A Board Certified Plastic Surgeon in Scottsdale
Posts tagged Obesity
Is Fructose a link between Obesity and Cancer?
0Scottsdale – Interesting new research, discussed in the Washington Post, and published in the journal Cancer Research, might help explain a linked between fructose intake with pancreatic cancer growth, one of the deadliest cancer types. Researchers said, in a study that challenges the common wisdom that all sugars are the same, that tumor cells fed both glucose and fructose used the two sugars in two different ways.
The team at the University of California Los Angeles found pancreatic cancer cells in lab dishes grew on both fructose and glucose, but used fructose to proliferate.
“These findings show that cancer cells can readily metabolize fructose to increase proliferation,” Anthony Heaney of UCLA’s Jonsson Cancer Center and colleagues wrote.
“They have major significance for cancer patients given dietary refined fructose consumption, and indicate that efforts to reduce refined fructose intake or inhibit fructose-mediated actions may disrupt cancer growth.”
Americans take in large amounts of fructose, mainly in high-fructose corn syrup, a mix of fructose and glucose that is used in soft drinks, bread and a range of other foods. Health experts and the fructose industry have debated whether high-fructose corn syrup and other ingredients have been helping make Americans fatter and less healthy.
Too much sugar of any kind not only adds pounds, but is also a key culprit in diabetes, heart disease and stroke, according to the American Heart Association. Several states have weighed a tax on sweetened soft drinks, but beverage makers have successfully opposed efforts to tax soda.
“Importantly, fructose and glucose metabolism are quite different,” Heaney’s team wrote.
8 explanations to why we are fat.
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Why are we fat?
Scottsdale – Thanks to Robin Nixon, a regular contributor to LiveScience, I now have a better understanding as to why we are fat. Her article, which includes the top 8 reasons for obesity, is a nice summary of what is happening with our food and our habits. Obesity rates seem to continue to grow, quite relentlessly, and our health is suffering. Let’s look at Robin’s list and see if we can learn something from it.
8. U.S. Government standards: In the summer of 1998, about 29 million Americans suddenly became overweight. The U.S. government announced new guidelines lowering the threshold of classification for being overweight. The new scale (no pun intended) uses a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25 or less as normal. The BMI is a ratio of weight to height. Before 1998, if your BMI was less than 28 in men, or 27 in women, you were considered not obese. Based on the new guidelines, it takes less for you to be considered “obese”. You can calculate your BMI by clicking here.
7. A case for too much Hygiene: Is it possible that clean water when cooking and hand washing before meals make you fatter? Research in mice found that certain intestinal bacteria can help the body remove more calories out of the same amount of food and even cause and increase in appetite. Increased appetite and insulin resistance can be transferred from one mouse to another via intestinal bacteria, according to research being published via Emory University School of Medicine. “However, our results suggest that excess caloric consumption is not only a result of undisciplined eating but that intestinal bacteria contribute to changes in appetite and metabolism,” said Andrew Gewirtz, PhD, senior investigator.
6. Parental Genetic Influence: Not all of us have succumbed to environmental changes or our socioeconomic status when it comes to obesity. Thin people, despite their social status, can have thin children. In a study which was performed in part at the New York Obesity Research Center at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and published in the journal Obesity, the results suggests that parental leanness confers significant protection against development of obesity in children regardless of social economic status. Similarly, if parental obesity is present, it becomes an adverse prognostic sign, especially in lower socioeconomic status families.
5. Factors in the womb? This has to do with the study of epigenetics. Epigenetics is the study of gene expression caused by mechanisms other than changes in the underlying DNA sequence (what you inherit from mom and dad). In other words, it is the idea that even if genes themselves are not altered, the manner in which they function can change. Kartik Shankar, PhD of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, has been studying epigenetics in rats. He transferred the newborns of normal-weight and obese rat mothers. Even with nearly identical genes and upbringing, only the babies from the wombs of the rotund became plump themselves. The study suggests that exposure to the mother’s obesity while in the womb results in programming of the offspring’s metabolism and body-weight-control mechanisms. The mother’s obesity alone was sufficient to increase the susceptibility to obesity. “This occurred despite the fact that the offspring of overweight dams ate the same amount of high-fat food as the offspring of lean dams,” said Dr. Shankar
4. Friends: Would you believe me when I say, “if your friends are fat, you might be fat too”. Believe it! Research has shown that if your friends are fat, you are more likely to be fat yourself. It is believe that your environment becomes reset and you begin to consider this normal. The findings of this research, suggests that obesity has cultural and psychological causes as well as physiological ones.
3. The Sedentary Lifestyle: When we don’t move our bodies, we have a harder time burning calories. When you follow a sedentary lifestyle, you are basically conforming to being the classic “couch potato”. The bottom line is that exercise, even in small amounts, is great for maintaining weight and regulating appetite. Additionally, several studies suggest that ignoring the need for an exercise regimen could be detrimental to your health.
2. Tastes Great: Simply said… palatable foods! Palatable, meaning acceptable or agreeable to the palate or taste, has created a big part of the problem. Foods, such as those available from fast food chains, are “layered and loaded with fat, sugar and salt,” said Dr. David Kessler, former FDA commissioner.
“With sugar, salt and fat on every street corner, we are living in a food carnival,” said Dr. Kessler. In his book, The End of Overeating, Dr. Kessler describes how consuming high salt, fat and sugars in our food, makes us addicted to food. The food fun house causes excitement in that part of the brain associated with emotion and reward. These foods help to create a negative psychological relationship between us and our foods.
1. A National Eating Pastime: Dr. Kessler says that our food culture is largely to blame for obesity. Other developed countries have lower obesity rates because they value eating differently. We have put limited value on the pleasures and rituals of eating. For instance, lunch is eaten at our desks, breakfast on the commute, and then we eat a heavy dinner. Disrespect for food exacerbates weight problems by leaving us unsatisfied…. and we get hungry soon after a meal. Eating fats has been linked to obesity while regular family meals are associated with a decreased risk of obesity.
In summary, there are many factors which control our rates of obesity. More research will be required, but we already know so much about obesity in America. We should continue to work to control our habits and improve our lifestyle…while loosing weight!
Double Whammy: Obesity and Alcohol.
0Scottsdale – The BBC reports a troubling new fact for obese alcoholics. Two studies of more than a million UK men and women suggest excess weight and alcohol act together to increase the risks of cirrhosis and other liver diseases. Obese women who drink little more than a glass of wine a day have almost double the risk of liver disease than non-obese females, the researchers said.
A similar effect is seen in men, the British Medical Journal reported. The authors of the research said “safe” alcohol limits for the overweight may need to be redefined. Rates of liver disease and obesity are increasing in the UK. Alcohol is a major cause of liver cirrhosis, a condition which leads to “hardening” of the liver, and there is mounting evidence that excess weight also plays a role.
In the first study, researchers at the University of Oxford studied more than a million middle-aged women in England and Wales. They found that being overweight or obese increased the likelihood of developing liver cirrhosis. Dr Bette Liu of Oxford’s Cancer Epidemiology Unit said, “We estimate that almost 20% of liver cirrhosis in middle-aged UK women is due to excess weight, while almost 50% is due to alcohol consumption.”
Cirrhosis is the result of long-term damage to the liver (Source: BBC)
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In the second study which followed more than 9,000 men in Scotland, the obese men who drank 15 or more units a week had the greatest risk of liver disease. This is almost 19 times higher than those who were slim.The medical investigators also said lower body mass index (BMI) specific “safe” limits of alcohol consumption may need to be defined.
Alison Rogers of the British Liver Trust, a charity which focuses on preventing adult liver disease, said the data showed a “double whammy effect” where two causes of liver disease both impact on a person’s liver together, and the impact is greater than the sum of the parts. A spokesperson said: “Prevention is always better than cure and our public health campaigns on drinking and obesity reflects this.”
Missing genes as a cause of obesity?
0Scottsdale – There could be a genetic cause of some people’s obesity. According to new study findings, seven in every thousand morbidly obese people are missing a part of their DNA, containing approximately 30 genes. It is possible that such genes may be important in regulating your weight.
The researchers did not find these genetic variations in any normal weight people. In the UK, there are an estimated 700,000 morbidly obese people, with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of over 40. The researchers believe that weight problems of one in twenty morbidly obese people are due to known genetic variations, including mutations and missing DNA.
Many more similar obesity causing DNA mutations, such as the one in this study, remain to be found, says the study team. The next step in this research will be to determine the function of the missing genes.
Previous studies have suggested that some of the genes may be associated with delayed development, autism and schizophrenia. The researchers plan to investigate the possible links between these conditions and obesity. (Source: ScienceDaily.com)
New chocolate helps you loose weight!
12 years ago
by Dr. Aldo
in In the news
Scottsdale – an innovative company has invented chocolate that can help you loose weight and its big news in Europe! The full report, including photos of the new chocolates, can be seen on Skynews.com. The chocolate is made in Spain, so it may still be a while before you see the product on the shelves of American markets.
Scientists from Spanish manufacturer Covcoa Bio have developed the new chocolate, called Lola, to help in controlling hunger and improve digestion. Moreover it does not contain any cholesterol increasing substances. The basic ingredient, like all chocolates, is cocoa from Peru and Santo Domingo. Special amino acid producing algae are inserted which gives the chocolate pieces an unusual green tinge. The chocolate has phenylalanine, an amino acid which helps to reduce hunger by stimulating cholecystokinin, a peptide hormone secreted by the brain to suppress hunger. They also contain nutrients like vitamins A and B12.
The manufacturers say special amino acids in the Lola chocs trick the brain into believing you are full, which stops you from over-eating. A lead scientist for the company, Armando Yanez says ,”People should eat one or two chocolates around one hour before a meal. It has an intense flavour and extremely high antioxidant properties.”
As a chocolate lover myself I can’t wait until this new product is on the shelves! I promise a blog on the follow up in the future to see if indeed one can loose weight by eating these little snacks.
Low calorie diet slows aging and improves longevity- new animal research shows
02 years ago
by Dr. Aldo
in In the news
Scottsdale – Reports from Reuters involving a 20-year study of monkeys shows that a reduced-calorie diet results in less disease and a longer life span, according to U.S. researchers on Thursday, a finding that could apply to humans. The researchers studied rhesus monkeys placing them on a strict, reduced-calorie diet. These subjects were three times less likely to die from age-related diseases like heart disease, cancer and diabetes over the study period than monkeys that ate freely and without restrictions.
“We have been able to show that caloric restriction can slow the aging process in a primate species,” Richard Weindruch of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, said in a statement. “We observed that caloric restriction reduced the risk of developing an age-related disease by a factor of three and increased survival,” Weindruch said.
In his study, the researchers tested the effects of calorie restriction over two decades in a group of rhesus macaque monkeys. Half of the monkeys were allowed to eat as they pleased, and the other half ate a carefully controlled diet that provided just two-thirds of the calories they would normally choose to eat. Twenty years later, half of the monkeys that were allowed to eat freely have survived, while 80 percent of the monkeys that ate 30 percent fewer calories survived.
I think this is an interesting study that again points to increased calorie consumption as a significant factor that can limit the life span of study animals. This research is in-line with results of calorie over-consumption in other animals and it would be interesting to speculate what a similar study would find if it was done on humans. The researchers imply in the article that lower disease and increased life-span may result if humans consume less calories.
