Weight Maven

Eating disorders & addiction

• A Small Post On The Neurobiology of Binge Eating Disorders and Eating Disorders, Obesity and Addiction - Emily Deans writes a couple of posts on the role our modern diet may play in overeating. [This is a very tricky subject. Some people find it hard to believe that people could be “addicted” to food. Me, I don’t care what you call it, I’m a believer!]
• Homeostatic or Hedonic Binging? - Arya Sharma differentiates between hunger-driven and emotional-driven binge eating. [Good idea to change the diet and see if symptoms resolve; could also be nutrient-related.]

Paleo & low-carb

• Willpower and Diet - Bill Strahan says it works best when you need willpower only for random impulses, not to get through every day. [Love his concept of “paleo-realistic” … “the paleo part is a guideline, and the realistic part is how that ends up being expressed in today’s world.” Also agree re willpower.]
• Are Grains Making Us Fat? - Megan McArdle is skeptical that an increase in grain consumption is responsible for the increase in obesity in the US. [Be sure to read the great back and forth in the comments between McArdle and Kurt Harris.]

Research

• Regular Fasting May Boost Heart Health - The NYTimes reports on a study that looked at the relationship between fasting and cardiovascular disease. [Also see: Don Matesz’s take on the study and the reporting, and Martin Berkhan on another fasting study.]
• Prevention and reversal of diet-induced leptin resistance with a sugar-free diet despite high fat content - Rat study suggests fructose plays a big role in leptin resistance; removing the fructose reverses the LR.
• Smokers and the obese cheaper to care for, study shows - Dutch study suggests preventing obesity will actually cost more in terms of health care dollars. [Life span difference between healthy and obese projected at 4 years (84 vs 80). Of course, big question is quality of life … likely to be bigger difference.]
• Dairy Consumption and the Incidence of Hyperglycemia and the Metabolic Syndrome - French epidemiological study suggests higher dairy consumption associated with less metabolic syndrome. [Bet we’re talking full-fat dairy — probably raw.]
• Significant - Cartoon that totally gets the current state of science & nutrition media/reporting.

Nutrition

• Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - Chris Masterjohn writes about the “dangerous silent epidemic” of NAFLD. [I’m intrigued with the idea that liver injury plays a big role in obesity, so this article is a nice complement.]
• 1985: The Year of Whole Grains - Bill Davis links changes in wheat and wheat consumption to diabetes. [Be sure to read Ted Hutchinson’s comment on decreasing mineral availability in wheat after the 1960s.]
• Skip the Pie - A very nice front end for the USDA’s food database. [I still like NutritionData.com for its tracking tools, but Skip the Pie is great too!]
• Still drinking diet soda? Don’t be a fashion victim! - Tom Philpott dings aspartame and Pepsi’s skinny can. [I’ve been off Diet Coke for almost 6 weeks … woo hoo!]

Food & Policy

• A couple interesting educational programs: Cook for America and Nourish.
• Caught: Fake Organic Certificates from China

 - [Be careful with imported organic food!]