The summer is not exactly going to waste here, the last two days me and Daniel went with his parents and his sister on a boat trip, soaking up the sun, swimming in the dark blue waters and barbequing ribs (perfectly done by his dad ).This summer has been unbelievable and for the first time in years I have truly been able to relax and enjoy a well deserved vacation. There has been travel (to California and Nevada), parties (Surrender nightclub, Benny Benassi @ Steve Angelo) and my favorite thing, good food (lobster, seared tuna and the best ribs in the world!).We are keeping it healthy thought, no point to pig out just cause it’s summer. There are plenty of ways to combine ribs to get a healthy dinner.Remember to adjust your portion, and have a fresh salad and vegetables, and drop the Coke and have some refreshing mineral water instead. ‘Loka’ is quite popular here in Sweden, mine was with a drop of lemon.

What can I say, good company good food (provided my Daniels mum- a very good cook!) and good weather. Life is just plain good my dear, very very good. If summer was this great, then autumn and winter will be even better!

European medicines agency has reviewed the popular sibutramine-containing medicines used for weight loss for the third time. Side effects such as raised blood pressure and heart rate was documented in the 90’s and sparked the first review of the drug in 1999. On the 21 of January European medicines agency officially recommended that the drug should be stopped as a new large study showed that the side effects outweighed the benefits. The drug is only believed to give a modest weight loss, but considerable side effects such as detrimental effects on cardiovascular health, hair loss, depression and insomnia.

More than half of all pets today are overweight or obese. As pets can not choose their own food, the owners have to decide what is considered appropriate food for slimming their pets down to avoid diseases such as diabetes,pancreatitis, osteoarthritis and respiratory tract diseases that might shorten their life . The problem is that a recent study has shown wide variations in the calorie content of pet foods with some containing more energy than their non-diet equivalent. Interestingly enough a study earlier this year concluded that there are also wide varieties in fast food calorie content for humans, proving that the the nutrition guidelines one the back of the package is not a reliable source of calorie content information.

Willpower and believing that one can succeed is important when dieting, but the perceived complexity of a diet plan might be the deciding factor when it comes to adherence. A small German study found that people were more likely to give up when they perceived their diet plan as complex – even when they rated high in willpower. The researchers suggest that if a diet has too many rules, people will find it harder to stay on that diet, and therefore that diet plan would probably not be the best choice for weight loss.

Taco bell has now launched a new website that advertises the new low-calorie menu alternatives. Their spokesperson Christine Dougherty, 27, dropped 57 pounds over a period of two years by choosing the leaner options on the menu. She was also on a strict 1250 calories a day diet, consuming 500 calories less a day. Taco Bell highlights that the results are not typical, and that this is not a recommended weight loss diet, but the website still recommends the ‘drive-thru diet’. The infomercial has gotten mixed reviews, with people finding the intelligence level of the infomercial insulting.

A Canadian research has found that maladaptive eating behaviors and attitudes among women can be as high as 15%.The study also revealed that 28% of women exercise at a high intensity at least twice a month with the purpose to lose weight or control their weight. Around 13% of the women reported binge eating on occasions, and 2.5% also used methods such as vomiting, use of laxatives or diuretics to control their shape/ weight. The study “Eating-Disorder Symptoms and Syndromes in a Sample of Urban-Dwelling Canadian Women: Contributions Toward a Population Health Perspective,” can be read in the International Journal of Eating Disorders

Weight Watchers program “Lose For Good” ended a month a ago with very good results. The campaign that encourages people to donate a pound of food for every pound they lose, resulted in a 4 million pounds lost and two million pounds of food and 1 million dollars donated. As a symbol for losing a pound, the members brought a pound of food to the meetings for every pound lost, that was donated to charities. Weightwatchers contributed as well by donating money for every pound. This was the second annual lose for good campaign, with the first one being in august 2008. (see video)

As sugar contains no vitamins or minerals, or anything other than just energy, the common opinion among health experts is that we can do without it. Because of that there is no recommended daily intake (RDA).
Most governments have something called dietary guidelines, which is expert advice on what we need to eat- and what we need to limit. Sugar is one of those things we need to limit according to health experts.
As an upper limit the USA government recommends 40 grams of sugar pr 2000 calories. In UK they recommend a 10% max, which equals to 100grams of sugar pr 2000 calories. The Scandinavian recommendations are the same.
A few months ago one of the worlds largest heart associations published their new guidelines on sugar, which where a record low. The American heart association now recommends that a woman only has 25 grams of sugar in her diet and men 35 grams.
Here is a summary:
UK and Scandinavia: 10%
USA current recommendations: 8%
American heart association : 5%
The current trend in USA is 105 g, or 22 tsp, compared to the 6 teaspoons the American Heart association wants people to limit themselves too.
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The recommendations are based on a large scale research that I will comment on later. If you want to have a read, you can find the article ‘Dietary Sugars Intake and Cardiovascular Health: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association’ here.