The humble soybean boasts some extraordinary benefits.

This nutritional powerhouse has stayed under wraps for too long. Apart from being the only vegetable protein with all 20 amino acids essential for our health and well being, the humble soybean has many other virtues…including an excellent foundation for fast, safe weight loss program. According to Dr. David Heber in “The LA Shape Diet”, women who are on a weight loss program need about 100 grams of protein per day to fight against hunger and to build their best personal lean muscle shape whilst still losing weight. Without the appropriate level of protein in a low calorie diet, people and women in particular, risk losing 1 pound of muscle for every 4 pounds of weight lost!

This potential muscle loss can be very dangerous as it can cause a weakening of the heart and other vital organs. Dr. Heber recommends soy-protein shakes or soy-protein fruit smoothies as a safe and healthy way to achieve fast and permanent weight loss. Apart from some absolutely wonderful health advantages, soy is a safe protein source - without the unwanted cholesterol and saturated fats that accompany animal protein sources. Soy will support and does not sabotage a low calorie weight loss program. Read on to discover some other wonderful health benefits of this incredible this food source.

1. Soy contains health enhancing isoflavones. Isoflavones are compounds found only in plants which have strong antioxidant properties. These compounds repair, and help prevent damage to cells caused by pollution, sunlight, and normal body processes. Free radicals can easily cause harm to the immune system, whose cells divide often. They may also be responsible for some of the changes of aging.

2. Reduce risk of heart disease. Soy’s protein and isoflavones lower LDL cholesterol and decrease blood clotting, which reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke. In one study, people who drank a “milk shake” containing 25g of soy protein for nine weeks experienced, on average, a 5% reduction in LDL cholesterol. And people with the highest LDL levels experienced a 11% drop. (For each 10% to 15% drop in the LDL level, the risk of a heart attack decreases 20% to 25%).

3. Protection against cancer. Soy’s soluble fiber protects the body from many digestive related cancers, such as colon and rectal cancer. While its isoflavones may protect the body from many hormone related cancers, like breast, endometrial (uterine) and prostate cancer. Isoflavones act against cancer cells in a way similar to many common cancer-treating drugs.

4. Counter the effects of endometriosis. The isoflavones in soy products may help to offset the action of the body’s natural estrogen, which is often responsible for instigating the monthly pain, heavy bleeding and other symptoms of endometriosis.

5. Protect against prostate problems. Eating soy products may protect against enlargement of the male prostate gland. The size of the prostate gland tends to increase with age, causing various types of urinary difficulties, including frequent nighttime awakenings.

6. Guard against osteoporosis. Soy’s protein enhances the body’s ability to retain and better absorb calcium in the bones, while its isoflavones slow bone loss and inhibit bone breakdown, which helps prevent osteoporosis. There is evidence to suggest that isoflavones may also assist in creating new bone.

7. Control symptoms of menopause and perimenopause. Soy’s isoflavones help the body regulate estrogen when this hormone is declining or fluctuating, which helps alleviate many menopausal and PMS symptoms. Research has shown that soy isoflavones can reduce menopausal hot flushes in women.

8. Help control diabetic conditions and kidney disease. Soy’s protein and soluble fiber help regulate glucose levels and kidney filtration, which helps control diabetic conditions and kidney disease. What an incredible little bean! With such profound health benefits how can you overlook this wonderful food source? If you haven’t yet noticed, gone are the days when the only way soy products came were in strange tasting meat substitutes. You can now access a wide range of soy products and use soy in a variety of ways to suit any taste palate.

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Obesity is more than a cosmetic concern because it increases a person’s risk for developing high blood pressure, diabetes and many other serious health problems. It’s well understood that consuming more calories than you expend through exercise and daily activities causes weight gain. But with about one in every three American adults now considered obese, researchers are attempting to identify additional factors that affect a person’s tendency to gain and retain excess weight. In the April issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, researchers from Mayo Clinic Arizona and Arizona State University examine the role that bacteria in the human gastrointestinal tract play in regulating weight and the development of obesity.

Known as gut microbiota, the trillions of bacteria that populate the human gastrointestinal tract perform a variety of chores. These “friendly” microbes help extract calories from what we eat, help store these calories for later use, and provide energy and nutrients for the production of new bacteria to continue this work.

According to John DiBaise, M.D., a Mayo Clinic Arizona gastroenterologist and lead author of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings article, several animal studies suggest that gut microbiota are involved in regulating weight and that modifying these bacteria could one day be a treatment option for obesity.

One study cited by the authors observed that young, conventionally-reared mice have a significantly higher body fat content than a laboratory-bred, germ-free strain of mice that lack these bacteria, even though they consumed less food than their germ-free counterparts. When the same research group transplanted gut microbiota from normal mice into germ-free mice, the germ-free mice experienced a 60 percent increase in body fat within two weeks, without any increase in food consumption or obvious differences in energy expenditure.

Another animal study reviewed by the authors focused on the gene content of the gut microbiota in mice. Finding more end products of fermentation and fewer calories in the feces of obese mice led researchers to speculate that the gut microbiota in the obese mice help extract additional calories from ingested food.

“These results suggest that differences exist in the gut microbiota of obese versus lean mice, raising the possibility that the manipulation of gut microbiota could be a useful strategy for regulating energy balance in obese people,” says Dr. DiBaise.

Although information on the link between gut microbiota and obesity in human subjects is more limited, the authors present some evidence supporting this connection. One study cited placed 12 obese participants in a weight-loss program for a year, randomly assigning them to either a fat-restricted or carbohydrate-restricted, low-calorie diet. Researchers noted distinct differences between lean and obese participants when they monitored the type and number of bacteria found in participants’ stool samples before and after the diet changes.

Another study cited followed children from birth to age 7 and analyzed stool samples collected at 6 and 12 months. The children who were normal weight at age 7 had distinctly different bacteria in their samples from those collected from overweight-obese children, suggesting that differences in the composition of the gut microbiota precede overweight-obesity.

Dr. DiBaise says that much more research is needed to clarify a number of issues related to the relationship between the gut microbiota and obesity. Future studies need to establish whether the small changes in caloric extraction seen in recent studies can produce measurable weight differences in humans. Second, researchers need to prove or disprove the possible relationship between the gut microbiota and the regulation of weight.

“In particular, it is essential to demonstrate unequivocally whether differences in gut microbiota in obese versus lean people are the cause or the result of obesity,” says Dr. DiBaise.

Finally, the authors note that the next wave of research should explore the safety and feasibility of modifying the gut microbiota in clinical trials involving humans.

“Although clearly no substitute for proper diet and exercise, manipulation of the gut microbiota may represent a novel approach for treating obesity that has few adverse effects,” says Dr. DiBaise.

It is a human nature to want to fix a problem as quickly as possible and the same goes with over weight people, as they naturally want an instant remedy to lose weight. Many people, especially younger women believe that the easy way to lose weight is by using diet pills.

People who take diet pills feel that they have total control over their actions and they will stick to their recommended dosage. In reality, it rarely true. People have started increasing the amounts prescribed, as they wish to speed up their weight loss expectations. Diet pills are often a doctors last resort to help people, who are grossly overweight and need to lose some weight, or struggling to lose some more. In general diet pills should only be taken by those with a BMI over 27.

Many health professionals agree that diet pills do help many people. However, it is an emergent trend that the general public feel suspicious that these pills may have some side effects too. Certain diet pills, if consumed without prescription can be dangerous. The most popular prescribed pills on the market are Reductil, Xenical.

These pills are available through proper prescription only. Xenical works as a fat blocker and hence, less fat is absorbed in the body. Reductil is quite effective as a slimming pill, but is best for severely overweight (BMI 33+ ) or obese people.

These pills are a good option for weight loss. However, you cannot assume that these pills are magical pills. They will not help you to reduce weight overnight. It may take months or may be years before you visualize a weight change in you. Slimming pills does not come with a tag of calorie-controlled diet. So, before you buy any diet pills, remember to consult your physician.

Mild Disadvantages:

Xenical slimming pills come with some side effects, although these effects are gentle and avoidable. The common side effects include a sudden bowel movement, oily stools, and repeated bowel movements. There are also complaints of losing control over bowel movement by many people.

Another popular and preferred slimming pill is Alli, which is often responsible for diarrhea, anal leakage and various other side effects to its users. Alli proved to help reduce just 1 pound a month!

Actually, this pill unites with fats present in the body and takes them out of the digestive system, making it impossible to digest properly. On the other hand, it also obstructs all those necessary fats that are required by the body to remain healthy. So if your taking Alli, its important that you take a multivitamin to help replace the vitamins lost.
Its worth mentioning that Proactol works much like Alli, binding fat without the nasty side effects its well respected by Physicians and Medical authorities in the UK and available here through this link. Checkout Proactol .