Sleep and Weight Loss

Posted on 19/09/2013 by sbonham

Did you ever think that the more you sleep, or stick to a particular pattern, the less you will eat?! I sure didn’t!!

New research by Dr. Scott Isacc, indicates that people who sleep two-thirds of their usual amount (five hours instead of eight, for example) eat an average of 549 EXTRA calories the following day. THAT’S A LOT!!

Experts believe that getting too few Z’ a night can actually upset the balance of appetite regulating hormones. Specifically, “resistance to leptin-a hormone that regulates body weight – increases, which levels of ghrelin, a hormone that signals to your brain that you are hungry, also increase,” says Dr. Isaacs, author of Hormonal Balance: How to Lose Weight By Understanding Your Hormones and Metabolism. (Side note: I highly recommend the book! It is soo informative and fully of incredible scientific research that makes sense to everyone!..I posted the link below if you are interested in purchasing it. It is written by a doctor too, so it has more credibility!!!)

Great Weight Loss Plan Book

This just shows how your body is willing to work WITH you when it is used to a particular pattern. Indeed, according to Dr. Isaacs, just a “small change in your sleep schedule can make a big difference in your health.” Not to mention your ability to BURN MORE CALORIES.

Did you like this article? Interested in your thoughts – please leave a comment and tell us what you think?

Gut Bacteria Prevents Obesity

Posted on 10/09/2013 by sbonham

Breaking news from North America’s most prestigious scientific journal called Nature regarding obesity. Scientists have discovered that gut microbes play a significant role in obesity! In fact, scientist found that the “good flora” (flora is science word for bacteria) in obese individuals intestines actually played a role in their weight gain. Have no fear though, this can be reversed 🙂

What are gut/intestinal bacteria?

Well, they are the kind of bacteria that help you stay healthy and build up strong immunity (i.e. help fight off the flu and come to your aid when you feel worn down or a bug coming on). The ever-so-popular yogurt, Activa actually contains good flora bacteria called acidophillis and bifidobacteria. If you don’t like Activa, you can always take acidophillis or bifidobacteria as a supplement. It can be found at your local health food or grocery store, such as Natures Emporium (refer to main banner link above). Note: I provided a link to the one I take everyday below – you can buy it on Amazon in five seconds – super easy and great deal!

How Was Gut Bacteria Linked To Obesity? Prove It!

Scientists from a research group at Washington University in Missouri took gut bacteria from four sets of human twins (one twin being obese and the other thin), and put the bacteria into mice bred to be germ-free. Interestingly, the mice that were given bacteria from an obese twin quickly gained weight, even though all the mice ate about the same amount of food.

What Happens When You Intermingle the Lean Mice with the Obese Mice?

Answer: The Mice All Became LEAN!

One interesting result found was when the scientists intermingled the obese and lean mice, they all became LEAN. At first, they knew the mice would exchange microbes and were just genuinely interested to find out what would happen. Surprisingly, the obese mice who were originally injected with “obese human gut bacteria” started to become thin like their neighbouring lean mice in the cage.

Apparently, the gut-bacteria in “lean mice/people” is much more diverse and is able to colonize a lot better than the less-diverse bacteria found in the guy of obese people. Thus arose the question as to “why isn’t there a lean epidemic in America??” The answer came down to diet.

Gut Bacteria Work In Your Favour To Keep You Slim When Presented With The Right Diet

If you want your bodies “good gut flora/bacteria” to work in your favour (i.e. colonies to be very diverse) and ultimately KEEP YOU SLIM, you have to present them with the most optimal environment. These bacteria will do there job correctly IF you don’t put too much crap in your body. Scientist found they responded best in terms of keeping weight off and working for your body overall when you eat a diet low in saturated fat.

When the mice were fed a diet low in saturated fat and high in fruit and vegetables, the transfer of gut microbes from mice with the lean type to those with the obese type still occurred. Hence, a human that ate along the same lines would still have their gut bacteria working IN THEIR FAVOUR to keep them slim.

On the contrary, when the mice were given a high-fat, low-vegetable diet this did not happen, and mice with the obese-type bacteria gained weight. “There’s an intricate relationship between our diet and how our gut bugs work,” says Gordon. “You have to have the right ingredients.”

Conclusion: Gut Bacteria Keeps You SLIM and Stops Working When You Eat High Saturated Fatty Foods

Moral of the story is to make sure to get lots of good bacteria and don’t eat foods high in saturated fat. Hence, eat lots of yogurt or take probiotics (i.e acidophillus and bifidobacteria supplements) as they can play a role in both maintaining your weight and shedding those unwanted pounds.

Reference

Nature. Bacteria From Lean Cage-Mates Help Mice Stay Slim. Brian Owens. (09-05-13). Available: http://www.nature.com/news/bacteria-from-lean-cage-mates-help-mice-stay-slim-1.13693

Dr.Oz Recommends Green Coffee Bean Diet

Posted on 23/06/2013 by sbonham

There is a new natural diet on the market and it’s worth talking about. It is called The Green Coffee Bean diet!

What are “green coffee beans”??

Well, green coffee refers to the raw or unroasted seeds (beans) of Coffea fruits. These beans are dried, roasted, ground and brewed to produce coffee.

Why do “green coffee beans” aid in weight loss??

Coffee is most known for its taste and ability to get you moving faster in the morning as a result of its caffeine content. However, coffee’s ability to control how fast your body absorbs sugar (i.e. glycemic control) and thus weight control is attributed to other components. These “other ingredients” include chlorogenic acid, quinides, lignans and trigonelline; all of which have been shown to improve glucose metabolism in animal studies.

The component in Green Coffee Beans that is most discussed is the chlorogenic acid. Chlorogenic acid actually inhibits an enzyme called glucose-6-phosphatase . This enzyme is responsible to the formation of sugar in the liver. In other words, the chlorogenic acid in coffee may be responsible, or at least partially responsible for the reduced risk of glycemic disorders, like diabetes, with long-term coffee exposure.

Supporting Scientific Literature For Green Coffee Beans

Green Coffee Beans for use in weight loss have been backed by scientific literature. In a more recent scientific study published in 2012 in the Journal of Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity, researchers followed a group of 16 adults whose diets where supplemented with a special green extract of chlorogenic acids (i.e. key ingredient in the Green Coffee Bean). Note that all 16 adults were considered obese with a BMI greater than 25.

Each person in the above study was given a different dosages of chlorogenic acids – either 700 or 1050mg/day for 12 weeks. Shockingly, the subjects on average lost almost 18 pounds! This was equates to 10% of their overall body weight and 4.4% of their overall body fat.

Dr.Oz Puts The “Green Coffee Bean” Diet To The Test!

So you are probably wondering where Dr. Oz fits into all of this. Well, he wanted to test this product to see if it actually worked and the results were great! Indeed, the Dr.Oz show’s medical unit enlisted 100 women between the age of 25 and 45 on this diet. Note that none of the women were breast feeding or pregnant, and had NO medical problems.

Each participant received either the green coffee bean extract or a placebo pill and were instructed to take one 400mg capsule, three times a DAY, 30 minutes before each meal. Also, it is important to mention that no participants knew which pill they were given and were instructed not to change their diet. The Dr. Oz show even made them keep a food journal to learn what these women were eating.

The results were very good. The women who tool the green coffee bean extract lost, on average 2 lbs. This is a very healthy weight loss number and signifies that no water weight was loss, just fat.

Dr. Oz has mentioned many times that he does not support brands, just products. Many companies do sell this product which is why he recommends it.

Eco-Savy stands strong behind this “natural” weight loss supplement which is why it is featured on our blog this week. We hope you get the same success our staff has achieved with this product.

If you are interested in the product, you can order it right here on our website by clicking the link below. We have found one of the best manufacturers of the Green Coffee Bean and strongly recommend you buy it if you are having trouble losing weight.

Natural Weight Loss Secret: Spices

Posted on 10/05/2013 by sbonham

Next time you want a more natural, eco-friendly, healthy alternative to loosing a few pounds, forget buying weight-loss supplements or killing yourself at the gym.

New research in the journal called Flavour shows that breathing in strong aroma’s from spices such as rosemary and peppermind prior to eating can actually help you eat 5 to 10% less of a meal.

The author of the article, Dr. Rene de Wijk (Ph.D) from Wageningen University in the Netherlands says that “people may unconsciously take smaller bites to regulate the amount of flavour.”

PEPPERMINT was one of the first natural ingredients that was tested for weight loss in association with aroma. The best study I came across was conducted at the Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling, West Virginia by Bryan Raudenbush.

In another study involving peppermint, a scientist by the name of Bryan had asked 40 participants (large enough group to avoid bias) to sniff peppermint every two hours for five days. In the remaining five days a placebo was given to them. I am guessing the placebo was a scent very similar to peppermint, but lacked the distinct chemical makeup to be considered “peppermint”. The results were astounding. Overall, in the week that the participants sniffed peppermint, a total of 1,800 less calories were consumed.

“A large part of the reason that you feel full is your brain interpreting that you’ve smelled it and tasted it,” said Dr. Hirsch, a neurologist, psychiatrist and the founder of the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago.

GRAPEFRUIT has also been extremely popular over the years for people trying to loose weight… AND now, there is scientific evidence that it does work. Researchers at Vanderbilt University have conducted a study investigating the effects of grapefruit on weight loss when the fruit is consumed as a “pre-load” before a meal. Grapefruit was selected for the study because of its reputation for facilitating weight loss. The study revealed that grapefruit, whether consumed in a solid or liquid form, demonstrated a measurable weight loss effect in participants, as well as providing other benefits.

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How to Increase Metabolism

Posted on 13/04/2013 by sbonham

Increasing your metabolism can be a lot easier than most would think, and it doesn’t involve taking a bunch of supplements and weight loss pills. The food you eat plays a major role in your metabolism!! For example, did you know that studies have found that drinking three glasses of green tea a day can reduce body weight and waist circumference by 5% in three months as well as increase metabolism (note: Green Tea Benefits. net is a great resource if you want to learn more about green tea).

First and foremost, it is important to understand that though diet and exercise play a leading role in losing fat and maintaining a healthy weight and metabolism, your genes are a bigger part of the supporting cast. Unfortunately, it is possible to eat like a guppy but grow bigger than a beluga. However, fortunately new research shows that lifestyle plays a much bigger role than previously thought.

According to Dr. Oz’s book called “You on a Diet!” he referenced a study where two people with the same genes (twins) that were raised with two different lifestyles and on two completely different diets only show 30% of the same propensities for gaining weight -i.e. the other 60% you can CONTROL!

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