| Separating food facts from fiction on the Web | | Posted Thursday, January 25, 2007 1:16:58 PM by Blog57 Team | | An increasing number of Canadians are surfing the Internet to get their nutrition information, according to the Canadian Council of Food and Nutrition. In 2006, 46 per cent of Canadian adults said they got their nutrition and diet advice online -- up from 8 per cent in 1997. It's not surprising that more and more people are logging on to the World Wide Web to access nutrition information. It's fast, easy, accessible any time of day and, for the most part, free. And there's certainly no shortage of information. Type "calcium and osteoporosis" into http://www.google.ca and you'll get links to more than 1.2 million pages of information. Refine your search to "calcium supplements and preventing osteoporosis" and you're still faced with 1,070,000 pages of website links to sort through.... | |
| |
| | | ED BLONZ: ON NUTRITION: Raw foods are super, but not enzyme-wise | | Posted Wednesday, January 17, 2007 3:14:15 PM by Blog57 Team | | Q: You have written about enzymes before, but I would like you to explain the live enzymes present in certain foods, our body's need for them and what happens to them in cooked food. There is a big discussion about raw-food diets going on at our dorm. A: First, here's some general information about enzymes; then I'll move on to the topic of raw foods and "live enzymes." The defining characteristic of an enzyme is that it changes things around it without changing itself. Enzymes are found throughout nature, in animals as well as in foods. They are needed to break down foods for absorption and utilization. Seeds, for example, contain the new plant's genetic material, which is surrounded by a fat and/or carbohydrate-energy source. When you water a seed, you trigger the enzyme that breaks down the stored energy, allowing the seed germ to grow into a new plant.... | |
| |
| | | Novartis Explores Sale of Nutrition Unit, People Familiar Say | | Posted Monday, November 13, 2006 7:04:18 PM by Blog57 Team | | Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Novartis AG, the world's fourth- largest pharmaceutical company, may sell a unit that makes nutritional supplements used in hospitals for more than $1 billion, two people briefed on the matter said. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is advising Novartis on the possible sale, said the people, who declined to be identified since the deliberations are private. Potential buyers include Nestle SA, the world's largest food company, they said. Shares of Basel, Switzerland-based Novartis and Nestle of Vevey, Switzerland, rose Oct. 23 on speculation that Novartis may sell its Gerber baby-foods unit to Nestle. Medical Nutrition and Gerber are both part of Novartis's consumer division, which generated almost a quarter of the company's $32.2 billion of sales last year.... | |
| |
| | | Research Finds Antioxidant Therapies Do Not Interfere with ... | | Posted Saturday, November 11, 2006 1:35:32 PM by Blog57 Team | | CHICAGO, Nov. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Cancer patients can get the vital nutritional benefits from taking antioxidants without the risk of interfering with radiation treatment, according to research findings being presented this weekend at the Society of Integrative Oncology's Third International Conference in Boston. The Society for Integrative Oncology is a non-profit organization of oncologists and other health professionals studying and integrating effective complementary therapies in cancer care. The study, Effect of Concomitant Naturopathic Therapies on Clinical Tumor Response to External Beam Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer, was conducted by researchers at Cancer Treatment Centers of America and reviewed PSA levels of prostate cancer patients after receiving radiation therapy. Researchers found no difference between patients taking antioxidants and those who did not.... | |
| |
| | | Survey: Unproven diet products popular | | Posted Friday, November 10, 2006 7:21:35 AM by Blog57 Team | | One-third have tried dietary supplements of unproven benefit - pills and powders that promise to burn fat, boost metabolism or melt pounds without the sweaty hard work of exercise or the discipline and deprivation of diets, the survey found.Doctors say there is no safe way to lose more than a pound or two a week and no proof that unregulated, over-the-counter products help at all."People need to get away from magical thinking," said Saul Shiffman, a University of Pittsburgh health psychologist who helped develop the survey. "It's easy to hope for a magic pill that's going to rev up their metabolism or shed their pounds."He and the others involved in the survey were paid by GlaxoSmithKline PLC, which has an obvious interest in steering people away from dietary supplements. The company makes orlistat, sold in prescription form as Xenical and soon to be available over the counter.But despite the survey's commercial ties, it still offers a realistic glimpse at some unrealistic dieting practices and highlights missed opportunities for doctors to help, said weight-loss specialists who attended a recent obesity conference in Boston, where the survey was presented."Everybody can lose weight," said Dr.... | |
| |
| | | 70 percent of dieters go solo, with no doctor, survey finds | | Posted Monday, November 06, 2006 11:21:44 PM by Blog57 Team | | Besides extra pounds, dieters also seem to carry a hefty independent streak. A survey finds that 70 percent of Americans who are trying to lose weight are following their own diet plans and have no interest in seeking a doctor's help. One-third have tried dietary supplements of unproven benefit -- pills and powders that promise to burn fat, boost metabolism or melt pounds without the sweaty hard work of exercise or the discipline and deprivation of diets, the survey found. Doctors say there is no safe way to lose more than a pound or two a week and no proof that unregulated, over-the-counter products help at all. "People need to get away from magical thinking," said Saul Shiffman, a University of Pittsburgh health psychologist who helped develop the survey.... | |
| |
| | | Nutrition advice for cancer survivors | | Posted Friday, November 03, 2006 3:35:06 PM by Blog57 Team | | Last year, 217,000 women were diagnosed with breast cancer. I was one of them. The National Cancer Institute estimates that about 2.3 million women are breast-cancer survivors, yet very little research is available to guide us on lifestyle and food choices to prevent a recurrence. Here is what we do know, but keep in mind that most research shows an association with increased or decreased risk of cancer recurrence. What we lack is a causal relationship. CONTROL WEIGHT Weight gain in adulthood, especially after menopause, is bad for the breast. After menopause, a woman's body fat is the primary source of estrogen, and higher estrogen levels can stimulate the growth of some breast cancers. Obese women have estrogen levels that can be 100 times higher than in lean women.... | |
| |
| | | Sonoma West News | | Posted Tuesday, October 31, 2006 7:13:36 AM by Blog57 Team | | In the spirit of Halloween, Palm Drive Hospital is bringing its best bone experts out of the operating room, radiology department and rehab center for a Skeleton Health Fair this Saturday, Oct. 28, where you can learn how to take better care of your bones - all 206 of them.In addition to traditional medical care, complementary treatments such as Feldenkrais, osteopathy, massage therapy, acupuncture, music care, guided imagery and hypnosis will be part of the fair's bone health mix. Advice on nutrition and exercise, both necessary for bone preservation and strengthening, will be highlighted, too.The fair will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the hospital's front parking lot, with a Fitness Walk for all ages starting at 9 a.m. Guided tours of the rehabilitation center and outpatient gym, located across the street, will take place at 11 a.m.... | |
| |
| | | The Lean Plate Club Nutrition advice on Web often spotty, study reports | | Posted Friday, October 27, 2006 7:10:40 AM by Blog57 Team | | Tens of millions of consumers seek nutrition advice online, regularly searching for information about dietary supplements, food allergies and how to lose weight. But a new evaluation of the 20 most popular diet and nutrition Internet sites by Consumer Reports WebWatch shows that the information they dish out can be slim on facts and sometimes bloated with commercial interests. "More than half the top 20 sites were not rated well by our panel," says Beau Brendler, director of Consumer Reports WebWatch. "That is of some concern." To evaluate the sites, Consumer Reports WebWatch, sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, teamed with the nonprofit Health Improvement Institute. Using Nielsen/NetRatings, they identified the 20 most popular diet and nutrition Web sites, including WebMD.com, with 11 million unique users.... | |
| |
| | | Cherie Speller: With proper training, you can eat practically ... | | Posted Wednesday, October 25, 2006 1:12:48 PM by Blog57 Team | | I've heard the advice "Start out like you can hold out" applied to various situations, including a job, marriage or other long-term commitment. I also apply it to diets, which is why I rarely do them. No more losing 10 or 20 pounds just to gain it back. The truth is, it's just not realistic for me to completely give up fast food, especially shoestring french fries. And, although I generally prefer salty foods over sweets, I still get mesmerized now and then by the glowing hot-doughnut sign. And, that's OK. Through the Food Literacy Partners Program training course I'm taking, I've learned I can eat practically anything I want in moderation with an eye on portion size and a balanced nutritional diet. Food Literacy Partners began in 2000, sponsored by Physical Activity and Nutrition Partners, Pitt Partners for Health, the Pitt Memorial Hospital Foundation and the Department of Family Medicine at the Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University.... | |
| |
| |
|
|
