Juice Plus

This diet causes the body to think it is pregnant, and is being used by men and women alike. So far, users are delighted with the results. Is there reason for concern?

This is an extreme diet. Dieters are permitted to eat only 500 very regulated calories per day. In addition, they either take a daily injection,use drops under the tongue, or use a compounded cream rub of HCG (Human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone produced during pregnancy by the developing embryo.

The reason the diet works is, of course, because of the extremely low caloric intake, plus the body's interpretation that there is a baby that must be furnished nutrients, even at the expense of the parent. The few calories that are taken into the body, plus nutrients that are stored in fat rather than lean muscle cells, are funneled to the growing embryo.

Leading to the popularity of the diet is the fact that it does not attack muscle mass, but does drain fat cells of unwanted but nutrient rich adipose tissue.

The reason that this diet is so potentially dangerous, aside from the very low, near starvation, caloric intake is that the diet can cause vitamin deficiencies and electrolyte imbalances.

Most dieters report that they do not feel hungry because of the HCG, and the way the body adapts to pregnancy. Of course, there is almost no chance, if you follow the prescribed diet and hormone regimen, that you will not lose weight.

If you choose to go the injection route, this diet can cost up to $150 per month, if you can find a doctor or medical facility that will administer the hormone injections.

The compounded cream rubs and under tongue drops are advertised all over the internet at competing prices. Again, you should be very wary of purchasing any type of hormones via the internet, when you really have no way of knowing exactly what you are getting.

Doctors, the AMA, and most medical practitioners do warn that this is a very dangerous diet. If you decide to go on this diet, be warned that it should be for very short durations only.

Notes: This is not an endorsement for or a suggestion to avoid this type of diet. But the first thing you've got to keep in mind is that no matter how you lose weight, you've got to feed your body healthy nutrients...to support your health.  Losing weight is one issue, but health is the real goal. If you want to read more from the Trudeau, site, you can click here.

Otherwise, for a sensible weight loss plan, check out the Vice Busting Diet Plans.

Having too much body fat causes nearly half the cases of endometrial cancer — a type of cancer of the uterus — and a third of esophageal cancer cases, the American Institute for Cancer Research said.

Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the United States after heart disease. The American Cancer Society projects that 1.47 million people will be diagnosed with cancer this year and 562,000 will die of it.

More than 26 percent of Americans are obese, defined as having a body mass index of 30 or higher. BMI is equal to weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. A person 5 feet 5 inches tall becomes obese at 180 pounds (82 kg).

Additionally, nearly a third of Americans are overweight, defined as having a BMI of 25 to 30.

The study combined findings from AICR research linking diet, physical activity and fatness with cancer risk with national surveys on obesity and cancer incidence.

"We then worked out the percentage of those specific cancers that would be prevented if everyone in the United States maintained a healthy weight," the group said in a statement.

Here are some of its estimates of cancer types that could be prevented annually if Americans stayed slender:

• Esophageal - 35 percent of cases or 5,800 people
• Pancreatic - 28 percent or 11,900
• Gallbladder - 21 percent or 2,000
• Colon - 9 percent or 13,200
• Breast - 17 percent or 33,000
• Endometrium - 49 percent or 20,700
• Kidney - 24 percent or 13,900

In July, federal and other researchers estimated that obesity-related diseases account for nearly 10 percent of all medical spending in the United States or an estimated $147 billion a year.

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OK, that is amazing information, it would be next to impossible to ignore it.Clearly we have to solve the Obesity problem, But, HOW do we solve it? There are atleast 100 different "diets" out there that all promise you fantastic results, some with no effort, some in little time and some even say you can keep eating everything that you currently are; and still lose weight. Great promises but few deliver on that promise.

I think the time has come that we must put aside old solutions to the fat crisis and try a more reasonable approach; changing the person from the inside out! NOT "who" the person is buy rather the lifestyle choices that they make everyday--the little things.

If I ran the world, and sadly I do not and likely won't soon enough to fix all the problems (not that I could even given the power, but I sure would love a shot at it!), I would start every person with weight issues on the following:

Day 1: drink 1/2 your body weight in fluid ounces of water,doing so in small sips throughout the course of the day. Do this EVERYDAY for the rest of your life! Good news: as you weigh less, you can drink less!!!

Week 2. Start consuming more raw fresh fruits and vegetables. We should eat anywhere from 7-13 servings of them a day. Most people, in fact 95% of people dont! There is a way to bridge the gap between what we actually eat and what we should--to quote Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld: "Take Juice Plus!" This isn't a habit I want you to do only while "on" your diet", I want you to find any way you can to get more fresh fruits and vegetables into your diet. NOTHING is going to help improve your health better. And again, if you are having trouble eating enough, increase it by taking Juice Plus every day!

Week 4. FAST exit from Fast Food places! You have got to start eating REAL foods. unprocessed, unrefined, as close to nature intended REAL food! LOVE the signs at amimal habitates "The animal's diet consists of...." it does NOT say "the animal's short term restricted caloric intake constists of.....". Eat the foods indicative to your specie and in the proper amounts!

Week 5. Hunger!!! You are doing 2 things really well by now, but you are starting to slip back into your old routine and habits--gotta do something to take the curb off your appetite, feel full and keep that full feeling longer; control your brain as it were so that it stops telling YOU that you are hungry all the time and the only way to do that is to control your blood sugar levels.  I encourage you to try a novel complex of polysaccarides that I have been using. I have been "on" it for about 6 months and I swear by it! Not only do I swear by it, many of my readers participated in a 'beyond vice busting" focus group with me where after we busted #1, 2 and 3, we added this, PGX to our daily regime and everyone lost weight and much more than they would have if they only vice busted--which is nothing to sneeze at either! Val M. lost 185 pounds in 17 months w/ Vice Busting! Learn more by going to PGX.com

Week 6. And finally....MOVE IT to LOSE it! The weight isn't going to just fall of you folks, you have to increase your daily output of calories , of energy.......fat burn! Get a pedometer and wear it, if you aren't doing 10,000 steps a day, start doing so but get there gradually most importantly STAY at that level,never go under it again. And then, once to that level challenge yourself to see how much more can you do? Add weights, classes, biking,hiking.......just move it!

OHMYGOSH!!! Imagine,you do these simple things, you WILL loose weight. YOU lose weight and according to the study above, you will decrease your risk of some of these cancers! Not to mention that you will look better, feel better, be sexier....what a great life ahead of you!! GO GIRL--and guy!

Diet soda may help keep your calories in check, but drinking two or more diet sodas a day may double your risk of declining kidney function, a new study shows.

Women who drank two or more diet sodas a day had a 30% drop in a measure of kidney function during the lengthy study follow-up, according to research presented Saturday at the annual meeting of the American Society of Nephrology in San Diego.

"Thirty percent is considered significant,'' says researcher Julie Lin, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a staff physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. That's especially true, she says, because most study participants had well-preserved kidney function at the start of the study.

Diet Soda and Kidneys: Study Details
The researchers evaluated 3,256 women already participating in the Nurses' Health Study who had submitted dietary information, including their intake of sugary beverages -- sugar-sweetened drinks, sugar-sweetened soda, and artificially sweetened soda. Sugar-sweetened drinks included soda, fruit juices, punch, and iced tea.

Information was also available on measures of kidney function. Their median age was 67.

Lin's team looked at the cumulative average beverage intake, derived from food questionnaires completed in 1984, 1986, and 1990. The women replied whether they drank the beverages less than once a month, one to four times a month, two to six times weekly, once daily but less than twice, or twice a day or more often.

Diet Soda and Kidneys: Study Results
When the researchers compared kidney function of the women in 1989 and 2000, they found that 11.4% or 372 women had a kidney function decline of 30% or more. When they looked at the diet information, they found that the 30% decline in kidney function was associated with drinking two or more artificially sweetened sodas a day. This was true even after taking into account factors such as age, high blood pressure, diabetes, and physical activity. (read more if you like...)

BOTTOM LINE: You can't cut corners when it comes to good health. A diet rich in whole food fruits and vegetables, plenty of water, daily exercise - those are the ingredients to a healthy body. Add grattitude and a meaningful purpose in life and you've got a healthy life.

Have a healthy drink: Drink lots of herbal teas like chamomile, jasmine or herbal infusions made of tulsi, ginger and cinnamon. “Herbal teas help detox the body,” says Brunch columnist Dr Shikha Sharma. “They also help you get rid of that bloated feeling after a heavy meal or an evening of bingeing. Start your day with it and drink it through the day. Also, since you don’t need to add milk or sugar to herbal tea, it is ideal if you’re watching your weight.” Avoid drinks with too much juice plus the sugars will add too many calories. 

Cleanse your system: The main problem with social events is that almost everything you eat is either fried or high in salt or sugar. It is also a fact that we tend to overeat when we’re around family and friends. Another problem lies in the fact that nobody eats at the proper time. “After late nights, most of us feel sluggish in the morning due to toxins in the body. To take care of this, have one teaspoon of triphala powder with water or milk first thing in the morning. This helps combat problems like constipation or acidity,” suggests naturopath Yathaarth Sehajpal. “If you can manage it, eat one or two fresh amlas in the morning or mix amla with a juice. That will provide essential vitamins, keep your metabolism high and help remove toxins.”

Drink in moderation: By all means enjoy your drink, but exercise some control. “Try and prolong your drink so you don’t drink too much,” suggests Ishi Khosla, clinical nutritionist and director, Whole Foods. “Otherwise, after every drink, have either a glass of water or soda. Water will make you feel full and also take care of dehydration.” Khosla explains that when you feel dehydrated, you tend to eat more. “Drink 8-10 glasses of water a day as this will remove toxins, keep you hydrated and take care of hunger pangs,” she adds.

Smart snacking: Snacking is unavoidable at any social gathering. But snacks are usually deep fried or high in calories. So make smart choices. “If there is a choice between fried food and nuts, pick the nuts,” says Ishi Khosla. “Almonds are the best as they are low in cholesterol and provide you with a feeling of satiety. But you can also choose a handful of cashews, pistachios, walnuts or even peanuts. Also, start your day with a handful of almonds. They will give you all essential vitamins naturally.” If you have eaten too many snacks, avoid dinner or just eat salad or something non-vegetarian without the gravy.

Stock up on antioxidants: The easiest way to do this is to make green tea part of your routine. Start your day with it and drink it as often as you like every day. “Green tea is extremely rich in antioxidants, which not only help get rid of toxins but also boost your metabolism,” explains Niti Desai, consultant nutritionist at Cumballa Hill Hospital. “Green tea is also rich in flavanoids that help cut down cholesterol levels. So after a heavy meal, drink some green tea.”

Stay active: After a late night, it is usually difficult to get to the gym or even go for a walk. But experts say that even upping your activity levels will help you stay on course. “Make sure to walk more, even if it’s in the house or office or while shopping. Don’t just sit around,” suggests Reebok master trainer Nisha Varma. “Any activity is better than doing nothing at all. Enjoy your morning tea or coffee while walking. At a party, include games that require you and other guests to move around. Or just dance to Bollywood hits, which is great exercise and also a lot of fun.” Varma also suggests playing games with your kids. “Try frisbee or volleyball or any other outdoor game. This will help burn as many as 200 calories,” she explains. 

Balance your calories: If you are going to a party in the evening, eat light meals during the day. And after you’ve binged at night, balance your calories the next day. Instead of a regular breakfast, have fruit or a poached egg or yoghurt and fruit. Or just go on a fruit and vegetable juice diet for a day. (source)

Bottom line: Don't let the Holidays or any other occassion deter you from living healthy, eating healthy. The journey needs to be enjoyed without the repurcussions of unhealthy choices. Stick to a healthy diet, regular exercise, and plan to have two times when you will have a desert that you wouldn't normally eat otherwise. Or don't at all. The empowerment from overcoming what may be, or at least seem to be, an addiction will make you feel strong and be lasting. Good things come from making healthy choices. 

Dieters can boost their weight loss if they clean up their act at home and get a partner to lose weight with them, a new study shows. If you want to trim down, you should set up your home to make the healthy choice the easy choice, says Amy Gorin, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Connecticut.

She presented her research Wednesday at the annual meeting of the Obesity Society, a group of weight-loss researchers and professionals. Gorin and colleagues recruited 201 overweight and obese people and divided them into two groups.

Participants in one group got a six-month behavioral weight-loss program that emphasized a low-fat, low-calorie diet and moderate intensity physical activity. They met weekly with weight-loss experts and learned how to keep food journals and work through tempting eating situations.

The other group got the same weekly weight-loss program with professional help. They also:

•Had an overweight partner participate in the weight-loss program with them. This was either a spouse or another adult who lived in the same home.

•Were given a piece of exercise equipment (a treadmill or exercise bike), bathroom scales, a full-length mirror, healthy cooking and fitness magazines and smaller dinner plates that were about the size of salad plates.

•Were encouraged to watch less television.

At the end of six months, dieters with a partner and extra equipment at home lost an average of 20 pounds; their partners also lost a substantial amount of weight. Dieters in the weight-loss advice group lost about 15 pounds.

"Making concrete and real changes to the home make it much easier to stick with a healthful eating and exercise program," Gorin says. (source)

Bottom Line: A healthy plan will include the help of other people who are on the same journey, with the same ultimate goal: to lose weight and be healthy. It's much easier when you have someone there to pick you up when you fall, to encourage you to keep going when it gets hard, and to praise you when you succeed at each step of the way. We're all in this together. Start your healthy diet plan today.

What’s the secret of success of people who lose lots of weight and keep it off for many years? A new study suggests predictable factors like exercise and control over eating play a role, but so do factors in the home like fewer TVs and more exercise equipment.

“The home environment really came out as a stronger factor than we would have anticipated,” said lead study author Suzanne Phelan, an assistant professor of kinesiology at California Polytechnic State University.

Phelan and colleagues examined surveys of 167 people in different areas of the United States who had managed to lose 10 percent or more of their body weight and keep it off for five years or more. Two other groups — one in Providence, R.I. and one in Philadelphia — were overweight or obese and had a history of dieting.

The researchers wanted to understand those who successfully had lost weight and “see what really set them apart from other obese people who haven’t lost,” Phelan said.

The study findings appear in the October issue of the Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

The researchers found that the weight-losers were 3.95 times more likely than the heavier individuals in the Rhode Island group and 2.85 times more likely than those in the Philadelphia group to exercise.

Weight-losers were also 1.63 times more likely than that first group and 1.41 times more likely than the second group to engage in what the researchers called “dietary restraint,” which Phelan describe as “cognitive efforts — thinking about your food, counting your calories, monitoring your intake.”

The successful weight-losers also had fewer TVs, more exercise equipment and fewer high-fat foods in the home.

“You have to pay attention to your home environment if you want to succeed,” Phelan said. “Do you have TVs in every room? When you walk into your kitchen, do you see high-fat food or healthy food?”

One of the groups of overweight people was made up of more minorities, and its members were less likely to eat breakfast and more likely to have TVs, Phelan said. Yet overall, she said she was surprised by how similar the two groups were. One was largely white, while the other was more diverse.

Dr. David Katz, director of Yale University School of Medicine’s Prevention Research Center, said the study leads to “common-sense” conclusions. “The findings here are close to self-evident,” he said.

However, study confirms “what some of us have been talking about for a long time” regarding successful weight loss, he said.

“If you want to choose better foods, keep better foods within reach. Don’t just rely on willpower. If you want to be more active, create opportunities for exercise that are always within reach. Don’t just rely on motivation,” he said.

Katz added, “We should be propagating the awareness that lasting weight control is about skill power, not just willpower.” (source)

Bottom line: We can't expect to consume unhealthy foods and beverages, avoid exercise, and not follow an even 'average' level of healthy actions, and think we will avoid sickness and possibly disease. The best health care comes from a healthy diet and lifestyle, which also translates to the most affordable plan. If you're not eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, you may be more susceptable to getting sick and becoming overweight. Start with a simple diet plan to get you back on the road to good health!

To get more nutrients in your diet, from fruits and vegetables, add Juice Plus+ to your daily consumption.

Most people have become conscious about the fat content of red meats and many are choosing low fat meat products. It is without a doubt better to eat smaller portions of meat that larger ones. It may be wise to reduce or eliminate the consumption of meat, but that does not mean you need to switch to being a vegetarian. You still have the option of white meats and poultry. Children can get protein from beans and vegetables and reduce the consumption of fat drastically by doing so thus preventing risk of obesity.

Children who grow up getting their nutrition from vegetables rather than meat have a health advantage, although too many consume juice plus other foods and beverages that have lots of sugar. If they eat a higher percentage of fruits and vegetables, they decrease the chances of obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and to some extent cancer as well. Meatless meals also help to keep their bones stronger as the proteins in the meat reduce the calcium in your body.

The environment these days too do not allow for consuming red meats. In the recent years the number of bacteria in meat has risen drastically and health departments are getting very stringent about the production and handling of foods as well as advice on cooking meats well.

How to switch over

It’s not like you are switching over to the dark side. If you serve meat daily reduce it by half to begin with. Introduce white meats, fish and poultry to the table. Try soy burgers and hot dogs. Try different recipes. Make the same dishes as you did with vegetarian options or with white meat and see the difference. Experiment with food in the beginning and your family will begin to appreciate the effort you are putting into introducing this new diet. Please make a gradual shift in diet and supplement the loss of nutrients well (Juice Plus+ does not make up for what you're missing in a vegetarian diet). In the long term, your body will thank you and you will find your taste buds will too.

The American Dietetic Association has released an updated position paper on vegetarian diets that concludes such diets, if well-planned, are healthful and nutritious for adults, infants, children and adolescents and can help prevent and treat chronic diseases including heart disease, cancer, obesity and diabetes.

ADA's position, published in the July issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, represents the Association's official stance on vegetarian diets: "It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutrition-filled and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life-cycle including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence and for athletes."

ADA's position and accompanying paper were written by Winston Craig, PhD, MPH, RD, professor and chair of the department of nutrition and wellness at Andrews University; and Reed Mangels, PhD, RD, nutrition advisor at the Vegetarian Resource Group, Baltimore, Md. The revised position paper incorporates new topics and additional information on key nutrients for vegetarians, vegetarian diets in the life cycle and the use of vegetarian diets in prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. "Vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle," according to ADA's position. "There are many reasons for the rising interest in vegetarian diets. The number of vegetarians in the United States is expected to increase over the next decade."

Vegetarian diets are often associated with health advantages including lower blood cholesterol levels, lower risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure levels and lower risk of hypertension and type 2 diabetes, according to ADA's position. "Vegetarians tend to have a lower body mass index and lower overall cancer rates. Vegetarian diets tend to be lower in saturated fat and cholesterol and have higher levels of dietary fiber, magnesium and potassium, vitamins C and E, folate, carotenoids, flavonoids and other phytochemicals. These nutritional differences may explain some of the health advantages of those following a varied, balanced vegetarian diet."

The position paper draws on results from ADA's evidence analysis process and information from the ADA Evidence Analysis Library to show vegetarian diets can be nutritionally adequate in pregnancy and result in positive maternal and infant health outcomes. Additionally, an evidence-based review showed a vegetarian diet is associated with a lower risk of death from ischemic heart disease.

Comments: A diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables, specifically ripe and consumed raw, is one that is optimal for health and wellness. There is no better source of nutrients than those that are straight from Mother Nature - fruits, vegetables, berries, etc. You can't be harmed by too many fruits and vegetables, unlike many foods and beverages that contain chemicals. A healthy diet plan is one that has the majority of foods from the fruit and vegetable food group. Make the change to a healthy diet today!

She liked looking pretty and resorted to taking diet pills to shed her excess body weight. But things took a sinister turn last week when 36-year-old Tan Ai Hua suffered from an asthma attack last Monday. The bride-to-be was rushed to Changi General Hospital but could not be resuscitated.

Speaking to reporters to Shin Min Daily News, the deceased's father said that his daughter had been on the plump side since young. However, she liked looking pretty and started taking diet pills around the age of 10. The diet pills caused her to lose her appetite and weakened her physical condition, he said.  His daugher had become extremely skinny, almost as if she was a "bag of bones", he added.

She had been engaged to her fiance for the past seven years but had yet to formalise their marriage, he said. Miss Tan's father also said that she had been unemployed for a period of time due to her poor health. She depended on him for her living expenses and household tasks. She could not even walk for short periods without complaining of extreme tiredness, he said. Worried for his daughter, he advised her to stop eating the diet pills, but she persisted in doing so. (source)

Note: Please don't let your child take diet pills or weight loss drugs that may be dangerous to their health and risk their life. This may be one instance where parental intervention could have saved a life. And if you are an adult considering what you think is an easy road to some quick weight loss, please re-consider. A healthy lifestyle is one that will get you to a healthy weight as a natural side-effect of making good choices - foods to eat, exercises to do, water to drink. It just takes making some simple changes, one at a time, being consistent and having patience. Building those healthy habits and having the patience to stick with it, even when you want the weight to come off in a week and it doesn't... that is going to provide you with the best results, health, and life to come.

WASHINGTON — For years, scientists have warned people that having an apple-shaped figure or a beer belly is a health risk. They said people with wide girths are more likely to have visceral or intra-abdominal fat, which increases their risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke and some types of cancer.

But new research presented Sunday at the annual meeting of the Obesity Society shows that belly fat may not be the biggest bad guy behind some of the medical issues. "Fat in the liver is a more important indicator of health problems," says Samuel Klein, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Klein and colleagues recruited 31 obese men and women and looked at their visceral fat, which surrounds the organs in the belly, and their liver fat. Some people had high amounts of liver fat; others had normal amounts. A normal liver contains 5% fat or less, but a severe fatty liver may contain up to 50%, Klein says. The latter is referred to as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Using several different medical tests, the researchers found that people with fatty livers:

•Make more triglycerides, which are released from the liver into their bloodstream and can increase the risk of heart disease.

•Are more likely to be resistant to the action of their own insulin, meaning their bodies don't regulate blood sugar properly, which can lead to type 2 diabetes, Klein says. Over time, high sugar levels damage large and small blood vessels, leading to heart disease, stroke, nerve damage, amputations, blindness and kidney disease.

"We do not yet know whether the liver fat is causing these health problems or is simply a very good indicator of health risk," he says. "Even though it looks like visceral fat itself might not cause harm, it is often high in people with increased liver fat." About 30% of adults and a third of overweight children and adolescents have too much liver fat, he says. If you are obese, 30 or more pounds over a healthy weight, you are at a higher risk of having non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. (read more...)

Bottom Line: A diet that consists of mainly fruits and vegetables and lean protein sources is best for weight management and supporting good health. If you are seeking weight loss and fitness, understand that the best approach is making improvements to your diet, implementing regular exercise, and just focusing on living a healthy lifestyle. No diet plan is going to be better than your desire and motivation to achieve the goal of healthy living. So, if you want a healthy diet plan that will guide you to that goal, check out The Vice Busting Diet Plan.

The study, published in the International Journal of Obesity, was conducted by researchers from the Université de Montréal, the Institut Armand-Frappier and the Université de Moncton who tested the effects of biotransformed juices compared to regular blueberry drinks on mice.

"Results of this study clearly show that biotransformed blueberry juice has strong anti-obesity and anti-diabetic potential," says senior author Pierre S. Haddad, a pharmacology professor at the Université de Montréal's Faculty of Medicine. "Biotransformed blueberry juice may represent a novel therapeutic agent, since it decreases hyperglycemia in diabetic mice and can protect young pre-diabetic mice from developing obesity and diabetes."

The scientists tested the effect of biotransformed blueberry juice on a group of mice prone to obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes and hypertension. Incorporating biotransformed blueberry juice into the water of mice reduced their food intake and their body weight. "These mice were an excellent model that closely resembles obesity and obesity-linked type 2 diabetes in humans," says Dr. Haddad, who is also director of the CIHR Team in Aboriginal Anti-Diabetic Medicines at the Université de Montréal.

Biotransformation of the blueberry juice was achieved with a new strain of bacteria isolated from the blueberry flora, specifically called Serratia vaccinii, which increases the fruit's antioxidant effects. "The identification of the active compounds in biotransformed blueberry juice may result in the discovery of promising new antiobesity and antidiabetic molecules," says Dr. Haddad.

As for the impact of blueberry products on diabetes, says Tri Vuong, lead author and recent PhD graduate from the Université de Montréal's Department of Pharmacology: "Consumption of fermented blueberry juice gradually and significantly reduced high blood glucose levels in diabetic mice. After three days, our mice subjects reduced their glycemia levels by 35 percent."

This study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and the Fonds de recherche sur la nature et les technologies.(source)

Bottom line: Although blueberry juice plus the extract may help prevent obesity, the real protection will come in the form of a healthy diet rich in a variety of whole food fruits and vegetables... instead of soft drinks, fast foods, and other high-calorie unhealthy foods and drinks. Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and even berries to give you antioxidants and phytonutrients for good health. A healthy diet plan depends on such choices!