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Apr 8

‘Oatzempic’ Isn’t the Weight Loss Hack You Think It Is – Glamour

So-called wellness hacks may come and go, but unfortunately diet culture is forever. And its trends like TikToks latest obsession with the oatzempic drink that canand doperpetuate the latter. (See the Slimfast consumer to almond mom pipeline.)

Oatzempica mixed beverage that social media users claim helps with weight lossisnt anything new or groundbreaking. Nor does the TikTok disinformation cycle have any shortage of controversial or unsubstantiated beauty fads and nutritional claims. However, the oatzempic challenge is specifically giving me flashbacks to the horrible get thin quick by solely drinking your calories culture of the early aughts Because, well, thats all it is.

Despite its punny name, oatzempic has nothing to do with Ozempic, Wegovy, or any other weight-loss injections: Its just a drinkable meal replacement. Whats more, unlike actual GLP-1 medications, the oatzempic drink is not an FDA-approved medication, nor are there studies, doctors, or dietitians who can speak to its efficacy or safety. Further, doctors and dietitians dont cosign the oatzempic drink challenge as any form of health, wellness, or even weight-loss regimen.

Heres everything you need to know about the oatzempic drink youre seeing all over your FYP, as explained by a doctor and nutritionist.

As we said before, oatzempic is not Ozempic. Its merely a mixed beverage comprising oats, lime, water, and cinnamon. On its own, thatswell, unappetizing, but nothing too egregious, right?

Right. But the corresponding oatzempic drink challenge thats going viral is not medically or nutritionally sound. The challengewhich stems from one TikTok users claims that exclusively consuming the beverage and intermittent fasting for two months can result in 40 pounds of weight lossasks participants to do the same. This took the app by storm, with thousands of comments on the original video from users alleging that theyve since adopted the regimen.

Doctors and weight-loss experts, however, dont recommend it. For one, 40 pounds of weight loss in two months is excessive. As a general rule of thumb, a progressive weight loss of one to two pounds per week is considered safe and sustainable, registered dietitian Michelle Cardel, PhD, head of global clinical research and nutrition at WeightWatchers, tells Glamour. Two months of healthy weight loss should amount to somewhere between 8 and 16 poundsnot even close to 40.

Whats more, Dr. Cardel adds, is that while pairing this drink with your breakfast or having it as a snack may be okay, she doesnt suggest it it as a meal replacement It is not a sustainable approach for long-term weight loss or maintenance.

So, does drinking oatzempic really cause weight loss? It may be possiblebut not in any healthy way. Exclusively consuming oatsand no other foodwould likely put participants at a significant caloric deficit, which can and does lead to weight loss. However, it also puts them at a steep nutritional deficiency.

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'Oatzempic' Isn't the Weight Loss Hack You Think It Is - Glamour


Apr 8

5 Reasons to Ditch Keto and Get More Protein From Plants – VegNews

In diet culture, low-carbohydrate diets are hailed as weight-loss wonders, and we know them by name: Atkins, South Beach, and paleo. The ketogenic diet, shortened to keto, is one of those low-carb diets. The difference between the keto diet and others is that while one group advises replacing carbohydrates with protein, the keto diet swaps carbs with fats. But although results appear to happen fast, this diet, which has a history as a medical treatment, comes with some health risks.

jump to the REASONS

When done correctly, the lack of carbs consumed on a keto diet forces the body into a metabolic state called ketosis. In this state, the liver produces a substance called ketones from stored fats. These ketones then supply the body with energy in place of carbohydratesthe bodys usual source of energywhich leads to rapid weight loss in many people. But, is that a good thing? And is the keto diet actually healthy?

Its effective for weight loss because it removes so many foods from the diet and is an extremely restrictive diet. Any diet that eliminates entire food groups will be weight loss-inducing, Dana Ellis Hunnes, PhD, MPH, RD, explains to VegNews. This is not a healthy diet, however.

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The keto diet that sends your body into a state of ketosis isnt meant for everyday people. Physicians introduced it to the medical world back in the 1920s to treat children with epilepsy and seizure disorders and as an adjunct therapy to reduce the risk of seizures. Not for the average person just trying to lose weight, adds Hunnes. Most fad-followers of a keto diet are not actually in ketosis, unless they are being closely followed by a dietitian who knows how to develop a ketogenic plan.

Generally, a keto diet is 70 to 80 percent fats, 5 to 10 percent carbohydrates, and 10 to 20 percent protein. According to Harvard Health, this adds up to 165 grams of fat, 40 grams of carbohydrates, and 75 grams of protein. To put these numbers into perspective, half a cup of cooked long-grain brown rice contains nearly 26 grams of carbohydrates. And, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that you get around 25 to 35 percent of your daily calorie intake from fats.

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To get into more specifics, the keto diet includes meat, eggs, fatty fish, high-fat dairy products, nuts and seeds, avocados, healthy oils, green beans, and vegetables that are members of the cabbage family. It restricts grains and starches (such as rice, pasta, and bread), all other vegetables, tubers, most fruit, beans and legumes, processed low-fat and sugar-free products, highly refined oils, sugary foods and drinks, and alcohol.

When it comes to sustaining a healthy weight, this fast-acting eating plan might be best left in the graveyard of fad diets.

But, you may want to consider a whole food plant-based diet for the long-term instead. Often shortened to WFPB, a whole food, plant-based diet emphasizes unprocessed grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, and seeds. It excludes all animal products and restricts processed oils, refined sugars, white foods (like bread, rice, and pasta), fried food, and many pre-made foods.

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Lets go over the health risks of the keto diet and why you might want to consider whole, plant-based foods instead.

The keto diet often encourages foods such as processed meats, fatty meats, and butter. Keto is a risk to heart health when it is extremely high in animal proteins and animal fats, says Hunnes, adding that the diet can increase inflammation in the body. Though its exact role in heart health is unknown, inflammation is common in heart disease and stroke patients. However, this inflammation is often hidden by the fact that it is a low-calorie diet, and a low-enough calorie diet can decrease the risk of increased and high cholesterol levels, adds Hunnes.

Many keto foods also happen to be high in saturated fat, which is known to increase low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels in the blood. A meta-analysis of more than 100 studies on the keto diet published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition found that it raises both the risk of heart disease and LDL cholesterol buildup if used as a long-term eating plan.

However, studies have linked diets rich in whole, plant-based foods such as whole grains, legumes, fruits, non-starchy vegetables, nuts, and healthy oils rich in unsaturated fats with lower cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and reduced inflammation.

Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes are all rich in dietary fiber, a nutrient that helps increase feelings of fullness and aids in digestive health. But, a keto diet is very low in fiber from fruits, vegetables, and grains. It is especially low in beta-glucan, a type of fiber found in grains such as barley and oats. Studies suggest that beta-glucan also helps to maintain healthy cholesterol and blood glucose levels.

In addition to that, beta-glucan and other cereal fibers help you maintain a healthy gut microbiome, Julie Miller Jones, PhD, LN, CNS, and a scientific advisor for the Joint Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition for the University of Maryland and the US Food and Drug Administration, tells VegNews.

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Thus, followers of the [keto] diet may not only suffer from constipation and slow transit times, but may also lack the protection provided by the fermentation of fibers in the large bowel, explains Jones. This fermentation of these carbohydrates feeds a healthy microbiome, which in turn produces short-chain fatty acids that lower colonic pH, and are associated with lower growth of polyps and colon cancer.

However, a whole food, plant-based diet emphasizes an array of high-fiber foods that aid in a healthy gut microbiome and good digestion, reports a study published in Frontiers in Nutrition in 2019.

You may be missing out on key vitamins and minerals on a long-term keto diet because it restricts so many types of fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes. You can have greens from the cabbage family, but most other vegetablesincluding potatoesare out. Avocados and lemons are the only exception for permitted fruits. So, over time, a keto-follower may become deficient in some nutrients.

A study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found that those who adhere to fad dietsin this case, two of ketos low-carbohydrate siblings, the Atkins Diet, the South Beach Diet, and the carb-heavy DASH diethave a high likelihood of becoming micronutrient-deficient.

A whole food plant-based diet, on the other hand, encourages obtaining as many nutrients as possible from food, so it encourages eating a wide range of ingredients. But, thats not to say that its perfect. Anyone following any type of vegan diet should supplement vitamin B-12, an essential nutrient that cannot be obtained from plant-based foods.

Its common for keto diet followers to experience rapid weight loss. But, thats not a reason for celebration. Like many other fad diets, keto isnt meant to permanently change the way you eat. Its temporary, and followers often regain the weight they lost after going back to their regular eating habits.

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Along with its health risks, the inability to stick to the diet is one of the major reasons why keto has been ranked at the bottom of US News and World Report diet rankings, says Jones. Its also why prestigious organizations such as the Mayo Clinic recommend it for intractable epilepsy but almost nothing else. So while keto promotes rapid weight loss, it does not create dietary patterns that are sustainable and therefore does not lead to sustained weight loss for the vast majority of people.

But, on top of its other benefits, a study published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine suggests that a whole food, plant-based diet could aid in safe, sustainable weight loss.

The keto diet comes with a host of other health risks and the one that most people experience first is something called the keto flu. Symptoms include a cloudy mind, dizziness, nausea, cramps, headache, irritability, and constipation.This condition, which is not medically recognized, is known to emerge two to seven days after starting a keto diet. The cause is not known, nor is it unique to the keto diet, and many people who have drastically switched up their diet have reported similar symptoms. Additional negative side effects of a long-term keto diet suggested by studies include a higher risk of kidney stones, osteoporosis, and higher heart rates for athletes.

While there is no evidence that directly ties the keto diet to eating disorders, many dietitians warn that restrictive fad diets, in general, can feed yo-yo dieting and disordered eating.

In addition to that, because the keto diet is so heavy on animal products, its not good for the planet, either. Industrial animal agriculture is the culprit behind 14.5 percent of human-caused global greenhouse gas emissions, while a plant-forward diet puts significantly less strain on the planet. So if youre looking to eat more healthfully and sustainably, a whole food, plant-based diet could be worth a shot. As always, any major changes to your diet should be discussed with your doctor first.

Kat Smith is a Queens, NY-based freelance writer and editor who loves cooking and discovering local vegan hidden gems.

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5 Reasons to Ditch Keto and Get More Protein From Plants - VegNews


Mar 31

How to Watch Oprah Winfrey’s ‘Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution’ Special: Air Times, What to Know and … – Yahoo News UK

Oprah Winfrey will return to the small screen on Monday to debut an hour-long television program entitled An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution. The new special follows Winfreys exit from the board of WeightWatchers, where she served for nearly a decade after acquiring a 10% stake in the company.

I look forward to continuing to advise and collaborate with WeightWatchers and CEO Sima Sistani in elevating the conversation around recognizing obesity as a chronic condition, working to reduce stigma, and advocating for health equity, Winfrey said in a statement.

More from WWD

In December, Winfrey spoke to People about her use of weight-loss drugs, though she didnt specify which ones she used.

The fact that theres a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for, she told the magazine.

Ahead, learn more about Winfreys upcoming special.

Taped in front of a live studio audience, Winfrey will sit down with medical experts to discuss a variety of weight loss medications including Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy.

Winfrey will be joined by Cleveland Clinics Dr. W. Scott Butsch, ABC News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton, ABC News medical correspondent Dr. Darien Sutton and Cedars-Sinai Medical Centers Dr. Amanda Velazquez. Winfrey will also speak to patients from around the country about their experience using weight loss drugs.

Questions addressed in the special include: Who are the medications really intended for? Who is eligible to receive weight loss drugs? What are the short-term and long-term side effects?

Story continues

We are thrilled to work with Oprah and the voices she has assembled to open a dialogue that destigmatizes and educates viewers on the important and polarizing topic of weight loss, said Craig Erwich, president of Disney Television Group, in a statement. I can think of no one better to lead this meaningful conversation about such a critical issue that touches all of our lives.

It is a very personal topic for me and for the hundreds of millions of people impacted around the globe who have for years struggled with weight and obesity, said Oprah in a statement. This special will bring together medical experts, leaders in the space and people in the day-to-day struggle to talk about health equity and obesity with the intention to ultimately release the shame, judgment and stigma surrounding weight.

An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution airs Monday, March 18 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution will be available to stream on Hulu starting March 19.

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Mar 31

Weight-loss surgery yields long-term benefits for type 2 diabetes – National Institutes of Health (NIH) (.gov)

At a Glance

Diabetes affects more than 38 million people nationwide. It occurs when levels of blood sugar, or glucose, are too high. Over time, excess bloodglucose can lead to serious health problems, such as heart disease, stroke, nerve damage, and eye disease.

Some people with type 2 diabetesthe most common typekeep blood glucose in check by making lifestyle changes, including diet and exercise. Medications can also help to control blood glucose. Clinical trials over the past few decades have found that bariatric surgery, or weight-control surgery, can also help control type 2 diabetes. But it had been unclear which of these interventions might have better long-term outcomes.

To learn more, NIH-supported researchers at four institutions drew on data collected from four previous clinical trials conducted between May 2007 and August 2013. These trials were single-center studies comparing the effectiveness of bariatric surgeries to medical and lifestyle interventions. The surgeries included sleeve gastrectomy, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, and adjustable gastric banding. The medical and lifestyle interventions included nutrition counseling, self-monitoring of glucose, and medication to treat diabetes. By pooling data from the four clinical trials, the researchers had a larger, more diverse data set to analyze. Follow-up data was collected 7 to 12 years after the start of the original trials, through July 2022.

In total, 262 study participants agreed to long-term follow-up. All were between ages 18 and 65. Each had overweight or obesity, as measured by body mass index (BMI). Nearly 70% of participants were women, 31% were Black, and 67% were white. More than half (166) were randomized to receive bariatric surgery. The remaining 96 received diabetes medications plus lifestyle interventions known to be effective for weight loss. Results appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association on February 27, 2024.

The researchers found that, seven years after the original intervention, 54% of those in the surgery group had an A1c measurement less than 7%.A1c is a blood test that measures a persons average blood sugar levels over the previous two or three months.In contrast, only 27% of those in the medical/lifestyle group had similar A1c values.

In addition, 18% of those in the surgery group no longer had signs or symptoms of diabetes by year seven, compared to 6% in the medical/lifestyle group. The surgery group also had an average weight loss of 20%, compared to 8% in the other group. The differences between groups remained significant at 12 years.

No differences in major side effects were detected. The surgery group did have a higher number of fractures, anemia, low iron, and gastrointestinal events. These might have been due to greater weight loss and associated nutritional deficiencies. Sleeve gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass were both better than adjustable gastric banding at reducing A1c levels.

The surgeries appeared to be beneficial even among those with lower BMI scores, between 27 and 34 at study enrollment. That BMI range includes overweight and low-range obesity. Such people had typically been excluded from receiving bariatric surgery for diabetes. But this finding aligns with other recent data that support the use of surgery for some people with a BMI less than 35.

These results show that people with overweight or obesity and type 2 diabetes can make long-termimprovements in their health and change the trajectory of their diabetes through surgery, says Dr. Jean Lawrence of NIHs National Institute of Diabetes andDigestive and Kidney Diseases.

References:Long-Term Outcomes of Medical Management vs Bariatric Surgery in Type 2 Diabetes. Courcoulas AP, Patti ME, Hu B, Arterburn DE, Simonson DC, Gourash WF, Jakicic JM, Vernon AH, Beck GJ, Schauer PR, Kashyap SR, Aminian A, Cummings DE, Kirwan JP. JAMA. 2024 Feb 27;331(8):654-664. doi: 10.1001/jama.2024.0318. PMID: 38411644.

Funding:NIHs National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).

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Weight-loss surgery yields long-term benefits for type 2 diabetes - National Institutes of Health (NIH) (.gov)


Mar 31

3 Weight Loss Supplements That Are Actually So Dangerous, Experts WarnThey Lead To Liver & Gut Issues! – SheFinds

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3 Weight Loss Supplements That Are Actually So Dangerous, Experts WarnThey Lead To Liver & Gut Issues! - SheFinds


Mar 22

6 Lessons From Oprah’s TV Special on Weight Loss Drugs – Everyday Health

Oprah Winfrey has once again taken to the airwaves to talk about her experiences with weight loss, this time focusing on how medications like Wegovy and Zepbound can transform the lives of people with obesity.

During the hourlong ABC broadcast, An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame, and the Weight Loss Revolution, the media mogul stressed how stigma shaped her struggles with weight and how medications changed not just her body size, but also her understanding of what causes obesity and what to do about it. She didn't say which medication she takes, but the special did highlight newer injected weight loss drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound.

In my entire life, I never dreamed that we would be talking about medicines that are providing hope for people like me who have struggled for years with being overweight or with obesity, Winfrey said during the special, which is now available on Hulu.

RELATED: Everyday Health's Survey and Special Report: Weight Loss Reframed

So I come to this conversation in the hope that we can start releasing the stigma and the shame and the judgment to stop shaming other people for being overweight or how they chose to lose and not lose weight, Winfrey said. And more importantly, to stop shaming ourselves.

Here are some key takeaways from the special, including tips from Oprah and several medical experts who joined her for the conversation about weight loss.

One message came through loud and clear: Shame doesnt solve anything.

During the special, Winfrey recalled how she used to think about herself and her body, and how weight loss medications helped her move away from those negative thoughts.

There is now a sense of hope, number one, and number two, you no longer blame yourself," she said of her experience with weight loss drugs. When I tell you how many times I have blamed myself because you think, I'm smart enough to figure this out, and then to hear all along, it's you fighting your brain.

In the past, Oprah said she thought about dieting and weight loss as an exercise in willpower.

She recalled that what was cast as a triumph over obesity earlier in her career the day in the late 1980s when she wheeled out a wagon of fat on her talk show to represent her wildly successful weight loss efforts happened because she starved herself for five months.

After losing 67 pounds on a liquid diet, the next day, the very next day, I started to gain it back, Winfrey said.

Theres a name some people have for obsessive thoughts about what to eat: food noise. In a nutshell, food noise involves intrusive thoughts about eating that can contribute to disordered eating.

Oprah said that, looking back on her previous struggles with her weight, its possible food noise played a role. Medications helped quiet that noise, she said.

For the people who think that this could be the relief and support and freedom that youve been looking for your whole life, bless you, because theres space for all points of view, she says of people who think medicines might help silence their own internal monologues about food.

During the special, Winfrey, who left the board of WW (Weight Watchers) last month after a decade promoting the brand, said she invited Sima Sistani, the chief executive of WW International, to join her onstage to tackle a really tough topic: why some people succeed with weight loss and others dont. Sistani described why WW now embraces weight loss medicines along with its long-standing support for lifestyle changes.

We are the most clinically tested, evidence-based, science-backed behavior change program, but we were missing the third prong, which was biology, Sistani said. There could be somebody who needs medication because they have that biological underpinning, and what was so important is for us to provide that care and also to help people release the shame.

Echoing Oprahs message throughout the special, Sistani also acknowledged that dieting isnt necessarily enough on its own for people to manage their weight.

For all those people who came side-by-side and took on the behavior change, some of them walked away without the success, Sistani said. And to those people I want to say, its not your fault.

Two physicians also joined Oprah for the special, W. Scott Butsch, MD, the director of obesity medicine at the Bariatric and Metabolic Institute at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, and Amanda Velazquez, MD, the director of obesity medicine at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. They both have financial ties to companies that make weight loss drugs, and they talked about how these medicines can address the biological underpinnings of obesity.

Theres a spectrum of obesity; its not one disease, its many different subtypes of a disease, Dr. Butsch says. Without recognizing this, its easier to believe the false idea that people with obesity made poor choices that failed to control their weight with good eating and exercise habits.

This is just a reflection of someones uneducated belief that this is a self-inflicted condition, as if people who have obesity want to have obesity, Butsch added. That these are weaker people who have no willpower and who cant cut it and people who are thin have willpower and can cut it.

After years of thinking that gaining and losing weight was a matter of willpower, Oprah now has a new perspective. And with that knowledge, she said shes found a new way to combat the shame and stigma that can come from having obesity or taking weight loss medicines to treat this condition.

All these years, I thought all the people who never had to diet were just using their willpower and they were for some reason stronger than me, Winfrey said.

But now I realize y'all weren't even thinking about the food, Oprah said. It's not that you had the willpower. You weren't even thinking about it. You weren't obsessing about it.

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6 Lessons From Oprah's TV Special on Weight Loss Drugs - Everyday Health


Mar 22

How to Watch Oprah Winfrey’s ‘Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution’ Special: Air Times, What to Know and … – Yahoo Life

Oprah Winfrey will return to the small screen on Monday to debut an hour-long television program entitled An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution. The new special follows Winfreys exit from the board of WeightWatchers, where she served for nearly a decade after acquiring a 10% stake in the company.

I look forward to continuing to advise and collaborate with WeightWatchers and CEO Sima Sistani in elevating the conversation around recognizing obesity as a chronic condition, working to reduce stigma, and advocating for health equity, Winfrey said in a statement.

More from WWD

In December, Winfrey spoke to People about her use of weight-loss drugs, though she didnt specify which ones she used.

The fact that theres a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for, she told the magazine.

Ahead, learn more about Winfreys upcoming special.

Taped in front of a live studio audience, Winfrey will sit down with medical experts to discuss a variety of weight loss medications including Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy.

Winfrey will be joined by Cleveland Clinics Dr. W. Scott Butsch, ABC News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton, ABC News medical correspondent Dr. Darien Sutton and Cedars-Sinai Medical Centers Dr. Amanda Velazquez. Winfrey will also speak to patients from around the country about their experience using weight loss drugs.

Questions addressed in the special include: Who are the medications really intended for? Who is eligible to receive weight loss drugs? What are the short-term and long-term side effects?

We are thrilled to work with Oprah and the voices she has assembled to open a dialogue that destigmatizes and educates viewers on the important and polarizing topic of weight loss, said Craig Erwich, president of Disney Television Group, in a statement. I can think of no one better to lead this meaningful conversation about such a critical issue that touches all of our lives.

It is a very personal topic for me and for the hundreds of millions of people impacted around the globe who have for years struggled with weight and obesity, said Oprah in a statement. This special will bring together medical experts, leaders in the space and people in the day-to-day struggle to talk about health equity and obesity with the intention to ultimately release the shame, judgment and stigma surrounding weight.

An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution airs Monday, March 18 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution will be available to stream on Hulu starting March 19.

View Gallery

Launch Gallery: Oprah Winfrey's Red Carpet Style Through the Years: Photos

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How to Watch Oprah Winfrey's 'Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution' Special: Air Times, What to Know and ... - Yahoo Life


Mar 22

Intermittent fasting may raise risk of heart disease death, study shows – The Washington Post

Intermittent fasting when people only eat at certain times of day has exploded in popularity in recent years. But now a surprising new study suggests that there might be reason to be cautious: It found that some intermittent fasters were more likely to die of heart disease.

The findings were presented Monday at an American Heart Association meeting in Chicago and focused on a popular version of intermittent fasting that involves eating all your meals in just eight hours or less resulting in at least a 16-hour daily fast, commonly known as time-restricted eating.

The study analyzed data on the dietary habits of 20,000 adults across the United States who were followed from 2003 to 2018. They found that people who adhered to the eight-hour eating plan had a 91 percent higher risk of dying from heart disease compared to people who followed a more traditional dietary pattern of eating their food across 12 to 16 hours each day.

The scientists found that this increased risk also applied to people who were already living with a chronic disease or cancer. People with existing cardiovascular disease who followed a time-restricted eating pattern had a 66 percent higher risk of dying from heart disease or a stroke. Those who had cancer meanwhile were more likely to die of the disease if they followed a time-restricted diet compared to people with cancer who followed an eating duration of at least 16 hours a day.

The study results suggest that people who practice intermittent fasting for long periods of time, particularly those with existing heart conditions or cancer, should be extremely cautious, said Victor Wenze Zhong, the lead author and the chair of the department of epidemiology and biostatistics at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in China.

Based on the evidence as of now, focusing on what people eat appears to be more important than focusing on the time when they eat, he added.

Zhong said that he and his colleagues conducted the new study because they wanted to see how eating in a narrow window each day would impact hard endpoints such as heart disease and mortality. He said that they were surprised by their findings.

We had expected that long-term adoption of eight-hour time restricted eating would be associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular death and even all-cause death, he said.

The data didnt explain why time-restricted eating increased a persons health risks. But the researchers did find that people who followed a 16:8 time-restricted eating pattern, where they eat during an eight-hour window and fast for 16, had less lean muscle mass compared to people who ate throughout longer periods of the day. That lines up with a previous clinical trial published in JAMA Internal Medicine, which found that people assigned to follow a time-restricted diet for three months lost more muscle than a control group that was not assigned to do intermittent fasting.

Holding onto muscle as you age is important. It protects you against falls and disability and can boost your metabolic health. Studies have found that having low muscle mass is linked to higher mortality rates, including a higher risk of dying from heart disease, said Zhong.

He stressed that the findings were not definitive. The study uncovered a correlation between time-restricted eating and increased mortality, but it could not show cause and effect. Its possible for example that people who restricted their food intake to an eight-hour daily window had other habits or risk factors that might explain their increased likelihood of dying from heart disease. The scientists also noted that the study relied on self-reported dietary information. Its also possible that the participants did not always accurately report their eating durations.

Intermittent fasting has been widely touted by celebrities and health experts who say it produces weight loss and a variety of health benefits. Another form of intermittent fasting involves alternating fasting days with days of eating normally. Some people follow the 5:2 diet, in which they eat normally for five days a week and then fast for two days.

But time-restricted eating is generally considered the easiest form of intermittent fasting for people to follow because it doesnt require full-day fasts. It also typically doesnt involve excessive food restriction. Adherents often eat or drink whatever they want during the eight-hour eating period the only rule is that they dont eat at other times of day.

Some of the earliest studies on time-restricted eating found that it helped prevent mice from developing obesity and metabolic syndrome. These were followed by mostly small clinical trials in humans, some of which showed that time-restricted eating helped people lose weight and improve their blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels. These studies were largely short-term, typically lasting one to three months, and in some cases showed no benefit.

One of the most rigorous studies of time-restricted eating was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2022. It found that people with obesity who were assigned to follow a low-calorie diet and instructed to eat only between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily lost no more weight than people who ate the same number of calories throughout the day with no restrictions on when they could eat. The two diets had similar effects on blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, and other metabolic markers.

The findings suggest that any benefits of time-restricted eating likely result from eating fewer calories.

Christopher Gardner, the director of nutrition studies at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, said he encouraged people to approach the new study with healthy skepticism. He said that while the findings were interesting, he wants to see all the data, including potential demographic differences in the study subjects.

Did they all have the same level of disposable income and the same level of stress, he said. Or is it that the people who ate less than eight hours a day worked three jobs, had very high stress, and didnt have time to eat?

Gardner said that studying intermittent fasting can be challenging because there are so many variations of it, and determining its impact on longevity requires closely following people for long periods of time.

But he said that so far, the evidence supporting intermittent fasting for weight loss and other outcomes is mixed at best, with some studies showing short-term benefits and others showing no benefit at all. I dont think the data are very strong for intermittent fasting, he added. One of the challenges in nutrition is that just because something works really well for a few people doesnt mean its going to work for everyone.

He said that his biggest complaint with intermittent fasting is that it doesnt address diet quality. It doesnt say anything about choosing poorly when youre eating, he said. What if I have an eight-hour eating window but Im eating Pop Tarts and Cheetos and drinking Coke in that window? Im not a fan of that long term. I think thats potentially problematic.

Do you have a question about healthy eating? Email EatingLab@washpost.com and we may answer your question in a future column.

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Intermittent fasting may raise risk of heart disease death, study shows - The Washington Post


Mar 22

Shocking dangers of intermittent fasting diet revealed in new study – Yahoo Singapore News

Certain fasting diets can nearly double your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, a shock new study has claimed.

The 16:8 diet where you eat all your food in an eight hour window and fast for the remaining 16 hours has been used by actress Jennifer Aniston, model Heidi Klum, and singer/actress Jennifer Lopez.

But researchers who studied 20,000 US adults on intermittent fasting, the majority of whom used the 16:8 plan, found it was not a good long-term option.

This style of eating is popular among those trying to lose weight, and studies have previously suggested it can improve blood pressure, blood glucose, and cholesterol levels.

But there is not much information on the long-term effects, which the research team wanted to investigate.

Results of their study, published in the American Heart Association Journal, found that those who limited their eating to eight hours a day were 91 per cent more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than those who ate across 12 or 16 hours.

Among people already living with a cardiovascular disease, eating for more than eight but less than 10 hours a day was associated with a 66 per cent higher risk of death from heart disease or stroke.

Meanwhile, people with cancer who ate for more than 16 hours a day were less likely to die from the disease.

Time-restricted eating did not reduce the risk of death from any cause.

Senior author Dr Victor Wenze Zhong, a professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China, said: Restricting daily eating time to a short period, such as eight hours per day, has gained popularity in recent years as a way to lose weight and improve heart health.

However, the long-term health effects of time-restricted eating, including risk of death from cardiovascular disease or any other cause, are unknown.

We were surprised to find in our study that people who followed an eight-hour, time-restricted eating schedule were more likely to die from cardiovascular disease.

Even though this type of diet has been popular due to its potential short-term benefits, our research clearly shows that, compared with a typical eating time range of 12 to 16 hours per day, it may have long-term drawbacks.

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A shorter eating duration was not associated with living longer.

Professor Zhong said the study should be of particular interest to those with existing heart conditions who are already predisposed to cardiovascular death.

Our findings encourage a more cautious, personalised approach to dietary recommendations, ensuring they are aligned with an individuals health status and the latest scientific evidence, he explained.

The team also made sure to draw attention to the limitations of their study.

Prof Zhong highlighted that the study does not mean time-restricted eating causes cardiovascular death, while Dr Christoper Gardner, a professor at Stanford University in the US, pointed out that researchers relied on self-reported dietary information.

This may be affected by participants memory or recall, and therefore may not accurately assess typical eating patterns, he said.

Professor Gardner also suggested that future studies should consider how healthy the participants diets were.

Without this information, it cannot be determined if nutrient density might be an alternate explanation to the findings that currently focus on the window of time for eating, he said.

It will also be critical to see a comparison of demographics and baseline characteristics across the groups that were classified into the different time-restricted eating windows.

For example, was the group with the shortest time-restricted eating window unique compared to people who followed other eating schedules, in terms of weight, stress, traditional cardiometabolic risk factors, or other factors associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes?

This additional information will help to better understand the potential independent contribution of the short time-restricted eating pattern.

The study analysed 20,000 US adults, with an average age of 49, over a median time period of eight years.

Approximately half of the participants were men and half were women.

Around 73 per cent of participants were non-Hispanic white adults, while 11 per cent were Hispanic, eight per cent were non-Hispanic black adults, and just under seven per cent were from another racial category.

People who practice a type of intermittent fasting popular with celebrities nearly double their risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, a new study claims.

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Shocking dangers of intermittent fasting diet revealed in new study - Yahoo Singapore News


Mar 13

Experimental weight loss pill seems to be more potent than Ozempic – New Scientist

An oral weight loss drug could help people with obesity who dislike needles

Kseniya Ovchinnikova/Getty Images

An experimental pill looks set to cause more weight loss than existing injectable treatments such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro, based on early trial results reported on 7 March.

The medicine, called amycretin, caused people to lose 13 per cent of their weight over three months, more than twice the amount seen with Ozempic and Wegovy specifically. This approach seems to be a little bit more exciting, from the limited data that we have, says Daniel Drucker at the University of Toronto in Canada.

The results are from a placebo-controlled trial lasting three months, so it is too soon to know how amycretin stacks up against the other medicines for long-term effectiveness and safety, says Drucker, who wasnt involved in the trial but has consulted for the manufacturer Novo Nordisk, as well as other pharmaceutical firms.

The diabetes drug Ozempic and the weight loss drug Wegovy are two brand names for the compound semaglutide. They work by mimicking a gut hormone called GLP-1 that is normally released after eating. This makes people feel full, reduces their appetite and boosts the release of the blood-sugar-regulating hormone insulin.

Semaglutide leads to the loss of about 15 per cent of body weight after it has been taken for one year, although weight then plateaus and people need to continue the injections long term or it tends to creep back up.

Another weight loss injection was launched last year, called Mounjaro, also known as tirzepatide or Zepbound. This mimics GLP-1 and an additional gut hormone called GIP. Mounjaro seems to lead to people losing about 21 per cent of their weight over the first year and five months of use, before their weight loss plateaus.

Amycretin, however, mimics GLP-1 and a different hormone called amylin, which seems to make it more potent still at least over the first three months of treatment. People taking amycretin lost 13 per cent of their weight in this period, Novo Nordisk announced today, according to a report by Reuters. Those taking placebo pills lost 1 per cent.This is more than the equivalent figures for Wegovy and Ozempic, of 6 per cent, and for Mounjaro, of about 7.5 per cent.

However, we can only know for sure how the drugs measure up long term when they are compared under exactly the same circumstances in a single study, says Drucker. These are not head-to-head trials.

Another caveat is that medicines that work by mimicking GLP-1 have been used for more than a decade to treat type 2 diabetes and so their safety profile is well understood, which isnt the case for an amylin mimic.

Novo Nordisk has also said that amycretins side effects were similar to those of Wegovy, which tend to be nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, especially for people who increase the dose too quickly.

Being available in tablet form would be a great advantage for people who dont like injections, says Daniel Chancellor at global pharmaceutical business analysts Citeline. An oral pill is very attractive.

As well as these three medicines, other weight loss drugs that mimic other gut hormones are also in development.

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Experimental weight loss pill seems to be more potent than Ozempic - New Scientist



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