Body fat and disease: How much body fat can I lose in one day?

Body fat is not an inert deposit of energy. It can be seen as a distributed endocrine organ. Body fat cells, or adipocytes, secrete a number of different hormones into the bloodstream. Major hormones secreted by adipose tissue are adiponectin and leptin.Estrogen is also secreted by body fat, which is one of the reasons why obesity is associated with infertility. (Yes, abnormally high levels of estrogen can reduce fertility in both men and women.) Moreover, body fat secretes tumor necrosis factor-alpha, a hormone that is associated with generalized inflammation and a number of diseases, including cancer, when in excess.The reduction in circulating...

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Asparagus tips madam? We do composting tips too...

 Market trader Julie Lightly at Queens Market in Newham, east London Photo credit: Geoff Caddick/PAInteresting research from WRAP reveals that over forty percent of us believe that because food is biodegradable, it is harmless when it gets thrown out and sent to landfill and are not aware that it can produce methane, a powerful global warming gas which damages the environment.  Of course the same waste composted at home produces no methane and provides free fertiliser and soil improver for our gardens.In a drive to raise awareness, market traders across the country are to back a campaign to get Britain composting, thanks to a partnership...

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A four-leafed clover for Suffolk's 'Green Oscars'

A very large four leafed clover, from a secret location in Suffolk.It might just come in handy for March. I am really proud to share the exciting news that I've been shortlisted for one of Suffolk's prestigious Creating the Greenest County awards.So how excited am I!Well, I know I said I'm proud...but the truth is I am totally chuffed to bits.Affectionately called the Green Oscars, the Creating the Greenest County awards are now in their third consecutive year, celebrating the efforts of individuals, businesses and communities who support Suffolk's aspirations to engage the whole county in responding to climate change.  And I've been shortlisted...

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The Rubbish Diet Challenge: Week 7, The Big Declutter

Whoopadey woo, I've finally made it out from my piles upon piles and onto the blog to give you the big declutter update.  And look at the treasure I've found, a pair of sparkly shoes, which were stashed away in a box on top of the wardrobe.  They were placed there for safe keeping, but I forgot where I put them and have spent the last two years scratching my head wondering if I'm going mad.We only live in a three bedroom house,  so there's hardly any room for stuff to go amiss, yet in the last couple of weeks, I've also uncovered one of my favourite umberellas, three more pairs of shoes, an MP3 player and a radio alarm.  It...

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Fill and go with Holland & Barrett

Wandering through the town centre today in Bury St Edmunds, I noticed that the health food and natural remedies store Holland & Barrett had finally moved from their side-street location into a prime hotspot in the Buttermarket, slap bang next to Marks & Spencer.Despite being in a rush, I couldn't resist popping in to see what they had on offer and I'm glad I did, because as I browsed the shelves, I was delighted to see their brand new refill concept called "Fill and Go", which is a self-service facility for dried cereals as well as a fabulous range of olive oils and vinegars. Empty bottles are available for customers to fill with their...

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What should be my HDL cholesterol?

HDL cholesterol levels are a rough measure of HDL particle quantity in the blood. They actually tell us next to nothing about HDL particle type, although HDL cholesterol increases are usually associated with increases in LDL particle size. This a good thing, since small-dense LDL particles are associated with increased cardiovascular disease.Most blood lipid panels reviewed by family doctors with patients give information about HDL status through measures of HDL cholesterol, provided in one of the standard units (e.g., mg/dl).Study after study shows that HDL cholesterol levels, although imprecise, are a much better predictor of cardiovascular...

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Knock Knock: Who's there? It's a rubbish blogger in Brandon!

So today was the day I volunteered to help promote the Seven Suffolk Streets waste reduction project in Crown Street, Brandon, which is the area that's taking part in the Forest Heath district of Suffolk.And it was a cold, wet and snowy day, certainly not the weather for walking the streets.But it was a case of simply wrapping up warm and getting on with the job in hand, which was to knock on strangers' doors to raise awareness of the waste reduction project that's taking place in two weeks time.Despite having my official's badge, I must say it was rather a daunting task.  I might have got used to presenting at conferences and doing radio...

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Large LDL and small HDL particles: The best combination

High-density lipoprotein (HDL) is one of the five main types of lipoproteins found in circulation, together with very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), intermediate-density lipoprotein (IDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and chylomicrons.After a fatty meal, the blood is filled with chylomicrons, which carry triglycerides (TGAs). The TGAs are transferred to cells from chylomicrons via the activity of enzymes, in the form of free fatty acids (FFAs), which are used by those cells as sources of energy.After delivering FFAs to the cells, the chylomicrons progressively lose their TGA content and “shrink”, eventually being absorbed and recycled by the...

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The Rubbish Diet Challenge, Week 6: Up close and personal

One of these bottle is made from 100% recycled plastic.  Can you spot which one?Welcome back to the Rubbish Diet Challenge.  It's week 6 already and if you've been busy sorting out how you can reduce waste in the garden, you'll be grateful for an opportunity to relax and pamper yourself indoors.And there will be the chance to pamper yourself this week, plus time to browse the shelves for some beautiful cosmetics that are kinder to your bin as well as your complexion.  However, there are some hard decisions to make too, thinking about the kinds of things that would normally make you blush.This week's guide discusses all sorts of...

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Want to improve your cholesterol profile? Replace refined carbs and sugars with saturated fat and cholesterol in your diet

An interesting study by Clifton and colleagues (1998; full reference and link at the end of this post) looked at whether LDL cholesterol particle size distribution at baseline (i.e., beginning of the study) for various people was a determinant of lipid profile changes in each of two diets – one low and the other high in fat. This study highlights a few interesting points made in a previous post, which are largely unrelated to the main goal or findings of the study, but that are supported by side findings:- As one increases dietary cholesterol and fat consumption, particularly saturated fat, circulating HDL cholesterol increases significantly....

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Decluttering: Poultry efforts in the garden

A scattering of snow doesn't quite cover the mud patch.Have I ever told you about my guilty pleasure? If I haven't perhaps now is the time to divulge and see if I can get you on board too.It involves Tom, Barbara, Margot and Jerry and I have to say I love them all. Now before you start thinking it involves anything dodgy like swapping car keys at parties, let me reassure you that it's all clean good fun. Well apart from the odd bit of dirt that is.I'm referring of course to the comedy series The Good Life, which I started watching thirty five years when I was just six or seven years old. I absolutely adored that series. I loved Margot in...

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On the street where I live

David & Halle, promoting the Seven Suffolk Streets projectIt's always great to see a friendly face when you're out and about and as it happens, just as I was arriving home yesterday, I bumped into David and Halle, a couple of our local master composters, who are promoting the Seven Suffolk Streets project on behalf of the Suffolk Waste Partnership.If you haven't heard of the project before, it's one of the Zero Waste places announced by Defra last year and which has received funding from BREW to help reduce the amount of waste across the county.Each of the seven districts in Suffolk has selected one street to be the focus of the waste reduction...

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Lucy was a vegetarian and sapiens an omnivore: Plant foods as natural supplements

Early hominid ancestors like the Australopithecines (e.g., Lucy) were likely strict vegetarians. Meat consumption seems to have occurred at least occasionally among Homo habilis, with more widespread consumption among Homo erectus, and Homo sapiens (i.e., us).The figure below (from: becominghuman.org; click on it to enlarge) shows a depiction of the human lineage, according to a widely accepted theory developed by Ian Tattersall. As you can see, Neanderthals are on a different branch, and are not believed to have been part of the human lineage.Does the clear move toward increased meat consumption mean that a meat-only diet is optimal for you?The...

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The Rubbish Diet Challenge: Week 5, Dig for victory

Tomato seedlings on the windowsill in 2009Can you believe we're now at Week 5 of the Rubbish Diet challenge. How time flies. It doesn't seem that long ago, since I was challenging you to your first weigh-in. I hope all is going well with your efforts to slim your bin and that you're enjoying the mini-challenges.This week I hope to inspire you to make further inroads into your household waste by doing some extra things around the garden. That is if you happen to be blessed with a small patch to call your own. Even if you don't have a garden, you can still join in if you've only got a windowsill going spare around your home.This week's guide...

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Vitamin D levels: Sunlight, age, and toxicity

Calcidiol is a pre-hormone that is produced based on vitamin D3 in the liver. Blood concentration of calcidiol is considered to be a reliable indicator of vitamin D status. In the research literature, calcidiol is usually referred to as 25-Hydroxyvitamin or 25(OH)D. Calcidiol is converted in the kidneys into calcitriol, which is the active form of vitamin D.The table below (from: Vieth, 1999; full reference at the end of this post; click on it to enlarge), shows the average blood vitamin D levels of people living or working in sun-rich environments. To convert from nmol/L to ng/mL, divide by 2.496. For example, 100 nmol/L = 100...

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