Archive for the ‘Weight Loss’ Category

Bariatric surgery as the last hope for weight problems

Friday, May 22nd, 2009

For individuals who have been unable to achieve significant weight loss through diet modifications and exercise programs alone, gastric surgery may help to attain a more healthy body weight. There are a number of surgical options available to treat obesity, each with its advantages and pitfalls. Despite countless diet programs and fitness regiments extolled by nutritionists, dietitians and the media, obesity continues to be a national health problem.

The most common form of gastric bypass surgery is Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. The surgery is the most commonly performed operation for weight loss in the United States. Health reports say that over 72 million adults in the U.S. are obese, a startling number that continues to rise with failed diet programs, poor eating habits and drugs that cause weight gain. For many obesity sufferers, bariatric surgery is the last hope for tackling the weight problem effectively and presents other advantages.

The following are the various types of bariatric surgery:

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass- within about 14 months, patients who undergo the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass lose an average of 60 percent of their excess body weight.

Sleeve gastrectomy- a new procedure, and data  indicate that average weight loss falls between the losses seen with the Lap-Band procedure and the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

Lap-Band® procedure- the Lap-Band procedure averages 50 percent of patients’ excess weight—or about 80 pounds.

Biliopancreatic diversion bypass- Patients who undergo BPD surgery lose an average of 70 to 80 percent of their excess body weight within the first two years of the procedure.

Other studies show that for the severely obese, bariatric surgery is more effective at achieving and maintaining weight loss than nonsurgical treatments. As weight loss occurs, bariatric surgery patients may see improvements in a number of serious medical conditions. Here are some of the benefits of bariatric surgery:

1. Reduced chances of sleep apnea

2. Lowered risk of diabetes

3. Reduced risk of hypertension

4. Improved joints function

5. Boost of self-esteem

6. Ongoing weight loss

Fad diets are detrimental to your skin

Sunday, May 10th, 2009

Although you could be fooled into thinking that crash and fad diets will give you a quick fix solution, be careful how you treat your body. Crash dieting itself is hard on the body. When you deprive yourself of proper nutrition, your body begins to suffer. The natural vitamins, minerals and nutrients that you get through a normal, balanced diet are important to the way that your body functions. Eating too little protein, or skimping on essential vitamins and minerals, can lead to several skin problems and make your skin more vulnerable to acne breakouts, such as your skin, hair and nails will show the first signs of malnutrition. If you stay on a fad diet for a long time you’ll notice that you’ll begin to shed hair more frequently. Your nails will be brittle and will break more often. Your skin will lose its shine and you may develop dark circles under your eyes. These nutritional deficiencies are a direct result of not getting the nutrients you need from a fad diet.

Upon searching of lots more discover dieting plans that seem to offer the secret potion to their dieting needs; they discover one of the thousands of fad diets. Fad diets that cut out protein, fat, and essential vitamins can lead to several skin problems and make it difficult for your body to repair and heal naturally. Common skin problems associated with fad diets include:

Dry and Dull looks –  A dry and dull complexion can’t be ‘fixed’ with moisturizers alone, so eating more protein can get your skin back on track. Cutting down of protein can reduce the skin’s resiliency and also makes it difficult for skin to heal.

Acne breakouts – B-vitamin deficiencies in particular can lead to constant breakouts and poor skin healing afterwards.

Excessively dry skin – the diet that limits fresh fruits and vegetables can lead to a lack of Vitamin A which  is usually the culprit behind dry or cracked skin, and may cause this uncomfortable skin condition.

Scars that don’t heal – Diets that eliminate healthy fats and antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables will lead to lack of vitamin E and vitamin A that will leave you more vulnerable to scarring and damaged skin.

Get chocolicious for a beautiful you

Thursday, April 2nd, 2009

Recent scientific research has highlighted the anti-ageing benefits of chocolate. Raw chocolate, in its purest form, has the highest amount of cancer-fighting, disease-busting anti-oxidants that also prevent premature ageing. That’s why chocolate is now an accepted beauty aid and forms part of many body treatments.

Chocolate is made from cocoa beans the bean’s fibrous outer layer has great anti-ageing properties for the skin to help breakdown free radicals. Not to forget that chocolate contains flavanoids, a powerful anti-oxidant. Anti-oxidant are chemical compound that reduce oxidative cell damage caused by free radicals. The damage from free radicals can lead to premature wrinkles, lines, age-spots and sagging skin. Cocoa is rich in vitamins A and E that improves blood circulation. The cocoa bean is rich in magnesium which stimulates production of progesterone, a vital hormone that tackles stress-related skin breakouts.  Chocolate also contains fats such as cocoa butter or Shea butter that are natural moisturizing agents. If this is not enough, the aroma of chocolate can signal the brain to release endorphins that help you stay happy. When you are happy you look beautiful and feel younger.

Dark chocolate is even better. It contains a large number of anti-oxidants: nearly the eight times the number found in strawberries. Its health benefits are immense.

So go ahead and pamper yourself with a chocolate treatment. It is a guilt-free way to enjoy the sinful richness of chocolate.

Mesotherapy: Is an Excellent Non-Surgical Method to Get Rid of Extra Body Fat

Wednesday, January 17th, 2007

Mesotherapy is a painless injection technique and is suitable for
broad range of medical problems. It can cure body’s circulatory,
lymphatic and immune system to correct abnormal physiology in our body.
It is a safe and virtually painless method for the treatment of
cellulite. Most surgical processes requires quite some time for
recovery but this procedure does not require any post operative
recovery time. Also there is no need for heavy bandages, girdles or
anesthesia during the therapy.

Mesotherapy injection includes a customized mixture of vitamins,
amino acids and medications that are injected directly into the
problematic area. A very little quantity nearly about a drop of
solution is enough for the treatment. Results obtained after a series
of treatment from mesotherapy is dramatic. There is improvement in skin
quality and when the treatment is done to cure hair loss, regrowth is
experienced just weeks after the procedure. The treatment even helps in
improving circulation, strengthening connective tissues and getting rid
of excess fat.

There are Several Weight Loss Surgery Procedures that Help People Lose Weight

Friday, January 12th, 2007

Some people are suffering from stubborn fat that does not react to
any diet or exercise control programs. There are many weight loss
surgery procedures that can be applied to achieve both short term and
long term weight loss. The surgical term for surgeries that help in
controlling weight is known as Bariatric surgery. But such surgeries
should not be considered alone it must be a part of a complete weight
management plan. Dietary and lifestyle modifications are very essential
along with weight loss surgery to overcome overweight problems.

Among the several operations that are currently performed to achieve
rapid weight loss each has its own positive and negative aspects.
Complete information about various types of operations that are done
for obesity surgery should be gathered prior to finalizing the process.
Weight loss surgeries are of two types restrictive and malabsortive
procedures. The former achieves weight loss by limiting the amount of
food that is digested and other interferes with body’s normal process
of nutrient intake.