Level1Diet.com Health Reports

Balance Omega-6 and Omega-3 Dietary Fats to Save Your Life

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 21:23:50 -0600

The amount and type of fats you eat control your health. Fats control your inflammation, your blood sugar levels, your insulin levels, and your insulin resistance. For 30 years or more, authorities have been telling us to lower our fats, and to eat more 'heart healthy omega-6 vegetable oil.' However, recent research has shown that we've overdone it. We've been eating entirely too much omega-6...

Counting Calories is Not Necessary in Healthy Diets

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 11:22:56 -0600

We don't suggest, recommend or require counting calories. The type of diet we recommend is the same as followed by all animals in the natural environment. Animals in the wild, real-world environment are never "fat" -- even though they may be surrounded by tons of food. None of these creatures find it necessary to count calories... of course! They eat a natural diet of the food that is available to them. They eat all they want. And, they're never fat. Did you ever wonder about that? The only fat animals and people are those who are caged, limited in their ability to move around their world, and who are also fed an artificial diet. When we return to natural foods that we would eat if we were living in the forest, on the coasts, or on the high plains, guess what -- we become thin again, just like the wild animals. On a natural diet, we become and stay thin, and avoid degenerative diseases like heart disease, cancer, diabetes and strokes. Here are the 5 simple steps to take on a natural, healthy diet...

Who Needs Viagra? Can Watermelon Really Prevent or Treat Erectile Dysfunction?

Thu, 3 Jul 2008 12:47:33 -0600

New research on watermelon shows that it contains large amounts of citrulline, which is an amino acid that breaks down into arginine. Arginine releases nitric oxide gas, which relaxes the walls of arteries around the body and lowers blood pressure. This is the primary action of Viagra. The difference between arginine from foods and the little blue pill is that the pill concentrates the nitric oxide around sexual organ tissues, while food-borne arginine simply does the same thing throughout the body. So, if you get enough watermelon all at once, then you may experience some of the same effects as Viagra. But, don't expect miracles. It may take up to 6 cups or more of the juicy summertime treat to produce the desired effects. Your mileage may vary...

FDA Diabetes Panel Votes 14-to-2 for Heart Disease Risk Testing for New Diabetes Drugs

Thu, 3 Jul 2008 10:45:58 -0600

An impressive panel of health experts voted overwhelmingly on July 2nd to have all new diabetes drugs tested to see if they increase risks of heart attacks. The FDA is not required to follow recommendations from their advisory panels, but they usually do. In making this landmark recommendation, the expert panel of FDA advisors demonstrated an almost unanimous conviction that there may well be increased risks for heart disease, strokes or heart attacks that would be associated with taking drugs for diabetes. Last year Avandia was associated with 43% increased risks for death from heart attacks, and 64% increased deaths from all-cause cardiovascular diseases. New tests for each diabetic drug, if the FDA follows the panel's advice, may take 5 years or more and cost many millions of dollars...

FDA Rethinks Type 2 Diabetes Drug Approval Rules, May Require Heart Disease Risk Assessments

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 21:49:11 -0600

When the FDA approves a drug for type 2 diabetes, should risks of heart disease be added to judgements about a drug's ability to help control blood sugar and A1C levels? For the first time in history, an impressive panel of experts will meet in Washington, D.C. beginning July 1st to vote on this important question. What they conclude may decide the fate of many thousands of diabetics throughout the USA for decades to come. If you're a diabetic, your own life may hang in the balance...

FDA Cracks Down on Cancer Quacks

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 14:26:00 -0600

This week the FDA sent out official warning letters to 25 companies who sell so-called "natural" treatments for cancer that they are violating the law. The FDA called the letters "Fake cancer cures warning letters". Here is a list of the companies and descriptions of the banned products.

Current Health Issues

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 14:21:00 -0600

Essays about recent health stories in the news, recent published peer-reviewed health research, newest health trends.

Caffeine Does Not Cause Breast Cancer

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 03:20:40 -0600

Many large studies of humans have concluded that there is no consistent relation at all, either positive or negative, between intakes of caffeine and breast cancer. The country that drinks the most coffee per person per year is Sweden, followed by Italy. An extremely large study of 59,000 women in Sweden for many years showed that coffee drinkers and breast cancer are NOT related. This study totalled over 500,000 woman-years. Another study of over 5,000 women in Italy showed the same thing.

Which Diet is Best? Atkins, South Beach, Zone, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig...

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 02:43:27 -0600

Hundreds of books and programs claim the title of the best diet in one way or another. In view of all of this confusion, lets just drop back and try to get a bit of perspective about what it actually takes to BE HEALTHY, instead of merely just losing weight. Here are 8 lifestyle changes to get and stay healthy, then lose weight.

Getting Healthy Is Simpler Than You (and Your Doctor) Think

Mon, 2 Jun 2008 11:46:18 -0600

Making only a few changes in your diet and getting a little exercise everyday can lengthen your life, reverse most diseases, reduce aches and pains, improve your mood, help you sleep, and fill you will joy. Reading this little health essay can save your life, and give you more of it...

Magic Bullet Medicine: How One Man Focused Medicine on Disease Instead of Health

Sat, 31 May 2008 03:38:58 -0600

How one man refocused medicine on magic bullets and changed the way doctors treat patients. Today doctors tend to ignore important lifestyle factors like diet and exercise, focusing their diagnostic approaches to therapies involving primarily only patented medicines. This is because their medical training, medical school curriculae, and their insurance and governmental compensation is centered on prescriptive drug therapies instead of health counseling. Unfortunately, merely counseling is not what a doctor is trained in or pad for.

Bitter Melon Benefits: Reduces Blood Sugar, Lowers LDL Cholesterol & Improves Other Diabetic Conditions

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 04:38:59 -0600

An old Chinese and Indian remedy for diabetes called Bitter Melon is proving helpful in treating diabetes. The plant, which resembles a small cucumber, evidently lowers blood sugar, improves cholesterol, lowers blood pressure and generally helps people suffering from diabetes. Researchers say it works by reducing insulin resistance, using the AMPK pathway inside cells. The AMPK pathway is the way sugar is metabolized to produce energy. Diabetics usually become resistant to insulin due to disruptions in the transport or movement of tiny glucose transporter molecules in muscle and organ cell tissues. Scientists think this disruption is linked to high fats inside the cells that somehow block the movement of glucose transporters, which make the cells unresponsive to insulin, resulting in high blood sugar and high levels of insulin itself at the same time. These two conditions produce most of the deadly conditions diabetics suffer from -- heart disease, cancer, blindness, amputations of limbs, loss of kidneys, and strokes in the brain and other organs. Eventually one or more of these developments may lead to death for diabetics with poorly controlled blood sugar and insulin levels.