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By HealthWatch, June 25, 2011

So one of the most common misconceptions when people visit fast food restaurants is that its the main food items that are the cause of their weight gain….i.e. the big macs, the whoopers, the burrito supremes, when in fact the slow killer that has remained somewhat dormant in the news is that it’s really the sugar content found in the diet coke and potato products that lead to the slow gain of weight, especially when people who try to stay “healthy” yet are under a time crunch opt for the salad or more “healthier” options when visiting these fast food restaurants. This primarily is seen in mothers trying to satisfy their children’s craving for their happy meals while at the same time stay healthy themselves. Want to really lose weight? Go for the water or non-soda option on your salad. While at it, skip the fries, and with that all other potato-based products, especially potato chips.

According to a recent report by the New England Journal of Medicine, just one extra serving of french fries resulted in an average of 3.35 extra pounds gained every four years, accompanied by the findings that even just an extra handful of potato chips each day could potentially add 1.69 pounds in the same time period. So next time you’re thinking about a quick snack, don’t reach for the bag of chips, try opting for something more healthy, like carrot sticks, celery, etc.. The same exact advice that you’ve been given to keep your children from becoming obese before it’s even up to them to make their own dietary decisions.

In the same report, they also tracked sleeping habits of the participants. Those who had a decent amount of regular sleep (mind you by decent I don’t mean too much) were also prone to lose weight rather than gain it. That was defined as:

People who slept between six and eight hours per night gained less weight over time than people who slept fewer than six hours or more than eight.

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Now if you’re practicing a balanced diet that includes proper amounts of vegetables and other essential nutrients, that also has been shown to counter-act the occasional ‘binge’ at the fast food counter. It’s those that live hectic lives, i.e. having to take care of children and/or work, that sometimes will go without that natural balance which displaces the starch/sugar/carbohydrate levels in your body and results in the additional weight gain.

So as I said, next time you’re at the drive-through, think twice about ordering that diet coke and large fries…..the salad won’t counter-act the effects they’ll play on your body in the long run.

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By HealthWatch, April 24, 2011

According to a recent report released on Thursday there’s now speculation that there may be a nationwide smoking ban by the year 2010. This by no means has been confirmed however almost half of all US states currently have some form of anti-smoking law in place, with the most drastic being a ban on indoor smoking which from 2000 to 2010 led to 25 states making it illegal.

For you smokers out there, there are still seven states with no restrictions on indoor smoking, however a few specific cities in these states do have acting restrictions barring smoking indoors.

A quote taken from the Associated Press article includes a comment from active pro-smokers-rights group executive:

“Gary Nolan, director of a smokers’ rights group, said he wouldn’t be surprised if the CDC’s prediction came true. Public health officials and others have been putting tremendous pressure on bars and businesses to bar smoking, he added.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if they prevailed,” said Nolan, of the Smoker’s Club. “It’s just a little bit more liberty slipping away at the hands of big government.”

Now as far as research is concerned regarding the economic factors involved in banning indoor smoking, a report from the CDC on the Impact of a Smoking Ban of Restaurant and Bar Revenue showed that during the study taken in El Paso, TX there was zero decline in total revenue after the ban was enacted. (source) Smokers just get use to it and either work on quitting, or smoke in appropriate places.

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By HealthWatch, November 17, 2009

Accounting for more than 10% of all tobacco products sold Africa is on the brink of what experts are referring to as a “Global Smoking Epidemic.” A recent report released by the American Cancer Society & the Global Smokefree Partnership claims that more than half of all African countries will double their tobacco use within 12 years if something is not done to curb the current usage trends.

What is being done to try and prevent an inevitable onslaught of new lung cancer victims? Currently countries like Niger & Kenya have been leading the way in this effort with bans on smoking in public places, however some critics are demanding that countries take further action similar to recent laws passed in Mauritius which have been described by the American Cancer Society as some of the most robust anti-smoking measures in the world. Why haven’t more countries taken action to try and prevent such an epidemic from occurring? The result might surprise you but most countries aren’t eagerly jumping on the bandwagon because they fear any harsh anti-smoking laws will be met with fierce opposition by the general population. That doesn’t mean that countries with a primarily pro-smoking majority aren’t trying though. In Egypt for instance, women have the right to divorce their husbands if their smoking affects their health according to a local fatwa (Islamic ruling), however there is no ban on smoking in public places yet. It’s been speculated that more than half of the population of Egypt regularly use cigarettes, water-pipes and other tobacco-related products making such a widespread law difficult to find support for.

Dr. Twalib Ngoma, president of the African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC), says advertising which targets African youth is partially to blame. “Tobacco companies are targeting poor, developing countries in Africa. If you drive from the airports to most towns you will see a lot of billboards promoting tobacco, saying that if you smoke you are going to be successful.” Like adding kerosene on an already-lit fire The American Cancer Society claims that the African tobacco industry has been busy trying to influence governmental agencies to support pro-tobacco initiatives. They go on to claim that the companies try to convince African governments that tobacco is important to economic activity and that raising taxes on cigarettes and implementing smoke-free laws will result in revenue and job-losses. An example of this can be seen currently in Kenya, where the local tobacco industry has filed a legal dispute to a recent anti-smoking law passed by the parliament. In Zambia there are corporation rumors surrounding a possible connection between the British American Tobacco group and what is being described as a “diluted proposal” for a smoke-free law. When contacted about these allegations British American Tobacco denied any ill-intent stating that they were only briefly consulted on the draft bill last year, pointing out that it has yet to be finalized.

Adam Spielman, a tobacco industry analyst with Citigroup, thinks that the African market forms around 10% or so of the profits for the biggest companies, but also adds that this area is growing.
He goes on to say that the tobacco companies aren’t too concerned with increasing the volume of cigarettes sold as much as the importance of being able to increase the price of tobacco products sold. “If a consumer is addicted to tobacco, then it is possible to put prices up and they will go without lunch.” But as with most global problems, Mr. Spielman speculates that increasing advertising restrictions and bigger health warnings will eventually come into place in African countries.

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By HealthWatch, October 17, 2009

The latest diet craze to sweet the nation involves a food item not typically seen in any traditional diet plan, Introducing Dr. Siegal’s Cookie Diet.

Dr. Sanford Siegal first developed the cookie diet in 1975 as a way to treat chronically obese patients (patients who are unable to keep off any weight lost due to exercise/dieting). He has treated more than half a million patients with the sugary diet and claims that there is less risk of obesity in the very low-calorie diet.

“I have yet to see the first case where anyone suffered any ill effect from eating a low-calorie diet,” said Dr. Siegal in an ABC News report.

The 1,000-calorie a day regimen, which ABC News has reported celebrities like Jennifer Hudson, Denise Richards and Kelly Clarkson have all reportedly tried is dangerously lacking in nutrients found primarily in vegetables and fruits.

Dr. Siegal’s Cookie Diet may result in quick weight loss, it’s nutritionally unsound and can even result in weight gain, experts say.

Cookie Diet followers drink water and eat six uniquely developed 90-calorie cookies each day, followed by a 500-calorie dinner of lean protein and sparse vegetables. With reports being mixed, there have been a bunch of documented success stories.

Josie Raper told “Good Morning America” that she went from being a size 24 to a size 6 in a little close to six months by following this diet.

“When I started the Cookie Diet, there was no splurging or sneaking little snacks,” Ms. Raper told “Good Morning America.”

I was very strict in keeping to the diet including waiting until the Monday of Thanksgiving to start this program so that I could get through every single holiday without snacking or caving in to my cravings.”

According to Josie Raper, she has been on the Cookie Diet for two years now and hasn’t regained the weight.

Weight loss experts say the Cookie Diet’s basic flaw is that it does not help dieters to retrain their eating habits, this results in a greater chance of the dieter falling off the diet or ‘cheating.’

“If you lose weight through diet and exercise alone and don’t change anything else in your life, you are probably going to gain the weight back,” says registered dietitian Anne Fletcher, author of “Thin for Life” and “Weight Loss Confidential.”

When you don’t deal with the underlying reasons for why you’re overeating, you’re definitely more likely to gain weight. This is like putting a band-aid on a gunshot wound, it fails to treat the core reason for why the individual is overweight in the first place.

The diet also worries Dr. Louis Aronne, director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Program at the New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, because it lacks in serious good nutrition.

“I am concerned that if someone were to follow this over the long term, there are many different nutrients that they would be missing that you would normally get by eating regular food,” he told “Good Morning America.”

Cookie consumption as a weight-loss strategy is just another fad diet, says Dr. Stuart Fischer, who wrote “The Park Avenue Diet.”

“Every study shows that when people change foods only and rely on that to lose weight, they have a 95% failure rate. This cookie diet relies heavily on sweets but to lose weight you need to forget what sweet tastes like. When you lose your sweet tooth, you are about a fourth of the way to reaching weight-loss success.”

“It just doesn’t exist.” But Fischer says the diet is so low in calories that followers won’t have the energy to do any of the necessary exercise, which he says is important to maintain good heart health. He also added that staying on a cookie-heavy diet will most-likely result in dieters falling into a rebound phenomenon.

“The body goes into a starvation state,” Fischer explains. “And it holds onto every morsel and calorie until the person’s weight goes higher than it was before.”

Dr. Siegal is frequently in the news. Over the years he has been featured on ABC’s Good Morning America, New York Daily News, CNN, and the Fox News Channel. Thanks to the recent resurgence of interest in hypothyroidism (“super-foods”) that was sparked by Oprah Winfrey, multiple media outlets have aired features on Dr. Siegal and his work.