Category Archives: Diet And Food

A photograph of 27-year-old male rhesus monkeys used in the study. The one on the left had a restricted calorie diet. The one on the right was fed a normal weight diet.

A 23-year study by the National Institute on Aging shows that calorie-restricted rhesus monkeys - which have a similar genetic code, median lifespan and physiology to humans - didn't live any longer than monkeys who ate a heavier diet.

"One thing that's becoming clear is that calorie restriction is not a Holy Grail for extending the life span of everything that walks on earth," lead author Rafael de Cabo, an experimental gerontologist at the U.S. National Institute on Aging (NIA) in Baltimore, Md., said to the Wall Street Journal.

Previous research has shown that calorie restriction has helped animals including rats, mice, yeast, fruit flies and round worms live 30 to 50 percent longer. In these cases, caloric intake was reduced by 10 to 40 percent compared to other creatures that were allowed to eat as much as they want.

Then, a landmark study published in 2009 from the University of Wisconsin showed that reducing calories in the diet of rhesus monkeys over a 20 year period helped extend their lives. Only 13 percent of the monkeys of a diet died because of age-related instances, compared to 37 percent of the monkeys who could eat whatever they wanted.

In the new study, 121 monkeys split into a group between the ages of 1 to 14 and another group between the ages of 16 to 23 were either fed a normal diet or a diet that was 30 percent fewer calories than their normal diet.

By 2006, the calorie-restricted monkeys had seemingly younger immune systems and were less likely to get heart disease, diabetes, cancer and other diseases of aging. But, at the end of the study, the oldest animals had the same amount of tumors, heart disease and overall decline in health as the group that was allowed to eat more.

The monkeys who had caloric restriction starting in the earlier period of life didn't live longer, with scientists calculating that the probability that they would outlive their peers who had more to eat at .1 percent. The young restricted diet group were also more likely to die of causes not related to aging than the other group. They did have less incidence of cancer, however.

As for the group that started eating fewer calories later in life, they did show lower levels of triglycerides, which have been linked to heart disease risk. But, neither calorie-restricted group lived longer.

Scientists believe several factors allowed the Wisconsin monkeys to live longer, according to a Nature blog post. First, the Wisconsin monkeys had seven times the table sugar - about 28 percent of calories, similar to an average American's diet - than the NIA monkeys. The Wisconsin monkeys that were not calorie restricted were also allowed to eat as much as they wanted to, meaning they could have eaten themselves to death. The NIA monkeys who had the higher caloric diet were eating closer to a normal diet, but were considerably lighter than the Wisconsin monkeys. Also, in the NIA study, the monkeys were from India and China accounting for more genetic variety, where the Wisconsin monkeys were only from India.

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Calorie-restricted diet doesn't help monkeys live longer, study shows

Aug. 29, 2012, 1:42 p.m.

An effective diet entails a balanced intake and plenty of exercise, right?

Not exactly, if you follow the dietary advice of Elizabeth Taylor.

We've heard our fair share of questionable dietary tips - not from least Karl Lagerfeld, who champions the highly dubious nutritional content of Diet Coke as key to slimming down from fashion heavyweight to fashion's dahling.

He's not alone. Who can forget the baby food diet (possibly not you, Jennifer Aniston), or those who are said to order water and Red Bull in place of a meal (we're looking at you, Paris Hilton), or those who favour ADD drug Adderall (Britney Spears, that was once you, we hear)? There are those who have experimented with laxatives and, of course, those who resort to a surgeon's scalpel to shift a few pounds.

Grapefruit diets - la Kylie Minogue may be less terrifying, but watching calories is nothing new. Nietzsche and Henry James were strict weightwatchers, while the Huffington Post reports that Greta Garbo and Gloria Swanson were ahead of their time in another way, choosing a vegetarian diet in days when meat was all but obligatory.

Reportedly a proponent if the distinctly unappealing steak-and-peanut butter sandwich, Taylor doled out some eyebrow-raising weight-loss tips, pushing a high saturated fat diet that has well and truly fallen by the wayside with current nutritionists (and anathema, surely, to those who criticise the Atkins diet).

What a difference 23 years makes - along with her take on steak, the Cleopatra actress mixed cottage cheese with sour cream and advised nothing but plain toast for breakfast in her 1987 diet book, Elizabeth Takes Off.

Not that the actress didn't have a good innings - she died in 2011 at the age of 79.

We may be better off taking a leaf from Audrey Hepburn's lifestyle. According to Pamela Keogh's What Would Audrey Do?, she preferred organic produce and the odd plate of pasta, treating herself to a square of dark cooking chocolate in the afternoons. She drank wine, but was partial to the "occasional Scotch", said the Daily Mail.

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Steak and peanut butter: the Liz Taylor diet Save

High fat diet ... famously curvaceous Elizabeth Taylor stars in 1959 film Suddenly Last Summer. Photo: Reutersr

An effective diet entails a balanced intake and plenty of exercise, right?

Not exactly, if you follow the dietary advice of Elizabeth Taylor.

We've heard our fair share of questionable dietary tips - not from least Karl Lagerfeld, who champions the highly dubious nutritional content of Diet Coke as key to slimming down from fashion heavyweight to fashion's dahling.

He's not alone. Who can forget the baby food diet (possibly not you, Jennifer Aniston), or those who are said to order water and Red Bull in place of a meal (we're looking at you, Paris Hilton), or those who favour ADD drug Adderall (Britney Spears, that was once you, we hear)? There are those who have experimented with laxatives and, of course, those who resort to a surgeon's scalpel to shift a few pounds.

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Grapefruit diets - la Kylie Minogue may be less terrifying, but watching calories is nothing new. Nietzsche and Henry James were strict weightwatchers, while the Huffington Post reports that Greta Garbo and Gloria Swanson were ahead of their time in another way, choosing a vegetarian diet in days when meat was all but obligatory.

Reportedly a proponent if the distinctly unappealing steak-and-peanut butter sandwich, Taylor doled out some eyebrow-raising weight-loss tips, pushing a high saturated fat diet that has well and truly fallen by the wayside with current nutritionists (and anathema, surely, to those who criticise the Atkins diet).

Audrey Hepburn in 1957. The actress preferred to stay active rather than take any exercise - but seemed to eat worryingly few proteins.

What a difference 23 years makes - along with her take on steak, the Cleopatra actress mixed cottage cheese with sour cream and advised nothing but plain toast for breakfast in her 1987 diet book, Elizabeth Takes Off.

Originally posted here:
Steak and peanut butter: the Liz Taylor diet

Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012

OSAKA Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto will personally appeal to Diet members to join a new political party he is forming in mid-September and run in the next Lower House election, sources in his local political group said Tuesday.

The formal announcement of the new party is expected to be made at a fundraiser for Hashimoto's Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka) on Sept. 12. A public discussion between Hashimoto and Diet members interested in Osaka Ishin no Kai's platform for the national election, which is expected to be finalized by the end of this week, will take place in Osaka on Sept. 9, immediately following the end of the current Diet session, the sources said.

"We're not going to call on political parties to participate in the public discussion. We want to speak to Diet members individually," Osaka Gov. and Osaka Ishin no Kai Secretary General Ichiro Matsui said Monday.

In addition to halving the number of Lower House seats to 240, the new party platform is expected to call for ending the prefectural system of government and creating a system of between nine and 13 regions with greater autonomy.

Fundamental reform of the tax system, including turning the national consumption tax into a local tax, will be part of the platform. Hashimoto is also expected to support Japan's participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade agreement.

To become a national party, Hashimoto needs the formal participation of five current Diet members. Democratic Party of Japan Lower House member Yorihisa Matsuno and Liberal Democratic Party Lower House member Kenta Matsunami have been in talks with Hashimoto for the past few weeks about forming a new party and are expected to join, and Osaka Ishin no Kai officials are confident they already have five members lined up.

Formal solicitation of potential candidates for the new party is expected to begin following the Sept. 9 meeting. While the majority are expected to come from the Kansai region, Hashimoto aims to attract candidates in other parts of Japan where he and Osaka Ishin no Kai are particularly popular, especially Ehime Prefecture, northern Kyushu, Niigata Prefecture and parts of the Kanto region.

A number of candidates will also come from the political school that Hashimoto established in March. There are 888 students there currently studying the art of political campaigning.

Hashimoto intends to endorse the most promising students in the Lower House election. But many in Osaka Ishin no Kai have long been concerned that selecting only students from the school as its candidates could result in a group of Diet members with no governing experience. In recent weeks, they have been sounding out experienced Diet members about joining the party.

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Hashimoto calls Diet ranks to form party

Posted by admin in Food & Wine on August 27th, 2012 | one response

By Allison Aubrey, NPR

Diet soda, once the soft drink of choice for adults watching their calories, isnt just for grown ups anymore. Increasingly, kids are getting their fix, too.

In fact, consumption of diet drinks has doubled among U.S. children over a decade. About 1 in 4 of adults drink low-calorie or no-calorie sweetened drinks and foods. And for children: Six percent were consuming diet drinks in 1999-2000. This increased to 12.5 percent in 2007-08. The findings were recently published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

So, if parents are helping kids cut calories and sugar by offering diet drinks, is this good for kids health?

This is the $64,000 question, researcher Barry Popkin tells the Salt. Popkin is the author of The World is Fat: The Fads, Trends, Policies,and Products That Are Fattening the Human Race, and a professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

On one hand, theres some evidence that replacing soda and juices with calorie-free beverages can help teenagers control their weight. Theres also a study that found diet soda drinkers were less likely to develop metabolic syndrome, as long as they were eating a prudent diet.

But on the other hand? Popkin says some people seem to use diet sodas to rationalize a very unhealthy diet the Ill have a Diet Coke With That Big Mac crowd.

Read the whole story

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Youths switching from full sugar drinks to diet

By Sumith Kizhakedan - August 27, 2012 | Tickers: PEP, KO | 0 Comments

Sumith is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinions of our bloggers and are not formally edited.

Consider a market that is 1.2 billion strong yet still in its nascent stage when it comes to adopting aerated drinks. It is with the aim of tapping this huge market potential that Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) has decided to announce the investment of $5 billion in its Indian operations by 2020. Thirty-five years after it had to exit the country due to the prevalent government policies at that time, Coca Cola is marching on in India full steam.

India like many countries in the emerging markets is also undergoing slow growth due to the current prevalent economic crisis. Its growth rate has slowed down to between 5 and 6 percent. But that is still better than many developed economies which have flat or negative growth. With its ever growing and burgeoning middle class, whose aspirations has attracted many big ticker investments from consumer companies, it was just a matter of time for Coca Cola to set things in motion in India. The Indian pie perfectly fits into Coca Cola's plan to double its revenue and volume by 2020.

Giving Coca-Cola atough fight in the Indian Market is none other than the fellow American rival Pepsico (NYSE: PEP). Both of them dominate the Indian carbonated Soft drinks market, with Coca-Colaaccounting for 60% of the retail value sales compared to 37% for Pepsi.

Both the cola companies have huge investments in India already to the tune of $4 billion making them one of the largest source of foreign investment in the country.Taking their combined furture invetments into perspective, the final figure looks a towering $8-9 billion in the next few years. This huge interest also has to do with the Cola market in India. Last year, the market consumed one billion cases. There are 93 cola factories which do the honors of manufacturing the cola drinks. Close to 10,000 trucks ferry fresh bottles to retailers and empty bottles to factories every day. So in spite of all the controversies over the ground water level and pesticides from these factories, both the cola giants march on relentlessly. Thats perhaps because India is the final frontier for the two cola giants considering that in the US, opposition to the colas is at an all-time high.

Ideally speaking once you take your eyes from the US, shouldnt the next fixation be China? China ought to have been the next logical stop. But strong local brands (of Tingyi ad Wahaha Group) have made it a tough market to crack for Coke and PepsiCo. As a result, their share is below 25 percent in China.

However when it comes to India, the picture changes completely. The Indian beverages market has grown at 16-20 percent per annum in the last 3 years.It's now valued at approximately 4 billion dollars in size. The per capita consumption is still far less than global average of 90 bottles, sitting far lower at 12 bottles per annum. The beverages market services less than 25 percent of the billion plus Indian populance. Furthermore the Cola's have less than 5 percent share of the food and beverage requirements for a average Indian. Considering these low numbers both the Cola companies hope for a huge upswing in demand, almost a billion more potential customers.

On the one hand while Coca Colaaspires India to be among the top five countries in their entire global business by volumes, for Pespicoits already there.Yet India's share is only 4 percent of the global market. Therefore it's safe to conclude that the near and far term growth opportunity is huge for both companies.

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India on Coke Diet!

WASHINGTON, Aug. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Research published in the latest issue of the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics indicates there is no benefit for the average healthy adult to follow the gluten-free diet. It also debunks the perception that going gluten-free is an effective way to lose weight. The paper, "Gluten-Free Diet: Imprudent Dietary Advice for the General Population?" authored by Arizona State University professor and researcher, Glenn Gaesser, PhD, addresses common misperceptions about the gluten-free diet and explores the scientific support for following it.

The term gluten refers to protein found in the grains wheat, rye and barley. People affected by celiac disease and gluten sensitivity must avoid all foods containing gluten; currently, the gluten-free diet is the only treatment for these conditions. Approximately one percent of Americans have celiac disease and another six percent are estimated to suffer from gluten sensitivity, yet many others believe going gluten-free leads to good health.

Despite purported health claims often seen in the media, Dr. Gaesser found there is no evidence that the gluten-free diet provides benefits to the general population and that gluten itself may, in fact, provide important benefits, such as supporting heart, gut and immune system health. Likewise, he explored the perception that the gluten-free diet is effective for weight loss. After reviewing the existing research on gluten, Dr. Gaesser concluded the gluten-free diet is not an effective weight-loss method. In fact, it frequently leads to weight gain because many gluten-free products contain more added fats and sugars than their gluten-containing counterparts.

"This paper is one of the first to look at the other side of the gluten craze. While the gluten-free diet is an important medical treatment for people with celiac disease and gluten sensitivity, far too many Americans are following the diet for reasons that simply do not make sense," stated Dr. Gaesser. "Even though it has been endorsed by celebrities for weight loss, let's face it they are not the experts on nutrition and health. It's time to listen to the science."

These findings run counter to a recent Harris survey of more than 2,000 adults polled about their perceptions and use of the gluten-free diet. Of those participants who followed the diet, half reported doing it to "feel better" and 26% as a "diet for losing weight." Furthermore, according to a 2011 report from Packaged Facts, the gluten-free product market grew by a rate of 30% each year between 2006 and 2010; reasons for this rapid growth include more accurate testing methods for celiac disease and gluten sensitivity, the perception gluten-free products are healthier in addition to endorsements from celebrities.

This disconnect illustrates the need for stronger efforts to educate the public about reasons for following the gluten-free diet.

For expert nutrition advice, and more information about the gluten-free diet, please visit http://www.gowiththegrain.org.

About the Grain Foods FoundationThe Grain Foods Foundation, a joint venture of members of the milling, baking and allied industries formed in 2004, is dedicated to advancing the public's understanding of the beneficial role grain-based foods play in the human diet. Directed by a board of trustees, funding for the Foundation is provided through voluntary donations from private grain-based food companies and is supplemented by industry associations. For more information about the Grain Foods Foundation, visit gowiththegrain.org, or find GoWithTheGrain on Facebook and Twitter.

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New Research Debunks Gluten-free Diet for Weight Loss

Enlarge Todd Keith/iStockphoto.com

Even Junior is drinking diet soda now. But is it good for him?

Even Junior is drinking diet soda now. But is it good for him?

Diet soda, once the soft drink of choice for adults watching their calories, isn't just for grown ups anymore. Increasingly, kids are getting their fix, too.

In fact, consumption of diet drinks has doubled among U.S. children over a decade. About 1 in 4 of adults drink low-calorie or no-calorie sweetened drinks and foods. And for children: Six percent were consuming diet drinks in 1999-2000. This increased to 12.5 percent in 2007-2008. The findings were recently published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

So, if parents are helping kids cut calories and sugar by offering diet drinks, is this good for kids' health?

"This is the $64,000 question," researcher Barry Popkin tells The Salt. Popkin is the author of The World is Fat: The Fads, Trends, Policies,and Products That Are Fattening the Human Race, and a Professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

On one hand, there's some evidence that replacing soda and juices with calorie-free beverages can help teenagers control their weight. There's also a study that found diet soda drinkers were less likely to develop metabolic syndrome, as long as they were eating a prudent diet.

But on the other hand? Popkin says some people seem to use diet sodas to rationalize a very unhealthy diet the "I'll have a Diet Coke With That Big Mac" crowd.

And even though consumer concerns about aspartame linger (European regulators just asked for more time to study it) Popkin says "we still have no evidence of any toxicological or negative health effect of diet sweetener intake."

See original here:
Kids Ditching Full-Sugar Soda For Diet Drinks, Just Like Mom And Dad

You may have heard of a low FODMAP diet, and wondered, not just whether it might be right for you, but also wondered what in the world it is.

FODMAP stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols.

Well, perhaps that definition doesn't clarify things much.

That name contains a list of indigestible sugars that are found in many foods. Some people will experience IBS symptoms from these foods because their guts are sensitive to them.

Many foods that should be avoided or reduced in a low FODMAP diet are certain fruits, sweeteners, grains, vegetables and milk products.

According to Emedicine.net, a diet low in FODMAPs can bring some relief to many people who have irritable bowel syndrome reducing symptoms.

The diet is not considered a cure but it can ease the pain, gas, bloating and other IBS symptoms.

If you've been seen by a doctor and have been found not to have other conditions such as celiac disease, ovarian cancer and inflammatory bowel disease, you might want to consider a low FODMAP diet. ___________________________________________________ More From EmpowHER: Detoxing Diet? It's Hard to Decide

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New 'FODMAP' diet finds relief for those with sensitive stomachs

DARRON CUMMINGS - ASSOCIATED PRESS

Two studies presented in June 2011 at the American Diabetes Association's Scientific Sessions suggest diet soda may not help battle pounds or diabetes.

Can diet sodas really make you gain weight?

Recent headlines reporting that diet sodas can lead to weight gain have stirred up debate among health experts. While zero-calorie diet sodas have been a dieters best friend for decades, recent research brings up the question: Do they really work?

Two studies presented in June 2011 at the American Diabetes Associations Scientific Sessions suggest diet soda may not help battle pounds or diabetes. Researchers from the University of Texas showed data that diet soft drink consumption is associated with a 70 percent greater waist circumference a risk factor for type 2 diabetes compared with non-users.

In the second study, researchers found that the artificial sweetener aspartame raised blood sugar in diabetes-prone mice. These findings coincide with other recent studies that have found negative health results associated with drinking diet soda. In a January 2012 study, daily diet soda intake (at least one per day) was linked with an increased risk for vascular events, such as stroke.

The research on diet soda and weight is far from conclusive. A March 2012 study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition linked switching high-calorie drinks, such as regular soda, for calorie-free drinks like water or diet soda, to weight loss. The switch from high-calorie to low-calorie drinks caused a sufficient reduction in calories to provide a 2 percent body weight loss over six months.

Why are the findings so confusing? You would expect the consumption of zero-calorie beverages to be uniformly linked with weight loss. The answer may be simply that obese people drink a lot of diet soda, which would explain the association between diet soda intake and higher weight in obese populations. And diet soda may encourage higher calorie intake of other food groups the old diet soda and a brownie habit. If people think theyve been good by drinking a diet soda, they may indulge in high-calorie treats to reward themselves.

For now, your best bet to keep your diet soda habit under control may be to drink more of the best zero-calorie beverages you can find plain water, coffee or tea.

Environmental Nutrition is an independent newsletter written by nutrition experts. For more information, visit environmentalnutrition.com.

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Diet soda and weight gain