Weight loss is about caloric net loss. Of course, the key lies in achieving healthful weight loss and sustainable weight loss. Consuming 600 calories of Haagen Dazs — and nothing but 600 calories of Haagen Dazs — a day will certainly lead to weight loss, but it is also unhealthy and unsustainable. -- Andy Bellatti, Don’t Blame Obesity on Carbohydrates. On his Small Bites blog, Andy Bellatti describes himself as “one part vegan chef, one part nutritionist, and one part food policy activist” … [Read more...]
Snack-filled diet dangerous for rats — and us
Rodent health has never been a major concern of mine, but it seems to worry scientists a lot. For example, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill published a study in the journal Obesity that examines what happens to rats who are fed a snack-filled diet similar to that consumed by millions of Americans. The study makes an important point about modeling human metabolic syndrome in lab rats, but it suggests even more. The snack or "cafeteria" diet consisted … [Read more...]
Can watching TV kill you? What if you just listen?
The web is vibrating today with the news (loosely speaking) that TV viewing can kill you. This is not a metaphoric brain-death that we are talking about here, folks; it is actual, stone-cold, stick-you-in-the-ground death. Consider the following headlines gleaned this morning from a variety of online media sources via Google News: Too Much TV Linked With Disease and Early Death Alice Park, Time Healthland. TV Time Linked to Diabetes, Death, Crystal Phend, ABC News. TV gives you diabetes and … [Read more...]
Diets ranked and raked
"What Is the 'Best Diet' for You?" asks US News and World Report. According to the magazine'srankings, the DASH Diet is the best overall. Atkins and other low-carb approaches finish in the second-division. Despite claims of a rigorous methodology, the rankings betray a conventional and increasingly suspect thinking about fat, carbohydrates, and health. The usual low-fat/ high-carb approach wins because it is presumed to be balanced, healthy and effective. But presumption is not … [Read more...]
Is the Dukan Diet “Atkins-like”? Not really
On Good Morning America this morning [June 1], Juju Chang referred to the Dukan Diet as "Atkins-like." Her report was about Dr. Dukan suing for libel another French doctor who had bad-mouthed the diet. The Atkins people may feel that Chang has libeled them. The Atkins website features a detailed contrast of the Atkins and Dukan Diets, the point of which is that Atkins is balanced and backed by science and Dukan is not. A key criticism leveled in the full-text of the Atkins article is that … [Read more...]
Baked, broiled or deep-fried: how do you like your variables?
Study: Baked, Broiled — But Not Fried — Fish Is Good for the Heart – TIME Healthland, May 26, 2011. Want a healthier heart? Try adding fish to your diet. But be careful how it's cooked, a new study warns: baked or broiled fish will boost heart health, but fried fish is probably better left uneaten. Heart failure risk lower in women who often eat baked/broiled fish--American Heart Association, Press Release, May 24, 2011. This study showed that the type of fish and cooking method may affect … [Read more...]