Weight loss diets

It’s long been known (and reported) that a Mediterranean diet – one rich in fish, fruit, vegetables and olive oil – is one of the healthiest an individual can follow. Spanish scientists, however, have taken it upon themselves to find out why with a recent study.

Although only 20 participants were observed in the study, scientists found that eating foods with or cooked in olive oil suppress genes which cause inflammation and eventually lead to cardiovascular disease. Olive oil, found in a Mediterranean diet, is thus helpful in protecting the heart by repressing these pro-inflammatory genes which are linked to Type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and sometimes even depression.

“These findings strengthen the relationship between inflammation… and diet and provide evidence at the most basic level of healthy effects derived from virgin olive oil consumption in humans,” says Francisco Perez-Jimenez, from the University of Cordoba.

The findings, published in the journal of BMC Genomics, also have British Heart Foundation cardiac nurse June Davison convinced of virgin olive oil’s healthy characteristics.

“It supports current advice that it’s better to use unsaturated fats such as olive and rapeseed oil, over saturated fats such as butter, lard and ghee,” Davison says. “However, any oil you use should still be used sparingly as it is high in calories.”

Celeb Diet Doc Says…
Remember that you want extra virgin olive oil.. other forms such as “pure” olive oil may be heat treated and extracted with hexane a by-product of gasoline.. The health benefits are seen with extra virgin olive oil that is cold-pressed and less processed than the other forms.

For the first time ever, Australian scientists have revealed that even marginal weight and fat loss can effectively begin to reverse many of the damaging changes that can often be seen in the immune cells of people who are obese, specifically those who suffer from Type 2 diabetes.

The immune system, it has been revealed, is made up of various different types of cells that protect the body from viruses, germs and other foreign invaders. These cells are required to co-exist in a certain balance to make sure that good health is maintained. Various factors, like diet and excess body fat, can disturb this balance and this can further create cells that instead of protecting our body, actually attack it.

The latest study analyzed obese people with Type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes, who were put on a limited diet of between 1000-1600 calories a day which helped restrict their food intake. The study went on for 24 weeks, and in the 12th week, gastric banding was performed on subjects.

The study then concluded that weight reduction helped boost the immune system cells which protected the body.

"Excess weight disorders now affect 50% of adult Australians, with obesity being the major cause of Type 2 diabetes and some cancers. We have found that a modest weight loss of about 6 kg is enough to bring the pro- inflammatory nature of circulating immune cells back to that found in lean people", said one of the study's leaders, Associate Professor Katherine Samaras from Sydney's Garvan Institute of Medical Research.

--TopNews