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When a psychiatrist sets out to write a diet book, he doesnt have a slimmer waistline in mind. Drew Ramsey, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry and coauthor of The Happiness Diet (Rodale, 2011), believes good health and happiness are achieved when the brain is consistently fed all the nutrients it needs for optimal cognitive and emotional functioning.

Drew Ramsey, coauthor of The Happiness Diet, believes happiness isachieved when the brain is consistently fed the proper nutrients.

The modern American dietor MAD, as Ramsey calls itfails to nourish the brain. Heavily processed foods loaded with sugar and toxins have given rise not only to Americas obesity epidemic, but also an epidemic of depression, which Ramsey contends is even more dangerous. Studies show that obese peoples brains actually age faster than those of people at a normal weight, and excess weight has been linked to dementia.

The Happiness Diet focuses on nutrition from the brains perspective with a primary goal of improved brain health, said Ramsey, 37. While weight loss happens on this diet, the main goal is brain growth.

Ramsey and his coauthor, Tyler Graham, a journalist who specializes in health and fitness, based their diet on nutrients they deemed the essential elements of happiness. They include vitamin B12, used in the production of brain cells, as well as magnesium, vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids, said to improve memory, counter seasonal depression and promote strong neurons. Even cholesterol, which forms a crucial protective layer around the brain, gets a nod.

Ramsey, a practicing psychiatrist on the Upper West Side, always asks his patients what they eat. He believes this is the closest thing to primary prevention in psychiatry. When people eat too few calories, they can be depressed and irritable, so when patients are willing, he helps them overhaul their diet.

Just eating kale and salmon wont give you bliss, but by promoting stable, positive moods, better focus and concentration, and improved energy, people will engage in their lives in ways that promote feeling their best, Ramsey said.

Today, an average person on MAD eats three pounds of sugar every week. In order to make the switch to the Happiness Diet of organic and whole foods, Ramsey said carbage and bad mood foodsprimarily sugar-laden foods, industrial fats and factory-farmed meatmust be cut. He also urges readers to steer clear of artificially flavored foods and foods labeled low fat and fat free. When fats are extracted from foods, theyre usually replaced with refined sugars, which are less satisfying and have no nutritional value. Basically, dont eat stuff out of a package, he said.

Ramsey devotes a portion of his book to the origins of MAD and the advances in industry that brought processed foods to the mainstream. Though the Happiness Diet is not a diet in the traditional sense, the book does include a number of diet recommendations.

The good news is that the Happiness Diet is made of foods you already like, he said. Its a plant-based diet, though meat is an important component. He says its important to eat a wide variety of organic vegetables because conventional vegetables, depending on how they were farmed, are diminished in vital nutrients. A diet of whole foods naturally contains less fat and sodium.

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Key to Good Health? A Proper Diet for the Brain

Legislation to partially roll back the postal system privatization is expected to sail through the current Diet session because the ruling Democratic Party of Japan will join the two major opposition parties that agreed Thursday to jointly submit a reform bill to this end, lawmakers said.

Earlier in the day, the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito agreed on a bill to overturn the postal privatization spearheaded in the early 2000s by then LDP Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi that would have had the government sell off its stockholdings in Japan Post Bank and Japan Post Insurance Co. by 2017 to achieve full privatization of Japan Post Holdings Co.'s financial units, the lawmakers said.

Senior DPJ lawmakers, including Secretary General Azuma Koshiishi, said the ruling party will endorse the accord.

The bill agreed on by the LDP and New Komeito states that the sale of all shares in the postal banking and insurance units should be realized "as early as possible" by taking their financial conditions and roles in the postal business into account.

The wording means Japan Post Holdings will decide when shares in the two units should be sold, the lawmakers said.

The bill, which the LDP and New Komeito will jointly present to the Diet next week, also envisages merging Japan Post Network Co. and Japan Post Service Co. to reduce the number of companies under Japan Post Holdings to three from the current four.

As the postal privatization reform would lift a freeze on the government's sale of postal shares in line with a 2009 law, New Komeito hopes to use proceeds from the sale to finance reconstruction work from the earthquake and tsunami disaster of last March.

But the bill is opposed by a considerable number of LDP lawmakers who want the current privatization plan, which would completely remove the two postal financial units from government control, to stand.

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Diet passage likely of postal privatization partial rollback

Researchers are still fleshing out exactly how the Mediterranean diet benefits both mind and body, but one thing is certain: the ratio of monounsaturated fats to saturated fats is ideal.

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The Mediterranean diet is well-known as a key ingredient in a healthy life. But researchers have been unsure why it's so beneficial both to body and mind. The diet has widely been shown to reduce the risk for cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease, particularly when coupled with exercise. Now researchers are finding that its mechanism may be through the tiny blood vessels of the brain.

Researchers quizzed almost 1,000 healthy seniors about their diets over the years, and ranked them in how closely they followed the Mediterranean diet, which is high in fruits, veggies, whole grains, fish, olive oil, nuts, and beans, and low in red meat, refined grains, sugar, and high-fat dairy. A little red wine is often part of the diet, but in moderation.

Participants underwent MRI scans to determine the health of the small blood vessels that serve the brain tissue. This "white matter hyperintensity volume" is a known marker of chronic damage to the blood vessels.

The people who stuck closely to the Mediterranean diet had less damage to the brain's blood vessels than people who followed it less closely. This connection was found even after researchers pulled other variables out of the equation, like blood pressure, cholesterol, and smoking.

One component of the diet stood out: the ratio of monosaturated fats to saturated fats the participants ate. The higher the ratio of mononunsaturated to saturated fats, the better the blood vessel health. The study points to a mechanism through which the Mediterranean diet could exert its effects. Nevertheless, there is likely more at play than monosaturated fats alone, like the amount of antioxidants or other phytochemicals consumed with the diet, or other factors. Even though researchers are still fleshing out exactly how the Mediterranean diet works, one thing we know for sure is that it works, in many areas of our health.

The study was carried out at Columbia University Medical Center, and published in theArchives of Neurology.

This article originally appeared on TheDoctorWillSeeYouNow.com, an Atlantic partner site.

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How the Mediterranean Diet Works

Diet.com announces the winners of their annual New Year's Weight Loss Challenge, which drew over 500 participants who lost a combined total of over 1,400 lbs.

Brookline, MA (PRWEB) March 22, 2012

The Grand Prize winner, a Diet.com member named Tasha, lost 17 lbs during the 6-week Challenge. The 24-year-old mother of three, who goes by the username Tasha23 on the site, tells Diet.com that she started off 2012 with a new resolution - to focus on getting healthy, not getting "skinny."

"This year, my New Year's resolution wasn't to get skinny - it was to be healthy, stop drinking pop, exercise," Tasha tells Diet.com. "Not just set an image goal for myself, but set a life-changing goal... I want to be the same girl on the outside as I am on the inside."

Tasha wrote a blog about her Challenge experience that can be read here.

"Our Challengers are people from all over the world who want to lose weight, become healthier and reach goals," says Bailey Apple, Diet.com's Marketing Manager, who oversees the operations of each of the site's Weight Loss Challenges. "Our Weight Loss Challenges give participants a boost of motivation to help them do so."

Tasha agrees, attributing her weight loss success to the Challenge and Diet.com:

"Because of this website I am well on my way to a healthier life, a new me, a whole new start on life!"

For being named the Grand Prize winner of the Weight Loss Challenge, Tasha has been awarded a prize package to help her continue on her journey towards healthy living: a $250 Visa Gift Card, 3 cases of Vita Coco all-natural coconut water, a 12-pack variety case from Colby's Kettle Corn and a variety of diet and fitness books.

Three runners up were also named in the Challenge, each of whom were awarded a Visa Gift Card, case of Vita Coco, a variety case of Colbys Kettle corn and a variety of diet and fitness books. These runners up lost a combined total of 28 lbs during the 6-week Challenge.

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Diet.com Announces Winners of Weight Loss Challenge, Awards Over $1,000 in Prizes

Public release date: 21-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Christina Simmons csimmons@sandiegozoo.org 619-685-3291 Zoological Society of San Diego

Southern white rhinoceros populations, once thriving in zoos, have been showing severely reduced reproductivity among the captive-born population. San Diego Zoo Global researchers have a possible lead into why the southern white rhinoceros population in managed-care facilities is declining: phytoestrogens in their diet might be contributing to reproductive failure in the females.

"Understanding why the captive white rhinoceros population has been dwindling for decades is an important part of protecting the future of this species," said Christopher Tubbs, researcher with the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. "Our work is the first step toward determining if phytoestrogens are involved in this phenomenon and whether we need to reevaluate captive white rhino diets."

After elephants, the southern white rhinoceros is the world's second largest land animal. This rhino species also occupies another listthat of the International Union for Conservation of Nature's "near-threatened" species. Wild populations face poaching and sport hunting, but captive populations of this animal are declining due to reproductive problems in the females. These include cystic endometrial hyperplasia; cervical, ovarian, and uterine cancers; and ovarian cysts.

San Diego Zoo researchers believe the diets of the captive population offers much concern. Specifically, phytoestrogens, such as isoflavinoids found in the alfalfa and soy that they eat, activate their estrogen receptors more than those of the greater one-horned rhinoceros, another captive population that receives a similar diet but has better reproductive success.

The study, published in the March issue of Endocrinology, compares populations that are doing well with populations whose reproductivity is placing them at risk, citing diet as a key difference between the two.

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The San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research is dedicated to generating, sharing and applying scientific knowledge vital to the conservation of animals, plants and habitats worldwide. The work of the Institute includes onsite research efforts at the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park (historically referred to as Wild Animal Park), laboratory work at the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center for Conservation Research, and international field programs involving more than 235 researchers working in 35 countries. In addition to the Beckman Center for Conservation Research, the Institute also operates the Anne and Kenneth Griffin Reptile Conservation Center, the Frozen Zoo and Native Seed Gene Bank, the Keauhou and Maui Hawaiian Bird Conservation Centers, Cocha Cashu Biological Research Station and the Desert Tortoise Conservation Center. The Zoo also manages the 1,800-acre San Diego Zoo Safari Park, which includes a 800-acre biodiversity reserve, and the San Diego Zoo. The important conservation and science work of these entities is supported in part by The Foundation of the Zoological Society of San Diego.

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Diet may be affecting rhino reproduction

The question: I dont have celiac disease but am thinking about going on a gluten-free diet. Good idea?

The answer: Gluten-free diets are certainly on the rise. In part because gluten intolerance, or celiac disease, is on the rise. But theyre also becoming fashionable as celebrities and professional athletes are dropping gluten from their diets. A gluten-free diet is often hyped as a way to increase energy, lose weight or deal with certain health problems.

The truth is, though, that a gluten-free diet isnt necessarily a healthy one if you dont need to be on it.

So who does need a gluten-free diet? For starters, its a necessity for people with celiac disease. Following a gluten-free diet is the only way to treat the condition. People with celiac disease avoid obvious sources of gluten such as bread and pasta but they also eliminate gluten hidden in foods such deli meats, salad dressings and condiments.

Its estimated that 1 in 133 Canadians have celiac disease. Its a lifelong, genetically based disorder that occurs when gluten a protein found in wheat, rye and barley triggers an abnormal immune response that damages the lining of the small intestine interfering with the absorption of nutrients.

Symptoms can include diarrhea, abdominal pain, weight loss and, in children, delayed growth. But most people have symptoms that are more subtle, such as bloating, excess gas or fatigue.

People who have non-celiac gluten sensitivity will also benefit from a gluten-free diet. These people test negative for celiac disease but react poorly to gluten and may report abdominal pain, headaches and fatigue.

Theres no evidence, however, that following a gluten-free diet will promote weight loss or offer any health benefit beyond helping gluten-sensitive people.

If you decide to drop gluten from your diet, be sure to include gluten-free whole grains such as brown and wild rice, quinoa and millet to help you get fibre, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

Dont fall into the trap of filling up on gluten-free breads, bagels, cookies and snack foods. Many of these foods are refined and have been stripped of fibre and nutrients. And unlike wheat flour, these products are not fortified with vitamins and minerals. Many are also higher in carbohydrates and sodium.

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Is a gluten-free diet a good idea?

LOS ANGELES, March 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Tired of tiptoeing around summer barbeques, holiday meals and special occasions so you don't bust your calorie budget? Don't let living life get in the way of losing weight and feeling great! Dr. Melina Jampolis, M.D. and Karen Ansel M.S., R.D. provide practical advice and dieting tips for anyone wanting to lose weight without giving up holiday celebrations, weekend getaways, and living their life to the fullest in THE CALENDAR DIET (Wagging Tail Press; March 2012; Paperback; $16.95; 188 pages with photos).

In a month-by-month guide, acclaimed weight loss specialist, internist and board certified physician nutrition specialist Dr. Melina, and her team of world-class nutrition and fitness specialists help navigate your biggest seasonal eating obstacles and lulls in motivation. THE CALENDAR DIET combines cutting edge research with real-life practical advice to navigate year-round diet challenges.

Using a three-pronged approach, THE CALENDAR DIET delivers easy-to-follow diet advice, delicious recipes based on seasonal ingredients and produce, and a season-by-season exercise plan that guarantees success all year long.

THE CALENDAR DIET includes: * A comprehensive, doctor-designed weight loss plan * 52 delicious, healthful seasonal recipes to guide you through winter, spring, summer and fall * Practical diet suggestions for every holiday and seasonal diet trap of the year * Behavioral tips, strategies and exercises to keep you on track all year long * A calorie-blasting, total body conditioning workout customizable to fit your lifestyle

THE CALENDAR DIET is available at Amazon.com for $16.95. http://www.amazon.com/Calendar-Diet-Losing-Weight-Living/dp/0615576192. For more information visit http://www.thecalendardiet.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS: *Dr. Melina B. Jampolis, M.D. is one of only several hundred board certified physician nutrition specialists in the United States. A graduate of Tufts University and Tufts University School of medicine, she completed her internal medicine residency at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, a Stanford University teaching hospital. She is a member of the American Society for Nutrition and the Obesity Society. She is a frequent guest on national television programs including Live with Kelly, Dr. Oz, Fox Business Network and CNN. *Karen Ansel, M.S., R.D., C.D.N. is a nutrition consultant, journalist and author specializing in nutrition, health and wellness. She is a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and a contributing editor for Woman's Day Magazine. Karen is a graduate of Duke University and she received her Masters of Science in clinical nutrition from New York University. *Ami Jampolis, M.S., CSCS is the owner of Focus Fitness and a certified personal trainer through the National Association of Sports Medicine as well as a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist. Ami holds a Bachelor's Degree in Kinesiology and a Master's Degree in Exercise Physiology from Arizona State University.

MEDIA CONTACT: Triple 7 Public Relations Julie Holland | Julie@triple7pr.com | 310.571.8217

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THE CALENDAR DIET: A Month by Month Guide to Losing Weight While Living Your Life

As a dietitian in private practice, I was hard-pressed to meet a vegan or would-be vegan 20 years ago. Thats not no longer the case. More and more, I am asked to craft plant-based vegetarian meal plans for clients.

Its hard to say how many Canadians are vegan today. As of 2003, 4 per cent of the population said they followed a vegetarian diet, although not necessarily a vegan one.

The prevalence of vegetarianism has undoubtedly increased over the past decade. And many more people are moving in this direction by cutting red meat from their diet.

A vegan diet is the strictest form of vegetarianism. While a vegetarian might pour milk on cereal or eat cookies made with eggs and butter, a vegan avoids all animal products including meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, even honey.

The motivation to adopt such a hard-core diet varies. Some do it for ethical reasons, not wanting to harm animals for human consumption.

Others like the fact a vegan diet is better for the environment than one based on meat. Large-scale meat production is thought to contribute as much as 22 per cent of greenhouse gases in the world each year.

The health benefits are a draw as well. A vegan diet has been shown to improve blood sugar in people with diabetes, lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and blood pressure, and promote weight loss. It may even help prevent colon cancer and heart disease.

Many people became interested when former U.S. president Bill Clinton drew international attention to veganism crediting his weight loss to a plant-based diet.

But perhaps more people are considering veganism because the diet is easier to follow than it used to be. Vegan soups, frozen entrees, energy bars, protein powders, even breads are available in mainstream grocery stores. And a growing number of restaurants are devoted to vegan fare.

Vegan cookbooks are proliferating too. So much so there are vegan cookbooks devoted entirely to slow-cooker meals and vegan entertaining.

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How to have a balanced vegan diet

ScienceDaily (Mar. 20, 2012) In a surprising result, Michigan State University researchers looking at the effects of diet on bowel disease found that mice on a calorie-restricted diet were more likely to die after being infected with an inflammation-causing bacterial pathogen in the colon.

While research suggests inflammation associated with obesity may contribute to inflammatory bowel diseases such as colitis, the study results revealed a low-calorie diet may actually impair the immune system's ability to respond to infection, said Jenifer Fenton, assistant professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition.

Additionally, the study found no connection that moderate obesity increased the severity of colitis in the mouse model.

"The results are similar to the research from our department that shows consuming fewer calories make it harder to fight off the flu virus," said Fenton, referring to recent work by colleague Elizabeth Gardner. "Since this is a totally different pathogen, it amplifies the need to find out why caloric intake has such an impact on the body's ability to respond to infection.

"It is possible that the same mechanism that happens with the flu is occurring with gastro-intestinal diseases; future research will ask this very question."

The research is published in the current edition of the World Journal of Gastroenterology.

Inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, is a group of conditions affecting the colon and intestines; the major types being ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. People suffering from IBD have an increased risk of developing colon cancer.

As part of their study, Fenton and colleagues evaluated the influence of obesity and calorie-restricted diets on mice with induced colitis.

Mice in the study were given one of three dietary treatments: a high-fat diet, a 30 percent caloric-restriction diet and a control group on an average-caloric diet. They then were treated with bacteria called H. hepaticus, which infects the colon and causes inflammation, eventually leading to tumor development. This process models the more aggressive lesions observed in human colon cancer cases.

Unexpectedly, study results suggest increased body fat induced by a high-fat diet did not influence the severity of colitis, despite changes in hormones that are known to increase with obesity and influence inflammation. In fact, researchers found calorie-restricted mice had a higher mortality rate in response to infection with H. hepaticus, dying before tumors even developed.

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Low-calorie diet may be harmful for bowel disease patients

Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka said Monday he may order the Self-Defense Forces to shoot down the North Korean rocket purportedly carrying a satellite next month if it passes over Japan.

Tanaka said this in a Diet session, referring to actions the SDF may take in the event the rocket passes through Japanese airspace.

North Korea said Friday it hopes to place a Kwangmyongsong-3 domestically manufactured Earth observation satellite into orbit in mid-April, sparking widespread criticism that the launch is merely a test of a long-range ballistic missile.

"We will take the (necessary) procedures in the event of a contingency that threatens our country's security," Tanaka said, adding that the Defense Ministry plans to deploy ground-based Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptors and Aegis-equipped destroyers carrying ballistic missile interceptors.

Foreign Minister Koichiro Genba said at the same Upper House Budget Committee session that "the possibility cannot be ruled out that (the rocket) will pass over areas in Okinawa, such as the Nansei Islands."

The North has informed the International Maritime Organization and other official entities that the first stage of the rocket will come down in waters west of South Korea while the second stage will fall east of the Philippines.

Tanaka said Japan will continue to work closely with other nations to obtain accurate information about the planned rocket launch, and that at the moment, there are no concrete activities indicating a launch is imminent.

The defense minister also said he will use as reference his ministry's order during Pyongyang's long-range ballistic missile launch in April 2009.

Yasukazu Hamada, defense minister at the time, ordered the SDF to destroy the North Korean rocket or its debris in the event it fell onto Japanese territory.

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Diet told of interceptor response to N.K. launch

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