Health News. Lots of resources and information

This is the way to reduce weight effectively and quickly. Once the ideal weight is reached it will be easier to maintain because as well as cutting out forbidden foods this diet retrains the appetite and palate to enjoy healthy foods.

Because calorie count is reduced to 1,400 calories each day, this diet should only be followed for fourteen days.

Breakfast: 0.5 grapefruit or glass unsweetened fruit juice 1 egg (not fried) or lean meat 1 piece wholemeal toast thin spread margarine or butter

coffee or tea (no sugar but artificial sweetener acceptable)

Lunch: lOOg lean meat or poultry or fish (not fried) fresh cooked vegetables or salad 1 piece wholemeal bread 1 fruit in season coffee or tea (no sugar)

Dinner: lOOg lean meat or poultry or fish fresh cooked vegetables

mixed salad (lemon or low-calorie dressing only) cheese (50g) 1 fruit in season coffee or tea (no sugar)

NB: No more than .25 skimmed milk each day. As much water or no-calorie drink as you like. No alcohol.

*159/153/1*

Although the problems of the male-menopause are essentially emotional this does not mean the externals or the wellbeing of the body should be ignored in the pursuit of survival and improvement of quality of life. Not only does a fit man survive the rigours better than an unfit one but a healthy and groomed man goes on to better things as he projects his own best image, one that is neither frayed at the edges nor worn out.

This does not mean you have to use expensive face creams, wear designer label colognes and go jogging for an hour each day. It is more a matter of commonsense, some careful grooming based on cleanliness, sensible eating patterns and a few exercises to keep the body in trim. And a health check-up.

It takes only the smallest amount of time and effort to achieve the best. As aging begins to take its inevitable toll why not age decently rather than decrepitly? There is nothing wrong about a man taking care of the way he looks — and there is everything to be gained by his doing so. Men who arrive in their forties looking good do so only because in the twenties and thirties they took care of how they looked. Men who look good in their fifties do so because in their forties they took extra care and no matter the pressures they were under never let themselves go to the dogs. Whatever his age it is never too late for a man to start caring for himself. All he needs are the guidelines and a little effort.

*124/153/1*

The homosexual relationships can turn out to be what they have always subconsciously sought and if their homosexuality is more than a passing phase for experiment or in answer to an occasional urge for bi-sexuality, then it can lead to the establishing of a secret life: a heterosexual life with a public face and a homosexual life in the shadows. The results can further complicate their already complex and shaky emotional state or, because their inherent homosexuality is no longer latent, they may take all known risks to lay foundations for a changed pattern of life. Many men come out of the gay closet because of M-M.

‘When I found he was sleeping with a guy of twenty-four I was more relieved than shocked. At least it was a man. I could handle that. Had he been sleeping with a woman I would have doubted my own sexuality.’

Cristina, forty-two, divorcee, New York.

*88/153/1*

When a menopausal man changes wife, his wife falls usually into one of two categories. Either she is young and attractive or she is ambitious with a strong personality.

Younger wives are usually sexy, probably more than ten years younger than the husband. Apart from a revived sex life they bring him the chance of being reborn, a young family, renewed pride (at having the young wife) and, as important, a wife who will cushion his life as she looks after him.

Strong wives are wives with push, ambition and loads of personality. Often they are highly attractive too. There may be little age difference between husband and wife and these are wives who see the unfulfilled potential of the husband’s work and so inject into him the extra ambition he needs to get ahead, for more goals in life. They are supportive and whenever they can will try to further his career and promotion by participating in the social aspects of his worklife.

Once an M-M man has decided on packing his bags and leaving the marital home — he is the one who leaves — there is not much a wife can do. The options are in his hands.

Should she love him still and want him back, or, as is likely, she wants him back if only to make him face up to his responsibilities (like bringing up the children), the only course is to hope he comes to his senses and returns. Any action she takes is likely to alienate him further and disturb her even more.

If the marriage is stale and she does not mind him leaving, probably on the terms she dictates, then once the recriminations are over a friendship can be made out of the debris.

*51/153/1*

The woman’s menopause, her climacteric, is due purely to dramatic, internal change (although such a change invariably carries emotional side effects with it too). Medically, this menopause is defined as the cessation of menstruation brought on by the physiological failure of ovarian function due to hormonal changes caused by aging.

Throughout adolescence and the years of development, a woman’s hormones, oestrogen and progesterone, affect her sexuality, appearance and temperament. After puberty their main role is to cause the thickening of the womb’s lining each month in preparation for pregnancy which, if conception does not occur, leads to menstruation. However as she enters her fifties the production of oestrogen slows down and eventually ceases altogether. When it does she loses her reproductive powers and can no longer bear children. Menstruation ceases permanently. This menopause can take place over as long as five years.

Not all women experience the change the same way with exactly the same symptoms but for most this is an uncomfortable and traumatic time. Emotionally they can become irritable, depressed, weepy, forgetful, apprehensive and nervous or sexually demanding (similar symptoms can affect men during M-M). Physically they may suffer hot flushes and excessive perspiration. Breasts can shrink, hair become thinner, bones weaken and occasionally intercourse becomes uncomfortable due to loss of secretion. Sometimes there is a decrease in sexual responsiveness.

*14/153/1*

If you eat the kinds and quantities of foods outlined in my modified food guide pyramid, including the Chitosan, of course, you’ll probably be able to stay within the Fat Blocker guidelines for protein, carbohydrate, and certainly for fat. That leaves just two other things to watch out for: cholesterol and sodium.

Everybody knows that high blood cholesterol is a risk factor for heart disease. Cholesterol is a major component of plaque, a substance that contains fat and accumulates on the walls of

arteries, clogging these vessels the way hair clogs up bathroom pipes. And remember when you pull the fat out of plaque, the body can do a better job of dilating the blood vessels.

About 75 percent of our blood cholesterol is manufactured by the liver, with the other 25 percent coming from the foods we eat. The major dietary cause of high blood cholesterol is saturated fat. If you’re following the Fat Blocker Eating Program, you’re eating only reasonable amounts of lean meats, poultry, and fish, and many of your dairy products are low or nonfat. More important, you are also blocking a large percentage of your saturated fat with Chitosan. As a result, saturated fat intake shouldn’t be a problem for you. But for some people, blood

cholesterol increases when
they eat cholesterol-containing foods, even ones that contain

relatively little saturated fat. Among the biggest offenders are egg yolks, organ meats (liver, kidney, heart, brains, sweetbreads), and certain shellfish (shrimp and oysters).

One egg contains as much cholesterol (300 mg.) as you actually need in a day. So try to limit yourself to no more than one egg per day, and no more than three eggs per week. This can be difficult since this includes eggs in baked goods or other foods. However, if you exceed your limit, don’t worry too much. Now that you’re on a Chitosan diet, at least you know that you’re not building more cholesterol from absorbing excess saturated fat.

Also, it’s useful to take some other precautions against taking in excess cholesterol. For example, I eat only the whites of the eggs to ensure that I consume no cholesterol. I love a simple omelet made with egg whites, vegetables, and spices. It tastes excellent and requires virtually no fat to cook, thus letting me save Chitosan for other things that do require fat. Also, when I eat a high-cholesterol meal, I try to make the rest of the meals that day vegetarian. Even if you don’t quite succeed in this, the attempt is worth the effort. For remember, you are not expecting to instantly achieve the ideal diet, only one that is a step closer to the ideal than you were yesterday!

High-sodium diets can contribute to another heart disease risk factor—hypertension, better known as high blood pressure. Called the silent killer because it produces no symptoms in the early stages, high blood pressure can exert enough pressure on your arteries to cause tiny cracks to appear in their walls. Clots and plaque can form in the cracks, and before you know it, you’ve got the makings of a heart attack or stroke. Sodium in excessive quantity can cause blood pressure to rise in certain sensitive individuals, eventually leading to heart enlargement and congestive heart failure. We doctors have many medicines to lower blood pressure, but they all have side effects. Perhaps the best medicine is to avoid the problem altogether by reducing your salt intake. As I described earlier, if you do this very gradually, it is not hard to do.

Some diets recommend lowering your salt level by going cold turkey and just throwing your salt shaker away so you won’t be tempted to add salt to your food at the table. If that works for you, great. But if it doesn’t, the slow-and-easy method described earlier works, too. And it’s in line with my thinking about Chitosan. It’s better to go real slow and easy, making tiny changes regularly and helping yourself along with Chitosan, than it is to take huge steps only, inevitably, to stumble and fall.

Whether you use the gradual or the cold turkey approach to cutting down on salt, sooner or later you will want to keep the salt you use in cooking to a minimum. Put in half the amount the recipe calls for, or even less. Stay away from salty foods such as smoked, pickled, or cured foods, canned soups, frozen dinners, salad dressings, catsup, baked goods, crackers, chips, or salted popcorn. Eat fresh vegetables and fruits, not canned. After a while, you’ll find that your old favorites suddenly taste much too salty. And you’ll discover the more delicate, true tastes of food.

*86\29\2*

Often called the silent killer because it provokes no discernable symptoms in the early stages, elevated blood pressure can be a killer. Some 60 million Americans suffer from this disease, which is more likely to strike if you are obese or eat a diet high in saturated fat and low in fiber.

We know that populations consuming large amounts of fiber do not suffer from the age-related rise in blood pressure seen among those eating low-fiber, high-fat diets. We also know that adding fiber to the diet lowers elevated blood pressure—it can even lower it in those with normal pressure readings.²⁴

The British Medical Journal²⁵ reported on a study looking at the relationship between fiber and blood pressure. Ninety-four people ranging in age from 18-60 were grouped according to their fiber intake. Those who consumed high-fiber diets had lower blood pressure than those who did not. To test the immediate effect of fiber on blood pressure, 11 of those who normally ate a high-fiber diet decreased their fiber intake. Four months later, their blood pressures had increased. Meanwhile, 31 people who normally consumed low amounts of fiber began eating more fiber. Four months later, their blood pressure levels had dropped.

Claire, a 48-year-old, 200-pound nurse whom I’ve known for many years, recently showed me her computerized “diet database.”

“Look at this, Dr. Fox,” she said proudly, pointing to the computer screen. “Here’s a list of the diets I’ve been on, arranged alphabetically.” It looked like there were 30 or 40 diets on the screen, from Atkins down to Zone.

New words and numbers appeared on the screen moments after she tapped a few keys on the keyboard. “Now they’re arranged by pounds lost. See?” She pointed to the first item on the list.

“I lost 50 pounds on liquid protein, that’s the most, then 42 pounds when my jaw was wired and 28 pounds on this fruit only diet. And look at this.”

The display changed as she tapped a few more keys. “Now I’ve got them listed by amounts of weight regained after going off the diet. And the list in this column shows the side effects of each diet.” She sat back in her chair, smiling proudly. “This is the most complete record of dieting ever compiled. By name, by dates that I was on the diet, by pounds lost, pounds gained, side effects, and cost; I’ve got it all.” Her smile faded as she continued. “Unfortunately, I’ve also still got all the fat I started with.” Claire is not alone. One out of every three American adults is obese¹ and millions more are carrying around too much fat and becoming obese. Despite the fitness craze that arose in the 1970s and still continues, America is not a slim and healthy nation. But we certainly want to be (and quickly), so we turn to fad diets.

In the early years of my practice of internal medicine and cardiology, I put many people on weight-loss diets in an attempt to improve their health. But things did not go nearly as well as I had hoped. In fact, I once joked to a colleague, “I think I’m running a weight gain practice.” Many of my patients were actually getting heavier on the unimpressive diets we doctors used to recommend back in the 1950s and 1960s.

In the 40 years I’ve practiced medicine, I’ve seen every kind of diet you can imagine: water diets, grapefruit diets, the Drinking Man’s Diet, the Stillman and Atkins diets, pineapple diets, starvation diets, no-carbohydrate diets, starch-blocking diets, diets with pills, diets without pills, “scientific” diets, “common sense” diets, army diets, air force diets, American diets, foreign diets, liquid diets, and liquid protein diets. I learned about these diets from my colleagues, from the medical literature, from my patients, from my secretary, from my wife, even from Reader’s Digest and The Ladies’ Home Journal.

My patients have always asked me which diet was the best, which one they should be on. I knew you could lose a lot of
weight quickly on almost any of the diets, but I always hesitated to recommend one. Once I was approached by a manufacturer of the supplement used in the

Starch-Blocker Diet, who asked me to say something positive about the pill. As I spoke with the manufacturer, I realized that he didn’t know how much trouble this starch-blocking supplement could create as it blocked the ability of the pancreas to make an enzyme called amylase. Sure enough, many people who went on this diet suffered from nausea, vomiting, and other problems. The moral of the story is you must learn everything you can about a diet or supplement before you take it, and avoid it if the answers are not positive.

The problem with most all the fad diets is they are ill conceived, ineffective in the long run, and often dangerous. The originators and purveyors of these diets do
not understand (or have chosen to ignore) the underlying meaning and rationale of diets. Most of us think of a diet as a quick way to lose weight. We see it as a temporary device, a way to control ourselves or juggle food around. And once we’ve lost the desired amount of weight, we quickly and happily discard it.

The word “diet” comes from the Greek word “diaita,” which means a mode of life or a regimen. A diet, then, is not a temporary aid to be dropped and forgotten when the weight-loss goal is met. Instead, it is a lifelong plan, a blueprint for your life and health.

You can lose weight (at least temporarily) on just about any diet. But before you do, ask yourself 2 very important questions: How are you losing the weight? And how will the process affect your health?

There are three ways to lose weight: 1) By getting rid of water in your tissues; 2) By forcing your body to consume lean body tissue such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, or muscles; or 3) By burning fatty tissue.

Losing water weight, as you do with the high-protein diets and diuretics, is absolutely worthless because you will quickly replace the lost water and find yourself right back where you started. Losing and regaining water is not only a big waste of time and money, but it can also cause you to lose vital minerals, which can prompt serious medical problems.

Cutting into your lean body tissue is also a dangerous, possibly deadly, approach. Vital organs can become undermined, leading to organ damage and even organ failure. The only safe, sound, and permanent weight-loss method is burning off excess fat. Doing so takes time and patience, but fad diet promoters would rather promise quick and easy weight loss. Unfortunately, their promises are usually just hot air. Numerous studies have shown that 95 percent of those who lose 30 to 40 pounds or more on fad diets will gain it all back (often with interest) within 1 year. And 99 percent will have gained back all the lost weight within 3 years.

*52\29\2*

Chitosan is a fiber, similar in many respects to the cellulose in foods. But the human body cannot digest Chitosan, so it passes harmlessly through the body. Since the Chitosan is not assimilated by the body, it obviously adds absolutely no calories to the diet.

In the stomach Chitosan turns into a gelatin-like substance that grabs on and holds tightly to saturated fat. Stuck in this Chitosan gel by the electrostatic “cling” between its positive charge and the fat’s negative charge—very much in the way lint sticks to wool-the fat cannot be absorbed. Instead, it is carried through the upper and lower intestines and right out of the body. It is as if, suddenly, the fat became as nondigestible as Olestra (the new nonabsorbable fat, which recently became available for use in
some snack foods). Fat attached to Chitosan has as much impact on the body as fat left on the dining room table!

Early impressive evidence that this phenomenon really works came from a series of animal experiments. At least 18 such studies have been conducted at research centers in various

countries. The first major study² was conducted by J. L. Nauss, J. L. Thompson, and J. Nagyvary of Texas A&M University in 1983. In a carefully controlled project, these three scientists proved that for each gram of Chitosan a group of rats ingested, they excreted 4-5 more grams of fat than the control group.

Heart disease, hypertension, osteoarthritis, back pain, difficulty breathing, and we’ve only begun to discuss the ill effects of excess fat. For example, did you know that skin disorders are more common in the obese? One reason is that sweating increases due to the extra insulation that fatty tissue provides. (This sweating can be especially heavy after eating.) Sweat can get trapped in the thick skin folds and become a medium for pathogenic bacteria, leading to skin infections. Skin maceration, pain, and discomfort can also occur as the obese person’s arms and legs rub against the flanks and thighs when walking. Swelling of the feet, ankles, and lower legs, which is common in the obese, can lead to the breakdown of skin and further pain.

Obesity is also a major cause of diabetes mellitus Type II, which we used to call adult-onset diabetes. This devastating disease can lead to blindness, strokes, heart attacks, gangrene, kidney failure, and infections. Yet often it can be eliminated simply by losing the extra pounds.

So there is no doubt about it—obesity is a dangerous condition. In fact, it is a risk factor for 4 of the 7 leading causes of death in the United States. But before delving further into the hazards of excess body fat, let’s define a few important terms.

*17\29\2*