Healthy Weight - it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle!

Losing Weight

What is healthy weight loss?

It's natural for anyone trying to lose weight to want to lose it very quickly. But evidence shows that people who lose weight gradually and steadily (about 1 to 2 pounds per week) are more successful at keeping weight off. Healthy weight loss isn't just about a "diet" or "program". It's about an ongoing lifestyle that includes long-term changes in daily eating and exercise habits.

To lose weight, you must use up more calories than you take in. Since one pound equals 3,500 calories, you need to reduce your caloric intake by 500—1000 calories per day to lose about 1 to 2 pounds per week.1

Once you've achieved a healthy weight, by relying on healthful eating and physical activity most days of the week (about 60—90 minutes, moderate intensity), you are more likely to be successful at keeping the weight off over the long term.

Losing weight is not easy, and it takes commitment. But if you're ready to get started, we've got a step-by-step guide to help get you on the road to weight loss and better health.

Even Modest Weight Loss Can Mean Big Benefits

The good news is that no matter what your weight loss goal is, even a modest weight loss, such as 5 to 10 percent of your total body weight, is likely to produce health benefits, such as improvements in blood pressure, blood cholesterol, and blood sugars.2

For example, if you weigh 200 pounds, a 5 percent weight loss equals 10 pounds, bringing your weight down to 190 pounds. While this weight may still be in the "overweight" or "obese" range, this modest weight loss can decrease your risk factors for chronic diseases related to obesity.

So even if the overall goal seems large, see it as a journey rather than just a final destination. You'll learn new eating and physical activity habits that will help you live a healthier lifestyle. These habits may help you maintain your weight loss over time.

In addition to improving your health, maintaining a weight loss is likely to improve your life in other ways. For example, a study of participants in the National Weight Control Registry found that those who had maintained a significant weight loss reported improvements in not only their physical health, but also their energy levels, physical mobility, general mood, and self-confidence.

Want to learn more?

Getting Started 

Check out our step-by-step guide to help you get on the road to weight loss and better health.

Improving Your Eating Habits 

Your eating habits may be leading to weight gain; for example, eating too fast, always clearing your plate, eating when you not hungry and skipping meals (or maybe just breakfast).

Keeping the Weight Off 

Losing weight is the first step. Once you've lost weight, you'll want to learn how to keep it off.

http://www.cdc.gov/HEALTHYWEIGHT/LOSING_WEIGHT/INDEX.HTML

Last Update: March 8, 2012.

Being overweight increases the risk of health problems, but what benefits can you expect if you lose weight? Is there an immediate health pay-off, or is it impossible to get quick results? Losing weight and then keeping it off usually takes a lot of motivation, because we really have to change our lifestyles if we want to change our weight for the long term. Changing long-established habits and patterns of behavior is hardly ever easy.

If we want to lose weight, not achieving our goals can make us feel quite bad about ourselves. Being a normal weight is important for our health, but that is not the only issue for many of us. Our society places great importance on how we look. This is why we can become unhappy or even depressed if we feel unattractive because of our body size. On the other hand, there is also the view that overweight people just enjoy life and have more fun than other people. Contradictory messages like this are common when it comes to weight and weight loss. So what happens emotionally when you lose weight? How many of your problems could losing weight solve?

Unfortunately, despite all the claims about weight and weight loss, there are not many reliable answers to these questions. But some of the research could help you find your way through the maze of claims and counter-claims about weight loss.

How much weight do you need to lose to get healthier?

Firstly, you do not have to lose weight if you are not genuinely overweight. And even if you are, weight is not the only important issue, either. What is actually most critical is the amount of fat in your body, and where that fat has built up. Muscle, for example, is quite heavy. So if you gain weight because you have increased your muscle bulk, the extra bit of weight is no problem at all.

Two approaches are commonly used to determine if people are overweight: the body mass index (BMI) and waist measurement. The BMI helps to determine how much you weigh in relation to your height. Waist measurements give you an idea of how fat is distributed in your body.

The BMI is the most common way to try to work out if people are overweight or very overweight (obese). It measures the relationship between weight and height. People who have a BMI over 30 are considered to be obese. Being obese is a greater risk to health than being overweight. People who have a BMI between 25 and 30 are usually considered to be overweight. Being overweight alone does not necessarily cause health problems, but it could be a problem if the person already has certain illnesses, such as type 2 diabetes.

The BMI scale cannot always be used in this way because, for example, a certain BMI is associated with different health risks in people from South Asia compared to people from Europe. The same is true for waist measurements. A waist measurement of 88 cm or more could put European women at a higher risk of health problems, while for European men, more than 102 cm could be a sign of increased health risks. This is also true even if their weight is within the normal range.

You can get a better idea of how fat is distributed in your body by looking at the relationship between your waist and your hips. If you have a relatively big amount of belly fat, your risk of disease is higher. A more "apple-shaped" person with a "beer belly" and narrow hips faces higher health risks than someone who does not have much fat stored around their belly. Abdominal (belly) fat in particular increases your risk of heart disease. If your body fat tends to be stored around your legs, hips and bottom rather than your belly, then it is less likely to be a health problem. This is often called being "pear-shaped", because you are smaller on the top and rounder lower down.

Being too worried about your weight can itself become a problem. If you are not in fact overweight, but keep losing weight, then you could quickly become unhealthy.

Are there any quick health results that I can get from losing weight?

Being overweight or obese increases your risk of long-term health problems that could shorten your life, like diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Preventing these serious illnesses is often the main health reason why people try to lose weight if they are obese.

Reducing your risk for serious life-threatening illnesses is an important health benefit. Many people may feel that the best reward for losing weight is feeling healthier and seeing an improvement. One of the first benefits you might notice is having more energy. If you are losing weight with the help of exercise, your fitness will be increasing. So you could quite quickly be able to climb more stairs without getting out of breath, for instance.

If you have osteoarthritis in the knees, you are likely to experience a quick improvement there, too. Being overweight or obese puts a lot of stress on your knee joints in particular. If you have been overweight for a long time, your risk of osteoarthritis will increase quite a lot as well. Losing weight can prevent you from developing osteoarthritis of the knee joints. If you already have painful knees, losing weight can relieve the symptoms.

If you are obese and you have osteoarthritis in your knees, you are likely to notice that you can move your joints more easily if you manage to lose 10% of your body weight in three months. But even if you only lose 5% of your body weight in five months, you could still feel a real difference in what your knees can do. If you are 80 kg (about 177 pounds), then 5% of your body weight would be 4 kg (about 9 pounds). You can read more about the positive effects exercise and losing weight have on osteoarthritis here.

One of the other important health benefits of losing weight may be that your doctor might decide that you can take less of the medication you have been taking, or stop taking it altogether. This may include drugs to lower your blood pressure or cholesterol level, insulin for type 2 diabetes, and other drugs to lower your blood sugar.

Of course, how you lose the weight also matters: there are healthy and unhealthy ways to lose weight. Some weight-loss drugs have adverse effects that can harm some people’s health. One drug, rimonabant (brand name: Acomplia) had its license for use in Europe suspended by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in October 2008 because it had caused serious depression. And in January 2010, authorization for the drug sibutramine was suspended by the same agency. They had determined that the potential benefits of sibutramine did not outweigh the possible harmful effects, particularly cardiovascular disease.

The U.S. regulatory agency FDA ruled in May 2010 that all medication containing orlistat, also available over-the-counter in low dosage, must include a warning about serious liver injury as part of its package insert in the United States. There had been individual cases of this in people who had taken, among other drugs, orlistat. Yellowish skin, itchiness, noticeably darker urine, light-colored stool and upper-abdominal symptoms can all be signs of damage to the liver. The agency recommends suspending the use of medication and consulting a doctor if these symptoms occur.

The latest diet craze in women's magazines will probably not give you the results you want either. Generally speaking, you lose weight by reducing how much energy you consume (calories from fat and carbohydrates in food) and by increasing how much energy you use (by being more active). If you lose weight but smoke more, the smoking could do more harm to your health than a few kilograms of extra weight will.

How can I keep the weight off permanently?

Losing weight is hard enough, but keeping it off for the long term can be even harder. To keep weight off permanently, you need to have made some real and sustainable changes to your lifestyle. Because your previous habits led to your being overweight, going back to those habits means the weight would be quite likely to return. This means that it is important to find new habits that you can really live with for the long term: for example, a form of exercise that you really enjoy, or that is at least very practical for you to keep up.

One of the main things you can do to keep your weight down is to exercise, as well as change your eating habits. Researchers have found that when people who are overweight or obese lose weight with a combination of diet and exercise, they lose on average 20% more weight than if they only diet. For the people in that research, this meant an average of 3 kg extra weight loss due to exercise. And this improvement also held over the longer term: a year later, the people who had exercised still weighed less than the people who had only dieted.

It is believed that people really need to be getting at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise on at least five days a week to stay healthy and fit. "Moderate-intensity exercise" means doing something that increases your heart rate. This means that walking very slowly does not count, but walking briskly does. You do not have to exercise so strenuously that you are out of breath, but you do need to exert yourself at least a little to get a benefit.

Brisk walking has been shown to help very inactive people get more exercise into their everyday lives. People who work full-time, for example, would get the recommended 30 minutes of exercise by walking at a fairly brisk pace for 15 minutes to and from work every day. Regular brisk walking has many advantages, such as not needing special equipment and causing fewer injuries than many other forms of exercise.

People who walked on average an extra three hours per week for eight months were able to lose around one kilogram and two per cent of their body fat through the walking alone. They improved their cardiovascular fitness (the strength of their heart and circulation) and there was a small positive impact on their blood pressure. You can read more about that research here, and about ways that can help people walk more here.

How can I keep motivated?

If you are having trouble losing weight and keeping it off, then getting support from your doctor or someone else who encourages your progress could help.

It is important that the changes you make are suited to your physical fitness and your state of health. Your doctor can help you consider the options. The key to long-term success is to find ways that are practical for you. You may have to explore several options before you find something that works. If you have already lost weight but get stuck at some point, you might need to try something new to start making progress again.

It is important not to give up completely, even if you do have setbacks or some difficult times. Seeing a reduction in your waist and losing weight is probably the best feedback to motivate yourself, but it can also be disheartening if nothing is changing.

Some people watch their cholesterol levels as a sign of whether their risk of heart disease is going down, but this is not always a guarantee that your health risks are decreasing. Nevertheless, it can be very encouraging to see measurements like your cholesterol or blood pressure fall.

The health risks that come from being overweight are a combination of many factors. This means that health interventions do not necessarily have an immediate effect. For example, losing weight might not always be enough to reduce your blood pressure in the short term. You can read more about the research on this here . So, just because you are not seeing immediate results, it does not mean that it is not worthwhile to stick with your new habits.

IQWiG, the publisher of this website, is looking for research that shows ways of reducing your blood pressure without drugs. We will update this information as the IQWiG's assessments become available. 

What if I am losing weight but it does not make me feel as good as I expected?

Many people who lose weight will feel better physically and emotionally. But even if you do not feel better or are disappointed with the results you have achieved, the weight loss could still be making you healthier.

Other ways of losing weight might make you feel happier about yourself. For example, some people feel better with the support they get from a group of others who are also trying to lose weight. Others feel better if they go to group sessions that help them to learn to accept their bodies and improve their body image. Doing regular exercise gives some people a lot of satisfaction and makes them feel emotionally better, but not everyone experiences this.

Losing weight is not the only way to improve your health. Getting more exercise, even if it is not reducing your weight, can also have other benefits for your well being. You can feel good about yourself and be healthy even if you are not a normal weight for your height. Getting to know your body and accepting yourself might be more important for your happiness than losing weight.

Some people will have thought for a long time, “I'll feel much better and happier if I just lose some weight . . .” So if they do not end up with the results they had hoped for when they lose weight, they may feel very disappointed. Even though being overweight can cause a lot of problems in your life, the weight itself might not be responsible for all the problems that you think it is. This means that losing weight will not necessarily solve all your problems. Expecting life to become easier by losing weight alone is unrealistic.

It is difficult to lose weight and then keep it off. If you have been able to do it, it is an important achievement. Having done it, you may also find that you are better able to take on other challenges and succeed with them as well.

Author: Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG)

Apples walk away with most health accolades, and spinach leads the healthy veggie brigade. Compared to them, celery is somewhat unsung, but once you read its incredible–and nearly endless–list of health benefits, you will quickly join its growing list of lovers.

• Celery is a great choice if you are watching your weight. One large stalk contains only 10 calories! So, add celery to your shopping list and enjoy it in your salads, soups and stir-fries.
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• Celery reduces inflammation. If you are suffering from joint pains, lung infections, asthma, or acne, eating more celery will bring much-needed relief.
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• It helps you calm down: Celery for stress-relief? Oh yes! The minerals in celery, especially magnesium, and the essential oil in it, soothe the nervous system. If you enjoy a celery-based snack in the evening, you will sleep better.
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• It regulates the body’s alkaline balance, thus protecting you from problems such as acidity.
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• Celery aids digestion: some say celery tastes like “crunchy water,” and that is the reason it is so good for your digestive system.  The high water content of celery, combined with the insoluble fiber in it, makes it a great tool for easy passage of stool. Note: because celery has diuretic and cleansing properties, those with diarrhea should avoid eating it.
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• It contains “good” salts. Yes, celery does contain sodium, but it is not the same thing as table salt. The salt in celery is organic, natural and essential for your health.
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• It cares for your eyes. One large stalk of celery can deliver up to 10 percent of your daily need for Vitamin A, a group of nutrients that protects the eyes and prevents age-related degeneration of vision.
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• Celery reduces “bad” cholesterol: There is a component in celery called butylphthalide. It gives the vegetable its flavor and scent. Guess what: this component also reduces bad cholesterol! A Chicago University research shows that just two stalks of celery a day can reduce bad cholesterol (LDL) by up to 7 points!
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• It lowers blood pressure: An active compound called phthalides in celery has been proven to boost circulatory health. Raw, whole celery reduces high blood pressure.
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• It can amp up your sex life: and this is not just hearsay. Dr. Alan R. Hirsch, Director of the Smeel and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, says two pheromones in celery–androstenone and androstenol–boost your arousal levels. They are released when you chew on a celery stalk.
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• Celery can combat cancer: Two studies at the University of Illinois show that a powerful flavonoid in celery, called luteolin, inhibits the growth of cancer cells, especially in the pancreas. Another study suggests that the regular intake of celery could significantly delay the formation of breast cancer cells.
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Useful Tips:

Choose celery with upright stalks that snap when bent. The leaves should be fresh and crisp.  When selecting celery, remember this rule of thumb:  The darker the color, the stronger the flavor.

Freshly chopped celery retains its nutrients much better than if you chop and store it even for a few hours.

Steamed celery not only retains its flavor, but also most of its nutrients–up to 99 percent of them, in fact!

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/11-super-health-benefits-in-just-1-celery-stalk.html

The Health Benefits of Mushroom Consumption

Mushrooms contain some of the most potent natural medicines on the planet. Of the 140,000 species of mushroom-forming fungi, science is familiar with only 10 percent, according to world-renown mycologist Paul Stamets, who has written six books on the topic.

About 100 species of mushrooms are being studied for their health-promoting benefits. Of those hundred, about a half dozen really stand out for their ability to deliver a tremendous boost to your immune system.

It's important to eat only organically grown mushrooms because they absorb and concentrate whatever they grow in — good OR bad. This is what gives mushrooms their potency. Mushrooms are known to concentrate heavy metals, as well as air and water pollutants, so healthy growing conditions is a critical factor.

While it may sound strange, we're actually more closely related to fungi than we are to any other kingdom, as we share the same pathogens, meaning bacteria and viruses.

As a defense against bacterial invasion, fungi have developed strong antibiotics, which also happen to be effective for us humans. Penicillin, streptomycin, and tetracycline all come from fungal extracts.

The Many Health Benefits of Mushrooms

The FASEB Journal recently published nine studies on mushrooms that were also presented at Experimental Biology 2013, which detailed a wide variety of health benefits, including:

• Weight management: One study found that substituting red meat with white button mushrooms can help enhance weight loss. Obese participants with a mean age of just over 48 years ate approximately one cup of mushrooms per day in place of meat. The control group ate a standard diet without mushrooms.
At the end of the 12-month trial, the intervention group had lost an average of 3.6 percent of their starting weight, or about seven pounds. They also showed improvements in body composition, such as reduced waist circumference, and ability to maintain their weight loss, compared to the control group.
• Improved nutrition: One dietary analysis found that mushroom consumption was associated with better diet quality and improved nutrition.
• Increasing vitamin D levels through your diet: Consuming dried white button mushroom extract was found to be as effective as taking supplemental vitamin D2 or D3 for increasing Vitamin D levels (25-hydroxyvitamin D).
• Improved immune system function: Long chain polysaccharides, particularly alpha and beta glucan molecules, are primarily responsible for the mushrooms' beneficial effect on your immune system. In one study, adding one or two servings of dried shiitake mushrooms was found to have a beneficial, modulating effect on immune system function. Another study done on mice found that white button mushrooms enhanced the adaptive immunity response to salmonella.

Parasitic Fungi Showing Promise for Immune Disorders and Cancer

Cordyceps, also called caterpillar fungus or Tochukasu, is a favorite of athletes because it increases ATP production, strength and endurance, and has anti-aging effects. 

This parasitic mushroom is unique because, in the wild, it grows out of an insect host instead of a plant host. It has long been used within both traditional Chinese and Tibetan medicine.

It has hypoglycemic and possible antidepressant effects, protects your liver and kidneys, increases blood flow, helps normalize your cholesterol levels, and has been used to treat Hepatitis B.

Cordyceps has antitumor properties as well. Scientists at The University of Nottingham have been studying cordycepin, one of the active medicinal compounds found in these fungi, and the one identified as a potential cancer drug. More recent studies suggest it also has potent anti-inflammatory characteristics that may be helpful for those suffering from:

• Asthma
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Renal failure
• Stroke damage

A question that was begging for an answer was how cordycepin could produce so many different beneficial effects at the cellular level. Researcher Dr. Cornelia de Moor told Medical News Today:

"We have shown that cordycepin reduces the expression of inflammatory genes in airway smooth muscle cells by acting on the final step in the synthesis of their messenger RNAs (mRNAs) which carry the chemical blueprint for the synthesis of proteins. 

This process is called polyadenylation. Commonly used anti-inflammatory drugs either work much earlier in the activation of inflammatory genes, such as prednisone, or work on one of the final products of the inflammatory reaction (e.g. ibuprofen).

These findings indicate that cordycepin acts by a completely different mechanism than currently used anti-inflammatory drugs, making it a potential drug for patients in which these drugs don't work well. 

However, it is a surprise that cordycepin does not affect the synthesis of mRNAs from other genes, because nearly all mRNAs require polyadenylation."

According to Dr. de Moor's research, the mechanism responsible for cordycepin’s many varied effects may stem from its ability to alter the synthesis of many classes of rapidly induced genes that help counteract inflammatory genes, thereby slowing down otherwise rapid cellular responses to tissue damage. It may also help prevent over-activation of inflammatory responses.

“However, it also indicates that cordycepin could have adverse effects on normal wound healing and on the natural defenses against infectious diseases,” the featured article states.

“Dr. de Moor said: 'We are hoping to further investigate which genes are more dependent on polyadenylation than others and why this is the case, as well as test the effect of cordycepin on animal models of disease. Clinical testing of cordycepin is not in our immediate plans, as we think we first have to understand this drug in more detail before we can risk treating patients with it.'"

Foragers, Beware of Toxic Mushrooms

An November 2012 article in The Atlantic highlighted recent cases of lethal food poisonings related to eating wild mushrooms, and the need for caution when foraging food:

“Of the over 10,000 species of mushrooms, only about 50 to 100 are toxic. About 6,000 Americans each year end up eating them. Over half of those cases involve unsupervised small children. So if you're considering treating that special person in your life to a wild mushroom-based dish, take the following into consideration: Over 90 percent of deaths, including these most recent ones, are caused by amatoxins.”

As mentioned in the article, the North American Mycological Association offers critical information on a number of toxic mushrooms and the symptoms they cause, including those for amanitin (amatoxins), which is one of the most serious:

• Stage 1: A latency period of 6 to 24 hours after ingestion, in which the toxins are actively destroying the victim's kidneys and liver, but the victim experiences no discomfort.
• Stage 2: A period of about 24 hours characterized by violent vomiting, bloody diarrhea, and severe abdominal cramps.
• Stage 3: A period of 24 hours during which the victim appears to recover (if hospitalized, the patient is sometimes released)
• Stage 4: Relapse, during which kidney and liver failure often occurs, leading to death. Patients may also "bleed out" and die due to the destruction of clotting factors in the blood. There may be more than one relapse.

Warning: If you have any reason to suspect that someone has ingested an amanitin-containing mushroom, DON’T WAIT for symptoms to appear! There is no antidote for amanitin poisoning, and the best hope is to rush the person to the hospital where the toxins can be removed before being fully absorbed into the body.

It's also important to eat ONLY organically grown mushrooms because they absorb and concentrate whatever they grow in — good OR bad. This is what gives mushrooms their potency, for better or worse. Mushrooms are known to concentrate heavy metals, as well as air and water pollutants. One way to know what you’re getting is to grow your own. You can find a variety of DIY garden kits available online, which will eliminate any questions about what kind of mushroom you’re picking.

Improving Your Nutrition with Mushrooms

Two years ago, I interviewed Steve Farrar, who worked and studied mushrooms professionally for the last 30 years. The first 20 years he spent growing them and working primarily with gourmet chefs, but in the past decade, he's started applying his expertise of mushrooms to health purposes. According to Farrar, Americans consume about 900 million pounds of mushrooms a year, but 95 percent of that is just one species: the common button mushroom and its relatives, the Crimini and the Portabello mushrooms.

Granted, the button mushroom is an excellent low-calorie food, especially for diabetics. It contains a number of valuable nutrients, including protein, enzymes, B vitamins (especially niacin), and vitamin D2. However, there are many other types of mushrooms worthy of consideration if you want to improve your diet. I’ll review a few of my favorites below. Farrar's focus has been on growing various gourmet mushroom species, particularly the wood decaying mushroom species, which differ greatly from your average button mushroom in terms of biology, nutrition and medicinal value.

Mushrooms are excellent sources of antioxidants in general as they contain polyphenols and selenium, which are common in the plant world. But they also contain antioxidants that are unique to mushrooms. One such antioxidant is ergothioneine, which scientists are now beginning to recognize as a 'master antioxidant.' Interestingly, it's an amino acid that contains sulfur, and if you listened to my interview with Dr. Seneff on the highly underestimated importance of sulfur, you may recognize why this particular antioxidant may be of particular importance for human health, as many are severely deficient in sulfur.

A previous study in the journal Nature discusses the importance of ergothioneine, which is fairly exclusive to mushrooms, describing it as "an unusual sulfur-containing derivative of the amino acid, histidine," which appears to have a very specific role in protecting your DNA from oxidative damage. With that in mind, it becomes easy to see how mushrooms may be an important part of an optimal diet. If you don't like to eat them whole, you can also find them in supplement form, either as an extract or whole food supplement.

Examples of Mushrooms to Add to Your Diet

A few of my favorite health-enhancing mushroom species include:

• Shiitake (Lentinula edodes): Shiitake is a popular culinary mushroom used in dishes around the world. It contains a number of health-stimulating agents, including lentinan, the polysaccharide for which it was named. Lentinan has been isolated and used to treat stomach and other cancers due to its antitumor properties, but has also been found to protect your liver, relieve other stomach ailments (hyperacidity, gallstones, ulcers), anemia, ascites, and pleural effusion.
One of the more remarkable scientific studies demonstrating shiitake's antitumor effect was a Japanese animal study,where mice suffering from sarcoma were given shiitake extract. Six of 10 mice had complete tumor regression, and with slightly higher concentrations, all ten mice showed complete tumor regression.
Shiitake mushrooms also demonstrate antiviral (including HIV, hepatitis, and the "common cold"), antibacterial, and antifungal effects; blood sugar stabilization; reduced platelet aggregation; and reduced atherosclerosis. Shiitake also contains eritadenine, which has strong cholesterol-lowering properties.
• Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum): Reishi is known as Lingzhi in China, or "spirit plant." It's also been called "Mushroom of Immortality" — a nickname that kind of says it all. Reishi has been used medicinally in Asia for thousands of years. One of its more useful compounds is ganoderic acid (a triterpenoid), which is being used to treat lung cancer, leukemia and other cancers. The list of Reishi's health benefits includes the following
• Antibacterial, antiviral (Herpes, Epstein-Barr), antifungal (including Candida) properties
• Anti-inflammatory, useful for reducing symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis
• Immune system up-regulation
• Normalization of blood cholesterol levels and blood pressure
• Reduction of prostate-related urinary symptoms in men
• Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor): Turkey Tail is also known as Coriolis, or "cloud mushroom." Two polysaccharide complexes in Turkey Tail are getting a great deal of scientific attention, PSK (or "Kreskin") and PSP, making it the most extensively researched of all medicinal mushrooms with large scale clinical trials.
A seven-year, $2 million NIH-funded clinical study in 2011 found that Turkey Tail mycelium improves immune function when dosed daily to women with stage I–III breast cancer. Immune response was dose-dependent, with no adverse effects. PSP has been shown to significantly enhance immune status in 70 to 97 percent of cancer patients. Turkey tail is also being used to treat many different infections, including aspergillus niger, Candida albicans, E. coli, HIV, Herpes, and streptococcus pneumonia, and is hepatoprotective. It may also be useful for chronic fatigue.
• Himematsutake (Agaricus blazei): Himematsutake, also called Royal Sun Agaricus, is a relative of the common button mushroom. Himematsutake was not cultivated in the East until fairly recently but is now a very popular natural medicine, used by almost a half million Japanese.
Himematsutake mushroom is attracting many scientists worldwide due to its remarkable anticancer properties related to six special polysaccharides. Like many other medicinal mushrooms, this fungus can also protect you from the damaging effects of radiation and chemotherapy. But its benefits don't stop there — Himematsutake may also help decrease insulin resistance in diabetics, normalize your cholesterol, improve your hair and skin, and even treat polio.

Usage and Dosage Recommendations for Mushroom Supplements

When it comes to mushroom supplements, there are two primary types:

• Mushroom concentrates or extracts — Most of these are so-called hot water extracts, where either the mushroom mycelia — the fruit body — is boiled for extended periods of time to extract the long chain polysaccharides. The end product is a concentrated form of glyconutrients (complex sugars) thought to be responsible for many of the health benefits of the mushroom.
• Whole food/raw mushrooms — Consuming the mushrooms raw or using a whole food mushroom (powdered pill) product is generally a better alternative if you're reasonably healthy and looking to maintain optimal health, as they help maintain ideal function of your various systems as opposed to imparting a direct effect. Most of the knowledge about mushrooms come from ancient Chinese medicine where mushrooms are regarded as tonics. Tonics are considered to have non-specific beneficial effects across several systems of your body that do not decline over time.

As mentioned earlier, if you choose to eat your mushrooms raw, make sure they are organically grown, as their flesh easily absorbs air and soil contaminants. Likewise, you'll want to make sure any product you buy is certified organic for the same reason. In addition to valuable nutrients, whole mushrooms also provide healthful dietary fiber that acts as prebiotic platforms for the growth of probiotic organisms in your gut, which is very important for digestive health. This is yet another reason to opt for a whole food mushroom product.

Adding Mushrooms Is a Simple Way to Boost Your Health Through Your Diet

With all the evidence supporting mushrooms as little powerhouses of potent nutrition, I highly recommend adding some to your diet. They’re an excellent addition to any salad and go great with all kinds of meat and fish. “Let food be thy medicine” is good advice indeed, and with mushrooms that is especially true, as they contain some of the most powerful natural medicines on the planet.

Just make sure they’re organically grown in order to avoid harmful contaminants that mushrooms absorb and concentrate from soil, air and water. Also, avoid picking mushrooms in the wild unless you are absolutely sure you know what you’re picking. There are a number of toxic mushrooms, and it’s easy to get them confused unless you have a lot of experience and know what to look for. Growing your own is an excellent option and a far safer alternative to picking wild mushrooms.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/05/13/mushroom-benefits.aspx

All about gout and diet

What is gout?

Gout is a type of arthritis. It is caused by having too much of the

chemical, uric acid, in your bloodstream. Uric acid is the waste

product created when the body breaks down purines (a type of

protein found in many foods and all of your cells). Increased levels

of uric acid in your blood may occur if, for example, your kidneys

cannot efficiently remove it, you have a rare genetic abnormality, or

because your diet and lifestyle increase the amount of uric acid that

you produce. If levels of uric acid are high for prolonged periods,

needle-like crystals can start to form in your tissues, resulting in

swollen, painful joints.

Your diet plays an important role in both causing gout and reducing

the likelihood of suffering further painful attacks of gout. If you

already suffer from gout, eating a diet that is rich in purines can

result in a five-fold increase in gout attacks.

Are other illnesses associated with the

development of gout?

Elevated uric acid is seen in many other conditions, and people who

have gout may also have raised cholesterol, raised triglycerides (a

type of fat in your blood), high blood pressure and poor glucose

tolerance. This may make it more likely that you have (or will

develop) type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and kidney disease.

In addition, approximately half of all gout sufferers are overweight.

Central obesity (carrying weight around your middle) also increases

certain inflammatory substances in your blood. This can further

exacerbate gout attacks, as well as putting you at risk of developing

heart disease, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. For further

information on gout and related illnesses, download: All About Gout

and other health problems from www.ukgoutsociety.org

Can losing weight help my gout?

Losing weight alone can reduce blood uric acid levels, and the number

of acute attacks suffered. Weight-loss will also help to reduce the stress

on weight–bearing joints e.g. hips, knees, ankles and feet. However, it is

important to avoid any type of crash dieting, as going without food for

long periods and rapid loss of weight can increase uric acid levels and

trigger painful gout attacks. A combination of balanced healthy eating

and regular physical activity is the best way to lose weight safely and

maintain a healthy weight.

Which foods should be avoided?

As uric acid is made in the body from the breakdown of purines that

come from your diet, it is advisable to reduce the amounts of foods

that you eat that are high purines.

High purine foods include: (avoid)

•Offal - liver and kidneys, heart and sweetbreads

•Game - pheasant, rabbit, venison

•Oily fish - anchovies, herring, mackerel, sardines, sprats, whitebait,

trout

•Seafood - especially mussels, crab, shrimps and other shellfish, fish

roe, caviar

•Meat and Yeast Extracts - Marmite, Bovril, commercial gravy as

well as beer

Moderate purine foods (eat in moderation)

•Meat- beef, lamb chicken, pork

•Poultry - chicken and duck

•Dried peas, beans and legumes - baked beans, kidney beans,

soya beans and peas etc.

•Mushrooms and mycoprotein(Quorn™)

•Some vegetables - asparagus, cauliflower, spinach

•Wholegrains - bran, oatbran,wholemeal bread

Low purine foods

•Dairy - milk, cheese, yoghurt, butter

•Eggs

•Bread and cereals - (except wholegrain)

•Pasta and noodles

•Fruit and vegetables (see moderate purine list)

How much protein do you need?

Generally you need about 1g of protein per kg of body weight (70kg

man only requires 70g of protein daily), unless you on a protein

restricted diet e.g., some people with kidney disease may need to

restrict their intake.

Here are some examples of protein content of food:

•100g (3.5oz) chicken breast contains 22g protein

•100g cod fillet contains 21g protein

•Large egg contains 6g

•30g (1oz) hard cheese contains 8g protein

•30g cottage cheese contains 14g protein

•30g almonds contain 5g protein

Protein is very important part of your diet, it used for growth and

repair, as well as an energy source. Not only that, but eating

sufficient protein improves satiety (how full you feel) as well as

blood sugar control.

However, as its important to use high purine/moderate protein

foods with caution, then you are best to combine both animal and

vegetarian sources of protein. Studies have shown that vegetarian

diets that are high in purines (e.g. from lentils etc.) are much less

likely to lead to gout.

In addition, red meat is a very good source of iron and is easily

absorbed by the body. Other foods such as eggs and pulses contain

iron, but in a form that the body finds hard to absorb. However, the

absorption of iron can be improved if you also eat vitamin C - rich

foods in the same meal e.g., add green and red peppers to

scrambled eggs.

Some people find that certain foods such as strawberries, oranges,

tomatoes and nuts will trigger their gout even though they are not

high in purines. Although there is no clear evidence to suggest

why this happens, it is probably best to avoid them if you have

had this experience.

Are there any foods that are good for gout?

Studies have shown that men whose diet is higher in vitamin C are

less likely to develop gout. Also, taking additional vitamin C as a

dietary supplement (500 to 1500mg/day) can reduce blood uric

acid levels. This is achieved by helping to remove uric acid from the

body via the kidneys. If you’re considering supplementing your diet,

always discuss this with your doctor as vitamin C can (rarely)

interact with prescribed medications. High doses of vitamin C can

also cause loose stools in some people.

Sour cherries or sour cherry juice have been used as a natural

remedy for gout - and scientific research has shown that a certain

type of cherry can reduce blood uric acid levels as well as reduce

the inflammation that occurs with gout.

Eating healthily is key

Eating a balanced diet is important for everyone. A healthy diet

helps to control weight and provides all the necessary nutrients

needed for maintaining good health. A variety of foods from the

four main food groups should be eaten every day, this means:

•Plenty of fruit and vegetables – it’s very important to achieve at

least 5-a-day, as fruit and vegetables provide fibre, vitamins, minerals

and phytonutrients essential for good health

•Plenty of bread, other cereals and potatoes – try to eat some

whole grains, and use the skin on potatoes to ensure you get the

vitamins, mineral and fibre you need

•Moderate amounts of meat, fish and alternatives – avoid

eating large portions – beware restaurants often serve 8oz of meat

for a main

•Moderate amounts of dairy products – the recommended

amount is three portions of dairy products daily e.g. 200 ml glass of milk,

a pot of yoghurt and a 30 mg (matchbox-sized) piece of hard cheese

•Reduce or eliminate highly processed foods and drinks

(see below)

Beware sweetened foods and beverages

Foods and drinks sweetened with fructose (often seen labelled as

glucose-fructose syrup or corn syrup), as well as sweetened soft

drinks, increase the risk of developing gout, as well as the number

gout attacks.

Sweetened soft drinks, and many commercial fruit juices (especially

those from concentrate), are a poor substitute for fruit, as they do

not contain any fibre, and are effectively ‘empty- calories’.

Also be careful buying jams and sweetened condiments. Many

manufacturers are now using glucose-fructose syrup (also known as

high fructose corn syrup), as it is cheaper than cane or beet sugar.

Diets that are high in refined (easily digested) carbohydrates for

example, white bread, white pasta, white rice, biscuits and cakes,

also increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and are linked

to obesity.

Therefore, try to avoid sweetened soft drinks, and reduce the

amount of sugar in your diet other than fresh fruit.

Can I drink alcohol?

Drinking alcohol can increase your risk of developing gout and can

bring on a sudden attack if you are already a gout sufferer. Alcohol

can raise the level of uric acid in the blood in a number of ways and

so trigger a gout attack. Many beers contain large quantities of

purines from the fermenting process and alcohol stimulates the

production of uric acid by the liver. More importantly, however,

alcohol is converted in the body to lactic acid which interferes with

the removal of uric acid from the body by the kidneys.

While it is certainly possible for people with gout to remain well

without becoming teetotal, reduction in alcohol consumption is very

important particularly if you are drinking more than the

recommended healthy limit of 21 units per week for men or 14

units per week for women.

1 unit of alcohol is provided by:

•½ pint of standard strength (3-4% alcohol by volume) beer, lager or

cider

•125ml glass of wine (11%, 100ml glass of stronger wine)

•Single measure of spirits (25ml)

•Single measure of sherry or fortified wine (50ml)

Are some types of alcohol better than others?

A study has shown that the risk of developing gout is greater in even

moderate regular beer drinkers than in those who drink equivalent

amounts of alcohol in the form of spirits or wine. Gout was two and

a half times more frequent in men who drink two bottles of beer a

day while two glasses of wine daily was not associated with an

increased risk of developing gout.

What about reduced alcohol beer?

We are not aware of any specific studies with low alcohol beers but

it seems probable that they are less likely to cause gout.

Is there a link between gout and binge drinking?

Some people say that their gout attacks follow quickly after a heavy

drinking session. Indeed, it is well established that binge drinking

may trigger attacks in people who suffer with gout, even when they

are taking medicines to prevent them.

Should I drink lots of water?

Yes, drinking fluids reduces the likelihood of crystals forming in the

kidneys. As a general rule, drinking 8 large glasses of fluids a day (1.5

litres) is recommended. All drinks, except alcohol, count towards

your fluid intake, including caffeine-containing drinks such as tea and

coffee. Caffeine can act as a mild diuretic, which means it causes you

to pass urine more often. However, regular tea and coffee drinkers

develop a natural tolerance to caffeine and will only experience mild

dehydration if they consume more than their usual amount. Caffeine

itself may have no direct influence on the risk of developing gout, as

research has shown that coffee intake, but not tea, may in some

people be associated with slightly lower blood levels of uric acid than

those drinking the same volumes of tea.http://www.ukgoutsociety.org/docs/goutsociety-allaboutgoutanddiet-0113.pdf

Is Stress Turning You Into A Wired, Tired, Pot-Bellied Zombie?

We are no strangers to stress in today’s frenetic society – traffic jams, train delays, meetings, deadlines, unemployment, difficult relationships, demanding children, ageing parents, financial worries. Does it ever stop? Throw in a poor diet, sleep deprivation and insufficient downtime, and it’s only a matter of ‘when’ before you develop adrenal fatigue in some form.

What is adrenal fatigue?

Adrenal fatigue syndrome is a group of signs and symptoms that typically results from intense or prolonged stress, but it can also develop in response to acute or chronic illness. As the name suggests, the main symptom is fatigue, which is not relieved by sleep. There are, however, other associated complaints:

• Allergies

• Apathy

• Anxiety

• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)

• Depression

• Frequent colds & flu

• Headaches

• Infertility

• Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBS)

• Inflammatory conditions

• Insomnia

• Irritability

• Low energy

• Low libido

• Menstrual difficulties

• Migraines

• Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)

• Recurrent infections

• Skin complaints

• Sleep disorders

• Weakened immune system

• Weight problems

FACTS

The thing about adrenal fatigue is that its onset is insidious. You can function – initially at least, with no obvious sign of physical illness, yet it is always with an underlying general malaise. You just don’t feel right. Compromised adrenal function can often force you to rely on coffee, cola, chocolate and other stimulants to get going in the morning and keep you going throughout the day. These ‘props’, however, may help you to cope in the short-term, but the adrenal glands can be so over-stimulated that eventually they pack up – think of a pump running dry in a busy petrol station. This is known as ‘adrenal exhaustion’ whereby getting out of bed for more than a few hours can prove difficult.

Stress and your body: The science bit

The adrenal glands sit just above your kidneys and are responsible for all your responses to stress, whether physical, emotional or psychological. They produce adrenalin, cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) – collectively known as ‘stress hormones’.

Cortisol is the main stress hormone and production fluctuates over the course of a day in tandem with your natural circadian rhythm. Levels are usually at their lowest between midnight and 4 am, and they then gradually increase until around 8 am in time for you to wake up and start the day. After 8 am, cortisol levels start to decline incrementally throughout the day to help prepare you for sleep.

Cortisol can be both friend and foe. In ‘friend’ mode, it mobilises fat and carbohydrate for instant energy, it maintains steady blood-sugar levels while we sleep, and it helps us to wake up in the morning. In a nutshell, cortisol is the body’s Mr Motivator – it keeps you wide awake and on your toes, and it empowers you to be ultra-productive.

Still, you can have too much of a good thing, and when this friendly hormone is overproduced, it turns rogue and robs you of sleep, leaving you feeling tired but wired. Excess cortisol can also adversely affect:

• Ageing

• Bone and muscle tissue

• Cardiovascular function

• Glucose regulation

• Immune defence (reduced SIgA)

• Sleep

• Thyroid function

• Weight control

Cortisol output by your adrenal glands is one of the most reliable indicators of your adrenal function, and how well your body is coping with stress. DHEA, however, is another important stress hormone and responsible for a number of functions within the body, including immunity, energy production and protection from age-related degenerative conditions. Imbalanced DHEA has been associated with:

• Alzheimer’s disease

• Cancer

• Cardiovascular disease

• Depression

• Impaired immunity

• Insulin resistance

• Obesity

• Panic disorder

Do I need to get my stress hormones tested?

The NutriLife Adrenal Stress Questionnaire has been devised by Janine Fahri to be used as a preliminary guide to whether you have any stress hormone imbalances.

Grab a pen and tick all those statements that apply to you…

I often feel tired for no apparent reason

I have endured a lot of stress over an extended period of time

I frequently feel drained, run down and/or overwhelmed

I don’t wake refreshed even when I go to bed reasonably early

I suffer from insomnia or with sleep difficulties

I often wake up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep

I need a coffee to ‘kick-start’ me in the morning

I regularly skip meals e.g. breakfast

I often crave sugary and/or salty foods

I usually feel my best after 6pm in the evening

I suffer from allergies e.g. food, pollen and/or chemicals

I carry excess weight, especially around my stomach

I frequently suffer from colds and flu

I can take a long time to recover from colds and flu

I have been trying to conceive a baby with no success

I often feel emotional, tearful or irritable

I am finding it increasingly more difficult to cope with stress

I have suffered with long-term illness

I am frequently low in mood, apathetic and/or fed up

If you ticked 3 or more statements, then it is highly recommended that you have your stress hormones tested.

How are stress hormone levels tested?

Your levels of the stress hormones – cortisol and DHEA – can be determined via a simple saliva test carried out in the comfort of your own home. See ‘What does the test actually involve?’ for full details. The ‘comprehensive’ version of this test also measures Secretory IgA, an antibody that plays a critical role in your body’s immune system.

Can I ask my doctor for this test?

Your doctor/GP can order a standard blood test for adrenal function, but unfortunately this doesn’t highlight anything more than the most severe cases of adrenal dysfunction, such as Addison’s disease or Cushing’s syndrome.

Conversely, the salivary adrenal stress test is a specialist laboratory test that provides a more representative assessment of your cortisol levels throughout the course of a day. Furthermore, there is substantial scientific evidence indicating that stress hormones are measured more accurately in saliva than by taking a blood sample, which is especially good news for those scared of needles.

What does the test actually involve?

Full instructions will be included with your test kit, but here’s a step-by-step guide to what taking the test involves. Firstly, upon receipt of your test kit, store the enclosed gel pack in your freezer until you are ready to return your samples to the laboratory. Decide on a day that will typically represent your stress levels, such as a working day. Collect a total of four samples (approximately half a teaspoon of saliva each time) at 4-5 hour intervals throughout the course of one day. For example:

Sample #1: 8am

Sample #2: 1pm

Sample #3: 6pm

Sample #4: 10pm

Once you have collected all your saliva samples, freeze the test tubes for at least 2 hours and keep them frozen until ready for dispatch. Put the samples in the mail bag provided, together with the pre-frozen gel pack, and return to the laboratory for analysis. It’s that simple!

Your test results are usually available within 2 weeks.

NB. Certain medications can influence the levels of stress hormones reported in this test. For example, any steroid-based nasal sprays, inhalers, or eye drops; Clomiphene; Cortisone cream or patches; Ketoconazole; Oral steroids (e.g. Prednisone) and Phenytoin. Please mention any existing medical condition or medication when ordering your test kit.

I have done the test and yes, my stress hormones are imbalanced – now what?

Let me give you the good news straight away – there is A LOT that can be done to help you re-balance your stress hormones. Actually, this is where nutritional therapy really comes into its own.

Learning HOW, WHAT and WHEN to eat makes a massive difference to the health of your adrenal glands, as well as your overall well-being. Furthermore, the right nutrition combined with lifestyle adjustments and specialist dietary supplements (e.g. glandular extracts, adaptogenic herbs and specific nutrients) can help to rebalance your adrenal health entirely. If you’re diligent, you should expect to feel an improvement in your symptoms in as little as a week and depending on the severity of your stress-hormone imbalance, your adrenal health could be fully optimised within 3-6 months.

http://www.kiki-health.co.uk/articles_Is_Stress_Turning_You_Into_A_Wired_Tired_Pot_Bellied_Zombie.asp?inf_contact_key=d81be5cfc50ae275efd79a23bd6fbe5a6ef8faa88c0c987abd6a68983cbf2964