Losing weight: Lifestyle changes trump any diet -

Losing weight: Lifestyle changes trump any diet - 



What's the best diet for maintaining a healthy weight and warding off chronic diseases? Is it a low-carb diet, a high-carb diet, an all-vegetable diet, a no-vegetable diet?
Researchers say you'd be better off just forgetting the word diet, according to an editorial published August 20 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
Two researchers Sherry Pagoto of the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Mass., and Bradley Appelhans of the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago call for an end to the so-called diet wars, because they are all equally as good, or bad, in helping people fight obesity. [7 Diet Tricks That Really Work]
In the end, patients only get confused thinking that one diet is superior to another, they said, when in fact changes in lifestyle, not diet types, are the true ways to prevent weight gain and the associated ills of diabetes and circulatory disease.
"The amount of resources that have gone into studying 'what' to eat is incredible, and years of research indicate that it doesn't really matter, as long as overall calories are reduced," Appelhans told LiveScience. "What does matter is 'how' to eat, as well as other things in lifestyle interventions, such as physical activity and supportive behaviors that help people stay on track [in the] long term."
The researchers cite numerous studies that demonstrated only moderate success with various types of diet that focus on macronutrients: protein, fat or carbohydrates; but regardless of diet, without a lifestyle change, the weight comes back.
Conversely, several large and recent studies such as the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study and the China Da Qing Diabetes Prevention Study found lower weight and lower incidence of diabetes among study participants many years after the study's initial completion because the subjects were taught howto lose weight through lifestyle interventions.
Lifestyle trumps diet
Pagoto described lifestyle interventions as three-prong: dietary counseling (how to control portions, reduce high-calorie foods and navigate restaurants), exercise counseling (how to set goals, target heart rate and exercise safely), and behavioral modification (how to self-monitor, problem solve, stay motivated and understand hunger).
"The 'diet' used within a lifestyle intervention can be low-fat, low-carb, etc. It doesn't matter," Pagoto said. "In fact, at least one study compared a low-fat lifestyle intervention with a low-carb lifestyle intervention, and it made no difference. The diet itself [is not] instrumental to the lifestyle interventions success; it is the behavioral piece that is key."


Read more: - 

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/08/21/losing-weight-lifestyle-changes-trump-any-diet/?intcmp=features

Scuba Diver Caught Smuggling Drugs Across River At US-Canada Border... -

Scuba Diver Caught Smuggling Drugs Across River At US-Canada Border... - 



Authorities say a 24-year-old Canadian man was busted trying to smuggle illegal drugs into the United States by crossing the St. Clair River in a scuba suit.

Jesse James Thomas Zunti, a Windsor resident, was apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol agents around 1 a.m. Monday as he emerged from the river near Marine City.

Border Patrol agents were alerted to the situation by a concerned citizen who saw someone swimming across the St. Clair River and called police.

Agents then contacted remote camera operators at the Operational Integration Center at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, who were able to locate the suspect in the river. The camera operator relayed to agents on the ground that the man appeared to be pulling a “dry bag” used by divers behind him.

Agents waiting on the ground when Zunt finished his swim found a large, watertight PVC cylinder holding over eight pounds of marijuana tied to a seawall ladder.

Zunti, along with the narcotics, was turned over to the St. Clair County Drug Task Force, which accepted the case for prosecution.

Bond was set at $100,000 cash/surety at an arraignment Wednesday. Zunti is being held at the St. Clair County Intervention and Detention Center pending a preliminary hearing set for Sept. 4 before Judge Michael Hulewicz in Marine City District Court.

Local officials say it’s the first incident they know of where someone tried to smuggle marijuana underwater.

Read more - 

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/08/21/scuba-diver-caught-smuggling-drugs-across-u-s-canada-border/

Ex-pope Benedict says GOD told him to resign during 'mystical experience'... -

Ex-pope Benedict says GOD told him to resign during 'mystical experience'... - 



The former pope Benedict has claimed that his resignation in February was prompted by God, who told him to do it during a "mystical experience".

Breaking his silence for the first time since he became the first pope to step down in 600 years, the 86-year-old reportedly said: "God told me to" when asked what had pushed him to retire to a secluded residence in the Vatican gardens.

Benedict denied he had been visited by an apparition or had heard God's voice, but said he had undergone a "mystical experience" during which God had inspired in him an "absolute desire" to dedicate his life to prayer rather than push on as pope.

The German ex-pontiff's comments, which are said to have been made a few weeks ago, were reported by the Catholic news agency Zenit, which did not name the person Benedict had spoken to.

A senior Vatican source said the report was reliable. "The report seems credible. It accurately explains the spiritual process that brought Benedict to resign," he said.

Benedict said his mystical experience had lasted months, building his desire to create a direct and exclusive relationship with God. Now, after witnessing the "charisma" of his successor, Pope Francis, Benedict said he understood to a greater extent how his stepping aside was the "will of God".

Benedict's reported remarks contrast with the explanation he gave to cardinals when he announced his resignation on 11 February. "My strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry," he said then.

At the time, a German journalist who had recently met Benedict reported he was going deaf, appeared to be blind in one eye, and was emaciated and "exhausted-looking".

Speculation also grew that he was depressed after his trusted butler, Paolo Gabriele, was caught leaking his personal correspondence. Italian press reports have recently claimed he was frustrated by a network of influence built up at the Vatican by a pro-gay lobby of prelates.

Zenit reported that Benedict has stuck to his plan to live a life of secluded prayer, receiving very few visitors at his house in the Vatican's gardens, which enjoys views across Rome to the Apennine mountains beyond.

"During these meetings, the ex-pontiff does not comment, does not reveal secrets, does not make statements that could be understood as 'the words of the other pope', but is as reserved as he has always been," wrote Zenit.

After concerns were raised that Benedict would exert undue influence at the Vatican as his successor struggled to find his feet, Francis's popular approach and his shakeup of Vatican protocols have relegated Benedict to the sidelines.

Francis has even joked about the situation, saying in July: "The last time there were two or three popes, they didn't talk among themselves and they fought over who was the true pope!"

Having Benedict living in the Vatican, he added, "is like having a grandfather – a wise grandfather – living at home".

Francis's first encyclical, issued in July, was started by Benedict while he was in office and finished by his successor.

Benedict took his first day trip out of the Vatican on 18 August, walking in the gardens at the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, outside Rome, where he stayed after his retirement while his new house was being refurbished. Benedict did not risk running into Francis, who has preferred to stay at his desk at the Vatican during the summer.

Read more - 

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/21/pope-benedict-god-resign-mystical-experience

Study finds that men are from Lincoln, and women are from Volvo -

Study finds that men are from Lincoln, and women are from Volvo - 



In marketing, companies always track the demographics of their customers to identify shopping trends. They look at age, geography, income, and many other factors, but perhaps none more so than sex.
The auto industry isn't immune from this -- not by a long shot -- and it's drawn a number of conclusions about today's shoppers. For example: women are practical, but men get better deals. Men like a showy ride, women prefer one with smarts. And so on, and so on. Vive la difference.
Now, the folks at KBB have turned their attention to the specific brands that men and women prefer. Combining traffic stats from KBB.com with survey data collected from 13,000 U.S. adults, they've identified a few very interesting facts about what turns men and women on -- at least when it comes tocars.

In very general terms, KBB finds that men prefer U.S. auto brands and European luxury rides, while women show a strong affinity for imports, particularly those from Asia.  
Among female new-car shoppers, Volvo proved hugely popular, especially compared to interest from men. In fact, the survey found that women were 119 percent more likely to shop for Volvos than their male counterparts.
Why is that? While Volvo hasn't always been known for good looks, Volvos are often considered durable, and the brand has repeatedly staked its reputation on safety. That suggests a car packed with value.
And value is exactly what women look for in a new car, according to Diana Duque-Miranda, a senior manager for Kelley Blue Book Market Intelligence: "Women car shoppers are much more financially conscious than men, as 72 percent of women are more likely to consider affordability in their next purchase compared to 50 percent of men.... Women are more likely to consider a brand known for value compared to men new-car shoppers, which translates to more women shopping Honda, Kia and Mazda for more bang for their buck."
That focus on value also causes women to zero in on fuel-efficient rides. In fact, 67 percent of female shoppers are drawn to gas-sippers, compared to just 48 percent of men.
In all, KBB's top ten brands for women (as compared to men) were as follows:

Volvo (119% more popular with women than men)
Infiniti (97% more popular)
Fiat (82% more popular)
Acura (61% more popular)
Nissan (57% more popular)
Mitsubishi (46% more popular)
Honda (37% more popular)
Dodge (23% more popular)
Kia (19% more popular)
Mazda (16% more popular)
Note that seven of those ten brands are Asian, two are European, and only one is American.

FINDINGS: MEN
KBB found a huge gap between men and women in their perception of Lincoln. On average, men were 174 percent more likely to shop Lincoln than women were. 
According to Duque-Miranda's colleague, Arthur Henry, that has everything to do with Lincoln's history: "Brands with a rich heritage, such as Lincoln, Buick, Cadillac, and Mercedes-Benz, tend to draw the attention of older men more than younger men or even women.... Brands that promote themselves as being 'rugged' tend to draw the interest of men of all ages, as 28 percent of men are more likely to shop for a new vehicle that have this factor compared to 19 percent of women."
All told, the top ten brands that showed up on men's shopping lists but not women's were as follows:

Lincoln (174% more popular with men than women)
Audi (147% more popular)
Jaguar (128% more popular)
Scion (128% more popular)
Cadillac (119% more popular)
Chrysler (106% more popular)
Buick (96% more popular)
Mercedes-Benz (37% more popular)
Smart (37% more popular)
GMC (30% more popular)
Note that five of those ten are Detroit marques, four are European, and only one is Asian. (No, we're not sure how Smart got on the list, either.)


Read more: - 
http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2013/08/21/study-finds-that-men-are-from-lincoln-and-women-are-from-volvo/

Blood test may predict risk of suicide -

Blood test may predict risk of suicide - 



It can be difficult to tell when a person is contemplating suicide -- people may be reluctant to speak about it. But now, researchers say they may have a new tool that reveals suicidal thoughts with a blood test.
The researchers found the levels of certain molecules in the blood differed when people with bipolar disorder were having suicidal thoughts, and they were able to confirm their findings in the bodies of men who had recently committed suicide.
"We found some blood biomarkers, some changes in molecules in the blood, that are associated with having a high suicidal risk, and then we validated those changes in blood from suicide completers," said Dr. Alexander Niculescu III, an associate professor of psychiatry and medical neuroscience at the Indiana University School of Medicine.
Niculescu and his team spoke with 42 men with bipolar disorder who were being treated at various sites in Indiana. Nine of the men they spoke with, over the course of the study, fluctuated between having thoughts of suicide and not having those thoughts.
By examining the men's blood, the researchers found a number of molecules that appeared to correlate with those suicidal thoughts. The researchers compared their findings with the molecule levels in the blood from the bodies of nine men who had recently committed suicide, and had been matched for age, and they were able to narrow down the number of molecules. [5 Controversial Mental Health Treatments]
Finally, the researchers compared their blood sample findings to those from groups of the 42 men with bipolar disorder and 46 with schizophrenia, to see if the levels of these biomarkers corresponded with suicidal tendencies.
Ultimately, the researchers found six molecules that appeared to correlate with suicidal thoughts and actions. However, Niculescu noted the findings need to be confirmed in a wider cohort that includes women and non-Caucasian men.
It remains unclear why these particular molecules would have an impact on suicide, but, Niculescu said, some of them are involved in inflammation and cell death, so it may be that they affect people under extreme stress in a large way.
One of the reasons the research was conducted, said Niculescu, who also serves as a staff psychiatrist at the Indianapolis VA Medical Center, is that suicide has had a particular impact on members of the military, where it has claimed more active military members than the combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.
With the stigma attached to suicide, "We needed something else besides what people tell us to identify who's at high risk," Niculescu said.
The search for biomarkers that indicate suicide risk has long been a challenge for psychiatrists, said Dr. Andrew Leuchter, a professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral science at the University of California, Los Angeles, whose research group has looked at brain scans for a similar goal.


Read more: - 

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/08/21/blood-test-may-predict-risk-suicide/?test=latestnews

Welfare pays more than work in 35 states - and in 13 states welfare pays more than $15 per hour -

Welfare pays more than work in 35 states - and in 13 states welfare pays more than $15 per hour - 



Looking for a good paying job? Well, look no further.

No, really, stop looking. In 35 states, welfare benefits pay more than a minimum wage job, according to a new study by the libertarian Cato Institute, and in 13 states welfare pays more than $15 per hour.

“One of the single best ways to climb out of poverty is taking a job, but as long as welfare provides a better standard of living than an entry-level job, recipients will continue to choose it over work,” said Michael Tanner, senior policy analyst and co-author of the study.

The study is an updated version of one Tanner put out in 1995 that estimated the full value of welfare benefits packages across the states. The 1995 study found that such tax-free welfare benefits greatly exceeded the poverty level and “their dollar value was greater than the amount of take-home income a worker would receive from an entry-level job.”

Despite efforts to curb welfare spending, many welfare programs and benefits have continued to outpace the income that many workers can receive for working an entry-level job, which disincentivizes work, according to the study.

“The current welfare system provides such a high level of benefits that it acts as a disincentive for work,” reads the study. “Welfare currently pays more than a minimum-wage job in 35 states, even after accounting for the Earned Income Tax Credit, and in 13 states it pays more than $15 per hour.”

According to the study, the federal government funds 126 separate programs designed to support low-income earners. Seventy-two of these programs provide cash or in-kind benefits to recipients. This is on top of additional welfare programs operated by state and local governments.

Welfare recipients in Hawaii get the most benefits, according to Tanner, at $29.13 per hour — or $60,590 pre-tax income annually. However, the state’s minimum wage is only $7.25 per hour, according to the Labor Department. Hawaiians on welfare also earn 167 percent of the median salary in the state, which is only $36,275.

The District of Columbia, Massachusetts and Connecticut have the next more generous welfare benefits.

D.C. welfare recipients can earn $24.43 per hour. In Massachusetts they can get $24.30 per hour. In Connecticut welfare recipients can receive $21.33 per hour.

“If Congress and state legislatures are serious about reducing welfare dependence and rewarding work, they should consider strengthening welfare work requirements, removing exemptions, and narrowing the definition of work,” says the study.

Read more - 

http://dailycaller.com/2013/08/20/study-welfare-pays-more-than-work-in-most-states/

Hundreds Dead In Syrian Chemical Attack As Even Impartial Experts Allege "False Flag" -

Hundreds Dead In Syrian Chemical Attack As Even Impartial Experts Allege "False Flag" - 



Overnight, it wasn't Egypt but Syria that woke up to the latest massacre, this time in a chemical weapons-induced slaughter when more than 200 people were killed shortly after 3 am local time, in what would be by far the worst reported use of chemical arms in the two-year-old civil war. Naturally, Syrian activists promptly accused the President al-Assad of conducting the attack that killed numerous women and children even though it was their chemicial weapons warehouse in the Damascus area that was uncovered just over a month ago. Not surprisingly the state TV and Syrian emissaries abroad promptly denied any responsibility for the attack. And, as on previous occasions, the traditional narrative of penning this wholesale murder of civilians on the ruling administration leaves much to be desired. So much so that even experts are now wondering if it wasn't merely the latest provocation attempt by the US (and Al-Qaeda) -supported rebels to push public opinion further against Assad and permit the greenlighting of an eventual military escalation.


The timing and location of the reported chemical weapons use - just three days after the team of U.N. chemical experts checked in to a Damascus hotel a few km (miles) to the east at the start of their mission - was surprising.

"It would be very peculiar if it was the government to do this at the exact moment the international inspectors come into the country," said Rolf Ekeus, a retired Swedish diplomat who headed a team of UN weapons inspectors in Iraq in the 1990s.

"At the least, it wouldn't be very clever."

Ekeus said the mandate of the U.N. team was limited to three sites but could be amended to investigate fresh claims - which would be simpler to verify than the other months-old cases.

"It is easier to do sampling and testing, and also to look at the victims, if there are sick people or even dead people (on the scene). It is easier to get to doctors and get to the place where the event happened."

Charles Lister, an analyst at IHS Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Centre, also said it made little sense for the Syrian government to use chemical agents now.

"Nonetheless, the Ghouta region (where the attacks were reported) is well known for its opposition leanings. Jabhat al-Nusra has had a long-time presence there and the region has borne the brunt of sustained military pressure for months now," he said, referring to a hardline Sunni Islamist rebel group allied to al Qaeda.

"While it is clearly impossible to confirm the chemical weapons claim, it is clear from videos uploaded by reliable accounts that a large number of people have died."
So let's see: an irrational act by a man who knows every act of his is under the interantional media microscope, and not just any act but the worst chemical weapons attack to date which would promptly force a "democratic" intervention into his country, or merely a false flag attack in which the so-called rebels, aka Qatari mercenaries, are killing their own to pin the blame, and the international retaliation, on Assad?

Deaths are certainly tragic, but what would be just as tragic is if a western government is backstopping this wholesale murder of innocent civilians merely to promote its own petrodollar agenda.

Read more - 

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-08-21/hundreds-dead-syrian-chemical-attack-even-impartial-experts-allege-false-flag

How The NRA Built A Massive Secret Database Of Gun Owners -

How The NRA Built A Massive Secret Database Of Gun Owners - 



The National Rifle Association has rallied gun-owners — and raised tens of millions of dollars — campaigning against the threat of a national database of firearms or their owners.
But in fact, the sort of vast, secret database the NRA often warns of already exists, despite having been assembled largely without the knowledge or consent of gun owners. It is housed in the Virginia offices of the NRA itself. The country’s largest privately held database of current, former, and prospective gun owners is one of the powerful lobby’s secret weapons, expanding its influence well beyond its estimated 3 million members and bolstering its political supremacy.
That database has been built through years of acquiring gun permit registration lists from state and county offices, gathering names of new owners from the thousands of gun-safety classes taught by NRA-certified instructors and by buying lists of attendees of gun shows, subscribers to gun magazines and more, BuzzFeed has learned.
The result: a Big Data powerhouse that deploys the same high-tech tactics all year round that the vaunted Obama campaign used to win two presidential elections.
NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam declined to discuss the group’s name-gathering methods or what it does with its vast pool of data about millions of non-member gun owners. Asked what becomes of the class rosters for safety classes when instructors turn them in, he replied: “That’s not any of your business.”
Others in the business of big political data, however, say the NRA is using similar tools to those employed by the campaigns of its nemesis, President Barack Obama.
“There are certainly some parallels,” said Laura Quinn, CEO of Catalist, a data analysis firm used by Obama For America. “The NRA is not only able to understand people who their members are but also people who are not their members. The more data they have, the more it allows them test different strategies and different messages on different people.”
“Part of the way they have gotten to a place where they are able to do what they do is through data,” Quinn said. “There is some irony.”
The vast size of the NRA’s database and its sophisticated methods of analyzing the public mood go a long way to explaining the organization’s enduring influence. Even in an age when opinion polls show gun-control measures gaining in general popularity and when wealthy benefactors like New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg are spending millions to counter the NRA’s lobbying and advertising budgets, the NRA has built-in advantages.
The NRA won’t say how many names and what other personal information is in its database, but former NRA lobbyist Richard Feldman estimates they keep tabs on “tens of millions of people.”
“There’s nothing that prevents them from mailing those people,” said Feldman, who split with the NRA in the mid-1990s and is now leads the Independent Firearm Owners Association, which brands itself as a less extreme gun-rights group. “The more you know about people, the more targeted the message you can communicate with them, the more the message will resonate with them.”
Some data-collection efforts are commonplace in politics these days, such as buying information from data brokers on magazine subscriptions and the like.

But several observers said the NRA’s methods reflect a sophistication and ingenuity that is largely unrivaled outside of major national presidential campaigns. While the organization took great umbrage in December when a newspaper published the names and addresses of gun owners in two New York counties, the group for years as been gathering similar information via the same public records as a matter of course.
In Virginia, for instance, a North Carolina-based firm called Preferred Communications filed an inquiry with the Virginia State Police in July 2009 asking “on behalf of the National Rifle Association” as to whether the names of concealed-carry permit holders could be purchased. The e-mail was obtained by BuzzFeed by Freedom of Information Act request.
“Can you please let me know if you offer 2008 and/or 2009 names?” wrote the representative, Michele Wood, who hung up on BuzzFeed when asked for comment. “Can you please let me know the address to send the check to and also whom to make it payable to?”
Iowa, too, provides another example. In December 2011, NRA lobbyist Christopher Rager, wrote to Iowa Department of Public Safety legislative liaison Ross Loder from an official NRA email address.
“If the NRA wanted to collect data from DPS’ permit holder files, is there a specific process or any rules for us to acquire the records?” Rager wrote in an e-mail also obtained via FOIA. “Can we pay to have the files copied or sent to us?”
Similarly, officials in Arkansas and Oregon also told BuzzFeed they had requests for such lists, and Gawker reported in February of NRA-related registry requests in Louisiana and Tennessee.
“We’ve been doing this since the old days,” Feldman said. “You could obtain from most states the listings of hunter licenses from the Department of Wildlife and Conservations. It was sort of amazing what we knew about people from that. There were early doe permit holders, black powder holders, so many different seasons. It was a lot of data.”

Read more - 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/stevefriess/how-the-nra-built-a-massive-secret-database-of-gun-owners

U.S. Health Dept. Offering $30,000 in Cash Prizes for Pro-Obamacare Propaganda Videos -

U.S. Health Dept. Offering $30,000 in Cash Prizes for Pro-Obamacare Propaganda Videos -



HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the Healthy Young America contest as a partnership with a national organization called the Young Invincibles.
“Health insurance is out of reach for millions of young people today because it costs too much, or isn’t offered through a job,” Sebelius said in a press release. “Soon the Health Insurance Marketplace will give uninsured young people the opportunity to enroll in affordable health insurance, and the Healthy Young America video contest will help them tell their stories to other young people.”
The contest has three entry categories:
- You Are Not Invincible: Short skits of young people having accidents
- Perform a Song: Songs about health insurance
- Animation: Cartoons explaining the ins and outs of Obamacare
“Your participation in the contest is about more than the opportunity to win money to help pay off those pesky student loans,” the Young Invincibles contest announcement said. “This is your chance to help your friends and other young people learn about their new health insurance options.”
The contest has an entry period of five weeks.
It’s not a stretch to say that contest entries that expose the destructive nature of Obamacare as a full-blown, socialized government takeover of healthcare will not be awarded a prize.
Pharmaceuticals and insurers are the ones that wrote Obamacare to their benefit, as Ron Paul has pointed out.
Under Obamacare, health premiums will skyrocket as insurers are required to sell a full package of “essential benefits,” including maternity, mental health, and medications and must cover everyone who applies.
In Ohio, the average insurance premium is projected to increase 41%.
Florida is following not far behind with a 35% projected premium increase.
Americans are forced to purchase health coverage they do not even need.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has even admitted that Obamacare is only a step towards a nationalized health care system ran completely by the government.
“What we’ve done with Obamacare is have a step in the right direction,” Reid said. “But we’re far from having something that’s going to work forever.”
In a recent survey of doctors, 60% said that it is very likely that many doctors will retire earlier than try and comply with Obamacare.
Considering that other government-run entities such as the U.S. Postal Service and Amtrak have been ran into bankruptcy, the future failure of Obamacare comes into complete focus.

Read more -

http://www.prisonplanet.com/u-s-health-dept-offering-30000-in-cash-prizes-for-pro-obamacare-propaganda-videos.html