Tag Archives: article

Your 5 worst gluten-free mistakes

After experiencing some wacky symptoms, I was recently tested for celiac disease, and while the report came back negative, I've noticed that I do feel better when I avoid gluten. Many of my clients are in the same boat, but others seek me out after going gluten free and feeling worse, or even gaining weight, which seems to be increasingly common.  The truth is, navigating the gluten-free landscape can be pretty darn tricky. Here are five common missteps I see, and how to resolve them. Not 'getting' gluten One client recently said to me, “I'm not really sure what gluten is, but I know it's bad, right?” I think a lot of people are a little in the dark about the issue at large, and it is complicated, but in a nutshell, here's what you need to know: gluten is a type of protein naturally found in wheat (including spelt, kamut, farro, and bulgur) and other grains, like barley and rye. In people who have celiac disease, consuming even small amounts of gluten triggers unwelcome symptoms, including belly pain and bloating. This happens because gluten causes the immune system to damage or destroy villi, the tiny, fingerlike structures that line the small intestine like a microscopic plush carpet. Healthy villi absorb nutrients through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream, so when they become damaged, chronic malnutrition occurs, which is typically accompanied by weight loss and exhaustion. Other symptoms may include bone or joint pain, depression, and skin problems. In people with this diagnosis, the only way to reverse the damage, and the accompanying symptoms, is to completely avoid gluten. People like me, who test negative for celiac disease, may be experiencing a condition called gluten intolerance, or gluten sensitivity, which means that while not celiac, consuming gluten causes bothersome side effects, which can include flu-like feelings, bloating, and other gastrointestinal problems, mental fogginess, and fatigue. Unfortunately, there is no real test for gluten sensitivity at this time, and the symptoms may be related to other issues, including stress (who doesn't have that?!), which makes it a not-so-black-and-white issue. Health.com: Will a Gluten-Free Diet Improve Your Health? Confusing 'gluten free' with 'wheat free' or refined grains As I noted above, gluten isn't only found in wheat. I've heard numerous people say they eat gluten free, but all they've really done is replace foods like white bread with hearty whole grain versions, which may include spelt (in the wheat family), and rye (which, while not wheat, also contains gluten). If you don't have celiac disease or gluten intolerance, these swaps may make you feel great, and lead to weight loss, because trading refined grains for whole grains ups your intake of <a href=”http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20553010,00.html”>fiber</a>, boosts satiety, so you feel fuller longer, and better regulates blood sugar and insulin levels. These are all good things, but, in this case, totally unrelated to gluten. Health.com: 15 Gluten-Free Recipes Thinking gluten free equals weight loss You may have seen a friend, co-worker, or celebrity suddenly slim down after proclaiming to give up gluten. And while going gluten free may absolutely lead to dropping a dress size (or more), the weight loss is generally caused by giving up foods that contain gluten, which are loaded with dense amounts of refined carbs, like bagels, pasta, crackers, pretzels, and baked goods. Axing these foods altogether, or replaced them with more veggies and healthy gluten-free whole grains, like quinoa and wild rice, automatically cuts excess carbs (which may have been feeding fat cells), ups fiber and nutrients, and results in soaring energy. However, going gluten free can also lead to weight gain. Health.com: Best Superfoods for Weight Loss Loading up on gluten-free junk food Because gluten free has exploded in popularity, there are dozens of gluten-free options in markets these days, including carb-laden (but gluten free) versions of… bagels, pasta, crackers, pretzels, and baked goods! One popular brand of gluten free cookies pack 60 calories each, more than a “regular” sandwich cookie. And some gluten-free foods are made with refined gluten-free grains, which have been stripped of their fiber and nutrients, like white rice. The bottom line is, simply going gluten free doesn't guarantee the loss of pounds and inches—quality and quantity still matter most. Health.com: Are You Making These Dieting Mistakes? Ignoring the rest of your diet In addition to quality and quantity, balance is critical for feeling well and achieving weight loss. I've seen people trade white pasta for healthy whole grains like quinoa or wild rice, but still eat portions that are far too large, and therefore not see weight loss results. Others believe it's OK to eat unlimited amounts of healthy gluten-free foods, like fruit and nuts. But sadly, any time you eat more than your body can use or burn, even from healthy foods, you create surpluses, which get shuttled straight to your body's storage units—fat cells. If you have celiac disease (get tested if you suspect you do, but you're not sure), you absolutely must avoid gluten, and it's important to note that it lurks in many products, from salad dressings and seasoning mixes, to vitamins, and even lip balm, so eliminating it completely is a big commitment. And if you think you may be gluten intolerant, try to avoid gluten, and monitor your how you feel. But in either case, the single most important thing you can do is to strive for a healthy, balanced, whole foods diet, the true keys to both optimal health and weight loss. Cynthia Sass is a registered dietitian with master's degrees in both nutrition science and public health. Frequently seen on national TV, she's Health's contributing nutrition editor, and privately counsels clients in New York, Los Angeles, and long distance. Her latest New York Times best seller is S.A.S.S! Yourself Slim: Conquer Cravings, Drop Pounds and Lose Inches. This article originally appeared on Health.com.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/14/your-5-worst-gluten-free-mistakes/

The surprising reason you snack at night — and how to stop it

Over the years, many of my clients on quests to eat healthier and lose weight have told me, “I do great all day, but at night, everything just seems to fall apart.” Sometimes this happens because evening hours are less busy and structured, or because we create patterns that once formed are difficult to break, like nibbling while cooking, or always eating a sweet treat after dinner. But now, new research shows that our bodies may be physiologically programmed to crave cookies after dark. A study in the journal Obesity concludes that our internal clock, the circadian system, prompts us to reach for sweet, starchy, and salty foods in the evenings, especially around 8:00 p.m. Throughout history, this built-in need to feed may have helped our ancestors store fat to survive when food was scarce, but today, it can take a hefty toll on your health and your waistline. So, how do you fight it? Here are six tips to prevent going overboard in the evening. Connect the dots For many people, eating in general, regardless of what time, tends to be mindless. But when you start thinking about food as fuel for activity, it can help bring the importance of quality and balance into focus. In a nutshell, the fate of a meal or snack depends on what's going in your body during your post-noshing hours. Eating the bulk of your food in the evening, when your activity level is low, results in winding up with far more fuel than you body needs, and the surplus gets sent straight to your fat cells. Your body also does the bulk of its maintenance, healing, and repair work while you sleep, so the quality of the food you eat close to bedtime is key. Processed junk won't provide the building blocks that go to work to build muscle tissue, maintain a healthy immune system, and keep your skin looking radiant. Health.com: Best Superfoods for Weight Loss Break associations If your nightly routine involves eating more than you'd like, consciously break the pattern. Just changing the order of your evening activities can help. For example, if you tend to munch while going through your mail, as you stand in the kitchen, sort it in the bedroom instead. If you tend to grab snacks during TV commercials, use those breaks to get small tasks done—fold laundry, iron, pick out your clothes for work the next day, load or unload the dishwasher, or groom your pet. Simply breaking the connections between certain activities and eating can help your brain let go of the notion that it doesn't feel “right” not to follow through. Setting up new routines may seem forced or awkward at first, but before long, the healthier pattern will become your new normal. Health.com: 16 Ways to Lose Weight Fast Pre-plan meals If you're worn out after a long day, thinking about what to make for dinner can feel like a burden, or at the very least a chore. Without healthy options in place, it's so easy to order take out, make a meal out of less than optimal snacks, or reach for comfort foods. But putting healthy options in place doesn't have to be a time suck. If you don't feel like being creative, keep the ingredients for a few quick go-to meals on hand, so you can whip them up in a jiffy. One of my favorite quickies is a simple lentil salad. I always keep my fridge stocked with organic greens, and steamed vacuum-sealed lentils (you can find these in the produce section). I simply toss the greens with balsamic vinegar, add a scoop of lentils, sprinkle with sliced almonds, and pair with a serving of 100 percent whole grain crackers (or crush them on top). While not as fancy as my usual fare, within minutes, dinner is done, and far more nourishing and satisfying than a frozen entrée or bowl of cereal. Health.com: 30 Quick-and-Easy Fat-Burning Recipes Keep a journal I know, I know, you've heard this a million times, but it's one of those tried and true tools that just works. One recent study found that women who kept food diaries lost about six more pounds than those who did not. Another discovered that keeping a food diary doubled weight loss results. If you've been overestimating your body's needs, underestimating how much you eat, and engaging in a lot of mindless eating (three common missteps), journaling will keep you aware and honest, and can allow you to identify unhealthy patterns, which is the first step to changing them. Set yourself up for sleep Staying up late, during the hours you should be sleeping, increases the odds of overeating at night. And numerous studies over the past few years have connected a lack of adequate sleep to weight gain. Prior to the invention of the light bulb (not to mention TVs, smart phones, and laptops), we slept about 10 hours a night. Today, Americans average 6.9 hours of sleep on weeknights and 7.5 hours on weekends. Health.com: 7 Tips for the Best Sleep Ever Believe you can If you believe you can change your habits and routines, you will. It sounds oversimplified, but that's the conclusion of a recent study that analyzed data on the diet, exercise, and personality types of over 7,000 people. Those who believed they have the ability to change their lives through their own actions tended to eat healthier, exercise more, smoke less, and avoid binge drinking. When I have clients say things like, “I'll never be able to change” I ask them to name something else they changed or achieved that they felt doubtful about, but ultimately accomplished. Reminding yourself of your past successes can help you feel more confident about your ability to transform your lifestyle. If you need support, reach out for it. Friends, family members, co-workers, or even an online community to connect to can help immensely, especially during those moments when you just want to fall back into your old (unhealthy) comfortable routines! This article originally appeared on Health.com.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/11/surprising-reason-snack-at-night-and-how-to-stop-it/

Genetic variations associated with susceptibility to bacteria linked to stomach disorders

"[H pylori] is the major cause of gastritis (80 percent) and gastroduodenal ulcer disease (15 percent-20 percent) and the only bacterial pathogen believed to cause cancer," according to background information in the article. "H pylori prevalence is as high as 90 percent in some developing countries but 10 percent of a given population is never colonized, regardless of exposure. Genetic factors are hypothesized to confer H pylori susceptibility." Julia Mayerle, M.D., of University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany, and colleagues conducted a study to identify genetic loci associated with H pylori seroprevalence…

Some prostate cancer patients more likely to die after weekend ER visits

The new study focused on metastatic prostate cancer in examining the so-called "weekend effect" of higher patient mortality, subject of numerous studies for about a decade. Results from the study will be presented May 5 at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association in San Diego. Khurshid R. …

New, more accurate way of imaging lung cancer tumors

Their study appeared in the March issue of Pattern Recognition. Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer in men and women. According to the National Institutes of Health, the five-year survival rate (16.3 percent) is worse than many other cancers, such as colon (65.2 percent), breast (90.0 percent) and prostate (99.9 percent)…

Focus on STD, not cancer prevention, to promote HPV vaccine use

These results go against the conventional wisdom that scaring women about the possibility of cancer is the best way to get them vaccinated. The failure of that cancer-threat message may be one reason that fewer than 20 percent of adolescent girls in the United States have received the HPV vaccine, said Janice Krieger, lead author of the study and assistant professor of communication at The Ohio State University…

Adult cells transformed into early-stage nerve cells, bypassing the pluripotent stem cell stage

Bypassing the ultra-flexible iPSC stage was a key advantage, says senior author Su-Chun Zhang, a professor of neuroscience and neurology. "IPSC cells can generate any cell type, which could be a problem for cell-based therapy to repair damage due to disease or injury in the nervous system." In particular, the absence of iPSC cells rules out the formation of tumors by pluripotent cells in the recipient, a major concern involving stem cell therapy. A second advance comes from the virus that delivers genes to reprogram the adult skin cells into a different and more flexible form…

Discovery may help prevent chemotherapy-induced anemia

Constantly regenerating and maturing, the hematopoietic (blood-producing) stem cells in our bone marrow produce billions of red blood cells (RBC) every day. Cancer chemotherapy is notorious for injuring the bone marrow, leading to anemia, or low RBC counts. But just how chemotherapy harms the bone marrow has not been clear. …