by Georgianna Donadio, MSc, DC, PhD
Information from the Nutrition Institute of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, appears to confirm the "rumor" that calcium rich diets result in lower body fat.
According to a recent study in mice conducted at the University, a diet that includes low-fat dairy products and calcium supplementation can result in significant weight loss through the burning rather than the storing of fat in fat cells. This is explained as being the results of the role that stored calcium plays in the breakdown and burning of fat inside our body's cells.
Here is an excerpt from an article on the study, published on WedMD written by Jeanie Larche Davis:
"The researchers used mice bred to be obese in their current study. The mice were fed a special high-fat, high-sugar diet for six weeks. All had a 27% increase in body fat.
Some were then switched to a calorie-restricted diet. Of those, one group was given calcium supplements (calcium carbonate similar to Tums) and others were fed "medium" and "high" amounts of low-fat dry milk.
Body fat storage was markedly reduced by all three high-calcium diets, say the authors.
Those given calcium supplements had good results, when combined with the restricted-calorie diet.
Mice getting their calcium via supplements had a 42% decrease in body fat, whereas mice eating without supplements had an 8% body fat loss."
The reason this was of great interest to me and it felt important to share is because I have observed over the past 10 years, that during any period of time that I have consistently taken calcium supplementation, in the form of powdered calcium/magnesium, my body weight has definitely decreased.
Within a month or so of not taking the calcium/magnesium powder, the weight starts to creep back on. This article helps to answer the question of why. Thyroxine, secreted by the thyroid, is a critical hormone in intracellular metabolism. Thyroxine also has a significant impact on intracellular metabolism and on the utilization of calcium.
Having a calcium rich diet would allow the thyroxin that is necessary for cellular metabolism to be more effecient in utilizing the fat stored in our cells for energy!
This article has been very clarifying and explains WHY high calcium diets facilitate weight loss. Armed with that information we can enjoy eating our spinach, kale and sardines knowing they are working away to keep our body fat burning.
With all good wishes,
G
© by NIWH 2010 all rights reserved
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Food as Pharma
by Georgianna Donadio, MSc, DC, PhD
Ran across an article that anyone could read and "get it" about what the food we eat can do to prevent disease and enhance our well-being. Functional food; what an appropriate name for food that is good for the function of our bodies.
Food As Pharma
By Alice Park
"Hippocrates once said, "Let food be thy medicine and let thy medicine be food," and doctors now believe that ancient Greek healer may have been onto something. We need food for nourishment, of course. Without it, our cells and tissues would wither away from starvation. But what's becoming clearer is that food is more than just fuel. What you eat can determine how elastic your blood vessels are, how easily you resist cancer-causing toxins and whether or not you will barrel down the road toward heart disease.
"There is an overwhelmingly strong database of studies suggesting that the quality of calories we eat has a huge impact on our well-being and our risk of chronic disease and longevity," says Dr. David Ludwig, director of the Optimal Weight for Life Program at Children's Hospital Boston.
But does food have real power to prevent disease? That's the claim behind functional foods — products that are enhanced or otherwise designed to do much more than simply supply us with needed calories and nutrients.
And the early evidence suggests that the kitchen may indeed contain potent disease-fighting agents, just as the medicine cabinet does. In a groundbreaking 2002 study, researchers found that people at risk of diabetes could delay or in some cases even prevent the disease from developing by eating fewer calories, getting them from the right kinds of foods and exercising more than two hours a week. Even more intriguing, the study revealed that people who were genetically predisposed to diabetes benefited most. In essence, diet and other lifestyle factors altered their genetic destiny.
But before you eat to treat, say experts, remember that not every health claim on a label makes the food a functional food — and not all functional foods help prevent or reverse disease. The Food and Drug Administration does not recognize functional foods as a category, which means that a product's promise to control cholesterol, tame inflammation or protect you from fractures may not be supported by studies. Experts don't even agree on the exact definition of a functional food, but many go by the simple guide that it's something that's often good for you to begin with and that has some added benefit not found in the food's natural state.
Other-than-butter spreads enhanced with plant oils, for example, qualify as functional foods, since they are less likely than animal fats to contribute to plaques in blood vessels, and the added plant sterols help reduce cholesterol even further. Soft drinks with extra vitamins and minerals don't make the cut, however, since soda isn't nutritious to start with.
It's confusing, yes. But the best advice, according to experts: stick with foods that are naturally nutritious, and consider adding functional foods where you can. You have to eat anyway, so you might as well make it count. "
With all good wishes,
G
© by NIWH 2010 all rights reserved
Ran across an article that anyone could read and "get it" about what the food we eat can do to prevent disease and enhance our well-being. Functional food; what an appropriate name for food that is good for the function of our bodies.
Food As Pharma
By Alice Park
"Hippocrates once said, "Let food be thy medicine and let thy medicine be food," and doctors now believe that ancient Greek healer may have been onto something. We need food for nourishment, of course. Without it, our cells and tissues would wither away from starvation. But what's becoming clearer is that food is more than just fuel. What you eat can determine how elastic your blood vessels are, how easily you resist cancer-causing toxins and whether or not you will barrel down the road toward heart disease.
"There is an overwhelmingly strong database of studies suggesting that the quality of calories we eat has a huge impact on our well-being and our risk of chronic disease and longevity," says Dr. David Ludwig, director of the Optimal Weight for Life Program at Children's Hospital Boston.
But does food have real power to prevent disease? That's the claim behind functional foods — products that are enhanced or otherwise designed to do much more than simply supply us with needed calories and nutrients.
And the early evidence suggests that the kitchen may indeed contain potent disease-fighting agents, just as the medicine cabinet does. In a groundbreaking 2002 study, researchers found that people at risk of diabetes could delay or in some cases even prevent the disease from developing by eating fewer calories, getting them from the right kinds of foods and exercising more than two hours a week. Even more intriguing, the study revealed that people who were genetically predisposed to diabetes benefited most. In essence, diet and other lifestyle factors altered their genetic destiny.
But before you eat to treat, say experts, remember that not every health claim on a label makes the food a functional food — and not all functional foods help prevent or reverse disease. The Food and Drug Administration does not recognize functional foods as a category, which means that a product's promise to control cholesterol, tame inflammation or protect you from fractures may not be supported by studies. Experts don't even agree on the exact definition of a functional food, but many go by the simple guide that it's something that's often good for you to begin with and that has some added benefit not found in the food's natural state.
Other-than-butter spreads enhanced with plant oils, for example, qualify as functional foods, since they are less likely than animal fats to contribute to plaques in blood vessels, and the added plant sterols help reduce cholesterol even further. Soft drinks with extra vitamins and minerals don't make the cut, however, since soda isn't nutritious to start with.
It's confusing, yes. But the best advice, according to experts: stick with foods that are naturally nutritious, and consider adding functional foods where you can. You have to eat anyway, so you might as well make it count. "
With all good wishes,
G
© by NIWH 2010 all rights reserved
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