Background:
The alarming rise in the obesity epidemic and growing concern for the pathologic consequences of the metabolic syndrome warrant great need for development of obesity-related pharmacotherapeutics. The search for such therapeutics is severely limited by the slow throughput of animal models of obesity. Amenable to placement into a 96 well plate, zebrafish larvae have emerged as one of the highest throughput vertebrate model organisms for performing small molecule screens. A method for visually identifying non-toxic molecular effectors of fat metabolism using a live transparent vertebrate was developed. Given that increased levels of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) via deletion of CD38 have been shown to prevent high fat reducing your calorie intake induced obesity in mice in a SIRT-1 dependent fashion we explored the possibility of directly applying NAD to zebrafish.
Methods:
Zebrafish larvae were incubated with daily refreshing of nile red containing media starting from a developmental stage of equivalent fat content among siblings (3 days post-fertilization, dpf) and continuing with daily refreshing until 7 dpf.
Results:
PPAR activators, beta-adrenergic agonists, SIRT-1 activators, and nicotinic acid treatment all caused predicted changes in fat, cholesterol, and gene expression consistent with a high degree of evolutionary conservation of fat metabolism signal transduction extending from man to zebrafish larvae. All changes in fat content were visually quantifiable in a relative fashion using live zebrafish larvae nile red fluorescence microscopy. Resveratrol treatment caused the greatest and most consistent loss of fat content. The resveratrol tetramer Vaticanol B caused loss of fat equivalent in potency to resveratrol alone. Significantly, the direct administration of NAD decreased fat content in zebrafish. Results from knockdown of a zebrafish G-PCR ortholog previously determined to decrease fat content in C. elegans support that future GPR142 antagonists may be effective non-toxic anti-obesity therapeutics.
Conclusion:
Owing to the apparently high level of evolutionary conservation of signal transduction pathways regulating lipid metabolism, the zebrafish can be useful for identifying non-toxic small molecules or pharmacological target gene products for developing molecular therapeutics for treating clinical obesity. Our results support the promising potential in applying NAD or resveratrol where the underlying target protein likely involves Sirtuin family member proteins. Furthermore data supports future studies focused on determining whether there is a high concentration window for resveratrol that is effective and non-toxic in high fat obesity murine models.

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) has been the subject of extensive investigation regarding its possible benefits on a variety of human diseases. In some animal studies, CLA has been shown to have a beneficial effect on sclerotic lesions associated with atherosclerosis, be a possible anti-carcinogen, increase feed efficiency, and act as a lean body mass supplement. However, the results have been inconsistent, and the effects of CLA on atherogenesis appear to be dose-, isomer-, tissue-, and species-specific. Similarly, CLA trials in humans have resulted in conflicting findings. Both the human and animal study results may be attributed to contrasting doses of CLA, isomers, the coexistence of other reducing your calorie intakeary fatty acids, length of study, and inter-and/or intra-species diversities. Recent research advances have suggested the importance of CLA isomers in modulating gene expression involved in oxidative damage, fatty acid metabolism, immune/ inflammatory responses, and ultimately atherosclerosis. Although the possible mechanisms of action of CLA have been suggested, they have yet to be determined.

Background:
While high protein reducing your calorie intakes have been shown to improve satiety and retention of lean body mass (LBM), this study was designed to determine effects of a protein- enriched meal replacement (MR) on weight loss and LBM retention by comparison to an isocaloric carbohydrate-enriched MR within customized reducing your calorie intake plans utilizing MR to achieve high protein or standard protein intakes.
Methods:
Single blind, placebo-controlled, randomized outpatient weight loss trial in 100 obese men and women comparing two isocaloric meal plans utilizing a standard MR
to which was added supplementary protein or carbohydrate powder. MR was used twice daily (one meal, one snack). One additional meal was included in the meal plan designed to achieve individualized protein intakes of either 1) 2.2 g protein/kg of LBM per day [high protein reducing your calorie intake (HP)] or 2) 1.1 g protein/kg LBM/day standard protein reducing your calorie intake(SP). LBM was determined using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Body weight, body composition, and lipid profiles were measured at baseline and 12 weeks.
Results:
Eighty-five subjects completed the study. Both HP and SP MR were well tolerated, with no adverse effects. There were no differences in weight loss at 12 weeks (-4.19 +/- 0.5 kg for HP group and -3.72 +/- 0.7 kg for SP group, p > 0.1). Subjects in the HP group lost significantly more fat weight than the SP group (HP = -1.65 +/- 0.63 kg; SP = -0.64 +/- 0.79 kg, P=0.05) as estimated by BIA. There were no significant differences in
lipids nor fasting blood glucose between groups, but within the HP group a significant decrease in cholesterol and LDL cholesterol was noted at 12 weeks. This was not seen in the SP group.
Conclusions:
Higher protein MR within a higher protein reducing your calorie intake resulted in similar overall weight loss as the standard protein MR plan over 12 weeks. However, there was significantly more fat loss in the HP group but no significant difference in lean body mass. In this trial, subject compliance with both the standard and protein-enriched MR strategy for weight loss may have obscured any effect of increased protein on weight loss demonstrated in prior weight loss studies using whole nourishment reducing your calorie intakes.

Eating nutritional meals while dieting and leading a busy life can be hard. I have recently gotten into the habit of buying a bunch of “diet” frozen dinners and taking them to work. A quick microwave and I am back at my desk with something that is good for me and filling. So I thought I would review a couple of the ones that I have been munching on in case you have been thinking about doing the same. So let’s start with the Weight Watchers intelligent Ones. Honestly I tried these because they were the cheapest brand on average I could find. They have a good selection under at my location and then some around .50. So I could spend about for a full week when at a restaurant I would be lucky to get a single meal and a fast food restaurant I could stretch that to two days if I worked at it a little. So I have tried all of the cheaper ones and some of the next level.

On the cheap I would have to say I am addicted to the intelligent Ones Creamy Rigatoni with Broccoli & Chicken. Something about the sauce has me licking the bowl when I am done. It has 290 calories, only 8 grams of fat, and a Points value of 6. I don’t know about the Weight Watcher’s Point system, so not sure if 6 is good or bad. Something just doesn’t seem right when pasta is part of my diet, but I would eat this even if not worried about the calories and fat.

They offer three meals with turkey, but my favorite is Turkey Medallions with Mushroom Gravy. It has only 200 calories, 10 grams of fat, and a Points value of 4. Mostly because I like the green beans as a side, the turkey is the same in all three meals. If you like mashed potatoes with a little kick, the Slow-Roasted Turkey Breast has garlic-herb potatoes.

Finally I would recommend any of the meals with macaroni and cheese, my favorite being the Salisbury Steak. It has 250 calories, only 4.5 grams of fat, and a Points value of 5. Something about Salisbury steak that says frozen dinner. It has really great gravy and I repeat the macaroni and cheese alone is worth the purchase. I think I have pasta issues.

If I had to recommend against any of the meals I would suggest you steer away from the Tuna Noodle Gratin. It has 260 calories, only 7 grams of fat, and a Points value of 5. This is actually a great tasting and filling meal. The problem is that when it is microwaved the whole office will smell like tuna fish. In a way that it will not go unnoticed by your colleagues. I say keep this one at home.

In summary, I would not let the low prices fool you. Weight Watchers intelligent Ones food is delicious, filling, and economical. I have tried some other more expensive diet meals, but to me none are so much better that they demand a higher price. Let me know what you think and check the ingredients before trying any of these meals if you have any food allergies.

Simon Volk has been a contributing author for websites and is an acknowledged expert in the field of health and fitness. He can be found on the internet at the website:
http://www.healthfitnessarticle.com

Frozen Diet Meals – A Simple Review
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Simon_Volk

Understanding ocular nutrition and eye health can be one of the ways to support your vision. As early as in our 30′s, our eyes and vision can begin to deteriorate. Wind, dust, chlorine fumes, automobile fumes, smoking, freezing temperatures and physical injury are examples of threats to healthy eyes and good vision. Long hours spent at a computer screen and the vibration from driving have a cumulative negative impact on eye health over time.

Healthy vision is related to the health of the individual parts of the eye – the cornea, iris, macula, lens, optic nerve, pupil, retina and the vitreous humor. And making good ocular nutrition and eye health food choices are one of the ways that good vision can be supported. Information provided by the U.S. National Eye Institute and the results of other ocular nutrition and eye health studies have shown that using nutrition to improve and support eye health definitely happens.

Here are foods that are known to support and improve eye health:

Collard greens, kale and spinach – studies on ocular nutrition and eye health show that eating foods rich in carotenoids is associated with reduced risk of developing age-related macular degeneration. Foods rich in carotenoids are leafy green vegetables such as spinach, collard greens and kale. Macular eye nutrition becomes increasingly important as we get older.

Green vegetables and corn – another study on ocular nutrition and eye health has shown a reduced risk of developing cataracts for persons having diets higher in lutein and zeaxanthin. Foods high in these two carotenoids include broccoli, collard greens, corn, green peas, kale, romaine lettuce, spinach, turnip greens and zucchini. Lutein is also found in egg yolks. Persons with diets high in lutein and zeaxanthin were also less likely to need cataract surgery. In another study done on persons ages 40-59, those with diets high in lutein and zeaxanthin experienced a reduced risk of developing adult macular degeneration.

Apricots, bilberries and blueberries – apricots are rich in beta carotene and lycopene that help promote good vision. Beta carotene is converted by the body to vitamin A as needed, an important antioxidant that resists oxidative stress damage to cells and tissues including the eye lenses. Continued oxidative stress may result in the development of cataracts or damage the blood supply to the eyes and lead to macular degeneration. Eating blueberries has been associated with the reduction of eye fatigue.

Blueberries are related to cranberries, and both also help the body resist urinary tract infections. Bilberries are a form of wild blueberry that grow on small bushes. Bilberries were used by British pilots to improve their night vision during World War 2. Fresh bilberries and bilberry jams would be sources of this ocular nutrition and eye health food. Bilberry seems to improve eye health by increasing the blood supply to the eyes.

Our eyes are considered to be the most important of the senses. By knowing which ocular nutrition and eye health food choices support the eyes, you can include more of these foods in daily meal planning.

Olinda Rola is President of Infosearch Publishing and webmaster of http://www.safemenopausesolutions.com a website of natural solutions for a variety of health problems. Visit Ocular Nutrition to read more on additional ways to obtain essential nutrients for eye health and vision support.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Olinda_Rola

Could it be possible that our beloved chocolate may actually be good for us? This is the nutrition news we have all been waiting for. So here is the scoop on chocolate and its health benefits. Yes, you read right, health benefits!

Recent studies show that cocoa and dark chocolate with a high cocoa content contain many heart-healthy antioxidants. They contain a compound called flavonoids which may help prevent the oxidation of LDL (bad) cholesterol and raise HDL (good) cholesterol levels in the blood. There is also some evidence that these flavonoids may prevent certain cancers.

It is important that we are all on the same page here, not all chocolate have these health benefits. The healthy flavonoids found in chocolate are found in the cocoa butter and cocoa solids. Milk chocolate is diluted with milk and sugar and contains little amounts of these substances, therefore providing fewer health benefits. So, for those of you who love dark chocolate this is your lucky day! The darker the chocolate, the higher the cocoa content and the more antioxidants it contains. The quality of the chocolate you consume is also important. The cocoa butter is quite pricey so less expensive brands will replace the cocoa butter with milk fats and hydrogenated oils which are bad for our health. Look for high quality chocolates with their main ingredients being cocoa butter and cocoa solids. Unsweetened cocoa powder is one of the purest forms of chocolate you can eat and is lower in fat and calories than other chocolates.

Although this is great news for all chocolate lovers, don’t forget that most chocolate (unless you use unsweetened cocoa powder) does still contain sugar and saturated fat.

And please remember calories. An ounce of chocolate contains around 135 calories. So enjoy a cup of hot cocoa or an ounce of chocolate once in awhile to contribute to your health and not to your waistline!

Owner of Real Living Nutrition Services, Meri Raffetto is a recognized professional in the area of nutrition and wellness. She has received a bachelor’s degree in both nutrition and psychology and has extensive experience in nutrition counseling and medical nutrition therapy. She offers individual nutrition counseling and has developed one of the only non-diet online weight management programs available on the internet. Meri specializes in weight management, cardiovascular health, and sports nutrition and consults with professional athletes at Titan Sports Performance Center. Her practice includes teaching people how to eat for endurance, improve vitality, and lose weight healthfully. For more information visit http://www.reallivingnutrition.com

About the Author: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Meri_Raffetto

Hoodia diet pills can help with your fat loss efforts, but as I’ve mentioned numerous times, their role is limited. If they work for you, all they’ll do is suppress your appetite. For long-term weight loss, you need diet and exercise. Sorry to break the news to you.

Diet and exercise doesn’t have to be complicating and thanks to Tom Venuto’s fat loss program, Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle, it’s not! Simply put, it’s the best fat loss training program you’re going to find. This program consists of over 350 pages of step-by-step information on how to achieve your weight loss goals. It’s a complete road map to fat loss. All you have to do is “follow the directions.”

If you’re looking for a long-term and natural solution to weight loss, then you need to listen to this podcast. You’ll quickly realize why Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle is the best fat loss program.

Percentage of body fat is strongly associated with the risk of several chronic diseases but its accurate measurement is difficult. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is a relatively simple, quick and non-invasive technique, to measure body composition. It measures body fat accurately in controlled clinical conditions but its performance in the field is inconsistent. In large epidemiologic studies simpler surrogate techniques such as body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and waist-hip ratio are frequently used instead of BIA to measure body fatness.
We reviewed the rationale, theory, and technique of recently developed systems such as foot (or hand)-to-foot BIA measurement, and the elements that could influence its results in large epidemiologic studies. BIA results are influenced by factors such as the environment, ethnicity, phase of menstrual cycle, and underlying medical conditions. We concluded that BIA measurements validated for specific ethnic groups, populations and conditions can accurately measure body fat in those populations, but not others and suggest that for large epdiemiological studies with diverse populations BIA may not be the appropriate choice for body composition measurement unless specific calibration equations are developed for different groups participating in the study.

Hydrate to Lose Weight: Drinking Water & Its Relationship to Weight Loss was written by Michael Callen from ccwebgroup.com

It all begins with water …. Water makes up 75% of the human body, so to say it is vital to health could be nothing short of an understatement. Drinking water is a necessity for maintaining health, but it helps those of us who are trying to lose weight or decrease fat in ways you may not have considered.

First of all, by drinking water before and during a meal, it makes you feel full sooner. If you feel full sooner, it can help you to stop eating sooner. Secondly, water can be mixed with low calorie concentrates and sipped throughout the day.

By adding flavorings (such as juice concentrate or green tea extract) the water tastes more like food, which can also put off feelings of hunger and keep you feeling more satisfied between meals.

Finally, drinking lots of water helps you feel better while losing weight. When the body burns old fat deposits, it can encounter contaminants and chemicals stored within the fat. These contaminants can cause you to have flu-like symptoms. By drinking plenty of water throughout the day, you provide a vehicle to allow the body to assist in flushing out those contaminants.

So how do you drink more water? Like everything else related to losing weight or fat, discipline must be incorporated. Here are a few suggestions to help you drink more water each day:

1. Create an Accountability Partner at home or work and tell one another when you drink a glass of water, so that the other has to also. Compete to see who drinks more water.
2. Associate drinking water with daily ‘landmarks’. Brush your teeth, drink a glass of water. Have breakfast, drink a glass of water. Leaving for work, drink a glass of water. And so on.
3. Proximity. Keep the water close to you at all times. Buy bottles of water that can be frozen and taken with you if you are not going to be at home or at work. Keep extra glasses and water bottles at work and make sure you always have one full. If it is available, you will drink more water.

A couple of very important aspects of hydration that dramatically affect weight gain and loss are water retention and kidney function.

First of all, water retention. Water retention is an interesting issue because it is one of those issues that runs completely contrary to how we would imagine it would work. Water weighs about seven pounds per gallon, so its easy to imagine that we could shed a few quick pounds by losing some retained water… but how do we do that? Well, as it turns out, we lose retained water by drinking more water!

The body has such a need for water that it retains extra water if we don’t supply the right amount on a daily basis – and most of us do not. By getting into a habit, or regimen, of drinking more water than our body actually needs, our body becomes convinced that it doesn’t need to hoarde extra water. Once your body is “convinced” that you are going to provide more than enough water to simply survive, it will let loose of the extra water it has stored up in your cells.

Secondly, let’s look at your kidneys. Well not directly at them, but let’s talk about them. In order to do their job properly, your kidneys require an enormous amount of water. If the water is not supplied, your body goes to Plan B, which is to enlist the assistance of your liver. Because the liver is able to metabolize fat (turn it into energy), every second your liver spends bailing out the kidneys is a second it isn’t burning stored fat. Drinking more water allows the kidneys to run at their optimal level and keeps the liver available to burn fat.

For dieters, there is an additional aspect worth consideration. Because we are attempting to burn EXTRA fat (not simply the supply of fat in our daily diet), we actually create an extra water deficit. It takes water to do the normal work of processing waste from our bodies, and it takes EXTRA water to process the stored fat and waste that comes from that job.

Earlier in the article we shared a few tips on how to drink more water each day. Here are a few more tips to help you start your hydration habit:

1. Whenever you feel the urge to binge or have a hankerin’ for something that you KNOW you shouldn’t eat or drink, immediately drink a big glass of water. It’ll do two things… first it will fill your stomach, preventing you from putting the bad stuff in there, and secondly, it will put some time between you and your craving, giving it a chance to pass.
2. Water out, water in. Make it a habit to drink a glass of water after you use the restroom. Did you remember to shut the light off??
3. Drink with a straw. Some people say that you drink more and drink faster if you use a straw. It’s worth a try, right??

References: University of Minnesota, Extension Water Quality Program

How to Lose Weight: Food for Thought was written by Gary Cordingley from cordingleyneurology.com

When it comes to weight loss, most of us would like to engage in what psychologists call “magical thinking.” We’d like to believe that some easy trick or ritual would allow us to shed pounds while eating anything we liked. Wouldn’t it be nice if consuming all our food before 6 p.m., doing yoga, or hopping on one foot for five minutes would allow us to chow down with all our favorite goodies and still lose weight?

Unfortunately, despite what legions of people with a book or a product to sell might claim, it’s just not so. Yet it really is possible to come up with a system for losing weight. The real secret is this: It’s all about the calories.

Most of us have heard that sensible weight loss involves some combination of diet and exercise. As a physician, I’m surely not going to tell people to avoid exercise. For most people, exercise is a very healthy thing to do. But when it comes to losing weight, unless we’re training for the Olympics, the effect of exercise is minor. What matters most is how many calories go down the hatch.

This bears explaining. Our bodies use the calories we consume to fuel our basic life-processes. The heart needs lots of fuel (calories) to beat its usual 100,000 times in 24 hours. The brain, liver and kidneys also require lots of fuel to perform their many chemical reactions and metabolic tasks. Most of the calories we burn in 24 hours (about 1500 for women and 1800 for men) we would still burn even if we were in a coma.

It’s true that working the muscles in our arms, legs and trunk requires fuel (calories) as well, but you’d be amazed how long you would have to row, jog, swim or walk to burn off the calories in one slice of cherry pie. (Answer: In order to burn the 486 calories in a slice of cherry pie a 175-pound person would need to row for 35 minutes, jog for 37 minutes, swim for 41 minutes or walk briskly for 63 minutes.) For most of us it would be more practical to just not eat the pie.

Each of us has a calories-per-day figure for maintaining body weight. If, on the average, we eat that many calories, then we will maintain body weight, neither gaining nor losing. If we consistently eat more calories than our break-even number, then we will gain weight. The unused calories have to be stored somewhere, and will probably go into our body’s fat cells. If we consistently eat fewer than our break-even number of calories, then we will lose weight. The body will get its fuel somewhere, and will burn off calories that have been put into storage in fat cells.

This is how it is. We just can’t get around the basic biology and physics.

So, if we’re trying to lose weight, how do we choose what we do or don’t eat? Well, sometimes, our choices are haphazard. A useful analogy concerns shopping. How in the world could we do a good job of shopping without knowing the prices of the items we’re putting in our shopping carts? Without knowledge of the prices our choices in merchandise could easily exceed our budgets.

The same holds true when it comes to eating. If we wanted to budget our calories, how in the world could we make good choices if we didn’t know the calorie count of the foods we eat? We just couldn’t do a good job. Our calorie intake per day would probably exceed our break-even point for maintaining body weight, and we would gain.

So, in order to make sensible choices, it’s crucial to know the approximate number of calories in the foods we eat. An easy way to do that is to buy a paperback book in the check-out line of your grocery store that lists the calorie content of usual portions of commonly consumed food and beverages. (Or look them up online.) We don’t necessarily need to check the list each time we sit down to eat, but knowing typical figures for our favorite foods will enable us to know if we’re keeping or exceeding our daily calorie budget.

This is not as awful as it sounds. In fact, there can be pleasant surprises. Suppose I typically get the munchies in the evening, and I roam the house in search of goodies to snack upon. Here is where knowledge of calorie contents can pay off. If I satisfy my munchies by eating cookies, French fries, potato chips or candies, then I’ll blow my daily food-budget in just one sitting. But what if I substitute pretzels or unbuttered popcorn? They might be just as satisfying, yet contain fewer calories. So these alternative choices might spare my daily calorie budget at no loss of satisfaction.

As a physician I often encourage my patients to lose weight. Being overweight can increase blood pressure and cholesterol which, in turn, increase the likelihoods of heart attacks and strokes. Heart attacks and strokes are the number one and number three causes of death in the U.S., respectively, and strokes are the number one cause of disability. So we’re talking about real conditions that afflict real people. Moreover, our overweight bodies put more stress and strain on our spines and our knees, making them wear out earlier, hurt more, and interfere with quality of life.

Some patients with whom I have this conversation look at me like I’m crazy. They’re eating barely enough food to keep a small bird warm, they say. The problem—or the solution—couldn’t possibly lie with the food they eat.

The incentives are clear. The choices are ours to make. We shouldn’t blame our metabolism. And we shouldn’t delude ourselves that we consume barely enough to keep ourselves alive, and yet still, unaccountably, gain weight. We need to take our health into our own hands and start making choices that increase the quality and quantity of our remaining years.