Just when you’ve thought you’ve seen everything, along comes a big old surprise. Via MSNBC, scientists from the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London have calculated that the reduction in heart disease risk offered by a statin could offset the increase in risk from eating a cheeseburger and a milkshake.

A statin, as we all know, is a drug used to lower plasma cholesterol levels in humans. And obviously, it’s better to skip that trip to the burger joint. However, sometimes it’s the only option, and in those cases researchers find that just as a calorie-laden combo meal cranks up the risk to your heart, a statin will decrease that. Essentially, it cancels it.

However, for those of you rubbing your hands together with glee, there are a few words of caution:

“Statins are a vital medicine for people with — or at high risk of developing — heart disease,” [Peter Weissberg, medical director at the British Heart Foundation (BHF) health charity] said. “They are not a magic bullet.”

Food for thought, that’s for sure!

heart disease

At a certain level, all of us know the benefits of drinking water. Now it seems that even science is backing it up. 

Via an article from the Globe and Mail, we hear of a study being done, and the effects it had a on certain test group. Researchers at Virginia Tech studied a group of obese 55 to 75 year olds. They put them on a diet, and had some of them drink two cups of water before they ate anything. It turns out that those who drank water lost about 15.5 pounds. Conversely, those who didn’t lost around 11 pounds. 

An extremely interesting study, given that apparently about 450 calories are consumed from liquids in the US alone. 

Read the rest of the article, then tell us what you think.

diet studies

Boo! Payday came and went, and you’re still not getting ahead. What do you do? You could cut the stuff you like out, like shopping and socializing, but what about cutting the gym?

…no, seriously.

A lot of people think that gym attendance = weight loss. And of course, the more you go, the more you lose. While it’s true going to the gym is good for you, and you do lose weight, it’s not the only thing in the world that will help you fit into that little black dress.

Here’s a great post we found from healthnew.biz, detailing healthy and natural ways to lose weight without hitting a gym. You can read their full post, but here’s some quick notes.

1. Drink lots of water; avoid soft drinks.
2. Forget starvation diets.
3. Exercise daily.
4. Eat balance meals.
5. Get a good night’s sleep.
6. Eat regular meals.
7. Be aware of the relationship between food and your emotions.

Of course, if you do go to the gym, more power to you.

nutrition facts