Some studies have shown that low-fat diets are better for controlling diabetes; other find low-carb diets are better. The results keep flip-flopping.

But one factor is known to be relevant: weight loss itself results in decreased insulin resistance in patients with type 2 diabetes or insulin resistance. The exact proportion of carbohydrates, fats and protein may be less important.

To learn more read Medline-Plus.

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But here’s good news for Moms who feel guilty: If your daughter is fat at 40, that’s not correlated with the weight you gained when pregnant. It’s her own darn fault.

Well, yeah. I mean, if you’re 20, you’ve been grew up influenced by your parents. To a large extent, the affected what you ate, drank, studied, and which sports or hobbies you chose. By 40, you’ve had at least 22 years on your own. If you didn’t start exercising and eating right, that’s your own darn fault!

To learn more about the association between obesity and maternal weight gain, read Maternal, Birth, and Early-Life Influences on Adult Body Size in Women.

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A variety of methods have been used — including waist measurement and various more expensive methods. However, recently, researchers identified a blood test to test for belly fat. Dr. Barbara B. Kahn, chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, in Boston and her collea gues the level of retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) in the blood is correlated the amount of bell fat a person carries.

Obese patients, and people with insulin resistance, or type 2 diabetes have also been found to have high levels of RBP4. So, even if this doesn’t indicate belly fat per se, it seem to indicate one is susceptible to diabetes.

To learn more, read the article at Cell Metabolism.

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The product is formulated to help you eliminate more regularly. I’ve generally read that physicians advise the best way to remain regular is to eat a high fiber diet and get regular exercise; that works for me!

If, for some reason, you cannot eat a high fiber diet, or if you have some medical ailment that interferes with your colon function, you may need a supplement. The pros and cons of various commercial products that can help you are being discussed at The Public Health
Forum. Check them out!

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During the study, patients receiving higher doses of atorvastatin were heart 19 percent less likely to suffer a heart attack, stroke or cardiac arrest. Mortality rates were also lower for those taking the high doses of atrovastatin.

Links to Dr. Wegner’s paper and comments by other medical researchers are available at The Annals of Internal Medicine.

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But this was not the first episode of bleeding: Five years ago Dad had a similar incident where he nearly died because of blood loss due to ulcers.

Needless to say, Dad’s health issues worry his children. We’ve been looking into programs that could provide him high quality personalized healthcare.

This morning, I found one that interested us all. It’s called MDVIP. Doctors in this program take on limited patient loads so they can focus on individual patients. They also spend time emphasizing preventive medicine — which would be wonderful in my father’s case. If only some doctor could get Dad to stop taking aspirin, we think these dramatic episodes of bleeding would stop!

After reading about MDVIP’s focus on preventative medicine, I read a bit more about their physicians. They appear to have a large number of award winning physicians — many specifically in Florida. I used the sites online search tool to find one near my father; unfortunately, none of their doctors have offices in Sarasota. So, this specific program won’t work for Dad.

However, now that I’ve discovered it, I’ll try to find similar programs with physicians who take limited patient loads. And if you have a father who won’t take care of his own health, you should look into this too!

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Well, it turns out researchers are investigating a new weight loss drug called Exenatide, which is based on a synthetic form of a substance found in Gila Monster spit. The drug has been shown to result in weight and sustained glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes.

Exenatide, goes by the brandname Byetta. Way back in April 2005, it was approved by the FDA to treat type 2 diabetes in some patients.

To learn more visit The Univeristy of North Carolina

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In an article published in American Journal of Preventive MedicineDr. Edward Weiss reports that of 1,310 U.S. adults who’d lost a substantial amount of weight, the majority managed to keep some weight off. Not necessarily all all the weight– but some.

Now, we’ve all heard that past studies show the opposite: Most dieters regain back all their weight. Well, it turns out that previous studies focused on participants enrolled in clinical weight loss trials. In contrast, Dr. Weiss’ study was a survey of people who lost weight outside of these trials– for example, people who dieted on their own!

Now, of course, some people regained their weight. Want to know the factor that distinguished those who kept weight off? The exercised.

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After the age of 80, carrying a few extra pounds may not subtract years from your lifespan, a new study from Japan shows.

Well, I’ll tell you this. If I make it to 80, I’m not going to keep dieting! I do hope I’m spry like my father-in-law. He’s 90 and still playing golf every day.

More in Medline Plus

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If you diet, you’ll find tools to help with all your calorie counting needs. For example, there is a user interface that permits you to search for a food, and find the number of calories in the quantity you eat. Below, you can see I’ve searched for “pastrami” and found the number of calories in 6 servings.

They have a similar calorie counter to track calories burned during daily activities. I searched for skipping rope, and found I would burn 270 calories in twenty minutes.

If you join, and log your activities and food consumption, My Fitness Plan will record all data and simplify your calories tracking needs. It looks like a great program– and joining is free! Just visit My Fitness Pal and give it a try.

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