fat

Frito-Lay is about to start using a health claim on some of its foods. The application to the FDA will allow some Frito-Lay foods to state the following:

Sally Fallon, author of Nourishing Traditions has been in Australia promoting her book. Fallon promotes the benefits of saturated fats (from research undertaken by the Weston Price Foundation).

Fallon has come under heavy criticism from the Dietitians Association of Australia: "She's basing her ideas on observations of primitive populations in isolated areas who eat traditional diets, and it's so far removed from Western civilisation," [...] "In a population that is sedentary there is no need to consume saturated fats." (The Age)

So what is the truth? Are there any real answers to this controversial and ongoing debate?

Americans may eventually have a new tool to shrink growing waistlines. A Japanese preliminary study showed that the brown pigment in a type of seaweed, wakame, can help to reduce abdominal fat.

Having a fit or slim appearance may not necessarily imply good health - or the amount of fat you are carrying.

Researchers in the UK have been using MRI scanning technology to show the amount of fat surrounding internal organs.

Body fat has a mind of its own. It appears where it wants to, and seems to disappear (under great duress) from all the wrong places. Is there any rhyme or reason to fat distribution?

Here is a complete guide to body fat distribution.

In early 2005 a study was published in the journal of Neurology. The study examined the affect of a severely ketogenic diet on Parkinsons Disease. The results were encouraging, and another recent study reported similar results when treating Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Many weight loss programs use the phrase "melt fat". It's a ridiculous phase because nothing actually melts fat - except for lasers. Dermatologists at the Massachusetts General Hospital are experimenting with lasers that will heat up fat without harming the skin.

Forget the coconut oil, just give me the sunny beachIf you are interested in diet, then you've heard of Dr. Mercola (mercola.com).

Mercola's natural health site is enormously popular and has many followers. He writes fascinating articles on a multitude of nutritional issues - however there is an edge of fear and paranoia that has always made me feel uncomfortable. All that worrying about health and harmful food could end up making you sick...

One of the great debates is about the benefits of coconut oil and saturated fats.