BEST DIET : LOSE WEIGHT WITH BEST TRICK

Hearts and tumors may actually share more in common than we think.

Following heart-healthy recommendations can also protect you from cancer, according to the latest study from the American Heart Association (AHA). Eating a healthy diet, exercising and maintaining your weight have long been ways to fend off heart disease, but researchers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago report in the journal Circulation that following the AHA’s Life’s Simple 7 steps to reduce heart disease can also cut cancer risk.

The Life’s Simple 7 include:

• Being physically active
• Keeping a healthy weight
• Eating a healthy diet
• Maintaining healthy cholesterol levels
• Keeping blood pressure down
• Regulating blood sugar levels
• Not smoking

(MORE: Berries Linked to Lower Heart Disease Among Women)

Researchers studied the health records of 13,253 white and African-American men and women who were involved in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study, which tracked the seven risk factors and the participants’ health outcomes since 1987. At the beginning of the study, the volunteers were examined and  interviewed about which healthy behaviors they followed.

Twenty years later, the researchers reviewed hospital records and cancer registries and discovered that 2,880 of the participants were diagnosed with cancer of the lung, colon or rectum, prostate and breast. Those who were diagnosed, however, tended to follow fewer of the Life’s Simple 7 behaviors than those who did not develop cancer. People who followed six of the seven health metrics had a 51% lower cancer risk than the participants who did not meet any of the steps. The relationship held even after the scientists accounted for the effect of smoking on cancer risk; when smoking was taken out of the equation, participants who followed five to six of the health steps had a 25% lower cancer risk.

(MORE: For Better Heart Health Exercise Harder, Not Longer)

“This adds to the strong body of research suggesting that it is never late to change, and that if you make changes like quitting smoking and improving your diet, you can reduce your risk for both cardiovascular disease and cancer,” said lead study author Laura J. Rasmussen-Torvik, an assistant professor at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in a statement.

That’s welcome, and helpful news amid the current sea of conflicting and confusing data about preventing chronic disease. In this case, the message is actually quite simple — certain healthy habits, such as eating foods low in fat, sugar and calories, and exercising regularly, can lower your risk of two of the major killers of American adults. “There are many health messages presented in the popular press and frequent (and sometimes contradictory) reports of novel risk factors for disease,” Rasmussen-Torvik and her colleagues write. “These messages sometimes confuse consumers, leaving them unsure on the most important steps to take for disease prevention. We hope that emphasizing a unified approach from multiple chronic disease advocacy groups, promoting some common steps for disease prevention, will be particularly effective in helping the public to prevent chronic disease.”

MORE: A Happy, Optimistic Outlook May Protect Your Heart

Toking up may help marijuana users to stay slim and lower their risk of developing diabetes, according to the latest study, which suggests that cannabis compounds may help in controlling blood sugar.

Although marijuana has a well-deserved reputation for increasing appetite via what stoners call “the munchies,” the new research, which was published in the American Journal of Medicine, is not the first to find that the drug has a two-faced relationship to weight. Three prior studies have shown that marijuana users are less likely to be obese, have a lower risk for diabetes and have lower body-mass-index measurements. And these trends occurred despite the fact that they seemed to take in more calories.

Why? “The most important finding is that current users of marijuana appeared to have better carbohydrate metabolism than nonusers,” says Murray Mittleman, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and the lead author of the study. “Their fasting insulin levels were lower, and they appeared to be less resistant to the insulin produced by their body to maintain a normal blood-sugar level.”

The research included over 4,600 men and women participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2005 and 2010. Among them, 48% had smoked marijuana at least once in their lives, and 12% were current cannabis smokers. The authors controlled for other factors like age, sex, income, alcohol use, cigarette smoking and physical activity that could also affect diabetes risk.

Even after these adjustments, the current marijuana users showed fasting insulin levels that were 16% lower than those of former or never users, along with a 17% reduction in another measure of insulin resistance as well. Higher levels on both tests are associated with Type 2 diabetes, which is linked with obesity. Marijuana users also had higher levels of high-density lipoprotein, the so-called good cholesterol, which can protect against heart disease. And the regular smokers also boasted smaller waistlines: on average, they were 1.5 in. (3.8 cm) slimmer than the former users and those who had never smoked cannabis.

Researchers don’t yet know how to explain these correlations — and since the study was not a controlled trial, it’s not clear whether marijuana or some other factor in marijuana users’ lifestyles actually accounted for the beneficial effects. Studies showed, however, that the cannabinoid brain receptors affected by marijuana are deeply involved in appetite and metabolism. But the exact details of how the compound alters the relationship between appetite, caloric intake and insulin response isn’t obvious yet.

One clue, however, may lie in the effects of a diet drug that was developed to have the opposite effect that marijuana has on the brain. That drug, rimonabant, produced significant weight loss and a drop in fasting insulin levels by affecting certain cannabinoid receptors in the exact opposite way that THC, marijuana’s main psychoactive ingredient, does. This action is complex: rimonabant doesn’t simply block the receptor and keep the natural cannabinoids from activating it. Instead, while the natural cannabinoids elevate the normal level of activity already going on in the system, rimonabant lowers it so the result is precisely the reverse of activating the receptor naturally. However, because of psychiatric side effects like increasing suicide risk, rimonabant was pulled from the European market and never approved in the U.S.

(MORE: Reverse Engineering the Marijuana ‘Munchies’: What Causes Binge Eating?)

How could both marijuana and a compound that has the opposite effect of pot act on the same brain receptors and lead to weight loss? Natural marijuana includes many different potentially active compounds, and one of them — rather than THC — could be responsible for this effect. One potential candidate is a substance called cannabidiol, which also affects cannabinoid receptors, but in a different way from the way THC or rimonabant does.

Another possibility involves tolerance: repeated use of a drug can make receptors less sensitive over time. “The most likely explanation is that prolonged cannabis use causes the [receptors] to lose sensitivity and become inactive,” says Daniele Piomelli, a professor of pharmacology at the University of California, Irvine, who was not associated with the new research. “This has been shown to happen in people who smoke marijuana. This weakening of [these receptors] translates into a lower risk for obesity and diabetes because the inactive receptor would be unable to respond to our own cannabis-like molecules, which we know are important in keeping us chubby.” While marijuana may initially promote appetite and overeating, in the long run it has the opposite effect because it desensitizes cannabinoid receptors and may even protect against obesity.

So don’t skip the gym and break out the bong just yet: there’s still not enough data to tell whether marijuana, like alcohol, could have health benefits in moderation. Mittleman says the study relied on self-reported use of marijuana, which can be unreliable. However, he points out that since people are more likely to hide drug use than they are to falsely claim it, the findings could even underestimate marijuana’s effects.

(MORE: Marijuana Slims? Why Pot Smokers Are Less Obese)

But whether that’s true, and whether marijuana might be a window into understanding how to best control glucose and insulin to prevent diabetes, isn’t known yet. “It is much too early to say,” says Mittleman, “We need much more research to better understand the biologic responses to marijuana use. We really need more research to allow physicians and patients to make decisions based on solid evidence.” An editorial that accompanied the study also urged government action to reduce barriers to such research.

Even with 18 states now approving marijuana for medical uses, the politics of pot will always overshadow research efforts to understand how cannabinoids work in the brain — or affect disease. But, as Piomelli says, “the [new] study suggests that smoking marijuana [may] protect people against obesity and diabetes.” And following up on that finding could yield new insights into how to tackle one of our biggest public-health issues.

Since early last week, music-industry power couple Beyoncé and Jay-Z have gone vegan, as part of a 22-day diet plan. According to Jay-Z’s website announcing their endeavor, they decided on 22 days because someone once said it takes 21 days to break a habit, and on the 22nd day, you’re golden.

They started on Dec. 3, a day before Jay-Z’s 44th birthday, after a friend recommended the music mogul try a vegan breakfast every day. He did, and found it rather easy, so decided to take on a harder challenge. “So you can call it a spiritual and physical cleanse… I don’t know what happens after Christmas. A semi-vegan, a full plant-based diet? Or just a spiritual and physical challenge? We’ll see…” he wrote on his blog.

There are many reasons to go vegan. Eating less meat is considered better for the environment because raising livestock uses more energy and resources than foods like fruits, grains and vegetables. Advocates for animal rights often choose the diet, as well as individuals who want to eat healthier and lose weight.

But going vegan for just a brief period isn’t likely to have much of an impact on any of those outcomes. And that’s not just because you can still eat French fries and a soda and call it a vegan meal. Simply labeling such partial vegan eating as vegan isn’t adequate when it comes to improving your diet to better the health or the environment. At least, according to Mark Bittman.

Bittman, a food journalist and author, developed the “Vegan Before 6” diet, which is a more fluid form of the vegan lifestyle that allows him to cheat and eat whatever he wants after 6 p.m., as long as he maintained vegan principles throughout the day. It’s not true veganism per se, but it pushes him toward a more plant-based diet and honors the principles behind the practice.

Bittman came to veganism when a friend recommended he try the diet to lose weight and cure his sleep apnea and knee pain. He developed his own version of the diet and lost significant weight. But he acknowledges that he’s not a true vegan. “If I was starting this [diet] today, I wouldn’t use the word vegan because I don’t think it adequately expresses the dietary direction we all need to take,” he says. “You can eat junk food and be a vegan, and you can eat animal products and have a terrific diet. From a personal health perspective, junk food is more important [to move away from] than animal products.”

(MORE: It’s Not Just the Fat: There’s Another Way Red Meat May Harm the Heart)

Labeling diets may be too restrictive and keep people from eating the way they should, he says. Eating right comes down to much more than avoiding meat products, or products that come from animals in any way. For Bittman, attempting to eat vegan before 6 p.m. cured him of his sleep apnea and weight-related symptoms. “The best reason to be 100% vegan is really ethical. You don’t think animals should die for your benefit. I’m sympathetic to that, but there are many good reasons for humans to raise and eat animals,” says Bittman. For many people, farming is their lifestyle, and a moderate amount of meat is a high-protein source and can be a part of a healthy diet.

That’s why he can’t get behind the vegan dabblers, who adopt the diet for only a short period of time. Granted, Beyoncé and Jay-Z may end up continuing their vegan ways after their trial run. But there are other reasons the power couple may not be the best role models for healthy eating. “Maybe Beyoncé is misinformed — on the one hand she takes money from Pepsi to push some of the worst so-called foods ever created. And then she announces she’s vegan for 22 days —but what is she doing beyond that? The point is not to be vegan for three weeks, but to improve our diets and the way we treat the earth and other species. Not for three weeks but permanently,” says Bittman. For Beyoncé to post pictures of her vegan meals every day to promote better health while her Pepsi ads are still on TV, he says, is contradictory. Beyoncé’s publicist, Yvette Noel-Schure, responded in an e-mail, that she “truly believe[s] this is a non-story.”

“The point is that we want for ourselves and other people to be eating better. We want our agriculture to be less damaging to the environment, we want to be kinder to animals, we want fewer poisons in our food,” says Bittman. “All of those things are important and are not adequately summed up by the word, vegan.”

Bittman realizes that even his approach may not be the ideal one — he admits he cheats every morning with half and half in his coffee. But at least, he says, if you want to adopt vegan principles for yourself or the environment, make a commitment and do it with some conviction.

MORE: The Morality of Mealtime

At last it can be confirmed: The fact that you haven’t been able to lose weight is actually … your doctor’s fault. Sort of.

In an era in which one-third of all Americans are clinically obese and two-thirds are either obese or simply overweight, it’s fair to ask just what’s going on when people visit their doctors. Patients may be habitually resistant to heeding medical advice (how many times have most smokers been told to quit?), but are doctors doing nothing to talk sense into the heads of people whose weight puts them at serious risk of heart attack, stroke and diabetes? (More on Time.com: The ‘Other’ Salt: 5 Foods Rich in Potassium)

Previous research does show that docs sometimes sidestep such potentially touchy questions. Indeed, one study from 2007 revealed that pediatricians often choose not to discuss the obvious with parents — that Johnny or Janie simply weighs too much — for fear of both giving offense and upsetting the child.

In a study just published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, investigators at Duke University Medical Center looked at whether primary care physicians were similarly dropping the ball when it came to their adult patients. The investigators received permission to record the conversations between 40 doctors and 461 of their overweight or obese patients over the course of 18 months. To ensure that the doctors did not simply give the investigators what they thought they wanted to hear, they were not told the specific purpose of the study — merely that it concerned general doctor-patient discussions.

When the tapes were transcribed and the results tabulated, the results were more impressive than the American obesity epidemic would suggest. In fully 69% of encounters, doctors did discuss weight issues with their patients, devoting an average of three and a half minutes to the topic. “That may not sound like much,” said lead author Kathryn Pollak of the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center, in a statement. “But it amounted to about 15% of the time of an average office visit, which ran about 20 minutes.” (More on Time.com: See a special report on overcoming obesity)

So why aren’t patients losing? Actually, they are; the key was which patients of which doctors. The investigators found that when doctors took a judgmental or confrontational approach, their patients tended to dig in and tune them out. This is consistent with bodies of research that have looked at why public health campaigns often fail. On at least some occasions, the authoritative tone of the messages — such as a “Click it or ticket” campaign that reminded people to use seat belts or risk a fine — are to blame. The response (“I’ll show you! I won’t wear my seat belt!”) may not make sense, but whoever said human beings are rational animals?

A more effective approach — as the new Duke study confirmed — is for doctors and other authority figures to take a motivational tone, encouraging rather than scolding and listening rather than lecturing. Part of that technique involves the reflective approach marriage counselors often tell spouses to take with each other. When a patient makes a dozen excuses for why it’s hard to fit exercise into a busy workday, physicians will make more progress if they refrain from saying, in effect, “Nonsense,” and opt instead for, “O.K., so it sounds like you’re having trouble finding time for a workout.”

That may sound contrived (it often does to quarreling spouses), but it tends to work — as it did in the Duke study, in which the patients of doctors who used the technique lost, on average, 3.5 lbs. three months after the first visit. “When doctors use reflective statements, it changes the relationship,” said Pollak. “The patient becomes more of an equal, more of a partner in care.”

It’s not every doctor who’s capable of forging that kind of bond with a patient; but it’s not every patient who manages to lose weight even when the benefits are so obvious. The fact that the successful doctors and the successful patients so often wind up together may say something important.

More on Time.com:

Photos: Obesity Rehab

Figuring Out Food Labels

At last it can be confirmed: The fact that you haven’t been able to lose weight is actually … your doctor’s fault. Sort of.

In an era in which one-third of all Americans are clinically obese and two-thirds are either obese or simply overweight, it’s fair to ask just what’s going on when people visit their doctors. Patients may be habitually resistant to heeding medical advice (how many times have most smokers been told to quit?), but are doctors doing nothing to talk sense into the heads of people whose weight puts them at serious risk of heart attack, stroke and diabetes? (More on Time.com: The ‘Other’ Salt: 5 Foods Rich in Potassium)

Previous research does show that docs sometimes sidestep such potentially touchy questions. Indeed, one study from 2007 revealed that pediatricians often choose not to discuss the obvious with parents — that Johnny or Janie simply weighs too much — for fear of both giving offense and upsetting the child.

In a study just published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, investigators at Duke University Medical Center looked at whether primary care physicians were similarly dropping the ball when it came to their adult patients. The investigators received permission to record the conversations between 40 doctors and 461 of their overweight or obese patients over the course of 18 months. To ensure that the doctors did not simply give the investigators what they thought they wanted to hear, they were not told the specific purpose of the study — merely that it concerned general doctor-patient discussions.

When the tapes were transcribed and the results tabulated, the results were more impressive than the American obesity epidemic would suggest. In fully 69% of encounters, doctors did discuss weight issues with their patients, devoting an average of three and a half minutes to the topic. “That may not sound like much,” said lead author Kathryn Pollak of the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center, in a statement. “But it amounted to about 15% of the time of an average office visit, which ran about 20 minutes.” (More on Time.com: See a special report on overcoming obesity)

So why aren’t patients losing? Actually, they are; the key was which patients of which doctors. The investigators found that when doctors took a judgmental or confrontational approach, their patients tended to dig in and tune them out. This is consistent with bodies of research that have looked at why public health campaigns often fail. On at least some occasions, the authoritative tone of the messages — such as a “Click it or ticket” campaign that reminded people to use seat belts or risk a fine — are to blame. The response (“I’ll show you! I won’t wear my seat belt!”) may not make sense, but whoever said human beings are rational animals?

A more effective approach — as the new Duke study confirmed — is for doctors and other authority figures to take a motivational tone, encouraging rather than scolding and listening rather than lecturing. Part of that technique involves the reflective approach marriage counselors often tell spouses to take with each other. When a patient makes a dozen excuses for why it’s hard to fit exercise into a busy workday, physicians will make more progress if they refrain from saying, in effect, “Nonsense,” and opt instead for, “O.K., so it sounds like you’re having trouble finding time for a workout.”

That may sound contrived (it often does to quarreling spouses), but it tends to work — as it did in the Duke study, in which the patients of doctors who used the technique lost, on average, 3.5 lbs. three months after the first visit. “When doctors use reflective statements, it changes the relationship,” said Pollak. “The patient becomes more of an equal, more of a partner in care.”

It’s not every doctor who’s capable of forging that kind of bond with a patient; but it’s not every patient who manages to lose weight even when the benefits are so obvious. The fact that the successful doctors and the successful patients so often wind up together may say something important.

More on Time.com:

Photos: Obesity Rehab

Figuring Out Food Labels

la sagesse conventionnelle que manger un petit déjeuner réduit la faim pour le reste de la journée n'a jamais fait beaucoup de sens pour moi: comme quelqu'un qui est pas particulièrement faim le matin, je l'ai constaté que sauter le petit déjeuner ne m'a jamais quitté vorace pour le déjeuner ou le dîner, et il est beaucoup plus facile que nixing un autre repas pour garder les calories vers le bas .

Maintenant, une nouvelle étude confirme mon soupçon que la notion d'un grand petit-déjeuner comme un outil de perte de poids peut être, ainsi, de la propagande pour Big Breakfast alimentaire. Comme le rapporte la BBC, la recherche, qui a été publié dans Nutrition Journal a trouvé que les gens qui ont mangé un petit déjeuner effectivement consommé plus de calories par jour globale par rapport aux personnes qui ont mangé moins ou sauté de manger le matin, plutôt que déplacement de la majeure partie de leur apport calorique plus tôt dans la journée. ( Plus sur Time.com: 5 Perte de poids des applications qui fonctionnent)

L'étude de l'Université de chercheurs Munich suivi 380 personnes - 280 qui étaient obèses, et 100 qui étaient de poids normal - qui tenait un journal alimentaire pendant deux semaines. Certains mangeaient copieux petits-déjeuners, certains mangeaient les petits; certains sauté tout le repas. La BBC rapporte:.

Les gens qui ont eu un grand petit-déjeuner, en moyenne 400 calories de plus grandes qu'un petit, consommé environ 400 calories en une journée

Dr Volker Schusdziarra, chercheur principal, a déclaré: "Les résultats de l'étude ont montré que les gens ont mangé la même pour le déjeuner et le dîner, indépendamment de ce qu'ils avaient pour le petit déjeuner."

Bien que des recherches antérieures a associé la perte de poids avec l'apport calorique plus élevé au petit déjeuner, ce lien semble tenir uniquement si le nombre total de calories consommées reste constante. En d'autres termes, vous êtes plus susceptible de perdre du poids si vous avez votre plus grand repas du matin (à savoir, vous réduisez la taille de vos repas suivants en conséquence) que si vous ajoutez simplement un grand repas du matin à votre régime alimentaire normal. ( Plus d'informations sur Time.com: Big petits déjeuners sont Out 5 Mieux-For-You Les repas du matin.)

Mais la recherche de régime alimentaire est notoire pour des résultats contradictoires et non répliqué, et il reste vrai que les personnes qui prennent un petit déjeuner ont tendance à avoir une alimentation plus saine globale et sont moins susceptibles d'être obèses que les personnes qui sautent le repas du matin. Ce qui pourrait expliquer la différence? Peut-être que les gens qui sont en meilleure santé et plus mince pour commencer sont plus susceptibles de suivre des conseils sur l'alimentation, qui a été de prendre le petit déjeuner? Il est difficile de dire à coup sûr. Je vous exhorte à rester sceptique sur les études de régime -. Même si, ou surtout quand, vous trouverez des études qui confirment vos croyances préexistantes, comme celui-ci a fait pour moi

Liens connexes:

5 façons d'améliorer votre alimentation sur le bon marché

Pour étancher votre soif, Reach for thé au lieu de l'eau

bébé né avec deux avant Parfait Teeth