Too Many Choices, Too Many Pounds

I thought that this information gave a good perspective on eating.  Portion sizes are something I think people need to learn about.  I also think that the over abundance of choices is a double edged sword.  Too many of all these items at your grocer are made with low level ingredients.  You aren't getting the best nutrition from them.  Your loss of nutrients is also a factor in the weight game.

From SuperMarket Guru -

The average supermarket has over 50,000 products, the choice can be overwhelming and researchers are finding that the abundance of food choices (not only in supermarkets but all around us) promotes excess consumption. Could the variety of choices we have access to actually be fueling the obesity crisis? In an upcoming issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition researchers from the University of Florida suggest that diversity in menus could be promoting excess consumption and increased body mass index.

The article in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition is in response to a study from the State University of New York at Buffalo, where researchers found that both obese and non-obese women who were given macaroni and cheese daily, for five days reduced their intake, compared to those who were given macaroni and cheese once a week for five weeks. The authors of this study concluded that people loose interest in their food when repeatedly exposed to the same item; a behavior known as habituation.

To a similar tune, another study found that changing the number of colors in a bowl of M&Ms from seven to ten different colors, increased consumption by over 40 percent!

Researchers also say that the findings are particularly significant for people who may suffer from food addiction. Meal monotony, with proper nutrition, could be used as a weight-loss strategy, dimming the appetite and therefore reduce calorie consumption.

But let’s face it; a life without variety could be very boring. SupermarketGuru encourages you to listen to your body and be aware that we are always surrounded by food cues, so take a step back and ask yourself if you are really hungry and how much you are hungry for.

See How the Dirty Work Flows: Big PhRMA and the FDA

I have highlighted passages in the article below that to me are glaringly suspect -  Some parts of this make you think FDA is doing good but the this may be only one of few incidents in their overall track record of approving drugs with serious side effects.  Statin drugs remain on the market and have known heart risk. There are many other examples.

Also consider that the drug companies are testing in poor countries like India to do their dastardly tests that often result in death.

Orexigen puts obesity drug development on hold   Associated Press/AP Online

Friday, 03 Jun 2011

---

By MARLEY SEAMAN

NEW YORK - The maker of a weight loss drug once seen as a potential blockbuster said it is scrapping its bid for U.S. approval because of "unprecedented" demands by regulators on safety trials.

Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. said Friday that it will focus on developing its drug candidate Contrave and another drug candidate, Empatic, in non-U.S. markets until there is a clear pathway to approval in the U.S. The Food and Drug Administration refused to approve Contrave in February because of concerns about its effects on the heart.

As recently last year, Contrave was seen as a highly promising obesity drug in a nation where more and more people are overweight or obese. Friday's announcement indicated that Orexigen believes Contrave's prospects are dim, at least in the U.S., which is the world's largest pharmaceutical market.

Shares of Orexigen tumbled $1.03, or 32.3 percent, to $2.15 in midday trading.

Orexigen said the FDA wants it to conduct a study on Contrave's heart side effects that is unprecedented and would generate much more information than is necessary or feasible.

In February, the FDA said Orexigen would need to conduct the heart study to get Contrave approved. Orexigen proposed a more limited study, saying it wanted to run a trial to demonstrate that cardiovascular problems linked to Contrave did not present an unreasonable risk. The company also expressed interest in trying to get the drug approved for patients with a lower risk of heart problems.

However, the FDA's Division of Metabolic and Endocrinologic Products refused to approve Contrave even for low-risk patients without data from a cardiovascular trial.

WBB Securities analyst Steve Brozak said Orexigen will either need a partner to help develop Contrave, or it will need to adopt a different approach to approval, which means seeking approval in other markets.

"I would say they are basically acknowledging they're currently not configured to continue on this dance with the FDA," he said in an interview.

Orexigen said the FDA plans to hold an advisory committee on cardiovascular risk assessment for obesity drugs in early 2012. According to Orexigen, the FDA said it might change any agreements about cardiovascular studies based on that advisory committee meeting.

Orexigen said it plans to appeal the FDA's responses through a formal dispute resolution process. The company will also will speed up exploration of non-U.S. markets. Orexigen said it plans to evaluate new opportunities, but did not specify what those opportunities are.

The company said Wednesday that it would have an announcement about Contrave Friday morning. Its shares jumped 18 percent that day as investors anticipated good news.

Contrave was considered the most promising of a group of three obesity drug candidates that were in development in the last few years. However the FDA said it was not willing to approve any of the products because of concerns about their side effects.

The agency was concerned about the effectiveness of Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s drug lorcaserin, as well as a link to tumors when lorcaserin was studied on rats. The FDA hasn't approved Vivus Inc.'s drug Qnexa because one of its ingredients is linked to birth defects.

Pregnant Mothers Enrolled in Metformin Study

Metformin depletes vitamin B12  and it can lead to metabolic acidosis, yet UK researchers think that giving this drug to pregnant women can reduce obesity in their children. 

I can't imagine the twisted mind of the person or persons who thought this one up, or those who give the funding.  I am just shaking my head in amazement!

Drug trial to prevent obese kids

Obese pregnant women are to be given a drug to reduce the risk of obesity in their children as part of an NHS trial.

Overweight women supply too much food to a growing baby which can lead to health problems for mother and child.

UK doctors want to try to control this with metformin, which is used to treat diabetes.

Weight Concern said it was an intriguing idea, but ideally women should reach a normal weight before pregnancy.

The researchers leading this study say 15% of pregnant women arriving at many UK hospitals are obese.

It can increase a woman's risk death, pre-eclampsia and of their babies being stillborn or large.

Larger babies are more likely to be obese later in life.

It is thought that obese pregnant women are more resistant to the hormone insulin, which prevents blood sugar levels from getting too high.

Metformin reduces insulin resistance.

It is hoped this will reduce the amount of sugar going to the baby so it is born at a normal size.

Four hundred women will take part in the trial.

Dr Ian Campbell, medical director of the charity Weight Concern, said: "It's intriguing and sadly it's necessary to look at.

"In an ideal world you would want women to take stock of their weight before pregnancy, but in reality that's not going to happen."

SOURCE:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13333175

Warnings for use of Metformin in Pregnancy

Recent information strongly suggests that abnormal blood glucose levels during pregnancy are associated with a higher incidence of congenital abnormalities. Most experts recommend that insulin be used during pregnancy to maintain blood glucose levels as close to normal as possible. Because animal reproduction studies are not always predictive of human response, metformin should not be used during pregnancy unless clearly needed.

There are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women with immediate-release metformin. Metformin was not teratogenic in rats and rabbits at doses up to 600 mg/kg/day. This represents an exposure of about two and six times the maximum recommended human daily dose of 2000 mg based on body surface area comparisons for rats and rabbits, respectively. Determination of fetal concentrations demonstrated a partial placental barrier to metformin.


Nursing Mothers - Studies in lactating rats show that metformin is excreted into milk and reaches levels comparable to those in plasma. Similar studies have not been conducted in nursing mothers. Because the potential for hypoglycemia in nursing infants may exist, a decision should be made whether to discontinue nursing or to discontinue the drug, taking into account the importance of the drug to the mother. If metformin is discontinued, and if diet alone is inadequate for controlling blood glucose, insulin therapy should be considered. 

Pediatric Use - Safety and effectiveness in pediatric patients have not been established. SOURCE: Rx List.

Reducing Fat Leads to Obesity

A new study examining the dietary habits of Americans over a 25-year period has revealed that while overall fat intake reduced by 3%, obesity in men tripled and in women doubled. The research – published this month in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition – also reveals that carbohydrate intake increased by 4% over the same period, while protein intake fell slightly. 

This is clear evidence that reducing a nation’s fat intake isn’t going to impact on weight problems. 

Fat does not make you fat – it’s too many refined carbohydrates and sugar that are the culprits. This is why eating a low-GL diet works so well, because it reduces intake of the harmful kinds of carbohydrate while increasing protein and healthy fats from sources like oily fish, nuts and seeds. This balances your blood sugar and helps you achieve, and maintain, a healthy weight. 

And speaking about too many refined carbs and sugar,

Check this out, only three foods make my cut: Steel Cut Oats, King Arthur organic flour, and quinoa.  The rest are JUNQUE!

The Healthiest Carbs In Your Supermarket

 

Higher BMI with Artificial Sweeteners: Obesity Facts

Many studies have shown that artificial sweeteners DO lead to weight gain.  Now this one calls your attention to that chemical powder you add to coffee or tea.  Better try Just Like Sugar.

Obesity Facts. 2010 Dec;3(6):345-52. Epub 2010 Dec 7.

Coffee, Tea and Their Additives: Association with BMI and Waist Circumference.
Bouchard DR, Ross R, Janssen I.

School of Kinesiology and Health Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.

Abstract
Objective: The purposes of this study were to perform a detailed analysis how: i) the frequency of coffee/tea consumption and ii) the use of additives in coffee/tea is associated with measures of total and abdominal obesity. Method: 3,823 participants of the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were examined. Obesity was assessed by BMI and waist circumference (WC). Coffee and tea consumption and use of additives were assessed by questionnaire. Results: Cof-fee consumption was not related to BMI or WC in either gender. However, men who drank ≥2 cups of tea per day had lower BMI (25.9 vs. 28.0 kg/m(2)) and WC (95.2 vs. 101.32 cm) values than men who never drank drink tea (p ≤ 0.05). The associations between tea consumption and BMI or WC were no longer significant after adjustment for additive use. Coffee/tea drinkers who used artificial sweeteners had larger (p ≤ 0.05) BMIs than coffee/tea drinkers who did not use sweeteners (28.2 vs. 27.1 kg/m(2) in men, 28.4 vs. 27.1 kg/m(2) in women).

Conclusion: Frequency of coffee/tea consumption was not associated with measures of obesity because additive use explained the association between tea consumption and obesity in men. Artificial sweetener use within coffee/tea was associated with higher BMI.

Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.
PMID: 21196787 [PubMed - in process]

MEDLINE

Another Reason Fast Food Makes You Sick & Fat

Fluoride in fast food wrappers - Exploring Indirect Sources of Human Exposure to Perfluoroalkyl Carboxylates (PFCAs): Evaluating Uptake, Elimination and Biotransformation of Polyfluoroalkyl Phosphate Esters (PAPs) in the Rat"

FAST-FOOD WRAPPERS ARE A SOURCE OF TOXIC CHEMICALS"
It now appears that dangerous chemicals line the wrappers of fast food.
PAPs (polyfluoroalkyl phosphate esters) are used as non-stick agents on the inside of fast-food wrappers, which are now found to make their way into the food contents. Once consumed they are metabolized into PFCAs (perfluorinated carboxylic acids) - dangerous chemicals which can cause cancer.
Scientists at Toronto Uni, Ontario, say the wrappers could be a major, and totally unexpected, source of these chemicals. They've found high concentrations of PFCAs in a number of popular fast foods.
The chemicals are used to make paper resistant to grease and include some burger and fries wrappers.
Until now scientists had assumed that the high concentrations of PFCAs found in most people's bodies came from such things as the fluoride used in non-stick cookware and stain-repellent furnishings etc.

GOT Arthritis?

I read something on this issue last week and haven't had time to get it up on Natural Health News or get my comments posted either.

What is of interest to me is the high percentage of people reporting increases in the signs and symptoms of arthritis, 22%.


In the early 90s a rise in arthritis was being reported too.  Back then the concerns were included in the reporting.


Some of the concerns about 20 years ago included water fluoridation; lack of exercise; poor diet and poor nutrition; not eating meat, move to use of PUFAs (polyunsaturated oils); continuing focus on low fat and non fat diet schemes; over use of artificial sweeteners; reliance on drugs that offered more side effects, even death, than relief; over use of NSAIDS leaving many with serious side effects and in some cases kidney and liver failure or death.

I am sure I am leaving some things out, but I do not want to exclude this important item:

As more and more processed and convenience type food, microwave cooking, and anti-nutrition methods began to take over modern food preparation, making broth fell by the wayside.  Making broth from bones is a very easy process and the end product is filled with nutrients that protect joint function.

Eating meat is also fallen by the wayside, and because of this, people take in less natural CLA, cetyl myristoleate, and health promoting saturated fat.  


Changes in this pattern also may be related to increasing fertility problems, as well as obesity concerns and other health problems now not being able to be diagnosed.

This won't be halted by a drug.


from AP

A surprising jump in the number of Americans hobbled by arthritis may be due to obesity, health experts said Thursday.

About 22 percent of U.S. adults have been told by a doctor that they have arthritis, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. The statistic comes from national telephone polling of tens of thousands of adults in 2007 through 2009.

That translates to nearly 50 million people with the joint disease. It's also roughly the same percentage with arthritis as reported in a 2003-2005 study.

But there was a significant jump in adults who said their joint pain or other arthritis symptoms limited their usual activities, to 9.4 percent from 8.3 percent. That means more than 21 million adults have trouble climbing stairs, dressing, gardening or doing other things, up from less than 19 million only a few years before, the CDC researchers estimated.

That jump was "more than we would have expected," said Dr. John Klippel, president of the Atlanta-based Arthritis Foundation.

Klippel said the increase probably was due mainly to baby boomers, who are at an age when they are more likely to suffer osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis. It breaks down cartilage and causes pain and joint stiffness.

He added that a complicating factor is high rates of baby boomers who are overweight and obese. Extra weight puts more pressure on arthritic joints, making the problem worse, he said.

The percentage of people who were hobbled was more than twice as high in obese people as those who were normal weight or were underweight, the CDC researchers found. Obesity can lead to or worsen osteoarthritis in the knees, the researchers wrote.

The study is published in a CDC publication, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. SOURCE

And in case you do not follow health history, here is a review from 2004 -

February 2004 - Mother was right about cod liver oil
At a press conference held at the Royal College of Surgeons in London on February 12 2004 , researchers from Cardiff University in Wales announced the results of a study which found for the first time in humans that cod liver oil really is effective in slowing the progression of osteoarthritis. The team, led by Professor Bruce Caterson and Professor John Harwood of Cardiff University, and Professor Colin Dent, of the University of Wales College of Medicine, provided two extra strength cod liver oil capsules per day to arthritis patients ten to twelve weeks before knee replacement surgery and found that 86 percent of the participants experienced a partial or complete reduction in the enzymes that cause cartilage damage, compared to 26 percent of a placebo group. Enzymes that cause joint pain were also reduced in the cod liver oil group.
Professor Caterson commented, "This breakthrough is hugely significant because it demonstrates the efficacy of a dietary intake of cod liver oil in patients with osteoarthritis taken prior to their joint replacement surgery. The data suggests that cod liver oil has a dual mode of action, potentially slowing down the cartilage degeneration inherent in osteoarthritis and also reducing factors that cause pain and inflammation. What these findings suggest is that by taking cod liver oil, people are more likely to delay the onset of osteoarthritis and less likely to require multiple joint replacements later in life.”
Professor Dent added, “Patients resort to joint replacement surgery when the symptoms and pain of their arthritis becomes unbearable. Cod liver oil can counteract these symptoms and if you can switch off the cartilage destruction and pain then surgery may not be necessary. We're very excited by this latest trial."

It is nice to recall that I learned in the 60s just how useful cod liver oil is for the "itis" category.  Wouldn't it be nice if this is what you had been reading instead of all about the dangerous drugs prescribed, pushed by Big PhRMA? 

Obesity: Concerns and Considerations

Here are some current headlines: 

One in 6 U.S. adults struggle with weight

Childhood Obesity Woes Linked to Too Little Sleep

Parents caving on healthy choices for kids

Do you ever wonder if it isn't just too much crappy food thrown at you by Big AG, errors in immunity created by continual vaccination, all kinds of artifical additives in food, fluoride in water, and too much refined food, with too many sugars (not to let artificial sweeteners off the hook?)

Then consider lack of absorption of nutrients, if any nutrients are actually in the food you consume.

The start here with the real food pyramid, skip the shots, skip water fluoridation, and start exercising....

and (new) don't over look this -

Why Is the Food Industry Pumping Food Dyes That Cause Cancer Into Our Food?

Despite signs that they may cause cancer, food manufacturers continue to pour about millions of pounds of synthetic dyes into the American food supply every year.

and this -

Remember that fluoride impairs your thyroid and it is your thyroid that controls metabolism and so much more.   No question here as PFOS and PFOA in non-stick coatings used in cookware, clothing, and in so many more products used by people who do not question ingredients and effects of what chemicals are in every day products. And yes, elevated cholesterol is directly related to low functioning thyroid...

Study shows latest potential negative effect of non-stick chemicals - Obesity from non stick cookware -

Read more: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2010/09/teflon_children.html#ixzz0z416i2gC

Fluoride damages your immune system, liver, and thyroid...