Safely Slimming :: Weight Loss

Safely Slimming
by author Linda Woolven, CH

Most North Americans are chromium deficient. This trace mineral was discovered in 1957, and is essential to proper blood sugar control and the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

Studies have also shown that chromium can lower body mass while increasing lean muscle mass, probably by increasing insulin sensitivity. According to Michael Murray, ND, "improving insulin sensitivity is an important goal in a weight loss program. Loss of insulin sensitivity is the hallmark feature of obesity."

Chromium works closely with insulin in aiding the transport of glucose into cells for metabolism. Without chromium, blood sugar levels become elevated and insulin’s action is blocked. Supplementing the diet with chromium has been shown to decrease fasting glucose levels; improve tolerance to glucose; normalize insulin levels; and increase good cholesterol while reducing total cholesterol and triglyceride levels. One study revealed that men taking chromium lost an average of seven times more body fat than those taking a placebo.

Garcinia Cambogia (HCA)

Hydroxycitric acid (HCA) is extracted from the rind of the Malabar tamarind (Garcinia cambogia), a fruit native to South India. It helps regulate body fat metabolism and blocks fatty acid synthesis from glucose by inhibiting a liver enzyme. It also controls the appetite, including cravings for sweets.

Garcinia cambogia inhibits the formation and build up of fats. It also inhibits the enzyme activity of ATP-citrate lyase, which is responsible for converting carbohydrates and proteins into fat. If more calories are consumed than are burnt, the excess is stored in the liver and muscles in the form of glycogen.

When glycogen stores are filled, the excess calories are converted to fat, and the brain sends out signals indicating hunger. Hydroxycitric acid enhances the ability of the liver and muscles to store glycogen, helping to reduce fat production. It also prevents the brain from sending out signals that indicate hunger and stopping the need to eat.

Hydroxycitric acid can suppress fat production by 40 to 80 percent for eight to 12 hours after eating. In a 1997 study, subjects lost an average of 14 pounds in two months while supplementing with HCA and following a controlled diet. Remarkably, they continued to lose another 16 pounds over the next 12 months of HCA supplementation with no dietary restriction.

Bitter Orange (Citrus aurantium)

Bitter orange has the benefits of ephedra without the negative central nervous system and cardiovascular side effects. It works in three ways to aid in weight loss: it stimulates weight loss by enhancing the metabolic rate (thermogenesis); builds lean muscle; and increases physical performance by making fat available for energy. Enhancing thermogenesis is believed by many experts to be the most important factor for successful weight loss.

Bitter orange increases the rate at which fat is released from body stores and the metabolic rate (thermogenesis), which burns calories. The increased amount of fat available for breakdown also gives the body greater energy, allowing more energy for exercise and helping minimize the loss of lean muscle tissue.

Bitter orange can also help increase the burning of calories after ingestion of food and may increase resting metabolic rate, allowing calorie-burning even when you’re not active.

Bladderwrack (Kelp)

Kelp (fucus vesiculosus) is best known for its ability–thanks to the high level of iodine–to assist an under-active thyroid, often a cause of weight gain. Iodine assists in making thyroid hormones, which are necessary for maintaining normal metabolism. By supplying this and other minerals to the body, kelp provides extra assurance to those on a diet that key nutrients are not missing.

Eating Fat and Getting Slim
Be aware of the difference between the fats that are a dieter’s enemy and the fats that are essential to good health. While hydrogenated fats are to be avoided, the essential fatty acids (EFAs), like omega-3 and omega-6, must still be consumed: your health depends on them. These good fats are actually beneficial for all the same diseases that the bad fats are associated with. And they will help you lose weight! Udo Erasmus in Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill adds that while saturated fats slow metabolic rate down, EFAs have the opposite effect.

For example, nuts are high in oils, and many people believe them to be fattening. But a study of 26,473 people found that those who ate the most nuts were the least obese. Other good sources of essential fatty acids include flax seed oil, evening primrose oil and hemp seed oil. Or look for a blend of essential fatty acids in your local health food store to help ensure your body’s good health and safer, more effective weight loss.

Source: alive #207, January 2000

Weight Loss and the Calorie-Counting Myth
The load on Mother Earth is getting heavier. Not only are there more of us to carry, we weigh more, too. Worldwide, the number of overweight people is estimated at 1.2 billion.

The Dangers of Fast Food
When James Dean said, "Live fast, die young, leave a beautiful corpse" in the 1950s, Americans were much thinner and fast food was a new invention. Today Americans are simply too chubby to live as fast as the lean 1950s idol. Instead they eat fast food, die younger than they should and leave increasingly obese corpses..

Herbal Solutions to Safe and Effective Weight Loss
What if there was a safe and effective way to jump-start a weight-loss program that guaranteed results within two to three weeks--and didn't involved starvation diets or rigorous exercise? It's not magic or tricke.

Can My Diet Survive the Shortbread Season?
It's that time of year when all those parties and social gatherings dot the calendar. Everywhere we turn, sweet temptation rears its ugly hea.

Don't Weight
January is diet month, when many people search for motivation to get active and lose weight. And now, more than ever, the scales tell us it's time to make this serious commitment to our health and well-being.

Fire Up Your Metabolism
How many of us have declared that we are going to "lose weight and get in shape"? To make healthy changes in our lives, we take out a new membership at the local gym, only to fall back on old habits once the novelty wears off.

Managing the Battle of the Bulge
More than one-third of Canadian adults are overweight and 15 percent are clinically obese, reports Health Canada. A 2001 study of nearly 10,000 people found that obesity, a greater risk to health than smoking, is linked to our most common killers-heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Realistic Resolutions for Real Results
You wake up one morning in January and take a good look in the mirror. Are you happy with the person staring back at you?

Get With The Program
This was the year we were going to start working out, eating right, looking good, and feeling better, right? What happened? Often we begin an exercise program with the best intentions but then find we lack the tools to stay dedicated.

The Right Advice for Effective Fat Loss
Many of us would agree we are bombarded with an abundance of information-much of it conflicting-especially surrounding the issue of weight loss. The truth is that once we come to terms with the fact we are carrying too much fat on our frames, we panic and want it gone!

Key to Weight Loss
Losing weight can be challenging. Keeping it off can be even more difficult. The key is your metabolism and the higher your lean body mass, the higher your metabolism will be.

Hoodia Who?
Hoodia gordonii is a cactus-like plant native to the Kalahari Desert of South Africa, Namibia, and Botswan.

Tip the Scales in Your Favour
'Tis the season for dieting. January awakens our resolve to lose spare tires, saddlebags, and other jiggly bits. For every plump little pound we want to lose, we must eliminate or burn 3,500 calories.

The French Paradox Explained
Many jealous North Americans have wondered how the French can consume foods that are known contributors to weight gain - white bread, cheese, rich sauces, and red wine - yet never seem to gain a pound. Scientists have coined it the French paradox.

Detox and Weight Loss
What do food additives, caffeine and alcohol, medications, herbicides and pesticides, and household chemicals all have in common? Each must be rendered harmless by your body's detoxification system in order for you to stay lean and healthy.

Forever Young
All of us want to have longer and healthier lives, and while some of us are dealt a better hand than others in life's genetic lottery, there are many ways we can maximize the potential we are born with.

Just Lose It!
Over half of all North Americans are considered overweight, so it's not surprising that there is great interest in weight loss supplement.

Mesotherapy
When dimples start appearing in the wrong set of cheeks, a new alternative therapy called mesotherapy might be the perfect answer. Mesotherapy is the newest cellulite solution in cosmetic and aesthetic medical circles. But what's it all about?

Weighty Issues
The holiday season is full of wonderful tastes and traditions, but come January we feel pressured by forces everywhere, including the media, to try the latest fad diet in an effort to lose extra pounds. Should we succumb to the pressure or should we consider our body weight from a different perspective?

Are You a Skinny, Fat Person?
Everyone admires the supermodel who "never works out" and "eats everything" yet still manages to look fabulous. Some of us even strive for her looks by following a diet of lattes and lettuce. What's surprising is that this beautiful, slim woman may actually have high body fat and the foundation for chronic disease.

Move Over Has-Bean
Recently, while my friends and I were sharing a laugh over a cuppa java, I looked across the table at Amanda's cup and realized there was no ebony liquid in it. Instead, she was delicately sipping green tea. One of Amanda's jokes?

Education Helps Healing
Last month I detailed the symptoms and nutritional assessment of alive case study client Jacqueline. After many attempts to lose weight, she has agreed, with my help, to focus on gaining health.

Fibre Helps Curb Appetite
Appetite reflects a very complex system that has evolved to help humans deal with food shortages. As a result, it is extremely biased toward weight gain. The solution to combat the tendency to eat more than we require is to accentuate the normal physiological processes that curb the appetite.

Heavy Evidence on Getting Lean
These days the phrase "the latest research carries little weight. In comprehensive research, best practices combine primary, anecdotal, and dialogue-focused data with secondary, online, and published work from clinical trials.

Healthy Weight Loss
Lose four to six pounds a month-painlessly. Many studies show that the key to true long-term weight control is a diet based on a high intake of colourful fruits and vegetables, reasonable portion sizes, and healthy fats, along with a moderate exercise program and modest expectations. Here are four tips for lifetime weight maintenance.

Winning at Losing
Even without looking at the numbers on the bathroom scale, you know the score. Your weight's up, your energy's down. Natural weight loss support products can help you get the results you want more quickly and with less stress.

Relieve PMS with a Vegetarian Diet

Eat Early; Eat Less

High Fibre for Healthy Colons

Take It Off
'Tis the season for vowing to strip off those extra pounds you've been accumulating. A natural approach to weight loss that combines behaviour modification, healthy, controlled eating, daily exercise, and weight-loss support supplements is your best bet for success.

Add Some to Lose Some
Although a nutritious diet and regular exercise are key to losing weight, research shows that there is more you can do to shed pounds. Dietary supplements can play an important complementary role in regulating metabolism, suppressing appetite, and curbing sweet cravings.

Family Album
In her 1957 wedding photos, she is the classic embodiment of the term hourglass figure: generous bust and hips set off by a small waist. Her dress and going-away suit showcase her fashionably abundant figure and nervous smile.

Hunger Free Forever: The New Science of Appetite Control
by Michael Murray and Michael Lyon Atria Books, 2007; 304 pages; hardcover $29.95,also available as an e-book at simonsays.com ISBN 978-1-4165-4904-8

The Last 15
Dr. Joey Shulman's new book, The last 15: a weight loss breakthrough, addresses controlled and permanent weight loss beyond an individual's plateau point-those hard-to-lose extra pounds that prevent 98 percent of the overweight population from achieving complete, healthy success.

Eat, Drink, and Be Merry
Many of us come home from vacations packing a few extra pounds, but it doesn't have to be that way. On your next vacation plan to indulge yourself with healthy gourmet food and a variety of activities.

Losing Weight
The New Year kicks off with parties presenting irresistible desserts, delicious eggnog, and those tasty little appetizers that are so hard to refuse! With the alcohol flowing and office or family gatherings happening all around you, temptation is at an all-time high.

Build a New You
Our bodies are in a continual state of renewal and repair. In one year the over 100 trillion cells that make up the body will all be new.

Weight-loss Aids
If you're like the majority of Canadians whose Day-Timers include notations such as "exercise every day, "drink more water, and "eat more salads, don't forget to add "research health supplements, because there are some great products that may help in shedding those extra post-holiday pounds.

Squeeze some sunshine
Have you ever wondered why an apple turns brown after you cut it in half? But cut any citrus fruit in half and it remains virtually unchanged. The difference is the high level of ascorbic acid and other antioxidants in the citrus; they protect it from oxidation-like natural rustproofing.

Change It Up!
Are you burned out or bored with your fitness routine? Did you start out eager to make improvements to your strength, conditioning, and healthy lifestyle, but now find yourself sidetracked?