By Tina Haupert

Last winter, I put on a few extra pounds. It was probably 5 pounds or less, but my clothing fit differently and I didn’t like it. Usually, when I notice the pounds creeping on, I pay a little more attention to what I put into my mouth and spend a little more time at the gym. The weight usually comes off slowly, but eventually I’m back to my Feel Great Weight.

But this time, after a few weeks of small lifestyle tweaks, the scale still hadn’t gone back to “normal.” I didn’t want to drastically change my life by cutting out my favorite foods or spending hours and hours at the gym, so I focused on revving up my metabolism to jump-start my weight loss efforts.

Here’s what I did:

I ate breakfast
Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day. Eating breakfast within an hour or two of waking up jump-starts your metabolism because your body is running on empty after a night of not eating. Plus, eating early can help curb cravings and hunger throughout the day.

I went to bed earlier
When I didn’t get enough sleep, I felt myself reaching for snacks a lot more often. Research shows that people who don’t get enough sleep are more likely to gain weight over time. My lack of sleep messed with my hunger hormones, so I tended to overeat when I felt sleep-deprived.

I pumped some iron
A lot of women steer clear of strength training because they think they’ll bulk up, but this is not the case! I started taking Body Pump classes, and within a couple of months, I noticed a difference in my weight and how my body looked. Muscle burns more calories than fat, so adding a couple of full-body strength training workouts to my weekly routine definitely helped me tone up.

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I kicked up my cardio
Incorporating intervals into my cardio workouts maximized my calorie burn. Intervals vary the energy that your body uses, which keeps it guessing and ups your metabolic rate. You even benefit from an “after-burn” of calories when you finish your workout.

I added some protein
Instead of just winging it in the kitchen, I built my meals around low-fat protein, like tofu, beans, eggs, and lean meats. Protein helps your muscles recover after a workout and makes them stronger. It also takes more energy to digest protein, which means you’re burning calories without even trying! Plus, adding protein to my meals satisfied me for long stretches of time, which meant that I’d consume fewer calories overall.

Read Tina’s daily food and fitness blog, Carrots ‘N’ Cake.

Previous posts by Tina Haupert:

Could cockroaches be an unlikely source of natural antibiotics? Most people think of cockroaches as being “dirty”, but new research shows they may be valuable in the battle against resistant bacterial infections that no longer respond to standard antibiotics. They may also help to treat more common bacterial infections – without the side effects of conventional antibiotics.

Can Cockroaches Kill Bacteria Naturally?

Researchers at the University of Nottingham’s School of Veterinary Medicine recently discovered that cockroaches and some insects have chemicals in their brain that are toxic to infection-causing bacteria. So powerful are these insect brain chemicals that they can wipe out bacteria that conventional antibiotics can’t touch.

In one test, they were able to destroy more than 90% of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, which is resistant to almost all standard antibiotics. Even better, they did this without damaging normal, healthy cells.

Why Would Insects Be a Source of Antibiotics?

Because they do live in such dirty areas, these eight-legged creatures have developed natural chemicals to kill bacteria – and help protect themselves against disease. This source of natural antibiotics may not only benefit insects but humans as well.

An Alternative Way to Treat Infection?

Conventional antibiotics have become less effective in recent years as more bacteria develop resistance to them – due to overuse. Some studies show that up to half of all prescribed antibiotics are unnecessary, and instead of having benefits, they add to the problem of antibiotic resistance. Antibiotics are only effective for treating bacterial infections – and have no effect on illnesses caused by viruses.

Most antibiotics have side effects – some of which can be serious. Not only that, but they wipe out good bacteria that protect against bad bacteria and fungi. This increases the risk of yeast infections and stomach upset.

Insects as a Source of Antibiotics: The Bottom Line?

Those creepy creatures that crawl around on kitchen counters could have some benefit after all. Scientists are hoping to harvest insect brain chemicals to make better antibiotics to treat infection with fewer side effects. Could cockroaches offer a solution to antibiotic resistance? Stay tuned for more developments in the battle to safely treat antibiotic-resistant infections – and put cockroaches to good use.

References:

Eurekalert.org.”Insect brains are rich stores of new antibiotics”

SAM-e May Work as an Add-On Therapy in Treating Major Depression

By
Denise Mann
WebMD Health News

Reviewed By
Laura J. Martin, MD

Sept. 3, 2010 — SAM-e plus prescription antidepressants may spell relief for hard-to-treat depression, according to a new study published in the August 2010 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry. Short for S-adenosyl methionine, SAM-e is a dietary supplement that is often used in the treatment of depression.

“This is the first study that examines the use of oral SAM-e as an adjunctive therapy in patients with major depressive disorder who don’t get better on standard antidepressants,” says study author George Papakostas, MD, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and director of treatment-resistant depression studies in the department of psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

That said, “I would not recommend self-medicating with SAM-e or any other compound,” he says. “The most important thing is to talk to your doctor if your antidepressant is not working and your doctor can recommend switching to another drug or adding another therapy.”

Exactly how — or even if — SAM-e affects depression on its own or in combination with prescribed antidepressants is not known, but several theories exist. For example, SAM-e may target some of the same brain chemicals as certain prescription antidepressants, he says.

SAM-e Plus SSRI Equals Depression Relief, Remission

In the new six-week study of 73 adults with major depression who were not responding to treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), those who added oral SAM-e twice a day to their usual daily dose of SSRI showed improvements in their depression and were more likely to achieve remission, compared to their counterparts who received placebo along with their antidepressant medications.

Participants took one, 400 milligram Nature Made SAM-e Complete supplement twice daily provided free of cost by the manufacturer, Pharmavite LLC, for the first two weeks of the study. The dose of SAM-e was then increased to two 400 milligram pills twice daily for the remainder of the study. The SSRI dosing stayed constant during the study.

The number needed to treat (which refers to the number of people who must be treated with SAM-e to achieve response or remission in one person) is one in six and one in seven, respectively, the study showed.

In reviewing side effects, the SAM-e group did show a slightly higher mean systolic blood pressure of 3.1 points over the placebo group.

The next step is to confirm these findings in a larger study, Papakostas tells WebMD.

“This study is promising and nicely done, but it’s relatively small,” says J. Craig Nelson, MD, the Leon J. Epstein Endowed Chair in Geriatric Psychiatry at the University of California at San Francisco. “It does suggests that SAM-e has effects when added to SSRI antidepressants,” says Nelson, who also wrote an editorial accompanying the study.

Now, “we have to do it again to show that it really works in larger numbers of patients and to assess the safety of the compound,” he says.

Talk to Your Doctor Before Adding SAM-e to SSRI Regimen

Until then, don’t try this at home, Nelson cautions. “Many people take supplements on their own and most don’t do much harm, but someone who has serious depression should talk with the person treating them,” he says.

SAM-e may induce mania, he says. “If someone has bipolar disorder and is depressed, they should be very careful about using SAM-e,” he says.

Oral SAM-e Is a Boon

Although SAM-e occurs naturally in the body, it has been hard to manufacture in an oral form. At first, there were problems producing a form that remained stable until ingestion and then would dissolve in a predictable way. “These problems were solved in the late 1990s, but then studies showed that some products didn’t contain what they said they contained,” he says. These issues were ultimately resolved, he says.

“Most studies that looked at SAM-e in depression involved intravenous or intramuscular SAM-e,” Papakostas says. “The oral form is more convenient because you don’t need to sit through intravenous treatment or go to a nurse to get a shot.”

The National Institute of Mental Health funded the new study.

SOURCES: Papakostas, G. American Journal of Psychiatry, August 2010; vol 167: pp 942-948.

Nelson, J. American Journal of Psychiatry, August 2010; vol 167: pp 889-891.

George Papakostas, MD, associate professor of psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; director of treatment-resistant depression studies, department of psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston.

J. Craig Nelson, MD, Leon J. Epstein Endowed Chair in Geriatric Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco.

©2010 WebMD, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

With protein diets vegetarians have clearly the better maps, because proteins from meat can release diseases

Vegetable proteins and fats reduce the risk to get sick with cancer

Who sets nutrition with a Low Carb diet on protein realms, better so a study should seize to planzlichen products. Animal sources of protein are the generally more well-known, but animal proteins and fats increase the risk at cancer as well as Herz-und container diseases to get sick, so the study authors. Afterwards lung and colon cancer step up with men with a fleischlastigen nutrition strengthen. Who would like to eat nevertheless fewer coal hydrates, should set according to study from there on fruits, vegetables and full grain products.

Besides the researchers found Simmons college in Boston around study chief Teresa Fung of US-amerikansichen out that humans, who prefer animal proteins and fats have on the average a higher Body measure index (BMI) and to smoke more frequent. Humans with a preference for vegetarian food drink against it tendentious more alcohol, so the researchers in the specialist journal Annals OF Internal Medicine.

For the study the researchers had analyzed data of more than 120,000 men and women between 20 and 26 years, which had suffered at the beginning of the study neither from cancer nor from heart and container diseases.

Quiz Gives Your Kitchen a Cleanliness Grade

By
Bill Hendrick
WebMD Health News

Reviewed By
Laura J. Martin, MD

Sept. 2, 2010 — Just how clean is your kitchen? An online quiz rates your hygiene practices with a letter grade — and gives you the information you need to keep your food safe from bacteria.

That’s according to a CDC report in the Sept. 3 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Researchers studied data from the years 2006-2008 from about 13,000 adults who completed a quiz developed by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health called the Food Safety Quiz, included in their Home Kitchen Self-Inspection Program.

The voluntary self-inspection and education program was designed to promote safer food hygiene practices at home.

The CDC, in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report for Sept. 3, 2010, reports that:

• 34% of people who took the quiz received a rating of A.
• 27% received a B.
• 25% received a grade of C.
• 14% received a numeric score because they scored lower than 70% on the self-assessment, which asked such questions as whether foods were properly stored, preparation areas properly cleaned, and hands washed often.

The quiz is available online at www.lapublichealth.org/phcommon/public/eh/fsquiz/index.cfm.

Learning About Food Safety

The CDC report says the Food Safety Quiz is based on emerging evidence that the use of online, interactive learning tools are conducive to learning and can make it easy to master safe food handling practices.

The 57 questions on the quiz were guided by food safety education principles from the U.S. Department of Agriculture — namely, that food should be cleaned, separated, cooked, and chilled properly.

Available only in English, it stresses such food handling processes such as sanitizing cutting boards after handling poultry, safe handling of raw eggs, and appropriate methods for handling cooked and uncooked foods.

Improvements Needed on Hygiene Practices

The quiz focuses on food hygiene practices considered to be the most relevant to home kitchens, and focused on cleaning and chilling as two areas that people might overlook when preparing food at home.

People who scored an “A” were mailed a placard in recognition of their good food handling practices.

According to the CDC report:

• The initiative has been credited with helping to reduce by 13.1% the number of hospitalizations for food-borne infections from non-typhoidal salmonella, campylobacter, and E. coli in the L.A. region.
• Tools that educate the public about kitchen safety practices can complement established restaurant hygiene rating programs and aid other prevention efforts to reduce food-borne illnesses.

Citing statistics from Los Angeles, the report says that:

• 27,129 people visited the web site for the quiz.
• 71% were from the L.A. area.
• 13,274 completed the quiz.
• 68% of respondents were female, ranging in age from 18 to 59.
• 86% spoke English at home.
• 81% said they were the primary cook.
• 17% said they felt they had become ill in their lifetimes due to eating at home.

Other findings:

• 27% said they did not store partially cooked foods that would not be used immediately in a refrigerator before final cooking.
• 28% kept on jewelry or didn’t keep fingernails trimmed when cooking.
• 36% said they didn’t have a working thermometer inside their refrigerators.
• 26% admitted their kitchen shelves and cabinets weren’t clean and free from dust.
• 9% reported they had flies in their homes, 6% reported cockroaches, and 5% rodents.

CDC researchers write that home-kitchen-related food-borne diseases are underreported, and that improper practices occur often in home settings. Food-borne diseases caused 2,590 hospitalizations and 17 deaths in Los Angeles County during the 1999-2007 period, numbers that are considered underestimates, according to the report.

SOURCES: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Sept. 3, 2010; vol 59: pp 1098-1101.

©2010 WebMD, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Sept. 2, 2010 — The long-term use of oral bisphosphonate osteoporosis drugs such as Actonel, Boniva, and Fosamax may be associated with a doubling in esophageal cancer risk, but the risk to individual users remains small, researchers say.

Compared to people who had never taken the medications, long-term users of the bone-building drugs known as oral bisphosphonates had nearly double the risk for the rare but deadly cancer in a newly published study.

The findings appear to contradict a separate study published early last month, which used the same data of people living in the U.K. That research failed to find a significant increase in esophageal cancer risk in users of the osteoporosis drugs.

Oxford University epidemiologist Jane Green, PhD, who led the latest research, says more study is needed to determine if bisphosphonate use really does increase esophageal cancer risk.

“But the risk, if it does exist, is small in absolute terms and is not something people taking these drugs should worry too much about,” she tells WebMD.

FDA Report Raises Concerns

Concerns about a link between bisphosphonates and esophageal cancer first reached the public about a year and a half ago with the publication of an FDA report citing 23 cases of the cancer in Fosamax (alendronate) users in the U.S. between 1995 and 2008. The report cited another 31 cases of the cancer among bisphosphonate users in Europe and Japan.

Oral bisphosphonates such as Fosamax, Boniva, and Actonel are used by millions of osteoporosis patients in the U.S. and throughout the world to prevent further bone loss.

Reports of esophageal inflammation related to acid reflux in some users emerged soon after their introduction in the mid-1990s, which is why users are told not to take the drugs with food or while lying down.

Both the newly published study and the one published last month used data from a nationwide medical practice research registry in the U.K. involving about 6 million people.

The latest analysis included close to 3,000 patients with cancer of the esophagus, 2,000 patients with stomach cancer, and 10,600 patients with colorectal cancer diagnosed between 1995 and 2005.

Each cancer case was compared with five people without cancer matched for age and sex.

Researcher: ‘Two Studies Aren’t Contradictory’

The analysis revealed a near doubling of esophageal cancer risk with five years or more of bisphosphonate use. No increase in stomach or colorectal cancers were seen.

Based on their findings, the researchers estimate that two cases of esophageal cancer could be expected among 1,000 long-term bisphosphonate users over five years, compared to one case in five years among 1,000 non-users.

The study by Green and colleagues followed patients for nearly twice as long and had more statistical power than the previously reported study.

“When you look at the longest-term users in that study, the findings were comparable to ours,” she says.

FDA epidemiologist Diane K. Wysowski, PhD, who first reported the 23 esophageal cancer cases among Fosamax users in the U.S., says doctors should consider the risks and benefits for individual patients before prescribing the drugs. This is especially true for patients with digestive problems.

In an editorial published with the study, Wysowski revealed that 34 cases of esophageal cancer associated with bisphosphonate use have now been reported to the FDA.

In a written reply to WebMD, Wysowski noted that patients who take bisphosphonates should make sure they take the drugs as directed, first thing in the morning with a full glass of water at least 30 minutes to an hour before eating, drinking anything other than water, or taking other medications.

She added that patients who experience difficulty swallowing, chest pain, or new or worsening heartburn after taking the medications should seek medical attention.

In a written statement to WebMD, a spokesperson for Fosamax manufacturer Merck noted that the company’s postmarketing research “do not suggest any association between alendronate and esophageal cancer.”

SOURCES: Green, J. BMJ Online First, Sept. 3, 2010; online edition.

Jane Green, PhD, epidemiologist, cancer epidemiology unit, University of Oxford, England.

Diane Wysowski, PhD, division of epidemiology, FDA.

Merck & Co., written statement.

News release, BMJ.

Wysowski, D. New England Journal of Medicine, Jan. 1, 2009.

©2010 WebMD, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Sept. 2, 2010 — Prescription drug use in the U.S. has been rising steadily in the past decade and the trend shows no signs of slowing, the CDC says in a new report.

The study, published in the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics Data Brief No. 42, says the percentage of Americans who took at least one prescription drug in the rose from 43.5% in 1999-2000 to 48.3% in the 2007-2008 period.

The use of two or more drugs increased from 25.4% to 31.2% over the same decade, and the use of five or more prescription medications jumped from 6.3% to 10.7%.

The report also says that in the 2007-2008 period:

• One of every five children and nine out of 10 older Americans reported using at least one prescription drug in the month prior to being surveyed.
• 22.4% of kids up to age 11 used at least one prescription drug.
• 29.9% of young people 12-19 used at least one prescription drug.
• 48.3% of people between 20 and 59 used at least one prescription medication.
• 88.4% of Americans age 60 and over used at least one prescription drug, more than 76% used two or more prescription drugs in the past month, and 37% used five or more.

People without health insurance or a regular place to go for medical problems had less prescription drug use compared to those with such benefits.

Age and Gender Are Key

The report notes that prescription drug use increased with age, that women were more likely to use such medications than men, 53.3% to 43.2%, and the non-Hispanic white population had the highest prescription drug use at 54.3%, compared to 42% of black non-Hispanics and 33.9% of Mexican-Americans.

The CDC also says that:

• People with a regular place for health care were 2.7 times as likely to have used prescription drugs in the past month compared to those without the benefit.
• People with health insurance were about twice as likely to have used at least one prescription medication in the past month as those without health insurance.
• People with prescription drug benefits in their health insurance plans were 22% more likely to use prescription medications than those who did not have that benefit.

Most Common Prescribed Drugs

According to the 2007-2008 data, the most commonly used drugs were:

• Bronchodilators for children up to age 11.
• Central nervous system stimulants for youths 12-19.
• Antidepressants for people 20-59.
• Cholesterol lowering drugs for adults 60 and older.
• Among kids under age 6, penicillin antibiotics were the most frequently use prescription drugs.

The report says diuretics and beta-blockers were commonly used in adults and older Americans, with such medications used most often to treat heart problems and high blood pressure.

SOURCES: National Center for Health Statistics: “NCHS Data Brief No. 42, September 2010.”

©2010 WebMD, LLC. All Rights Reserved.