Genes are the reason for middle aged spread

Staying with the theme of unwanted weight, it seems almost inevitable, middle aged spread is something we associate with getting older and we either accept it or take action to prevent it. Often thought of as being a result of being less active, it now seems that it is a result of the key appetite control cells in the human brain degenerating over time. This causes increased hunger and the potential for putting on weight, but read on and see how you can slow down this process.

Dr Zane Andrews, a neuroendocrinologist with Monash University’s Department of Physiology in Australia, has published his research in Nature magazine which indicates that what you eat has a great effect on how much the cells decay. He found that appetite-suppressing cells are attacked by free radicals after eating, and that the degeneration is more significant following meals rich in carbohydrates and sugars. So a Big Mac with large fries and a coke – for example – is one of the worst offenders as a meal loaded with carbohydrates and sugars attacks the appetite suppressing cells, which in turn creates a cellular imbalance between our need to eat and the message to the brain to stop eating.

WHO IS AT RISK?
People in the age group of 25 to 50 are most at risk because the neurons that tell people in the crucial age range not to over-eat are being killed-off. When the stomach is empty, it triggers the ghrelin hormone that notifies the brain that we are hungry. When we are full, a set of neurons known as POMC’s (which are produced in the hypothalamus) kick in. However, free radicals created naturally in the body attack the POMC neurons and this process causes them to degenerate overt time, and this in turn affects our judgement about when our hunger is satisfied.

Dr Andrews believes that the reduction in the appetite-suppressing cells could be one explanation for the complex condition of adult-onset obesity. Our diets have changed radically over the last 30 years as we now do consume far more sugars and complex carbohydrates than ever before and this has placed so much strain on our bodies that it’s leading to premature cell deterioration. The answer? Cut down on carbohydrates and sugars as much as you can, otherwise that slice of ‘Death by Chocolate’ cake might prove all too apt when applied to your waistline.

Write away the weight – double your weight loss

Those of you who have ever been to one of my talks know how important I think it is to have a daily writing habit. Statistically, those who keep a daily journal have better emotional and mental health and it has become a favourite tool for self-help in hospitals and support groups. Now it seems it can also help you to almost double your weight loss.

A recent study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine reported on a 20 week study of 1,700 overweight or obese men and women who went through a comprehensive regime weekly group meetings, recommended daily reduction of 500 calories, 30 or more minutes of daily moderate intensity exercise, following the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), and daily journal entries of how much they ate and how long they exercised. Generally, their average weight loss was just under a stone, but the more that they wrote in their journals, the more weight they lost – about twice as much as those who did not maintain records.

The idea is a simple one: by keeping a simple food diary, you realistically become more aware of how much you are eating and that helps you take control of your diet. It doesn’t matter whether you record in a book, or a computer – just make sure you enter every mouthful from the one chocolate biscuit to the sensible salad you had for lunch. Personally, I also think it helps to write a ‘mood’ section as well to show how your feel after particular foods or whether a specific mood or habit jogs you towards unhealthy eating. Whatever method you choose, just be consistent with it and you will soon see results.

Low fat = low weight loss

I was delighted to read last week about some research done at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel that shows that if you want to lose weight, forget eating a low-fat diet. I have never been an advocate of low-fat diets as they interfere with some of the body’s most essential functions: we need a certain amount of oils and fats to help us absorb vitamins and nutrients, for energy, as well as keeping our skin moisturised and supple.

Low-fat foods are believed by many to be helpful in lowering cholesterol, but this is simply not the case. Nor will they help you lose weight in a substantial way, compared to other diets.

According to the report in the New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers put 322 people who were moderately obese on one of three weight-losing methods, and monitored their progress for two years. The clear winner was the Atkins low-carb diet as being the most effective way to lose weight, and it is followed closely by a balanced Mediterranean diet. A low-fat diet came in a poor third, and people who used it lost around 40 per cent less weight than those who were on the Atkins regime. The Atkins diet was also the most effective for lowering the ‘bad’ HDL cholesterol, which fell by 20 per cent over the two years.

BUT, and it’s a big one, if you are thinking of undertaking the Atkins diet please be aware that although it can generate good weight loss quite quickly, it is not recommended for long term use, and there are very good reasons for this. It is based on a high intake of fat and protein with virtually no carbohydrate intake or dairy. It’s almost impossible to follow the Atkin’s plan if you’re a vegetarian as nuts, seeds, beans and many vegetables are banned in the early stages.

Unpleasant side effects can also occur, as burning fat results in the production of substances called ketones as your body enters a state called ketosis. This can result in bad breath, tiredness, weakness, dizziness, insomnia and nausea. Constipation may also occur as a consequence of avoiding typically high-fibre foods such as fruit, veg, beans, wholewheat pasta, brown rice, wholegrain breakfast cereals and jacket potatoes. When it comes to long-term side effects, many health professionals are concerned that the Atkins diet may have serious dangers. While the high intake of fat, particularly saturates, may increase the risk of heart disease, there are also concerns that the unbalanced nature of the Atkins diet may lead to nutritional deficiencies, which cause health problems in later life. For example, poor intakes of bone-building calcium (found in dairy products) may increase the risk of osteoporosis, while poor intakes of antioxidant nutrients (found in fruit and veg) have been linked with a host of health problems ranging from heart disease and cancer to premature ageing and cataracts. Some experts are also worried that high intakes of protein may cause kidney problems or weaken bones.

WHY DO IT? The main advantage is that people can lose considerable amounts of weight, really quite quickly and this can be very motivating. The diet also encourages people to cut out most processed carbs and alcohol, and thanks to it allowing plenty of red meat and high-fat butter, cream, cheese and mayonnaise, it’s also the one diet that seems to be attractive to men.

The concern over fats and heart disease made Atkins, himself a cardiologist, revise the guidelines for fat intakes to recommending that no more than 20 percent of calories should come from saturates. However, this is still twice as much the recommended amount for a healthy heart.

As ever, read the facts and make up your own mind.

The secrets of longevity – Part 3

We have journeyed to the Japanese island of Okinawa and the Sardinian village of Ovodda, but now we are off to what can seem like the natural home of those seeking eternal life – California. Certainly no other nation spends so much time, money and effort in trying to look younger and live longer, but strangely enough their longest lived community subscribes to none of those ideas.

Loma Linda, in California, is a town that is home of a large community of Seventh Day Adventists and they are proving anyone can increase their chances of living a longer, healthier life – and it has nothing to do with your genetic inheritance.

On average, Seventh Day Adventists in the town live between five and 10 years longer than fellow citizens, and it makes them the longest living people in the US.

What is making the difference? For many of those living in Loma Lindo long life is a matter of their faith, and the simple explanation would be that the Church advocates no tobacco or alcohol and promotes a vegetarian diet. All of these are factors that will definitely improve health and prolong life, however,not all members follow this code and even they live significantly longer than average.

Research has previously shown that people that go to church regularly – whatever faith they have – live longer, and that fact has been known for the last 30 years. But why? According to Dr Gary Fraser, who is researching the community, it seems that regular churchgoers have significantly lower levels of stress hormones and so may be better equipped to cope with life’s upsets and challenges.

Dr Kerry Morton, who is involved in a longer-term study on Adventist health, certainly seems to agree. “Religion and connection to something higher than oneself, connection to the sacred,connection to a tight-knit religious community allows you to modulate your reactions and your emotions to believe there is a broader purpose. Therefore your body can stay in balance and not be destroyed by those stressors and traumas over time”.

Well there you have it, the three longest-lived communities in the world, and all with a different answer. Whether it’s faith, food, or family I think it comes down to attitude and how you feel about yourself and your life – whichever route you take make it a positive one.

The secrets of longevity – Part 2

If you found last week’s item on the longevity of the Okinawans of Japan, then hopefully this week’s contribution will give you even more ideas on how to prolong your life as healthily and actively as possible. To do that we are heading off to Ovodda in Sardinia. In stark contrast to the Okinawans, the residents of Ovodda don’t count calories and meat is very firmly on the menu, while tofu and soya are not. That may seem like a more typical western diet, but this small town of just over 1,700 residents boasts five centenarians and even more remarkably, as many men live to 100 as women and that certainly bucks the statistical norm. The benefits of a Mediterranean diet are well known, and certainly the consumption of olive oil, more fruit, vegetables and fish is well-accepted as being a health basis for longevity, but this still does not account for the number in Ovodda and other parts of Sardinia. It apparently still applies when residents have actually emigrated between the ages of 20-40 as they still regularly get to be 100 years of age, according to the researchers. Chiefly responsible for this information is Professor Luca Deiana who has tested every single Sardinian centenarian and has come up with a surprising theory about why there are so many.

For hundreds of years families in Ovodda have lived in relative isolation from the rest of the living in the town today are descended from only a few original settlers. “Marriage among relatives is not the rule but there are some cases of this taking place,” says Professor Deiana. “From a genetic point of view, when this happens, there’s a higher probability of having genetic diseases, but also of having positive results like centenarians”. In Ovodda, this interbreeding actually seems to have enabled people to live longer. The limited gene pool has provided a unique opportunity to discover specific genes that are associated with long life. Professor Deiana has detected a number of unusual genetic characteristics that seem to link the centenarians of Ovodda. “One particular gene on the X chromosome seems to be faulty, failing to produce an enzyme known as G6PD. This can often have a negative impact on health, but in Ovodda it may well have had a positive effect. The role G6PD may play in living longer is now being researched further, but the professor is convinced the genetic elixir of life lies with the families of Ovodda. I am not suggesting you start thinking of marrying your cousin, but marrying into the Ovodda gene pool might not be a bad idea.

The Diced Diet

With the sun shining, and prospect of swimsuits by the sea beckoning, it might be time to think about a detox diet to get you in shape. There are plenty of versions on the market, but not many that are 100% natural and that you don’t buy in a can or a box but create yourself in your own kitchen.

Basil Shackletona South African rancher, devised something called the Grape Cure and is a big fan of raw foods, which many find to be very beneficial in healing a number of conditions. He claims the diet has great cleansing properties, and, if eaten regularly as a main meal during the day, will actually detox you and if you eat it five days a week it can cure rheumatism and skin rashes, and it is a guaranteed cure for normal constipation. That last one is clear when you read the ingredients list for one meal:

Ingredients:
· 2 ounces of well-washed raisins
· 1 medium eating apple
· 1 ripe and well-washed tomato
· 2 ounces mild milk cheese such as Gouda
· 2 ounces dry-roasted peanuts (no oils, fats, or salt)
· The juice of half a fresh, ripe lemon

Obviously organic is preferred, and if you want to try it then you start by washing the raisins several times in hot water, put them in a cup and allow to soak in really hot water for about ten minutes. Squeeze the juice of the lemon into another cup and add the drained raisins so that the juice just covers the raisins and leave for up to 20 minutes – the longer you leave it the sweeter the end result will be.

In the meantime, wash the tomato, cut into small pieces, and place in a bowl. Cut the cheese into small pieces add it to the tomato and tip in the peanuts. Finally add the raisins and lemon juice to the bowl, stir thoroughly and the meal is ready to eat. To gain the best benefit, you must eat it within 15 minutes of it being ready or the ingredients lose their natural vitamins and minerals through the being exposed to the air.

Eat slowly, chew it well, and don’t drink any liquids until two hours after the meal. For maximum health benefit, if you are trying this for a week as a detox, cut meat out for that time as well.

Yet Another ‘would you believe it’

Let’s hear it for Robert McMurray, Ph.D., and colleagues at the University of North Carolina, who managed to get a grant to show that teenagers who lounge about watching television and undertake very little physical activity probably developed the habit when they were younger. I wish I had thought of applying for a grant to study that, who would have guessed that kids who were couch potatoes at age 7-10 were unlikely to turn into star athletes when they hit their teens?

It is actually a serious subject as lack of physical activity and poor aerobic fitness is usually combined with poor eating habits to produce a child at risk of metabolic syndrome. That is a cluster of risk factors that in combination certainly appear to increase the risk of heart disease and other chronic illnesses later in life.

According to Dr Murray, “This is the first study to examine the importance of childhood fitness levels on your metabolism as a teenager. Previously we didn’t know if low fitness levels were an influence. It’s obvious now that there is a link and this is something which we need to pay attention to by encouraging our kids to keep fit, or suffer the consequences later in life.”

The study showed that the unfit kids already had a higher body mass index, higher blood pressure, and a greater total cholesterol level than the children who undertook more exercise and that second group would not go on to develop metabolic syndrome risk factors. In fact the unfit teenagers were six times more likely to have had poor aerobic fitness as children and five times more likely to have had overall low levels of physical activity.

I would guess that if you asked most adults if there was link between low physical activity in children and how they behaved as teenagers, then certainly most parents would not be surprised at the findings.

Anyone know the contact details for the National Lottery Research Funding Applications? I have a great idea for studying the health benefits of breathing on a daily basis, as opposed to only once a week, and I am sure I could show some benefit from it.

5-a-day fallacy

Unless you have been on a desert island with your 8 gramophone records, and lucky you, then you will know that the minimum requirement to be healthy is to eat your 5 portions of fruit and veg a day. The message seems to have got through, but the devil is in the detail. A survey by the Health Food Manufacturers’ Association has revealed that on average only 14% of Britons manage those 5 portions, and, what is worse, around two-thirds of us – a staggering 38 million people – are counting potatoes in as one of their daily five. I love a good roastie as much as the next woman, perhaps rather too much so, but whatever form you eat potatoes in they are principally a source of carbohydrate. True they contain some vitamin C, but you can’t have them as part of your daily allowance.

Apparently the top favourites we do include in our diet are bananas and carrots but that isn’t enough to stop the Government’s latest Cabinet Office discussion paper from concluding that up to 70,000 premature deaths a year could be avoided if people simply followed basic nutritional guidelines.

Protein diets, hormones and weight loss

Despite much of the adverse publicity the Atkins’ Diet has received over the last year, for many people the proof is in the pudding – or in this case lack of it. One thing about Atkins that people consistently say is that they definitely lose weight and now there may be some scientific proof of why that is the case.

Atkins is based on a high-protein and low-carbohydrate diet and now a study at the University of Washington, reported in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, explains why protein is so effective for weight loss.

It seems that proteins are better at suppressing the appetite-stimulating hormone ghrelin than carbohydrates and lipids, and this means you feel more satisfied with less food. Ghrelin is thought to influence hunger around mealtime, the researchers said, because levels increase before meals and are suppressed once you start eating. The study also showed that although carbohydrate intake also initially suppressed ghrelin levels, it did not last and ghrelin levels quickly returned to above their baseline values.

This bears out what many Atkins fans claim, that they get hungrier quicker if they switch to more carbohydrate than protein in their diets. However, whatever diet you follow please ensure it contains all the essential nutrients and if in doubt check with your doctor or a qualified nutritionist.

The sweet truth about your food

As a health-conscious consumer you naturally eat the best, unadulterated diet that you can – with the occasional treats! However, unless you are a compulsive label-checker, and I am afraid that I am, then you may not be aware of the additives that get into your food and can carry serious health risks.

There are several chemicals, known as excitotoxins, which are added by some food companies to their products in order to stimulate hunger and disrupt normal appetite control. These taste-enhancing chemicals – of which the main ones are MSG and aspartame – are linked to cancer, obesity, neurodegenerative diseases, metabolic disorders, obesity, infertility, migraines and cancer.

What you need to look out for are the following on the labels of any packaged food that you buy:
** monosodium glutamate (MSG)
** aspartame

If you see these on the label, then be aware they are forms of MSG and appear as:

** yeast extract
** hydrolysed vegetable protein
** autolyzed proteins
** autolyzed yeast
** sodium caseinate
** hydrolyzed yeast

Check your food labels now
Of course the occasional food with these chemicals in is not going to cause a problem, but if you habitually consume the following items on a frequent basis, then please read the label and see what they contain:

· Diet soda
· “Sugar-free” anything
· Canned soups
· Frozen pizza
· Vegetarian foods
· Potato crisps
· Diabetic foods
· Salad dressing
· Frozen foods
· Baby foods
· Dips and sauces
· Gravy mixes and dip mixes
· Stock cubes and sauce packets

Many of these chemicals are linked to migraine and headache symptoms so these should never be ignored. ‘Diet’ products are extremely popular, but be aware that consuming them in high quantity may put your health at risk.

My advice for a good diet? Eat less fat, more protein, less sugar, more water and eat anything you want in moderation.

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