Bovine Colostrum

This LAT article is representative of many articles this week that reports on a study issued by Trust for America's Health regarding how America is losing the battle against obesity, state by state.  The actual study can be found here on Trust for America’s website.  The site also has an interactive feature that shows state by state results and information.

The results show that Mississippi is the number 1 state in obesity with a whopping 30% of its residents classified as obese.  The District of Columbia holds the dubious position of number 1 for childhood obesity with 22.8 % of its children obese.

The LAT article quotes Jim Marks, a senior vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a healthcare philanthropy group that sponsored the study as follows:

“The report is a devastating indictment and the nation is in the middle of a public health crisis that is deteriorating rapidly, and we are treating it like an inconvenience.”

“These children could be the first generation to live sicker and die younger than their parents,"

“Obesity costs $117 billion a year in preventable healthcare expenditures and "is pushing the healthcare system to the breaking point.”

The LAT article also makes clear that the data is based on self reporting, hence the results are probably much worse and people do tend to understate their weight.

This report is no surprise.  America seems content to ignore the obesity epidemic.  But by ignoring it, we will pay as individuals and collectively as a society in higher health costs and a lower quality of life.

Cranberries, eaten fresh or dried or consumed through cranberry juice, are one of the best fruits to eat that promote good health.  The number of positive health impacts from cranberries is truly amazing.

Here is information extracted directly from the Cranberry Institute Web page.

“The majority of physicians and other health professionals believe there is a clear association between a diet high in fruits and vegetables and a low risk of chronic disease. Phytonutrients (naturally derived plant compounds), particularly antioxidants, are increasingly being shown to help optimize human health.

Cranberries contain proanthocyanidins (PACs) that can prevent the adhesion of certain of bacteria, including E. coli, associated with urinary tract infections to the urinary tract wall. The anti-adhesion properties of cranberry may also inhibit the bacteria associated with gum disease and stomach ulcers.

Recent scientific research shows that cranberries and cranberry products contain significant amounts of antioxidants and other phytonutrients that may help protect against heart disease, cancer and other diseases.

Rats fed diets supplemented with cranberries are put through a series of tests to evaluate their neural function compared to a control group. Preliminary results indicate that there will be compelling evidence that cranberry can help protect the brain from neurological damage.

Atherosclerosis, in the simplest terms, is the accumulation of low density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad cholesterol", in arteries resulting in restricted blood flow. In the advance stages of the disease blood flow may be decrease severely or cease completely resulting in angina (chest pain), a thrombosis (blood clot) and/or myocardial infarction (heart attack). Atherosclerosis is a primary cause of cardiovascular disease. Ongoing research continues to suggest that cranberries may offer a natural defense against atherosclerosis.

Researchers at the University of Western Ontario demonstrated, using an animal model, that human breast cancer cells showed significantly lower incidence of tumor development when the experimental group's diet was supplemented with cranberries. Although these results are very preliminary, compounds in cranberries may prove to be a potent cancer fighter.”

Here is more on the health benefits of Cranberries from WebMD.

“A plant compound, called proanthocyanidin A-1 is found in cranberries.  Herpes simplex-2 is one of the most common viral infections in humans. It causes genital sores or ulcers, as well as inflammation of the brain and infection of newborns and people with weakened immune systems.

Scientists' lab tests showed that proanthocyanidin A-1 helped combat herpes simplex-2: it interfered with the virus when it tried to latch onto and penetrate cells -- a necessary step for infection by the herpes virus."

 Buy a bag of Sweetened Dried Cranberries and keep it handy for snacks.  It’s one of the most healthful snacks you can consume.

Researchers in Japan have found that you burn more fat if you split your exercise session into two and rest in between - in the experiment two sessions of 30 minutes exercise with an hour break in between burnt measurably more fat than 60 minutes of exercise in one session.

Although the researchers are not yet sure why this occurs or what the best ratio for exercise/rest is I'm sure more experiments will be done in this area so that we can understand more about it over time.

iTWire - Exercise-Rest-Exercise: Possible formula for extra weight loss

It has been proven! Diet food makes you fat.

Researchers at Cornell University found last year that if they gave people boxes of chocolates labelled "low fat" they ate more than the same chocolates without the label.

You might think that this would be fine because at least those chocolates were lower in calories but if the choclates HAD been low fat they would have still eaten 28% more calories due to the amount they ate!

This fits in with the theory that you eat more of a diet-type food because you think it is not doing you much harm.

Remember manufacturers have to replace the fat with something - and it's usually sugar or other carbs.

The question: Do diet foods make you fatter? | Health | SocietyGuardian.co.uk

We are all different. I weigh myself daily before my shower. My weight goes up and down by a couple of pounds all month depending on the time of the month and what I ate the day before - I don't worry about it - I'm just looking to make sure my average weight stays about the same.

If you are trying to lose weight and weighing yourself affects your motivation to stick to your plan - don't do it more than once a month (if at all). Focus on sticking to your plan not on the scale.

The scales will move all by themselves if you keep doing what you know you need to do. You will see your body changing before your eyes - a much better result than a figure on a scale which might just be telling you that you had an extra glass of water before you jumped on the scale.