Regular Exposure to Mild Cold Conditions Promote Healthy Weight Loss

A study by researchers of the Maastricht University Medical Center in The Netherlands show that regular exposure to mild cold can be a healthy and sustainable weight loss regimen.

The authors of the study believe that exposure to cold temperatures affect the body's energy expenditure significantly. The body starts to generate its own heat to control body temperature.

Experiments show that regular exposure to cold weather, people decreased their body fat, acclimated to the temperature and shivered less even at a temperature of 15 degrees Celsius or 59 degrees Fahrenheit.

Heat production during this process can account up to 30 percent of the body's energy budget.

The authors believe that adapting to a colder climate can be a healthy way to regulate body fat and counteract obesity as well as have a beneficial side effect of conserving energy cost in home and building heating systems.

Mobile App Tracking Diet and Calorie Consumption Can Help In Weight Loss

A recent study has shown that using mobile applications to assist in tracking and managing eating habits effectively helps in losing weight by an average of fifteen pounds.

With the advent of the advanced mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, the use of mobile applications have risen tremendously. Mobile apps are software programs that are designed to run on these mobile devices. From just a simple email client, apps now have expanded to games, GPS tracking, and even online banking.

A recent study reported that mobile app users use their devices to browse the web more than using a standard desktop computer (51.1% vs. 49.8% respectively).

Since these apps can effectively assist users in their activities, a useful activity that can benefit from this is in tracking one's diet and eating behavior. It can record the daily calorie consumption and suggest how to keep it under a healthy threshold.

There are numerous applications that does this and even extends to exercise & physical activities to also monitor how much calories have been burned.

Healthy Adequate Sleep Contribute To Weight Loss Programs

A very important process for the human body is sleep. During sleep, the body builds up its organs and tissues. It also prioritizes the growth and rejuvenation of the internal systems such as the immune system, nervous system, skeletal system, and the muscular system.

It is analogous to having the body shut down for maintenance and overhaul.

The body follows an internal clock to know when the appropriate time for the body to go to sleep. This is called the Circadian Rhythm. This internal schedule covers all regular biological process covered in a 24 hour cycle. Eating, sleeping, and other process follow this rhythm. As such, a disruption in the circadian rhythm is an important factor in some disorders such as stress, obesity, and overall well being of the body.

Research has shown that healthy dream sleep relieves stress, lowers confusion and delay cognitive disturbances. A new study shows that healthy dream sleep can contribute to weight loss as well.

Adequate sleep helps weight loss

Adequate sleep is an important part of a weight loss plan and should be added to the recommended mix of diet and exercise, states a commentary in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

Although calorie restriction and increased physical activity are recommended for weight loss, there is significant evidence that inadequate sleep is contributing to obesity. Lack of sleep increases the stimulus to consume more food and increases appetite-regulating hormones.

Study On Ephedrine And Weight Loss May Lead To Wearable Diet Vest That Burns Fat

Ephedrine is a stimulant that affects the central nervous system. It is used to treat breathing problems (as a bronchodilator), nasal congestion (as a decongestant), low blood pressure problems (orthostatic hypotension), or myasthenia gravis (a neuromuscular disorder).

It is an alkaloid derived from various plants in the genus Ephedra (family Ephedraceae). It works mainly by increasing the activity of noradrenaline on adrenergic receptors. It is most usually marketed in the hydrochloride and sulfate forms.

Ephedrine can be naturally found as a fine, white, odorless crystal or powder. It darkens on exposure to light and is freely soluble in water and sparingly soluble in alcohol.

It was a popular weight loss ingredient. In 2004, the FDA created a ban on ephedrine alkaloids that are marketed for reasons other than asthma, colds, allergies, other disease, or traditional Asian use. In 2006, FDA finally declared all dietary supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids adulterated, and illegal for marketing in the United States.

Joslin researchers find 'good fat' activated by cold, not ephedrine

Researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center have shown that while a type of "good" fat found in the body can be activated by cold temperatures, it is not able to be activated by the drug ephedrine.

The finding, published in today's issue of PNAS USA Early Edition, may lead to drugs or other methods aimed at activating the good fat, known as brown fat. When activated, brown fat burns calories and can help in the battle against obesity.