MSNBC has this article about losing weight as you get older. Thought it would be great info for people that are struggling these days.

While time may adorn you with new lines on your face, a new color hair (gray) and a new waistline, the passing decades are not to blame for all of the changes in your body. Your eating habits, your attitude and your approach to everyday experiences also play key roles.

As we age, our bodies lose muscle and gain fat. Our nutritional needs change, as well. But you don’t necessarily feel these changes on a daily basis. Metabolism gradually slows each decade after age 20, so it’s not as if you suddenly wake up 10 pounds heavier. It creeps up slowly. Fortunately, you do have some control over your changing body and slowing metabolism. Some strategies to help you avoid a midlife diet crisis: Read the rest of this entry »

Looking to make a change and lose some weight? I have reviewed the top diet on the internet and you can go and read over 200 comments people have made about why this diet has worked well for them, as well as some of the problems.

Tags: American Dietetic Association, At, bone bank, Bonnie Taub-Dix, Columbia, Columbia University Medical Center, crippling disease, D, flushing, food sources, low-or non-fat dairy products, New York City, One, osteoporosis, physician, spokesperson, Vitamin D

Fiber is one of those things that we are told to eat mroe of yet there should be some confusion. Not all fiber is alike.

Most Americans know that foods high in fiber are full of nutrients because they are less processed. There are two kinds of dietary fiber and you need both.

Insoluble fiber (the type that does not dissolve in water and is found in wheat bran, oats, whole grains and vegetables) helps promote regularity, prevent hemorrhoids and diverticulosis. It may also help prevent colon cancer.

Soluble fiber (the type that dissolves in water, found in oat bran, oats, beans, apples and carrots) helps lower blood cholesterol levels and control blood sugar levels in people with diabetes.
Read the rest of this entry »

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Mom’s dieting habits can have a bad influence on the children. Some research indicates youngsters learn attitudes about dieting through observation. For some youngsters, that might mean an unhealthy fixation on body image, experts warn.

“It’s like trying on Mom’s high heels. They’re trying on their diets, too,” said Carolyn Costin, spokeswoman for the National Eating Disorder Association.

As obesity rates climb among children, health officials are warning parents about the dangers of junk food and lack of exercise. Yet few speak about parents who meticulously count every calorie that crosses their lips.

That type of obsession can be just as destructive and eventually teaches kids to weigh their self-worth on the scale, said Christine Gerbstadt, spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.

While fathers also play a crucial a role in shaping children’s attitudes about food, research has focused primarily on women and their daughters, since females are more likely to diet and worry about body image.

One study published this year by researchers at Harvard Medical School found that frequent dieting by mothers was associated with frequent dieting by their adolescent daughters. The study also found that girls with mothers who had weight concerns were more likely to develop anxieties about their own bodies.

A study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that 5-year-old girls whose mothers dieted were twice as likely to be aware of dieting and weight-loss strategies as girls whose mothers didn’t diet.

“If their mothers diet, it’s a marker of how important weight is in the household,” said Alison Field, lead author of the Harvard study and an assistant professor of pediatrics.

Even small cues _ such as making self-deprecating remarks about bulging thighs or squealing in delight over a few lost pounds _ can send the message that thinness is to be prized above all else, Field said.

“Parents, especially moms, need to understand kids watch and hear things at an early age and are like little sponges,” Costin said.

Walking the line between encouraging healthy habits and not making an issue of weight can be tough, especially with parents already bearing the blame for rising obesity rates among children.

The best strategy is to lead by example, Costin said: If a fad diet isn’t right for the child, what makes it right for the parent?

One Albany mom, Donna Choiniere, does just that. She threw dieting out the window long ago and has made fitness a part of family life. The 52-year-old runs marathons, and her 15-year-old daughter, Katelyn, is on the track team.

She tries not to keep heavy-duty junk food in the house, but does not make a big deal about it, and is OK with things like pretzels and popcorn.

On the Net:

American Dietetic Association, http://www.eatright.org

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Many people understand the importance of good nutrition, but believe that a daily vitamin pill will substitute for actually eating the fruits and vegetables that they know are good for them.

The more we learn about nutrition and the human body, however, the more we realize the importance of eating whole foods. That is why the American Dietetic Association and the U.S. Department of Agriculture still recommend that we eat two to four servings of fruit and three to five servings of vegetables a day.

Here is an example of what science has found. During the last 15 years, a number of studies have shown that people who eat a diet rich in beta-carotene have a lower rate of several kinds of cancer. Beta-carotene is an antioxidant chemical naturally found in foods such as sweet potatoes, winter squash and carrots, and is also available in a pure, synthetic form.

The pure form of beta-carotene has become a popular dietary supplement, either by itself or as an ingredient in multi-vitamin pills. A number of recent studies, though, have not shown that taking beta-carotene in pill form lessens the risk of cancer.

Why should a nutrient in a pill be less effective than the same nutrient obtained from food?

Scientists are still studying this issue, but one thing seems clear: beta-carotene and other nutrients are most beneficial to health when they are consumed in combination with each other, as naturally found in foods such as fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains.

These foods contain not only the well-known vitamins (A, B, C, etc.) that are often found in vitamin pills, but also hundreds of naturally occurring substances, including carotenoids, flavonoids, isoflavones and protease inhibitors.

These substances appear to protect against cancer, heart disease and other chronic health conditions. They work in different ways, and we are only beginning to understand their healthy role. Often, though, they work best when in combination with each other.

There is nothing wrong with taking multi-vitamin supplements to help ensure that we get certain nutrients every day. Pills, however, will never be able to give us the healthy combination of phytochemicals and other substances found naturally in food.

These can only be gotten from eating a varied diet, rich in plant foods. Fruits and vegetables in particular are virtual gold mines of health-enhancing substances. Don’t cheat yourself of their benefits by relying on supplements that contain just a few of the better-known nutrients.

by Maj. Vivian T. Hutson, Deputy Chief, Nutrition Care
Tripler Army Medical Center, Hawaii

Tags: American Dietetic Association, antioxidant chemical, cancer, Deputy Chief, Dietary Supplement, food, hawaii, heart disease, Nutrition Care Tripler Army Medical Center, other chronic, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Vivian T. Hutson