What are essential fatty acids? There are three essential fatty acids. They are called essential to human health because the body cannot make them. They are the Omega-3s, the Omega-6s and the Omega-7s. Another fatty acid is called Omega-9. It is not essential since the body can make it. Omega-7s are relatively new, but have
The average 65 year in the US is on some 25 prescription or over-the-counter medications today. Not all are for some medical condition your doctor or multiple doctors are treating you for, but approximately half of these medications are for controlling the side effects of the other half. It’s not uncommon that a person who
There are many reasons you don’t lose weight even though you do all of the right things. This might seem weird to compare popular “diets” in a blog, but it’s important to remember that we are not just dealing with a reduction of calories when trying to lose weight. We are looking for a way
If you listen to the television ads, America runs on high fructose corn syrup drinks, like Coca-Cola or Pepsi. Maybe that’s why one-third of Americans are obese or at least, overweight. Gone are the days when most people drink nothing but water, the original no-calorie, sugar-free, no-cholesterol beverage. So can you lose weight by just
The Skinny on Fats Fats and oils are part of a healthy diet and play many important roles in the body. Fat provides energy and is a carrier of important nutrients such as vitamins A, D, E, and K and carotenoids derived from vitamin A. But fat can impact the health of our hearts and arteries
Lethal Impact of Obesity (Surplus Body Fat) As I mentioned in an earlier blog, fat cells in obese people behave differently than fat cells in lean individuals. This year it’s expected that 400,000 Americans will die from the effects of excess body fat1. That’s almost the same number of those who have tobacco-related deaths. Excess
Chronic stress, combined with positive energy balance (accumulation of body fat because energy is stored as fat), may cause an increased risk of obesity and other metabolic diseases like diabetes. The prevalence of obesity has increased dramatically in the US in the last several decades. The American Medical Association and the US Federal Drug Administration
Recently, both the American Medical Association (AMA) and the US Federal Drug Administration have declared obesity a “disease.” Doctors and researchers have known for some time that obesity has a morbidity (causes other diseases) and a mortality (causes death). So how prevalent is obesity and how dangerous is it? The following facts adapted from the
We have all heard the expression: “We are what we eat.” In my physiology and nutrition classes I teach at the university, I have, over the years, changed this to “We are what we don’t eat.” This is because the standard American diet is so poor due to our lifestyles, we do not get the
A new study from Kyoto, Japan suggests that fish oil can change fat storage cells in our bodies into those that burn fat. This can result in less midlife weight gain and better results when you “diet.” Scientists have known for some time that “white” fat cells store fat and “brown” fat cells burn fat.
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