As many employees spend longer hours on the job, theyre also having more meals, snacks and celebrations with colleagues and that isnt always great for the waistline.

Some coworkers pressure dieters to eat forbidden foods. Others pass home-baked snacks desk-to-desk. Some tease colleagues about their diets, or even order them restaurant foods they arent supposed to eat. All these pose a major hurdle for people who are trying to slim down, according to a survey of 325 dieters last January by Medi-Weightloss Clinics. An ongoing poll of thousands of dieters on the weight-loss website SparkPeople cites co-workers as the second biggest source of negative pressure for dieters second only to spouses or partners.

And peers attitudes can make a difference. A study published in the journal Obesity last month says having teammates who exert positive influence is linked to greater weight loss among dieters. Being surrounded with peers who criticize or discourage a dieter has the opposite effect.

Colleagues often mean well. Some see offering delicious food as a sign of friendship or affection, says Becky Hand, a registered dietician with SparkPeople. Many people dont understand how hard it is for others to lose weight. They might feel guilty that they arent eating a healthier diet themselves. Some might be afraid of losing a friend who changes her life by losing a lot of weight.

Whatever their motivations, critical co-workers can make life tough for dieters.

Click here to read more on this story from the Wall Street Journal.

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Diet dangers in the workplace

THURSDAY, March 15 (HealthDay News) -- Consuming the toxic metal cadmium in the foods you eat may raise your risk for breast cancer, a new Swedish study suggests.

Cadmium, which is found in many farm fertilizers, can make its way into soil and water, the researchers explained. Some of the main sources of cadmium in the diet are bread and other cereals, potatoes, root crops and vegetables. Once it enters the body, cadmium may mimic the effects of the female hormone estrogen, which can fuel the growth of certain breast cancers.

"Modern life has become increasingly dangerous for our breast health," said Dr. Marisa Weiss, director of breast radiation oncology and breast health outreach at Lankenau Medical Center in Wynnewood, Pa. "Now, there's cadmium hanging onto our carrots and whole grains, the very vegetables that are supposed to be good for us," she noted.

"To help our patients reduce their exposure to environmental chemicals (like cadmium), which might increase their risk for breast cancer, we have to partner with our farmers to make sure our foods are grown in healthy soil without chemically loaded fertilizers," said Weiss, who is also president and founder of Breastcancer.org. "Sticking to real, whole (unprocessed) foods remains a healthy strategy until we can be more sure of what's inside the package."

In the Swedish study, the researchers followed close to 56,000 women for more than 12 years. Women filled out food frequency questionnaires, which the researchers used to estimate how much cadmium they consumed in their diets. There were 2,112 breast cancer diagnoses during the follow-up period, including 1,626 estrogen receptor-positive and 290 estrogen receptor-negative cancers.

Women who had the highest amount of cadmium in their diets were 21 percent more likely to develop breast cancer than women who had the least amount of cadmium in their diets. This risk increased to 27 percent among women who were lean or normal-weight, the study showed. The risk was similar, 23 percent, for both estrogen receptor-positive and -negative tumors.

Those women who consumed higher amounts of whole grain and vegetables had a lower risk of breast cancer compared to women exposed to dietary cadmium through other foods.

"It's possible that this healthy diet to some extent can counteract the negative effect of cadmium, but our findings need to be confirmed with further studies," study author Agneta Akesson, an associate professor at Karolinska Institute in Sweden, said in a news release from the American Association for Cancer Research. "It is, however, important that the exposure to cadmium from all food is low."

The findings are published in the March 15 issue of Cancer Research.

Johanna Lampe, a member of the public health sciences division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, said the new study adds to a growing body of research linking cadmium exposure to breast cancer risk. "It adds another grain of sand to the pile," she said. "We would benefit from more research in this area to understand these risks better."

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Cadmium in Diet May Increase Breast Cancer Risk

13-03-2012 23:38 Click Here: http://www.ayurveda-medicine.com The Ayurvedic Diet - Crash Diets That Work Are Few This video is the sixth video in a series is for people who want to lose weight. Being overweight is not healthy and can lead to some long-term and more serious health issues. We also know that a natural diet can lead to a healthy lifestyle. When you want to lose weight it is so hard to find the right information. Before we can start to understand how to lose weight we must explore what is being overweight, why you are overweight and then look at the best diet for people who want to lose weight. The videos explain what a bad diet is and why most diets don't work. We have a video dedicated to the crash diet for fast weight loss and another video that looks at the metabolic diet. The Ayurvedic diet is based around getting your digestion system and metabolism to work better to burn fat and we discuss in depth the Ayurvedic diet supplement known as Yogic Slim. These videos should give you all the information needed to make a decision to start on the best diet and after watching this video you will agree that crash diets do not often work and are in fact not good for you. You want to lose weight and the best diet for you is the Ayurvedic diet. Visit my YouTube channel here; http://www.youtube.com

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The Ayurvedic Diet (Video 6) Crash Diets That Work Are Few - Video

DENVER, March 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --A just-released study from Johns Hopkins University has found that dieters that followed a low-carb diet like the Atkins Diet, shed more weight than those on a low-fat diet 10 lbs. more in six months and that the low-carb group lost more abdominal fat overall. A key finding was the lack of an adverse effect on vascular health in the low-carb group.

"The findings from the Johns Hopkins study demonstrate what we already know to be true Atkins has many scientifically-validated health benefits, including improvements in cardiovascular health markers," said Colette Heimowitz, vice president of nutrition and education for Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. "Atkins is the original and leading low carb weight loss plan that provides quick, satisfying weight loss based on an extensive body of research. It is a safe and effective diet plan for those looking to lose weight and keep it off long-term."

The study was presented on March 13 at an American Heart Association scientific meeting in San Diego by lead researcher Kerry Stewart, Ed.D., professor of medicine and director of clinical and research exercise physiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Heart and Vascular Institute.

The study examined overweight or obese but otherwise healthy individuals between the ages of 30 and 65 years over a six-month period. One group was randomly assigned a low-carbohydrate diet and the other a low-fat diet. The low-carb group consumed a diet made up of no more than 30 percent of calories from carbs and as much as 40 percent of their diet was made up of fats. Exercise was included for all participants and vascular health was checked before and after six months. Successful weight loss and reductions in total and abdominal fat, and BP were achieved with both groups. Greater reductions in weight, BMI, waist circumference, and body fat occurred in the low-carb group. The low-fat diet consisted of no more than 30 percent from fat and 55 percent from carbs.

Additionally, when individual variations were examined, a greater loss of abdominal fat was associated with enhanced vascular health.

In his presentation Stewart said, "These findings are contrary to common beliefs that the less fat you eat the better your cardiovascular health. What this study shows is that a low-carb diet not only helps people shed more weight and abdominal fat, but it did not have any harmful effects on vascular health. Overall, there was an improvement in vascular health that was related to how much abdominal fat was lost, regardless of the diet. These data suggest that more people should be considering a low-carb diet as a viable option, especially since it results in greater abdominal fat loss."

Approximately half of all American adults are estimated to be overweight, with a body mass index, or BMI, of 25 or higher; a third are estimated to be obese, with a BMI of 30 or higher. The effect of having too much weight on cardiovascular health and diabetes risk is even greater if there is a high accumulation of fat in the abdomen, above the waist. The Atkins Diet is designed to "flip the body's metabolic switch" from burning carbs to burning fat. Graduated carb introduction helps avoid blood sugar and insulin spikes, which cause hunger and cravings resulting in overeating and weight gain. Atkins provides a long-term, well-balanced diet plan that teaches individuals to find their personal ideal carb balance. No other weight-loss and maintenance program does this. The Atkins Diet is backed by more than 80 published, peer-reviewed studies conducted over the past several decades.

About Atkins Nutritionals, Inc.

Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. is a leader in the $2.4 billion weight control nutrition category, and offers a powerful lifetime approach to weight loss and management. The Atkins Diet focuses on a healthy diet with reduced levels of refined carbohydrates and added sugars and encourages the consumption of protein, fiber, fruits, vegetables and good fats. Backed by research and consumer success stories, this approach allows the body to burn more fat and work more efficiently while helping individuals feel less hungry, more satisfied and more energetic.

Atkins Nutritionals, Inc., manufactures and sells a variety of nutrition bars and shakes designed around the nutritional principles of the Atkins Diet. Atkins' four product lines: Advantage, Day Break, Endulge and Cuisine appeal to a broad audience of both men and women who want to achieve their weight management goals and enjoy a healthier lifestyle. Atkins products are available online at atkins.com and in more than 30,000 locations throughout the U.S. and internationally. For more information, visit atkins.com.

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New Study Shows the Positive Effect of Low-Carb Diets, Like the Atkins Diet, Versus Low-Fat Diets on Weight Loss and ...

Editor's Choice Main Category: Fertility Also Included In: Nutrition / Diet Article Date: 15 Mar 2012 - 1:00 PDT

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A study in 99 American men demonstrated that a high total fat intake is linked to lower total sperm count and concentration. It also showed that men, who consumed more omega-3 polyunsaturated fats, i.e. fats found in fish and plant oils, had better formed sperm compared with those who ate less of these fats. The researchers warn however, that the findings need to be supported by further research to validate the impact of fats on men's fertility given that this study was only performed in a small number participants.

Professor Jill Attaman, Clinical and Research Fellow in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Massachusetts General Hospital and an Instructor in Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School declared:

Even though numerous earlier studies of the association between body mass index (BMI) and sperm quality have produced mixed outcomes, little knowledge exists regarding the potential impact of dietary fats on sperm quality.

Prof Attaman and her team decided to evaluate whether dietary fats affect sperm quality in 99 men attending a fertility clinic, between December 2006 and August 2010. The team first surveyed the participants about their diet after which they analyzed the men's sperm samples, including measuring the levels of fatty acids within the sperm. They also measured seminal plasma in 23 of the 99 participants.

The participants were then split into three groups based on their consumed fat intake. The researchers found that the sperm count was 43% lower, with a 38% lower sperm concentration in the highest fat-intake group than the group with the lowest fat intake. The team defined the 'total sperm count' as the overall number of ejaculated sperm and the 'sperm concentration' as the concentration of sperm in number per unit volume.

According to the World Health Organization, a "normal" total sperm count should contain at least 39 million sperm in the ejaculate, whilst the concentration of spermatozoa should contain a minimum of 15 million per ml. The study showed that the link between dietary fats and sperm quality was largely affected by the consumption of saturated fats, i.e. participants who consumed the most saturated fats had a 35% lower total sperm count and a 38% lower concentration of sperm compared to men who ate the least fat.

Prof Attaman declared:

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Fat Intake Affects Sperm Quality