Friday, July 18, 2008

Study: Low-carb diet best for weight, cholesterol (AP)

Food is seen on a table at a restaurant at the port of El Masnou, near Barcelona May 16, 2008. The Spanish government is leading a bid to persuade UNESCO to put the Mediterranean diet on the world heritage list. REUTERS/Albert GeaAP - The Atkins diet may have proved itself after all: A low-carb diet and a Mediterranean-style regimen helped people lose more weight than a traditional low-fat diet in one of the longest and largest studies to compare the dueling weight-loss techniques.

How many times a day do you say, What should I eat? As a registered dietitian and personal trainer, I hear this question all the time! Instead of basing my response on numerous health and physiological reasons to eat/not eat certain foods, I have come to realize that the actual question being posed is What do I eat to lose or maintain my weight?

My philosophy on food and diet is that all foods fit into a healthy lifestyle. I dont think that a food should be labeled as bad; therefore you should never eat it. I also dont think most foods labeled as good can be eaten with caution thrown to the wind. You have to learn moderation and portion control.

Now, let me ask a question. Do you read food labels? If so, what do you usually look at on a food label? While everything on a food label has a purpose, your first priority is this: review the serving size! All of the other information on the food label is based on that serving size.

Does this scenario sound familiar? You look at a bag of cookies and see that it only has 90 calories and only 1 gram of fat so you eat the whole bag. Now look at the serving size. The bag has 25 cookies and a serving is one cookie. That means that all the information the 90 calories and 1 gram of fat- is for one serving, or one cookie! YOU JUST AT 25 COOKIES! Even if you ate the bag over the course of a day, you still ate 2250 calories and 25 grams of fat just from snacking on cookies throughout the day! While this example may be extreme, I hope you can see how serving sizes make those other numbers on the label really add up.

And dont forget to look at the food labels on what you drink. A bottle of soda may seem like one serving. But if you look at the label, you will find that many soda bottles contain up to 2.5 servings. That means that the bottle of soda does not have 120 calories as the label indicates, but rather 300 calories (120 calories X 2.5 servings).

While this information may seem fairly simple just look at the food label- have you tried it? Why try to turn your life upside down with radical weight loss/control schemes when you have not attempted a simple approach first? A good goal is to stick with the serving sizes. That is the simplest approach.

Mandy Conrad, MS, RD, NSCA-CPT,
Nutrition and Fitness Consultant,
Licensed Provider of Real Living Nutrition Services

Mandy Conrad has over 10 years experience in the health field. She holds a bachelors degree in both fitness management and nutrition, as well as a masters degree in health promotion. Through her private practice and as a licensed provider of Real Living Nutrition Services, she enjoys helping individuals realize their ability to make healthy decision-making a way of life. Let her help you, visit http://www.reallivingnutrition.com/MandyConrad.aspx

Regular chlamydia tests urged for young people (Reuters)

Reuters - Young sexually active people should get themselves tested annually for the infection chlamydia and again every time they change partner, the Health Protection Agency said on Tuesday.

Omega 3 supplements in the form of fish oil capsules are recommended for daily consumption to help maintain good health. The typical dose for a healthy person is 3 to 4 capsules daily that will provide approximately 400 mgs of both DHA and EPA. One tablespoon of the liquid form of Omega 3 fish oil is enough to provide the daily requirements.

DHA and EPA are found in large amounts primarily in fish. Omega 3s is necessary in the prevention of diseases such as heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, arthritis, diabetes, and many other diseases. Omega 3 supplements should be taken under advisement of a physician.

Omega 3 dosage must be monitored especially for pregnant women. Omega 3s lower blood pressure and should not be taken in large amounts at once. Omega 3 capsules were introduced to help regulate the amounts of DHA and EPA taken at any given time. The 3 to 4 capsule dosage mentioned above is typically split by taking two in the morning and two in the evening.

Omega 3 supplements or fish should be part of a healthy diet and health regimen. buy l cysteine hcl powder fish is the most abundant source of Omega 3 there are plant sources as well. Soybeans, flaxseeds, and tofu are good source as well.

Other plant sources provide both Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids. Plant oils tend to raise blood pressure so they are not recommended for those who with high cholesterol and high blood pressure. These include hemp, corn, and soybean oils.

Another alternative to fish oil supplements or fish consumption are Omega 3 enriched foods. These foods include Omega 3 enriched eggs. These eggs provide up to 300 mgs of Omega 3 in a single serving. Two Omega 3 eggs are enough to fulfill the daily recommended Omega 3 dosage.

Pharmaceutical grade fish oil should be used to make high quality supplements. This means that the fish oil has been put through a process called molecular distillation to remove all toxins and contaminants from the oil by heating it to extremely high temperatures. It is also considered to be the only fish oil that is fit for human consumption.

The oil from the Hoki fish from the waters from New Zealand is also excellent because the waters contain minimal amounts of contaminants including heavy metals and toxins.Good quality supplements can be used by almost everyone with no reservations.

John Collins is a content editor who focuses on a wide array of niche health topics. His latest website - Natural Dha Fish Oil focuses on omega 3 as a whole, and in particular, a natural product our editors personally use with excellent health results known as - Dha Esters

Be sure to check out our Omega 3 Dha Esters of choice, it is the natural supplement we use and recommend to friends and family, and have done for over 3 years.