Search Weight Loss Topics:

Page 282«..1020..281282283284..290300..»

Home » Diets that Work » Page 282

If you're reading this at breakfast, it's our pleasure to bring you good tidings of great joy: You may eat cake.

Dig in. Have a cookie. Eat some chocolate mousse or ice cream.

You can thank a new study from a team of researchers at Tel Aviv University. The study suggests that adding dessert to a balanced 600-calorie breakfast that includes proteins and carbohydrates can help dieters shed weight and keep it off.

Researchers split 193 clinically obese, non-diabetic adults into two groups. The groups were assigned nearly identical low-carb diets of 1,400 calories a day for women and 1,600 calories a day for men, similar to the popular Atkins diet. But one group was given a low-carb 300- calorie breakfast and the other was given a 600-calorie breakfast that was high in protein and carbohydrates, and that always included a dessert.

Weight loss was about equal for the two groups at 16 weeks. But after 32 weeks, those who added dessert to breakfast had lost an average of 40 pounds more than those who ate the lighter, low-carb breakfast, according to the findings published in the journal Steroids.

How does that work?

The study's lead researcher, professor Daniela Jakubowicz, part of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Diabetes Unit at Wolfson Medical Center, said breakfast provides energy for the day, revs metabolism and aids brain function. What you consume early is fuel. If a low-calorie diet restricts carbohydrates at breakfast, metabolism goes down, and the body makes compensatory changes that encourage weight gain if you eat carbs later. And you will, because by lunchtime you'll be super hungry.

Adding the sweet to breakfast reduces the desire to eat the sweet later in the day.

Serotonin, a neurotransmitter popularly thought to contribute to feelings of happiness, is high in the morning but falls in the afternoon, she said. When you eat chocolate in the afternoon, serotonin increases and has an anti-depressive effect; it makes you happier. It also makes you more likely to reach for it the next afternoon when your serotonin levels drop.

That's what happened to the group eating the lower-carb breakfast. They craved sweets later in the day, when indulging is worse, and they cheated on their diets.

So we should eat sweets in the morning?

"Chocolate in the morning maintains the serotonin levels during the day, so you don't feel depressed," Jakubowicz said.

The study shows that the group that ate dessert at breakfast was far more successful at maintaining the diet in the long run.

Dr. Denise Edwards, director of the Healthy Weight Clinic at the University of South Florida, said the study made sense because people often fail at restrictive diets and engage in "emotional eating," indulging in foods that give them pleasure. The best plan strikes a balance, she said, so don't think you can just eat sweets and lose weight.

View post:
Study: Sweets at breakfast might help dieters keep off weight loss

Enlarge iStockphoto.com

Experts say specialized diets won't help rid the body of toxins any more than what the liver and kidneys already do every day.

iStockphoto.com

Experts say specialized diets won't help rid the body of toxins any more than what the liver and kidneys already do every day.

Between lingering New Year's resolutions and impending Lenten restraint, it's the season when many people are inspired to get healthy by refusing foods they normally delight in.

Increasingly, we're seeing elimination diets that promise weight loss and a tantalizing bonus: detoxification.

"Cleansing diets" trade on this most alluring idea: By limiting our intake of food to a few superpure items, we can free up the body to get rid of all the gunk accumulated in our cells.

There's only one problem with the idea of using food, or a lack thereof, to detox: Medical experts say it's baloney. What's most ironic about the detox myth, they say, is that the body is already quite capable of eliminating toxins – a gift from human evolution.

 

"The body has its own amazing detoxification systems: the liver and the kidneys," says Ranit Mishori, a faculty member in family medicine at the Georgetown University School of Medicine who has reviewed the medical literature on colon cleanses. "Unless there's a blockage in one of these organs that do it day and night, there's absolutely no need to help the body get rid of toxins."

I happen to know a few people who recently embarked on the Clean Program, a 21-day diet created by Alejandro Junger — who was once called the "detox movement's It Boy." A cardiologist by training, the Uruguayan-born, Los Angeles-based Junger has managed to sell a lot of books (a best-seller titled Clean: The Revolutionary Program to Restore the Body's Natural Ability to Heal Itself) and a lot of dietary supplements to people on his program.

One of Junger's fundamental arguments is that our body is full of toxins we've picked up from food and the environment. These toxins slow us down and make us sick. As Junger recently tweeted, a "main cause of dysfunction in the body is the presence of obstacles [toxins] to the normal functioning of things."

However, Junger writes, it is possible to get rid of them by giving our digestive system a break. That system is normally so busy breaking down irritating foods that it rarely has time to do the hard work of detox. In effect, Junger sees the average body on an average American diet akin to a dirty house that needs an occasional deep scrubbing.

His diet bans a laundry list of foods: dairy, sugar, alcohol, caffeine, gluten, nightshade vegetables, soy and peanuts — all foods he calls irritants to good digestion. His website also actively encourages people to spend $425 on the Clean supplement package, which comes in vanilla or chocolate flavor.

After several years of promoting the Clean Program, Junger has hundreds of devotees who chatter on the Clean forum and elsewhere about feeling marvelous, and indeed cleaner after the program — like this writer from Outside. That group of believers includes such celebrities as Donna Karan and Gwyneth Paltrow, who recently launched her own $425 goop cleanse with Junger.

Despite its heavy restrictions, it's not hard to see why Clean is compelling. Who doesn't sometimes feel icky, or bloated, or displeased with his decision to wolf down a few too many cookies or french fries? And surely there's some benefit to eating a lot more fruits and vegetables.

But will that change in diet really push out toxins?

"The body is constantly filtering the toxins in alcohol, food and medicines, not storing them," Boston dietitian Maria Adams tells The Salt. "So they're not going to build up. I think the reason people feel better on a cleanse is probably just they're losing weight and are less bloated."

It's true there are plenty of very real toxins in the environment we could be exposed to: the ultrafine particulate matter we inhale from dirty air, asbestos from old homes, or heavy metals like lead or mercury. Unfortunately, there's really no easy way to get these toxins out. Chelation therapy may work for some metals, but particulates in our lungs are probably there to stay, says Mishori. "A lot of these are irreversible," she says.

So why, despite the science, does the idea of cleansing with food remain so powerful?

"We live in an era where there are daily assaults on our psyche and body, so cleansing may give you a false sense of getting the gunk out," says Mishori. As for psychological gunk? Try a little exercise and nature, she says.

See the original post:
Can A Diet Clean Out Toxins In The Body?

13-02-2012 22:37 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Facebook: tinyurl.com Twitter: twitter.com Site: http://www.FatLosstheTruth.com ------------------------------------------------------------------

See the article here:
All Diets Work - Video

I'll say it upfront: I don't think most diets work. There are people -- with severe problems like advanced coronary disease, celiac, major intolerances, etc. -- who need to be on very restrictive diets. OK. But for the rest of us, from all my research and observations, diets just don't work.

Sure, at first you tend to lose a bunch of weight -- Yee-hah! But before you can say "Paula Deen," it's creeping back on again, and then some. Why is that?

I think the answer has to do with the fact that with most diets you're always hungry. And what's worse, when you do finally get to eat something, it's rarely something you enjoy eating. There's all that delicious food out there, and what do you end up with? A celery stalk and some brown rice. Washed down with some green tea. Blech!

Food is one of life's great pleasures. It can soothe the soul, enhance romance, stimulate the mind, lift your spirits, please the senses. It has inspired great art and literature and served as a platform for diplomacy. Surely we weren't meant to ignore the wonders of the culinary universe just to drop a few pounds and clean out our arteries?

OK, that being said, I find myself in the position -- like many of us -- of having for too long abused a basic tenet of that universe: Thou Shalt Not Partake of Too Much of a Good Thing. Which is why I find myself in the shape that I'm now in, and why I have to even consider the question of diets.

So what's a boy chef to do? Naturopath Dr. Martin Milner explained that it's not diabetes per se that kills you. It's the things diabetes can cause -- heart disease, circulation problems, blindness, to name a few. Then -- with a straight face, I swear -- he strongly advised me that I should go on a strict, plant-based (aka vegan) diet, with a mere 10 percent of my calories from fat. That diet being the only one that has been clinically proven to reverse heart disease, among other benefits.

After my initial chuckle, I realized he was serious. I think the premise is that, if I were to go on this diet, I could expect to live a healthy, normal life until the ripe old age of 112. I explained that: 1) I really only want to live to 95 or so, 2) I disdain diets for the above reasons, and 3) I truly believe that life isn't worth living if it is without at least some of the flavors and textures I've come to adore. And I hope -- with the Doc's guidance, some planning and willpower, and some inspiration -- I can come up with a way of eating that will be both healthy and satisfying. I can have my cake and eat it. Well, minus the cake.

So that has become my quest.

It has to be. I look at it this way: I either get my dietary and fitness act together in a way I can live with, still able to enjoy the food I cook and consume, or it's off to vegan hell for me, and a life filled with sausage substitutes and groats. So I am taking up the gauntlet.

So far, it hasn't been easy. But it hasn't been nearly as hard as I thought it would be. The first thing I did was to sign up for one of those free iPhone mobile apps. This one is called MyFitnessPlan.com. I don't know if it's the best one, but it was the first one listed and the most downloaded and I wanted to get on this right away. The principle is that you create a profile with your vital statistics, goals for weight loss, daily calorie consumption, targets for ingestion of fat, protein, carbs, salt, etc. You enter your exercise regime, if any, for which the program figures the calories burned and adds that into the equation. Then you enter everything you eat each day. Everything. It has a huge data base that for the most part will have the breakdown for whatever you could possibly eat. They had my preferred brand of Thai fish sauce, every conceivable variation of Dave's Killer Bread, Mama L'il's Peppers. Even the brand of buckwheat soba noodles I was using. If they don't have it, you enter it, using the nutritional information on the package.

Once you've plugged in all the information from the day's consumption, it spits out the total number of calories consumed, broken down into all its nutritional components. Finally, it figures in your exercise "burn," then calculates your potential weight loss. The site has all sorts of other tools -- such as the ability to log your own recipes -- along with a social component should you want to share your experience with your "friends."

The benefit of such a program is that it forces you to consider everything you eat, and what each thing contains nutritionally. That was eye-opening, to say the least!

I'd never really thought much about what I consumed. Mostly, I ate what tasted good, without regard for calories, fat or salt content, or the cumulative effect of it all. Sure, I consumed my share of salads and veggies, figuring that, in total, I was getting the nutrients I needed. Which I was. Along with ungodly amounts of fat and salt and sugar from the countless burgers and sodas and bacon and fries and chips and ice cream and, and ... Jeez, this is making me hungry!

But the bottom line is that I am now paying the price for years of ignoring good nutrition. And something has to give.

Next week I'll discuss how my eating habits and attitudes toward food have changed. And how I'm really enjoying it.

Next: Part II – Eat your vegetables!

Any questions about Ken's regimen or, well, anything? Email him at kgnyport@aol.com

See the original post:
Diary of a Diabetic Chef: Creating an eating plan that satisfies the senses and weight-loss goals

14 February 2012

PSource Structured Debt Limited ("the Company")

PetroAlgae (OTC BB: PALG.OB - news) changes name to Parabel

PSource Structured Debt Limited (LSE: PSD, the "Company"), confirms that its largest holding PetroAlgae has changed its name to Parabel. The announcement from Parabel is set out below.

PETROALGAE CHANGES NAME TO PARABEL

New Name Follows Strategic Changes and Commercialization Milestones

February 09, 2012, Melbourne, Fla. - PetroAlgae Inc. (OTCQB: PALG) announced today that the company's board of directors has approved a name change to "Parabel Inc."

Parabel provides renewable technology and solutions to address the global demand for new sources of feed, food and fuel. The company has developed proprietary technology to enable customer licensees to grow, harvest, and process locally-available, aquatic micro-crops to create products for agriculture and energy markets. The company's license model is designed to deliver strong economic returns to customer licensees, as well as investment and employment opportunities in emerging economies.

"In the past year, the company has significantly accelerated its commercialization as a result of key strategic changes," said Anthony Tiarks, CEO of Parabel. "We have developed a scalable and flexible customer licensee model and our technology is now being implemented at pilot scale around the world. Our priority is to facilitate the commercial-scale production of animal feed and potentially human food ingredients, using non-genetically modified and non-algae micro-crops. We believe it is the right time for these important developments and achievements to be given expression through a new name."

Parabel's protein product has been validated as a replacement for fish meal protein in tilapia diets, and has been successfully tested as a feed ingredient in other aquaculture, poultry and swine applications. The company's meal product has been confirmed as a new source of feed in ruminant diets, such as dairy cattle. Furthermore, Parabel's protein product could qualify as the first major new plant protein source for humans since soy entered the human diet in the 1950s, with initial academic testing demonstrating that the product contains potentially valuable properties for human applications.

Unlike many other agricultural and food production systems, Parabel's technology is designed to support year-round production operations, with the objective of providing a high degree of consistency, predictability, and profitability.

In addition, Parabel continues to work with third-party technology providers to explore opportunities for conversion of its micro-crop residues into renewable fuels.

In a further recognition of the company's evolving identity, Mr. Tiarks will assume the role of Chairman in addition to his duties as CEO. The board simultaneously accepted the resignation of John Scott, Ph.D., who founded PetroAlgae and has served as non-executive Chairman since June 2011. In accepting Dr. Scott's resignation, the board expressed its appreciation for his vision and leadership.

For further information, please contact:

PSource Capital Limited

+44 20 7925 3156

Soondra Appavoo

Read the original:
PSource Struct Debt - Portfolio Update

Nuts are good — but in moderation, and hold the salt. As for beer, forget the low-carb versions. Photo: Marina Oliphant

From the dangers of eggs to the benefits of low-fat diets, nutritionist Nicole Senior debunks seven popular food myths.

Low-fat diet is best for weight loss

THE most famous fall guy for the obesity epidemic is dietary fat and we are still living with the legacy of the ''low-fat'' mantra. Just look at the abundance of ''low-fat'' and ''light'' foods in supermarkets.

Weight loss is the result of eating fewer kilojoules and exercising more. The trick is to maintain a high nutrient intake in fewer kilojoules - this is where food choice is paramount.

Advertisement: Story continues below

Choosing the most nutrient-dense foods from all food groups will ensure you stay well-nourished at the same time as burning body fat. A fat-free diet does not contain enough essential fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins, and leaves a massive flavour black hole.

A Cochrane Review (the ant's pants of scientific studies) of research concluded low-fat diets had no advantage over kilojoule-restricted diets for weight loss. You can still lose weight eating healthy fats, as long as your diet is kilojoule-controlled. A healthy diet contains about 30 per cent of kilojoules as fat.

Foods low in fat are not necessarily low in kilojoules. Those with a low moisture content, such as ''baked not fried'' or ''light'' biscuits, crackers and crisps, are great examples of foods that are still high in kilojoules despite being made to a lower fat recipe.

There is a place for low-fat foods - in the dairy aisle. Because dairy is a major source of artery-clogging saturated fat, low-fat versions of these nutrient-rich foods are recommended for everyone aged over two.

Nuts are fattening

THIS is one of those ''too much of a good thing'' stories. Nuts (along with seeds) are nutrition powerhouses packed with protein, vitamins, fibre, good fats and essential minerals. They also have lots of kilojoules thanks to a high (good) unsaturated fat content.

We need some nuts. To keep your heart healthy, it is a good idea to tuck into a handful or two (depending on your energy needs) of unsalted nuts each day or have some nut butter on your toast. Or add nuts to your cooking.

Portion caution is the issue with nuts - they are so moreish many people find it hard to stop.

Butter is better than margarine

I'VE done some consulting work for a company that makes margarine, so I have some inside information on this one. I've had long chats with food technologists whose job it is to tweak the recipe, and talked to top-notch scientists to sort through the evidence.

I eat margarine myself and recommend it over butter to my family and friends.

Margarine is made from vegetable oils, with just enough hard fat (often palm oil) to make it spreadable. It has vitamins A and D added (required by law), an emulsifier (often lecithin from soybeans) to stop it separating, a little salt for taste, natural colour and a preservative to keep it fresh.

Sometimes a little milk is added, also for taste. About 99 per cent of the ingredients in a typical margarine spread are from natural sources (the preservative is not). Margarine is not much more processed than butter.

To be fair, margarines developed a bad reputation because of the presence of trans-fats.

These bad fats are produced when liquid oils are partially hydrogenated to make them solid at room temperature. However, when the science emerged that these were harmful, reputable manufacturers changed the way they made table margarine.

There may be a few cheap variants that still contain some trans-fat - check the label before buying.

Butter is made from cream and is almost 70 per cent saturated fats that increase cholesterol. Every tablespoon of butter is eating the equivalent of two tablespoons of pure cream- not milk - which is why it isn't part of the dairy food group.

Eating butter and cream will increase your blood cholesterol and they don't give you any calcium.

Butter is 80 per cent fat but contains no essential fats (omega-6 and omega-3). Although it does contain some vitamin A, so does margarine. It's a real ''sometimes food'' - all about taste and nothing about health.

Sea salt is healthier

SEA salt oozes natural food cred, with exotic and expensive, coloured single-origin salt revered by chefs and gourmets. The fact is, although sea salt (or any other fancy kind of salt) may add subtle differences in flavour and texture, it contains just as much harmful sodium as regular ''el cheapo'' table salt. In terms of mineral content, the amounts are so small you would need to poison yourself with sodium to obtain useful quantities of minerals that are otherwise found in nutritious foods.

Eggs increase cholesterol

EVER wondered why egg-white omelettes became so popular? Heaven knows, it wasn't for the flavour. Eggs were shunned because of their cholesterol content. But looking a little deeper, we find eating eggs is not linked with higher rates of heart disease. Although eggs contain cholesterol, eating eggs in moderation as part of a heart-friendly diet low in saturated fat will not adversely affect the blood-cholesterol level of most people.

Blood-cholesterol levels are far more influenced by how much saturated and trans-fat you eat than dietary cholesterol.

 

Frozen foods are less nutritious than fresh

THE usual suspect for this popular myth is vegetables. And it's probably true: nothing will be more nutritious and tasty than vegetables freshly picked from the garden and served the same day.

These days, frozen vegetables come close. They are picked at their peak and snap-frozen within hours, which makes them a nutritious option. In fact, frozen peas will retain more of their vitamins and minerals than the shelled pre-packed peas on the greengrocer's shelf.

Low-carb beer is healthier

LOW-CARB beer is a classic case of wishful thinking, or perhaps an example of ignoring the elephant in the room. Yet low-carb beers are still a hit. How could so many people have been hoodwinked into thinking a beer with fewer carbs is healthier when it's the alcohol content that's the problem.

The first, rather obvious, thing to point out is beer contains low levels of carbohydrates. The average lager-style beer contains only 2 per cent carbohydrate (sugars) by volume, or 7.5 grams in a 375-millilitre can. As a point of comparison, soft drinks contain 40 grams (eight teaspoons) of sugar in every 375-millilitre can. You should know carbohydrates are not especially fattening, although sugars in drinks are not nutritious.

The real nail in the coffin of logic behind the marketing of low-carb beers is that they contain the same level of alcohol as regular beers, and the alcohol is the kilojoule (calorie) culprit, contributing 75 per cent of the total.

If you really want to curb the kilojoules, then drinking low-alcohol or ''light'' beer makes more sense. Or, better still, less beer.

 Nicole Senior is an accredited practising dietitian and nutritionist. This is an edited extract from her book Food Myths, published by New Holland ($16.95).

Original post:
Healthier? Nuts to that

DENVER, Feb. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new study the preference for fatty foods has a genetic basis, and those with certain forms of the CD36 gene may like high-fat foods more than those who have other forms of this gene. The results may help explain why some people struggle when placed on a low-fat diet and may one day assist people in selecting diets that are the best fit for them to follow.  Atkins™, the original and leading low-carb weight-loss plan based on an extensive scientific body of research, is a better alternative for those who require a low-carb, higher-fat diet in order to lose and maintain weight.

"Fat is universally palatable to humans," says lead author Kathleen Keller, assistant professor of nutritional sciences, Penn State. "Yet we have demonstrated for the first time that people who have particular forms of the CD36 gene tend to like higher-fat foods more and may be at greater risk for obesity compared to those who do not have this form of the gene. Our study is one of the first to show this relationship in humans."

According to Colette Heimowitz, M.Sc., vice president of nutrition and education for Atkins Nutritionals, Inc., "This study illustrates why some diets simply do not work for certain people who would fare better on a higher-fat, low-carbohydrate plan. We already know that Atkins offers a scientifically proven alternative that delivers better weight loss and health marker improvements among those who have carb intolerance, including those with metabolic syndrome, pre-diabetes or insulin resistance.  Now we have a test that can help individuals identify their individual tendency and therefore prevent issues of sugar metabolism disorders by following a higher-fat, lower-carbohydrate program before obesity occurs."

Given that the Atkins Diet™ reduces carbohydrates during weight loss, the dieter is directed to increase their healthy carb intake until they find their personal carb balance – the level where their body can effectively metabolize carbs and burn fat for fuel while maintaining long-term weight loss. Atkins is unique in that no other weight-loss and maintenance program does this.  The Atkins Diet is backed by more than 80 published, peer-reviewed studies conducted over the past several decades.

The study "Common Variants in the CD36 Gene are Associated with Oral Fat Perception, Fat Preferences, and Obesity in African Americans," was led by a team of scientists from Penn State, Columbia University and Rutgers University who examined 317 African-American males and females because individuals in this ethnic group are highly vulnerable to obesity and thus are at greatest risk for obesity-related diseases.

"Our results may help explain why some people have more difficulty adhering to a low-fat diet than others and why these same people often have better compliance when they adopt higher-fat, low-carbohydrate diets.  The Atkins Diet is one example," says Keller.

About Atkins Nutritionals, Inc.

Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. is a leader in the $2.4 billion weight control nutrition category, and offers a powerful lifetime approach to weight loss and management. The Atkins Diet focuses on a healthy diet with reduced levels of refined carbohydrates and added sugars and encourages the consumption of protein, fiber, fruits, vegetables and good fats. Backed by research and consumer success stories, this approach allows the body to burn more fat and work more efficiently while helping individuals feel less hungry, more satisfied and more energetic.

Atkins Nutritionals, Inc., manufactures and sells a variety of nutrition bars and shakes designed around the nutritional principles of the Atkins Diet™.  Atkins' four product lines: Advantage®, Day Break™, Endulge™ and Cuisine™ appeal to a broad audience of both men and women who want to achieve their weight management goals and enjoy a healthier lifestyle. Atkins products are available online at atkins.com and in more than 30,000 locations throughout the U.S. and internationally. For more information, visit atkins.com.

 

Read the original post:
Atkins Diet Plan Ideal for Those with Fat Preference Gene

08-02-2012 23:48 go to http://www.happythinenergetic.com for more information.

Excerpt from:
Learn Why Diets Don't Work - Video

MELBOURNE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

PetroAlgae Inc. (OTCQB: PALG.PK - News) announced today that the company’s board of directors has approved a name change to “Parabel Inc.”

Parabel provides renewable technology and solutions to address the global demand for new sources of feed, food and fuel. The company has developed proprietary technology to enable customer licensees to grow, harvest, and process locally-available, aquatic micro-crops to create products for agriculture and energy markets. The company’s license model is designed to deliver strong economic returns to customer licensees, as well as investment and employment opportunities in emerging economies.

“In the past year, the company has significantly accelerated its commercialization as a result of key strategic changes,” said Anthony Tiarks, CEO of Parabel. “We have developed a scalable and flexible customer licensee model and our technology is now being implemented at pilot scale around the world. Our priority is to facilitate the commercial-scale production of animal feed and potentially human food ingredients, using non-genetically modified and non-algae micro-crops. We believe it is the right time for these important developments and achievements to be given expression through a new name.”

Parabel’s protein product has been validated as a replacement for fish meal protein in tilapia diets, and has been successfully tested as a feed ingredient in other aquaculture, poultry and swine applications. The company’s meal product has been confirmed as a new source of feed in ruminant diets, such as dairy cattle. Furthermore, Parabel’s protein product could qualify as the first major new plant protein source for humans since soy entered the human diet in the 1950s, with initial academic testing demonstrating that the product contains potentially valuable properties for human applications.

Unlike many other agricultural and food production systems, Parabel’s technology is designed to support year-round production operations, with the objective of providing a high degree of consistency, predictability, and profitability.

In addition, Parabel continues to work with third-party technology providers to explore opportunities for conversion of its micro-crop residues into renewable fuels.

In a further recognition of the company’s evolving identity, Mr. Tiarks will assume the role of Chairman in addition to his duties as CEO. The board simultaneously accepted the resignation of John Scott, Ph.D., who founded PetroAlgae and has served as non-executive Chairman since June 2011. In accepting Dr. Scott’s resignation, the board expressed its appreciation for his vision and leadership.

About Parabel

Parabel Inc. (OTCQB:PALG.PK - News), based in Melbourne, Florida, provides renewable technology and solutions to meet the significant and growing demand for agricultural products and energy in global markets. The company’s solution is designed to deliver strong economic returns to customer licensees as a consequence of continuous, year-round production operations. Parabel also intends to provide social and environmental benefits, through job creation, community investment, and sustainable production that absorbs atmospheric carbon dioxide and does not compete with the existing food supply, require arable land, or pollute soil or water. For more information about Parabel, please visit our website at http://www.parabel.com.

Read the original post:
PetroAlgae Changes Name to Parabel

By IRENE KRAFT

February 12, 2012

BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) — Gyms. Treadmills. Exercise balls. Diets.

What works for human athletes, it turns out, also works for four-legged ones trying to get into tip-top shape for the nation's premier canine contest — the 136th annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

On Monday and Tuesday, more than 2,000 champion dogs of 186 breeds will convene in New York's Madison Square Garden to compete for the ultimate honor, Best in Show, awarded to the top dog in the nation.

And in the dog-eat-dog world of purebred sports, some owners will go through what seems like extremes to give their beloved canines a shot at that title.

They'll firm up their muscles, groom their coats, buy them the best supplies and monitor their diets in hopes of catching the eyes of judges looking for the purest specimens.

For the last couple of months, Donovan, a 3-year-old Irish setter, has been working out twice weekly at Animal Therapy Center in Bethlehem Township. Owned by Wright Veterinary Medical Center, the center is equipped with physical therapists/trainers and some of the same equipment you'd find in a gym.

Donovan's owners, Lydia Miller of Williams Township and Matthew and Jayneann Wikler, of Rancho Sante Fe, Calif., are hoping the training, which costs $450 for 20 half-hour sessions, gives him a competitive edge.

"This is my heart dog," said Miller, using a term synonymous with soul mate.

She bred him and she'd do anything, she said, to improve his performance. That includes buying a $100 lead to replace the leather one Donovan doesn't like.

Just as a baseball player works on his upper-body strength to improve batting, a dog may benefit from athletic training, said Dr. Pamela Mueller, a veterinarian at Wright Veterinary Medical Center.

"You want to train the dog for the sport it competes in," added Mueller, who helped design a conditioning program for Donovan that would strengthen his rear and core muscles to help him look better in the show ring.

In the workout, Donovan steps over a series of raised poles to encourage a flowing gait, balances on a rocker board to strengthen his core and walks with his front legs on an oval-shaped exercise ball to strengthen his hind end.

He wraps up the session with a brisk walk on the Aqua Paws water treadmill.

"It's like running in the surf," Mueller said.

By strengthening muscles, proper training can prevent injury in athletic dogs, she said.

Phil Zeltzman, a traveling veterinary surgeon in the Lehigh Valley, agreed.

"I'm not into show dogs, but some of these agility dogs are true athletes," he said. "Conditioning to prevent injury and make dogs stronger is a good thing, particularly when it's done in a controlled veterinary environment."

But dogs can be over-trained, Mueller cautioned.

"You train them to reach their peak performance, like for a show like Westminster. But after the show, they must relax and allow their muscles to rest," she said. "A dog can't always be at peak performance. They are more prone to injury."

Miller said she has already seen results. Since he started the training, Donovan has placed in three major events, she said.

Tom Bavaria, who showed his first dog at Westminster 20 years ago, doesn't take his 4-year-old Akita, Trader, to the gym. But he does put him on a treadmill.

"Everybody's got little training tricks," said Bavaria, of Weisenberg Township.

But his preferred way of exercising Trader, who won breed honors at Westminster last year and is returning this year, is to let him run and play in the yard with his other dogs: "It's far better than any treadmill that I can put him on," he said.

Frank DePaulo of Germansville uses home exercise equipment for his 5-year-old pointer, Josh.

"I have an indoor trotter," he said. "He goes on it twice a day, 15 minutes at a time. It gets him into a nice steady gait and keeps him fit, especially this time of year."

DePaulo, who is showing Josh at Westminster this year, judged the pointer and ridgeback breed competitions at Westminster two years ago. In his 30 years of breeding and raising both breeds of dog, he has never heard of taking a dog to a gym for workouts.

"I'm sure it's pretty unusual," he said. "Most people have trotters or they do road work, tethering the dog to a golf cart or car to give them a workout."

Susan Palla, who raises Great Danes, has relied on the hills on her Upper Mount Bethel property to strengthen her dogs' back ends. But Lil' Carrie, the dog she's taking to Westminster, needs to strengthen something else — her bond with handler Javier Rojas.

To do that, Lil' Carrie spends every moment with Rojas during the weeks leading up to the show and even sleeps with him.

Established in 1877, the Westminster Kennel Club is America's oldest organization dedicated to the sport of purebred dogs. Its annual dog show is the second longest continuously held sporting event in the country, just one year behind the Kentucky Derby. It's considered the Super Bowl or Academy Awards of the dog show world. So there's little wonder why owners of purebreds strive to compete in it.

Last year, Hickory, a 6-year-old Scottish deerhound, one of the oldest breeds to be registered in the club, won best in show. The judge said he choose the tall, coarse-haired dog because her body structure and movement were exactly as it was supposed to be when the breed was established 150 years ago.

It shows that the extremes owners take to prepare their dog to show may not matter, Bavaria said. Genetics can determine the winner. As with models, bone structure is key.

"Just like with people, you have to be born with it," he said.

Few owners faced the challenges Cynthia Meyer of Salisbury Township did in getting her Chesapeake Bay retriever Rita's coat in shape for Westminster. After Rita gave birth to two hefty puppies in August, hormonal changes caused her to lose her close-cropped but curly coat.

"Her back was almost bald. She looked more like a Labrador retriever," Meyer said.

She also put on a little baby weight.

Meyer cut back on Rita's food and supplemented her diet with green beans to fill her up on fewer calories. And, she added a raw egg to Rita's food to improve her coat.

"I also had to walk her three miles every day," she said.

She forced back Rita's coat by wetting it and putting her outdoors in the cold or by keeping her in the cooler basement of her home. It worked. Rita's coat grew back in two to three weeks and she was ready to hit the pre-Westminster show circuit.

Looking good in the show ring is about coat as much as fitness, agreed Sherry Hanley of Slatington, who will be taking her Belgian sheepdog Wynonna to Westminster this year.

She bathes and grooms Wynonna's long black fur weekly and sprays it every day to keep the coarse coat from breaking.

"We also feed her premium dog food and proper vitamins," said Hanley, who quickly learned how expensive raising show dogs can be.

When she first started showing Eli, her 13-year-old Belgian sheepdog, she bought a motor home to make traveling easier. Her expenses in Eli's first year — the motor home, gas to fuel it and show entry fees at $30 a pop — totaled $125,000.

They came home from a big, prestigious show at the end of that year with no honors — just a silver key chain given to all participants.

"I like to tell people it's my $125,000 key chain," Meyer said. "Showing dogs is an expensive habit."

Some owners are lucky. They have breeds that require little grooming or exercise.

Diminutive Rocky, a 6-pound Chihuahua, doesn't need much work other than walks to keep him in shape, said owner Connie Newcomb of South Whitehall Township.

"He's one of those dogs that loves to be at a show," she said.

But one trick does improve his show performance.

"He gets a little filet mignon," Newcomb said. "I cut it up into pieces. And he knows that's the special show treat."

___

Information from: The Morning Call, http://www.mcall.com

Reader Reaction We reserve the right to remove any content at any time from this Community, including without limitation if it violates the Community Rules. We ask that you report content that you in good faith believe violates the above rules by clicking the Flag link next to the offending comment. New comments are only accepted for two weeks from the date of publication.

Link:
Dogs hit the gym before Westminster show

Page 282«..1020..281282283284..290300..»

Home » Diets that Work » Page 282