Diet

While maintaining a healthy weight may be your best defense against metabolic syndrome, not everyone can--or wants--to lose weight, according to health experts. New research from St. Michael's Hospital in Canada reveals that you may not need to lose weight to avoid this potentially fatal problem, however. The research, led by Dr. John Sievenpiper, says that those who ate tree nuts reduced two of the five markers linked to metabolic syndrome--including a reduction in blood sugars and blood fats known…
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Want to reduce your risk of heart disease? Getting most of your protein from soy may be more effective, according to new research from the Wake Forest School of Medicine. Researchers previously knew that women who regularly consumed protein from soy products--something common among Asian-born women--were the least likely to develop heart disease. However, those who switched to an animal-based diet later in life began developing heart disease more rapidly, leading researchers to hold a study investigating how different proteins…
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It's no secret that most of us want to lose weight--but how far is too far? A new diet trend among brides-to-be has health experts worried that women could be putting their lives in danger. Called the K-E diet, or the feeding tube diet, this diet supposedly helps brides lose weight by--you guessed it--hooking them up to feeding tubes to give them a low calorie solution of vitamins, minerals, and virtually no carbs. But believe it or not, it works,…
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Having trouble losing weight? A new weight loss device could now make it easier to slim down--but this device is hardly ordinary, say experts. Researchers from South Carolina's Clemson University say they've invented a watch which times how many bites you eat everyday--and warns you when you've had too many. "It's a little bit like a pedometer for your mouth," says Eric Muth, a Clemson psychology professor who helped design the device earlier this year. "The research team is now…
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Want to keep the weight off? Try this: Eat a dessert with breakfast. Research published in the journal Steroids says that eating a dessert with a protein-rich breakfast causes people to feel less hungry throughout the day--making it easier to ward off weight gain. The study was led by Daniela Jakubowicz, M.D., a senior physician at Tel Aviv University's Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, Israel. "Although dietary restriction often results in initial weight loss, the majority of obese dieters fail…
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It's a fact: By 2040, over 80 million people will have dementia. Researchers from the Pittsburgh School of Medicine say there's an easy way to reduce your risk, however, and it involves making a simple change to your diet. According to their findings, those who ate broiled or baked fish once a week had larger brain volumes in areas of the brain commonly associated with cognition and memory. So eat up: It could help your memory. "Scientists estimate that more…
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If you believe new-age naturopaths, what's making you fat isn't eating more calories--it's having too many toxins in your system. Luckily, you can flush it out by juicing. "Many people with high levels of toxins in their body are obese," says Dr. Alicia Stanton, a leading women's health and hormone therapy expert. "This is because toxins are stored in the fat cells and as you accumulate more and more toxins in your body, more storage space is needed and your…
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Having trouble staying full? Here's one way to kick hunger to the curb: Add a bowl of beans to your diet. New research from St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, Canada says that people who ate an average of 160 grams of beans, peas, chickpeas, or lentils everyday felt 31 percent fuller. The findings, led by researcher Dr. John Sievenpiper, are published in the August issue of Obesity, a health journal. "Despite their known health benefits, only 13 percent of Canadians…
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Normally, we assume dieting makes us thin. However, new research from Florida State University says that dieting as an adolescent could actually make you fat by age 30. Dr. Pamela Keel, lead researcher of the study, says that practicing dieting behavior early in life could have a dangerous impact on your behavior as you age--such as making you obese, more prone to making bad decisions about your health, or even increasing your risk of alcoholism. The findings were presented at…
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It's hard to resist a bucket of fried chicken or sweet tea on a sweltering summer day, but new research from the University of Alabama says there's one reason why you should--it could increase your risk of death by 50 percent. Their latest study, now published in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases, says those who had chronic kidney disease who ate a Southern-style diet--a diet typically high in sweetened and fried foods--were twice as likely to die from complications…
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