Childhood
Obesity and Michelle Obama
Michelle
Obama unveiled "Let's Move," her national public-awareness campaign
against childhood obesity. One in three American children is overweight or
obese, putting them at higher risk of developing diabetes, high blood pressure,
high cholesterol and other illnesses. Billions of dollars are spent every year
treating obesity-related conditions. Public-health experts state that today's
kids are on track to have shorter life spans than their parents.
The
campaign has four parts: helping parents make better food choices, serving more
healthful food in school vending machines and lunch lines, making healthful
food more available and affordable, and encouraging children to exercise more.
The American Academy of Pediatrics encourages children to exercise a least an
hour a day.
If
your child or teen needs help with obesity, please call our office at
480-820-4297 for an appointment.
Have
a great day and super week!
Scott
Rigden MD author of The
Ultimate Metabolism Diet-How to Eat Right for Your Metabolic Type
PCOS
affects 6 to 10 percent of women of reproductive age. It is the most common
cause of infertility in this group. Seventy percent of PCOS women are obese.
Elevated levels of androgen, ovulation problems, and ovarian cysts define PCOS.
Successful
treatment strategies are outlined in chapter 5 in my book, The Ultimate Metabolism Diet-How to Eat Right for Your
Metabolic Type. The key components of
PCOS treatment are a low-glycemic-index diet, an exercise program, the use of a
specially designed soy protein powder with slow-release high-amylose starch to
facilitate attainment of normal blood sugar and insulin levels, and the use of
supplements including chromium, inositol, EPA/DHA, and lipoic acid.
If
you need some help with PCOS, your weight or diet, please call our office for
an appointment at 480-820-4297.
Have
a great day and super week!
Scott
Rigden MD author of The
Ultimate Metabolism Diet-How to Eat Right for Your Metabolic Type
About
100,500 new cases of cancer are caused by obesity every year, according to the
most comprehensive attempt ever to estimate the cancers attributed to extra
weight. The analysis, released in January 2010 by the American Institute for
Cancer Research, reports the following types of cancer most strongly linked to
excess body fat:
* Breast,
33,000 cases a year caused by obesity.
* Endometrial,
20,700 cases a year.
* Kidney.
13,900 cases.
* Colorectal,
13,200 cases.
* Pancreas,
11,900.
* Esophagus,
5,800.
* Gall
Bladder, 2,000.
Obesity
raises cancer risk in different ways according to the researchers. For breast
and endometrial cancer, it seems to be an estrogen problem. Women who are
overweight after menopause have more estrogen in their blood, which increases
cancer risk. For esophageal cancer, obesity leads to acid reflux, which damages
the lower part of the esophagus. Insulin resistance and elevated insulin levels
frequently occur in obese people. Insulin is a very powerful cellular growth
factor, and it affects cancer cells. Also, obesity affects the immune system
negatively. Researchers expect to discover many other mechanisms involved in
cancer and obesity that are not presently known.
If
you need some help with your weight or diet, please call our office for an
appointment at 480-820-4297.
Have
a great day and super week!
Scott
Rigden MD author of The
Ultimate Metabolism Diet-How to Eat Right for Your Metabolic Type
A
recent article by Rita Rubin in USA Today stated that about one in five people can train all they want but,
because of their genetic makeup, are not likely to see much improvement in
their endurance levels. Still, researchers in the Journal of Applied Physiology
caution their findings shouldn't be an excuse to not exercise. "There is a
whole host of other physiological responses" to exercise that are related
to genes other than those implicated in the aerobic response," says
researcher Tuomo Rankinen. He and his team report that a combination of about
30 genes predicts "to a significant extent" an individual's aerobic
response to endurance training.
The
researchers scanned the DNA in muscle biopsies from 473 sedentary volunteers
before and after 20 weeks of endurance-training and then compared the
volunteers" pre- and post-training aerobic responses.
About
15 percent to 20 percent of them had much smaller improvements than expected,
and the scientists saw no change in the function of the genes linked to aerobic
response.
If
you need some help with your weight or diet, please call our office for an
appointment at 480-820-4297.
Have
a great day and super week!
Scott
Rigden MD author of The
Ultimate Metabolism Diet-How to Eat Right for Your Metabolic Type
A study was recently published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association that confirms dieters can't believe everything they read. The food at many popular chain restaurants and in the freezer section of the supermarket may contain a lot more calories than advertised. This study, which included ten chain restaurants, including Wendy's and Ruby Tuesday, found that the number of calories in 29 meals or other menu items was an average of 18% higher than listed. In addition, frozen supermarket meals from Lean Cuisine, Weight Watchers, Healthy Choice and South Beach Living had 8 per cent more calories than the labels said. Researcher Susan Roberts, a professor of nutrition at Tufts University, points out that "if every time you eat out, you get a couple of hundred calories or more than you think, that can add up really easily."
If
you need some help with your weight or diet, please call our office for an
appointment at 480-820-4297.
Have
a great day and super week!
Scott
Rigden MD author of The
Ultimate Metabolism Diet-How to Eat Right for Your Metabolic Type
The
Arizona Republic ran an article on
January 21, 2010 covering new research published in the British Journal of
Sports Medicine. "After four
hours of sitting, the body starts to send harmful signals," researcher
Elin Ekblom-Bak said. She explained that genes regulating the amount of glucose
and fat in the body start to shut down.
Even
for people who exercise, spending long stretches of time sitting at a desk is
still harmful. Experts suggest people who exercise every day-but still spend a
lot of time sitting-might get more benefit if that exercise were spread across
the day, rather than in a single bout. In another study published last year
that tracked more than 17000 Canadians for about a dozen years, researchers
found people who sat more had a higher death risk, independently of whether or
not they exercised. Figures from a US survey found Americans spend more than
half their time sitting, from working at their desks to sitting in cars.
Blog
readers-get off your duff and go for a walk!!
If
you need some help with your weight or diet, please call our office for an
appointment at 480-820-4297.
Have
a great day and super week!
Scott
Rigden MD author of The
Ultimate Metabolism Diet-How to Eat Right for Your Metabolic Type
High
sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP-hs) is a marker of acute inflammation
recently recognized as an independent predictor of future cardiovascular
disease and diabetes. Dr. Ma and
associates recently published findings in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
on this subject. A total of 524 subjects had multiple measurements of CRP and
dietary factors. The average total dietary fiber intake was 16.11 g/d and the
average serum CRPhs wa 1.78 g/L (optimal is 1.0 or less). Over a period of
approximately a year, they found a clear correlation between dietary fiber
intake and the CRP-hs. The higher the fiber intake, the better (lower) was the CRP-hs
finding. This was true for both soluble and insoluble fiber.
If
you need some help with your weight or diet, please call our office for an
appointment at 480-820-4297.
Have
a great day and super week!
Scott
Rigden MD author of The
Ultimate Metabolism Diet-How to Eat Right for Your Metabolic Type
Previous
studies of patents with type 2 diabetes showed that cinnamon lowers fasting
glucose, triglycerides, LDL and total cholesterol concentrations. A recent
study by Dr. Hiebowicz and associates was published in the American Journal
of Clinical Nutrition. They found
that adding 6 grams of cinnamon to a serving of rice pudding reduces the rise
of blood sugar after eating and delays gastric empting. Their studies confirm
that including cinnamon in the diet lowers the postprandial glucose response
(the degree of increased blood sugar after eating).
If
you need some help with your weight or diet, please call our office for an
appointment at 480-820-4297.
Have
a great day and super week!
Scott
Rigden MD author of The
Ultimate Metabolism Diet-How to Eat Right for Your Metabolic Type
A
recent article in the Arizona Republic by Dan Bickley was entitled "Health-nut Nash Has Suns Back in
Shape." Even though he is 36 years old, Nash is one of the best basketball
players in the NBA, competing against players usually under the age of 25. He
feels that his great year on the court is due in part to giving up refined
sugar. "I haven't had a bag
of M&M's all season...it's been about 10 months now, and I've never felt
better. I recover and feel good almost very night."
Nash
was quoted as saying that "refined sugar is complete crap...we keep
stuffing it in our bodies in great abundance almost habitually, without even
thinking about it anymore. There's an immediate sensation with these foods, but
20 minutes later, the sensation isn't so great. And once you cut them out, it
becomes a lot easier to live without them. "I understand my body, how to
train, and how to recover. It takes a big commitment, but it's rewarding to
feel good, to be happy, to be mentally clear and creative. I feel as good as
I've even felt. I don't know if there's any difference from when I was in my
20s. Maybe this proves you are supposed to feel this way at this age, if you
watch what's going on around you."
If
you need some help with your weight or diet, please call our office for an
appointment at 480-820-4297.
Have
a great day and super week!
Scott
Rigden MD author of The
Ultimate Metabolism Diet-How to Eat Right for Your Metabolic Type
DHEA
(dehydroepiandrosterone) is a steroid hormone secreted in greater quantity by
the adrenal glands than any other adrenal steroid. DHEA can function as a
reservoir upon which the body can draw to produce other hormones, such as
estrogen and testosterone. In addition, DHEA may have specific physiologic
actions of its own. Higher DHEA levels are associated with increased longevity
and prevention of heart disease and cancer. Animal and laboratory data indicate
that administration of DHEA may prevent obesity, diabetes, cancer (breast,
colon and liver), and heart disease. In humans, evidence exists that DHEA might
be associated with autoimmune diseases such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and
multiple sclerosis, CFS, AIDS, allergic disorder, osteoporosis and Alzheimer's
disease. Although administration of DHEA appears to be safe, its long-term
effects are unknown, and it is possible that adverse consequences may become
evident with chronic use. It is therefore important that this hormone be used
with care and that practitioners err on the side of caution when contemplating
DHEA supplementation. In our
patients with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), we often find
DHEA is deficient. Accurate testing can be done from saliva or serum.
If
you need help with Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), please call
our office to make an appointment at 480-820-4297.
Have
a great day and super week!
Scott
Rigden MD author of The
Ultimate Metabolism Diet-How to Eat Right for Your Metabolic Type