Let's make one thing clear - when someone is going to lower carbohydrate content in their diet, they should replace it mostly with fat, not protein. Eating a lot of protein with little fat and carbs may be a short term strategy for initiating fat loss, but not a healthy way of eating in the long run. A lot of people, who are willing to try or have already felt the benefits of low-carb/high-fat eating, are scared of hurting themselves, because the common knowledge is that saturated fat and cholesterol cause heart disease by clogging arteries. In reality, that is as far from the truth as Planet Earth is from the Sun!

Saturated fat (SF) and cholesterol (CH) are both important components of healthy cell membranes - SF makes them optimally rigid and without CH our trillions of cells would collapse into jello-like substance. Unlike polyunsaturated fatty acids, saturated fatty acids do not oxidize easily, because they have a very stable molecular structure. By the way, atherosclerotic plaque found on the walls of arteries is made up mostly of unsaturated fatty acids.

By minimizing SF intake, it is impossible to get enough fat soluble vitamins. A lot of nutrients found in vegetables go to waste if not prepared with fat - and by fat I mean SF, because only saturated fatty acids have the ability to resist heat and thus not oxidize. Moreover, energy provided by fats is long-lasting and does not result in an energy crash. And SF is the most satiating macronutrient of all!

CH is vital for healthy brain function and it protects against depression. It acts as a powerful antioxidant, even protecting us from cancer. Without CH our skin is incapable of synthesizing vitamin D from sunlight. With too little CH, our bodies cannot make new cells and repair old ones quickly enough, which means accelerated aging. In addition to being a building material for cells, cholesterol is used by the body to synthesize hormones we need for fighting stress and simply living a normal life. That is why a stressful lifestyle raises CH levels in the blood - we need more CH to cope with increased demands. Older people have higher CH levels, because their lifespan has created more cellular damage compared to younger people - thus its unwise to lower their CH with drugs. By the way, people with higher CH levels live longer than people with lower CH levels.

Would you be happier if you spent more time discussing the state of the world and the meaning of life - and less time talking about the weather?

It may sound counterintuitive, but people who spend more of their day having deep discussions and less time engaging in small talk seem to be happier, said Matthias Mehl, a psychologist at the University of Arizona who published a study on the subject.

"We found this so interesting, because it could have gone the other way - it could have been, 'Don't worry, be happy' - as long as you surf on the shallow level of life you're happy, and if you go into the existential depths you'll be unhappy," Dr. Mehl said.

While eliminating wheat from your diet is an excellent and necessary step for improving health, it may not be alone sufficient, especially in those with serious health challenges.

According to a series of articles on the website Green Med Info, there are other foods in the Western diet that have properties similar to wheat, because they contain "chitin binding lectins", which are similar to wheat lectin (WGA).

Chitins are long polymers of n-acetyl-glucosamine, the primary binding target of wheat lectin. Wheat lectin and chitin-binding lectin are therefore functionally identical. Chitin-binding lectin containing foods include:

• Potato
• Tomato
• Barley
• Rye
• Rice

Additionally, sprouted grains, which are typically considered to be healthful fare can also be problematic for a couple of different reasons. Not only do sprouted whole wheat contain the highest amounts of wheat lectin, sprouted grains also contain benzoxazinoids (BAs) - a surprisingly toxic component!

Even a modest reduction in consumption of these types of carbohydrate-rich foods may promote loss of deep belly fat. This could help reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, stroke and coronary artery disease, as excess visceral fat (intra-abdominal fat) raises the risk of these diseases.

According to Eurekalert:

"... [S]ubjects who consumed [a] moderately carb-restricted diet had 11 percent less deep abdominal fat than those who ate the standard diet ... [S]ubjects on both diets lost weight. However, the moderately carb-restricted diet promoted a 4 percent greater loss of total body fat".

Sources:
Green Med Info
Green Med Info
Green Med Info
The Plant Journal January 2004; 37(1):34-45
The Biochemical Journal December 15 2003; 376(Pt 3):717-24
Science June 17 2003; 220(4603):1290-2
Cancer Letters February 8 2007; 246(1-2):290-9
Eurekalert June 5, 2011

New research draws a connection between gluten induced leaky brain damage and seizure disorders (epilepsy).

Which Came First - The Chicken or the Egg?

It has long been held that chronic seizures cause blood-brain barrier (BBB) damage. Recent studies have also demonstrated that BBB damage triggers seizures.

We know that gluten sensitivity can cause seizure disorders. To that point, the Discovery Channel had an episode of Mystery Diagnosis that featured a young boy who responded to gluten by having seizures. Additionally, we know that gluten sensitivity can contribute to blood brain barrier permeability (leaky brain). Now add to this the fact that a leaky brain will contribute to seizures and epilepsy. Thus the circle is complete. When added together these elements create a viscous unending cycle of perpetual food induced damage.

A California law that takes effect on Friday requires all students in grades 7 through 12 to get booster vaccinations to combat what state health officials say is an outbreak of the illness.

More than 9,000 cases of the bacterial infection were reported in California last year, marking the state's biggest outbreak of whooping cough, which is also known as pertussis, in over 60 years.

Ten cases led to the death of infants under two months old, California heath officials said.

Students arriving for their first day of school in the fall will need documentation to prove they received a booster shot of the vaccine for pertussis, tetanus, diphtheria.

"While everyone is taking summer vacation pertussis is not taking that vacation," said Dr. John Talarico, immunization branch chief with the California Department of Public Health.

Whooping cough, which causes violent and uncontrollable coughing, infects 30 to 50 million people a year globally and kills about 300,000, mostly children in developing countries.

A growing number of vegetarians are starting to eat humanely raised meat. Christine Lennon talks to a few converts - including her husband and famed author Mollie Katzen.

To a die-hard meat eater, there's nothing more irritating than a smug vegetarian. I feel at liberty to say this because I am one (a steak lover) and I married the other (a vegetarian with a pulpit). For me, "Do you now, or would you ever, eat meat?" has always been a question on par with "Do you ever want to get married?" and "Do you want children?" The answer to one reveals as much about a person's interior life, and our compatibility, as the response to the others. My husband Andrew's reply to all of those questions when I asked him three years ago was, "No."

Obviously, we're now married. We had twins earlier this year. And somewhere in between those two events, the answer to the third question was also re-evaluated, and the vegetarian soapbox was put to rest, too.

Yes, my husband has started eating meat again after a seven-year hiatus as an ethically motivated and health-conscious vegetarian. About a year ago, we arrived at a compromise: I would eat less meat - choosing mostly beef, pork and poultry produced by local California ranchers without the use of hormones or antibiotics - and he would indulge me by sharing a steak on occasion. But arriving at that happy medium wasn't as straightforward as it sounds. In the three years we've been together, several turns of events have made both of us rethink our choices and decide that eating meat selectively is better for the planet and our own health. And judging by the conversations we've had with friends and acquaintances, we're not the only ones who believe this to be true.

At Least 40 People In Suffolk, Mostly Children, Diagnosed With Pertussis

A cluster of whooping cough is growing on Long Island, with dozens of people infected by the virus.

As CBS 2's Hazel Sanchez reports, a warning was sent out as children begin to head to summer camp - a certain breeding ground for the illness.

Parents in Smithtown are on high alert, as the highly contagious whooping cough is spreading through their community.

"It's one of those diseases you don't think you'll ever hear about again," parent Rick Vollkommer said.

Donna Wilson said she's not taking any chances with her daughter, Kayla.

"She has been coughing a little bit here and there, so I'm contemplating maybe taking her to the doctor tomorrow, just to do a quick test," she said.

America faces a huge challenge in caring for the shocking number or traumatized war vets.

"We are facing a massive mental health problem as a result of our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a country we have not responded adequately to the problem. Unless we act urgently and wisely, we will be dealing with an epidemic of service related psychological wounds for years to come." - Bobby Muller, President Veterans for America

"The multiple nature of it [multiple tours and longer deployments] is unprecedented. People just get blasted and blasted and blasted." - Maj. Connie Johnmeyer, 332nd Medical Group

According to official Defense Department (DOD) figures, 332,000 soldiers have suffered brain injuries since 2000, although most independent experts estimate that the number is over 400,000. Many of these are mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI), a term that is profoundly misleading.

Harry Hucknall, a ten-year-old boy, died after hanging himself with a belt from his bunk bed. His father blames the death on Ritalin and Prozac, two drugs that the boy had been prescribed by a psychiatrist to cure his boisterous behavior and low spirits.

At the time of his death, the child had more drugs in his body than the normal level for adults suffering from the same problems.

According to the Daily Mail:

"... 661,000 prescriptions are dished out annually in Britain to treat childhood ADHD - double the figure of five years ago. These medicines are being given to very young children - one aged just 15 months ... despite official guidelines from the manufacturer and the fact that the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) prohibits their use for those under six."

In the New York Times article linked below, internist Danielle Ofri also talks about the effects of depression. Her childhood friend Michael killed himself during his sophomore year of college. And just two weeks before writing the article, she called one of her patients to reschedule an appointment, and was told that the patient had been found dead in his apartment, most likely a suicide.

One hundred years ago, this newspaper was nearly the size of a bedsheet. The Daily Mail was a campaigning paper back then - just as it is today - and its campaign, in 1911, to improve the standards of British bread was one of the most important and influential the Mail has ever mounted.

In 2011, this story should be no more than newspaper history. Shockingly, though, the fight for better bread as being key to better health continues to this day.

Back then, standards of nutrition in Britain were of major concern to the government. During the 19th century, as the industrial revolution pushed millions of Britons from the countryside into the cities, the nation's diet got rapidly worse - and many health problems seemed linked to that.