Weight-Loss Aids Bought on Internet Might Harm Your Heart

Ask Glen!



Q. Glen, Are Internet Weight-Loss Supplements Safe?



A.Weight-loss supplements widely available for purchase online often include ingredients that are potentially hazardous to your heart, and a new study shows the labels often don't include this warning.

One of the hazardous ingredients that was found in the products has been banned on the U.S. market since 2004, according to study author Dr. Alireza Nazeri, an internist and cardiology research fellow at the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, in Houston.

The study was expected to be presented Thursday at the Heart Rhythm Society's annual meeting, in San Francisco.

Nazeri and his colleagues reviewed the ingredients of 12 different brands of weight-loss supplements. They found the brands by entering the common search terms "diet pills" and "weight-loss supplements" into popular Internet search engines, including Google, MSN and Yahoo.

"We were trying to find out if the weight-loss supplements have any ingredients with life-threatening cardiac side effects," Nazeri said.

Next, they made a list of the ingredients on each label. In all, there were 60 different ingredients, for an average of 7.25 ingredients per bottle. Most were herbal extracts, while others were minerals, vitamins and other substances.

Next, the researchers scoured medical databases, including Medline, Pubmed and Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, to find out if there was any significant association between the ingredients and cardiac problems.

They identified 11 ingredients with at least one report of life-threatening cardiac side effects. Eight of the 12 brands contained a potentially hazardous ingredient.

To their surprise, the researchers found one brand included ma huang, also known as Chinese ephedra, even though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned it in 2004.

The other ingredients that may be potentially dangerous to the heart included: bitter orange, Camellia sinensis, green tea, buckwheat, guarana, Korean ginseng, licorice root, Synephrine HCl, caffeine anhydrous and citrus aurantium.

"We are not releasing any names of products," said Nazeri. "That was part of our protocol."

The products chosen may be just the tip of the iceberg, and releasing the names may give people the idea the problem is confined to just those brands, said study senior author Dr. Mehdi Razavi, director of the institute's clinical arrhythmia research lab and a clinical associate professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, in Houston.

The study results make sense to Elisa Odabashian, director of the West Coast office of Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports. "It doesn't surprise me at all," she said.

Especially dangerous, she said, is that people often combine these products with coffee or other caffeine-containing drinks, which affect the heart even more.

Odabashian worked on efforts to get ephedra-containing products banned in California. Her advice for consumers thinking of buying weight-loss products over the Internet? "I think it's a crapshoot. I don't think you should be doing it."

More information

To learn more about how to evaluate a weight-loss product, visit American Dietetic Association.

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."

Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

Control Diabetes / Protect Your Heart

Ask Glen!



Q. Glen, Does Diabetes have anything to do with Heart Disease?


A. Yes, But if you Control your Diabetes you can Protect your Heart! Up to 75 percent of those with diabetes go on to develop heart and blood-vessel diseases. Because of this strong link with heart disease, it's important for those with diabetes to take extra steps to protect their health. If you already have diabetes, you can delay the progression of the disease — and prevent or slow the development of heart, blood vessel, and other complications — by following a heart-healthy lifestyle and taking the following diabetes-specific steps:

• Eat your meals and snacks at around the same times each day.
• Check with your doctor about physical activities that are best for you.
• Take your diabetes medicine at the same times each day.
• Check your blood sugar every day. Each time you check your blood sugar, write the number in your record book. Call your doctor is your numbers are too high or too low for 2 to 3 days.
• Check your feet every day for cuts, blisters, sores, swelling, redness, or sore toenails.
• Brush and floss your teeth and gums every day.
• Take any prescribed medication for other conditions, such as coronary heart disease.
• Check with your doctor about taking aspirin each day if you have heart disease.

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."

Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

What's the Best Meal Schedule?

Ask Glen!



Q. Glen, Is it true that it's better to eat mini-meals every few hours instead of three big meals a day?



A. The answer to this question is that the best meal plan is the meal plan that makes you feel the best. In terms of health or weight loss or weight maintenance, there is absolutely no difference between eating the same number of calories in three meals versus every few hours — at least as far as experts can tell from research. We do know that people who are able to lose weight and keep it off tend to eat breakfast every morning. The experts judge from this data that eating two meals or less per day is probably not a good health or weight-loss strategy.

Some people need to snack or they will get too hungry between meals. For others snacking leads to overeating and grazing all day long. So whatever you decide your best meal strategy is, just be certain to eat breakfast, and make sure it is a healthy one, containing whole grains, lean protein, and fresh fruits. As a personal trainer and a person that exercises every day, I eat 5 to 6 meals a day But that works for me! One size does not fit all!!!!!!

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."

Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

Abdominal Obesity

Ask Glen!



Q. Glen, How should someone like me — with abdominal obesity (which goes along with metabolic syndrome) — adjust my weight-loss program to promote fat loss around the middle, as well as general weight loss? Should I exercise more, or eat even fewer calories (and fat calories) than someone who's just generally trying to lose weight?



A. That's a good question, because many people are in the same situation as you. First, if you smoke, you should stop because smoking promotes abdominal obesity. In terms of whittling your waist, fat loss around the middle will be more pronounced if you exercise along with decreasing caloric intake, both total and fat calories.

As you probably know, abdominal fat is the most important to lose because it is the most strongly related to diabetes and heart disease. So diet and exercise are very important both for general weight loss and for abdominal fat loss. How much exercise? A lot — but that doesn't mean you have to run a marathon or become a bodybuilder. Recent studies have shown that people who are the most successful at losing weight and keeping it off exercise at least one hour a day at an intensity equivalent to brisk walking.

Genetics plays a role as well — those who are predisposed to gain and lose weight in certain places will continue to do so no matter what kind of diet and exercise program they are on, but again, the first place the weight usually comes off is in the abdominal area. Remember, the road to a healthy weight begins with that first step, so my best advice is to watch what you eat and get out there and start walking!

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."

Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

BP Meds After Stroke

Ask Glen!


Q. Glen, I had a stroke in March of this year due to high blood pressure. Is there any way to lower blood pressure without prescription drugs?"


A. The short answer to your question is yes – many studies have shown that adopting a healthy lifestyle can lower blood pressure. However, a history of stroke — or heart disease or diagnosed hypertension (140/90 mmHg or higher) — means you may need to take medications in conjunction with modifying your lifestyle to achieve a healthy blood-pressure level.

Here are some heart-smart strategies to incorporate into your life:

• Watch your weight. Shed pounds if you are overweight, and maintain your weight if it is already normal. To determine if you're at your ideal weight, use Everyday Health's BMI calculator.
  
• Get moving. Try to do 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity, such as brisk walking, on most days of the week — and preferably every day. (But always speak with your physician prior to starting any exercise program.)
  
• Follow a healthy eating plan. Consume a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products, and decrease your intake of total and saturated fats.
  
• Reduce your dietary sodium intake to less than 2,300 mg (or less than one teaspoon of salt) per day. Try substituting salt with other seasonings, such as pepper, garlic, and vinegar.
  
• Watch what you drink. For men, limit your alcohol consumption to two drinks or less per day. Women should keep it to one drink or less per day. A drink is equal to 12 ounces of beer, five ounces of wine, and 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor.
  
• If you smoke, quit and avoid exposure to secondhand smoke.

Lastly, it's important to know your blood pressure, so have it checked regularly. And if your physician prescribes blood pressure medication, always take it as directed.


Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."

Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

Cholesterol and Risk of Heart Attack

Ask Glen!



Q. Glen, I often read that a person's cholesterol should be under 200, yet have also read (on several occasions) that most people that have heart attacks have cholesterol in the 180 to 200 range. Can you help me to understand this? Thank you!


A. It is confusing, but I'll try to clarify. The problem is that what's considered "normal" or average cholesterol in our society is not biologically normal for our arteries. So when I hear people say heart attacks occur when cholesterol is normal (e.g., 180 to 200 mg/dL), I cringe.

Total cholesterol is made up of good and bad cholesterol. You can have a total cholesterol level of less than 200 mg/dL but that may be because your good (HDL) cholesterol is low, which may put you at risk of heart disease. That's why I like to look at all the numbers, the good (HDL) cholesterol, the bad (LDL) cholesterol, and the "ugly" (triglycerides) in addition to the total cholesterol. The goal for total cholesterol is less than 200 mg/dL, the goal for bad (LDL) cholesterol is less than 100 mg/dL, the goal for good (HDL) cholesterol is 40 mg/dL or higher in men and 50 mg/dL or higher in women, and the goal for triglycerides is less than 150 mg/dL.

The higher your cholesterol levels (total and LDL), the greater the likelihood of heart disease. The Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (a national heart-disease prevention study conducted from 1973 to 1982) showed that the likelihood of heart attack in people with cholesterol levels in the highest 20 percent was three times that of people whose levels were in the lowest 20 percent. Another well-known survey, the Framingham study, also illustrated the link between high cholesterol levels and heart disease.

In both studies, however, a significant number of heart attacks still occurred in people with low or "normal" cholesterol values. In the Framingham study, four of five people fell into a large middle range of cholesterol levels, whether or not they developed heart disease. Those with extremely low total cholesterol (less than 50 mg/dL) had low (though not zero) risk for heart attack; those with extremely high cholesterol (over 300 mg/dL) had a threefold higher risk for heart attack. But the great majority of people fell in between these extremes, and the greatest number of heart attacks developed in people with cholesterol levels in this middle range. Why? Because people with low or middle-range cholesterol values vastly outnumber those with high cholesterol levels. As a result, there are at least as many heart attack victims with low and intermediate cholesterol levels as there are those with high cholesterol.

The bottom line: The higher the cholesterol, the higher the statistical risk of heart attack, yet a surprising number of heart attacks still occur in people who have "normal" cholesterol levels because "normal" in our society is too high. I hope that helps.

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."

Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

Apples may prevent hardening of arteries

Ask Glen!


Q. Glen, Do apples help with atherosclerosis ?


A. A study on hamsters found apples and apple juice have cardiovascular protective properties similar to those of purple grapes, French researchers said.

Kelly Decorde of the University of Montpelier in France, part of the European research team, said processing the fruit into juice has the potential to increase the bioavailability of the naturally-occurring compounds and anti-oxidants found in the whole fruit.

The study, published in Molecular Nutrition and Food Research, said aortic plaque was evaluated to determine the effectiveness in decreasing plaque that is associated with atherosclerosis -- or "hardening" of the arteries caused by multiple plaques within the arteries.

"This study demonstrates that processing apples and purple grapes into juice modifies the protective effect of their phenolics against diet induced oxidative stress and early atherosclerosis in hypercholesterolemic hamsters," the researchers said in a statement.

"These results show for the first time that long-term consumption of anti-oxidants supplied by apples and purple grapes, especially phenolic compounds, prevents the development of atherosclerosis in hamsters, and that the processing can have a major impact on the potential health effects of a product."

Reference:

WebMD

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."

Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

Treats for People with Diabetes

Ask Glen!



Q. Glen, I am Diabetic! What can I have for a treat?



A. Here are the 10 Best Treats for People with Diabetes

Diabetes is not caused by eating sugar, and if you have diabetes it doesn't mean that you can never eat sugar again. I'm always a bit saddened when I hear a person with diabetes say, "Oh, I can't eat that. I have diabetes," or "I can't eat that, it has sugar."

The American Diabetes Association's recommendation for sugar is short and sweet: People with diabetes can eat sugar as long as it's integrated into a healthy eating program.

Sugar is carbohydrate. And like all carbohydrate, sugar has four calories per gram. Added sugar in packaged foods comes in many different forms: white sugar (sucrose), brown sugar; fructose (fruit sugar), lactose (milk sugar), dextrose, maltose, honey and even fruit-juice concentrate are all used to sweeten foods.

All forms of sugar are metabolized, or broken down, to their most essential component, glucose, and used for energy by the cells. If you eat too much sugar, or any form of carbohydrate for that matter, you'll store the excess calories as fat.

All people with diabetes need to watch their carbohydrate grams, especially when they need to take insulin to manage their blood sugars. People with diabetes can indulge in a sugary treat just like the rest of us -- not every day, but occasionally. Since artificially sweetened treats have fewer grams of carbohydrate, they can be enjoyed more frequently.

Fruit, the ultimate natural sweet treat, should be part of a healthy meal plan. If you have diabetes, review your meal plan with your diabetes educator, physician or registered dietitian and plan for a sweet snack. Combine snacking with good nutrition and exercise and stay healthy.

1. Fruit: One of the best sweet treats invented! Fruit is fine for people with diabetes. In fact, the ADA recommends two to three servings daily, depending upon your calorie needs. Some "superfruit" (extra high in antioxidants and vitamins) include all berries (especially blueberries), cantaloupe, kiwi, mango and citrus. Whole fruit is a fine source of fiber, which is important to decrease risk for stroke and heart disease.

2. Yogurt: Nonfat, sugar-free yogurt makes a tasty snack or dessert. Enjoy it right out of the container for a snack or as a dip with vegetables. For dessert, serve peach-flavored sugar-free yogurt drizzled on grapefruit and orange sections.

3. Frozen Fruit Slush: Try this recipe from the National Cancer Institute's Eat 5 to 9 a Day program. Makes four servings.

Using a blender, process the following:
3 cups frozen fruit (such as frozen strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or melon)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup fat-free milk or nonfat plain yogurt

Sweeten to taste. One packet of sweetener equals about 2 teaspoons of sugar.

4. Sugar-Free Hot Chocolate: Choose calcium-fortified, sugar-free hot chocolate and satisfy your sweet tooth with the added bonus of the bone-strengthening mineral. Read the label: calories range from 25 per serving to 60; some contain zero trans-fat and others contain one to two grams. Some hot-chocolate mixes are sweetened with NutraSweet and others with Splenda. As for carbs, some have three grams or less; others contain more.

5. Angel Food Cake: This fat-free cake is nutritious served topped with a one-half cup of sliced, fresh strawberries and a dollop of sugar-free nondairy topping. A small piece counts as one serving of bread plus a half serving of fruit.

6. Jell-O: Prepare sugar-free Jell-O in advance. Store covered in the refrigerator. Eat all you want without worry. Jell-O doesn't have calories or carbohydrates. Mix with fruit cocktail for a special treat. A half cup of fruit cocktail packed in water (not syrup) counts as one serving of fruit.

7. Hard Candies: Sugar-free hard candies are a personal favorite of mine. I often hanker for a sweet after meals, and sugar-free candies (usually sweetened with sorbital) have about 35 to 50 calories per three to four pieces.

8. Ice Cream: Your local grocery store stocks a wide variety of sugar-free, fat-free ice cream, ice milk and frozen yogurt. Read the labels and choose your favorite sugar-free and fat-free version for the fewest number of calories per serving. I usually opt for portion-controlled fudge pops or frozen fruit bars, also available in sugar-free and fat-free versions.

9. Frozen Fresh Fruit: Wrap small, ripe bananas in plastic. Freeze, then peel and eat like a frozen fruit bar (one per serving). Seedless grapes are wonderful frozen treats (12 to 15 grapes count as one serving of fruit).

10. Chocolate: Sometimes you just want a taste of the "real thing." Dark chocolate, with more antioxidants and less saturated fat, is the best. Hershey's, among other manufacturers, offers dark chocolate in both sugar-free and regular varieties with only a 40-calorie difference per serving. Both have the same amount of fat and cholesterol; sugar-free has 170 calories and zero grams of sugar per serving vs. 210 and 20 grams of sugar for the regular. The fine print on the label tells consumers that sugar-free chocolate is not calorie-free, and that the sweetener in sugar-free chocolate, lactitol, can have a laxative effect when eaten in excess

Reference: Susan Burke March MS, RD, LD/N, CDE





Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."

Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Ask Glen!


Q. Glen, How can I Prevent Type 2 Diabetes?


A.You can help to prevent type 2 diabetes by maintaining your ideal body weight, especially if you have a family history of diabetes. Diet and exercise have been shown to delay the onset of diabetes in people who are in the early stages of insulin resistance, identified by borderline blood sugar levels. The medication metformin (Glucophage) offers some additional protection for people with blood glucose levels that are between 100 and 125 mg/dL, near the diabetes range. People with blood sugar levels in this range sometimes are said to have pre-diabetes.

If you already have type 2 diabetes, you can delay or prevent complications by keeping tight control of your blood sugar. You can lower your risk of heart-related complications by taking an aspirin daily, and by aggressively managing other risk factors for atherosclerosis, such as high blood pressure, high blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, cigarette smoking and obesity. Yearly visits with an eye doctor and a foot specialist (podiatrist) are recommended to reduce eye and foot complications.

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."

Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

Get Off the Sugar Roller Coaster Now!

Ask Glen!



Q. Glen, I like Sweets! How bad is Sweets and Sugar?




A.Here's a news bulletin for you: The most damaging ingredient in the American diet is not fat.

It's sugar.

No kidding. As a "health hazard", fat has gotten the lion's share of attention -- but it may well turn out that our attention was focused in the wrong place. High sugar diets are now linked to increased risk for diabetes, Alzheimer's, some types of cancer, and obesity. Sugar depresses the immune system, ages the body, creates inflammation, and contributes to cravings, mood swings, PMS, and a host of other conditions.

And the news about our consumption isn't good, either. USDA surveys show that the average American is consuming about 20 teaspoons of the stuff a day. Sugar now accounts for over 15% of the average adult's calories and 20% of the average teenager's.

So why exactly does sugar cause such a problem?

Let's start with insulin.

When you eat sugar, your blood sugar rises (quickly) and your pancreas immediately jumps into action. It responds to the increase in blood sugar by secreting the hormone insulin, whose job -- among other things -- is to get that sugar out of the bloodstream pronto... by delivering it to the muscle cells where it can be used for energy. That's because if sugar hangs around the bloodstream, it ultimately does a lot of damage -- glomming onto red blood cells and creating sticky compounds that ultimately clog up the works.

But there are two problems with the way our bodies handle sugar. First, most of us aren't using those muscle cells enough to create much of a demand for the sugar, so the muscle cells eventually shut their doors. (It doesn't require too much sugar to power the muscles used to move the mouse on your computer.) So sugar either goes into fat cells, or continues to hang out in the bloodstream, like an accident waiting to happen.

The second problem is that the small amount of insulin needed to manage a moderate amount of sugar from a natural food -- like an apple, for example -- isn't enough to manage a diet of 900-calorie "no-fat" muffins from Starbucks. The pancreas has to shoot more and more insulin into the system to get the job done, and high levels of insulin create a whole other set of problems.

Insulin, for example, tells the kidneys to hold onto sodium, increasing blood pressure. Chronically high insulin levels have also been linked to Metabolic Syndrome (a kind of "pre-diabetes" which increases the risk for heart disease). That's just the short list...

And it's not just plain old garden variety table sugar that has this effect on the body. Some of the worst offenders when it comes to raising blood sugar are mashed potatoes, most breads, rice, fruit punch, pancakes, virtually all desserts, and even cornflakes. These foods convert quickly to sugar in the body. Your pancreas can't tell the difference.

Sugar's not just non-nutritive, it's actually anti-nutritive. Here's why: When sugar is found in real life foods and plants (like apples or berries, or even for goodness sake, actual sugar cane), it comes complete with the vitamins, minerals, and enzymes needed for its complete digestion. That's pretty amazing!

But when it's found in your sugar bowl -- or in any of the typical chemical compounds that food manufacturers use to sweeten their goods --like "brown rice syrup" or the disaster known as high fructose corn syrup -- it contains nothing of any value.

Your body actually has to "borrow" from its stores of nutrients in order to process it. That's one reason sugar is considered to be an immune system depressor. In order to be metabolized, sugar literally "eats up" nutrients your body needs to stay healthy.

And if you think sugar isn't addictive, think again. Research at Princeton University has found that the brains of rats change in response to sugar.¹ Rats that were allowed to binge on sugar showed signs of "withdrawal" when the pleasure centers of the brain were blocked, an experience all-too-familiar to many of us who can't get our nightly fix of Ben and Jerry's. The researchers suggested that sugar triggers production of the brain's natural opioids.

Whether sugar is a true "addiction" or a dependence, remains an open question. I say, "Who cares?" The fact remains that sugar consumption is a big problem for a whole lot of people.

According to Connie Bennett, whose excellent book, "Sugar Shock!" details her own personal journey out of "sugar hell", there are an estimated 74-147 million Americans who have difficulty processing sweets and refined carbs. "Ultimately, (the) insidious roller-coaster effect which occurs whenever you eat lots of sweets and quickie carbs hampers sufferers' ability to function at full or even half throttle", she writes.

In my first book I wrote that you may not be able to eliminate sugar from your diet completely, but to the extent that you can, you will be doing yourself an enormous favor. That's just as true now as it was then.

Get off the sugar roller coaster. Your body -- and your brain --will thank you for it.

Reference: Connie Bennett

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."

Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

Fight Fat Over 40

Ask Glen!


Q. Glen, I am over 40! How do I fight this Excessive fat gain?


A. Forget everything you thought you knew about dieting and embrace these specific over-40 nutrition and exercise strategies.

If you're over 40, chances are you've had your own fat face-off, whether it was buying a bathing suit for the first time in three years or seeing a number on the scale you swore you'd never reach. Maybe you found that the pounds don't peel off as easily as they used to or come back faster. But before you resign yourself to life in the fat lane, I'm here to tell you that it's possible to drop that midlife fat and keep it off. You can even rediscover your abs. You don't have to go to extremes but you will have to change your diet, commit to regular physical activity, and keep pushing. Not the sugarcoated no-pain plan you were hoping for? Welcome to Planet Reality.

"There's no quick fix," says Glen Edward Mitchell CPT. "But there is a slow fix. Losing weight and getting fit is not a sprint. It's a marathon." The marathon is winnable. You can outsmart your post-40 physiology.

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."

Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

Men Vs. Women Fat Lost!!!

Ask Glen!


Q. Glen, Is fat loss easier for men or women?



A. In all my years in fitness, I've heard this debate countless times...


So is fat loss easier for men or women? This topic always stirs up the opinions.


Men Vs. Women:

The Top 5 Reasons Why It's Hard for Women & Men to Burn Body Fat


Do men or women have an easier time with fat loss?

Men and women both have a hard time losing body fat, but for different reasons. Here are the top 5 reasons why it's hard for men and women to lose body fat, and the 3 proven diet and exercise techniques for losing as much fat as possible in only 12 weeks.

#1) The number one reason men and women have a hard time losing weight is
because of poor nutrition.

Advantage: Women

Most women are better educated on food choices, but men continue to eat as
if they were still playing college football. As a result, men will have a
harder time losing weight because no matter how much they exercise, they are
still eating too many calories. You can't "out-train a bad diet".

#2) The second reason men and women struggle with fat loss is because
their metabolism decreases over time due to muscle loss and reduced
activity.

Advantage: Men

Most men have more muscle mass and get more exercise than women. Plus, more
men do strength training while women neglect this key element of the fat
burning equation. In fact, a recent study showed that both men and women can
lose fat and gain muscle at the same time with strength training - even at
age 60!

Without strength training and interval training, women will continue to burn
fewer calories per day with each passing year and will have a harder and
harder time with fat loss.

#3) Men and women will struggle with weight loss if they only rely on slow,
boring cardio.

Advantage: Men

More men do interval training, and that is better than slow cardio for fat
loss.

In a recent study, men and women on a year-long cardio program lost only 6-8
pounds, even though they exercised 6 days per week. In another study, a
group of women did not lose weight after 15 weeks of cardio (3x's per week).
In contrast, a group of women in the same study that did interval training
were able to lose belly fat.

#4) Men and women have a hard time with weight loss if they don't have
social support.

Advantage: Women

Most men try to do everything on their own, but weight loss is easier if you
have social support. On the other hand, most women are more willing to
recruit help from friends and family when on a weight loss program. Men and
women can get social support from friends at work, from their family, from
people at the gym, or even in an online fat loss forum.

#5) Men and women struggle with weight loss because of poor exercise choices.

Advantage: Tie.

Most guys and gals just show up at the gym without a plan - or they just go
for a jog and do some crunches. But without a professional plan, both men
and women will not lose weight, but only waste time.

To lose the most amount of fat in the least amount of time, both men and
women should follow a program containing the following three essential
elements...

A) A reduced-calorie diet of whole, natural foods.

No one needs an extreme eating plan. Just focus on eating 10-20% fewer
calories than you need, focusing on vegetables, fruits, nuts, and sources of
protein and healthy fats. Stay away from anything in a bag or a box.

B) Resistance training (Strength training)

Resistance training, using dumbbells, bodyweight exercises, or barbells help
men and women burn fat and build muscle.

C) Interval training

Short bursts of exercise, as done in interval training, work better than
slow, boring cardio, and get results in half the time.

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."

Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

How to Spot a Diet Scam from a Mile Away

Ask Glen!



Q. Glen, How can you tell which highly-touted weight loss plan is sound and which isn't?



A.To avoid wasting time and money on a diet that won't hold up for more than a few weeks — and may damage your health — look for these red flags.

Defiant claims of a renegade genius.
Watch out for a diet guru who professes to understand nutritional science but rejects it, contending that prevailing views on weight control are misguided. Posing as an unconventional genius who perceives truths mere mortals can't see is an easy way to get attention. Conventional wisdom is indeed wise — and hard earned, the product of painstaking research and long-term observation.

Dis-counting calories.
Beware of any regimen suggesting that the key to weight loss lies not in controlling calorie intake but in tinkering with the body's level of a single hormone or chemical, such as insulin (Atkins, Sugar Busters, Carbohydrate Addicts) or eicosanoids, a class of hormone-like substances involved in many body processes, especially the production and prevention of inflammation. In reality, the regulation of weight involves the complicated interaction of many hormones and chemicals. It also rests on a simple truth: You gain weight when you take in more calories than you use up. If a fad diet works, it's because the dieter lowered her calorie intake.

Enticing testimonials.
Ads for fad diets generally offer convincing quotes from highly-satisfied customers. These are as easy to obtain, as they are meaningless. The quotes may come from the brief period of peak satisfaction. How do these folks feel six months later, when the weight is likely to have come back? The ads don't say.

The promise of a quick fix.
Fad diets promise — and may even deliver — rapid weight loss, offering a short-term solution to a permanent problem. The tendency to gain weight will not go away after a few weeks of eating only grapefruit or bacon. A diet so unbalanced that you can't stay on it for more than a few weeks or months without feeling awful is of no use for lifelong weight control. And the lack of balance can hurt your health. Extreme high-protein, low-carb diets can lead to vitamin deficiencies, a loss of bone density and other problems.

What you should do.
What to do after you've protected yourself against squandering time, money and perhaps even your health on nutritional nonsense? Keep the constant company of your common sense and learn the skills and strategies you need to eat well despite the challenges of modern living — skills such as controlling hunger, balancing pleasure from food with pleasure in health and weight control, interpreting food labels so you can stock a pantry and fridge with healthful brands and products, making ingredient substitutions that add nutrition without subtracting taste, avoiding social pressure to overeat, and making physical activity an everyday part of life.

The final word.
When you consider a new food program, first check to make sure it has none of the red flags listed previously. Remember that any weight control program that doesn't include physical activity isn't a good one. If you're a parent, consider whether it's a way of eating you would endorse for your kids. If it's not healthful enough for them — offering an abundance of vegetables, fruits and whole grains — it's not healthful enough for you! Ask yourself whether you'd feel comfortable and confident eating this way for the rest of your life. If not, it's an on-again, off-again diet, and these simply don't work.

Reference: David L. Katz M.D.

David L. Katz M.D. is a nationally renowned authority on nutrition, weight control, and the prevention of chronic disease. He is an Associate Professor of Public Health and directs the Yale Prevention Research Center which he co-founded in 1998.

Dr. Katz has published over 80 scientific articles and chapters; innumerable abstracts, newsletter articles, health columns, and nine books to date. He is also the author of The Way to Eat, and his ninth and most recent book, The Flavor Point Diet (Rodale: January, 2006) introduces a groundbreaking strategy for weight control based on the thoughtful distribution of flavors.

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !



My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."


Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

Stress and Weight Gain

Ask Glen!



Q. Glen, Can Stress Making me Fat?



A, If you've ever polished off a pint of ice cream when you were under pressure or consumed a whole bag of chips when you were worried, it will come as no surprise that stress can lead to weight gain. And according to new research, stress puts people at increased risk for obesity because it not only prompts them to eat more, but also because it releases certain hormones that encourage the body to store fat.

Psychology and Biology
According to Pamela Peeke, M.D., assistant clinical professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, stress activates our body's fight-or-flight response. Chief among the hormones released during this response is the stress hormone cortisol.

As Peeke explains, cortisol increases appetite and intensifies cravings for sweets and simple carbohydrates--foods that make insulin levels spike and then plummet, making people feel hungrier. At the same time, cortisol stimulates deep abdominal cells to accept and store fat, which may explain why those who lead stressful, harried lives are at greater risk for gaining extra belly fat.

In addition, a 2007 Australian study suggests that stress may stimulate obesity by "unlocking" the body's fat cells. Researchers at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney discovered that when people are feeling frazzled, their bodies release the "stress molecule" neuropeptide Y (NPY), which unlocks certain receptors in fat cells, causing them to grow in both size and number.

5 Ways to Beat Stress and Shed Pounds
Fortunately, there are ways to minimize your risk of stress-related weight gain. Follow these five steps to get started.

1. Get moving. Daily physical exercise helps the body to relieve tension, and it also releases "feel-good" chemicals called endorphins. Trying jogging, swimming, yoga, or taking a brisk walk--any of these activities will help to enhance your health and go a long way toward reducing stress levels.

2. Improve your coping skills. Stress-reduction therapy, meditation, journaling, and various alternative therapies can greatly improve your outlook and help you cope when things get tough. Be sure to talk to your doctor about finding the best coping strategies for you.

3. Breathe deep. When people are stressed, they tend to take shallow breaths, which can actually increase tension. By contrast, taking several slow, deep breaths can restore a sense of calm. Start by exhaling deeply while contracting your stomach, then inhale slowly as you expand your abdomen.

4. Slow down. When things get hectic, we tend to speed up in order to feel like we're getting things done. But if you feel stressed out, experts recommend slowing down. Take a moment to calm yourself before starting new tasks, and slow down your speech patterns, too. Talking at a rapid pace can cause you to feel flustered and out of control.

5. Adjust your behavior. Reduce the risk of stress-related eating by preparing healthy meals and snacks ahead of time and waiting 15 minutes before giving in to cravings. Also remember that hunger and dehydration can intensify feelings of anxiety. So, no matter how busy you are, be sure to eat regularly and drink plenty of fluids.

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !



My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."


Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

Dancing with Wolves

Ask Glen!



Q. Glen, Does Attitude and the People I associate with have anything to do with my eating and exercise habits?



A. Short, Plain and Simple, Yes! It shouldn't but it does..

Constantly being around people who are sedimentary and do not eat healthy is a No No! If your goal is to be healthy.

As the quote states " You are what you eat " This is also true of your nutritional and exercise regiments. Surround yourself with like minded people, this will help you secure your success as you strive towards your healthy life style.

I don't know about you, but I want to be a Super Hero!!!! So guest who I hang out with?


Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !



My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."


Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!