How Can Your Weight Be Improved By Lingonberries?

New studies suggest that lingonberries could prevent weight gain and obesity-related diseases; in a study based on mice, researchers found that these berries helped to prevent obesity. The mice were genetically modified to become obese and develop features of obesity, and in the experiment the mice were fed a high fat diet for 13 weeks as a way of mimicking the fatty western diet. However, there were eight different groups of mice given eight different types of freeze-dried berry alongside the diet of fatty foods to see if the mice were affected in terms of weight gain. Two further control groups were given no berries, one of which ate the same high fat diet and another a low-fat diet. The final result was that all of the mice gained weight but the mice who were given the berries gained less weight. Lingonberries are a wild fruit popular in Scandinavia and, in studies, were the best at showing the lowest increase in body fat, cholesterol and blood sugar of all the high fat groups during the study. Naturally, as the study shows, the lingonberries aren’t an obesity cure which work on their own as a way to remove fat, but they could be an ingredient which could enable you to gain less weight as part of a healthy diet.

 

The research took place using six-week old mice who were engineered to develop obesity and pre-diabetes. The mice were split into 10 groups of 12 mice, and for 13 weeks they underwent the following:

- 8 groups were fed a high fat diet, where 45 per cent of their calories came from fat. This diet was supplemented with eight different freeze-dried berries which were freely available to them.

- 1 control group was fed a calorie-matched high fat diet without the berries.

- 1 control group was fed a low-fat diet, with 10 per cent of their calories from fat without the berries.

 

The body weight and food intake of the mice was monitored weekly, and at the end of the study the blood samples were assessed for sugar, insulin levels, cholesterol and other fats. The researchers also looked at bodily organs, including the spleen and liver, to see how much fat had built up. The energy intake was very much the same across all of the groups, with the exception of those eating blackcurrant and bilberries, who ate more food and calories. But the fasting blood sugar levels were much lower in the lingonberry and blackcurrant groups than the high fat controls. Both of these groups had glucose and insulin resistance levels similar to the mice in the low-fat diet group. Researchers believe that the lingonberries either fully or partially prevent the detrimental metabolic effects of a high fat diet – blackcurrants and bilberries had similar properties but weren’t as effective. The conclusion of the study was that the beneficial metabolic effects of the lingonberries could be helpful in preventing obesity and disorders related to being overweight. As part of a balanced diet and a regular exercise programme, lingonberries could help to maintain a healthy weight and prevent obesity-related disorders from developing. As with any diet, it’s important that you speak to your GP before undertaking any extreme changes to your dietary habits, as it could be detrimental to your health. But there has been no proof that adding lingonberries to your diet can do you any harm, so in moderation they could be the weight loss answer you’ve been looking for.

Categories: Blood Sugar, control group, diet, freeze dried, lingonberries, metabolic effects, Mice, new study, obesity related, prevent obesity, weight gain

Bizarre Facial Treatments with a Strong Celebrity Fanbase

These days, it seems that people will try almost anything to improve their anti-ageing wellness, even to the tune of a bird poo facial (yes, people smear that on their faces). In fact, it was recently rumoured that even Kate Middleton owes the wellbeing of that flawless skin to bee venom, but is that as weird as it gets? Nope! Let’s check out some of the bizarre things people will do in the name of health, wellness and beauty.

 

1. Placenta masks – Although it seems like something you’d never like to admit to, Jennifer Lopez once admitted to being a fan of anti-ageing placenta face masks, on TV! The placenta is taken after live human births or from other mammals, such as pigs, sheep, or goats, and turned into a freeze-dried, sterilized powder which often gets used after a laser treatment or exfoliation. According to dermatologist Dr Howard Lancer, ‘It’s full of proteins and enzymes, a freeze-dried cellular harvest.’

 

2. Vitamin IV Drips –Simon Cowell swears by IV drips of nutrient infusions, made up of B12, magnesium, and vitamin C. He recently commented, ‘When you have it done, it’s an incredibly warm feeling. You feel all the vitamins going through you. It’s indescribable but very calming, and then it gives you energy for a good few days afterwards.’ However, Charles A. Bollman, MD, who stopped offering these beauty treatments at his practice about four years ago, notes that IV drips aren’t really that effective and ‘are expensive and take 45 minutes, twice a week.’

 

3. Vampire Face Lifts – Here’s one for all the Twilight fans out there: vampire face lifts use blood to keep you forever young. Dr Lancer explains, ‘Plasma is used in a purified form to be injected into the skin of the person that donated the blood.’ However, Jeffrey M. Kenkel, MD, professor and vice chairman of the department of plastic surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre, warns, ‘It’s hard to justify the cost for what we know about it scientifically,’ as clinical studies haven’t followed patients for long enough after treatment.

 

However, before you inject your face with bee venom or pile on the placenta, a little cautionary note: Don’t try any of these treatments at home without first consulting your GP. Dr Kenkel advises, ‘From a safety and effectiveness standpoint, patients need to ask their doctors whether there’s any good science behind the cosmetic procedures they want to try. I love it when patients ask me a lot of questions, because once we’re done, I know that they are well informed.’

Categories: anti ageing, Bee Venom, face, face lifts, freeze dried, iv drips, nbsp, Placenta, Placenta Masks, vampire face, Vampire Facial, Vitamin IV Drips

Can Mango Help You to Prevent or Manage Your Diabetes?

If mango is not on your shopping list, your wellbeing may be suffering as a result. This is according to a number of new and previous studies which suggest that including mango in your diet or in supplement form can have a significant beneficial impact on your wellness, including fighting the good fight against type 2 diabetes and cancer.

Some of the latest information on the health benefits of mangos was presented at the recent Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) gathering, with researchers noting one study in which obese animals consumed 10 grams of freeze-dried mango every day for 12 weeks. The results of this experiment revealed that the blood sugar levels in the animals declined, which could make mango a helpful tool in your management of type 2 diabetes.

Edralin Lucas, PhD, who led the study, commented, ‘Although the mechanism by which mango exerts its effects warrants further investigation, we do know that mangos contain a complex mixture of polyphenolic compounds.’ Polyphenolic compounds, or polyphenols, are a natural chemical found in plants. There are over 4,000 different polyphenols, which work towards your wellness because they are antioxidants, meaning they fight the disease-causing, cell-damaging free radicals in your body.

However, this study is not the first to find that mango can help to fight diabetes. In 2011, researchers conducted a study in which the explored how freeze-dried mango might lower lipids and tackle diabetes in mice that had been fed a high-fat (HF) diet. Compared to drugs, the researchers found that mango ‘improved glucose tolerance and lipid profile and reduced adiposity [fat] associated with a HF diet.’

If you have, or are at risk of, type 2 diabetes, one thing your doctor might advise you to do is to lose weight – but can mango help with this? Based on studies that indicate African mango extract (Irvingia gabonensis) is effective in reducing body weight and improving metabolic factors in people who are overweight, some experts believe it can. A recent study in the Journal of Dietary Supplements reported on the results of three randomized controlled trials, noting that the studies suggested significant reductions in weight and waist circumference when compared with placebo.

Can Mango Help You to Prevent or Manage Your Diabetes?

Categories: Diabetes, Diabetes Management, diet, dried mango, freeze dried, hf diet, Mango, polyphenolic compounds, study, type, Weight Loss