Prevent Disease has assembled a list of 10 things you may not know about your weight, but really should.  Here are a few of them:

You Can Change Your Metabolism:  A study of sets of twins where one was fat and the other thin found that fat cells in heavier twins underwent metabolic changes that make it more difficult to burn fat.  Physical activity can reverse the effect.

Stress Can Make You Fat: Stressful circumstances can cause cravings for carbohydrate-rich foods. Stress hormones also increase fat storage.

Sleep More to Lose More:  Sleep deprivation upsets your hormone balance, triggering a decrease in leptin (a hormone that helps you feel full) and an increase of ghrelin (a hormone that triggers hunger).

Sugar is Addictive:  Research has determined that foods people like excite the same parts of the brain that are activated in drug addicts.

Antioxidants Are Also Anti-Fat:  Free radicals damage the cells that tell you that you’re full. Get rid of them by eating colorful, antioxidant-rich vegetables.

To see the complete list, you can click on the link below.

“Naturally thin” people don’t really come by it naturally.  They actually live by a series of laws that keep them from ever gaining weight. Writing in Yahoo Health, David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding list seven of these rules that will keep you lean with less effort than you think:

LAW #1: Lean People Don’t Diet:  Muscle mass is your body’s number-one calorie burner. By dieting, you’re setting yourself up to gain more weight than ever.

LAW #2: Lean People Don’t Go Fat-Free:  Fat doesn’t make you fat; you need fat in your diet to help you process certain nutrients.

LAW #3: Lean People Sit Down to Eat:  Eating more slowly and savoring your meal boosts levels of two hormones that make you feel fuller.

LAW #4: Lean People Know What They’re Going to Eat Next:  Planning your responses to hunger helps you shed pounds faster.

LAW #5: Lean People Eat Protein:  Those who eat moderately high levels of protein are twice as likely to lose weight and keep it off as those who don’t eat much protein.

LAW #6: Lean People Move Around:  Fit people stay fit by having fun.

LAW #7: Lean People Watch Less TV:  Nearly 30 percent of people who watch more than four hours of TV a day have a BMI of 30 or higher.

To read more about these rules you, can click on the link below.

A recent study investigated the antiobesity effect of garlic in obese mice. Dietary garlic was found to reduce body weight and the mass of various white adipose tissue deposits.  It also ameliorated abnormal plasma and liver lipid profiles.

Garlic supplementation also decreased the mRNA levels of fat-creating (adipogenic) genes in white adipose tissues.

According to the research, as reprinted on the website Green Med Info:

“Mice treated with garlic maintained a significantly higher body temperature than untreated mice … These results suggest that the antiobesity effects of garlic were at least partially mediated via … increased thermogenesis, and decreased expression of multiple genes involved in adipogenesis.”

In the Leave-It-to-Beaver days, when a couple ordered a bottle of soda pop and stuck two straws in it so they could share it, that bottle was a mere 6.5 ounces. And, soda pop was something that was considered a treat, something you only got once in a while, like when you were on a date. But today that’s all changed. With 32-ounce containers that they don’t share with anybody, over half of the U.S. population is downing sugary drinks daily, according to a report by CNN.com.

Another thing’s changed, too: no longer limited to just soda pop to choose from, people are guzzling sugar-laden sports drinks, sweetened and flavored water, fruit juices, sweetened tea and flavored milk. This drinking craze doesn’t come without consequences – it’s linked to poor diet quality, weight gain, obesity, and in adults, type 2 diabetes.

Sulfur is known as a healing mineral, and a sulfur deficiency often leads to pain and inflammation associated with various muscle and skeletal disorders. But is it possible that a sulfur deficiency could also cause you to gain weight? In an intriguing presentation, Health Club Journal explains how sulfur is necessary for metabolism of insulin, and the role that sulfated forms of vitamin D and sulfated cholesterol may play in the metabolism of glucose in the body.

The National Health Review for 2009 is out, and it comes with some intriguing statistics on the overall picture of who’s healthy – and who’s not – among adults in the U.S. When it comes to how education figures into health, it turns out that the more educated you are, the healthier you seem to be. The survey found that people with a college education were more physically active, and were less likely to have heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and other chronic health problems such as back pain, kidney and liver disease or migraine headaches

A startling finding in a new study may be the clue in preventing military suicides. Recently published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, researchers said they found low levels of docosahexaenoic acid – the Omega-3 fats found in fish oil – in troops who had committed suicide. Those with higher levels of DHA were less likely to take their own lives, Time online reported. The implications of this study could be far-reaching, if all it takes to reduce suicidal thoughts is a good balance of Omega-3′s in the diet.

“Body by science” by Doug McGuff, MD from Ancestry on Vimeo.

In a good-news presentation, Dr. Doug McGuff, author of the book “Body by Science,” explains how going back to a “paleo” way of eating – similar to the way our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate – can help you optimize your health and live a longer, more disease-free life. The paleo diet is not a fad – with proven science behind it, a growing number of physicians and health advocates are embracing this back-to-basics diet, which may be better at lowering body fat than exercise.

A widely used sweetener in foods and medications is commonly used as an alternative to high-energy supplements in diabetics, and a new study shows that this sweetener, xylitol, may be beneficial in preventing the development of obesity and metabolic abnormalities in rats with diet-induced obesity. But is it really an acceptable sugar substitute?

Who doesn’t love the aroma of freshly-baked bread or the sweet taste of cinnamon buns with sticky caramel syrup dripping down their sides? If the mere thought of the smells and tastes of carbohydrates like this make you want to run to the nearest store to stock up on them, then you may be interested in knowing before you eat them that a diet flush with carbohydrates can reprogram your body into wanting more, just as if they were drugs.

Although the USDA food chart doesn’t tell you this, the truth is foods like this give you a rush quite similar to cocaine, leading to cravings in your brain and intrusive thoughts when you go too long without a “fix.”

“Think of this stuff as more than a drug—it’s like a metabolic parasite, taking over your body and feeding itself.” according to Details.com.

For years now, you’ve heard that the way to better health is to turn off the Boob Tube and get your body moving. But new evidence shows that cutting back on TV time does more than just help you slip in a little exercise. The fact is it can also add years to your life.
 

As reported in The Daily Mail and Time Healthland, a new study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine shows that every hour of TV watched by people age 25 or over equates to a 22-minute reduction in life expectancy. The findings suggest that too much TV is as detrimental to longevity as smoking and lack of exercise, Time Healthland reports.

You’ve heard it before – exercise can help you live a longer, healthier life. But how do you fit a good exercise program into a busy life? The exciting news is that just 15 minutes a day can boost your life expectancy by three years. Plus, that 15 minutes has a positive side effect, a new study shows – people who added just a few minutes of exercise to their daily routines got a “taste” for it and continued to add more.

Ever wonder why those last few pounds just won’t come off – or why you might even gain weight when you’re on a diet? Believe it or not, you may be sabotaging yourself with some bad diet habits without realizing it. In a 16-point list, Bodhifitonline talks about diet habits that can wreak havoc with a weight loss program.

For example, simply not eating enough could be the one thing that sets you up to fail. You may already have guessed that following celebrity diets isn’t always a good thing – but did you know that the government’s food guidelines not only can ruin a diet but make you gain weight? The good news is that once you know what you’re doing wrong, it’s easy to get back on track.

A new study indicates that a common, inexpensive spice could be the answer to helping people deal with obesity and obesity-related metabolic diseases.

Curcumin has long been known to possess anti-inflammatory properties. But according to this study, the interactions of curcumin with several signal transduction pathways – the process by which biological functions are recognized – also reverse insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, and other inflammatory symptoms associated with obesity and metabolic disorders.

In his new book, “Good Calories, Bad Calories,” author Gary Taubes argues that obesity is caused by a defect in fat metabolism, and that carbohydrates are the prime suspects in raising insulin levels and thereby causing obesity.

But neurobiologist Stephan Guyenet counters that Taubes’ theory is not only incorrect on a number of levels, but may even be backward, because Taubes does not take known studies into account that show that it’s fat consumption, not carbohydrates, that contribute more to obesity:

“… the fact is that obesity is a complex problem and it will not be shoehorned into simplistic hypotheses,” Guyenet says. “Carbohydrate consumption per se is not behind the obesity epidemic.”

Did you know that simply changing a few everyday habits could be the solution to taking off unwanted pounds? That’s what viewers and readers of Today Health learned in a recent story on seven habits that can keep you fat. According to Joy Bauer, Today contributor, you can help yourself lose weight by modifying these “fat habits”:

1. Eating while standing up
2. Eating in front of your TV or computer
3. Snitching bites from kids’ or spouse’s plates
4. Eating straight out of the food container
5. Overindulging on weekends
6. Succumbing to impulse buying in the checkout line
7. Using food for comfort

Address these issues, Bauer says, and you’ll be on the road to weight loss and weight gain prevention.

A new study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition questions historic assumptions on how excess calories cause weight gain through overeating and lack of exercise. Suggesting that fructose and fructose-derived sweeteners such as sucrose and high fructose corn syrup may also play a part in how the body metabolizes calories, the authors speculate that the cause of obesity is more than just a “calories in-calories out” explanation.

Their theory could lead to a new understanding of the obesity epidemic, and to discovering new strategies for prevention or treatment, the authors say.

A study has shown that the simpler your diet, the easier it is for you to stick with it.  ABC News has collected simple steps that can help streamline your diet plan, including:

Post goals in spots you’ll see: Try your computer monitor, the fridge, or your wallet.

Write down every bite:  People who keep a daily food journal lose twice as much weight as those who don’t.

Eat breakfast every day:  Eating breakfast gives your metabolism a little jolt, causing it to rise faster and burn calories at an optimal rate.

To see the rest of their tips, you can click on the link below.

A new study investigated the effect of abdominal exercises on abdominal fat. Twenty-four healthy, sedentary participants were randomly assigned either to an abdominal exercise group or a control group.

The abdominal exercise group performed 7 abdominal exercises, for 2 sets of 10 repetitions, 5 days a week for 6 weeks. Body composition, and abdominal muscular endurance were tested before and after training.

According to the study, as reported by Green Med Info:

“There was no significant effect of abdominal exercises on body weight, body fat percentage, android fat percentage, android fat, abdominal circumference, abdominal skinfold and suprailiac skinfold measurements … Six weeks of abdominal exercise training alone was not sufficient to reduce abdominal subcutaneous fat and other measures of body composition.”

What is green tea good for? If your goal is to lose a bit of weight, Hive Health Media has the answers:

Green Tea helps suppress your hunger:  Green tea is amazingly powerful when it comes to its hunger blunting powers.

Green tea gives you energy:  Another benefit to green tea is that you get more energy from drinking it.

Green tea is great to drink before working out:  Green tea contains zero calories and practically all the benefits of a more conventional pre-workout drink.

For more information, you can click on the link below.

A new study found that people who chew their food more take in fewer calories.  Chewing your food 40 times instead of a typical 15 times could result in your consuming nearly 12 percent fewer calories.

The study found a connection between the amount of chewing and levels of several hormones that tell your brain when to begin to eat and when to stop eating.  A greater amount of chewing was associated with lower blood levels of ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates appetite, and higher levels of CCK, a hormone believed to reduce appetite.

According to Reuters:

“The 12 percent reduction in calories eaten by the group who chewed their food 40 times in the study could potentially translate into significant weight loss … If the average person cut their calorie intake by 12 percent, they would lose nearly 25 pounds in one year”.

Research has found that exercise-related alterations to gut hormone signals could contribute to the overall effects of exercise and help manage body weight.

Exercise is already known to increase sensitivity to leptin, a hormone released from fat cells that inhibits food intake. A new study also looked at gut hormones that are released before and after a meal to initiate and terminate food intake.

According to Science Daily:

“The authors measured gut hormone release after a palatable tasty meal before and after rats exercised in running wheels. In rats with a lot of running wheel experience, consuming a tasty meal led to increased blood levels of an inhibitory feeding hormone, amylin. After the meal, the same rats showed a more rapid rebound of a stimulatory feeding hormone, ghrelin.”

Building muscle, losing fat, and improving overall health are a dependent on one important hormone — insulin. People with high insulin sensitivity have better blood sugar regulation.

The website Bodybuilding.com offers 6 tips to get your insulin sensitivity high and keep it there.  Here are some of them:

Tighten the Reins On Refined Carbs:  One of the primary reasons people develop diabetes is their overconsumption of refined carbs and sugars, which causes their pancreas to continually pump out more and more insulin.

Have Some Healthy Fats:  Another way to increase your insulin sensitivity is by optimizing the rate at which your body processes carbohydrates by eating plenty of healthy fats.

Perform Depletion Workouts Every So Often:   By depleting your muscle glycogen levels, you’ll create a large “sinkhole” into which glucose can move.

Stay Active All Day:  Most people hit the gym regularly, but they succumb to long periods of inactivity during the rest of their day.  This is asking for trouble.

To read the rest of their tips, you can click on the link below.

Yahoo Health has assembled 10 expert tips to keep your stomach flat and lean.  Here are a few of them:

Eat at the magic hour:  Have a snack that contains protein between 3 PM and 4 PM. It will boost your metabolism and balance your blood sugar.

Beef up on a belly-zapping hormone:   Eat as close to zero grams of sugar as possible. This will keep your insulin levels low, and also keep your glucagon levels high. Glucagon, a hormone, helps keep your belly flat

Chew on this:  Chewing prevents bloating. Chew food until it is like applesauce in your mouth. Digestion begins in the mouth, and better-digested food means less gas and bloating.

Size matters:  Eating portion-controlled meals will reduce your abdominal flab.

To read the rest of the tips, you can click on the link below.

Over a third of adults in the U.S. are obese. Obesity increases your risk of diabetes and heart disease, and can significantly shorten your life expectancy. But new research shows that improving your body image can enhance the effectiveness of weight loss programs.

Researchers enrolled overweight and obese women on a year-long weight loss program. Half the women were given general health information, while the other half attended 30 weekly group sessions where issues such as exercise, emotional eating, improving body image and how to overcome personal barriers to weight loss were discussed.

According to Science Daily:

“On the behavioral intervention plan women found that the way they thought about their body improved and that concerns about body shape and size were reduced. Compared to the control group they were better able to self-regulate their eating and they lost much more weight, losing on average 7 percent of their starting weight compared to less than 2 percent for the control group.”

To be thin, you need to make smart food choices, watch your portion sizes and stay active. Yahoo Shine has made a list of nutritious, wholesome foods that can help keep you slender. Here are some of them:

Apples: Apples are a good source of dietary fiber, which contributes to a healthy digestive system and reduces cholesterol — and also fills you up without calories.

Almonds: An ounce of almonds countains 167 calories, but has about 6 g of protein and 3 g of fiber, both nutrients that can make you feel full.

Eggs: Research shows that eating eggs at breakfast can help you fight weight gain all day long.

Tomatoes: One cup of cooked red tomatoes contains just 43 calories.

To read more the rest of the list, you can click on the link below.

In a recent study, researchers took a group of sedentary, overweight men and women and over 18 months trained them to run a marathon. The men lost just a few pounds, and the women in the study averaged no change to their weight.  One reason may be that people tend to increase their caloric intake as they increase their exercise; diet and exercise go hand in hand when it comes to weight loss.

But exercise by itself has many benefits, of which Lifehack lists a few:

Increases your energy levels: The more energy you use, the more you have.

Improves the quality of your sleep: Exercise helps you get to sleep more quickly, and improves the sleep quality as well.

Helps combat chronic disease: Exercise helps improve your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and has been linked with delayed onset of dementia.

Improves your mood: Exercise promotes positive brain chemistry.

To see the other three benefits they list, and what they had to say about them, you can click on the link below.

Two new studies have linked diet soda to poorer health.

In one study, people who drank two or more diet sodas a day experienced waist size increases that were six times greater than those of people who didn’t drink diet soda. A second study that found that aspartame (NutraSweet) raised blood sugar levels in diabetes-prone mice.

According to The Week:

“… [R]esearchers speculate that the artificial sweeteners warp appetite, leaving diet soda drinkers hungry for unhealthy treats … The results were the same for all diet soda drinkers, even after factors such as exercise, social class, education, and smoking were taken into account.”

Two new studies have linked diet soda to poorer health.

In one study, people who drank two or more diet sodas a day experienced waist size increases that were six times greater than those of people who didn’t drink diet soda. A second study that found that aspartame (NutraSweet) raised blood sugar levels in diabetes-prone mice.

According to MSNBC:

“Diet soft drink drinkers, as a group, experienced 70 percent greater increases in waist circumference compared with those who don’t drink diet soda. Abdominal fat is a major risk factor for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and other chronic conditions”.

Two new studies have linked diet soda to poorer health.

In one study, people who drank two or more diet sodas a day experienced waist size increases that were six times greater than those of people who didn’t drink diet soda. A second study that found that aspartame (NutraSweet) raised blood sugar levels in diabetes-prone mice.

According to MSNBC:

“Diet soft drink drinkers, as a group, experienced 70 percent greater increases in waist circumference compared with those who don’t drink diet soda. Abdominal fat is a major risk factor for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and other chronic conditions”.