RealWeightlossBlog.com

Archive for April, 2009

The REALIZE Band-C has the same clinically proven high-volume, low-pressure system as the original REALIZE Band, but in addition to its new design, it has a 14 percent greater stoma adjustment range to accommodate larger patients. The REALIZE Band-C has a width of 23 mm, making it the widest gastric band available potentially reducing the risk of band slippage.

In a study, adults who drank at least 8 ounces of vegetable juice as part of a calorie-controlled heart-healthy diet lost 4 pounds over 12 weeks, while those who followed the same diet but did not drink the veggie juice lost only 1 pound.

It’s possible, study investigator Dr. Carl L. Keen told Reuters Health, that vegetable juice helps reduce a person’s appetite. “There is also a long-term belief that a high fruit and vegetable diet is associated with lower body weight,” added Keen, who is with the University of California, Davis.

All 81 participants in the study, almost three-quarters of whom were women, had metabolic syndrome - a cluster of risk factors including excess body fat around the middle, high blood pressure, high blood sugar and high cholesterol. It’s estimated that 47 million Americans have some combination of these risk factors, placing them at increased risk diabetes and heart disease.

Read more on: Fox News

I found this amazing photograph while browsing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Website and I just couldn’t stop myself from sharing it with you. It is incredibly beautiful.

Description:

“This is a scanning electron micrograph of an Ambrosia trifida plant, or more commonly known as ragweed. See PHIL 11199 for a black and White version of this image. When ragweed pollen is disbursed, many people have a reaction, but because they don’t see the tiny flowers on the ragweed, they assume it’s the pollen from the larger flowered goldenrod, which blooms at the same time. Note the dispersed pollen granules.”

Photo Credit: CDC/ Janice Haney Carr

Andy Schleck, 23 years old from Luxembourg, takes a solo victory in the Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2009.
You can read the details of the race on VeloNews

1. Andy Schleck, Team Saxo Bank, 261km in 6:34:32
2. Joaquim Rodriguez, Caisse d’Epargne, at 1:17
3. Davide Rebellin, Serramenti Diquigiovanni, at 1:24
4. Philippe Gilbert, Silence-Lotto, at 1:24
5. Serguei Ivanov, Team Katusha, at 1:24
6. Simon Gerrans, Cervélo TestTeam, at 1:24
7. Damiano Cunego, Lampre-N.G.C., at 1:24
8. Benoît Vaugrenard, Française des Jeux, at 1:24
9. Alexandr Kolobnev, Team Saxo Bank, at 1:24
10. Samuel Sanchez, Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 1:24

1. 11:56 hrs PT
To answer VJnatS question: No, this virus is not transmitted by eating pork meat.
2. 13:59 hrs PT
Kansas state officials confirm two cases of swine flu
3. 14:09 hrs PT
CDC just reported that the swine flu has spread widely and cannot be contained.
4. 14:30 hrs PT
Mish, a regular reader of my blog has provided a great link to a swine flu PODCAST released by the World Health Organization (WHO).
5. 16:11 hrs PT
Tests confirmed eight New York City schoolchildren had a type A influenza virus that was likely to be the swine flu, the city’s health commissioner said.

April 26
6. 10:15 hrs PT
Three more suspected cases of swine flu are being reported in Cataluna, Spain, bringing the total number in the country to 6 - news reports.
7. 10:40 hrs PT
Swine flu reaches Nova Scotia and British Columbia, Canada. Apparently 6 cases
8. 11:02 hrs PT
United States declares public health emergency over swine flu outbreak!
9. 11:18 hrs PT
New cases of swine flu in Hong Kong and New Zealand are being reported.
10. 12:37 hrs PT
State health officials confirmed that the swine flu has made it to Ohio.
11. 15:02 hrs PT
Swine flu worse in Mexico than US, but why?
12. 16:32 hrs PT
As of 26 April 2009, the US Government has reported 20 laboratory confirmed human cases of swine influenza A/H1N1 (8 in New York, 7 in California, 2 in Texas, 2 in Kansas and 1 in Ohio). All 20 cases have had mild Influenza-Like Illness with only one requiring brief hospitalization. No deaths have been reported. The virus is being described as a new subtype of A/H1N1 not previously detected in swine or humans.
Also as of 26 April, the Government of Mexico has reported 18 laboratory confirmed cases of swine influenza A/H1N1. WHO and the Global Alert and Response Network (GOARN) are sending experts to Mexico to work with health authorities. WHO is not recommending any travel or trade restrictions
13. 20:22 hrs PT
It’s official now. 103 deaths in Mexico and 614 people hospitalized right now due to swine flu, reports Dr. Jose Angel Cordoba Villalobos, Secretary of the National Health Department.

April 27
14. 10:47 hrs PT
UN considering raising global pandemic alert level to 4 or 5 due to swine flu spread.

This rare virus has increased its virulence very rapidly since March 2009, when the first two cases that started this terrible epidemic/pandemic flu (the World Health Organization will determine within the next few hours the level of virulence) were detected in a 10-year-old boy in San Diego County and a 9-year-old girl in Imperial County in Southern California.
The CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) has reported more cases since then in San Diego County and two more in the State of Texas, totaling at least well known cases. The eighth U.S. case is a child in the San Diego area, and was identified last Friday. It is said that of the eight patients, one is known to have traveled to Mexico City recently, the Wall Street Journal reported today. And that is how all this problem started in Mexico, City.

The good news is that there is medication to treat this flu. Tamiflu (Oseltamivir) and Relenza (Zanamivir) are the two medications that are being recommended to treat the patients that acquire this flu as soon as they are diagnosed. Mexican official say that they have enough Tamiflu to treat as many cases as needed. The problem is that since this strength of virulence of this particular virus is very high, those medications might encounter some resistance, that is why some Mexican doctors as well as the CDC and the WHO are concerned.

NOTE: I will be updating this post constantly with breaking and important news for all. If you have any questions please let me know in your comments and I will try to answer them as soon as possible and to the best of my knowledge.

“Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza that regularly cause outbreaks of influenza among pigs. Swine flu viruses do not normally infect humans, however, human infections with swine flu do occur, and cases of human-to-human spread of swine flu viruses has been documented. From December 2005 through February 2009, a total of 12 human infections with swine influenza were reported from 10 states in the United States. Since March 2009, a number of confirmed human cases of a new strain of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus infection in California, Texas, and Mexico have been identified. An investigation into these cases is ongoing.”