The granddaddy of all hormones for regulating aging is human growth hormone (HGH). Loss of HGH over time also leads to a decreased ability to burn off food calories as you get older. The result is fat gain.

The Catch-22 of this scenario is that it also works in the other direction. Fat gain suppresses HGH levels, which accelerates aging. It almost seems like you are trapped on a closed loop. Less HGH leads to more fat. More fat leads to less HGH. And the consequence is that you age faster and faster as you gain fat and lose HGH.

The relationship between HGH and overweight was first described in a research article in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism in 1991. The scientists behind this study pointed out that, on average, for men aged 21 to 71 with a normal body mass index, the production rate of HGH decreased by 14 percent with each decade of life. In comparison, each unit of Body Mass Index (BMI) reduced the daily HGH secretion rate by 6 percent.

This means that the drop in HGH secretion rate with an increase in BMI from 21 to 28 corresponds to the average drop going from age 21 to age 45. In other words, all adult men whose BMI classifies them as obese (i.e., 27 units and above) have HGH levels that correspond to men who are at least 20 years older. This leads to high-speed aging and the increasing prevalence of age-related diseases in younger people.

Women are not off the hook just because this study included only men in the experimental group. Indeed, fluctuation levels of estrogen and other steroid hormones in women during monthly cycles and menopause may amplify the consequences of HGH loss. One such consequence is faster fat gain.

The Four Best Solutions

Belly fat loss would, of course, be the most important strategy for enhancing HGH levels and thereby additional fat loss. Even though this sounds logical, the failure rate for long-term fat loss is too high to just willy-nilly direct you to do so, wish you luck, and send you on your way.

Fortunately, the close connection between belly fat and HGH levels opens up the possibility of restoring hormone levels first, which then would lead to fat loss. This can, indeed, be accomplished as follows:

Solution 1. The most direct way to increase HGH levels is to receive HGH replacement therapy. This solution, however, requires medical treatment with a prescription drug. It is also very expensive and generally not covered by health insurance. If you can take advantage of this solution, however, you do not have to do anything else for fat loss.

Solution 2. This and the following two solutions entail the natural enhancement of HGH levels that your body already produces over a 24 hour period. One of the normal spikes in HGH levels comes at about two hours after you get to sleep at night. You can enhance this spike by taking certain amino acid supplements before bedtime. These act as what are called HGH secretagogues, which refers to their ability to induce your pituitary gland to release more HGH. The two most important supplementsl amino acids are L-arginine (2-3 grams) and L-lysine (1 gram).

Other amino acids that enhance nighttime HGH levels include L-glutamine and L-tryptophan. (The latter may also be replaced with 5-hydroxytryptophan, or 5HTP.) Most supplement companies offer products that are formulated specifically as HGH secretagogues, so the right amino acids are easy to find at most nutrition stores.

Solution 3. A high-intensity weight-lifting workout will cause a spike in HGH levels. You can boost this effect with HGH secretagogues, especially L-arginine and L-lysine. In addition, L-glycine will enhance the results of your HGH-boosting workout. Most supplement formulas do not include this particular amino acid, even though good research backs up its use for enhancing exercise.

You can get the best results for boosting HGH through a high intensity workout by taking amino acid secretagogues on an empty stomach, about 1-1.5 hours before your workout.

Solution 4. The most ignored and overlooked strategy for enhancing HGH secretion is related to when you eat. Normally your HGH levels will start to pick up at about 2 hours after meal, increasing to a peak amount at about 4 to 5 hours after eating. At first HGH works with insulin to help metabolize food into muscle building. Once the insulin is almost gone, HGH works solely to mobilize fat for burning as fuel.

The effect of HGH on fat loss is at its greatest more than 4 hours after a meal. Stimulating this HGH spike means that you have to space your meals at least 5 hours apart.

Now here is the absolute best way to boost your post-meal HGH surge: fasting. The mini-fast after 4 hours is helpful. However, fasting from dinner to breakfast the next morning, spacing them at least 12 hours apart (no between-meal snacking!), is much more effective for burning fat because of the overnight fasting.

Recently scientists have been studying the effects of more extensive fasting that is done once or twice per week. They call it intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting has become so important for weight loss, anti-aging, and many aspects of health that any internet search for this phrase will yield tens of thousands of pages.

Accelerating Belly Fat Loss

The best scientific results and the most supportive testimonials on intermittent fasting involve a 24 to 34 hour fasting period once or twice per week. One of the truly appealing aspects of this approach is that it removes a lot of worry about what to eat on non-fasting days, because the beneficial effects of a single fasting period are so powerful. This does not mean that intermittent fasting gives you free license to eat junk food. However, it does mean that you can lose fat, reverse and slow down the onslaught of aging, and enjoy great health and fitness just by using this simple strategy to boost recovery of your own HGH to youthful levels.

Although the concept of intermittent fasting seems simple, you have to really know what you are doing to get optimum benefits from it. Fortunately for you (and me), I have found a resource that provides all you need to know. You can see more details about this resource on a special page that I have for this purpose, here:

Of course, is not really a secret. I just wanted to get your attention. Most weight loss folks, however, don’t seem to know anything about it.

All the best for your belly fat loss,

Dr. D

Salads Make the Best Summer Weight Loss Recipes

Salads not only make the best summer weight loss recipes but also top the list of fat loss recipes for women. As modern day women are always busy going to office, managing the kids and taking care of their hubbies, they hardly get time …

Publish Date: 05/10/2010 15:56

http://diet-trends.suite101.com/article.cfm/salads-make-the-best-summer-weight-loss-recipes

And take a look at how an experienced chef puts this together. A video is worth more than 10,000 words!

Healthy Low-Fat Salad Recipe, Ep52

Join Natasha on her raw food weight loss journey! Today Natasha shows you how to make her favorite raw food recipe– a low-fat simple, easy, fast, and delicious salad recipe www.rawradianthealth.com

And, as always, Twitter Universe has a few notes, too:

By luvurbody_now at 05/07/2010 11:06

It is pretty amazing what great information is at your fingertips. All this posting about food makes me hungry for something cool, crunchy, and delicious!

All the best,

Dr. D

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• Recipe: Warm Golden Beet Salad with Greens and Almonds (thekitchn.com)
• Recipe: Spinach Salad with Citrus-Chili Dressing (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

High fructose corn syrup is bad news in so many ways. First off, fructose is not the benign sugar that it has been widely acclaimed to be. Its low Glycemic Index means nothing. Fructose is the most lipogenic (fat building) sugar of all, even more than table sugar. Take a look at a surprising article that cites the latest research on the most pervasive sugar in processed foods and sweetened drinks:

High-fructose corn syrup linked to obesity

Researchers at Princeton have shown that if you keep the number of calories the same, rats eating high-fructose corn syrup “gained significantly more weight” than rats who ate table sugar.

I must admit that I used to talk about fructose and high fructose corn syrup in glowing terms. Then I discovered the real research. This is one food additive to keep off your diet if you want to stay trim, that’s for sure.

Dr. D

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• High Fructose Corn Syrup and You (fitnesstipsforlife.com)

A lot of ruckus exploded in the media from a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine. The article itself is titled, “Comparison of weight-loss diets with different compositions of fat, protein, and carbohydrates” (Feb 26, 2008; vol. 360(9): pp. 859-873). It has all of the earmarks of good research: 1) a reputable journal; 2) a famous institution (Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health); 3) a big bunch of professional scientists in the by-line (Sacks FM, Bray GA, Carey VJ, Smith SR, Ryan DH, Anton SD, McManus K, Champagne CM, Bishop LM, Laranjo N, Leboff MS, Rood JC, de Jonge L, Greenway FL, Loria CM, Obarzanek E, Williamson DA); and, 4) paid for by just the right government agency (the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health). All of these might fool a non-scientist into thinking that this research answers a nagging question about what the best weight-loss diet is. Indeed, it fooled all of the journalists who trumpeted the article as a guide for the ideal strategy for weight loss.

Get a Different Perspective on Poor Research at Harvard

Unfortunately, this article fell short in so many ways that it is just a big waste of time and taxpayers’ money. The statistics are weak, the comparisons among diets show poor results, the experimental set up was biased and incomplete. Indeed, I could go on and an about how truly bad this article is. It is very unfortunate that biased reporting in the media gave it such a thumbs up. I found a great analysis of all this idiocy by low-carb enthusiast, Jimmy Moore, in his blogpost at: “If New Research Says Weight Loss Is All About The Calories, Then Why Was The Atkins Diet Omitted From The Study?” So rather than me repeating all the good editorializing by Jimmy and the commentary by his visitors (including one by yours truly), I’ll just encourage you to read it for yourself at that link. Enjoy!

I am chagrined, although not surprised, that bad science gets published. This has always been the case. It is a dirty little secret that we scientists are good at hiding. Just thought you’d like to know.

All the best in natural health,

Dr. D

All good fat burning diets must include three components. WHAT you eat is equally important to WHEN you eat and HOW MUCH you eat. Each of these is a separate topic, so for now this article will focus the first of these, the foods themselves.

Fat burning foods provide calories with nutrients. That is almost all there is to it. In addition, the best foods also do not cause too much inflammation. Paying attention to nutrient content and inflammatory potential is the simplest and most effective approach to choosing what to eat for burning fat. Let me give you an obvious example. Oranges contain a lot of sugar AND a lot of nutrient value. Fruity Pebbles contain a lot of sugar and very little nutrient value. This is a no-brainer. By the way, both contain the same exact kind of sugars, either sucrose or fructose or a mixture of the two. This is not really important. You already know that Fruity Pebbles are awful for fat burning diets.

Processed sugar and other nutrient-free carbohydrates also cause inflammation. Excess sugar drives up your insulin level. Insulin is a caustic protein that causes damage when you have too much in your bloodstream. Excess insulin from a high sugar intake is just one of the inflammatory responses you will have by eating the wrong kind of food for fat burning  diets.

Foods for Fat Burning Diets – Nutrient Density

High nutrient density includes mostly fresh foods. Dieticians, nutritionists, and naturopaths mostly agree that the highest nutrient density comes from several categories of foods, which include:

• VEGETABLES: Arugula, Bell peppers, Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots, Leeks, Onions, Romaine lettuce, Scallions, Shiitake mushrooms, Spinach, Tomatoes, Sweet potatoes (NOT yams!)
• FRUIT: Apples, Blueberries, Cherries, Grapefruit, Oranges, Pomegranates
• FISH: Flounder, Salmon (esp. wild caught), Sole, Tilapia
• MEAT AND POULTRY: Beef, Lamb, Pork, Chicken, Turkey, Wild game
• HERBS AND SPICES: Basil, Black pepper, Cardamom, Chives, Cilantro, Cinnamon, Cloves, Garlic, Ginger, Parsley, Turmeric
• NUTS AND SEEDS: (raw, unsalted) Almonds, Flaxseeds, Sesame seeds, Walnuts
• OTHER: Eggs (esp. the whites)

Do you suppose that you could survive on any of the fat burning diets if they were based only on foods taken from this list? Of course! This is a list of incredibly delicious foods, and the variety of taste treats is endless when you use different combinations of herbs and spices.

A Little Surprise – Frozen Foods

Fruits and vegetables are often picked when they are unripe, then stored in a cold box. They are fumigated with ethylene gas just before they are put out for sale. This gas makes them look like they are ripe. Looks are deceiving, since they have little of the nutrient value that comes from naturally ripening. You know this is the case when you bite into a really beautiful orange or tomato that has almost no flavor. Flavor, like nutritional value, goes hand in hand with natural ripening.

What about frozen foods? Fruits and veggies are left on the tree, bush, or vine longer if they are to be picked for freezing. They have to be ripe at that time because they are going to be frozen right away. By ripening naturally, they have a higher nutrient density than their fresh counterparts. Nevertheless, be sure to get only  unadulterated frozen foods for the best benefits to your health and fat reduction program. Food manufacturers consistently offer high-sugar and high-salt frozen foods, which should be a crime. Don’t buy them!

Foods That Are Not So Good

Think about potatoes and rice. These foods are excluded from the list above because they carry a big load of starch and little else. “If it is white, don’t bite,” is generally good advice regarding these foods. It also includes anything made with enriched flour of any kind. If the flour is enriched, then it was first stripped of its nutritional value. No amount of “enrichment” can make up for the stripped-out nutrition.

Juices are also missing from the above list. Commercial juices are almost all a bunch of sugar-laden crap. If you can get whole, completely unprocessed, fresh or frozen juices without adulteration by apple or grape juice, go for it. Just be sure to count the calorie density in your daily intake, because a glass of juice can be a big load of calories.

Really Bad Foods

You must consume all three food groups – carbohydrate, protein, and fat – to be trim and healthy. Fats, however, have acquired an evil reputation, which is idiotic  and oversimplified. The key is to eat the right kinds of fats and avoid the wrong kinds.

The biggest culprits among bad fats are the saturated fats from animal products and the trans fats from chemical processing. Saturated fats most often come from meat and dairy and from processed and fried foods. Just be sensible about eating meat by eating less meat that is fatty. Marbled steak, as good as it tastes, is too fatty. Chicken and turkey skin are too fatty. Most pork is too fatty, although not all. By the way, the added hormones and antibiotics in commercial meats also stick fat on you like super-glue. The best fat burning diets are free of hormones and antibiotics.

Trans Fats: Evil Non-Food

Trans fats have become the whipping boy of the health food industry, for good reason. You probably know by now that trans fats are made by a synthetic chemical transformation. Foods contain trans fats if they have partially hydrogenated oils. These are highly inflammatory. They ruin blood vessels, lead to insulin resistance, and promote obesity. Avoid them at all costs.

French fries, potato chips, crackers, baked goods, and all kinds of processed foods are loaded with saturated fats, trans fats, or both. These are triple-whammy early death foods because you get: 1) lots of bad fats, 2) lots of inflammatory carbohydrates, and 3) very low nutrient density. Evil, I tell you! None of these foods will be part of good fat burning diets.

Your Eating Plan

The success of fat burning diets depends on consuming only valuable, nutrient-dense foods. You don’t have to get crazy and start feeling as though you are depriving yourself of good food. Fat burning diets should be appealing, tasty, and offer lots of foods that you can look forward to without missing the ones that you must avoid. Enjoy!

All the best in natural health,

Dr. D