Early Graying Of Hair Sign Of A Serious Medical Condition→

Another added benefit of the Lipo B-12 Injections as outlined by Mark Oliver Fondobio's article on Parent Herald.

There are cases where young people are already gradually growing some gray hair. This many not be common but what does it mean when you start to grow some gray hair at a young age?

According to The Conversation page, the pigment-producing melanocytes in the scalp becomes damaged or it dies every after hair cycle which causes hair to grow gray in color but there are also cases that the melanocytes are restored that keeps the hair pigmented again.

Out of everyone's knowledge, graying of hair can also be linked with a serious medical condition called "pernicious anemia." This may not be common but we should be aware of the effects of this serious condition.

Pernicious anemia is a condition where your body loses the ability to absorb vitamin B-12. Vitamin B-12 is essential in production of red blood cells in our body. Deficiency in vitamin B-12 can lead to many complications like brain and nerve damage, stomach cancer, chronic anemia and heart problems.

Causes:

Poor diet may lead to vitamin B-12 deficiency. Vitamin B-12 is not produced by our body and the only way to get it is to eat from different kinds of foods like meat, poultry, eggs, dairy products, shellfish, and supplements.

Another cause posted by Healthline is an abnormality in the function of immune system where it attacks the cells in the stomach that produces a protein called intrinsic factor (IF). Intrinsic factor binds with vitamin B-12 in our body. If the cells that makes IF are destroyed, there will be no absorption of Vitamin B-12. So this is where the deficiency starts.

Treatment:

The best treatment for pernicious anemia is manually infuse vitamin B12 in the body by injection but the amount should slowly be decreased over time. Supporting treatment is a change of diet and lifestyle. Eating healthy foods rich in vitamin B12 is recommended and some exercise for a good blood circulation in the body.

Be sure to keep a good balance diet by eating right. Have enough excercise to become healthy.

Can Protein Powder Help You Lose Weight?→

Lisa Lillien authored a great piece regarding protein powder and weight loss.  She hit all the key points and also included some great recipe ideas!

Check it out!

Protein powder isn’t just for body builders anymore... It’s gone totally mainstream! It’s definitely a good way to add protein to your diet, but can it also help with weight loss? I’m Hungry Girl Lisa Lillien, and today I’m investigating the idea that protein powder can help you lose weight.

Why obesity drugs may not work so well for women

Bad news, ladies: Your brain may be wired in a way that doesn't help you lose weight—at least when compared with male brains. That's what scientists led by the University of Aberdeen conclude after observing how mice shed extra weight.

In a Molecular Metabolism study, pointed out by the Telegraph and Daily Record, researchers explain how male mice with increased appetite and reduced physical activity were able to shed extra weight with obesity medication.

However, the same medication failed to show much transformation in female mice. "What we have discovered is that the part of the brain that has a significant influence on how we use the calories that we eat is wired differently in males and females," researcher Lora Heisler explains in a release.

Brain hormones called POMC peptides help regulate appetite, physical activity, energy expenditure, and body weight. Male mice who took obesity medication meant to boost the production of POMC peptides enjoyed reduced appetite, as well as increased energy expenditure and physical activity.

But female mice saw only their appetite affected. Since most obesity medications in the US target the POMC neurons, researchers say women aren't fully benefiting from treatment.

"Currently there is no difference in how obesity is treated in men and women," yet the female obesity rate is double that of men in some parts of the world, Heisler notes.

She adds the study could change how doctors tackle obesity and lead to "new sex-specific medications." 

By Arden Dier

Overweight or not?

Well it depends on who is asking?  If it is your insurance company, they are probably going off of BMI alone and a recent study from UCLA finds that 54 million Americans may have been mislabeled as obese or overweight, according to the LA Times.  

Despite conventional wisdom, research has shown that people with high BMI's can actually be in great shape and those with  "healthy" BMI's can be unhealthy.  A. Janet Tomiyama, the study's lead author,  reports that cholesterol, triglyceride levels, bp, and blood sugar were analyzed along with BMI.  Unfortunately, new rules proposed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, could see millions of Americans unnecessarily penalized financially.  

A more accurate measure may be a combination of BMI & Body Fat percentage along with analysis of key health markers. The testing is more involved, but it is better indicator of a person's fitness level.  Two people may look similar, and have the same BMI, but they could actually have very different body fat amounts. 

The big commonly known fault with BMI, and the reason behind its generality, is that the number does not take muscle mass into account. This makes BMI misleading in two ways:

• Firstly, a person who is underweight or normal on the BMI scale may still have a high percentage of body fat, meaning a lower level of fitness.
• On the flip side, a person with a large amount of muscle mass, for example a football player or bodybuilder, could be told by the BMI ranking that he or she is morbidly overweight, when the individual in fact has a low percent body fat and high fitness level.

The bottom line is that BMI is a general overview and should only be an introductory assessment of a person's body composition.  It's perhaps useful when more involved testing is not available.  For more truth behind the matter, look at percent body fat.

Side Effects Of Gastric Bypass Surgery | Weight Loss Surgery

Obesity is a condition where a person has accumulated so much body fat that it might have a negative effect on their health. If a person’s body weight is at least 20% higher than it should be, he or she is considered obese. These days many people are suffering from obesity. But, those who have extreme obesity are going for Gastric bypass surgery to reduce the weight....

What is Gastric by-pass surgery?

Gastric bypass is surgery involves a surgical operation which reduces the size of the stomach. After the surgery, your stomach will be smaller. You will feel full with less food. The food you eat will no longer go into some parts of your stomach and small intestine that absorb food.

This surgery is performed on the people those who are suffering from extreme obesity. However, there are many side effects depending on the extensity of the operation. Here are some of the most common effects of surgery.

Side Effects of Gastric by-pass surgery:

1. Allergic reactions

The person who undergone may experience allergic reactions which may lead to death if these reactions are severe.

2. Hair Loss

Due to increased levels of vitamins, most of the patients experience hair loss with on short period of time.

3. Gallstones

These are small stones of cholesterol formed in the gall bladder or bile passages. They can be created following rapid weight loss which leads to their development in as many as 1/3 of bariatric surgery patients. They do not cause symptoms but can be very irritating and lead to intense pain in the abdomen, nausea and vomiting.

4. Kidney Stones

The risk of developing kidney stones increases after bariatric surgery due to changes in digestion and the resulting changes in the chemical makeup of patients urine.

5. Complications of pregnancy

As there will be a vitamin deficiency after the surgery patients may experience pregnancy complications and in some cases, the gastric banding has to be loosened every time throughout the pregnancy period.

6. Indigestion

This is also called dyspepsia. It is the inability to digest or difficulty in digesting food, the incomplete or imperfect digestion of food or a case or attack of indigestion marked especially by a burning sensation or discomfort in the upper abdomen. This occurs in a short period after the surgery and can be reverted by having to change your diet which includes avoiding greasy foods and limiting the intake of certain drinks and alcohol. Other medicine should also be avoided such as aspirin.

7. Intolerance to certain foods, beverages and drugs

Following the reduction of stomach size and digestive system, there will be certain foods, beverages and drugs that you’ll need to avoid and certain diet habits you’ll need to maintain. Certain drinks and beverages will have to be limited as they can cause an effect on the gastric by-pass and eventually result to ulcers. Alcohol should be limited as some alcoholic drinks may contain a lot of calories which lead to overturning effects.

8. Gastric band slippage

This occurs in 70% of patients and occurs when the stomach banding slips out of position leading to an enlarged stomach pouch. This often results in nausea, heartburn and vomiting.

9. Dental Problems

With this surgery swallowing can become quite a task especially when you eat too quickly, or try to swallow food that is not chewed enough.

10. Food Intolerance

This is quite common after weight loss surgery as the body is unable to tolerate certain foods such as red meat or green salad resulting in other symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease.

11. Blood Clots

After this surgery blood clots which is also known as deep vein thrombosis (for the legs) and pulmonary embolism (for the lungs) is common and affects 1 in every 100 people.

Gastric by-pass surgery has all these side effects. It can be used as an optional one if you are suffering from extreme obesity. Another option is to use HCG diet drops as these drops are made from natural HCG hormone which is produced during early pregnancy stages. Also, there are no side effects by following the HCG diet plan. By using HCG drops one can lose the weight as early as possible and it is the safe method.

Food Pyramid Fallacy

Food Pyramid Fallacy      

 “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” - Hippocrates.   

Food, real food, is essential for life; without it we die.  Real food brings health and vitality to the body and mind by delivering essential nutrients to every cell and organ.   It is the fuel that makes our body machine run properly, just like our car needs gasoline.  If we pour a bottle of soda pop into the gas tank of our car, we can’t expect the car to run right because it is not the correct fuel for the car.  This is the same thing with our body.  It requires the correct fuel in order to run properly.  It has no idea what to do with fake fuel or excessive non-essential calories, so it ends up storing it as abnormal fat deposits on the body.  While this is happening, there is a state of inflammation occurring within us at the cellular level that is often not detected until discomfort and disease has set in.   These diseases are generally recognized as obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, inflammatory bowel disease etc...

Revised Food Pyramid

The two macronutrients that are essential for fueling a human body are healthy fat and protein.  A nutrient is essential only if we must consume it in order for our body to use it for fuel, thereby obtaining vital energy, water, amino acids, vitamins and minerals from it.  Carbohydrate, particularly of the grain and starch variety, is often mistaken as an essential macronutrient but, because the body is able to get the glucose that certain cells needs via gluconeogenesis of proteins without consuming excess carbohydrate rich foods, some doctors/scientists now believe it is not one of the essentials, therefore reduction of them is now viewed by many as a healthy way to address the above mentioned health concerns.     (1)

For decades governments around the world have been advising their citizens how to feed their families.  The traditional food pyramid, introduced in Sweden in 1974 and then later adopted in the US, is notoriously bottom heavy with carbohydrate rich grain and starch foods, with the supposition that eating a low fat/ high carb diet would improve people’s weights and health.  This has since been tested and found to be untrue.  (2)  

Since the introduction of the traditional food pyramid and the government’s low fat/ high carb recommendations, the number of people with these diseases has risen in both Sweden and the USA  leading, ironically, to the Swedish government doing  studies and now rejecting the former low fat/ high carb advice and advocating a low carb/ high fat nutrition plan instead.  (3)

Many people (myself included) who have adopted a Low Carb/ High(Healthy) Fat/ Moderate Protein lifestyle have been able to lose unwanted fat and even change their overall state of health and well-being; improving, or even reversing, the above mentioned health concerns.  

1.  http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/75/5/951.2.long

2. Low fat diet study:  In a massive study that included tens of thousands of people, women who follow such a diet for 7.5 years end up weighing only 0.4kg (1 lb) less than women eating the standard western diet. There is also no effect on heart disease 

3.  http://healthimpactnews.com/2013/sweden-becomes-first-western-nation-to-reject-low-fat-diet-dogma-in-favor-of-low-carb-high-fat-nutrition/

Dr. Sarah Hallberg TED Talk Highlights

Dr. Hallberg's five simple rules for eating:

1. If it says light, low-fat or fat-free, it stays in the grocery store
2. Eat real food
3. Don't eat anything you don't like
4. Eat when you're hungry; don't eat when you're not hungry -- no matter what the clock says
5. Do not eat GPS foods: Grains, Potatoes or Sugar.

EASY KETO GARLIC CHICKEN

EASY KETO GARLIC CHICKEN

Ingredients:  

 4-6 chicken breasts

2Tb Sea salt

2Tb extra virgin olive oil 

4-6 garlic cloves, minced

2-3 Tsp Truvia (stevia blend)

Put chicken breasts in large bowl.   Mix 2Tb sea salt with a few cups of water.  Pour over chicken, cover 

and refrigerate 12-24 hours.   Preheat oven to 450F.  Rinse breasts and pat dry with paper towels.  Spray  some olive oil in a baking dish then place chicken in it.  Mince 4-6 cloves of garlic and sauté in olive oil ‘til tender.  Stir in the sweetener.   Baste on top of breasts.  Bake 15-30 minutes depending on cup size .  Juices should run clear when poked.

Lemon Garlic Mahi-Mahi atop Asparagus

Lemon Garlic Mahi-Mahi atop Asparagus 

1  Mahi -Mahi Fillet (hCG Plan:  weigh out 4.5oz raw = 113 calories, Keto Diet use 5-6oz)

3-4 cloves Garlic, smashed

1-2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

1 Tbs Bragg's Liquid Aminos or coconut aminos 

10 spears asparagus (hCG Plan: 50 cal, Keto Plan you may increase amount to 2 cups if desired)

Preheat oven to 350*   Make a foil “envelope” in a small baking dish.   Lay asparagus on bottom, then top with mahi mahi.  Mix garlic, lemon juice and aminos and pour over fish.  Bake about 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.  Enjoy!  OR  Marinade in fridge for at least one hour and cook on grill.