Exercise blocks effect of genetic variation

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- If you're fat, maybe you CAN blame your genes. But there's a way to overcome that family history -- just get three to four hours of moderate activity a day.

Sound pretty daunting?

Not for the Amish of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, who were the focus of a new study on a common genetic variation that makes people more likely to gain weight. It turns out the variant's effects can be blocked with physical activity -- lots of it.

Scientists believe about 30 percent of white people of European ancestry have this variant, including the Amish, and that may partly explain why so many people are overweight.

But fighting that fat factor may be easier in the Amish community's 19th-century rural lifestyle. They don't use cars or modern appliances. Many of the men are farmers and carpenters, and the women, who are homemakers, often care for several children. Continue Reading >>

What is Fucoxanthin?

From Cathy Wong,


Fucoxanthin is a type of carotenoid found naturally in edible brown seaweed such as wakame (Undaria pinnatifida) and hijiki (Hijikia fusiformis), which are used widely in Asian cuisine. Wakame is the seaweed used in miso soup.

Fucoxanthin is also found in much smaller amounts in red seaweed (the kind typically used in Japanese sushi rolls) and green seaweed.

Both wakame and hijiki are available at Japanese specialty food stores, some health food stores and online. Although brown seaweed is the richest source of fucoxanthin, you would have to eat an unrealistic amount of it daily to get fucoxanthin levels close to those used in research studies.

Fucoxanthin is also available as a nutritional supplement in capsule form and can be found in some health food stores and online.

Why Do People Use Fucoxanthin?
Weight Loss
Fucoxanthin is being explored for weight loss.

So far, only animal studies have been done. Japanese researchers have found that fucoxanthin (isolated from wakame) promotes the loss of abdominal fat in obese mice and rats. Animals lost five to 10% of their body weight.

Although it's not fully understood how fucoxanthin works, it appears to target a protein called UCP1 that increases the rate at which abdominal fat is burned. Abdominal fat, also called white adipose tissue, is the kind of fat that surrounds our organs and is linked to heart disease and diabetes. Fucoxanthin also appears to stimulate the production of DHA, one of the omega-3 fatty acids found in fatty fish such as salmon.

Although it's promising and already a popular nutritional supplement, more research is needed to determine if fucoxanthin will work in the same way in humans. If it does prove to be effective, fucoxanthin could be developed into a diet pill for obesity.

Diabetes

Fucoxanthin has also been found in animal studies to decrease insulin and blood glucose levels. Researchers hypothesize that fucoxanthin anti-diabetes effect may be because fucoxanthin appears to promote the formation of DHA (the omega-3 fatty acid found in fish oil). DHA is thought to increase insulin sensitivity, improve triglycerides and reduce LDL ("bad") cholesterol.

Cancer

Preliminary research in test tubes suggests that fucoxanthin may have anti-tumor effects. No studies have looked at whether this holds true in humans or if taken orally. It's far too early for fucoxanthin to be used as a complementary treatment for cancer.

Side Effects
Because there hasn't been research on fucoxanthin in humans, the possible side effects aren't known.

People shouldn't consume large amounts of wakame or other types of seaweed as a source of fucoxanthin. Seaweed is rich in iodine and excessive consumption may result in iodine poisoning. High levels of iodine can interfere with the function of the thyroid gland. Also, consuming excess amounts of iodine-rich foods isn't recommended if there is a known allergy or hypersensitivity to iodine.

Sticking With My Morning Workout

To make running a daily habit, I’m setting concrete goals
by Amanda MacMillan

I never thought I’d say this, but my long weekend runs have become the easiest part of my training program. Sure, it took me 98 minutes to run 9.5 miles on Saturday, but 98 measly minutes out of a full weekend of leisure is an easy sacrifice.

Trying to run three to five miles three days a week, on the other hand, is a different story. With long work days, dinner dates, and meet-ups with friends, I’ve been having trouble squeezing it in.

During the winter, I had no choice but to use the treadmill; that meant I could run on my lunch break or right after work. Now that the weather’s nicer, I’ve been spoiled—and suddenly, it just seems wrong (and really, really difficult) to run in the sticky, sweaty gym.

Running in midtown Manhattan isn’t an option I want to consider either, thanks to the crowded sidewalks and vehicle exhaust. And for safety reasons, I don't particularly like running anywhere after dark. So that means I have to either cut my day short and hightail it home to Brooklyn at a decent hour, or do the unthinkable: Wake up early.

I am not a morning person. But for the last two weeks, I’ve been trying desperately to haul my butt out of bed for a sunrise workout. I've marked my calendar. I've programmed “Gonna Fly Now” as my new cell phone alarm. I've asked my boyfriend to call me at 6 a.m. and scold me for being lazy. A few ambitious mornings I’ve made it out, but nothing’s been able to consistently beat out the allure of the snooze button.

I posed my dilemma to Walter R. Thompson, PhD, professor of kinesiology and health at Georgia State University and an expert in exercise adherence. Give it some time, he advised: It will probably take about a month of regular morning workouts before I start to notice their benefits and actually look forward to them. A big part of this, he explained, is breaking old routines and establishing new ones.

“You’ve spent the last 25 years getting out of bed and not even thinking about exercise,” he told me. “That’s a hard habit to break.”But my Monday-Wednesday-Thursday schedule is a good start, he added. “Sleeping in once or twice a week gives you a breather to look forward to, but you’re still exercising enough to meet your goals.”

Speaking of goals, he suggested setting both short-term (to keep from losing focus) and long-term ones (to remember the progress I've made, even in the event of setbacks along the way).

So for the remainder of my training, I’m doing just that: My long-term goal is to run the entire Brooklyn Half Marathon on May 3. And next week, maybe I’ll aim to shave another minute off my five-mile time.

This week? I’m just focusing on getting up and out the door when I say I will.

The "Real" Weight-Loss Numbers

I have been concerned for some time that my measurements are off. Although I am using an expensive and technically advanced digital scale to measure weight loss, there's little consistency in the readings it gives.

On some mornings it will read 180 pounds; by the evening, I may weigh 187. Sure enough, the next morning I'll be back down. Continue reading »