Author: Catherine

Here's a sobering statistic: more than 55 per cent of those who begin the year planning to lose weight have given up within six months. If that sounds like you, don't despair. Growing evidence suggests that it isn't just willpower that ruins weight loss plans. What if dieting doesn't work and the very act of radically reducing calories to drop kilos triggers a cascade of biological changes that all but guarantee the weight will return the moment you eat normally again? Obesity researcher Dr Nicholas Fuller, from the University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre for global health, says the changes to metabolism brought on by radical dieting can prompt the body to pull every trick it can muster to return to its starting weight. He has a hot tip for anyone with a goal to drop kilos: do not...

More than 1.5 million Australians now have high blood cholesterol, so chances are you know someone whose blood results have returned with a little asterisk when their GP or cardiologist checked their cholesterol levels. In isolation, elevated cholesterol may not be cause for concern, but high cholesterol levels – in particular high LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol levels – are one of the risk factors for heart disease. And with heart disease still Australia’s No.1 cause of death, especially for older Australians, why would you not make some dietary changes to help lower your risk? What is cholesterol? Cholesterol is a waxy substance made by the liver and plays a key role in hormone production as well as the natural function of the body’s cells and nervous system. Read m...

The discovery of hundreds of genes that directly influence what we choose to eat paves the way for personalized healthy diet plans, say scientists. They believe new insights into the genetic basis for food preferences could help improve nutrition on an individual basis. In one of the first large-scale studies of genes related to diet, researchers uncovered almost 500 genes that appear to directly influence the foods we eat. They say their findings represent an important step toward using a person’s genetics to develop precision nutrition strategies that help improve health or prevent disease. Research team leader Dr. Joanne Cole told South West News Service, “Some genes we identified are related to sensory pathways — including those for taste, smell, and texture — and may also ...