findings suggest that interventions to increase the likelihood and duration of breastfeeding could have persistent benefits to maternal cardiovascular health," the researchers wrote in the June 21 issue of the Journal of the American Heart Association.
"Commitment from policy makers is needed to implement strategies in the health care system, communities and families, and the work environment that promote and support every woman to breastfeed," they said. [Top 10 Amazing Facts About Your Heart]
Future studies are needed to confirm the findings, and determine whether they apply to women living in other countries, the researchers said.
Previous studies have suggested that women who breastfeed experience short-term benefits, such as weight loss and lower cholesterol, blood pressure and glucose levels. But studies on the long-term benefits of breastfeeding on women's cardiovascular health have had mixed results.
In the new study, the researchers collected data from 289,573 Chinese women ages 30 to 79 who were asked about their history of childbirth and breastfeeding, as well as their medical history and other lifestyle factors. Nearly all of the women, 99 percent, had given birth, and 97 percent had breastfed. None of the women had cardiovascular disease at the start of the study.
The women were followed up for eight years, and during this time, about 16,700 developed coronary heart disease (which includes heart attacks) and nearly 24,000 had a stroke.
The study found that, overall, mothers who breastfed had a 9 percent lower risk of heart disease and an 8 percent lower risk of stroke, compared to mothers who did not breastfeed. Mothers who breastfed for two years or more had an 18 percent lower risk of heart disease and 17 percent lower risk of stroke, than those who never breastfed.
The findings held even after the researchers took into account factors that could affect heart disease risk, such as smoking, high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes.
Still, the study wasn't able to take into account some factors like the women's diet that could affect their heart disease risk.
In addition, breastfeeding practices that women in China use are different from those that women in the United States use a greater percentage of women in China breastfeed, and women there typically breastfeed for a longer time, compared to women in the United States, the researchers said.
One previous study in the United States found that only women who breastfed for at least two years had a lower risk of coronary heart disease, compared with women who did not breastfeed.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, meaning that breast milk is the only source of food for the child (along with added vitamin and mineral supplements). After a baby reaches 6 months, the AAP recommends that mothers continue breastfeeding until infants reach age 1, but that they also introduce other foods during this time.
Original article on Live Science.
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Breastfeeding May Lower Women's Risk of Heart Attack, Stroke - Live Science
Weight loss: Diet traps can keep you from losing weight – TODAY.com – Today.com
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Losing weight is hard. Slow and steady effort always wins the weight-loss race, but what happens when youre committed, feel youre doing everything right and the pounds still arent coming off?
Take a look at these diet traps, which can sabotage even the best intentions. Making small changes in each of these areas can make all the difference between frustration and long-term weight-loss success.
While you might feel sweating is a good index of calories burned, its the intensity and duration of your activity that makes a difference. A brisk 15-minute walk burns about 100 calories, while a leisurely stroll for 30 minutes burns about the same amount. Studies show most people overestimate the calories burned from activity and underestimate calories consumed. Calories in versus calories out does work for weight loss, but make sure youre being realistic in figuring both of these out. Try an app of your choice for better accuracy.
The best first step for any weight-loss plan is swapping out empty calories for simply prepared, healthy foods, but its not the only one. While its a great start to swap out butter for olive oil, all fats have about 120 calories per tablespoon. Whole wheat pasta is a fiber-rich choice, but has the same calories as regular white pasta. Awareness of calories per serving, as well as nutrients, is a win-win for weight loss.
For healthy people, eating around three times a day is sufficient for maintaining metabolic stability. Snacking is optional, but not necessary. The idea of fueling all day long often causes people to eat more calories. Some studies show cutting out snacking altogether boosts weight loss. Pre-plan your eating for the day and choose whether you want to eat three times a day or save part of the meal to snack on later. Eating just a few times a day also supports a better sense of recognizing true hunger and fullness, an important part of any weight-control plan. When it comes to how often to eat, one size does not fit all figure out what works best for you.
We often give ourselves permission to overeat healthy foods that are rich in nutrients and calories. But if youre trying to lose weight, its all about healthy calorie-dense foods in moderate portions. The struggle with portion control is among the top reasons even the best designed weight-loss plan can stall. While most vegetables are a go-to free food for eating, just one handful of almonds is around 150 calories, and half of an avocado has around 160 calories. Learn to barter and limit your higher-calorie, nutrient-rich foods to jump start your weight-loss effort.
Eating for reasons other than hunger is a universal problem. When emotions or stress sneak in, its easy to get off track and overeat. The word stressed spelled backwards is desserts! Its essential to address the causes of stress and emotional eating, and figure out ways to manage your diet plan at these challenging times. Emotional support is a big part of success.
Madelyn Fernstrom, PhD, is NBC News Health and Nutrition Editor. Follow her on Twitter @drfernstrom.
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Weight loss: Diet traps can keep you from losing weight - TODAY.com - Today.com
The dangerous diet that could ruin your health – New York Post
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The dangerous diet that could ruin your health New York Post The diet dictates that you eat only one food for several weeks to lose weight fast, something that many experts warn is dangerous and only successful in the short term. Hunter, however, used it to kick-start a long-term weight-loss plan to shed the ... |
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The dangerous diet that could ruin your health - New York Post
The Malnutrition Dilemma: Follow the Email – McKnight’s Long Term Care News
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Alan Gessel
A colleague recently forwarded an email she'd received from a woman whose mother was in memory care. You need to read this, she wrote.
Customer feedback is invaluable, but in the senior living industry, it can sometimes be hard to take. The opening of this particular email caused me to stiffen a little.
My 97-year-old mother has spent nearly a decade in memory care. Over the last several years, she's become increasingly non-verbal and no longer recognizes me. A month ago, I received a call from my mother's caregivers. She wasn't eating. They suggested we move her to hospice care.
It was easy to visualize this situation. As senior living residents age, getting them to eat becomes a challenge. There are a multitude of reasons for this. Individuals with Alzheimer's and other memory diseases can forget to eat or forget how to use utensils. Their senses of taste, smell and vision are diminished, decreasing the sensory experience of eating. Medications can suppress appetite. Eating may be painful due to ill-fitting dentures or loss of teeth.
Regardless of the reason, not eating leads to malnutrition. The email continued.
Malnutrition is an ugly thing. Mom is so tiny. I was afraid we were going to lose her from lack of nutrition.
Malnutrition is ugly. Unintentional weight loss comes with serious consequences. Those suffering from malnutrition have a greater risk of complications.Mortality rates are also higher, and the cost of their care is higher. According to research published in the Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, individuals with COPD, depression and dementia experience the highest rates of malnutrition at 11%, 10.4% and 7.9% respectively.
I know first hand that caregivers do everything they can to get people to eat: offering pureed foods, hand feeding and supplementing diets with liquid nutrition products. I once met a dietitian who said she put ketchup on everything to encourage people to eat. Despite the best intentions and efforts, individuals still don't eat.
Situations such as these leave caregivers grasping at straws. In the case of the woman in the email, her mother's nurse offered a final Hail Mary to get the elderly woman to eat. She suggested a nutritional ice cream product called Thrive.
I'm the CEO of the company that makes Thrive Ice Cream, which was developed specifically for senior living and healthcare facilities as a meal replacement, supplement or nutritious dessert. I could launch into all of its benefits, but I'll stick to the story.
With her mother in hospice and losing more weight with each passing day, the daughter agreed to the new approach, which included adding three six-ounce cups of Thrive Ice Cream a day to her mother's meal plan. Each serving of the certified REAL Dairy ice cream provided nine grams of protein, 24 vitamins and minerals, four active probiotics, natural inulin fiber and 270 calories.
I wasn't sure what to expect, but she ate every bite of the ice cream that after refusing every thing else!
This part of her email made me smile. I don't care who you are, ice cream is seen as a treat and people will naturally try it. For products like this to work in a senior living or healthcare environment; however, they also must have the same texture and flavor of real ice cream for people to keep eating it. It's the total experience and memories associated with ice cream that make it enjoyable for people.
Apparently, this is exactly what happened to my email writer's mother: she kept eating the Thrive. After two weeks, something remarkable happened. After being nonverbal for months, the elderly woman began interacting with her family and caregivers, speaking short phrases and even laughing. She gained weight and strength. After three weeks, she was transferred out of hospice and back to memory care.
I was stunned. I had expected a sad story and got this. Here's the kicker. The email writer had been planning her mother's funeral. Now she was planning her 98th birthday party.
It's one thing to develop a product you know can help people because of food science and research, which was our goal when we created Thrive Ice Cream. But it's overwhelming when you hear from someone who has had a life-changing experience with your product such as this one.
Malnutrition and unintentional weight loss are a huge financial burden to America's senior living and healthcare organizations and can be extremely frustrating for caregivers. That's why it's important to look beyond the status quo. Look at new and alternative products. Look past the case price and read the labels. See how patients respond; do they eat and enjoy it? After all, it's not nutrition unless it's consumed.
Alan Gessel is the CEO of Thrive Frozen Nutrition, maker of Thrive Ice Cream.
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The Malnutrition Dilemma: Follow the Email - McKnight's Long Term Care News
Optifast Program l Medical Weight Loss l Long Term Weight …
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Unlike fad diets, the OPTIFAST program has been proven effective in more than 80 clinical studies and by more than one million people who have participated in the program since 1974. OPTIFAST combines the proven effectiveness of a controlled calorie liquid diet with medical monitoring, support and counseling, and nutrition and lifestyle education. The result is safe, fast, and effective long-term weight loss. One study of 20,000 patients showed a 52 pound average weight loss, a 29% average decrease in blood glucose, a 15% average decrease in cholesterol, and a 10% average decrease in blood pressure. Many people lose far more than the average 52 pounds with even greater improvement in health.
Providing all the protein, vitamins, and minerals needed daily, you can feel confident that OPTIFAST can be used safely as a total food replacement. The benefits of using a meal replacement liquid diet include:
Some people doubt their ability to follow such a diet, but adjusting to and becoming comfortable with a liquid diet typically takes only about a week. After a week, you will be amazed at how well you feel and the energy you have! After you complete your weight loss, you will transition back to a food plan customized to your needs and within a calorie range that will help you maintain your loss.
Five-year follow-up studies show that over 50% of people who complete the OPTIFAST Program keep enough weight off to improve their health long term. The OPTIFAST program at the Central Ohio Nutrition Center is not just a diet it is a program that includes experienced doctors and registered dietitians who provide ongoing support during and long after weight loss.
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We Should Never Have Told People They Could ‘Burn Off’ Calories – ScienceAlert
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Count your steps. Hit the gym. Bike to work. If you've tried to lose weight, you know it's important to get moving.
But with all our emphasis on working out to 'burn off' what we eat, experts say we've missed the real problem: What we eat.
"There's a persistent myth that you can exercise your calories away,"Andy Bellatti, a registered dietitian and the cofounder ofDietitians for Professional Integrity, told Business Insider.
In reality, while getting active is important for your mood and overall wellbeing, it generally does not result in rapid weight loss. On the other hand, successfully changing your diet might.
Dietary changes are especially important at the beginning of any new weight loss plan, Bellatti said, since people who are trying to lose weight by dedicating hours each day to exercise may get discouraged when the pounds don't magically melt off.
Instead, it's better to focus on making gradual changes to your diet, such as eating more vegetables and cutting back on refined carbohydrates.
A large recent review of studies involving more than 3,000 obese adults who'd lost weight on a low-calorie diet compared how well they were able to keep it off after they either stuck to a new eating plan or began exercising regularly.
While permanently tweaking their dietsappeared to help maintain weight loss, "no significant improvements were seen for exercise," they wrote.
One reason diet may play such a strong role in weight loss is that exercise burns off far fewer calories than most people think, saidPhilip Stanforth, a professor of exercise science at the University of Texas and the executive director of the Fitness Institute of Texas.
This holds especially true when compared to the high caloric content of many processed and fast foods like burgers, fries, and milkshakes. Many classic fast food meals can add up tothousands of calories, sometimes exceeding the amount most adults need in a day.
"Thinking practically, keep in mind you'd have to walk 35 miles to burn 3,500 calories," Stanforth said. "That's a lot of walking."
35 miles is 56 kilometres. That's 2.6 times the length of Manhattan.
But that's not to say exercise is unimportant.
Another large review of studies that included more than 1,000 adults suggested that in the long-term (a year or more), providing people with a weight loss plan thatcombines a healthy eating regimen and regular exercisehelped people lose more weight than either diet or exercise alone.
A wealth of recent research also suggests that when it comes to the brain,aerobic exercise may be the wonder drugwe've long been looking for.
Not only have sweaty workouts been linked with boosting your mood; they have also been found to protect against age-related decline and may even improve memory.
"While exercise might not be the key to weight loss, it is important for health overall, especially for mental health," Bellatti said.
This article was originally published by Business Insider.
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We Should Never Have Told People They Could 'Burn Off' Calories - ScienceAlert