Well, this is the best news I've heard in a long time...an ingredient in red wine may actually help treat and prevent obesity.

My Favorite Red Wine - Casillero del Diablo Shiraz


Researchers at the University of Ulm in Germany recently published their findings that Resveratrol, a compound present in grapes and red wine, prevented pre-fat cells from increasing and prevented them from converting into mature fat cells. Reservatrol was also found to have some other positive health benefits including reducing substances in the body that may be linked to the development of obesity-related disorders, such as diabetes and clogged coronary arteries. Reservatrol also stimulated the production of the protein adiponectin, which is known to decrease the risk of heart attack.

If you have ever wondered why the French can eat fattier foods, but remain so healthy, then red wine may be the answer. For example, the typical diet of people in Southern France includes a very high proportion of cheese, butter, eggs, organ meats, and other fatty and cholesterol-laden foods, topped off with red wine at most meals. This type of high fat diet would normally promote heart disease, but the rate at which it occurs in Southern France was discovered to be much lower than in America.

So drinking a glass of red wine with your meals may help prevent all sorts or health problems, including obesity. Of course, it is not recommended to exceed a glass or two as drinking more than this will actually cause more harm than good. Also, drinking red wine with your meal is not a green light to eat whatever you want then expect to lose weight. Wine or not, you still have to consume a healthy diet lower in calories if you are to shed those pesky pounds.

Reference: Fischer-Posovszky P. Red wine’s resveratrol may help battle obesity. Presented at The Endocrine Society’s 90th Annual Meeting in San Francisco. 2008...

Guinea Piggy

It has only been a few days after my proclamation that I will be abstaining from my favorite fast-food chain, McDonald's, when a news story was released about Chris Colsen, who claims to have lost over 85 pounds by eating McDonald's for every meal. What was his secret to losing weight while eating fast-food? He only ate McDonald's salads, with the occasional cheeseburger (without the bun), and snacked on apple slices.

McDonald's Asian Chicken Salad - Doesn't look so bad


The positive story of Colsen's weight loss while eating McDonald's has been compared against the results seen in the documentary "Supersize Me", written by Morgan Spurlock. In this documentary, Spurlock spends 30 days, three square meals a day, only eating and drinking items from the McDonald's menu, supersizing his orders when asked. It is estimated that Spurlock consumed an average of 5000 calories a day. At the end of the documentary Spurlock had a 13% body mass increase and had begun experiencing mood swings, sexual dysfunction, and liver damage. It took Spurlock fourteen months to lose the weight he gained from the documentary.

Of course comparing the experiences of Spurlock to Colsen's story can't be done. Colsen claims a french fry never touched his lips and he only chose the healthy options on the McDonald's menu, such as the salads, wraps and grilled chicken sandwiches. On average, Colsen consumed approximately 1400 calories a day.

Now, I would still say that even Colsen's McDonald's Diet, although successful in helping him lose weight, was likely not a nutritionally balanced way to eat. But for some people like Colsen, who struggle with counting calories, eating fast-food may help them to keep their calorie consumption under control. Of course there are other success stories of this type, like Jared who claims he lost 245 pounds eating two Subway sandwiches a day.

The...

Guinea Piggy

Proud Americans have lost their world setting record of the fattest country to their friends down under, the Aussies. By a slim 1% to beat out the Americans, 26% of Australians are obese, that's more than 1 in 4 people. And just to clarify, being obese is not the same as being overweight. The definition of obesity is that of an individual's weight being 30% or more above what is considered normal.

So why are the koala kissing Aussies becoming so fat? Well, according to the Dieticians Association of Austrialia (DAA), "The average Australian family spends nearly 15% of their food budget on fast food and/or takeaway food.". Combine the Aussie fast-food addiction with a lack of exercise and there you have it, the fattest country in the world. Sound familiar? It should because it is for the same reasons that North Americans have been plumping on the pounds for years.

It's easy to say, "C'mon everyone, stop eating fast food, you know it makes you fat". But the truth is fast-food is popular because it is cheap, convenient, and tastes bloody good. Some fast food chains are starting to offer "healthy" alternatives on their menus. Other fast-food places even claim their healthy menu items can help you lose weight, like Subway.

I love my fast-food, I admit it. The thought of a cheese burger makes my mouth salivate, just like Pavlov's dog and I have fantasies being able to eat all the fast-food I could want and never gaining a pound.

But this is reality, and those are my jeans I can't fit into anymore, and that is the latest reading of my higher than normal blood pressure. Fast-food, I love you, but you are hurting me and so I must let you go. I love you, but I love myself more.

Guinea Piggy

It came as no suprise to me when I saw new fat pictures of Kirstie Alley in the taboids this morning. I guess she went back to her old ways after leaving her post as a spokesperson for Jenny Craig, where she claimed to have lost over 70 pounds on the program.

Kirstie in her Fat Actress Days


But, then it made me think...does Kirstie Alley have more than just donuts, cakes, pies and her favorite fatty foods contributing to her most recent weight gain? Well, as it just so happens, the former "Fat Actress" star Kirstie Alley has plans to launch her own diet plan in 2009. Yes, Kirstie Alley is attempting to make her ballooning self the biggest cash cow in the diet world.

If Kirstie is gonna sell us all on her diet, she's going to have to gain a whole bunch of weight before she starts it. She can't convincingly sell her weight loss program if there's no dramatic "fat Kirstie" before and "thinner Kirstie" after. So she balloons up, then slims down, and then sells tons of her magic weight loss stuff to us, the desperately seeking skinny.

Please Kirstie, you will not fool me into believing your next amazing weight loss story (or anyone else who reads this I hope). With your new tactics to sell your own diet it is apparent that your gluttony is not just for food, but for money too.

Guinea Piggy

I almost fell off of my oversized office chair the other day when I saw the "Sardine Diet" as a new weight loss option. Well, I say new, but actually the premise behind the Sardine Diet, which is to eat large quantities of foods high in Omega-3 fatty acids, is not a new concept to those of us who have tried almost everything to lose some weight.

Basically the diet goes about giving you recipes that use sardines - those small, oily, stinky little fish neatly packed in a metal box that for some reason always make their way to the hors d'oeuvres platters at special occasions along with their nasty little companions, smoked oysters. That's right, I bet most special occassion closet sardine lovers didn't know that the squishy little fish they love to delicately eat from a cracker may actually be undoing some of the weight gain from a night of merry-making.



But why sardines? Well, as it happens the Sardine Diet doesn't endorse all sardines, but Nordic brisling sardines, which contain among the lowest levels of mercury in seafood, while offering the most concentrated source of Omega-3 fatty acids. The low levels of mercury are particularly important if you are going to be eating these mouthwatering minnows more than a couple of times a week.

What Omega-3 Fatty Acids do for you:

• play a crucial role in brain function as well as normal growth and development
• reduce inflammation and help prevent risk factors associated with chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and arthritis
• reduce health problems such as high blood pressure and cholesterol, thereby lowering the risks of heart disease, diabetes and stroke
• increase fat metabolism by reducing insulin levels, resulting in weight loss

Is the Sardine Diet worth a try? Well, if you like sardines then the Sardine Diet may work well for you. The Sardine Diet provides recipes, along with a complete menu plan that details breakfasts,...

Guinea Piggy