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ENTHRALLING -

New York Times -

The research also suggests that a popular weight-loss operation, gastric bypass, which shrinks the stomach and rearranges the intestines, seems to work in part by shifting the balance of bacteria in the digestive tract. People who have the surgery generally lose 65 percent to 75 percent of their excess weight, but scientists have not fully understood why.

Now, the researchers are saying that bacterial changes may account for 20 percent of the weight loss.

The findings mean that eventually, treatments that adjust the microbe levels, or “microbiota,” in the gut may be developed to help people lose weight without surgery, said Dr. Lee M. Kaplan, director of the obesity, metabolism and nutrition institute at the Massachusetts General Hospital, and an author of a study published Wednesday in Science Translational Medicine.

Not everyone who hopes to lose weight wants or needs surgery to do it, he said. About 80 million people in the United States are obese, but only 200,000 a year have bariatric operations.

“There is a need for other therapies,” Dr. Kaplan said. “In no way is manipulating the microbiota going to mimic all the myriad effects of gastric bypass. But if this could produce 20 percent of the effects of surgery, it will still be valuable.”

In people, microbial cells outnumber human ones, and the new studies reflect a growing awareness of the crucial role played by the trillions of bacteria and other microorganisms that live in their own ecosystem in the gut. Perturbations there can have profound and sometimes devastating effects.

One example is infection with a bacterium called C. difficile, which sometimes takes hold in people receiving antibiotics for other illnesses. The drugs can wipe out other organisms that would normally keep C. difficile in check. Severe cases can be life-threatening, and the medical profession is gradually coming to accept the somewhat startling idea that sometimes the best therapy is a fecal transplant — from a healthy person to the one who is sick, to replenish the population of “good germs.”

Dr. Kaplan said his group’s experiments were the first to try to find out if microbial changes could account for some of the weight loss after gastric bypass. Earlier studies had shown that the microbiota of an obese person changed significantly after the surgery, becoming more like that of someone who was thin. But was the change from the surgery itself, or from the weight loss that followed the operation? And did the microbial change have any effects of its own?

Because it would be difficult and time-consuming to study these questions in people, the researchers used mice, which they had fattened up with a rich diet. One group had gastric bypass operations, and two other groups had “sham” operations in which the animals’ intestines were severed and sewn back together. The point was to find out whether just being cut open, without having the bypass, would have an effect on weight or gut bacteria. One sham group was kept on the rich food, while the other was put on a weight-loss diet.

In the bypass mice, the microbial populations quickly changed, and the mice lost weight. In the sham group, the microbiota did not change much — even in those on the weight-loss diet.

Next, the researchers transferred intestinal contents from each of the groups into other mice, which lacked their own intestinal bacteria. The animals that received material from the bypass mice rapidly lost weight; stool from mice that had the sham operations had no effect.

Exactly how the altered intestinal bacteria might cause weight loss is not yet known, the researchers said. But somehow the microbes seem to rev up metabolism so that the animals burn off more energy.

A next step, Dr. Kaplan said, may be to take stool from people who have had gastric bypass and implant it into mice to see if causes them to lose weight. Then the same thing could be tried from person to person.

“In addition, we’ve identified four subsets of bacteria that seem to be most specifically enhanced by the bypass,” Dr. Kaplan said. “Another approach would be to see if any or all of those individual bacteria could mediate the effects, rather than having to transfer stool.”

A second study by a different group found that overweight people may be more likely to harbor a certain type of intestinal microbe. The microbes may contribute to weight gain by helping other organisms to digest certain nutrients, making more calories available. That study was published Tuesday in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

The study involved 792 people who had their breath analyzed to help diagnose digestive orders. They agreed to let researchers measure the levels of hydrogen and methane; elevated levels indicate the presence of a microbe called Methanobrevibacter smithii. The people with the highest readings on the breath test were more likely to be heavier and have more body fat, and the researchers suspect that the microbes may be at least partly responsible for their obesity.

This type of organism may have been useful thousands of years ago, when people ate moreroughage and needed all the help they could get to squeeze every last calorie out of their food. But modern diets are much richer, said an author of the study, Dr. Ruchi Mathur, director of the diabetes outpatient clinic at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

“Our external environment is changing faster than our internal one,” Dr. Mathur said. Studies are under way, she said, to find out whether getting rid of this particular microbe will help people lose weight.

Related articles Weight-Loss Surgery's Weird Alcoholism Risk (It's not weird.) Imagining WLS? Weight loss surgery hypnosis? After weight-loss surgery, new gut bacteria keep obesity away

“In case you never get a second chance: don't be afraid!"

"And what if you do get a second chance?" "You take it!” 

― C. JoyBell C.

 

I am wondering if someone out there is holding a voo doo doll of me and hastily stabbing pins everywhere but in me. Quit it.  You're missing the target.  

We are wrapping up the end of March over here with the third (..fourth?) major life-changing event of 2013.  

I thought that if I did not blog about the first (...as much as I have wanted to, I was told no and I have been SCREAMING on the inside!  Still.  AM.  :x) or second (more?) that these things would not occur in threes or more but they do.  I still haven't written, much at all actually.  

Because stop.

Currently - my father is sitting in the Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center in Boston, MA awaiting a Triple Bypass Heart Surgery on Friday morning after two RED FLAG WARNINGS that landed him in the ER.  

11 years ago, he had a stent placed after a mild heart-attack.  These warnings (DO NOT IGNORE YOUR HEART, PEOPLE!) happened just after he lost his job and likely stress was of no help.

What is a Triple Bypass?  

When one of the heart's arteries gets blocked and a person has a heart attack, one common procedure is to perform heart surgery and sew in a new piece of blood vessel to bridge over (bypass) the blockage. In many cases, the surgeon will fix not only the immediate problem, but also other arteries on the heart that are starting to look blocked. If the surgeon repairs three of the arteries, it is called a triple bypass. If four arteries are repaired, it's a quadruple bypass.

The positives?  

He's losing weight rapidly while in the hospital.  He had lost weight in a medically-supervised plan with his physician's office just prior to this event, but now he's busted into the 200's.

He's off the nicotine, and mentioned that the nurses kept trying to slip him nicotine-patches and he doesn't crave them.  It's been nearly a week, smoke-free!  This is a huge deal.  Hopefully after surgery and rehab he can maintain living smoke-free, he's done it before.

He can rock this.

He appreciates your well-wishes.

• "What is a heart bypass operation?"  01 April 2000.  HowStuffWorks.com.  27 March 2013.
• http://www.heart.org
  

Related articles Weight-Loss Surgery's Weird Alcoholism Risk (It's not weird.) Cleveland Clinic study shows RNY bariatric surgery restores pancreatic function by targeting belly fat Gastric Artery Chemical Embolization GACE Procedure Helps Shut Off Ghrelin Production Without WLS

Shane Koyczan:

• "To This Day" ... for the bullied and beautiful

This. Man.   Yes this is a complilation of the video I shared before -- it has MORE.  

To This Day

When I was a kid
I used to think that pork chops and karate chops
were the same thing
I thought they were both pork chops
and because my grandmother thought it was cute
and because they were my favourite
she let me keep doing it

not really a big deal

one day
before I realized fat kids are not designed to climb trees
I fell out of a tree
and bruised the right side of my body

I didn’t want to tell my grandmother about it
because I was afraid I’d get in trouble
for playing somewhere that I shouldn’t have been

a few days later the gym teacher noticed the bruise
and I got sent to the principal’s office
from there I was sent to another small room
with a really nice lady
who asked me all kinds of questions
about my life at home

I saw no reason to lie
as far as I was concerned
life was pretty good
I told her “whenever I’m sad
my grandmother gives me karate chops”

this led to a full scale investigation
and I was removed from the house for three days
until they finally decided to ask how I got the bruises

news of this silly little story quickly spread through the school
and I earned my first nickname

pork chop

to this day
I hate pork chops

I’m not the only kid
who grew up this way
surrounded by people who used to say
that rhyme about sticks and stones
as if broken bones
hurt more than the names we got called
and we got called them all
so we grew up believing no one
would ever fall in love with us
that we’d be lonely forever
that we’d never meet someone
to make us feel like the sun
was something they built for us
in their tool shed
so broken heart strings bled the blues
as we tried to empty ourselves
so we would feel nothing
don’t tell me that hurts less than a broken bone
that an ingrown life
is something surgeons can cut away
that there’s no way for it to metastasize

it does

she was eight years old
our first day of grade three
when she got called ugly
we both got moved to the back of the class
so we would stop get bombarded by spit balls
but the school halls were a battleground
where we found ourselves outnumbered day after wretched day
we used to stay inside for recess
because outside was worse
outside we’d have to rehearse running away
or learn to stay still like statues giving no clues that we were there
in grade five they taped a sign to her desk
that read beware of dog

to this day
despite a loving husband
she doesn’t think she’s beautiful
because of a birthmark
that takes up a little less than half of her face
kids used to say she looks like a wrong answer
that someone tried to erase
but couldn’t quite get the job done
and they’ll never understand
that she’s raising two kids
whose definition of beauty
begins with the word mom
because they see her heart
before they see her skin
that she’s only ever always been amazing

he
was a broken branch
grafted onto a different family tree
adopted
but not because his parents opted for a different destiny
he was three when he became a mixed drink
of one part left alone
and two parts tragedy
started therapy in 8th grade
had a personality made up of tests and pills
lived like the uphills were mountains
and the downhills were cliffs
four fifths suicidal
a tidal wave of anti depressants
and an adolescence of being called popper
one part because of the pills
and ninety nine parts because of the cruelty
he tried to kill himself in grade ten
when a kid who still had his mom and dad
had the audacity to tell him “get over it” as if depression
is something that can be remedied
by any of the contents found in a first aid kit

to this day
he is a stick of TNT lit from both ends
could describe to you in detail the way the sky bends
in the moments before it’s about to fall
and despite an army of friends
who all call him an inspiration
he remains a conversation piece between people
who can’t understand
sometimes becoming drug free
has less to do with addiction
and more to do with sanity

we weren’t the only kids who grew up this way
to this day
kids are still being called names
the classics were
hey stupid
hey spaz
seems like each school has an arsenal of names
getting updated every year
and if a kid breaks in a school
and no one around chooses to hear
do they make a sound?
are they just the background noise
of a soundtrack stuck on repeat
when people say things like
kids can be cruel?
every school was a big top circus tent
and the pecking order went
from acrobats to lion tamers
from clowns to carnies
all of these were miles ahead of who we were
we were freaks
lobster claw boys and bearded ladies
oddities
juggling depression and loneliness playing solitaire spin the bottle
trying to kiss the wounded parts of ourselves and heal
but at night
while the others slept
we kept walking the tightrope
it was practice
and yeah
some of us fell

but I want to tell them
that all of this shit
is just debris
leftover when we finally decide to smash all the things we thought
we used to be
and if you can’t see anything beautiful about yourself
get a better mirror
look a little closer
stare a little longer
because there’s something inside you
that made you keep trying
despite everyone who told you to quit
you built a cast around your broken heart
and signed it yourself
you signed it
“they were wrong”
because maybe you didn’t belong to a group or a click
maybe they decided to pick you last for basketball or everything
maybe you used to bring bruises and broken teeth
to show and tell but never told
because how can you hold your ground
if everyone around you wants to bury you beneath it
you have to believe that they were wrong

they have to be wrong

why else would we still be here?
we grew up learning to cheer on the underdog
because we see ourselves in them
we stem from a root planted in the belief
that we are not what we were called we are not abandoned cars stalled out and sitting empty on a highway
and if in some way we are
don’t worry
we only got out to walk and get gas
we are graduating members from the class of
fuck off we made it
not the faded echoes of voices crying out
names will never hurt me

of course
they did

but our lives will only ever always
continue to be
a balancing act
that has less to do with pain
and more to do with beauty.

Related articles Joan Rivers on David Letterman Pokes Fun at Adele Thigh Gap!? What. The. Eff?! TED: Shane Koyczan: "To This Day" ... for the bullied and beautiful - Shane Koyczan (2013)

"No freedom until we're equal, damn right I support it."  

We press play, don't press pause
Progress, march on
With the veil over our eyes
We turn our back on the cause
Till the day that my uncles can be united by law
When kids are walking 'round the hallway plagued by pain in their heart
A world so hateful some would rather die than be who they are
And a certificate on paper isn't gonna solve it all
But it's a damn good place to start
No law is gonna change us
We have to change us
Whatever God you believe in
We come from the same one
Strip away the fear
Underneath it's all the same love
About time that we raised up

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A friend posted on Facebook this morning -

"I just watched a news blip about a new teenage girl/young female obsession: the "thigh gap", ie: in order to be beautiful, you must have a large gap between your thighs when your knees are touching. It's one thing if your body is naturally made this way, but it's another to starve yourself to attain an unnatural shape. I can guarantee, no man every looked at Kate Upton, Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, or Marilyn Monroe and thought: "Man, she's hot, but I wish she had more thigh gap."

Unfortunately your browser does not support IFrames.

Watch More News Videos at ABC | Technology News | Celebrity News

Let me just say, in full disclosure, it looks much more desperate on grown-ass adult women.  Cut. it. out.

Related articles The Great Blog Loss of 2013 'Thigh Gap': New Teen Body Obsession?

Wait, WHAT?

I know I spend way too much time in malls with four kids and two teens, but, uh, no...

And the sad thing is, half the kids in the middle and high schools already wear pants that appear painted on.  

Thankfully, hopefully? It's a joke, American Eagle Outfitters played us and you fell for it.  :x  You (or your kids) actually tried to buy them.

Although, wicked smaht way to get people on a mailing list.

Related articles Melissa McCarthy Is Not A Hippo. Weight Bias.

From Slimpressions -

• From March 22 until March 24, 2013 at midnight EST, get a FREE Long Leg Shaper ($45) when you purchase one Tanks A Lot. 
• Get the best of both worlds from our Top Sleekret and Bottom Line Collections to shape, hide, and lift where you want it. The Tanks A Lot and Long Leg Shaper are two of Slimpressions' most popular confidencewear.  
• Create a smooth spring silhouette today.
• LOVE.

 

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

CVS to workers: Tell us how much you weigh or it'll cost you!  SHAME SHAME!

Via Bitch Media - 

"Workplace wellness incentive programs are not a new phenomenon, but the Internet is in turmoil today over a recent announcement by the national drugstore chain CVS. Beginning in May, CVS will require employees on the company’s insurance plan to undergo health testing—including body mass indexing and blood glucose testing—or face a $600 annual penalty.  

The company’s rationale? Coercing employees to submit to health testing will provide incentive for workers to get—and stay—in shape. Employees’ health information will not be accessible to the company itself, but rather to a third party responsible for administering company insurance benefits. Reportedly, with the advent of Obamacare and rising healthcare costs, practices like this threaten to become more commonplace in the corporate environment. 

Attention everyone, everywhere. If you’ve been struggling for years to get in shape, whatever that means to you, you can just quit whatever it is you’re doing right now because CVS has got it all figured out. It turns out whatever silliness you were attempting, you just didn’t have the proper incentive. Except, as it happens, this regimen already exists and it’s called humiliation and fat-shaming. Have someone tell you you’re overweight, or pay a major fine.

Then there’s the next major issue. CVS, which really should by keyed in to the latest, or at the very least some,health news, ought to know Body Mass Index (BMI) is by no means an accurate indicator of health. As Keith Devlin over at NPR pointed out back in 2009, there are at least 10 good reasons BMI is entirely bogus, not the least of which is it hinges on the notion of the “average man.”

Well, yeah?  Listen to the entire video before judging please.  

"What if you're NOT an athlete?" <-- like most of us?  Sugar is NOT okay, builds up, and causing obesity.

Related articles Salt, Sugar, Fat - Michael Moss Banning large sodas is legal and smart

Carnie Wilson tweeted that she's dealing with Bell's Palsy.  I was not going to post about this on the blog - EXCEPT that someone I know very very well -- has a very similar condition that comes and goes and comes and goes and goes and comes back.  I have always called it 'twitches.'

It hasn't been diagnosed -- but this might just be enough to get that person to See The Neurologist Like I Have Been Asking For About 15 years.

And ...

What is Bell's Palsy?

NIH - 

• Bell's palsy is a form of temporary facial paralysis resulting from damage or trauma to the facial nerves. The facial nerve-also called the 7th cranial nerve-travels through a narrow, bony canal (called the Fallopian canal) in the skull, beneath the ear, to the muscles on each side of the face. For most of its journey, the nerve is encased in this bony shell. Each facial nerve directs the muscles on one side of the face, including those that control eye blinking and closing, and facial expressions such as smiling and frowning. Additionally, the facial nerve carries nerve impulses to the lacrimal or tear glands, the saliva glands, and the muscles of a small bone in the middle of the ear called the stapes. The facial nerve also transmits taste sensations from the tongue. When Bell's palsy occurs, the function of the facial nerve is disrupted, causing an interruption in the messages the brain sends to the facial muscles. This interruption results in facial weakness or paralysis.
• Bell's palsy is named for Sir Charles Bell, a 19th century Scottish surgeon who was the first to describe the condition. The disorder, which is not related to stroke, is the most common cause of facial paralysis. Generally, Bell's palsy affects only one of the paired facial nerves and one side of the face, however, in rare cases, it can affect both sides. 
• What are the Symptoms? Because the facial nerve has so many functions and is so complex, damage to the nerve or a disruption in its function can lead to many problems.
• Symptoms of Bell's palsy can vary from person to person and range in severity from mild weakness to total paralysis. These symptoms may include twitching, weakness, or paralysis on one or rarely both sides of the face. Other symptoms may include drooping of the eyelid and corner of the mouth, drooling, dryness of the eye or mouth, impairment of taste, and excessive tearing in one eye. Most often these symptoms, which usually begin suddenly and reach their peak within 48 hours, lead to significant facial distortion. Other symptoms may include pain or discomfort around the jaw and behind the ear, ringing in one or both ears, headache, loss of taste, hypersensitivity to sound on the affected side, impaired speech, dizziness, and difficulty eating or drinking.
• What Causes Bell's Palsy? Bell's palsy occurs when the nerve that controls the facial muscles is swollen, inflamed, or compressed, resulting in facial weakness or paralysis. Exactly what causes this damage, however, is unknown. Most scientists believe that a viral infection such as viral meningitis or the common cold sore virus—herpes simplex—causes the disorder. They believe that the facial nerve swells and becomes inflamed in reaction to the infection, causing pressure within the Fallopian canal and leading to ischemia (the restriction of blood and oxygen to the nerve cells).
• In some mild cases (where recovery is rapid), there is damage only to the myelin sheath of the nerve. The myelin sheath is the fatty covering-which acts as an insulator-on nerve fibers in the brain. The disorder has also been associated with influenza or a flu-like illness, headaches, chronic middle ear infection, high blood pressure, diabetes, sarcoidosis, tumors, Lyme disease, and trauma such as skull fracture or facial injury.
• Who Gets it? Bell's palsy afflicts approximately 40,000 Americans each year. It affects men and women equally and can occur at any age, but it is less common before age 15 or after age 60. It disproportionately attacks people who have diabetes or upper respiratory ailments such as the flu or a cold.

Related articles Announcement! ENDS SOON! HELP US HELP! Carnie Wilson on disorder called Bell's Palsy: Singer goes public to help others (Video) "If you are overweight or obese, are you pleased with the way that you look?" Fat-Shaming for social change? WHAT?! Study - Physically Active Bariatric Surgery Patients Less Likely to be Depressed

Amazon.com Widgets

I doubted it. I did not want to try it. I was told that Artic Zero was "nasty," and that I would hate it.

When I saw a shelf of Artic Zero frozen desserts in our local grocery store, I was half-tempted, but not entirely, because *FISTS IN THE AIR!*  GUYS!?  

It's ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY CALORIES FOR A WHOLE DOG GAMNED PINT OF ICED CREAMED CONFECTIONARY GOODNESS!   

A WHOLE PINT.

• 150 calories per pint & all natural
• Fat free & gluten free
• Lactose intolerant friendly
• Contains 8 grams of fiber
• 14 grams of whey protein concentrate
• If, you eat the whole pint.

If you are a bariatric patient, you ain't eatin' no WHOLE PINT OF NOTHIN'.  Even at my stage, nine years, I don't eat a pint of any one food ever -- not unless I want to take a trip to sleepy-town-next-stop-dump-city-with-a-side-of-NO.

I bought two, which cost me more than I would ever spend on frozen confections but I did it for Science!  The blog.  $4.99 each.  GASP!  I bought Chocolate and Vanilla Maple.  

Last night I noticed that Some Child Of Mine had dug into the Chocolate and I had to save it from it's certain death -- and I stole it back for review.  (Her review - "I'd eat it."  Because she did.  I stole it back.)

First impression, the product is solid like a rock and you must absolutely leave it out for a few minutes and allow it to melt a bit for best results.  It freezes quite hard because of it's high-water level and it's not palatable totally frozen solid. Sccccrrrrraaaaaaappppeeeeee.

Once it's a little bit un-frozen, it's good to go.  My first taste reaction was that of a frozen diet hot chocolate, with no grit, no textural issues, perfectly smooth.  Another similarity might be a diet fudgsicle or the chocolate part of a chocolate and vanilla ice-cream cup.

It could use more sweetness to personal preference, however it is a lower-sugar product and I would NOT want more real sugar added TO it.  The first few tastes were slightly bland, but it was better after that.  I considered adding a packet of flavoring or something to it - perhaps a shake of powdered peanut butter - sugar-free syrup or chopped super dark chocolate would have done the trick.   However I didn't add anything to it, and I ate two servings without anything on it - and was perfectly happy that way.  

I chose not to write this review until today because I wanted to wait for the full "gut-reaction" from the ingredients - you know - in the name of science - the blog - the farts -

Here are the nutritional stats -

Chocolate, Chocolate Peanut Butter,Mint Chocolate Cookie
INGREDIENTS: PURIFIED WATER, WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, ORGANIC CANE SUGAR, CHICORY ROOT, DUTCH PROCESSED COCOA POWDER WITH ALKALI, GUAR GUM, XANTHAN GUM, NATURAL FLAVORS, SEA SALT, MONK FRUIT CONCENTRATE.

Vanilla Maple
INGREDIENTS: PURIFIED WATER, WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, ORGANIC CANE SUGAR, CHICORY ROOT, GUAR GUM, XANTHAN GUM, NATURAL FLAVORS, SEA SALT, MONK FRUIT CONCENTRATE.

I am pleased to say I had little to no reaction to the fiber in the product - and I react to EVERYTHING.  There are many products that I cannot TOUCH (RIP Quest Bars, signed my gut) because of their ingredient profiles.  Thumbs up Arctic Zero.

Next up, Vanilla Maple.

Now, full disclosure - if you are an actual dairy ice cream eater - this is not THAT stuff.  This is a frozen diet confection for those of us who DO NOT EAT dairy ice cream.  There's a reason I can't eat ice cream.  (RIP ice cream, signed lactose intolerance via roux en y gastric bypass.)  Dairy ice cream contains lots of high-fat cream content and mouth-feel.  Also, many types of ice cream contain chunks of high-fat candy and high-calorie junk.  This product is a diet confection and contains only 37 calories for a reason.  

Keep that in mind and if you're going to add loads of crap BACK TO IT, why bother?

I'm going to buy a case of all the flavors via Amazon to keep on hand in my chest freezer for those ice-cold cravings.   Because, sometimes I crave it, and I can't have it.

Pouchworthy.  

• Product - Arctic Zero Frozen Dessert
• Price -  $3.26 on Amazon  - $4.99 at WalMart
• Pros - Under 40 calories per serving, 150 for entire pint, 5 grams sugar per serving, 0 fat, 0 lactose, Fat free & gluten free, Lactose intolerant friendly, Contains 8 grams of fiber, 14 grams of whey protein concentrate
• Cons - Tad pricey, urge to add stuff to it
• Rating - Pouchworthy, MM

Related articles Product SQUEE! Coffee + espresso flavored whey protein isolate with ONE CARB. Product squee in advance - I AM GOING TO IMPLODE.

 

Remember that time YOU donated to the Walk From Obesity in 2012 - and helped Team MMBBGC do THIS -

I promised to give back the prizes that YOU helped me ( and Team MMBGC!) earn!

Look what we did!

Out of those who donated to Team MMBGC in 2012, I'll be picking WINNERS and posting them VERY SOON!  (It's a huge list!  THANK YOU!) Lucky!  Lucky!

:D

• If you missed OUT, get in on the 2013 GIVEAWAY donate to Team MMBGC here for the first walk of 2013!

 

March 5 Day Pouch Test Bulletin 2013 - Now Online We know from our search engine reports that many of you find LivingAfterWLS and the 5 Day Pouch Test by looking for answers about eating carbohydrates after weight loss surgery. Perhaps you, like so many other post-WLS patients find yourself taking little nibbles of soft snacky carbs with increasing frequency. Maybe you've regained some Kaye Baileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10330982864862899261noreply@blogger.com0

$4.36 ($0.61 / oz) & FREE Two-Day Shipping RIGHT NOW - VERY LIMITED TIME - GO!  That's 50% off.  Limited time offer, I will delete it as soon as it ends!  

Go!

CNN) -- A state trial judge on Monday blocked New York City's plan for a maximum 16 ounce size for a high-sugar beverage. The ban would have included sodas, energy drinks, fruit drinks and sweetened teas. But it would have excluded alcoholic beverages and drinks that are more than 50% milk, such as lattes. The ban would have applied to restaurants, movie theaters, stadiums and mobile food carts. But it would not have applied to supermarkets and convenience stores, such as 7-Eleven.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposal was met with fierce opposition by the industry and public outrage at the loss of "liberty," the so-called "nanny state" run amok. Beyond all the hype, the industry's vociferous arguments, now adopted by a trial court, are badly flawed.

In fact, the Board of Health has the power, indeed the responsibility, to regulate sugary drinks for the sake of city residents, particularly the poor.

 

Related articles Study - Caffeine Consumption And Mortality -- WAIT, what?! Weight-Loss Surgery's Weird Alcoholism Risk (It's not weird.) Watch: NYC Super-Sized Soda Ban Halted by Judge

Sometimes something just inspires.  DAMN.

They. brought. it.

Bring it to OAC, guys. Let's go.

• http://www.ywmconvention.com/
  
• http://www.ywmconvention.com/spread-the-word/incentive-contests/

Ghrelin is a hormone that is secreted primarily by stomach cells with lesser amounts secreted by other cells (as of the hypothalamus), that is a growth hormone secretagogue, and that has been implicated in the stimulation of fat storage and food intake.   If you block it with bariatric surgery or another weight loss procedure (below...) weight loss occurs.  At least it does for a while!

(It worked in baby piggies!)

Healthday -

The first five patients to try a new, minimally invasive weight-loss procedure dropped an average of more than 45 pounds in six months, researchers report.

The procedure — called gastric artery chemical embolization (GACE) — works by blocking an artery in the stomach. This cuts off part of the blood supply to an area of the stomach that produces most of the hormone ghrelin, which stimulates appetite.

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“If a large, randomized study shows similar results, this may be a very simple method and an alternative to bariatric surgery,” said lead researcher Dr. Nicholas Kipshidze, with New York Cardiovascular Research in New York City.

However, an expert noted that when one hormone is targeted, the body usually finds other ways to compensate. And another expert said the procedure must be studied in far more people for much longer periods to make sure there aren’t major complications and that weight loss persists.

The findings were scheduled to be presented Sunday at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology, which begins this weekend in San Francisco. The data and conclusions of research presented at meetings should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

In this first human test, researchers treated five obese people. Patients had a catheter placed in their groin. The catheter was threaded through an artery until it reached the upper part of the stomach, called the gastric fundus. Then, tiny beads were run through the catheter to block the artery.

Although blood flow to the stomach is reduced, the risk of part of the stomach dying from lack of blood is small, because these tissues get blood from other blood vessels, explained Kipshidze, who is also the general director at Republican Hospital in Tbilisi, Georgia.

After a month, patients lost about 29 pounds; by three months they had lost an average of 37 pounds and at six months the average weight loss was 45 pounds, the researchers said.

In addition, ghrelin levels also dropped. After a month, levels had fallen 29 percent, and at three months it had fallen by 36 percent. At six months, however, ghrelin levels were only 18 percent below where they had been before the procedure.

This pattern is one to be expected, according to Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center.

“Ghrelin is one of many hormones known to influence hunger and appetite, and in every prior attempt to change long-term weight outcomes by manipulating one hormone, we found compensatory mechanisms that kick in over time and the benefits tend to wear off,” he said.

“So [the new procedure] is unlikely to prove to be an alternative to the lifestyle approaches, namely eating well and being physically active,” Katz said.

Study author Kipshidze noted that the new study did not address lifestyle factors. To really test the effectiveness of the procedure, he didn’t tell the patients to change their diets or exercise.

“I told them ‘Do what you want. Go and eat as much as you want,’” he said. “Their appetite decreased and they simply couldn’t eat. Their intake was dramatically decreased.”

According to Kipshidze, the procedures went off without a hitch, and so far there have been no complications. The long-term outcomes in terms of sustained weight loss and side effects, however, are still unknown, he said.

Gastric artery chemical embolization has several advantages over current weight-loss procedures, such as gastric bypass surgery and gastric banding, Kipshidze said.

These other procedures are major operations with all the consequences of any operation, including hospital stays and long recovery times, he said. But with this new technique, “You do the procedure in the morning, and you can send the patient home the same day.”

He noted that this procedure is a type of gastric artery embolization that has been used for years to treat bleeding in the intestines and reduce side effects from chemotherapy for advanced liver cancer.

Whether there will be complications down the line or whether patients will gain the weight back, as many do after other weight-loss surgery, isn’t clear, Kipshidze said.

“Who knows with this procedure whether patients will gain the weight back? I cannot tell you; I don’t know what is going to happen,” he said.

That answer is the key to whether this procedure will be a viable alternative to other types of weight-loss surgery, another expert said.

“The question is, will this thing work in a lot of people over a long period of time, and what’s the complication rate and what’s the mortality with it,” said Dr. Stephen Green, associate chairman of the department of cardiology at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y.

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“If this works, it would be fantastic — it would be a game changer,” he said. “But this is not ready for prime time.”

Kipshidze is planning larger clinical trials where some patients — including some with diabetes — will undergo the procedure while others will have a sham procedure. In all, they will need to include about 30 patients to be sure the procedure is safe and effective, he said. The procedure is also being refined with new equipment and techniques.

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I always get excited when I see tracking numbers. 

Last year we did this:

#1 and #2?  That was us.  I promised those who donated a chance to win MY PRIZES from the Obesity Action Coalition - because YOU helped our Team raise more than SEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS!  

If YOU donated to Team MMBBGC in 2012 are entered to win -

And, SQUEE!  SQUEE!  THANK YOU!  xoxo

• We are doing it AGAIN for 2013!  
• Donate NOW to Team MMBBGC for the Walk From Obesity and you are automatically entered to win my prizes if we reach the prize threshold for donations!  
• YOU can really make a difference in the lives of those touched by obesity. While advances have been made in the prevention and treatment of obesity, more remains to be done. It is estimated that nearly 93 million Americans are affected by obesity and that number is predicted to climb to 120 million in the next five years.  There is hardly a family anywhere that hasn't in some way been affected by obesity related illnesses. TheWalk from Obesity combines an enjoyable event with the potential to raise significant sums for the fight against obesity.  -OAC

Related articles Coca-Cola + OBESITY + Bad PR. 2012 Walk From Obesity Wrap Up + Prizes! 2013 Walk From Obesity Product SQUEE! Coffee + espresso flavored whey protein isolate with ONE CARB. Oac's Your Weight Matters National Convention Set for August 15-18, 2013, in Phoenix, Arizona