“People who eat polyunsaturated fats instead of saturated fats have less visceral fat. Exercising daily also helps prevent the accumulation of visceral fat. And when you start to lose weight, you lose visceral fat quickly. In some studies, people who lost only 10 to 15 percent of their total body weight through diet and exercise lost 30 percent of their visceral fat and saw significant improvement in markers of disease risk, like cholesterol and blood pressure (the benefits not achieved by liposuction).”

This is an interesting article.  When you get down to a certain size, it is EXTREMELY  difficult to lose weight.  You almost don’t want to lose weight because you lose it in the wrong places.   That’s because exercise correlates to subcutaneous fat while dieting correlates to visceral fat.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12919730/site/newsweek/

Her Body: Belly-Fat Dangers

By Barbara Kantrowitz and Pat Wingert

Updated: 7:16 a.m. PT May 23, 2006

May 23, 2006 - Sit down when you read this. Now, grab a hunk of flesh at your waist. If you’re like many women, you’ve got a handful; nearly two thirds of American women are overweight or obese, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. While we all know that excess pounds increase your risk of certain diseases, you may not realize that where you carry the weight makes a big difference. Hefty hips and thighs (a pear-shaped body) may cause you some dismay when you look in the mirror, but researchers have found that abdominal fat (an apple shape) could be even more hazardous to your health.

To understand why, you need to know a little bit about the different kinds of fat in your body. Most of your fat cells are under your skin—in your hips, arms or thighs (you know what we’re talking about). That’s called subcutaneous fat, and it’s what you’re able to grab in your hand. You have some subcutaneous fat in your stomach, as well, but the fat that concerns researchers is called visceral fat. It surrounds organs in the abdominal area and it’s part of the omentum, a drape of tissue that hangs down from the intestines. You can’t touch it or feel it. In the average person, about 10 percent of total body fat is visceral while 90 percent is subcutaneous. In a very obese person, that ratio changes to about 25:75.

Scientists have found that there’s a correlation between visceral fat and various metabolic diseases (like diabetes) that put you at risk for cardiovascular problems. In fact, the evidence against visceral fat is so strong that scientists say measuring your waist circumference may be a better indicator than your BMI (or body mass index, a ratio of weight to height) of your risk of disease. For women, a waist size of more than 35 inches signals potential trouble; in men, it’s 40 inches.

Is there something about how visceral fat functions in the body that makes it more dangerous than subcutaneous fat? Researchers aren’t sure, says Samuel Klein, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at Washington University Medical School in St. Louis. When scientists look at visceral fat cells out of the body, they appear to be more active than subcutaneous fat cells. “Whether that’s true in humans or animals when they are alive isn’t clear,” Klein says. Studying visceral fat cells inside the body is difficult, Klein says, because you would need access to the portal vein, which drains visceral fat—and that would mean inserting some kind of tube into the body.

Klein and his colleagues have studied what happens when they sucked out subcutaneous abdominal fat by liposuction. In a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2004, they looked at 15 obese women with excessive belly fat before abdominal liposuction and 10 to 12 weeks after surgery. Although they removed large amounts of fat (about 20 percent of the patients’ total body mass), there were no health benefits—no changes in cholesterol, blood pressure or other risk factors for heart disease. “Removing the fat alone is not enough,” Klein says. “How you remove it is important.” In other words, you have to eat less and exercise more.

Now that we’ve gotten you all depressed just as swimsuit season starts, we’ll give you the good news. Although your genes do play a major role in determining where your body stores subcutaneous fat, researchers have found that both your level of physical activity and what you eat can affect the amount of visceral fat you have. People who eat polyunsaturated fats instead of saturated fats have less visceral fat. Exercising daily also helps prevent the accumulation of visceral fat. And when you start to lose weight, you lose visceral fat quickly. In some studies, people who lost only 10 to 15 percent of their total body weight through diet and exercise lost 30 percent of their visceral fat and saw significant improvement in markers of disease risk, like cholesterol and blood pressure (the benefits not achieved by liposuction).

That’s an important message at any age, but it’s increasingly critical as you get older since age also raises your risk of heart disease. “Obesity in the elderly is a major problem,” says Klein. “It has become a major source of disability and nursing-home admissions. The weight you carry when you’re 50 is no longer tolerable when you’re 80.” After menopause, women start accumulating fat in the places where men do (think beer belly), which means more visceral fat as well. So start losing now by eating healthier food and cutting portion size. Make sure you get regular physical activity—at least half an hour a day. And watch your waistline melt away.

I’m surprised emotions and stress did not make it to the list below. Because emotional eating is something that can plague upon us at any given time or day. I am one who will not eat when something goes wrong. But I have known people who will do just the opposite. Food is comforting to them, and they will eat until their emotions are satisfied.

I once knew a guy who ballooned from 175 lb. to about 300 lb. within a given year. At the time I knew him (6+ years), he was in great shape. He came from a very nice family but had too many pet peeves. Everything had to be “perfect”, and when things weren’t, he would whine. Little did he nor I knew at the time that his bachelor fridge of processed foods - Gardenburgers, cheesecake, strawberry shortcake, 7-up, cheese, beer, red wine, etc. would one day get him into a bit of weight trouble. When I last saw him at a mutual friend’s party some 8 years ago, I knew emotions had taken a “toll” on him ….

http://www.foodpsychology.cornell.edu/tipsheet.htm

Tip Sheet – 2006

Bottoms Up! The Influence of Elongation on Pouring and Consumption Volume

Beware of the shape of the glass you use. You could drink much more than you think. Studies at “Weight- loss Camps” (and with veteran bartenders) show that visual illusions unknowingly cause us to pour an average of 34% more into short wide glasses than tall narrow ones.

Exploring Comfort Food Preferences across Age and Gender

When you crave a comfort food do you crave steak or ice cream? Researchers show that comfort foods can consist of both snack-related foods and meal-related foods. Females tend to prefer snack-related comfort foods while males prefer more meal-related comfort foods.

Interactions between Forms of Fat Consumption and Restaurant Bread Consumption

Hidden cameras at Italian restaurants show that people who put olive oil on a piece of bread will eat more fat and calories than if they instead used butter. The good news… they eat fewer pieces of bread. After observing 341 people at Italian restaurants, researchers found two surprising facts 1) olive oil users soaked 26% more olive oil onto their bread and 2) olive oil users eat 23% less bread over the course of a meal.

How Visibility and Convenience Influence Candy Consumption

The farther you have to walk the less you eat. College secretaries ate twice as many chocolate kisses (9 versus 4) when these kisses were placed on their desk than when they were placed 6 feet away. They were also more likely to lose track of how many they had eaten.

Profiling Nutritional Gatekeepers: Three Methods for Differentiating Influential Cooks

Great domestic cooks are “nutritional gatekeepers” who can unknowingly help define their family’s taste preferences and can facilitate healthy eating. A nation-wide study focusedon 440 “great cooks” showed that not all are created equal. Indeed, within the United States, most great domestic cooks can be categorized in one of five categories: (1) Giving Cooks, (2) Healthy Cooks, (3) Innovative Cooks, (4) Methodical Cooks and (5) Competitive Cooks.

Do Descriptive Menu Labels Influence Restaurant Sales and Repatronage?

A six-week controlled cafeteria study found that descriptive menu-item labels increase food sales and improve the attitudes customers have towards both the food and the restaurant. Using descriptive menu labels such as Black Forest Double-Chocolate (vs. chocolate cake) increased sales by 27% and improved attitudes towards the food, attitudes towards the restaurant, and intentions towards repatronage.

Does Stockpiling Accelerate Consumption?

The Wholesale Club Store Curse: buying in bulk causes you to eat these visible foods more frequently. In a study of 219 adults, researchers found that stockpiled products are more frequently used when they are visible and seen as versatile. Products are frequently purchased and forgotten - out of sight out of mind.

Can Package Size Accelerate Usage Volume?

Five studies with 691 adults across 48 product categories show that people pour more out of larger packages. Large package sizes increase consumption an average of 22%. This stems from a deep-seated perception that per-unit cost is cheaper in larger packages.

At the Movies: How External Cues and Perceived Taste Impact Consumption Volume

External cues such as packaging and container size can powerfully and unknowingly increase how much we eat. Chicago moviegoers who were given large-size popcorn containers ate 45% more than those given medium-size containers. This even happened when they were given stale, 10 day old popcorn. Big packages encourage us to eat more, even if we don’t really like the food.

Changing Eating Habits on the Home Front: Lost Lessons from World War II Research

These hidden secrets from WWII show a lot about adopting unfamiliar foods, like soy. Gatekeepers and incremental introductions are particularly important when encouraging healthy eating. Changing your family’s eating habits – such as eating more fruits and vegetables – is easier to do gradually than abruptly.

Antecedents and Mediators of Eating Bouts

In a study of 178 adults, researchers explored what stimulates and influences dramatic increases in the volume consumed of certain foods or “eating bouts.” When foods are sitting out, we tend to “graze” and eat them more frequently. When we have to get them from the cupboard instead, we eat them less often, but we eat larger servings (or handfuls).

The Mystery of the Cabinet Castaway: Why We Buy Products We Never Use

In-home pantry reports of 423 American households show that unused products were not bought because of sales, ads, coupons, or impulsivity. They were bought for recipes that were never made, or for special occasions that never occurred. This study found that most of those unused products are really the result of our over-optimistic plans when we shop.

1) Chickens by law are not fed with any hormones, so no need to opt for those hormone free eggs.

2) A hen lays an egg every 24 to 26 hours.

3) A soft shelled egg is a sign that the hen lacks Vitamin D and calcium in the diet.

4) By law, additives are not allowed in eggs; however, marigold petals maybe used to enhance the color of the yolk.

5) A hen eating yellow corn or alfalfa will have medium color egg yolk. A hen eating wheat or barley will have a lighter color egg yolk. And a hen not consuming any veggies will lack color in the egg yolk. Xanthophyll is the carotenoid found in yellow and orange pigmented plants.

6) An egg yolk is a good source of choline, which many people lack.

7) If the shelled uncooked egg sinks to the bottom of a pot of water, the egg is fresh. If the egg floats, it’s not.

If the egg yolk flattens after cracking, it’s not fresh.

9) A hard boiled egg is easier to peel when the egg is NOT fresh.

10) If the cooked egg yolk is greenish gray, it’s overcooked.

11) Don’t store your eggs next to strong odored foods. The eggshell has 9000 pores.

12) Besides brown and white eggs, chicken can lay eggs in other colors, such as pink, green, and blue.

Sources:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16352946/
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/whatstuff/84/8434egg.html

It’s amazing how much junk is used in junk food. For those on the East Coast, Tasty Kate doesn’t sound too appealing either.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-0e-ettlinger29may29,0,3636830.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail

From a Chinese oil refinery to your Twinkie

Food makers don’t often know where the chemicals in their products come from.

By Steve Ettlinger, STEVE ETTLINGER is the author of, most recently, “Twinkie, Deconstructed.”

May 29, 2007

WHEN I began researching the ingredients for Twinkies, I naively thought that their raw materials were extracted from nuts, beans, fruit, seeds or leaves, and that they came from the United States. I was looking to link places with foods — along the lines of California wine or Maine lobster, but for thiamine mononitrate. It turned out that I was way off.

Although eight of the ingredients in the beloved little snack cake come from domestic corn and three from soybeans, there are others — including thiamine mononitrate — that come from petroleum. Chinese petroleum. Chinese refineries and Chinese factories. And there are other unexpected ingredients that are much harder to trace. So much for the great “All-American” snack food.

When you bite into a Twinkie, you are chewing on an international nexus of suppliers. Most of our processed foods — salad dressing, ice cream, meal-replacement drinks — are processed with foreign additives: essential ones, like B vitamins for fortifying flour and the preservative sorbic acid, as well as Malaysian or Indonesian palm oil products, European wheat gluten, Peruvian colorants, Chadian gums and Swiss niacin, made from Swiss water, Swiss air (nitrogen) and North Atlantic or Middle Eastern oil. It’s a nice contrast to recall that Champagne comes only from Champagne, France.

Like many other industries, food additives have been off-shored. No major domestic vitamin or sorbic acid manufacturers remain in the U.S. Our last vitamin C plant closed in 2005 — in fact, it closed as I was speaking to an employee about a tour — and most of our artificial colors and flavors come from abroad as well. Our chemical industry is rapidly dismantling its expensive domestic plants and either forming joint ventures with Chinese companies or simply buying chemicals from them. This leads to lower food and pharmaceutical prices, but perhaps at the cost of quality control.

How can you have quality control when you don’t even know where the ingredient is coming from? During my Twinkie research, I was particularly surprised that many American food additive “manufacturers” buy chemicals, especially vitamins, from distributors and do not know, or don’t ask, where they come from. The distributors usually sing the same song, as they often buy from importers, and the importers buy from exporters who — no surprise — are often not able or willing to identify all of their sources.

Now that the tainted pet food scandal has made us more aware that many additives come from overseas, and China in particular — and that some unscrupulous or, at the very least, unprofessional Chinese manufacturers mix cheaper and poisonous adulterants into some food or pharmaceutical products — most of us would like to see some action. What can be done?

First, Chinese and any other foreign manufacturers should fall under both their home country’s and the U.S. government’s regulations and controls. This would take a concerted education effort in China, which has the challenge of teaching small, uneducated and very independent entrepreneurs the market value of meeting American standards.

Second, we need to increase U.S. inspection of imported foods and additives. This means increased personnel and budgets and a serious commitment from the government to a tight, professional program. The Food and Drug Administration should classify additive adulteration the same way the Agriculture Department classifies meat contamination: totally unacceptable. Congress would have to reverse the trend of underfunding the FDA.

Finally, as consumers, we can swallow hard and decide to pay just a little more for well-inspected processed food — or eat more local fruits, vegetables and whole grains and buy minimally processed and sustainably farmed foods.

Smart processed-food and pharmaceutical companies are scrambling to find guaranteed safe alternatives. But consumers must be prepared to pay a higher price for safe food — and to make informed choices about what ingredients go into our food and where they come from.

If you want to have your snack cake and eat it too, you have to remember: You are what you eat.

Why are these fries not decomposing?

http://shizzville.com/how-nasty-are-mcdonalds-fries