Holistic Weight Loss System

Incorporating holistic approach to weight loss solutions can work wonders in providing body the necessary nourishment. Now, plan to include holistic activities with gruesome workout schedules and dieting, to reap out maximum benefits.

According to Henri Roca, medical director of Greenwich Hospital's Centre for Integrative Medicine - Holistic weightloss program can help an individual develop healthy eating habits and stay fit all his life. She said that genetics, metabolism, hormones and physiological attributes can act as potential hitting blocks to a successful long-term weight management.

Stress alone can impact a human body more than what people realize. Chronic stress can lead to enhanced cortisol levels that can stimulate glucose production in the body. Excess of glucose then gets converted into fat and stored in the body - especially around an individual's mid-section. A chemical chain reaction can take place inside the body and weaken the best weight loss efforts.

When you cut back on calories intake and add or increase exercises in your daily routine, you can succeed in achieving weightloss, but usually according to statistics, these do not offer enough motivation to people who've had failed in achieving their weight loss goals before. Failure to reach the weightloss goal adds up to the already existing stress in person's mind and suppresses the weight loss to occur in him going further.

Hence it is really essential that you include proper meditation and other stress management techniques in your routine along with regular diet plans and exercise regime.

10 exercises to burn 200 calories daily

The best thing in life is to be fit, healthy and in shape. When you look attractive to yourself, and to your partner, the pleasure you get can make you feel at the top of the world and can light up your whole day. So here is a list of 10 exercises that can help you burn atleast 200 calories per day. Have a look at them and decide what suits you the best :

1) Qigong: These exercises come with different breath control techniques, meditation and relaxation, very similar to Pranayama. While doing Qigong, the practitioner spends little energy, but at the end of a session there is profuse perspiration, little elevation in blood pressure, but increased levels of energy.

2) Budokon: If you love to do yoga but are also love the high-intensity kickboxing class across the hall, try a fusion class like Budokon (bu-do-kon) and get hip with the Hollywood crowd.

3) Spinning: This is a relatively new phenomenon, which is performed on a specialised cycling machine. The classes take place in a fitness studio with specialised lights and music that create an upbeat atmosphere.

4) Aerobics: A great mode of exercise to fast paced zingy music can make you lose enough calories. Whether it is for 45 minutes daily or every three days, if you love to dance then there's something about aerobics that you'll always enjoy.

5) Yoga: Whether it is power yoga, artistic or ashtanga yoga, the lightness of body, serenity and bliss you feel will keep you hooked for ever. You may never want to try out another form of exercise ever.

6) Hooping : A form of aerobic exercise, it uses the hula hoop and has moved from being a toy to being a dance and exercise aid. It is fun, childlike, and meditative, all of which make it good for the spirit.

7) Walking: 20 minutes of brisk walking everyday will ensure that you don't put on an ounce of weight. It will keep you in such great shape that you wouldn't ever feel the need to go on a diet!

8) Dance: The best form of exercise, it helps you lose plenty of weight apart from keeping you lithe! US research shows that a vigorous dance class can burn as many calories as a gym workout. Calories danced away per hour: Ballroom: 180-480; Belly dancing: 180-300; Jive/swing dance: 250-400 Salsa: 400.

9) Jump rope: Single-rope freestyle jump roping is one sport that is increasingly becoming famous among fitness freaks, both as a competitive activity and a way to increase strength, balance and cardio-respiratory endurance.

10) Aero boxing: The workout involves a combination of aerobic exercises with boxing techniques and has been formulated for the first time to help people stay fit.
   

Chocolate Milk after workout can speed up post-exercise recovery

A new study has shown that chocolate milk intake after a workout can speed up your post-exercise performance and muscle repair process.

In a sequence of four studies, done at the American College of Sports Medicine conference this week, researchers discovered that chocolate milk provided a recovery benefit to facilitate in repairing and rebuilding muscles, as compared to specifically formulated carbohydrate sports drinks.

According to the new study, consuming fat free chocolate milk after exercise can assist the body in retaining, replenishing and rebuilding muscles and speed up the recovery process.

Consuming low fat chocolate milk after an arduous workout can even help in preparing the muscles to perform better in a consequent round of exercise. Below are listed certain advantages of chocolate milk that the researchers discovered: 

1) To build muscle

Post-exercise muscle biopsies in 8 averagely trained male runners displayed that after consuming 16 ounces of fat free chocolate milk, the runners had intensified skeletal muscle protein synthesis - a sign that muscles were more capable to repair and rebuild, as compared to when they drank a carbohydrate only sports drink with the same amount of calories. The researchers indicated that "athletes can consider fat-free chocolate milk as an economic nutritional alternative to other sports nutrition beverages to support post-endurance exercise skeletal muscle repair."

2) To replenish muscle fuel

It is essential to replace muscle fuel (glycogen) after exercise for athlete's future performance and muscle recovery. Researchers discovered that consuming 16 ounces of fat free chocolate milk with its mix of carbohydrates and protein (as compared to a carbohydrate-only sports drink with the same amount of calories) contributed to enhanced concentration of glycogen in muscles at 30 and 60 minutes post exercise.

3) To maintain lean muscle

Athletes usually risk muscle breakdown post-exercise when the body's requirements are at their pinnacle. Researchers discovered that consuming fat free chocolate milk after exercise assisted in decreasing markers of muscle breakdown compared to drinking a carbohydrate sports drink.

4) To enhance the subsequent exercises

Ten trained men and women cyclists rode for an hour and a half, followed by 10 minutes of intervals. They took rest for four hours and were given one of three drinks immediately and two hours into recovery: low-fat chocolate milk, a carbohydrate drink with the same amount of calories or a control drink. When the cyclists performed a subsequent 40 kilometer ride after this, their trial time was considerable lesser after drinking the chocolate milk compared to the carbohydrate drink and the control drink.

As for why chocolate milk, researchers indicate that chocolate milk's combination of carbohydrates and high-quality protein first made researchers take notice of a potential exercise advantage. The combination of carbs and protein already in chocolate milk matched the ratio found to be most beneficial for recovery. In fact, studies propose that chocolate milk has the right mix of carbs and protein to help in refueling exhausted muscles, and the protein in milk facilitates in building lean muscles.



Buy Cheap Cyto Chocolate Muscle Milk Online

Running shoes may damage your knees, hips

So, you are all geared up to kick-start your jogging after getting the latest and branded pair of running shoes? You might enjoy getting back to fitness regime but here is listed a study that revealed that running shoes can likely damage your knees, hips and ankles.

A research conducted recently, compared the impacts of bare foot running on hips, knees and ankle joint motions with running in modern running shoes. The conclusions showed that running shoes basically exert more pressure and stress on the joints of hips, knees and ankles as compared to running barefoot or even walking on high heels.

The study was conducted on 68 healthy young adult runners out of which 37 were women, who use running shoes while running. None of these subjects had any history of musculoskeletal injury and all of them ran for 15 miles each per week. The observation was done both for running with shoes and running bare foot on treadmill for all the subjects.

The researchers found out that there was an enhanced joint torque at the hip, knee and ankle with running shoes as compared to running barefoot. Further studies confirmed that even though the construction of our modern day shoes can provide good support and protection to our feet, a major drawback can be that they increase the stress on hip, knee and ankle joint areas. This problem is likely due to the elevated heel and increased material under the medial arch, both characteristic of today's running shoes.

The study was published in the latest issue of PM&R: The journal of injury, function and rehabilitation. 

You need Good Sleep to Fight Fat if You are Dieting

A small research conducted in US states that getting too little sleep might prevent dieters from losing body fat.
The study that got issued in the Annals of Internal Medicine, adds to evidence that sleep habits play a role in weight regulation and suggest people embarking on a weight-loss plan may want to make sure they are catching enough shut-eye each night.

The research included 10 overweight men and women who lived in a sleep lab for two separate two-week periods. During both periods they followed the same calorie-restricted diet but for one period, the participants slept for 8.5 hours per night, while during the other they got 5.5 hours. Researchers from the University of Chicago found the dieters lost the same amount of weight under both conditions - just under 7 pounds, on average.
But during the sleep-restricted period, they mainly lost muscle rather than fat. When participants got 8.5 hours of sleep, more than half of their weight loss came from shedding fat. But when they got 5.5 hours of sleep, only one-quarter of their weight loss came from fat -- translating to a 55 per cent reduction in fat loss. The majority of their weight loss came from lean body tissue, which refers to muscle and any other body tissue that is not fat.
So, they lost the same amount of weight, but the composition was different. Dr. Plamen Penev, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Chicago, said that successful dieters always shed a certain amount of muscle but wanted to limit that loss in favor of shedding fat.
The study, however, has a number of limitations. Besides its small size, it also looked only at short-term weight loss. More research is needed to see how sleep duration might affect dieters' body composition over time. It was also unclear how well these findings from a tightly controlled sleep-lab setting might fit the "real world." A number of studies have found self-described "short sleepers" - typically defined as those who get less than 6 hours of sleep each night - tend to weigh more or gain more weight over time than people who get more sleep.

Lab studies have suggested sleep loss may alter people's levels of the "hunger hormones" leptin and ghrelin. Leptin is secreted by fat cells; low blood levels of the hormone promote hunger, while increases tell the brain that body is full and encourage calorie burning. Ghrelin is secreted by the stomach to boost appetite.
Penev's study  found that under sleep-restricted condition, participants reported greater hunger during the day compared with the 8-hour sleep condition even though they consumed the same number of calories during both periods. They also had higher blood levels of acylated ghrelin, one form of the appetite-boosting hormone. Penev said there wsa no one-size-fits-all prescription for sleep and more studies are needed in real-world settings.

How to Avoid Workout Injuries?

Injuries are a common phenomenon during workouts.The basic motive to have a successful workout is to make it safe and fun. While you want to grab the maximum benefits out of your workout, there are certain factors, which you need to consider in order to remain careful and consistent with a healthy and happy fitness regime. Below are certain tips on how to avoid injuries during workout:

- Make sure to visit a doctor and get a fitness test prior to the beginning of a new fitness regime.
- Keep the enthusiasm levels low in the beginning and gradually increase the time and intensity of your exercises.
- A personal trainer will help you get the right moves and workout safely.
- A warm-up before you begin is a must as it will help you prevent injuries. A good jog or run could also be a great warm-up.
- Avoid exercising on an empty stomach, a meal two hours prior is a must.
- It is essential to be hydrated during a workout as it will replace loss of fluid.
- Don’t ignore minor pains, these could be the first steps towards a major injury.
- It is important to take adequate rest in between workouts to keep your immunity levels strong.


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The Safe Back Workout, Tape 3: Low Back and Abdominals (Advanced Level) [VHS]

The Obesity Epidemic - Reviewed

Despite fad diets and ‘fat-free’ healthy foods, why is the world in the grip of an obesity epidemic?
Quattrin, who is testing an innovative program for preventing and treating obesity in children aged 2 to 5, has now offered her expert opinion.

Q. Why have obesity rates increased so much over the past several decades? 
Quattrin: People are eating more, and eating less healthy food high in calories. There are children who eat a whole carton of strawberries, and their parents think that’s OK.
But too much healthy food can contribute to the problem, too. Extra calories, along with low physical activity, lead to obesity--especially in people with a predisposition to developing the disease, and certainly in kids whose parents are obese.


Q. What are some simple steps children and families can take to prevent obesity? 
Quattrin: Parents should educate themselves by finding out their children’s body mass index, and their own. Young children who don’t look overweight may still be obese.


If the home environment is such that the refrigerator and pantry are full of junk food instead of fruits and vegetables, the child grows up feeling that’s the way he or she should eat.
Park a little further away from the supermarket. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk to the store or a friend’s house. These are simple steps that can ameliorate and prevent problems.


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Fat Politics: The Real Story behind America's Obesity Epidemic


 
Handbook of Obesity Treatment

Whooping Fitness by Hooping

Hooping has come a long way since its widespread popularity in the 1950s, as it has moved from being a toy to being a dance and exercise aid.  It is fun, childlike, and meditative, all of which make it good for the spirit. Hooping is a form of aerobic activity using hula hoop exercises to firm, tone and burn body fat.

There are more and more people hooping all over America and around the world. Everybody can hoop, regardless of age, size, or sense of rhythm. In San Francisco, USA, the green grass of parks is normally filled by brightly coloured hoops twirling at improbable angles around people grooving stylishly to dance music under the afternoon sun.
For fitness enthusiasts, hoop is a way to shift one's attention from the head to the rest of the body. For others, it is more than just a fun form of exercise. People who practice talk of improved self-esteem and revived social lives as they learn to take basic hoop-swirling to the next level.
Hula Hooping, named after the Hawaiian hula dance, was made popular in the 1950s when Australian businessmanAlex Tolmer started selling plastic hoops at his department store, Toltoys, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.



It is estimated hooping can burn up to 600 calories an hour.

Party Diet Tips

With the wedding season going on and all the parties that follow, it can be tough to keep a check on your diet and keep looking good. The various cocktail parties and dinners can make you over-indulge and drink in excess. 

Below are some simple ways to enjoy the partying and stay on top:
 
1) Check your portions 
Some people think they cannot make most of a party and maintain their figure. You should definitely eat the foods you love, but eat smaller amounts. It is when you go back for second helpings that the calories pile on. Remember, there’s no need to completely starve yourself. 

2) Drink worthy 
If your friend is celebrating his/her engagement or it’s someone’s birthday, you can’t miss the toast. Alcoholic drinks are full of empty calories. Try to stick to light beers and avoid all those fancy cocktails like margaritas and pina coladas that are laden in sugar. Keep sipping on water in between to keep yourself well-hydrated. 

3) Morning after 
Starting the day with a glass of warm water and lemon followed by a bowl of porridge, will help. Try drinking fresh fruit juice. Make sure you snack on healthy foods like almonds, and fruits during the day. 

4) Retain the glow 
All those late nights, excessive make-up, chemically-treated hair can take a toll on your looks. Spend time removing all your make-up before sleeping. Use a moisturising mask for the face and get a hair spa done. 

Gymming Etiquettes

Like everything else, a workout also has its own set of etiquettes and rules which, if not followed, can send your regimen for a toss. Being able to drag yourself every day to the gym is good, but even more important is to have the correct know-how of the dos and don'ts while exercising.Below is a list of the common dangers prevalent in the gym: 

Image: Graeme Weatherston / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

1) Out of form: All exercises are designed in a specific manner to provide optimal results. It’s common knowledge that lifting maximum weight (as per one’s capacity) during the last set of any exercise provides maximum benefit. It helps one attain ‘muscle fatigue’ which gives the ‘after-burn’ effect (calorie burn after finishing the workout). However, the worst thing that one can do is to compromise on the right ‘form’ so as to be able to lift that ‘extra’ weight.
Without the best form, workload goes waste or becomes unproductive. Those who swing weights while lifting and bend their backs during a bicep curl are at a high risk of injuries.


2) Lifting too much: Never lift more than what your muscles can handle. Gradual, progressive resistance is a far more effective way to increase muscle strength. When helping somebody with his workout, align your body such that it allows you to aid the lifter, without any risk of injury.


3) Keep it clean: Always wipe the equipment with a gym towel before and after use as it helps prevent spread of diseases. Though there’s a lot of etiquette emphasis on wiping equipment (such as the cardio machines) after use, it is also imperative to take your health in your own hands and wipe it before use as germs could still be transferred from adjacent machines.


4) Don’t go barefoot: The human traffic in locker rooms, combined with absence of sunlight, creates a perfect environment for germs to flourish. Always wear footwear to avoid athlete’s foot, a fungus infection that usually starts with itchy scales and blisters between the toes. Footwear will also keep you from slipping on wet tiles.
Those frequenting jacuzzis and pools are at high risk of catching contagious skin infections such as dermatitis. Chlorine in the water kills most germs, but if it doesn’t contain enough chlorine, you could catch a hair-follicle infection which needs antibiotic treatment.


5) Junk the mobile: Gym is for working out. So, do just that. Smsing and chatting on phone not only wastes time, but the smart ones who try to multi-task their workouts
with cellphone activity are at high risk of injuries. Treadmill accidents account for more than onethird of the reported injuries, with people either tripping or falling off them. Learn to use the machine first and refrain from checking your cell phone while working out. Also, be careful not to go too close to someone lifting heavy weights. He/she might, by mistake, drop them on your feet.


6) Fit to size: The gym equipment is designed to accommodate a wide range of body types and sizes, so it’s imperative that you adjust it to your size. Not doing so reduces the machine’s impact on your muscle. The muscle, hence, goes partially trained, leading to sluggish contribution in muscular growth.


7) Don’t jerk: When you jerk the weight, it’s likely that you’re jerking other muscle groups as well. This can lead to strain and injury. The back muscles are particularly vulnerable to such injuries. Remember: control the weight, don’t let it control you.


8) Right equipment: Before using any equipment, check that there are no loose nuts or screws on the machine. If the machine rattles or works with a jerk during exercise, stop immediately. Also, check cables of weight machines to ensure they aren’t frayed or damaged, and are covered with a protection sleeve.

Gymnastic Training can Boost the Bones Health in Girls

Long-term rhythmic gymnastics exerts positive effects on bone density among adolescent girls, a new study shows. Symeon Tournis, who led the study at the University of Athens in Greece, said there is an association between weight-bearing exercise and increased bone density and bone strength.
Researchers evaluated the bone health of 49 girls aged between nine and 13 years. Twenty six of the girls were elite rhythmic gymnasts who had trained for at least two years, and 23 girls had only physical education related activity. The researchers measured bone density, bone mineral content and cortical thickness (the outer shell of the bone) in each girl and found that girls who had undergone intensive rhythmic gymnastic training had increased cortical thickness and bone strength.


"There are a small number of studies that have evaluated the effect of weight-bearing exercise on bone mineral density and bone geometry. However, to our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the effect of long-term elite rhythmic gymnastics on bone geometry using peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) along with detailed evaluation of bone turnover markers," Tournis said.

The pQCT measures bone mineral density and cross sectional bone dimensions at peripheral skeletal sites such as the radius and tibia, a University of Athens release said. Bone density (or bone mineral density) is a medical term referring to the amount of matter per square centimetre of bones.
The findings are slated for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) .

Do Fruit Juices Come with Low Calories?

Breakfast is usually considered to be the most important meal of the day. At breakfast time, most of us put some calories in our bodies, and then we prepare to begin with the most active part of our day.
But, the always-famous combination of breakfast cereals with fruit juice and toast has now become a taboo with the nutritional inventions. With the 'low-carb, low-glycemic index' food choices, cereals as wheat flakes are preferred more over cornflakes, white bread is replaced by the whole wheat bread with low-cal butter, and fruit juices by whole fruits.


So what happens to our all-time favorite breakfast?


Well, it may just have to get little healthy. The logical answer for the consumption of a couple of glasses of fruit juice is that fruits are healthy, therefore fruit juices are healthy. But, the logic doesn't apply to nutrition. 


Even with no sugar added, zero preservatives, unstrained fruit juice would have the same amount of sugar as a cola beverage, because fruit is full of sugar!


The sugar is from fructose, which is naturally present in fruits; if it is '10 per cent juice', most of the sugar is in the form of high-fructose corn syrup. When a fruit juice is 'without added sugar', it means sucrose or table sugar is not added. But, the sugar of the fruit obviously remains. Sugar in 340 ml of fruit juice (no added sugar) is equivalent to calories in 340 ml (one can) of Coca-Cola.


All the above essentially, tells us that no matter which juice you choose, they all have more calories than the same amount of Coke. It tells us that juice - 100 per cent juice, no sugar added - contains about the same amount of sugar (or even more - 50 per cent more for grape juice) as the same volume of Coke. It tells us that, freshly-squeezed fruit juice without straining, is no different in calories (would be slightly higher in fibre).


With the promotion of fruit juices as a health drink, one has to figure out that...


- All that is healthy is not low-calorie.
- Fruit juices are caloric dense; also they are restricted for medical conditions like diabetes.
- A glass of juice a day is not complete nutrition. Also, its introduction in your diet should be well understood. If an individual is aiming at fat loss, fruit juice is definitely not the answer.
- Substitution of fruit juice with a whole fruit has lot more benefits.
- It's good to be health-conscious, but with the right advice. Half knowledge is worst than no knowledge.


(Inputs from Kinita S Kadakia, Mumbai-based diet consultant)

Formula for perfect hourglass figure revealed

Dreaming to have those perfect curves like those of Kate Winslet and Helen Mirren? Well, researchers have now calculated  and designed a formula for that perfect hourglass figure, which can help you mark your target.


Scientists, at the University of Manchester while working with the supermarket chain Asda have built this formula. Researchers said that the bust size and ratios of the thigh-height and hip-waist ratio are the crucial dimensions.


Nevertheless, the curviness and symmetry of the figure are also substantial, they said. In their opinion, a DD or E cup is considered the optimum bust size, while the ideal thigh-height ratio – calculated by dividing the thigh’s thickest circumference by total height – is 0.3.


The hip-waist ratio is arrived at, by dividing the circumference of the waist by that of the hips – with 0.7 being the optimum result – and scores of one to five are assigned for "body curve line" and "body symmetry" based on visual assessment.


The higher the total score, the more perfect the hourglass shape, said researchers. 
“The human curve has come to represent the healthiest and most fertile form, highlighting the most suitable breeding partner and has evolved to be universally attractive to males for that reason,”  the Telegraph quoted Dr David Holmes, a senior psychology lecturer at the University of Manchester as saying.


"The perfect curve also impacts on other females creating mixed responses of both respect and jealousy,” he added.


A survey conducted, as part of this research revealed that 72 per cent of men are attracted to curvier women – citing a full bust, small waist and rounded bottom as the most attractive physical features. Apart from this, 63 per cent of women would prefer to look like curvier celebrities such as Helen Mirren, Kate Winslet and Alesha Dixon than slimmer stars like Cheryl Cole.


The research was conducted to set the release of Asda’s new ‘Tummy Tamer’ dress and skirt, designed to hide and sculpt excess flab and assist women in cheating their way to the perfect hourglass shape.

Slimming soybeans - To Reduce Fat Accumulation

A researcher at the University of Illinois has revealed that slimming soybeans could be on the anvil. Elvira de Mejia’s research offers an insight into the way a particular kind of soy protein can inhibit fat accumulation and reduce inflammation.

"We found that soybeans rich in beta-conglycinins limit lipid accumulation in fat cells by inhibiting an enzyme called fatty acid synthase. What’s more, we have identified the specific peptides (digested proteins) that do this, and we are now beginning to understand the mechanism behind it. This is exciting research because it could lead to the development of nutraceuticals to fight obesity," said de Mejia, a U of I associate professor of food science and human nutrition.

The study was also the foremost to exhibit the anti-inflammatory attributes of soy, high in this type of protein. "The peptides fight inflammation by blocking key enzymes in the body’s immune response," said the scientist.

de' Mejia further added that soy contains, among others, two types of protein, glycinins and beta-conglycinins, and the most substantial factor influencing a soy cultivar’s healthful advantages is the proportion in which they come up in. Her study displays that soy, which is low in glycinins and high in beta-conglycinins can be recommended for its capability to inhibit lipid accumulation and inflammation.

"Using the latest molecular marker-assisted breeding techniques, soybeans with the right composition can be tagged and later identified using a simple leaf tissue sample. This would make it possible to create high-yielding cultivators that contained the ‘slimming’ trait for soybean farmers to grow in their fields," she said.

Orange juice a must have with high fat meal

Flavonoids in orange juice neutralize the oxidative and inflammatory stress generated by high-fat, high-carb meals and help prevent blood vessel damage, claims a new study.
Free radicals, or reactive oxygen species, are known to induce inflammation in blood vessel linings and contribute to the risk of heart attack and stroke. In the new study, University at Buffalo endocrinologists say the potent preventative effect of orange juice likely is linked to its heavy load of the flavonoids naringenin and hesperidin, which are major antioxidants.


"Our data show, for the first time to our knowledge, that drinking orange juice with a meal high in fat and carbohydrates prevented the marked increases in reactive oxygen species and other inflammatory agents," says UB's Husam Ghanim, PhD, first author on the study.


"This did not happen when participants drank water or a sugary drink with the meal," he says. "These issues of inflammation following a meal are important because the resultant high glucose and high triglycerides are known to be related to the development of cardiovascular events."


The study involved three groups of 10 normal-weight healthy men and women between the ages of 20 and 40. After an overnight fast, participants ate a 900-calorie breakfast composed of an egg "muffin" sandwich, a sausage "muffin" sandwich and a serving of hash browns. The meal contained 81 grams of carbohydrates, 51 grams of fat and 32 grams protein.
Along with the breakfast, one group drank 300 calories of "not-from-concentrate" orange juice, a second group drank a 300-calorie glucose drink and the third group drank an equal amount of water. All participants were given 15 minutes to finish their food and drink. Blood samples were collected before the meal and at 1, 3 and 5 hours afterwards. There was no significant difference in inflammatory mediators among the groups before the meal.


Analysis of the samples after the meal showed that oxygen free radicals increased an average of 62 percent with water, 63 percent with the glucose and 47 percent with orange juice. There also was an increase in blood components known as toll-like receptors, which play an important role in the development of inflammation, atherosclerosis, obesity, insulin resistance, and injury to cardiac cells than can occur after a blocked vessel is reopened.


Orange juice also prevented a significant increase in SOCS-3, an important mediator of insulin resistance, which contributes to development of type 2 diabetes.
"These data emphasize that a high-fat, high-carbohydrate meal is profoundly and rapidly proinflammatory, and that this process occurs at the cellular and molecular level," says Paresh Dandona, MD, UB distinguished professor of medicine, director of the Diabetes-Endocrinology Center of Western New York at Kaleida Health and senior author on the study.


"In addition, specific proinflammatory genes are activated after the intake of glucose and a high-fat, high-carbohydrate meal, and these changes are observed in mononuclear cells that participate in vascular inflammation and insulin resistance," he says.


Learn about Chocolate Health Benefits

5 Simple ways to go from Fat to Fab!

An important event is round the corner and you feel you are out of shape... Here’s how to tone up in seven days flat!

1) Swap tea...

...for something else. If you want to get in shape fast, ditch your regular cup of tea and go for a fat-burning one instead. Studies show that green tea revs up your metabolism, so aim for several cups a day.

2) Take some supplement

Fish oil supplements are a great way to shed pounds. A recent study found that volunteers who took them lost, on an average, two kilos over three months without changing their diet or exercise habits. Fish oils are great for helping your body burn fat more efficiently.

3) Avoid salt

That’s the advice most weight-loss experts give. When people cut down the salt in their diet, they instantly look slimmer and less bloated. Too much salt makes your body retain water, which makes you puffy around your face and stomach. Go for low-salt breakfast options

Also, don’t add tablesalt to your food or cooking, avoid salty snacks such as crisps and go easy on processed sauces which are often packed with salt.

As a guide, avoid foods that contain more than 0.5g of sodium per 100gm on the label (sodium is just another way of describing the salt content). The fresher your food, the less salt it’s likely to contain. And be very careful about take-aways – Chinese food, in particular, is loaded with salt because of the sauces.

4) Ditch sugar

Like salt, sugar is a diet baddie. Even though sugary foods – such as boiled sweets and mousses – are often labelled ‘low-fat’, they’re incredibly high in calories. And if you don’t work off the calories by exercising, that sugar gets stored as fat – usually around your stomach and waist. Sugar also increases your hunger. So, ditch the sugar in your tea and also the colas that you gulp down every day.

Eat low-sugar snacks instead. Chopped vegetables, for example are rich in fibre, so they’ll keep you fuller for longer and will aid your digestion, which helps to reduce bloating. Alcohol is practically pure sugar, so give that a miss, too. If you drink regularly, you’ll notice the difference after giving it up for a week.

5) Relax

If it is day seven already, don’t worry. You can still lose weight! Stress really does make you fat. It causes hormones to be released into your body that encourage fat deposits around your waist and stomach.

Scientists have found that those with the biggest waist measurements (though not necessarily the heaviest) had the highest stress levels. The hormones secreted during times of stress are instrumental in causing more fat to be stored, particularly around the abdomen.