The Morbid Me

Top 10 Nutrition Myths

Two exercise physiologists presenting at the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) 11th-annual Health & Fitness Summit & Exposition in Dallas, Texas. Wendy Repovich, Ph.D., FACSM, and Janet Peterson, Dr.P.H., FACSM, set out to debunk the "Top 10 Nutrition Myths."

10. Eating carbohydrates makes you fat. Cutting carbs from your diet may have short-term weight loss benefits due to water loss from a decrease in carbohydrate stores, but eating carbs in moderation does not directly lead to weight gain. The body uses carbs for energy, and going too long without them can cause lethargy.

9. Drink eight, 8-oz. glasses of water per day. You should replace water lost through breathing, excrement and sweating each day - but that doesn't necessarily total 64 ounces of water. It's hard to measure the exact amount of water you have consumed daily in food and drink, but if your urine is pale yellow, you're doing a good job. If it's a darker yellow, drink more H2O.

8. Brown grain products are whole grain products. Brown dyes and additives can give foods the deceiving appearance of whole grain. Read labels to be sure a food is whole grain, and try to get three-ounce equivalents of whole grains per day to reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.

7. Eating eggs will raise your cholesterol. This myth began because egg yolks have the most concentrated amount of cholesterol of any food. However, there's not enough cholesterol there to pose health risks if eggs are eaten in moderation. Studies suggest that eating one egg per day will not raise cholesterol levels and that eggs are actually a great source of nutrients.

6. All alcohol is bad for you. Again, moderation is key. Six ounces of wine and 12 ounces of beer are considered moderate amounts, and should not pose any adverse health effects to the average healthy adult. All alcohol is an anticoagulant and red wine also contains antioxidants, so drinking a small amount daily can be beneficial.

5. Vitamin supplements are necessary for everyone. If you eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, along with moderate amounts of a variety of low-fat dairy and protein and the right quantity of calories, you don't need to supplement. Most Americans do not, so a multi-vitamin might be good. Special vitamin supplements are also recommended for people who are pregnant or have nutritional disorders.

4. Consuming extra protein is necessary to build muscle mass. Contrary to claims of some protein supplement companies, consuming extra protein does nothing to bulk up muscle unless you are also doing significant weight training at the same time. Even then the increased requirement can easily come from food. A potential problem with supplements is the body has to work overtime to get rid of excess protein, and can become distressed as a result.

3. Eating fiber causes problems if you have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). There are two kinds of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Insoluble fiber can cause problems in IBS sufferers; soluble fiber, however, is more easily absorbed by the body and helps prevent constipation for those with IBS. Soluble fiber is found in most grains.

2. Eating immediately after a workout will improve recovery. Endurance athletes need to take in carbohydrates immediately after a workout to replace glycogen stores, and a small amount of protein with the drink enhances the effect. Drinking low-fat chocolate milk or a carbohydrate drink, like Gatorade, is better for the body, as they replace glycogen stores lost during exercise. Protein is not going to help build muscle, so strength athletes do not need to eat immediately following their workout.

1. Type 2 diabetes can be prevented by eating foods low on the glycemic index. High levels of glucose are not what "cause" diabetes; the disease is caused by the body's resistance to insulin. Foods high on the glycemic index can cause glucose levels to spike, but this is just an indicator of the presence of diabetes, not the root cause.

Vertical Gastrectomy Shown to Reduce Hormone that Causes Hunger

Stomach reduction procedures are effective in suppressing the body's ability to produce Ghrelin, the hormone attributed to hunger and weight gain.

Scientists and researchers have discovered that the hormone responsible for stimulating the human appetite, Ghrelin, has been reduced and even neutralized by bariatric surgical procedures like vertical gastrectomy, (also known as sleeve gastrectomy), gastric bypass and duodenal switch.

Most of the hormone Ghrelin is produced in the stomach, and scientists believe that it evolved to fight weight loss in the human body. Professor Stephen Bloom, a British obesity researcher, describes it this way: "We are machines designed to live through famine. We are survivors of the obese. All we need is a plentiful supply of food and we gain weight. That's the way we are made and how we evolved."

To combat this predisposition to weight gain, bariatric surgical procedures have become popular in helping counteract the debilitating effects of obesity. Bariatric surgeons like Dr. Paul Cirangle, of Laparoscopic Associates of San Francisco, have seen the effects of neutralizing Ghrelin firsthand. "We have discovered that, after performing a vertical gastrectomy and other stomach reduction procedures, the Ghrelin levels have decreased dramatically within 24 hours of the stomach being removed. We consider this proof that surgery can favorably alter the hormonal drive to eat and allow individuals to lose large amounts of weight without feeling hungry."

Researchers found elevated levels of Ghrelin in people who lost weight through dieting whenever they were measured for it, leading them to conclude that the body was signaling its owner to eat more in order to gain back lost weight. This conclusion has lent additional credence to the surgical option for obese people searching for a long-term solution to losing weight and keeping it off.

The reduction of Ghrelin levels from vertical gastrectomy and other bariatric procedures has captured the attention of scientists around the world who are striving to find the magic bullet to the obesity epidemic. Controlling the way the body produces Ghrelin, through surgery and medical research, may hold the key to the future of fighting an ever-increasing worldwide disease.

Weight Loss Surgery Risk: Brain Damage

Although the benefit of having Gastric Bypass surgery overshadows all the risks in the short and long term, you always have to be aware of possible dangers before you go under the knife. Don’t be alarmed, but be aware of it. After weight loss surgery, some patients risk brain damage from vitamin B-1 deficiency, researchers report. (Read Here)

The Diary of an Overweight Woman

After years of struggling with her size - with failed diets, unsuccessful exercise routines and cutting criticism - Joyce Stroup-Tummins decided to undergo gastric bypass surgery. She knew the experience was likely to change her life; she had no idea how much. This is the diary of an overweight woman.

Neurological condition linked to Obesity Surgery

Another reason why it is so important to take all your vitamins after Gastric Bypass Surgery. I just can’t stress is enough. A new study finds that some obese people who have weight-loss surgery, particularly younger women, develop a neurological condition most often seen in severe alcoholics and linked to a vitamin deficiency. (Read Here)

Half-ton man Manuel Uribe on a High-Protein Zone Diet

Manuel Uribe, the famous (and now former) “Half Ton Man” is back in the news. This time because he has lost 395 pounds not because of Gastric Bypass, but because of using a high-protein Zone diet.

Las year he was offered Weight Loss Surgery, but he opted out of it. This is weird to me. At 1,235 pounds last year, he couldn’t me a better medical candidate for that operation. Also, almost all studies show that if you have been extreme morbidly obese for so many years, it is extremely hard to diet with willpower alone. It is not impossible, but difficult.

Anyway, good luck to Manuel and I will be writing about him in the new future again. (Read Here)

Sadly: Obesity Surgery triples among U.S. Teens

Again in the mainstream media: Teens and Weight Loss Surgery. Disappointing, but well, a reality I will have to live with it. It looks like; Americans just like to fix problems rather than preventing them in the first place. But at the end of the day, we all have to pay for it. Read my words, with this mentality, we are going nowhere.

The number of U.S. children having obesity surgery has tripled in recent years, surging at a pace that could mean more than 1,000 such operations this year. While the procedure is still far more common in adults, it appears to be slightly less risky in teens, according to an analysis of data on 12- to 19-year-olds that had obesity surgery from 1996 through 2003. During that time, an estimated 2,744 youngsters nationwide had the operations. The pace tripled between 2000 and 2003, reaching 771 surgeries that year, the study found. (More Here)

Mental woes common in Weight-Loss Surgery Patients

Reuters is reporting that the American Journal of Psychiatry concluded that about two-thirds of people seeking weight-loss surgery have suffered from a psychiatric disorder at some point in their lives, and personality disorders are also common among this group.