BROWN FATS VS WHITE FATS-NEW POTENTIAL APPROACH FOR BODY WEIGHT CONTROL

Fat is no doubt a bad word for most people concerned about maintaining body weight and in to day's market low fat or fat free food products outnumber normal ones to meet the increasing demand from such worried consumers. Whether it is fat or carbohydrate, diets containing these two constituents provide energy needed for basal metabolism and day to day work regimen. It is only when the intake of food provides more energy than needed, the body starts storing the excess ones in the form of fat deposits which in turn contribute to over weight, obesity, metabolic syndrome, CVD, blood pressure, kidney disorders etc. The logic of cutting down on calories by reducing fat and sugar/carbohydrates is fairly well accepted and there are many slimming diets offered by the health food industry with low caloric density. As against this a new approach is being tried to tinker with the existing body fat so that it is burned fast in stead of storing in different parts of the body. This involves transforming the white fats to brown fats through therapeutic or nutritional intervention as the latter has the major role in burning for calories, just like carbohydrate. Though no conclusive therapy has yet been developed the attempts by scientists are showing encouraging signs and here is a report that highlights the efforts in the laboratory. 

"Scientists from ETH Zurich in Switzerland have shown for the first time that brown and white fat cells in a living organism can be converted from one cell type to the other. Their work, using mice as a model organism, provides important new insights into the origin of brown fat cells, which is a prerequisite for the development of successful anti-obesity therapies. Two types of fat cells can be found in mammals and hence in humans: White fat cells function mainly as highly flexible energy stores which are filled in times of calorie abundance. The fat is stored in the form of lipid droplets, which are mobilized when energy is needed. Diametrically opposed in function are the so-called brown adipocytes: These cells specialize in burning energy in the form of fat and sugar to produce heat. New-born babies possess substantial amounts of brown fat and utilize it to maintain body temperature. Since it was recently shown that brown adipocytes also exist in adult humans, research has focused on understanding how brown adipocytes are formed. The ultimate goal of these efforts is to increase brown adipocyte number and activity in obese humans, allowing them to burn excess calories and thus reduce weight".

The findings cannot be taken seriously yet as the experiments are confined to laboratory mice and till this is proven beyond doubt it may still be a possibility for future. More over the empirical observations must be validated in human beings through clinical studies. While it is a fact that interconversion  between white and brown fat has been demonstrated, man is still in the dark regarding the means to achieve this so that it can be applied under real life situation. There is a possibility that suitable drugs might be evolved for such an intervention at the cellular level or achieving it through nutritional route by appropriate design of special foods with such functions. It may take quite some time to arrive at this point and humanity will have to wait in baited breath for such a development!  

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

"BACTERIAL THERAPY" FOR BODY WEIGHT CONTROL-WILL IT WORK?

It is inconceivable to believe that a tiny bacteria residing in human guts can influence the metabolism so dramatically as the one recently identified in Belgium by a group of scientists. Interestingly this bacteria, not very well known but yet a part of the typical microbiome associated with human beings can startlingly alter the absorption of sugar and fat from the guts if present in adequate numbers. It is well known that there are hundreds of microbial species, numbering trillions, residing in different parts of human body and maintaining a balance among them can ensure normal health. The rampant use of antibiotics and antibacterial chemicals for treating diseases and maintaining hygiene invariably upsets such a fine balance and almost all problems to day mankind faces can be attributed to this reckless living style. The bacteria presently under the scanner is reported to be very effective at least in rat experiments in reducing the weight of obese rats dramatically and the hope is that a suitable treatment protocol may eventually emerge based on these beneficial bugs. Here is a take on this important development. 

"Researchers at the Catholic University of Louvain, in Belgium, worked with a single species of bacteria Akkermansia muciniphila. It normally makes up 3-5% of gut bacteria, but its levels fall in obesity. Mice on a high fat diet - which led them to put on two to three times more fat than normal, lean, mice - were fed the bacteria. The mice remained bigger than their lean cousins, but had lost around half of their extra weight despite no other changes to their diet. They also had lower levels of insulin resistance, a key symptom of Type-2 diabetes. Prof Patrice Cani, from the Catholic University of Louvain, told the BBC: "Of course it is an improvement, we did not completely reverse the obesity, but it is a very strong decrease in the fat mass."

World to day recognizes Diabetes and Obesity as most debilitating life style disorders that affect the quality of daily life causing misery to millions of people across the Globe and in spite of many drugs emerging during the last two decades to fight them, their onslaught does not seems to be abating. There are many dietary regimes propounded by different interest groups which might be helpful in ameliorating the conditions to varying extent. Still a substantial segment of the affected population does not respond to them in a way that is desirable. Therefore the microbial route to tackle them offers a novel way of attempting to bring solace to such people. One hopes that the new findings will be confirmed using human subjects and carrying out appropriate clinical studies. Hundreds of health foods, already in the market boast of probiotics and prebiotics that can improve the gut health though claims made by many of them are not substantiated by clinical data. A time has come probably to re-evaluate the effectiveness of these foods after including the newly discovered Akkermansia bacteria.     

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

WEIGHT CONTROL IS NO MORE RELEVANT? IT SEEMS SO!

Overweight and obesity related health disorders are increasingly becoming common, especially among population in wealthy countries who have easy access to cheap but calorie and fat rich food products. Billions of dollars are being invested by consumers affected by these disorders for getting rid of excess weight and fat in the body to escape from the consequences of overweight, scientifically documented by many studies at the international level. While a majority of medical, nutritional and health experts feel that overweight is really dangerous, there is a small segment of scientific community which maintains that over weight people are not at greater risk of dying compared to normal weight persons. Here is a take on this conflicting views which can derail the current aggressive approach on obesity alleviation.

"It's a common medical refrain: Carrying extra pounds raises the risk of ills such as heart disease and diabetes and therefore the risk of a premature death. But does that heightened risk of early death apply across the board to those who are merely overweight? A new analysis of nearly 3 million people suggests maybe not. The finding, published on-line Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Assn., pooled data from 97 studies encompassing adult men and women in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, China, Taiwan, Japan, Brazil, India and Mexico. A total of 270,000 people died of any cause during the studies. When the scientists crunched the numbers, they found, as expected, that people who were significantly obese — with a body mass index, or BMI, of 35 or more — had shorter life spans on average than those who were of normal weight, defined as having a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9. But the scientists also found that people classified as overweight, with a BMI of 25 to 29.9, died at slightly lower rates — not higher — than those of so-called normal weight. And they found that those who were mildly obese, with a BMI of 30 to 34.9, died in no greater numbers than did their normal-weight peers".

Is it not a disservice to humanity when scientists supposed to be searching for truth in whatever they do, indulge in such semantics putting the consumers in great distress not knowing what to believe? A closer scrutiny of the new findings reveals that the conclusions are based on crunching of health  data of thousands of persons and their past history. Though the data have been statistically analyzed, it is difficult to fully comprehend the significance of the new conclusion because a wrong reading can lead to millions of people presently on diet control, to be less vigilant and disciplined in eating that can have unknown consequences in future. A possible and rational explanation for the above unusual findings can be that those who are overweight might have been suffering from diseases like diabetes, CVD and hypertension, forcing them to resort to good and regular medication making their lives much more protective compared to normal healthy persons.  

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

BIG MONEY IN "WEIGHT CONTROL" FOOD BUSINESS-SUCCESS FOR AMATEURS

While BMI values govern the food and exercise schedules for men, keeping a trim figure appears to be the priority amongst women. Of course over weight and obesity are concerns affecting all people who have unlimited access to cheap and calorie rich foods. Though people are generally aware that imbalance in body weight is closely connected to food intake, the necessary will to shun unhealthy but highly satisfying foods available easily in the market place and restaurants invariably causes over eating and excess calories are stored in the body in the form of fat layers, very difficult to get rid of in a jiffy. It is here that weight reduction "merchants" carve out a place for them selves fighting for a pie of the health food business, mainly low calorie preparations. The era of Atkins Diet, South Beach Diet etc which ruled the roost by offering dieting regimen for guaranteed weight reduction seems to be over and a new breed of on-line advisers seems to be emerging, as exemplified by "Hungry Girl" and other similar smart players who found instant success in a world full of "hungry" dieters seeking "nirvana".

"Both the real world and the diet space are increasingly populated by virtual cheerleaders like Ms. Lillien, with nicknames like Skinnygirl and The Bikini Chef, who strive to make weight loss sound like as much girly fun as the third round of mojitos at a bachelorette party. Like DailyCandy, another e-mail newsletter that goes to mostly women (and claims more than three million subscribers), Hungry Girl offers readers a small treat, a sweet moment of pleasure in the daily slog. And if that requires the participation of crushed Funyuns and diet cranberry juice, so be it. "She doesn't preach or talk down to anybody, and believe me, that is not always true when it comes to women my size" said Stephanie Brown, a medical receptionist who attended a recent Hungry Girl book party on Long Island, and who said she needed to lose at least 100 pounds to reach a healthy weight. Ms. Lillien herself has no tale of catastrophic weight gain or massive weight loss to share, no fat-burning cabbage soup recipe, no clinical experience, other than having managed to lose about 20 pounds on her own in her 30s. But before then, she said, she was a typical, mildly overweight woman with a lifelong hobby of tasting diet products — the kind of person, she says, who would offer advice to indecisive people in the yogurt section of the supermarket. "I feel like I was made to do this," she said after lunch, pulling a strip of blueberry-cranberry-flavored beef jerky out of her purse. (Constant snacking is one of the realities that Hungry Girl often addresses.)"

What is unbelievable is the relatively low knowledge base of these new entrants and the extent of success they are able to achieve in a relatively short time. Probably this trend is symbolic of the desperation of American consumers as more than 30% of the population are "weighed down" by the eating frenzy that is evident every where. Also evident is the relative ease with which one can make money on-line by being smart and perceptive of the changing societal dynamics in an affluent country like the US.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

CALORIE COUNTERS-FOR BEING "LEAN AND MEAN"

Food labeling regulations world over are intended to enlighten the consumer regarding the "horoscope" of the contents in side. How far it serves the purpose is an issue worthy of debate amongst the various stake holders but what is certain is that food industry and the trade know how to get around any stipulations, making the consumer vulnerable to cheating. While organized industry at least gives some information about the products it delivers, catering sector is having a heyday with absolutely no accountability regarding the foods they rig up and offer to their customers. The clientele of the restaurant sector is developed by the sensory quality of products served rather than the nutritional parameters. What happens if consumers are provided with right information about some of the critical health related ingredients like calories, is borne out by a mammoth survey carried out recently in New York.

"This might come as an unpleasant surprise for the fast-food industry, but when people can read how many calories there are in their fast food, they do cut back. In a study of millions of transactions at several hundred Starbucks outlets, economists from Stanford University found that consumers in New York City responded to required calorie postings by cutting almost 15 calories off their average purchases, a calorie reduction of 6 percent".

How far restaurants can be trusted to give actual figures vis-a-vis calories and fat remains to be seen as some reports do indicate fudging of the data to make the products look less in calories. Enforcement also may pose logistical problems as the recipes can be changed quickly at the time of inspection to show less calories while high calorie and high fat products are regularly peddled to the customers. There is an eternal conflict between taste and nutrition and generally more the nutritional value of a food, less tasty would be the product!.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com