Diets

Which diet is right for you?

With over 53 popular diets to choose from (WebMD) which one works the best? Often it would seem that the most successful diets would be the ones that advertise the most you know them; Weight Watchers, Atkins, Jenny Craig, NutriSystem, etc.

A study funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health, and published Feb., 26, 2009, in the New England Journal of Medicine reveals some surprising facts.

"The hidden secret is it doesn't matter if you focus on low-fat or low-carb," said Dr. Elizabeth Nabel, director of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

Limiting the calories you consume and burning off more calories with exercise is key, according to Dr.Nabel.

 “This new information should focus weight loss approaches on reducing calorie intake rather than any particular proportions of fat, protein or carbohydrate. This is important information for health professionals who prescribe weight loss for their patients, and for adults who are seeking ways to sustain a healthful eating pattern,” said Frank M. Sacks, M.D., principal investigator of POUNDS LOST and Professor of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in the Nutrition Department at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Read more:
Heart-Healthy, Reduced-Calorie Diets Promote Long-term Weight Loss

Old-Fashioned Calorie-Cutting The Only Diet That Works

Major differences in the costs leading diet weight loss programs

As the rising costs of food and energy causes consumers to tighten their belts on spending, a new study indicates major differences in the costs of the nation’s leading diet weight loss programs. An independent cost analysis conducted by National Business Research Institute, Inc. (“NBRI”) studied the overall cost to consumers of seven of the leading programs: Alli, Jenny Craig, LA Weight Loss Centers, NutriSystem, Slim-Fast, Weight Watchers (Center and Online) and The Zone.

The research considered the overall costs for each program including registration fees, weekly/monthly fees, renewal fees, counseling fees, online fees, pre-packaged food costs, grocery store costs, and recommended supplement costs. The study also specifically reviewed food costs such as pre-packaged foods, supplements and grocery items such as produce, meat and dairy as recommended by each program.

The analysis found that the NutriSystem Advanced Women’s Program, using the commonly used auto-delivery option, had the lowest overall monthly program costs. According to the study, NutriSystem’s monthly costs for pre-packaged food were $293.72 and $198.40 for supplemental grocery store food items such as fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy and grains for a total monthly cost of $492.12. NutriSystem does not charge any fees for membership, counseling, newsletters, e-classes or access to their community site.

The nationwide increase in grocery prices of produce, meats, dairy and grains has had a significant impact on overall monthly costs. Using the GroceryGuide.com website to search for specific food and product items as well as grocery or other coupons can bring dramatic savings to the consumer.

Simply go to GroceryGuide.com enter your zip code, select the store you shop at and search for specific food items and coupons. If you don't find what your looking for change to another store or product.

See how the weight loss diets rated: National Business Research Institute, Inc.

Mothers Diet May Influence Sex of Baby

For those considering pregnancy and want to influence whether they have a boy or a girl, there are new findings. New research published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society suggest that you start with your diet, specifically the mothers. The report states that "Prior to pregnancy, breakfast cereal, but no other item, was strongly associated with infant sex," and that "Women producing male infants consumed more breakfast cereal than those with female infants."

To obtain the data scientists at the Universities of Exeter and Oxford in England followed 750 first-time pregnant women. The women were asked about their eating habits before and during pregnancy. They were split into three groups based on the sheer number of calories consumed and the healthfulness of their diets.

For the women who consumed more calories and received a wider range of nutrients, 56 percent had boys. This group was also the most likely to eat breakfast. Among the women with the lowest caloric intake, only 45 percent had boys.

The study is the first linking sex determination with diet in humans although it's been known that in some animals, more calories equals more males. So why have the boy-to-girl ratios has been slipping in the USA where food is plentiful? One theory is that mothers are on low-calorie diets or are skipping breakfast meals.

Read more:
Scientific American

Diets, the good news and the bad

With the nations growing concern for healthy living and weight gain it is hard to read a magazine or listen to the radio without hearing another factoid or story. Super-sized meal options, lack of exercise, stress, the cost of nutrient dense foods and more provide justification to the problem.

Unfortunately, people often find diets hard to sustain, in part because they tire of avoiding certain foods, loading up on others or feeling deprived and hungry. And their diet is often temporary, something to endure for a while before returning to the old habits. The result, lost pounds return once the diet stops.

When it comes to weight loss, there's no shortage of advice. Check any magazine rack or bookstore and you're bound to discover that latest and greatest cure for being overweight. We cling to the hope that science will save us with the discovery of some magic pill.

But until then here are some tips:

• Try eating water-dense foods like salad and fruit at the beginning of a big meal.

• Push your plate away before you feel full; this will give your stomach time to send signals to your brain that you've had enough and really don't have room for seconds.

The Mayo Clinic has an excellent article explaining the different diet options and lots of helpful information on what works well and what doesn't. And WebMD.com offers this article with solid advice to help those determined to change their health this year.

Read more:
Mayo Clinic
WebMD.com

Free online diet, exercise and behavioral program from iVillage.com

If you haven't settled into a diet program for your New Year's resolutions or if you just haven't gotten around to thinking about your New Year's resolutions here's a program worth taking a look at. This free, online, six-week challenge from the first and largest community of women online, focuses on small changes to jumpstart weight loss and improve participants' overall health in 2008.

"Losing weight consistently tops New Year's resolution lists, and this year will be no different. But with so many fads, gimmicks and new weight-loss programs out there, it's tough for dieters to know what will really work for them, and how to even take that first step," said Carla Wojnaroski, Editor-in-Chief, iVillage Total Health. "The Supercharge Change for Better Health Community Challenge will help dieters make the small changes that will have a big impact on their habits and ultimately their health."

Last year with advice from expert diet and fitness coaches, and daily support from Community members, iVillage helped participants lose a staggering 558,536 pounds combined. Here are two success stories:

    * Nancy Vienneau, 28, has lost 81.6 lbs. since January 2007. Nancy decided to participate in the challenge last year because she and her husband wanted to have a baby and avoid obesity-induced fertility issues. "A combination of fear of public failure, the encouragement and support of others, and my desperate desire to start a family have made this possible for me," she said. She hopes to continue to lose another 100 pounds to reach her ultimate goal.

    * Alicia Verburg, another previous iVillage community challenge participant, credits her weight loss to the help of the message boards. "I have lost 45 pounds in the past year and a half and the Ultimate Weight Solution message board on iVillage has played a large role in keeping me focused and giving me the support I've needed to lose the weight," she said.

This year's Supercharge Challenge encourages participants to make diet, exercise and behavioral changes that leading nutrition and fitness experts say have the biggest impact on weight loss and overall health by providing innovative, handpicked, "supercharged" solutions. Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom, PhD, CNS will share ways to supercharge eating, while celebrity trainer Jeanette Jenkins will keep participants on track with fitness routines that have big results. Once the challenge is over, participants will have developed new, healthy habits to help them keep off the extra pounds. Meanwhile, supermodel and body-image guru Emme will support each participant's inner transformation.

Additionally, iVillage Community support is, as always, a major component. Challenge mentors (members who have successfully lost weight through support from the iVillage community) will be available to answer questions, offer motivation and share how they achieved success. Daily assignments will encourage participants to reach out to their community, mentors and coaches for motivation, inspiration and advice.

Daily challenge emails will also share cutting-edge strategies to help participants feel fuller on fewer calories, superfoods that speed up weight loss, tips on how to boost calorie burn during a workout and avoiding diet "frenemies," and the best ways to dress for your body shape. The Healthy Living Program is the challenge's free personal weight-loss tool and offers flexible food and exercise plans that users can customize for their own weight-loss goals and needs, including shopping lists, healthy recipes, and illustrated exercise instruction.

Read more:

iVillage Supercharge Change for Better Health Community Challenge

Mediterranean diet may slow the progress of Alzheimer's disease

Consuming what's known as a Mediterranean diet, a diet one loaded with fruits, vegetables, grains and olive oil, may help Alzheimer's patients live longer. The more closely Alzheimer's patients adhered to the Mediterranean diet ideal, the longer their lives, Dr. Nikolaos Scarmeas of Columbia University Medical Center in New York City and colleagues found.

"The magnitude of the effect was considerable," they write in the September 11 issue of Neurology. The observation comes after researchers tracked the dietary habits of people diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer's. It follows an earlier study by the same team that suggests these diets may lower the risk of developing Alzheimer's in the first place.

"This time, we found that Alzheimer's patients who were following the Mediterranean diet had longer survival as compared to those who were following the diet less," said study lead author Dr. Nikolaos Scarmeas, an assistant professor in the department of neurology at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City.

Read more:

Forbes

Reuters Health

Neurology

What is a Mediterranean diet?

The Mediterranean diet is a heart-healthy eating plan combining elements of Mediterranean style cooking.

There is no one, typical "Mediterranean" diet. At least 16 countries border the Mediterranean Sea. The Mediterranean diet is simply a nutritional model inspired by the traditional dietary patterns of some of the countries of the Mediterranean basin, particularly Greece, Southern Italy, Cyprus, Portugal, Turkey and Spain.

Diets vary between these countries and also between regions within a country. Many differences in culture, ethnic background, religion, economy and agricultural production result in different diets. But the common Mediterranean diet would include a high consumption of fruit and vegetables, bread, wheat and other cereals, olive oil and fish; making them low in saturated fat and high in mono unsaturated fat and dietary fiber.

A main appeal of the Mediterranean Diet is its rich, full flavored foods. Margarine and hydrogenated oils are lack the flavor that olive oil can imparts to foods. Red wine is also consumed regularly but in moderate quantities.

As a result of the eating patterns, people living in Mediterranean countries tend to consume relatively high amounts of fat yet they have far lower rates of cardiovascular disease than in countries like the United States, where similar levels of fat consumption are found.

One of the main explanations is thought to be the large amount of olive oil used in the Mediterranean diet. Unlike the high amount of animal fats typical to the American diet, olive oil lowers cholesterol levels in the blood. It is also known to lower blood sugar levels and blood pressure. In addition, the consumption of red wine is considered a possible factor, as it contains flavonoids with powerful antioxidant properties.

Dietary factors may be only part of the reason for the health benefits enjoyed by these cultures. Genetics, lifestyle, and environment may also be involved.

Key components of the Mediterranean diet include:

Eating a generous amount of fruits, vegetables, bread and other cereals, potatoes, beans, nuts and seeds

Consuming healthy fats such as olive oil and canola oil as an important source of monounsaturated fat

Dairy products, fish and poultry consumed in low to moderate amounts, little red meat

Eggs consumed zero to four times weekly

Consuming very little red meat

Eating fish on a regular basis

Drinking red wine in low to moderate amounts

Read more: The Mayo Clinic

The Mediterranean diet is a heart-healthy eating plan combining elements of Mediterranean style cooking.

There is no one, typical "Mediterranean" diet. At least 16 countries border the Mediterranean Sea. The Mediterranean diet is simply a nutritional model inspired by the traditional dietary patterns of some of the countries of the Mediterranean basin, particularly Greece, Southern Italy, Cyprus, Portugal, Turkey and Spain.

Diets vary between these countries and also between regions within a country. Many differences in culture, ethnic background, religion, economy and agricultural production result in different diets. But the common Mediterranean diet would include a high consumption of fruit and vegetables, bread, wheat and other cereals, olive oil and fish; making them low in saturated fat and high in mono unsaturated fat and dietary fiber.

A main appeal of the Mediterranean Diet is its rich, full flavored foods. Margarine and hydrogenated oils are lack the flavor that olive oil can imparts to foods. Red wine is also consumed regularly but in moderate quantities.

As a result of the eating patterns, people living in Mediterranean countries tend to consume relatively high amounts of fat yet they have far lower rates of cardiovascular disease than in countries like the United States, where similar levels of fat consumption are found.

One of the main explanations is thought to be the large amount of olive oil used in the Mediterranean diet. Unlike the high amount of animal fats typical to the American diet, olive oil lowers cholesterol levels in the blood. It is also known to lower blood sugar levels and blood pressure. In addition, the consumption of red wine is considered a possible factor, as it contains flavonoids with powerful antioxidant properties.

Dietary factors may be only part of the reason for the health benefits enjoyed by these cultures. Genetics, lifestyle, and environment may also be involved.

Key components of the Mediterranean diet include:

Eating a generous amount of fruits, vegetables, bread and other cereals, potatoes, beans, nuts and seeds

Consuming healthy fats such as olive oil and canola oil as an important source of monounsaturated fat

Dairy products, fish and poultry consumed in low to moderate amounts, little red meat

Eggs consumed zero to four times weekly

Consuming very little red meat

Eating fish on a regular basis

Drinking red wine in low to moderate amounts

Read more: The Mayo Clinic