Day After Day, People Sweat in the Gym with Cold, Hard Steel, Building Muscles That We Admire with Envy

Yes, to achieve "steel-like abs," you need to put in more effort than the average person. Working hard in the gym is essential, but eating smart is equally important. The next time you catch someone staring at you, take it as a compliment.

Fungi

Can Plant Fungi Help with Weight Loss?

Plants contain a variety of chemicals to protect them from environmental threats. We also have our natural defense mechanisms. In plants, a common protein that fights fungal infections has been found to act as a hormone related to weight loss.

According to Dr. Ray Bressan from Purdue University, adiponectin, which belongs to a large family of plant proteins, can activate human (mammalian) receptors in the same way. When adiponectin binds to receptors, it can regulate blood sugar uptake and prevent diabetes and heart disease. Diabetics have lower levels of adiponectin. Worse still, obese individuals also have low levels of adiponectin.

Therefore, it is conceivable that supplementing with permeable proteins could help increase adiponectin levels in mammals, leading to weight loss and reducing the risk of diabetes or heart disease. Researchers need to conduct many tests to verify if this method is effective (Molecular Cell, January 2005).

Can Leptin Help with Weight Loss?

To date, over $20 million has been spent on leptin research, a considerable amount. One of the discoverers of leptin and the obesity gene is Dr. Michael Rosenbaum, who now works at Columbia Medical Center in New York.

Dr. Rosenbaum found that injecting leptin did not reduce body fat in overweight individuals. However, he and others noticed that in people who had lost weight, leptin injections seemed to help maintain weight loss.

Given these findings, Dr. Rosenbaum hopes to develop leptin as a weight-maintenance drug.

By Any Means Necessary?

We all know or have heard of athletes willing to do whatever it takes to win. You might even know someone like this. Is it necessary? Is it dangerous? I don't know, but I do know that people aiming for the top in any sport share a common trait: they are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals.

For dieters or those wanting to lose weight, we also know some will resort to unhealthy practices (eating too little, using laxatives, etc.). Now, the National Institutes of Health and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) encourage those interested in weight loss to try Qigong or acupuncture.

Traditional Chinese medicine is believed to help reduce anxiety by controlling Qi (energy), thus helping to manage emotional issues and negative energy during the weight loss process. If this sounds interesting, give it a try. If you live in Portland, Oregon, you can visit the Center for Health Research or call for more information.