Likewise, the connection between maintaining your healthy weight and consuming a wholesome diet, drinking water, moderate daily exercise and adequate, restful sleep is irrefutable. 

 Weight Issues are a Symptom

That’s right, the weight, bulges and girth that define you, are your body’s way of compensating for a deficiency in one, two, three or all four of the conditions necessary to maintain your healthy weight.

 The Problem is Habits and Addictions not Willpower

Addicted to Food?  How to Break Your Habit (Daryn Eller Prevention Magazine, TODAY) discusses, in length, the controversy surrounding manufactured food.  “… “we live in an environment perfectly designed to nurture food addictions.”

 “For decades, food-industry scientists have been working hard to figure out how better to hook people”, claims David L. Katz, MD, MPH, director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center in Derby, CT, and author of The Flavor Point Diet. “Manufacturers now excel at hitting the sweet spot — making us crave more and more of a food.

 In a supermarket recently, I actually found a pasta sauce that, serving for serving, contained more sugar than a chocolate fudge sauce, though the sweetness was hidden because the pasta sauce was so salty,” Katz says.  “The question is, why would anybody pour a packet of sugar over their pasta?

 And the answer is that if you get used to that much sugar, another pasta sauce will taste too bland. The food industry wants us to need more and more of the substance to feel satisfied, so we’ll go out and buy more and more of it.”

 “ … Animal research at Princeton University has also shown that the way you indulge may have consequences. Bart Hoebel, PhD, a professor of psychology, placed rats on an alternating schedule of 12 hours with no food, followed by 12 hours of access to both rat chow and a solution of 10% sugar (about as sweet as a soft drink) — a pattern that results in binge eating.  As the days went by, the rats began upping their intake of the sugar solution, drinking more and more at a time.

 Hoebel found that after about a month, the rats’ brains were producing surges of dopamine during their binges. “In rats, binge eating promotes addiction just like binge drinking promotes alcohol addiction,” says Hoebel. “It’s possible that repeatedly bingeing on sweets could actually change the circuitry of your brain” — and make you want ever-increasing amounts.”

 When Hypcorates said “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” 2,500 years ago, it is unlikely he considered the lengths that Manufactured Food Companies would go to” build brand loyalty”.

 People Are Digging Their Graves With Their Forks

… and setting themselves up to suffer mightily before they meet their maker – and they don’t even know it.

Plus, they are setting their spouses and children up for heart ache and financial ruin.

 The number of books, articles and seminars designed to help people “feel OK” about their weight is staggering.  They’re right about one thing, “What others think about you doesn’t matter, just feel good about yourself.”

What they fail to point out the profound selfishness in the choice to subject your loved ones to the grief and financial implications of this predictable outcome – prolonged suffering, profound medical intervention and premature death – when people fail to manage their weight.

 The Truth Hurts

If this view is too harsh, then ignore it.

Just know this:  Everyday, people ask themselves or a loved one, “Why me?”, when they are diagnosed with Cancer or Diabetes, experience a heart attack, a stroke or suffer some incurable set of symtoms that destroy their finances and quality of life.

 There is a old saying, “When you find your self in a hole, stop digging.”, that sums up this commentary nicely. 

 Breaking the addictions that are turning you into a statistic is hard, but the reward are great.  In the end, it is your life, it is your choice.

 Editor’s note:  First, thanks to all of you who are informing us about the quick fixes, various exotic fruits and their possible application for weight loss.  While many of the claims are unlikely, the sheer numbers of them serve to confirm our conviction that being overweight or obese is the number one health challenge on people’s mind.

 NUPRO is ever vigilant for natural applications to augment our position on the cutting edge of natural health and healing modalities.  And, since weight loss occupies the top priority, we have been developing and now announcing The ThinRite Weight Management Program.

 

Hooray for us!

 But, if you read the article, Colorado’s obesity rate has doubled since 1995.  And, its top ranking rate of obesity is 19% compared to the national average of 25%.

Well, whoop-de-doo!

 49 States Are Worse

 They’re not talking just about the people who are morbidly obese (they’re the moo-moo people who need help – immediately).  They’re talking about 15 to 20 lbs.  Take a look around you the next time you’re shopping, it is amazing what you will see!

 And, while you’re at it, take a look at your own reflection in the window or a mirror.  Better yet, look at yourself in your mirror at home – without clothes.  What do you think of that?  How many clothes have you stored away in your archival closet waiting for the time when they will fit again?

 What is the matter with you people? 

 The time is past for being politically correct, or for that matter, sensitive.  It is time for tough love!  Forget the fact that your cloths don’t fit and you look unhealthy – focus on the fact that you are unhealthy. 

 We have written extensively about the health risks associated with being obese.

•  Cancer, stroke, heart attack, arthritis, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes are just a few of the things you have to look forward to if you maintain your current state of being overweight.
•  We’ve dedicated more time writing about being overweight on the Americanutra blog, and in articles on the NUPRO website, than it’s worth.  If you can’t find inspiration in them, then all is lost.
•  Federal and State governments are considering, and in some cases passing, laws to protect you from yourselves forcing restaurants to post nutritional fact, that  few people will read and, in some cases,  banning certain cooking ingredients that are in foods people know are fattening.
• Even more frightening than that, these same bureaucrats are considering empowering Child Protective Services to remove overweight children from their homes!

 You Do Not Have Big Bones

 This study clearly point out your problem – you’re suffering from hand to mouth disease.

• Stop eating the crap that is making you fat. 
• And, stop feeding it to your kids, too!
• If you think there is some potion, lotion or pill that will magically make you thin – you’re delusional!

 We can help you overcome the habits that have, or will, put you in this predicament, but if you don’t stop sitting around and don’t stop putting chips, sweets, soft drinks and fast food in your mouth, you can’t change anything.  And, the same goes for your kids.

 No more excuses, delusion and, no more whining.

 Studies repeatedly show that people are far more critical of other people than they are of themselves.  Live Well Colorado is conducting a project on that very subject – helping people with an honest self-evaluation. 

 If you want help, we can and will help you.  But, you must decide.

• Do you want to spend the last 25% to 35% of your life struggling with declining health because you are too weak to stop eating crappy food, or can you stop?
• What about explaining why CPS took your kids?
• And here’s a final thought:  Based on the way things are going with insurance and in Washington, will you be able to pay your Doctor’s bills out of your own pocket once you reach your inevitable, and predictable, state of poor health?

 It’s Your Life – It’s Your Choice.

 

 Average life expectancy is falling in many parts of the United States and for many demographic groups, most notably women, according to a study that was published Wednesday (June 15, 2011) in the journal Population Health Metrics, and conducted by the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington in Seattle.

 In the study, Dr. Ali Mokdad, an IHME official who is researching causal factors affecting life expectancy, listed four reasons for the trends found in the report:

1.  Poverty and lack of education
2. Access to health care
3. Quality of medical care
4. Preventable risk factors like:  obesity, untreated high blood pressure and smoking.

 The enormous increase in obesity, which has doubled in the past 30 years, from 17 percent to 34 percent of the population (editor’s note:  the real number is hovering around 80%) may be the most alarming. He points out that obesity is linked to: low incomes, education levels, lack of access to healthy food choices, particularly fresh fruit and vegetables and the dominance of fast food (editor’s note:  and packaged, processed and convenience food).

 What could you take away from this report?

1. There is a conspiracy between Big Pharma and Big Health Care to keep their profits high – at our expense – and Doctors are in on it?
2. The Teacher’s Unions have a socialist agenda to dumb down the population on matters of nutrition?
3. The US Congress is conspiring to “kill off” segments of the population to reduce the budget?
4. Big Food rents Super Market shelf space, builds fast food restaurants and convenience stores to sell packaged food to make a profit?

 Who will get the blame – this time?

 Here’s another perspective.

1. Commercialized farms and ranches grow and sell food commodities that are measured by quantity, price and appearance
2. Their largest customers are not consumers, they are food manufacturers

 Food manufacturers make their products to:

1. Appeal to customers with advertising, packaging and price
2. Create repeat business with taste and convenience
3. Stay on the shelf as long as possible to protect their investment in inventory

 There is a marketing term, “Give the Gorilla a Banana”, that means sell what people want to buy.   Commercial farms and ranches are growing and food manufacturers are making what you are buying; therefore,  … .

 Frankly, I believe the statistics – I choose not to be one, and you can too. 

 We speak with our checkbook.  We buy the best real food we can find, prepare and eat it; then, we fill in the gaps with supplements.  We’re in our mid 60’s, close to our healthy weight, without prescriptions and active.

 Our program is easy and it is working for us.  Why not try it?  It sure beats being another statistic.

 P.S.  Don’t despair if you are on the way to becoming a statistic.  You might be able to change that, too.  Read this report.

 

You have a lot to see, and to consider, if you’re trying to get information about losing weight from the web.

 With all those options, it is no wonder people are confused.

 Earlier this year, we went through an intensive analysis before we decided to re enter the weight loss supplement market.  The analysis was insightful and, surprisingly similar to the analysis we concluded in 1990.

 You may find the analysis interesting, and it may help you make sense out of all the “stuff”, on the web, about weight loss.

 Here is an overview of our analysis of the weight loss options we investigated.

 There are several options available to assist people during the weight loss process in the market today. 

They are:

 Eat less – Exercise More

Certainly, there is nothing new here.  Logic dictates that this approach should work, but, in most cases, it doesn’t!

 In fact, it may contribute to the difficulties for long-term weight management.

 In the world of metabolism, the body views less food, with more exercise, as a famine.  It responds by turning down Basal Metabolic Rate (the metabolism that is responsible for burning 70% of you calories, everyday) to conserve energy expenditure.  When the famine continues, the body begins to use the protein, in tissue, as a source of BMR energy (ketosis) to conserve the ready source of energy in fat for emergencies.

 Once the calorie restriction stops, BMR may, or may not, reset to its healthy “burn rate”.  The individual, whose BMR fails to reset, soon gains the lost weight back – and often more!  Thus begins the cycle that is the phenomenon referred to as the YO-YO effect.

 Fat Blocker Dietary Supplements

This category of supplements for weight loss, espouse another concept that seems to make sense.  The theory goes:  if you stop fat from leaving your digestive system, you can stop the fat from accumulating around the body.

 You need to know that calories are a measure of the energy value of food:  Protein offers 4 calories/gram, Carbohydrates – 4 calories/gram, Fat – 9 calories/gram. (For most of us, a gram is approximately 3.5 ounces.)

 Back to the world of metabolism, fat is a critical part of energy production.  The engine that sparks metabolism (mitochondria) burns water, glucose (sugar) and fat to produce energy.   Stored fat requires more internal activity than dietary fat, which slows down the production of energy at the cellular level.

 The issue boils down to the good fat – bad fat dilemma.  Indiscriminately blocking fat may not be such a good thing for supporting healthy metabolism.

 Carbohydrate Blocker Dietary Supplements  (Recently, this category has been recast as a sugar blocker)

To understand the theory of carb blocking, you need to know that all carbohydrates are rendered into glucose in your digestive system and that glucose is the primary energy-producing component of metabolism.

 There are two types of dietary carbohydrates, categorized by how quickly the body converts them into glucose:  Simple and Complex.

1. Simple Carbohydrates are converted very quickly into glucose.  They are generally white:  flour, starchy grain (white rice), milk (and things made from milk), sugar, fruit juice and starchy tubers (things that grow underground).
2. Complex Carbohydrates require more digestion, and, therefore, the glucose “trickles” into the metabolic process.  They are typically whole foods:  grains, fresh vegetables (that grow above the ground) and fresh fruit.

 While both types of carbohydrates have the same caloric value, 4 calories/gram, the impact is vastly different.  An easy way to understand the difference is:  simple carbohydrates “explode” into the metabolic process while complex carbohydrates are “metered” in.

 The best analogy is to view the process like the way gas is metered into a car’s engine.  Too much fuel, too soon, the engine will flood.  In the case of glucose, the body works hard to avoid “flooding out”.

 The issue boils down to a good carb – bad carb dilemma.  Like fat blockers, blocking the source of glucose, the primary source for energy, will affect healthy metabolism.

Stimulants

Natural stimulants, like caffeine, are common and widely used in weight loss supplements.  Their theory is: stimulating the adrenal system, with a natural stimulant, will increase caloric demand thereby increasing the burning of stored fat to accommodate that demand.

 The issue boils down to one question:  “How much is too much.”  A typical consumer ingests lots of caffeine:  coffee, tea, soda, and now, energy drinks.  Besides caffeine, sugar, contained in these various beverages, in processed and fast food and in juices, is stimulating the adrenal system.

 Add stress, at work, home and the background stress created by worrying about economic issues, friends, etc, the adrenal system is at a tipping point as it is.  Adding more pressure on the adrenal system, without supporting it, might carry the process too far.

 In fact, one of the most likely new supplement categories will be adrenal dysfunction.  Research is surfacing that suggests that modern lifestyle choices may already be taxing the adrenal system.  As a result, NUPRO is evaluating historical uses of herbs, various current findings to access the possible application of a natural supplement, or system, to address the issue.

 Other Approaches

As one would expect, from an issue that impacts so many people, there is a plethora of choices.  Strenuous exercise tops the list, followed closely by weigh-in clubs, clubs with mail order “healthy food portions”, Clinics offering injections, hypnosis and bariatric surgery that seeks to restrict, or remodel the digestive tract to disrupt the absorption of nutrients.

 On the main, the options in this category are expensive, and due to the radical life style changes they require, provide a possible short term benefit that diminishes once the participant can no longer afford the time or expense or lacks the discipline to proceed.

 Judging by the almost epidemic state of being overweight or being obese, these approaches may not be  working quite as well as one would expect.  The weight management issue is big … and growing.  There is ample opportunity if … .

Next week:  What are the  formulation objectives for NUPRO’s new weight loss products.

 

 The options for managing your weight, while seeming plentiful, are woefully few once you strip away the marketing fluff.

 There are many, too many really, books and articles regarding how to deal with the way you appear when you are overweight or obese.  These writings purport to help you deal with people who perceive your situation of being overweight in an unkind manner.  The emphasis of these writings is to help you feel like a victim of an unsympathetic society; encouraging you to focus on ways for you to rationalize your “condition”.

 Dieting, eating less and exercising more, has failed most, if not all, of you because the approach is unsustainable and unhealthy.

 The recent “breakthroughs” in Bariatric Surgery is another option.  It seeks to surgically remodel or redirect your digestive tract.  The potential for side effects, from this highly invasive approach, is mind-boggling.  Time is a great truth detector.  The likelihood of this approach succeeding is low.

 There is a quote, attributed to R. Buckminster Fuller, on which I often rely:  “ … Belief is when someone else does the thinking.” 

 Today, I am appealing to your intellect.

 Which of these approaches makes sense to you?

1. Ignoring the situation
2. Starving yourself
3. Risky surgery
4. None of the above

Would you consider a practical way to finally get your weight under control?

 The fact is, most of you are not eating enough.  That’s right you are not eating enough food to support your body’s nutritional needs, to allow your body to support metabolism and to become, and stay slim, trim and firm.  The Harvard School of Public Health or the University of Michigan Integrative Medicine will provide you guidance on what, when and how to eat.

 Another fact is most of you are eating too much of the wrong food.  The number of packaged, processed and convenience meals you eat, everyday, virtually guarantee that you will be hungry soon after you eat, experience insatiable craving, stay overweight and become more and more unhealthy. For more insights, view this short video, with Andrew Weil, MD on the subject.

 Stop Doing That!

 If your objective is to lose weight, you should make three simple changes:

 1.      From this day forward:

• Start eating 3 meals each day consuming lots of the foods that feed your body
• Stop filling the coffers of the Companies who produce packaged and fast food – buy fresh – prepare it yourself.  Here are 10 healthy, easy to prepare dinner-time recipes
• Drink at least 8 – 8ounce glasses of water everyday – more if you drink caffeinated beverages

 2.      For 90 days, replenish long-standing nutritional deficiencies using:

• High quality multi vitamin or drinking a fortified protein shake
• Trace mineral dietary supplement

 3.      Reset the way your body works with dietary supplements to support:

•  Waking metabolism
• Sleeping metabolism
• Elimination – unless you experience at least 1 easy, soft bowel movement everyday.

TrimPak™  or one of the ThinRite™ Systems by NUPRO offer you a selection of professional grade supplements and systems to help with these needs.

 The unvarnished truth is obesity and being overweight, and most degenerative diseases for that matter, are symptoms of one thing:  Hand to Mouth Disease.  They are predictable conditions, brought on by the decisions you make everyday, to consume foods that we all know aren’t healthy.

 Each time you purchase a food item or choose to eat something, ask yourself one question:  Will my body thank me for this later?  If the answer is no, rest assured, there is a price for that decision.  What you choose to consume is the raw materials on which you body relies to produce energy, replace dying cells, repair damaged tissue, deal with stress and protect itself from disease.

 How’s that Big Deal Meal been workin’ out for ya?

 “I came in a tired, overweight, sluggish mess!  I am down 5 sizes and 50 pounds and I have a renewed zest for life thanks to Nupro Nutraceutical weight loss products!”  Denise R. Parker, CO

 Now that we have your attention:  here’s a family of well-crafted weight management systems and supplements to fit your needs and your budget, along with a comprehensive package of tips, to help you with successful, long-term weight loss .

 *  We believe that creating and maintaining health is more than the search for “a miracle in a bottle” myth.  We have developed a strategy that can help you promote weight loss and maintain your health.

 

Those of you who are trying to realize your New Year resolution to lose weight are, in all likelihood, frustrated.  The fact is:  metabolism is turned down every fall; it is restored every spring.  Overwhelming this cycle is not very likely. 

Take heart!  Spring is just around the corner.

Children, all over the U.S., will soon be repeating a simple poem:
Spring has sprung, the grass has riz,
I wonder where the flowers is?

Plants will be budding, putting on leaves with blossoms springing toward the sun.  Animals will be awakening from their winter doldrums, or their hibernation, to welcome the return of the season of plenty.

It is the cycle of all living things on Earth; it is basic survival and, it is a testament to the adaptability of life on Earth.

Even though people live in modern homes, with central heat, abundant food and water, this natural cycle exerts the same, unavoidable impact on the human body.

There are a few steps you can take can assure you that your metabolism will come roaring back when it is time.

Are you 3 – 6’s, 2 – 9’s or 1 – 18?
It’s time for a spring-cleaning.  Your bowels should move at least once every day – preferably after each meal (3 –  six inch cigar-shaped.)  Even then, it is a good idea to clean up any residual wastes from the winter diet.  Supplements are especially effective in that regard so, choose an effective supplement to refresh your bowels.

Are you suffering a hangover from the holiday goodies and/or craving carbs, sugar and starches?
They, and most other winter foods, are notoriously short of trace minerals. Often referred to as “The Currency of Life”, trace minerals deficiencies have been known to contribute to a listless feeling, cravings and constant hunger.  Once again, the fastest way to address the issue is with a full-spectrum trace mineral supplement until fresh, mature vegetables are readily available.  By the way, if you are a vegetable-hater, you should consider trace mineral supplementation year-round.

Feed your Metabolism.
The 3 Day Diet, once attributed to the Cleveland Clinic, has been around for a long time.  None-the-less, it is still an effective way to feed your metabolism.  Follow the instructions, wait a week to repeat the diet. Two cycles is usually sufficient to jump start metabolism.

If you have packed on more than a few pounds, weight management supplements are in order.
However, caution in order, too.  Some weight loss supplements rely on stimulants to “spike” wake-time metabolism.  Advertisements for these types of supplements often emphasize energy as their most notable characteristic.  The tendency to consume more than enough sweets, bread and pasta, starchy vegetables, and caffeinated beverages (coffee, tea, soda and energy drinks) may already be taxing metabolic functions.  Adding another source of stimulants may not be the best idea.

A better choice may be weight management supplements formulated to support metabolic function while managing appetite, cravings and alertness.  While you won’t get the “buzz”, you won’t be anxious and/or jittery either.

Feed your body.
While it seems counter-intuitive, you must eat to lose weight.  Starvation and low-calorie dieting send a signal to your body that food is in short supply so it goes into survival mode – protecting fat and reducing metabolism. 

What you are consuming is the issue.
Before you put something in your mouth, ask yourself one simple question:  “Is this going to feed my body something it needs?”  If the answer is no, don’t eat it.  You already know the answer when you consume junk, packaged, comfort and fast food, so don’t eat them. 

Eat, eat, eat.
Eat breakfast, eat vegetables for lunch, eat a healthy supper early.  You should eat a baseball sized apple or pear for mid-morning and afternoon snacks. (Add a sprinkle of cinnamon and/or a dash of lime juice for variety.)   Here are 10 healthy, easy to fix recipes.

Drink water to help flush away the byproducts of burning fat – at least 8 – 8 ounces glasses each day.

Lose it and keep it off!
Besides appearance, losing weight is a healthy choice.  Researchers have shown, time and time again, that maintaining a healthy weight will reduce your chances of enduring many of the health issues that are confronting others.

Would you care to know how healthy you are?  Take the test.

Editor’s Note:  Rather than the prevalent “miracle in a bottle” paradigm, we believe maintaining health is a life-style. We have developed a strategy that promotes and maintains health.  You can review our work at the Natural Health Consulting Center at NURPO.