Thursday, April 07, 2011

Fasting for 24 hours 'may cut your risk of heart disease and diabetes'

This sure is a mixed up report. Mormons have healthy lifestyles in many ways so any research on them is not going to isolate much. The only firm finding is that temporary fasts hugely raise HGH levels. But if that were generalizable Mormons should all be 8ft tall -- and the ones I have met have tended in fact to be rather short. And what do we make of the raised cholesterol levels? Are they OK now?

Regularly going a day without food may reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes, research has suggested.

Doctors studied the health and habits of more than 200 residents in the state of Utah, where fasting for at least one day a month is a way of life for many Mormons. X-ray scans revealed narrowing of the arteries in around 75 per cent of those who didn’t fast. In contrast, clogged arteries affected 63 per cent of those who said they often skipped meals.

Fasting also appeared to more than halve the odds of diabetes, the American College of Cardiology’s conference heard.

To ensure the results were not only due to those who fast having healthier lifestyles, the researchers carried out a second study on people who were not regular fasters.

They did not eat or drink anything other than water for 24 hours and underwent a series of health checks. They were also monitored while eating normally.

The tests revealed fasting triggers a significant surge in human growth hormone, a hormone credited with speeding up metabolism and burning off fat. Levels rose 13-fold in women and 20-fold in men. Shedding fat is known to cut the risk of diabetes and related heart problems.

The fasting caused levels of cholesterol to rise but they returned to normal after the fast was over.

Doctors stressed that more research is needed before fasting can be prescribed to patients. Nutritionist Dr Emma Williams said: ‘I wouldn’t be in a hurry to commence fasting, as the precise nature by which the body reacts to it remains relatively unknown.’

SOURCE





NY: Fried foods, perfume banned in new guidelines

Sad to see Jews such as Bloomberg and his enablers setting up a Big Brother ministate. One would have hoped they knew better. Does Bloomberg aspire to be Der Fuehrer of NYC?

The New York City Health Department has a new set of rules in its office, which has people talking. The department, responsible for the calorie-counting menus in New York City, has updated guidelines for “Life in the Cubicle Village” and distributed it to employees.

The guidelines tell them to refrain from wearing products with “noticeable odors,” not to eat fried foods or cookies and to cut muffins into “mini-sizes” when serving, The New York Daily News reported. Other rules include:

* Avoid eavesdropping – but if you can’t, “resist the urge to add your comments”

* No posting displays, photos, cartoons or personal items that may be offensive

* When drinks are served, they should be less than 25 calories per eight ounces

* Air-popped popcorn and cake is allowed for office celebrations

“The Health Department is just leading by example by updating its guidelines for food and beverages served at agency meetings and events,” the agency’s spokeswoman, Erin Brady, told the newspaper.
However, one worker, who wished to remain anonymous, said she felt she was being “micromanaged.”

SOURCE

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