The Mayo Clinic Diet: A weight-loss program for life The Mayo Clinic Diet is a different approach to weight loss. It's a lifestyle that can help you maintain a healthy weight for a lifetime. By Mayo Clinic Staff

The Mayo Clinic Diet is a weight loss and lifestyle program designed by Mayo Clinic health experts. The Mayo Clinic Diet is a lifelong approach to help you improve your health and maintain a healthy weight. The Mayo Clinic Diet uses the Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid as a guide to making smart-eating choices and encouraging daily activity.

The purpose of the Mayo Clinic Diet is to help you lose excess weight and to find a way of eating that you can enjoy for a lifetime. The Mayo Clinic Diet aims to teach you how to choose healthy foods and portions and to develop healthy lifestyle habits so that you can maintain a healthy weight for life. The Mayo Clinic Diet says that making healthy changes in diet and exercise can reduce your risk of weight-related health problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and sleep apnea.

Why you might follow the Mayo Clinic DietYou might choose to follow the Mayo Clinic Diet because you:

Check with your doctor or health care provider before starting any weight-loss diet, especially if you have any health conditions.

The Mayo Clinic Diet is the official diet developed by Mayo Clinic, based on research and clinical experience and detailed in the book of the same name, published in 2010. You might have tried what you thought was a Mayo Clinic diet something you saw on the Internet or that was passed along by friends but it was probably bogus. The true Mayo Clinic Diet says that successful, long-term weight control needs to focus on your overall health, not just what you eat. It also emphasizes that the best way to manage weight long-term requires changing your lifestyle and adopting new health habits. The Mayo Clinic Diet can be tailored to your own individual needs and situations it isn't a one-size-fits-all approach.

The Mayo Clinic Diet has two main parts:

Follow the Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight PyramidThe basis for the Mayo Clinic Diet is the Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid. The pyramid illustrates the importance of balance between exercise and eating healthy foods.

Eat healthy foods and portionsThe base of the Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid focuses on generous amounts of healthy foods that contain a small number of calories in a large volume of food, particularly fruits and vegetables. Healthy choices in moderate amounts make up the rest of the pyramid, which encourages selecting whole-grain carbohydrates, lean sources of protein such as legumes, fish and low-fat dairy, and heart-healthy unsaturated fats. The Mayo Clinic Diet teaches you how to estimate portion sizes and plan meals. The Mayo Clinic Diet doesn't focus on counting calories, nor does it require you to eliminate certain foods.

Increase your physical activityThe Mayo Clinic Diet promotes regular physical activity and exercise, as well as healthy eating. When you're active, your body uses energy (calories) to work, helping to burn the calories you take in. If you've been inactive or you have a medical condition, talk to your doctor or health care provider before starting a new physical activity program. Most people can begin with five- or 10-minute activity sessions and increase the time gradually.

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The Mayo Clinic Diet: A weight-loss program for life Mayo

Atkins diet, also known as Atkins nutritional approach, is a low-carbohydrate diet promoted by Robert Atkins from a research paper he read in The Journal of the American Medical Association. The paper entitled "Weight Reduction" was published by Alfred W. Pennington in 1958.[1] The Atkins diet leads to 0.1% to 2.9% more weight loss at one year than a control group.[2]

Atkins used the study to resolve his own overweight condition. He later popularized the method in a series of books, starting with Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution in 1972. In his second book, Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution (2002), he modified parts of the diet but did not alter the original concepts.

The New Atkins for a New You (2010) is based upon a broad array of information gained over the last decade not covered in previous editions, including nutrient-rich foods. The New Atkins for a New You Cookbook was released in 2011 by Colette Heimowitz to provide dieters with simple, low-carb recipes.

The Atkins diet leads to 0.1% to 2.9% more weight loss at one year than a control group.[2]

Because of substantial controversy regarding the Atkins diet and even disagreements in interpreting the results of specific studies it is difficult to objectively summarize the research in a way that reflects scientific consensus.[3][4] Although there has been some research done throughout the twentieth century,[5][6] most directly relevant scientific studies, both those that directly analyze the Atkins Diet and those that analyze similar diets, have occurred in the 1990s and early 2000s and, as such, are relatively new. Researchers and other experts have published articles and studies that run the gamut from promoting the safety and efficacy of the diet,[7][8] to questioning its long-term validity,[9][10] to outright condemning it as dangerous.[11][12] A significant early criticism of the Atkins Diet was that there were no studies that evaluated the effects of Atkins beyond a few months. However, studies began emerging in the mid-to-late-2000s which evaluate low-carbohydrate diets over much longer periods, controlled studies as long as two years and survey studies as long as two decades.[7][13][14][15]

In addition to research on the efficacy of Atkins and other low-carbohydrate diets, some research has directly addressed other areas of health affected by low-carbohydrate diets. For example, contrary to popular belief that low-carbohydrate diets damage the heart, one study found that women eating low-carbohydrate, high-fat/protein diets had the same or slightly less risk of coronary heart disease, compared to women eating high-carbohydrate, low-fat diets.[16] Other studies have found possible benefits to individuals with type 2 diabetes,[17] cancer,[18][19] and epilepsy.[20][21] One study comparing two levels of low-carbohydrate diets (ketogenicthe lowest carbohydrate leveland non-ketogenic) found that both had positive effects in terms of insulin sensitivity, weight loss, and fat loss while the ketogenic diet showed slightly higher risks of inflammation and somewhat lower perceived levels of vigor, described as "potentially harmful metabolic and emotional side-effects" (although it should be noted that one of the researchers of this study, Barry Sears, markets The Zone as a competing low-carbohydrate diet).[22]

The effects of the Atkins Diet remain a subject of much debate. Some studies conclude that the Atkins diet helps prevent cardiovascular disease, lowers the low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and increases the amount of HDL, or so-called "good" cholesterol. Some studies suggest that the diet could contribute to osteoporosis and kidney stones.[23]

According to Harper (2004) in a year-long study, the concentration of high-density lipoprotein, (HDL) cholesterol increased, and insulin resistance improved much more in dieters following the Atkins Diet than in those following a low-fat, calorie restricted diet. Harper also mentions that there had not been enough prior research to allow him to confidently say that Atkins is safe to be recommended to patients.[24][25]

A 2005 study by Beisswenger and colleagues compared levels of the glycotoxin methylglyoxal (MG) before and after starting the Atkins Diet. MG is associated with blood vessel and tissue damage, and is higher in people with poorly controlled diabetes. The study found that MG levels doubled shortly after the diet was started, noting that the MG rise was related to the presence of ketosis. A rise in acetol and acetone was found, indicating that MG was produced by oxidation. MG also arose as a by-product of triglyceride breakdown and from lipoxidation (ketosis related to fat intake).[26]

Whether or not increased methylglyoxal is harmful to human beings has been questioned by the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, who in a 2008 critical overview of various studies (including Beisswenger's study) state, "The authors present a brief critical overview of studies indicating both toxic and beneficial effects of methylglyoxal and suggest that the beneficial effects of methylglyoxal outweigh its toxic effects". While not drawing any definite conclusions, the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science recommends further study especially in the area of using methylglyoxal to cure or treat cancer.[27]

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Atkins diet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Low-carbohydrate diets or low-carb diets are dietary programs that restrict carbohydrate consumption, often for the treatment of obesity or diabetes. Foods high in easily digestible carbohydrates (e.g., sugar, bread, pasta) are limited or replaced with foods containing a higher percentage of fats and moderate protein (e.g., meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, eggs, cheese, nuts, and seeds) and other foods low in carbohydrates (e.g., most salad vegetables such as spinach, kale, chard and collards), although other vegetables and fruits (especially berries) are often allowed. The amount of carbohydrate allowed varies with different low-carbohydrate diets.

Such diets are sometimes 'ketogenic' (i.e., they restrict carbohydrate intake sufficiently to cause ketosis). The induction phase of the Atkins diet[1][2][3] is ketogenic.

The term "low-carbohydrate diet" is generally applied to diets that restrict carbohydrates to less than 20% of caloric intake, but can also refer to diets that simply restrict or limit carbohydrates to less than recommended proportions (generally less than 45% of total energy coming from carbohydrates).[4][5]

Low-carbohydrate diets are used to treat or prevent some chronic diseases and conditions, including cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, and diabetes.[6][7]

As with the Paleolithic diet, several advocates of low-carbohydrate diets have argued that these diets are closer to the ancestral diet of humans before the origin of agriculture, and humans are genetically adapted to diets low in carbohydrate.[8] Direct archaeological or fossil evidence on nutrition during the Paleolithic, when all humans subsisted by hunting and gathering, is limited, but suggests humans evolved from the vegetarian diets common to other great apes to one with a greater level of meat-eating.[9] Some close relatives of modern Homo sapiens, such as the Neanderthals, appear to have been almost exclusively carnivorous.[10]

A more detailed picture of early human diets before the origin of agriculture may be obtained by analogy to contemporary hunter-gatherers. According to one survey of these societies, a relatively low carbohydrate (2240% of total energy), animal food-centered diet is preferred "whenever and wherever it [is] ecologically possible", and where plant foods do predominate, carbohydrate consumption remains low because wild plants are much lower in carbohydrate and higher in fiber than modern domesticated crops.[11] Primatologist Katherine Milton, however, has argued that the survey data on which this conclusion is based inflate the animal content of typical hunter-gatherer diets; much of it was based on early ethnography, which may have overlooked the role of women in gathering plant foods.[12] She has also highlighted the diversity of both ancestral and contemporary foraging diets, arguing no evidence indicates humans are especially adapted to a single paleolithic diet over and above the vegetarian diets characteristic of the last 30 million years of primate evolution.[13]

The origin of agriculture brought about a rise in carbohydrate levels in human diets.[14] The industrial age has seen a particularly steep rise in refined carbohydrate levels in Western societies, as well as urban societies in Asian countries, such as India, China, and Japan.

In 1797, John Rollo reported on the results of treating two diabetic Army officers with a low-carbohydrate diet and medications. A very low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet was the standard treatment for diabetes throughout the 19th century.[15][16]

In 1863, William Banting, a formerly obese English undertaker and coffin maker, published "Letter on Corpulence Addressed to the Public", in which he described a diet for weight control giving up bread, butter, milk, sugar, beer, and potatoes.[17] His booklet was widely read, so much so that some people used the term "Banting" for the activity usually called "dieting".[18]

In 1888, James Salisbury introduced the Salisbury steak as part of his high-meat diet, which limited vegetables, fruit, starches, and fats to one-third of the diet.[original research?]

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Low-carbohydrate diet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

UPDATE: See our interview: hCG Diet Reviewed by FullBars Dr. Michael Snyder

You wont see me promoting quick fixes or fad diets anytime soon. But every once in awhile something comes along that seems so dangerous I have to call it out. Thats why Im going to help reveal the truth behind the HCG diet.

What it is: HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) is a hormone produced during pregnancy by the cells that form the placenta. This hormone is detected in the blood around 11 days after conception; it is detected in the urine around 12-14 days after conception. While it is most commonly associated with pregnancy, it is present in both genders.

What it does in the body: HCG signals the hypothalamus (area of the brain that affects metabolism) to mobilize fat stores. In pregnancy, this helps the body bring nutrients into the placenta, fueling the fetus with the energy to grow.

The weight loss claim: The HCG diet (using daily hcg injections) will help you lose 1-3 pounds per day. The HCG-diet combines the daily injections with a very low-calorie diet (500 calories per day).

500-calories per day is severely restrictive! In fact, it is not enough calories to support normal brain function. Your body will compensate by using stores of glycogen, protein (muscle) and some fat, which lowers your resting metabolism. Before you can lose true weight, you will be so irritable, lightheaded, and cranky that youll reach for whatever food you can get your hands on and have a field day.

Scientific evidence: There is no scientific evidence supporting HCG injections as a weight loss strategy. In addition, these injections have not been approved by the FDA for use in weight loss. In fact, since 1975 the FDA has required all marketing and advertising of HCG to state the following: HCG has not been demonstrated to be effective adjunctive therapy in the treatment of obesity. There is no substantial evidence that it increases weight loss beyond that resulting from caloric restriction, that it causes a more attractive or normal distribution of fat, or that it decreases the hunger and discomfort associated with calorie-restricted diets.

HCG is a hormone extracted from urine of pregnant women. It is approved by FDA for treatment of certain problems of the male reproductive system and in stimulating ovulation in women who have had difficulty becoming pregnant. No evidence has been presented, however, to substantiate claims for HCG as a weight-loss aid. via the FDA

HCG ban: The hormone was recently added to the list of banned substances in Major League Baseball, as it was becoming increasingly popular among steroid users. Athletes turned to this, among other performance enhancing drugs because it mitigates the side effects of ending a cycle of steroids.

Negative side effects: The common side effects include headaches, mood swings, depression, blood clots, confusion, and dizziness. Some women also develop a condition called Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS); symptoms of this include pelvic pain, swelling of the hands and legs, stomach pain, weight gain, shortness of breath, diarrhea, vomiting/nausea, and/or urinating less than normal.

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HCG Diet | How Does the HCG Diet Work | HCG Diet Dangers