After years of dealing with a nationwideweight problem, it seems Americans havedeveloped a correlated obsession with weight loss. A survey taken between 2011 and 2012 reported that more than two-thirds or 68.6% of American adults were either overweight or obese. Another study found that millions of Google searches every month include keywords How to Lose Weight, and more than 50% of the related keywords in this Google study referred to losing weight fast or quick. It seems that after years of carrying around extra pounds, Americans arelooking for a way to drop the weight and fast.

Major commercial diets like Weight Watchers, Slim-Fast, The Mayo Clinic Diet, and Nutrisystem are proven to work and even have doctors backing up their methods and nutrition, but this doesnt stop our weight-obsessed culture from taking it to the extreme now and then. When people want to shed pounds quickly, they often turn to unhealthy crash diets or unusual weight loss solutions. Here are five of the craziest, oftenunhealthy, weight loss tactics out there. Its important to note that just because these plans yield results does not mean you should try them!

Have a major sweet tooth? Chances are you splurge after dinner or maybe even for a rare ice cream cone on a warm afternoon, but how often do you eat dessert with breakfast? One study has found that obese adults who wanted to lose weight were able to do so if they ate a breakfast full of carbs, protein, and dessert. The study found that not only did participants lose an average of 30 to 33 pounds on the calorie-restricted diet after four months, but that those who had dessert with breakfast continued to lose weight (an average of 15 pounds) after the program ended.

Love beer and brats? The questions is: How much? Evo Terra, an online executive from Arizona, loved the duo so much he subsisted on a primarily beer and sausage diet for 30 days. The result was almost 20 pounds of weight loss. Using calorie counting and restriction, Terra consumed around 1,500 calories worth ofhigh-quality sausage and craft beersdaily. According to Terra, the key is toeat organic, quality-made sausages and guzzleIPAs or hops-heavy stouts. While this crazy diet has plenty of protein, itisnt going to win any awards for overall nutritional benefits.

What if your tendency to lose and gain weight was more dependent on the bacteria in your stomachthan the foods you did or didnt eat?This is a theory that Raphael Kellman, M.D., who wrote The Microbiome Diet, promotes. He argues that instead of worrying about the amount of carbohydrates, protein, and fat you consume, you should focus your energy on the good and bad bacteria in your body. According to research, ingesting more good bacteria helps beat cravings and fight weight gain. To up your good bacteria levels, try taking a dailyprobiotic supplement or eatplain yogurt, which is rich in live and active cultures.

Remember Subway spokesman Jared Fogle? He lost 245 pounds by eating Subway sandwiches twice a day for a year. His impressive weight loss made him the brands spokesman for many years and his chain diet results inspired others. More recently, Christine Hall of Virginia took advantage of Starbucks calorie-labeled foods and store accessibility to lose 75 pounds over two years.

This is more of a crash diet than anything else. It entails eatingcabbage soup for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for seven consecutive days. Most dieters report losing around 10 pounds on this low-calorie soup that is stocked with green onions, green peppers, tomatoes, carrots, mushrooms, celery, and of course, half a head of cabbage. The cabbage soup diet works because even though the soup is low in calories, its water-based, which makes you feel full.

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Weight Loss: 5 of the Strangest Diets (That Actually Work) - The Cheat Sheet

If you are planning a trip with your best nonhuman friend, there are a number of actions you can take to make sure that the trip goes well for the both of you. Consider these tips for safe travel with your buddy.

Bring enough food to last the vacation or plan to shop for the same brand during your trip so the diet does not suddenly change. A change in food can cause digestive upsets. Bring any medications your pet is on so there is no disruption in the schedule. For your bird, bunny, guinea pig or reptile, bring the vegetables and hay they love.

If traveling by car or RV, make sure you have a good enclosure for your pet that is stable if you have to brake hard. Bring a collapsible water bowl for hikes and a dish to hold water in the car or RV. Have a source of water in the vehicle. A cooler is essential to keep fruits and vegetables fresh.

Never leave your pet in the car if the temperature is over 60 degrees. The car heats up and can kill your pet in 10 minutes. A freezing temperature for more than 10 minutes is also life-threatening.

If you have an animal in the vehicle, some states require that you carry proof of the pet's rabies vaccination and a health certificate to cross state lines. It is up to you to look into these laws and have your pet examined by your veterinarian. Request a signed health certificate from your vet that includes dates of all the vaccinations, and travel with it.

If traveling by plane, it is safer to not sedate your pet. Sedation is the No. 1 cause of death for pets on airplanes. If your pet panics and you know sedation is needed, consult your veterinarian about the safest one to use. Test the sedative a few days before to make sure it does not over sedate your pet. If over sedation occurs, you are present with your pet and can get her to the veterinarian. You can also try a homeopathic remedy. It may be a suitable alternative to a pharmaceutical sedative.

Air travel with a pet always requires a health certificate. Check out the exact specifications your airline requires for carrier type, size and construction. Airlines do not allow snakes in the cabin. Sometimes they allow a small dog or cat under the seat. We once travelled on a flight with a baby kangaroo from a rescue organization.

If you are traveling internationally, find a veterinarian who is U.S. Department of Agriculture/Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service accredited for an international health certificate. Some islands such as Hawaii, Australia and Japan require a rabies titer instead of rabies vaccines. A titer is a blood test that measures the number of antibodies that fight the virus in the pets system.

All countries require microchip identification. Your USDA-accredited vet will fill out forms in great detail. Usually you then need to send these forms to New York offices of APHIS, with payment to have them stamped. Many times this has to be done within four to 10 days of your flight. Contact your vet well in advance of the flight, and let her know the country you and your pet are traveling to so she can look up that countrys requirements and forms.

If your pet is not a good traveler and panics, it may be better to hire a pet sitter and let him stay at home where he is comfortable. This is the case with elderly pets as well. Sometimes traveling just upsets their equilibrium and they get sick.

Have a veterinarian picked out at your destination in case you need one in an emergency. Your veterinarian may have a colleague they can refer you to. You can also look for certified cat-friendly practices or American Animal Hospital Association-accredited practices at your destination.

Dr. Elizabeth Bradt is a veterinarian and owner of a veterinary hospital on the North Shore. Email your pet questions to docliz@creaturehealth.com, with "Vet Connection" in the subject line.

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VET CONNECTION: Traveling with your pet takes planning, preparation - The Salem News

The drug and alcohol charity Addaction published a report on Wednesday on New Psychoactive Substances (NPS), called The View from Young People.The charity, whichcelebrated its 50th anniversarythis month now employs specialist recovery workers that focus on outreach to help those with problems relating to NPS.

The report surveyed over 1,600 young people on the use of NPS and what can be done to help people who are experiencing problems. It found that nitrous oxide (also known as laughing gas) and synthetic cannabinoids (such as Spice) are the most commonly used. Many young people use these drugs to cope with difficult situations, but sometimes experience significant adverse effects to physical and emotional wellbeing.

The report also found that under 25s were not deterred from taking NPS by the recent change in laws that made them all illegal. Many do not approach mainstream drug services for help with problems related to these substances either, due to worries about stigma and confidentiality. A number of those surveyed said they would like anonymous services available, such as online or telephone advice, rather than face-to-face meetings, and want access to good quality information on how to use NPS safely rather than just abstinence only advice. Some reported wanting help specifically from people who have experienced substance misuse themselves. Finally, the research suggested that people want support to concentrate on the individual rather than the addiction, including efforts to help with education, employment, well-being and mental health.

Therefore, the report shows that anonymous support, combined with efforts to reduce the stigma associated with drug misuse could be helpful in supporting those with issues relating to NPS. Overall, Addactions NPS report suggested that more support and funding is needed for NPS-specific support services.

However, it may be relevant to point out that many of the harmful effects mentioned in the report are specific to synthetic cannabinoids you are unlikely to experience anxiety and panic attacks from nitrous oxide, for example. Young people are not the group that is consuming synthetic cannabinoids on the whole, instead homeless people and prisoners are the most vulnerable. In fact, many of the issues mentioned in the report are not NPS-specific issues, particularly regarding engaging young people in services. When it comes to young people it may not be useful to focus on NPS at all, but on targeted outreach to help with problematic drug use in general, as well as changing the perception of services.

Dr Robert Ralphs, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at Manchester Metropolitan University told Volteface:

Many existing young peoples services have an upper age limit of 18 or 19 rather than 25. This means that college and university students are having to access adult services and in my experience, many young people and indeed, adults, still have the misguided perception of drug services as a place for injecting heroin users. Users of other substances often feel that services are not for them and that their own substance use may appear trivial in comparison.

Others are put off attending services that have the words alcohol or drugs in the title. If we are to follow the logic of taking a more holistic approach to substance use that includes more of a focus on mental health and wellbeing, sexual health and even healthy eating and diet, then something as simple as rebranding and removing direct reference to substance use may go a long way in engaging more young people into services.

Addactions NPS report release has come soon after the current chair of the charity, Lord Carlile of Berriew, made comments, reported by The Guardian, that the rates of drug-related deaths are at scandalous proportions. He added that locking people up does not work and that treatment should be the sentence for people with drug, alcohol or mental health conditions at the root of their offending behaviour.

Words by Abbie Llewelyn. Tweets @Abbiemunch

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Addaction Releases Report on New Psychoactive Substances - VolteFace Magazine (blog)

Aeglea BioTherapeutics to Present Topline Data from Phase 1 Trial of AEB1102 for Treatment of Arginase I Deficiency ... P&T Community We are pleased with the data from our Phase 1 study which show that not only was AEB1102 administered safely, but it also rapidly reduced blood arginine levels to the normal range in these patients, said David G. Lowe, Ph.D., chief executive officer ... and more »

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Aeglea BioTherapeutics to Present Topline Data from Phase 1 Trial of AEB1102 for Treatment of Arginase I Deficiency ... - P&T Community

Sergio Perez has revealed Force India's overweight 2017 car has forced him into an "extreme diet" to shed pounds ahead of the new season.

Force India's underwhelming pre-season in Barcelona prompted questions about the team's competitiveness ahead of the new season, and soon reports surfaced of both drivers being asked to lose weight in a bid to help the team. Though all the drivers have been bulking up ahead of the new season in order to handle the bigger, faster 2017 cars, Perez confirms he has had to do the opposite since leaving Spain.

"I have tried so hard to lose weight in the last couple of weeks since Barcelona," Perez said, revealing he's already dropped two kilos since testing finished. "Obviously I increased my weight from last year purely by training harder, putting on more muscle, but I was on an extreme diet all last week and still now until Saturday [I will do the same].

"I am all the time very hungry. As much weight as I can lose, the better it will be for us."

Perez says Australia will be the first chance to properly test the car with his adjusted weight. The Mexican driver is not expecting his dramatic diet to be a long-term solution to Force India's problems.

"We haven't weighed the car actually, because in testing you have a lot of sensors and things on the car. Right now, considering that I lose two kilos or three since Barcelona, then probably we might be quite close [to the ideal level].

"I think the weight, sooner or later we will be on it. If not this weekend, then latest by Bahrain, so I don't think that is a big issue."

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Overweight Force India car forces Sergio Perez into 'extreme diet' - ESPN

I'm used to the shaming look I get from my peers when I crack open a can of sugar-free Red Bull. The questions - and judgment - never end. "That stuff'll kill you," someone said to me the other day, shaking his head. "So many chemicals!" was what I heard last week.

Truth be told, Red Bull (at least the sugar-free kind) isn't all that terrible for you. Besides having only 10 calories and no sugar, it has only 80 milligrams of caffeine, abouta thirdof the amountin a tall Starbucks drip coffee. As far as its other ingredients - namely B vitamins and taurine - go, scientific studies have foundbothtobe safe.

But my favorite source of caffeine isn't the only harmless food or drink that gets a bad rap. Here are some of the rest, along with the science behind their safety.

1. Gluten

The myth:As more and more of your friends go gluten-free, you may wonder: Is there something to this latest diet craze? Is gluten intolerance a thing?Is it getting more common?

Why it's bogus:Only about 1 percent of people worldwide haveceliac disease, the rare genetic disorder that makes people intolerant to gluten, according to the Celiac Disease Foundation.

For most of the rest of us, this doughy, chewy ingredient is simply how it tastes: delicious!

2. Eggs

The myth:The massive amounts of cholesterol in eggs will translate to a massive amount of cholesterol in your veins.

Why it's bogus:Even though eggs are high in cholesterol (a single egg packs roughly185 mg), eating them likely won't translate into higher blood cholesterol for you. The first studies that suggested that were done with rabbits,as my colleague Kevin Loria reported.

So go ahead, pop a perfectly poached egg on that avocado toast. You know you want to.

3. Caffeine

The myth:Caffeine stunts your growth and messes with your health.

Why it's bogus:According to the Mayo Clinic, the average adult can safely consumeup to 400 mg of caffeine daily. Most standard cups of coffee containbetween 90 and 120 mg.

So if you're limiting yourself to under four cups of joe a day, you should be relatively in the clear. Still, some java packs more of a punch than others.

A 12-ounce (375 ml) "tall" cup of Starbucks drip coffee, for example, hasabout 260 mg of caffeine- putting you well over the daily dose after two cups.

4. Carbonated water

The myth:Fizzy water is all the rage these days, showing up in grocery-store aisles in flavors like coconut or watermelon.

But many people worry the bubblescause kidney stones, leach calcium from your bones, and even strip the enamel from your teeth.

Why it's bogus:The bubbly stuff is just as good for you as plain water, Jennifer McDaniel, a registered dietitian and certified specialist in sports dietetics,told my colleague Dina Spector.

"Carbonated or sparkling water is made by dissolving carbon dioxide in water, creating carbonic acid," Spector wrote.

"This process just adds bubbles - it does not add sugar, calories, or caffeine. Tonic water, club soda, and mineral water are all types of carbonated water, but these have added sodium, vitamins, or sweeteners, so it's important to read the label."

5. Fatty foods

The myth:Fatty foods like avocados and olive oil will make you fat.

Why it's bogus:Although it makes intuitive sense, this myth is not borne by scientific research.

Arecent lookat the studies behind the dietary guidelines that suggested we cut back on fat found that there wasn't evidence to support those rules in the first place.

In the book Eat Fat, Get Thin, Mark Hyman, director of the Cleveland Clinic's Centre for Functional Medicine, talks about how heincorporated healthy fatsfrom foods like fish and nuts in his diet to lose weight.

6. Cheese

The myth:Some news outlets have reported thatcheese "is like crack"because it's "as addictive as drugs".

Why it's bogus:We tracked downthe studythat appears to lie at the root of these claims, and it found no such thing. Several University of Michigan researchers asked people to report which foods on a list they had the hardest time cutting out or eating moderately.

Cheese ranked toward the middle.

Nevertheless, since pizza, a cheesy food, ranked high on both lists, people speculated that cheese was the culprit, going as far to suggest something about the way one of its proteins breaks down in the body is addictive.

There's little to no evidence to back this up.

7. Artificial sweeteners

The myth:Artificial sweeteners like Splenda and Equal have been found to cause cancer.

Why it's bogus:The Food and Drug Administration has evaluatedhundreds of studieson sucralose (Splenda), aspartame (Equal), saccharin (Sweet' N Low) and more. So far, it has deemed all of them safe.

That said, somepreliminary researchsuggests artificial sweeteners may notsatisfy your craving for sweetsand therefore may not be effective at curbing your overall sugar intake.

8. GMOs

The myth: Genetically modified organisms cause cancer and wreak havoc on the environment.

Why it's bogus: GMO crops, which have been around since the 1980s, have been studied at length, and a recent report from theNational Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicinefound that they aren't posing any greater risk to the environment than regular crops.

It also found no evidence that they "are less safe to eat than conventional food",my colleague Lydia Ramsey reported.

9. Salt

The myth: Salt causes heart problems and weight gain.

Why it's bogus:The science about whether eating salt in moderation has a net negative or positive effect on our health is somewhat unclear.

However, a2011 meta-analysis of seven studiesinvolving more than 6,000 people published in the American Journal of Hypertension found no strong evidence that reducing salt decreased people's risk of heart attack, stroke, or death - even in those who had high blood pressure.

"If the US does conquer salt, what will we gain? Bland french fries, for sure. But a healthy nation? Not necessarily," Melinda Wenner Moyer wrote in Scientific American.

10. All carbs

The myth: Carbohydrates - including rice, bread, cereal, and potatoes - contribute to weight gain.

Why it's bogus: While it's a good idea to limit your intake of processed carbs like white bread, white rice, and white pasta, not all carbs are bad for you. Some are healthy and a great source of energy. Take potatoes, for example.

"White potatoes are actually very good for you," Christian Henderson, a registered dietitian,told Health.

Potatoes pack potassium and vitamin C, and they have almost 4 grams of fibre - just cook them with the skins on.

11. Fish

The myth:Fish is high in mercury and will make you sick.

Why it's bogus:While mercury can build up in larger, older predator fish like marlin and shark, it's not generally a problem in smaller fish.

The FDA maintains ahelpful list of guidelines for mercury in seafood- salmon, trout, oysters, herring, sardines, and Atlantic and Pacific mackerel are all considered "good" or "best" choices, according to the FDA.

This article was originally published by Business Insider.

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11 Things You Might Think Are Terrible for Your Diet That Actually Aren't - ScienceAlert

Eating lots of sugary candy may strain the liver, alter the body's fatty acid metabolism and increase the risk of cardiometabolic diseases already in childhood. Children's blood fatty acid composition reflects their diet -- but luckily this composition can be influenced by lifestyle interventions, say researchers from the University of Eastern Finland.

Family-based lifestyle interventions can have an impact on children's blood fatty acid composition, according to a new study from the University of Eastern Finland. The plasma fatty acid composition reflects not only the quality of dietary fat, but also the quality of dietary carbohydrate in children's diets. For example, the relative proportion of oleic acid was higher in children who consumed a lot of sugar, and lower in children who consumed plenty of whole grain products. The findings are in line with the known phenomenon in human body. Excessive intake of sugar stimulates the body's endogenous synthesis of fatty acids, which can be detected in the plasma fatty acid composition.

Lifestyle interventions recommending a higher consumption of foods containing plenty of unsaturated fat can have an impact on the quality of dietary fat in children's diets. A frequent consumption of vegetable oil-based margarines containing at least 60 per cent fat was associated with higher proportions of the essential polyunsaturated fatty acids, linoleic acids and alpha-linolenic acids in plasma. In addition, children who frequently used vegetable oil-based margarines had less saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids in their blood, which has been shown to be beneficial for health. The study associated a high proportion of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, and a low proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids in blood with an increased risk of cardiometabolic diseases already in childhood.

Furthermore, a frequent consumption of sugary candy was associated with a higher estimated activity of the delta-9-desaturase in liver. The delta-9-desaturase is an enzyme that helps the liver form monounsaturated fatty acids from saturated ones. While it prevents saturated fatty acids from accumulating in the liver, it also promotes the excretion of fatty acids from the liver into the blood stream. Earlier research has associated a high intake of carbohydrates with a higher estimated activity of this enzyme in adults, but the phenomenon hasn't been studied in children until now. Moreover, the association between a higher estimated enzyme activity with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases hasn't been established in children until now. An elevated enzyme activity suggests that the liver is forming saturated fatty acids from sugars at a higher pace, which is harmful for lipid metabolism and overall health.

The study was conducted at the University of Eastern Finland as part of the Physical Activity and Nutrition in Children (PANIC) study involving 512 children, 6-8 years old, who started in their first year of school in 2007-2009 in eastern Finland, and their families. The children and their families received nutrition and exercise counselling over a period of two years.. The PANIC study is an ongoing exercise and diet intervention study extensively focusing on the lifestyle habits, health and well-being of children. The consumption of foods was assessed by 4-day food records and the fatty acid composition in plasma was assessed by gas chromatography from a fasting blood sample.

The findings were presented by Taisa Venlinen, MHSc, in her doctoral dissertation entitled Plasma Fatty Acid Composition, Dietary Components and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors In Children -- Cross-Sectional Associations And Effect of a Lifestyle Intervention, available for download at http://epublications.uef.fi/pub/urn_isbn_978-952-61-2454-4/

The original findings were published in Lipids, Journal of Clinical Lipidology and American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

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Materials provided by University of Eastern Finland. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

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Blood fatty acids reveal your child's diet -- ScienceDaily - Science Daily

Forbes

The Mediterranean Diet: The Answer To Rising Health Care Costs? Forbes As I began writing this blog post, I found myself wondering how many people reading it will have actually bought a fresh turkey from the butcher, cleaned it and cooked it themselves from scratch? Not many, I'll wager, given the preponderance of ... and more »

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The Mediterranean Diet: The Answer To Rising Health Care Costs? - Forbes