Nutrients For Faster Weight Loss

From the article Six Nutrients For Faster Weight Loss, by Alisa Bowman and The Editors Of Women's Health

Vitamin D For years scientists have searched for a magical ingredient that would help people shed fat. In 2008, Dr. Shalamar Sibley of the University of Minnesota put 38 obese people on an 11-week diet where they consumed 750 calories less than their estimated daily need. Study participants whose blood levels of D were higher at the study's start lost more weight than participants whose blood levels of D were lower. They actually lost a lot more--70 percent more, to be exact. Based on the results of this study, by fueling your body with the D-rich nutrients it needs to stay out of a fat-storage state and in a fat-burning state, you can speed weight loss by 70 percent! Thousands of studies on vitamin D have been completed over a span of 40 years, and it's become clear that vitamin D is pretty incredible and effective. Still, it's not the only player on this fat-melting team. Turn up your metabolism and melt body fat adding vitamin D and these five fat-melters from The Vitamin D Diet.  

MyAchingKnees comment: While I believe that we need to take much more Vitamin D that the RDA recommends,...I am currently taking between 3,900 and 5,900 mgs each day, it is hardly definitive that Vitamin D works to burn fat. It is widely thought, and believed by me anyway, that Vitamin D is an essential ingredient for bone health and especially proper immune system function. The question needs to be asked, "what other nutrient deficiencies did the obese people with Vitamin D deficiencies also have?"  

Calcium
Calcium is a mineral that works in tandem with D to help you shed fat. Calcium is stored in fat cells, and researchers think that the more calcium a fat cell has, the more fat that cell will release to be burned. Calcium also promotes weight loss by binding to fat in your GI tract, preventing some of it from getting absorbed into your bloodstream.  

Protein
In addition to keeping hunger in check, regular doses of protein help to keep body composition--the amount of fat relative to muscle--in better proportion. Along with calcium and D, protein helps you to preserve muscle mass as you drop pounds. A recent study out of the University of Illinois found that women who consumed protein twice daily lost 3.9 percent more weight than women who consumed less of it on a diet. They not only lost more weight, they also got stronger as they did so, with their thigh muscles alone ending up with 5.8 percent more protein at the end of the diet than before.  

Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Omega-3s enable weight loss by switching on enzymes that trigger fat-burning in cells. They also help to boost mood, which may help reduce emotional eating. And omega 3s might improve leptin signaling in the brain, causing the brain to turn up fat burning and turn down appetite. You almost can't consume D without consuming omega-3 fatty acids, and that's a good thing. Fatty fish like salmon (which are also high in D) are one of the richest sources of this fat. Other foods, such as some nuts and seeds, contain a type of fat that can be converted into omega-3s after ingestion.  

MyAchingKnees comment: I think that all the benefits of Omega 3's are relatively unknown to people. If people have experienced what I have experienced with a quality Omega 3 supplement, they would be breaking down the doors to take it.  

Monounsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFAs)
MUFAs are a type of fat found in olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocados, peanut butter, and chocolate, and they have just one chemical bond (which is why they are called "mono" unsaturated). One Danish study of 26 men and women found that a diet that included 20 percent of its calories from MUFAs improved 24-hour calorie burning by 0.1 percent and fat burning by 0.04 percent after 6 months. Other research shows that MUFAs zero in on belly fat. Specific foods that are high in MUFAs--especially peanuts, tree nuts, and olive oil--have been shown to keep blood sugar steady and reduce appetite, too.  

Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA)
CLAs are potent fat burners that are found, along with D and calcium, in dairy products. They are fatty acids that are created when bacteria ferments the food in the first part of the stomach of cows, sheep, and other ruminant animals. The CLA that is created through fermentation then makes its way into the meat and milk of these animals. When we consume these foods, the CLA helps blood glucose enter body cells, so CLA can be burned for energy and not stored as fat. CLA also helps to promote fat burning, especially in muscles, where the bulk of our calorie burning takes place.  

The whole fat-melting picture Now before you start superdosing yourself with all of these fat melters and waiting for the fat to magically melt away, let's be clear: D and other fat melters facilitate weight loss, but they are not magic pills. If you just took a bunch of supplements, you might see some effect--for instance, by swapping some fat for muscle. But to see serious weight loss, you'll need to combine these fat melters with portion control.

MyAchingKnees comment: While I like all the efforts to bring sound nutritional research to people, the danger of articles listing single ingredients as some people will buy and consume these single ingredients while missing others.  I believe that we need a wide range of nutrients in scientifically determined ratios so they can work syngergistically with each other to provide our body's immune system with the complete package.    

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Nutrient Depletion from Prescription Drugs

MyAchingKnees has been saying for the last couple of years that there are side effects, some severe, some not that affect people differently. One of the ways prescriptions drugs as well as some OTC medications affect our health is to bleach nutrients from our bodies. Not good when you consider that almost everyone does not get the required amount of nutrients they require for optimal health anyway. We were happy to see an article published to express this view. The excellent article below was written by Melissa A. Bartoszewski, DC, on www.naturalnews.com

(NaturalNews) Many people do not realize that the medications they take on a daily basis can negatively affect the amount of nutrients stored in the body. Numerous drugs actually deplete specific vitamins and minerals, causing a whole host of additional problems. Being aware of what is being depleted by the prescription you are taking can help you to choose what to supplement with. Vitamins and minerals are vital for the everyday cellular processes in your body; inadequate amounts may lead to decreased immunity, digestive issues and much more.

What you are losing

Below are a few examples of some commonly prescribed drugs and a list of the nutrients that are automatically depleted.

Anti-inflammatory drugs deplete: Calcium, potassium, zinc, iron, Vitamins B6, C, D, K, folic acid, chromium, glutathione, Vitamins B6, C, D, and K

NSAIDs: Folic acid, melatonin Aspirin/Salicylates: Vitamins C, K, B5, folic acid, calcium, iron and sodium

Corticosteroids: Vitamins A, C, D, B6, B12, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, potassium, selenium and zinc

Cochicine (used for gout): Vitamin B12, calcium, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, Beta-carotene

Statins (Lipitor, Zocor, Crestor,etc.): Coenzyme Q10

ACE Inhibitors for hypertension (Lisinopril, etc.): Zinc

What's the big deal?

Zinc is a master mineral necessary in hundreds of enzymatic reactions throughout the body and plays a vital role in immune function. Zinc is not stored in the body and must be ingested through diet or supplementation. If you are chronically sick, you may be deficient in zinc due to poor dietary intake or from drug induced nutrient depletion. A good way to see if you are zinc deficient is to buy organic zinc lozenges, hold in your mouth, if it tastes sweet, you are deficient, if it tastes bitter, you are not. Once the sweetness wears off and there is no taste/bitter, discard the lozenge.

Coenzyme Q10 is a very powerful vitamin and antioxidant, also known as ubiquinone ("found everywhere"), because it is found in every cell of the body. Energy and ATP production are the main functions of this important vitamin. Research has shown that people with heart failure have lower levels of coenzyme Q10 and the vitamin may help to increase the energy production, pumping action and strength of the heart muscle.

Folic acid, also known as Vitamin B9, helps convert food into energy, assist with proper brain function, DNA/RNA synthesis, red blood cell production and iron functions. This vitamin may also aid in the prevention of heart disease, although further studies are still needed. Folic acid deficiencies may occur due to drug induced nutrient depletion, Celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and alcoholism, just to name a few.

These are only a few examples of very important vitamins and minerals that are automatically depleted when taking certain medications. Zinc, coenzyme Q10, folic acid and the other vitamins and minerals are essential for good health and the processes that go on inside of our bodies on a constant basis.

Take control of your health

What's important to remember is that no drug is 100% percent safe and side effect free. Researching any drug your doctor prescribes is vital to being your own health advocate. Question your health care provider as to why the medication that he/she is prescribing is necessary. A list of side effects is now given with each prescription at the pharmacy; a list of vitamins and minerals that are automatically depleted as a direct result of the medication should also be supplied to every patient, with every prescription. You only have one body and should do everything in your power to protect it and keep it functioning optimally.

Sources:
http://www.invitehealth.com/drug-induced-nutrient-depletion.html 
http://www.nutridesk.com.au/mineral-matters.phtml 
http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/supplements/a/CoenzymeQ10.htm
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/vitamin-b9-000338.htm 

About the author: Dr. Melissa Bartoszewski is a chiropractor at Estramonte Chiropractic & Wellness Center. She is a graduate of New York Chiropractic College. Dr. Bartoszewski is also a raw food and natural healthcare advocate.

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Obese Children

From an article titled ”Georgia Childhood Obesity Campaign Draws Criticism”, by Sarah B. Weir, Yahoo! Healthy Living

A blunt new television ad campaign targeting childhood obesity is stirring up controversy. Spearheaded by the non-profit organization Strong4Life under the auspices of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, the stark black and white images feature miserable-looking children, who happen to be paid actors, sharing how they are bullied and ostracized for being fat. The children also discuss being scared because they have been diagnosed with diabetes or hypertension.

James Zervios, the director of communications for the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC), told Yahoo! Shine that his group challenged Strong4Life about the legitimacy and effectiveness of the ad's message when they first appeared in a print campaign back in the spring of 2011. The OAC believes "that the inappropriate messaging could lead to bullying."

One of the statements that the OAC found humiliating for overweight children read, "Big bones didn't make me this way. Big meals did."

Georgia ranks second in the nation for childhood obesity. Linda Matzigkeit, senior vice president of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta asserts that the hard-hitting campaign is exactly the wake-up call Georgians require to avert a catastrophic public health crisis. "We needed something that was more arresting and in your face than some of the flowery campaigns out there," Matzigkeit told ABC News. Nearly 1 million, or 40 percent, of kids in Georgia are considered overweight or obese. The campaign also points out that 75 percent of parents aren't aware that there is a problem.

Rebecca Puhl, Director of Research at the Rudd Center for Food Policy at Yale University agrees that childhood obesity is a grave issue facing America 's families, but says, "This campaign has the potential to harm the very individuals it aims to help." She explains that it is possible to be direct and communicate the seriousness of the problem without shaming people. "If Georgia wants to effectively address childhood obesity, much more careful consideration should be given to the kind of public health messages they are sending so children and their families are supported in their efforts to lead healthier lives," Puhl told Yahoo! Shine. Puhl says the ads blame kids and their families, perpetuate negative stereotypes, and offer no useful information. She also points out the number one reason kids are bullied and teased at school is body size.

Childhood obesity in America. According to the Centers for Disease Control, childhood obesity has more than tripled in the last 30 years. Their research points out that overweight and obese children are at a much greater risk for cardiovascular problems, diabetes, bone and joint disorders, and other many other serious diseases.

Marjorie Nolan, national spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics sees the Georgia ad controversy as being complicated. "I agree that more needs to be done to raise awareness about childhood obesity," Nolan told Yahoo! Shine. "But these ads lack a message of what should be done to ultimately solve the problem."

MyAchingKnees comment: Sometimes the truth hurts. Something has to be done, because this country is in a “fat epidemic”. Some of it has to do with the quality of foods and availability of non-nutritional fast and processed foods that our kids eat, and, a lack of parental education on nutrition to our children. Childhood obesity is the main cause for the giant increase in adolescent diabetes that is being reported all over the country. The answer is in nutrition and education. However, I am not advocating, except in the most extreme cases, of abrogating parental rights like some people want when they suggest removing children from parents who let their children get too fat.

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