pounds Archives

Could an Antibody Drug Help You Shed Pounds? | Health News

November 3, 2020 [email protected]_84 Antibody, Drug, health, News, pounds, shed

By Amy Norton HealthDay Reporter

(HealthDay)

MONDAY, Nov. 2, 2020 (HealthDay News) — An experimental antibody drug that targets one of the body’s key metabolism regulators may help obese people lose weight — at least briefly.

That’s one finding from an early study that tested the injection drug, which mimics the effects of a natural hormone called fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21). In the body, FGF21 helps govern metabolism, calorie-burning and food intake.

Researchers found that a single injection spurred “metabolic improvements” in overweight and obese adults that lasted up to two months. On average, people started eating fewer calories after a week, and saw their “good” HDL cholesterol increase while their levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol, insulin and triglycerides all fell.

Beyond that, their food preferences started to shift away from sweets, and they managed to drop a couple pounds — albeit temporarily.

Experts called the findings “interesting,” but stressed the work is very preliminary.

“The purpose of this study was really to determine dose and to get an idea of proof of concept,” said Dr. Donna Ryan, a professor emerita at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La. She was not involved in the study.

It would take much more research to prove the antibody is safe and effective, Ryan said. And that, she added, would be a “long, difficult and expensive proposition.”

She pointed to the bigger picture, saying there is “excitement” in the field of obesity drug development: Researchers are studying how various “molecules” in the body regulate metabolism, and trying to turn those molecules into medication. The injection drug Saxenda, approved in the United States in 2014, is an example, Ryan said.

The new research is of a piece with that, she said.

The findings were published Nov. 2 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

FGF21 is a hormone that helps control metabolism by stimulating certain receptors in fat tissue, the liver, the pancreas and the central nervous system. Past research has suggested that people who carry certain variants in the FGF21 gene tend to have a sweet tooth and a preference for carbohydrates.

In addition, people with obesity, type 2 diabetes or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease appear to have high levels of FGF21 in their blood.

That suggests they may have grown resistant to the hormone — similar to how people become resistant to insulin, said senior study author Dr. Puneet Arora.

Scientists have tried giving modified versions of FGF21 to benefit metabolism. But the protein is cleared from the body too quickly to be useful, explained Arora, who was with biotech company Genentech at the time of the study.

So, Arora and his colleagues there developed a lab-engineered antibody that essentially mimics the hormone.

As an initial test, they recruited 60 overweight and obese adults, then randomly assigned them to have a single injection of the antibody or a placebo. For about a week, the participants stayed at the research center, following a controlled diet. And by the end

health

Connecticut residents dump 8,000 pounds of drugs, vaping material on record takeback day

November 3, 2020 [email protected]_84 Connecticut, Day, Drugs, dump, material, pounds, record, residents, TakeBack, vaping

People in Connecticut and across the nation safely discarded a record amount of unused prescription drugs and vaping materials as part of the federal Drug Enforcement Agency’s recent Drug Take Back Day.

The total cleared from medicine cabinets nationwide was 985,392 pounds, or about 493 tons of medication dropped off at 4,587 collection sites, the agency recently announced.

In the six New England states, 115,944 pounds of expired, unused prescription drugs, electronic vaping devices and cartridges were collected at 586 sites. That’s more than four times the amount collected in the region (25,810 pounds) during the first Drug Take Back Day in September 2010.

In Connecticut, the total weight collected last week was about 8,000 pounds, compared with about 5,800 pounds three years ago. In total, about 13.6 million pounds or prescription drugs nationwide, including 122,245 pounds in Connecticut, has been collected since the program started, according to the DEA.

Collections at the semi-annual event (in April and October) are anonymous, and the drugs are incinerated at a waste-to-energy plant, Special Agent Timothy Desmond of the agency’s New England Division office said Monday.

Drugs dumped in the trash could be retrieved by people who would take them or sell them or by children, and some drugs flushed down the toilet can contaminate the water supply, the DEA says.

“The bottom line is that removing Rx medicines from the nation’s homes, where they could be stolen and abused by family members and visitors, including children and teens, is very important,” Desmond said.

Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, according to the DEA, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.

The recent Drug Take Back Day was the second event in which the DEA accepted vaping devices and cartridges at any of its drop off locations as long as the lithium batteries were removed, Desmond said.

“DEA is doing all it can to help dispose safely of vaping devices and liquids to get these products off our streets and out of the hands of children,” he said.

In East Hartford, citizens turned in over 100 pounds of unwanted and unused prescription drugs, police spokesman Lt. Josh Litwin said. East Hartford, like some other police departments, also has a year-round drop box for unwanted drugs in the lobby of the public safety complex at 31 School St. Collections are limited to prescription medications, pills, capsules and caplets. Prohibited items include intravenous bags, sharps (anything with a needle or lance), Epi-pens, patches, gels, medications in tubes and liquids.

“The Pharmaceutical Collection Program reduces the risk of prescription drug diversion and abuse, sickness and hospitalizations attributable to inappropriate or outdated medication consumption and environmental damage including groundwater contamination and non-point watercourse pollution,” Mayor Marcia Leclerc said. “Medication disposal is a major public health and safety concern.”

Jesse Leavenworth can be reached at [email protected]

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Visit The Hartford Courant (Hartford, Conn.) at www.courant.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

health

How This Guy Lost Nearly 40 Pounds in 4 Months and Got Ripped

November 1, 2020 [email protected]_84 guy, lost, months, pounds, Ripped

Tom Boyden, one half of the YouTube fitness channel Juji & Tom, has been on a body transformation journey this year, having lost 37 pounds over the summer. In a new video, Tom breaks down some of the changes he made to his lifestyle in order to aid his weight loss and improve his performance in his workouts.

“If you look at the timeline, I progressively went from 197 pounds in February… then 190 in May,” he says. “And then I just reduced my calories, and slowly started upping my activity. So from May to now, about five months. The vast majority of it has happened in five months. I just had a vast layer of fat over a bunch of nice powerlifting muscles.”

Paying closer attention to nutrition has been the one change that’s had the single biggest impact, Tom explains. “I train all the time, and I work out, but it doesn’t matter if your diet is shit,” he says, adding that he has been finding lower sugar and calorie alternatives to his favorite foods, and reducing his fat intake. He has also been cooking more after falling out of the habit.

In addition to his diet, Tom changed the focus of his exercise, so that he was primarily doing strength training and aesthetic-led bodybuilding workouts. “It’s not that I didn’t train hard over the last two years, but we trained hard over a three-hour workout period,” he says. “Now, the main thing is training, diet, and overall activity, and just what we do in a day.”

“I do faster cardio every morning, walking after meals, just walking in general, riding my bike, trampoline, skateboarding, just all kinds of things,” he continues. “If I’m not active during the day, I’m like ‘what’s going on, why didn’t I go for a walk?’ And I’ll just go stretch, or do some mobility in the garage.”

This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

In the video, Tom also shares how he was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease as a teenager, recalling how a serious flare-up with his illness this year led to him being hospitalized. But after recovering, he’s back on his fitness routine. He also credits a variety of other semi-related lifestyle changes with having had a positive impact on maintaining his weight loss, including less stress and travel, which have helped him maintain a good sleep schedule and ensure he has the required levels of energy for his workouts.

Philip Ellis
Philip Ellis is a freelance writer and journalist from the United Kingdom covering pop culture, relationships and LGBTQ+ issues.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io

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health

Trader Joe’s has recalled over 4,400 pounds of frozen fish

October 27, 2020 [email protected]_84 fish, Frozen, Joes, pounds, Recalled, Trader

Trader Joe’s is pulling its Gluten Free Battered Halibut off shelves after discovering undeclared wheat and milk in the product.

The popular grocery store issued a recall notice on its website for 10 oz. boxes of halibut that were packaged with the SKU# 50382 and the product code 537312620. The affected product from supplier Orca Bay Foods, LLC had a “best if used by” date of November 5, 2021 and was sold in 19 states (see a full list here) including New Hampshire, Kansas, Kentucky, New York, Massachusetts and Maine.

No illnesses or allergic reactions have been reported so far, but Trader Joe’s encouraged shoppers who recently purchased the product to proceed with caution if they have a wheat or milk allergy or sensitivity.

“We urge you to discard the product or return it to any Trader Joe’s for a full refund,” the company wrote.

Coronavirus Pandemic Causes Climate Of Anxiety And Changing Routines In America (Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)

According to a separate recall notice on the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s website, the recall “was initiated after it was discovered that product containing Wheat and Milk was distributed in packaging that did not reveal the presence of the allergens.”

Failure to properly label these ingredients can cause big problems for those who try to avoid them for dietary or medical reasons.

“People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to wheat and milk run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product,” the notice reads.

Following this discovery, Trader Joe’s and Orca Bay Foods removed all of the affected product from sale and destroyed 4,450 lb. (356 cases) of the frozen fish.

Have questions on the recall? Trader Joe’s encouraged customers to contact them at (626) 599-3817 or Orca at 1-800-932-ORCA.

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health

3 tips that helped this man lose 155 pounds, run half-marathons

October 19, 2020 [email protected]_84 halfmarathons, Helped, Lose, Man, pounds, run, Tips

In 2018, Matthew Morgan made a New Year’s resolution that sounded a lot like ones he made in the past: He vowed to lose weight. Then in February he had a minor heart attack. But instead of letting that derail his goals, it emphasized how he needed to stick with his healthy habits.

“I used it as motivation. I actually suffered a heart attack from having the extra weight,” the 41-year-old from Brunswick, Maryland told TODAY. “That was enough of a wake-up call that I needed to continue down the path that I was going rather than go back. Because the heart attack was the result of what I’ve pretty much done my whole life.”

Unhealthy eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle led Matthew Morgan to weigh 330 pounds. (Courtesy Matthew Morgan)

A life of dieting

Morgan was overweight most of his life, but in high school and college he was in the marching band and that activity kept his weight a little bit lower.

“I’ve so-called dieted pretty much my whole life,” he said. “After college because I wasn’t active and got stuck in a sedentary lifestyle — I wasn’t exercising — the weight just kept coming on.”

At his heaviest, he weighed 330 pounds and that’s when he knew he had to take his health seriously. He started by tracking what he ate on the weight-loss app, Lose It!

“I would use the app to track every single thing that went in my mouth to the extent of having a food scale and weighing every single piece of food,” Morgan explained. “I would use the recipe builder on a portion of the Lose It! app to enter in all the ingredients for stuff I was cooking so that I could get an accurate count.”

He also started to move more, first walking.

“It was difficult because you’re going from a lifestyle where you’re really sitting on the couch, sitting at work, sitting at home — not really moving a whole lot — to trying to be as active as possible,” he said.

When Matthew Morgan was losing weight he ate foods, such as yogurt, almonds, fruits and vegetables. As he maintains his 155-pound loss, he still relies on these foods. (Courtesy Matthew Morgan)

But then Morgan stared listening to podcasts about people using running to help with their weight loss and he wondered if he, too, could run.

“Being someone that was overweight my whole life I assumed that I would never ever be able to run,” Morgan said. “Running is actually something I do for entertainment. Now if I find I’m bored or have a stressful day — you name it — I go out for a run.”

He runs four to five times a week for an average of 20 miles. Since making his resolution, Morgan lost 155 pounds to weigh 175 pounds. He’s run several half-marathons, though they have all been virtual due to COVID-19. He’s looking forward to someday running a

health

Easy home-cooked dishes that won’t pile on the pounds

October 18, 2020 [email protected]_84 dishes, Easy, homecooked, pile, pounds, wont

No-fuss meals easy on the waistline

Cooking doesn’t have to be complicated and prepping meals from home means you’ve got control over exactly what’s in your food – perfect if you’re watching your weight. Cut down on calories and eat lighter with these easy home-cooked dishes that work for any occasion.