PARK AVENUE - Medical Weight & Wellness

Here is a breakdown from visualeconomics.com of what the average American consumes annually. There are times when people get righteous over eating one food versus another food that is out of proportion to their likely health values. Nonetheless, this is an eye-popping review of what is being eaten…on average. That means that statistically half of Americans should be consuming more than 1 gallon of soda per week or more than 29 pounds of French fries per year.

The part that I found most interesting, though, was not the amazing amounts of caloric sweeteners and soda consumed annually as these notions have been made public for quite some time. Rather the stunning amount of dairy that is eaten in relation to fresh produce (the heaviest food per serving that exists). This in light of the fact that excessive calcium intake in males has been linked to prostate cancer (this might actually come from dairy consumption), and regular dairy products are loaded with cholesterol raising saturated fat. Humans are the only species to consume dairy as adults.

The bottom line is that no single food pyramid has been created that has been proven to be the answer for all consumers. That said, this should serve as a striking reminder to increase the amounts of produce and whole grains consumed while decreasing the amount of animal products, sweeteners and empty calories in attempt to maintain weight and health.

To see the full page from visualeconomics.com, click here.

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Monday

Jul262010

You Need More Vitamin D…For Now

July 26, 2010 |

Dr. Kane | tagged

Obesity,

Weight Loss,

medical weight loss,

medical weight loss NYC,

nutrition,

vitamin D,

vitamin D deficiency,

vitamin supplements,

weight loss NYC | in

Diet,

Vitamin D has been all the rage of late. Here is a brief review from the New York Times. Once considered strictly a regulator of calcium and bone mineralization recent findings suggest that vitamin D deficiency is associated with several types of cancer, cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and immune system disorders, raising risk of infection, auto-immune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and type-I diabetes.

I have found that the overwhelming number of patients that I see have at least insufficient vitamin D levels, while at least half have vitamin D deficiency. Those at highest risk are obese patients, patients with digestive disorders and, not surprisingly, people who work long hours at desk jobs without sun exposure (lawyers and investment bankers tend to have the lowest in my practice). In fact, over the past year I have only seen a handful of patients not already taking supplemental vitamin D that meet the suggested 25, OH vitamin D level of 40 ng/ml.

My advice is to start at 1000 IU of vitamin D₃daily to be taken with a meal (aiding the absorption of this fat-soluble vitamin). For those at higher risk or whose vitamin D levels do not rise, I suggest 2000 IU or even more aggressive dosing for those severely deficient, although I have found that this moderate supplementation usually is sufficient. This is not the first vitamin to gain public favor – vitamins A, C and E were popular not that long ago, although follow up studies on broad use of them as supplements in healthy individuals has yet to yield convincing evidence of their benefit. For now, the association of vitamin D deficiency and disease is convincing. Whether follow-up studies demonstrate efficacy of vitamin D supplementation in preventing and managing these diseases will ultimately guide recommendations.

To read the full NY Times article, click here.

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Saturday

Jul242010

4 Surprising Reasons Women Cannot Lose Weight

July 24, 2010 |

Dr. Kane | tagged

Health,

PCOS,

medical weight loss NYC,

weight loss NYC | in

PCOS,

This is the result of an interview I did with a Health Magazine writer. It discusses "hidden" reasons women might have difficulty losing weight, including hyopthyroidism (it does not have to be as overt as some doctors will have you believe to cause weight gain or trouble losing weight), weight gaining prescription medications and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).

Check out the full Health Magazine Article here.

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Friday

Jul232010

How Stopping To Sit Can Kill You

July 23, 2010 |

Dr. Kane | tagged

medical weight loss NYC,

weight loss NYC | in

An interesting commentary by CNN on a study demonstrating an inverse relationship between inactivity and longevity. We have long been under the impression that exercise can make up for our otherwise sedentary lives. And while exercise recommendations continue to expand, it seems as if exercise alone does not cut it.

The American Cancer Society studied 123,000 men and women over 13 years. People who sat more during leisure time had increased risk of death during the study, in spite of exercise, although the lack of exercise enhanced the effect. Women were struck the hardest by this phenomenon with a 40% increased chance of death through sitting greater than six hours per day as compared to those who sat fewer than three (98% increase if also not engaged in an exercise program), although men still had a 20% increased chance of death with excess sitting (48% when no engaged in an exercise program). The responsible mechanism might be related to circulation, affecting blood sugar, the immune system - including cancer fighting cells, cardiovascular health and obesity.

Again it is important to note the distinction between association and causation. There are a multitude of factors that could be associated with early mortality that extend beyond simply sitting versus being on the move, and obesity alone is not the sole issue. Nonetheless, the bottom line is that while most of us are not going to be able to give up our current jobs and become farmers, we should probably spend a greater portion of our free time on the move in addition to a regular exercise program.

To read the full CNN article, click here.

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Thursday

Jul222010

Do Sugar-Free Items Raise Blood Sugar?!

July 22, 2010 |

Dr. Kane | tagged

Diet,

sugar,

An interesting point made in the New York Times this week. I generally advise my patients against the use of artificial sweeteners - not so much because of the pervasive fear of those things unnatural, but more because these products tend to alter our perception of taste in general- sweetness specifically. This consequently changes craving and eating patterns towards more fast-acting carbohydrates and makes relatively healthy food taste more bland. While the initial intent was to go calorie-free, the end result is more eating, more calories and thus more weight gain.

Increasingly, though, companies have begun adding “sugar alcohols” to their products with the claim that they are “sugar free.” While, technically, this is true – sugar alcohols are not straight sugar, but a hybrid of sugar and alcohol l- they do have calories in them (up to 3 calories per gram as opposed to 4 calories per gram for traditional sugars) and can raise blood sugar levels. For diabetics, this is worth monitoring on the nutrition labels. For people trying to lose weight, beware that sugar free does not necessarily mean calorie-free.

The bottom line is that sugar free products are still probably better than sugar-laden if you have absolutely no choice, but the best option is to avoid extreme sweets no matter what the ingredients.

To read the full New York Times article, click here.

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