Crash Diets Raise Risk Of Belly Fat

Experts in the United States (US) have raised the alarm over the negative health impact of crash diets, saying they cause short-term changes in the body that may lead to long-term health consequences, including more abdominal fat. The new study, which was conducted by researchers at Georgetown University in Washington DC, was released by the American Physiological Society.

Crash diets are those diets by which individuals try to lose weight rapidly in a short span of time. According to the American Acedemy of Family Physicians (AAFP), the fad and crash diets promise significant weight loss, often in a short period of time. These diets might drastically change the way a consumer eats, restricting certain food groups or only allowing the fellow to eat the same foods repeatedly.

They might also involve cleanses like the Lemonade Diet, where the consumer can only drink “lemonade” made from lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper for 10 days. Going by the new study, the researchers fed female rats with a diet that contained 60 per cent fewer calories than their normal diet — the human equivalent of going from 2,000 calories a day to an 800-calorie diet. Consequently, the diet quickly caused a decrease in body weight, blood pressure, heart rate, and kidney function, but all returned to normal when the rats resumed their typical eating patterns, the ‘Newsmax’ reported.

However, three months after the diet ended, the rats had accumulated more abdominal fat and less muscle than the control animals, and a hormone that increases blood pressure (angiotension II) was more potent. The researchers believe that the body changes might lead to long-term health risks for people who go on crash diets. The study’s authors noted that women are more likely than men to go on crash diets, and that’s why they used female rats. Offering other insights into why crash diets may not be the way to go, Lori Noble, MD, a physician at the The University of Pennsylvania Health System in Philadelphia said crash diets just don’t work.

She said, “Cleanses and fad diets are very temporary,” Dr. Noble said. “They’re not going to help you burn calories or fat in the long run. You may see a decrease in the number on the scale, but it won’t improve your overall health outcomes.” Weight lost during a crash diet is likely from lean muscle and water, not body fat, according to the AAFP. “I don’t like to tell patients to 'diet',” Dr. Noble said, adding, “There is no quick fix to lose weight quickly; so, planning is so important.”

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HIV Drugs Can Eliminate Alzheimer’s Disease – Study

A new research has found that an HIV enzyme plays a crucial role in driving Alzheimer’s- related brain pathology by altering the APP gene.

The findings warrant “immediate clinical evaluation of HIV antiretroviral therapies in people with Alzheimer’s disease,” according to the authors of the study.

The new study published in the journal ‘Nature’, offers unprecedented revelations into the APP gene, which provides instructions for making a protein called amyloid precursor protein.

This protein is found in many tissues and organs, including the brain. Mutations in this gene have been implicated in Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behaviour. Dementia is not a specific disease.

It’s an overall term that describes a group of symptoms associated with a decline in memory or other thinking skills severe enough to reduce a person’s ability to perform everyday activities. Alzheimer’s disease accounts for 60 to 80 percent of cases.

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Childhood Trauma Raises Risk Of Psychotic Experiences

Scientists in the United Kingdom (UK) said they have found a link between trauma in childhood and psychotic experiences at the age of 18.

According to a new study published in ‘JAMA Psychiatry,’ between 25 and 60 per cent of the young people who reported psychotic experiences, presenting five per cent of the sample, would not have developed these if they had not been exposed to trauma such as bullying, domestic violence or emotional neglect as a child.

Researchers used Bristol’s Children of the 90s longitudinal data to examine 4,433 participants who had clinical interviews and attended clinics at the age of 18. PHD student in the Centre for Academic Mental Health at the University of Bristol, Jazz Croft said, “The findings support that routine screening for psychotic experiences in children or young people exposed to trauma, particularly those exposed to frequent occurrences, should be considered as a way of preventing later mental health problems.”

According to him, understanding how trauma leads to psychotic experiences could lead to the development of more novel treatments for psychosis.

Trauma is a type of damage to the mind that occurs as a result of a distressing event. It is often the result of an overwhelming amount of stress that exceeds one’s ability to cope, or integrate the emotions involved with that experience. .

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Why Sweetened Drinks Could Be Dangerous To Health - Researchers

Researchers have raised the alarm over the negative impact of sweetened drinks to health, saying they pose a greater diabetes risk than other sugary foods containing fructose, a naturally occurring sugar. According to findings of a new study review published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), fruits and other foods containing fructose seem to have no harmful effect on blood glucose levels, while sweetened drinks and some other foods that add excess energy to diets may have harmful effects.

Researchers analysed  the results of 155 studies which suggested fruit and fruit juice – when these foods do not provide excess calories – may have beneficial effects on blood glucose and insulin control, especially in people with diabetes, a medical condition that impairs the body’s ability to process blood glucose, otherwise known as blood sugar.

Normally, the pancreas (an organ behind the stomach) releases insulin to help the body store and use the sugar and fat from the food the consumed food. Diabetes is when the pancreas does not produce any insulin called Type 1 diabetes or when the body is unable to effectively use the insulin it produces called Type 2 diabetes. Gestational diabetes causes high levels of blood sugar during pregnancy.

The leader of the study, Dr. John Sievenpiper, who is a researcher in the Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Centre of St Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada, said these findings may help guide recommendations on important food sources of fructose in the prevention and management of diabetes.

Fructose, or fruit sugar found in honey, trees, vine fruits, flowers, berries, and most root vegetables, is a simple ketonic monosaccharide found in many plants, where it is often bonded to glucose to form the disaccharide sucrose.

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Eating Protein Cuts Age-Related Illnesses

British researchers said eating more protein may reduce seniors’ risk of disability and help them remain independent longer. According to the findings published recently in the ‘Journal of the American Geriatrics Society,’ dietary protein slows the age-related loss of muscle mass, helping to preserve the ability of senior citizens to do everyday tasks. Good sources of protein include meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, lentils and other beans, nuts and tofu. Tofu, also known as bean curd, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. Proteins, which are important component of every cell in the body, are essential nutrients for the human body.

Hair and nails are mostly made of protein and the body uses protein to build and repair tissues. Similarly, proteins are used to make enzymes, hormones, and other body chemicals. Protein is an important building block of bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood. Principal author of the study, Nuno Mendonca, of Newcastle University, said: “Our findings support current thinking about increasing the recommended daily intake of protein to maintain active and healthy ageing.”

The researchers analysed data from more than 700 people in two United Kingdom (UK) cities who turned 85 in 2006. More than one-quarter (28 per cent) had protein intakes below the recommended dietary allowance. Following over five years of follow-up, the participants who ate more protein at the study’s start were less likely to become disabled than those who ate less protein, the study found. Older adults should eat about one gram of protein for every 2.2 pounds of body weight, Mendonca said, the Newsmaxhealth reported. That means someone weighing 160 pounds would require about 58 grams of protein a day. A 3.5-ounce serving of chicken contains about 31 grams of protein, he said.

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Smoking During Pregnancy Could Lead To Early Puberty In Children

Scientists in Denmark said if a mother smoked during pregnancy, there is a risk of her children going into puberty earlier.

The findings of a major study from Aarhus University in Demark, has linked mother’s smoking during pregnancy together with when her children enter puberty. The study is published in the international journal ‘American Journal of Epidemiology’. One of the researchers behind the study Nis Brix and a PhD student, said, “We found that children of mothers who had smoked more than ten cigarettes a day during pregnancy, on average entered puberty three to six months earlier than the children of non-smokers.”

The study is one of the largest puberty studies worldwide, and the results are based on the survey “Better health for generations” from the Statens Serum Institut in Denmark. For many girls in the developed world, puberty is coming earlier than ever before, with studies showing that, on average, puberty is now starting for girls at around 10 years old – at least five years earlier than a century ago.

Puberty starts on average in girls between ages eight and13 and in boys between ages nine and 14. Doctors diagnose early puberty when this normal process starts early and continues to progress through growth spurts and bone maturation, usually for reasons we don’t understand. Girls who show significant signs of puberty and its progression before age seven and boys before age nine are considered precocious. About one out of 5,000 children are affected. A total of 15,819 pregnant women and their children participated in the study.

Nis Brix said: “Early puberty can be associated with an increased risk of a number of diseases as an adult, such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and certain types of cancer,” adding that together with his colleagues, he is working to identify the causes of puberty to be able to prevent it occurring.

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