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What's On Your Breath - And What Could It Mean For Your Body Weight?

>> Friday, March 29, 2013







It is increasingly recognized that the bacteria that grow in our guts (and yes, they are in there - around a kilogram of them in each of us!) have an impact on our overall metabolism and risk of obesity.  A new study shows that the type of gases in your breath (reflecting the type of bacteria you have in your gut) are associated with body weight.

The study looked at nearly 800 individuals, and classified them according to whether they had high levels of methane, hydrogen, both, or neither on breath testing.  They found that those who had higher methane and hydrogen on their breath had higher body mass index, and higher body fat percent, than the other groups.

The authors hypothesize that the high methane, high hydrogen breath is due to colonization with a bacteria called M smithii, a bacteria that may make food calories more available for absorption from our intestines.

Another lesson that it is so much more than calories in/calories out that factors in to our body weight.

Dr Sue Pedersen www.drsue.ca © 2013 

Follow me on Twitter for daily tips! @drsuepedersen

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Calculate Your Salt Intake!

>> Wednesday, March 20, 2013









Ever wonder how much sugar you take in in a day?  Check out this great new online sodium calculator - you may be shocked by your results!

The calculator was developed by researchers from the University of Toronto, in collaboration with the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences.  It takes about 3 minutes to calculate your salt intake using this fantastic tool.  A series of questions are asked about how often you eat out, eat canned foods, processed foods, etc, and based on this information, it estimates your average daily sodium intake.

I was surprised by my own results - apparently I consume an average of 2800mg of sodium daily, exceeding the recommended maximum of 2300 mg per day.  I learned that a whopping 35% of my daily intake comes from eating out, even though it's only 1-2 times per week for lunch and 1-2 times per week for dinner.  One quarter of my salt intake comes from dips and sauces (here I enjoy soy sauce, ketchup or salsa about once a day).  Looks like I've got some work to do!

Have a go at this yourself - please share your results and thoughts using the comments link at the bottom of this post!

Dr Sue Pedersen www.drsue.ca © 2013 

Follow me on Twitter for daily tips! @drsuepedersen

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Complications Of Obesity - New Textbook

>> Wednesday, March 13, 2013






For a new online textbook entitled Complications of Obesity (editors Wieland Kiess and Arya Sharma), published in Best Practice & Research, Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, I was asked to contribute a chapter about the metabolic complications of obesity.   In this chapter, I focus on diabetes, prediabetes, gestational diabetes, the metabolic syndrome, and polycystic ovary syndrome.

The textbook as a whole covers topics written by colleagues from around the world about the societal impact of obesity (including weight discrimination and bullying), complications of obesity ranging from sleep apnea to cancer to mental health impact, with a third section focussing on management of obesity.   We sincerely hope that this is a collection of information that will be useful to the public and the health care profession!


Dr Sue Pedersen www.drsue.ca © 2013 

Follow me on Twitter for daily tips! @drsuepedersen

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