Eating more fruits and vegetables, cutting down on calories and carbohydrates and increasing exercise are all-important parts of any healthy diet. But according to new research at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, a low-carbohydrate diet burns more excess liver fat than a low-calorie diet.
Researchers in the small clinical study found that people on low-carbohydrate diets are more dependent on the oxidation of fat in the liver for energy than those on a low-calorie diet.
These findings could have implications for treating obesity and other related diseases like diabetes, insulin resistance and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, says Dr. Jeffrey Browning assistant professor in the UT Southwestern Advanced Imaging Research Center and of internal medicine at the medical center and the study’s lead author.
“Instead of looking at drugs to combat obesity and the diseases that stem from it, maybe optimizing diet cannot only manage and treat these diseases, but also prevent them,” Dr. Browning says.
Glucose, a form of sugar, and fat are both sources of energy that are metabolized in the liver and used as energy in the body. For participants on the low-calorie diet, they received 40 percent of their glucose from glycogen, which comes from ingested carbohydrates and is stored in the liver until the body needs it. However, the low-carbohydrate dieters only received 20 percent of their glucose from glycogen. Instead of using their glycogen reserve, the subjects burned excess liver fat for energy.
“Energy production is expensive for the liver,” Dr. Browning says. “It appears that for the people on a low-carbohydrate diet, in order to meet that expense, their livers have to burn excess fat. Understanding how the liver makes glucose under different dietary conditions may help us better regulate metabolic disorders with diet.”
Although the original study was not designed to determine the effectiveness of one diet over the other, the average weight loss for low-calorie eaters was about five pounds, compared to nine and a half pounds for low-carbohydrate dieters. Results indicated that participants on the low-carbohydrate diet increased fat burning throughout the entire body.

Emily Blunt has revealed she was “watched like a hawk” to ensure she didn’t over-eat while making The Devil Wears Prada.
The 25-year-old British actress – who was playing a skinny, diet-obsessed fashion assistant in the film – told Harper’s Bazaar magazine she was shocked by the strict diet and decided to rebel.
Emily said: “I understand why I was asked to be like that for that role, my character was surviving on cubes of cheese at one point in the movie. But you need some kind of comfort when you’re on a film set all day, and mine’s usually food.
“I was being watched like a hawk, but by the end I’d be sneaking in doughnuts just to annoy the producers.”
The Young Victoria star – who is now tipped to be replacing Scarlett Johansson in the Iron Man sequel – has had further insight into the image obsessions of Hollywood.
She revealed: “I did this photo shoot with a big name fashion photographer and he said ‘Just so you know, if you don’t like anything about yourself I can fix it afterwards – like that for example’ – pointing to my face.
“I was like ‘My chin?’
‘Yes, that cleft on your chin’, he said, to which I replied, ‘I wouldn’t mind keeping it, as it’s part of my face, you know’.”

Nearly everyone likes to dance but not everyone likes cardio exercise. Now you can dance and get a great cardio fitness workout too – whatever your age.
As we all know heart pumping aerobic exercise is an essential part of any anti aging health strategy. But – for many of us – “workout boredom” can get in the way. Most of us set goals for the new year to get into shape, but twice weekly visits to the gym to pound the treadmill or the exercise machines soon lose their attraction. And one thing you really need when you are trying to tone up and lose weight is motivation. So why not step out to a really fun dance studio?
Dance fitness, also known as “beat-based” fitness, is becoming a hot favorite among celebrities. Some of the most popular dance fitness forms:
• Ballroom dancing – fuelled by recent reality TV programs which put well known names through their dance paces – is experiencing a renaissance in the UK and Europe. Bring a sense of grace and elegance to your life, as well as a heart pumping workout. Posture is enhanced as well as balance and flexibility. No doubt about it this is strenuous exercise – but at its most graceful and fluid.
• Line dancing is considered low impact but it definitely has the ability to get your heart rate up. Forget the old country and western image – line dancing has expanded its horizons. The music can be soulful, swing, Latin, jazz, urban nightclub, and even the waltz and foxtrot can be done in a line – no partner needed, and we have Two-Step group classes starting in January!
• You LOVE those Latin dances and what could be a more exciting cardio workout? The Salsa, Rumba and Mambo are FUN to learn and you will use them MANY times on the dance floor at all your events!
• Swing, both East and West Coast Swing, continues to be a favorite of many of our students.
All forms of dance fitness share the bonus of combining fun with a great cardio workout. Many of them are also great forms of core exercise – developing strength in those core muscles which are so essential for fighting abdominal flab in our forties and beyond. There’s also the promise of reduced blood pressure, a new body, stronger bones and a great laugh with new friends.
As a Japanese proverb puts it: “We’re fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance.” Just “boogie on down,” to Swing and Sway Dancing, 143 Maverick Street in Rockland and improve your general health, find flexibility you never thought achievable, tone muscle and have the time of your life.
Give us a call at 207-594-0940 or check us out on the web. See you on the dance floor!

“What Does Your Doctor Look Like Naked? Your Guide to
Optimum Health” by J. Warren Willey II (Tate Publishing & Enterprises, $29.99)
Umm … that’s a question I’ve never contemplated … but I imagine it’s “lean and lightly muscled” – unlike the scary image on this book’s cover.
THE SCOOP The “naked” question is a come-on: Willey, an
osteopath, offers a traditional diet plan (lean meats! vegetables! rice!), along with stranger stuff:
A “free window” – eat anything you want for three hours! Or a whole day! After doing so, he says, clients get so hot they have ” … to undress or go outside to cool off.” (There’s that naked bit again.)

Actress Angelina Jolie, actor Brad Pitt and director David Fincher attend “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Japan premiere at Roppongi Hills Arena on January 29, 2009 in Tokyo, Japan. The film will open on February 7 in Japan.
Jun Sato/WireImage.com
Actress Angelina Jolie and actor Brad Pitt attend “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Japan premiere at Roppongi Hills Arena on January 29, 2009 in Tokyo, Japan. The film will open on February 7 in Japan.
Jun Sato/WireImage.com
Actress Angelina Jolie and actor Brad Pitt attend “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Japan premiere at Roppongi Hills Arena on January 29, 2009 in Tokyo, Japan. The film will open on February 7 in Japan.
Jun Sato/WireImage.com
Actress Angelina Jolie, director David Fincher and actor Brad Pitt attend “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Japan premiere at Roppongi Hills Arena on January 29, 2009 in Tokyo, Japan. The film will open on February 7 in Japan.
Jun Sato/WireImage.com
U.S. actor Brad Pitt, right, film director David Fincher, center, and actress Angelina Jolie pose for photos on the red carpet during Japan premier of Brad Pitt’s new film “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” in Tokyo, Japan, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009.(AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa)
U.S. actor Brad Pitt, right, film director David Fincher, center, and actress Angelina Jolie pose for photos on the red carpet during Japan premier of Brad Pitt’s new film “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” in Tokyo, Japan, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009.(AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa)
U.S. actress Angelina Jolie and film director David Fincher pose for photos on the red carpet during Japan premier of Brad Pitt’s new film “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” in Tokyo, Japan, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009.(AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa)
U.S. actor Brad Pitt, right, and actress Angelina Jolie pose for photos on the red carpet during Japan premier of Brad Pitt’s new film “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” in Tokyo, Japan, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009.(AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa)
TOKYO – JANUARY 29: Actor Brad Pitt (R) and actress Angelina Jolie greet fans during ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ Japan Premiere at Roppongi Hills on January 29, 2009 in Tokyo, Japan. The film will open in Japan on Feburary 7. (Photo by Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Brad Pitt;Angelina Jolie
TOKYO, JAPAN – JANUARY 29: Actress Angelina Jolie (L) and Actor Brad Pitt (R) greet fans during ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ Japan Premiere at Roppongi Hills on January 29, 2009 in Tokyo, Japan. The film will open in Japan on Feburary 7. (Photo by Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Brad Pitt;Angelina Jolie

LONDON (AFP) — A group of 30 top players will face random drugs tests five times a year under a plan to tighten English football’s controls on the use of performance-enhancing and recreational drugs, it emerged on Tuesday.
UK Sport, the body responsible for doping control in the United Kingdom, is planning to create a register of 30 players who will have to be available for testing every day of the year.
Andy Parkinson, UK Sport’s head of operations for a drug-free sport, told The Sun newspaper that the aim was to protect the image of the game by bringing football’s controls into line with the more stringent regimes in place in athletics and cycling.
“The last thing we want is for football to be in that position where it doesn’t focus enough – doesn’t put controls in place – and suddenly finds itself a sport with a fantastic profile in a crisis,” he said.
Parkinson said UK Sport would be finalising the first list of players to be tested in consultation with the Football Association with a view to introducing the new regime from July, 2009.
At present, doping controls in English, European club and international football are based on two players being selected randomly to provide urine samples after matches.
Under the new system, players on the list could be asked to undergo additional tests during their holidays or when they are out of action due to injury.
“Players have licence to take anything they want in the summer as they disappear off our radar,” Parkinson added. “Under this, they could be in Barbados and we can still test them.”
The existing drug control regime in football has produced little evidence of doping being commonplace in the sport with positive tests for recreational drugs more common.
Chelsea sacked Australian goalkeeper Mark Bosnich after he tested positive for cocaine in 2002 while Romanian striker Adrian Mutu was dismissed in 2004 after a test initiated by the club revealed that he had also being using the drug.
English football’s most high-profile doping scandal involved England defender Rio Ferdinand, who was banned for eight months and missed Euro 2004 after skipping a doping test at Manchester United’s training ground in 2003.
Ferdinand insisted that he had simply “forgotten” to undergo the test but he would be automatically banned for two years under current rules and his past means he could be one of players targetted for the new testing regime.