Can Americans cut Carbs from their Diet

Many people are still seriously confused about what types of food to eat to lose weight, and it's not really their fault. The conventional nutritional dogma of the last decade has been pushing a low-fat or fat-free diet on Americans, misleading them into thinking they've got to cut out fat to lose weight.

As Americans cut fats from their diet (and also the protein that's often abundant in full-fat foods), they replaced them with carbohydrates -- and not the good kind in vegetables. Partly as a result of Americans' reliance on unhealthy carbs -- bagels, pasta, pretzels, rice, potatoes, etc. -- a full two-thirds of the U.S. population is overweight or obese, and nearly one in four is considered obese, not just overweight.

The idea that cutting carbs from your diet can lead to weight loss is beginning to catch on though, and as the new study above points out, even moderate reductions in your carb consumption can help you shed extra pounds.

Cutting Carbs, Not Fat, Helps Reduce Body Fat

Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham revealed that when 69 overweight people were given a diet with a modest reduction in carbohydrates for eight weeks, they had 11 percent less deep abdominal fat than those given a lower-fat diet. Further, during a second eight-week period in which calories were reduced by 1,000 each day, those on the lower-carb diet lost 4 percent more total body fat.

An important point is that the reduced-carb diet promoted the loss of deep belly fat, also known as "visceral fat," even when no change in weight was apparent.

Visceral fat is strongly linked with type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and other chronic diseases. It is thought that visceral fat is related to the release of proteins and hormones that can cause inflammation, which in turn can damage arteries and enter your liver, affecting how your body breaks down sugars and fats.

While it's often referred to as "belly fat" because it can cause a "beer belly" or an apple-shaped body, you can have visceral fat even if you're thin. So even if you aren't trying to lose weight, cutting unhealthy carbs in your diet could have a positive impact on your levels of visceral fat, and thereby potentially reduce your risk of chronic disease.

Fructose: The Biggest Carb Culprit

People on low-carb diets lose weight in part because they get less fructose, a type of sugar that can be made into body fat quickly. Although fructose is naturally found in high levels in fruit, it is also added to many processed foods, especially in the form of high-fructose corn syrup. If your only source of fructose came from eating an apple or orange a day, keeping your total grams of fructose to below 25 per day, then it would not be an issue.

But what many completely fail to appreciate is that fructose is the NUMBER ONE source of calories in the United States and the typical person is consuming 75 grams of fructose each and every day. Because fructose is so cheap it is used in virtually all processed foods. The average person is consuming one-third of a pound of sugar every day, which is five ounces or 150 grams, half of which is fructose. This is 300 percent more than the amount that will trigger biochemical havoc, and this is the average -- many consume more than twice that amount.

Evidence is mounting that excess sugar, and fructose in particular, is the primary factor in the obesity epidemic, so it's definitely a food you want to avoid if you want to lose weight. Does this mean you need to avoid fruit too? As you can see in this table, some fruits are very high in fructose, so munching indiscriminately on the wrong ones could set you back.

Fruit Serving Size Grams of Fructose Limes 1 medium 0 Lemons 1 medium 0.6 Cranberries 1 cup 0.7 Passion fruit 1 medium 0.9 Prune 1 medium 1.2 Apricot 1 medium 1.3 Guava 2 medium 2.2 Date (Deglet Noor style) 1 medium 2.6 Cantaloupe 1/8 of med. melon 2.8 Raspberries 1 cup 3.0 Clementine 1 medium 3.4 Kiwifruit 1 medium 3.4 Blackberries 1 cup 3.5 Star fruit 1 medium 3.6 Cherries, sweet 10 3.8 Strawberries 1 cup 3.8 Cherries, sour 1 cup 4.0 Pineapple 1 slice (3.5" x .75") 4.0 Grapefruit, pink or red 1/2 medium 4.3

Fruit Serving Size Grams of Fructose Boysenberries 1 cup 4.6 Tangerine/mandarin orange 1 medium 4.8 Nectarine 1 medium 5.4 Peach 1 medium 5.9 Orange (navel) 1 medium 6.1 Papaya 1/2 medium 6.3 Honeydew 1/8 of med. melon 6.7 Banana 1 medium 7.1 Blueberries 1 cup 7.4 Date (Medjool) 1 medium 7.7 Apple (composite) 1 medium 9.5 Persimmon 1 medium 10.6 Watermelon 1/16 med. melon 11.3 Pear 1 medium 11.8 Raisins 1/4 cup 12.3 Grapes, seedless (green or red) 1 cup 12.4 Mango 1/2 medium 16.2 Apricots, dried 1 cup 16.4 Figs, dried 1 cup 23.0

If you struggle with insulin resistance, which you would know by measuring your fasting insulin level and seeing if it is over 5 OR if you have any of the following conditions, you'll need to be particularly careful about limiting your fructose intake to 15 grams per day or less.

• Overweight
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol

These "Healthful" Carbs Should be Avoided Too

Many dieters snack on pretzels in lieu of potato chips and other salty snacks, believing them to be healthier alternatives. But eating pretzels is akin to dipping a spoon straight into a bowl of sugar, as that's precisely the way your body responds to this refined carbohydrate snack.

Don't be fooled by the fact that they're "fat-free" – remember it's the carbs that are the culprit.

Your body prefers the carbohydrates in vegetables rather than grains because it slows the conversion to simple sugars like glucose, and decreases your insulin level. Grain carbohydrates, like those in pretzels, will increase your insulin resistance and interfere with your ability to burn fat -- which is the last thing you want if you're trying to lose weight.

Even cereals, whether high-fiber, whole-grain or not, are not a food you want to eat if you're concerned about your weight. If they contain sugar, that will tend to increase your insulin levels even more … but even "healthy" sugarless cereals are an oxymoron, since grains rapidly break down to sugar in your body, stimulating insulin production and encouraging weight gain.

Of course, increasing numbers of people are now aware that refined carbs like white sugar and white bread may make you pack on the pounds. But many are still being misled that "good" carbs like whole grains and fruit won't. Remember, whether it's a whole grain, a sprouted grain or a refined grain, ALL grains rapidly break down to sugar, which causes your insulin resistance to increase and will make your weight problems worse.

This is NOT the case with vegetables, however. Vegetables will NOT convert into sugar the way grains do, and most Americans need to eat far more vegetables. Eating carbs in the form of vegetables may make your carb intake higher, but will not be a hindrance to your health goals. One caveat, corn and potatoes do not count as vegetables; they act much more like grains as far as your body is concerned.

So What Should You Eat to Lose Weight?

Many people resist the idea of cutting grain and sugar from their diets, wondering what else there is to eat if they avoid bread, potatoes, pizza, baked goods and other unhealthy carbs.

The truth is, there is a wonderful variety of delicious foods available that are not processed, full of fructose or based on refined white sugar and flour. I've outlined many of them in my comprehensive nutrition plan, and this is the place I recommend you start if you want to tweak your diet to lose weight or just become healthier.

This program will take you from the beginner stage through intermediate and advanced, allowing you to make healthy changes to your diet and lifestyle one step at a time, at a pace that feels comfortable to you.

My program comes from decades of experience in which I have researched extensively, conferred with my professional colleagues, and most importantly, successfully treated tens of thousands of patients. Many are struggling with weight issues, but I am certain that if you adhere to the recommendations in my program, you will reach your weight loss goals.

Again, the details are outlined in my nutrition plan, but generally speaking a "healthy diet" is qualified by the following key factors:

• Unprocessed whole foods
• Often raw or only lightly cooked
• Organic or grass-fed, and free from additives and genetically modified ingredients
• Come from high-quality, local sources
• Carbohydrates primarily come from vegetables (except for corn or potatoes)

To round out your weight loss program, you'll also need to have an effective exercise regimen, and for this intensity is key. High-intensity, burst-type exercises such as Peak 8 can significantly cut down on the amount of time you have to spend exercising, while optimizing your ability to burn body fat. Full instructions on how to properly perform these exercises can be found in this previous article.

 http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/07/08/cut-down-on-carbs-to-reduce-body-fat.aspx

The Casey Anthony Murder Trial

The Casey Anthony murder trial has been filled with more lies than Swiss cheese has holes as well as unexpected dangerous twists and turns which make Lombard Street in San Francisco look like a cake walk. As the trial winds down and closing arguments conclude, the most outrageous (and potentially horrendous) allegation recently hitting the Internet which is being taken seriously is the rumor that Casey Anthony may indeed be pregnant with suppositions falling on her defense attorney, Jose Baez, as the father!

It’s not as if this case does not already present with enough evidence to make any rational person want to vomit over the absurdness of her innocence. The defense has wished for viewers to entertain belief in unsubstantiated claims of sexual abuse by her father, George Anthony, and her brother, Lee Anthony, with reference to the reason she is facing capital murder charges, the murder of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee Anthony. In addition, we must now fathom the possibility this pitiful excuse for motherhood may be pregnant with yet another child.

After reading through several reports, including ones published at The Overton Report and Yahoo! News, speculating whether or not Casey Anthony is indeed pregnant and the reasons why her attorney, Jose Baez, may actually be the only one who could have fathered the child, I found myself sickened by the thought if she is found “not guilty” or “guilty of manslaughter” she will, at some point, be released from prison with full capability to maintain custody of any child she might be carrying!

According to the rumors, Casey Anthony revealed to an Orange County jail inmate she has missed her period for what has now been a more than a month after claiming she was “always on time.” The rumor was leaked about ten days ago by an anonymous jailer who wished to remain unnamed due to his position.

Several speculations have arisen related to the rumor that it may be to gain sympathy from the jury who will not give the death penalty to a pregnant woman or simply just another elaborate desire for attention. Having learned about the ability to lie at a professional level, I venture to ascertain this is just another fabrication.

As I ponder the truth of the rumor, I think about how Caylee Anthony must have been scared senseless when her mother put duct tape over her mouth and nose; how her little eyes must have become as huge as saucers struggling for that last breathe while attempting to scream “Mommy!” as any frightened child would do. I imagine how another child would “cramp her lifestyle” and possibly face the same unspeakable fate as Caylee. These thoughts make me furious!

I do not condone ANYTHING which Casey Anthony has used as excuses for whatever her state of mind might have been which caused her to “snap” and take the life of an innocent, beautiful little girl who she should have protected with her own life.

While others may be able to have some sense of compassion for her, I do not because of one simple fact…if you do not want a child or feel you cannot handle the responsibility, there are always other options far more humane than the taking of a blameless defenseless life. For this reason, I believe she should be given the death penalty after being found guilty as there has been nothing presented in this case which would even begin to cast a shadow of doubt on her guilt!

The defense has handled this case with the utmost miscarriage of justice. The prosecution has tried to pull together a case which the police department tanked by failing to follow-up on the reports made by the meter reader, Roy Kronk, who eventually investigated the swamp area and discovered Caylee’s body. If the police department had done their job, they would have been able to recover a little girl’s body which would have revealed the implicit cause of death and it most certainly would not have been from drowning…more like the suffocation which in reality occurred.

As we await the final rebuttal by the prosecution and the decision of the jury, one can only hope the rumors of Casey Anthony pregnant are just more elaborate lies by Casey from her delusional and attention-seeking mind while praying the jury walks back into the courtroom with a guilty verdict requesting the death penalty as some measure of justice for Caylee Anthony.