7 Solid Reasons You're not LOSING Weight

Trying to lose weight, but cannot? Here are 7 reasons that could be getting in the way
Do you keep piling on the kilos, no matter how many diets you try? The problem may have more to do with your general health than with your food. Here are simple solutions that can help you beat the bulge.

Need more sleep
If you don't sleep well, then the body's hormone axis don't work properly. They affect metabolism and eventually lead to weight gain. Doctors say if you aren't sleeping, your body won't be digesting food normally either. Besides, people suffering from insomnia often snack through the night or drink coffee, which makes the problem worse.
Fix it: Get into a routine by going to bed at regular times and waking up at the same time, even during the weekends. Steer clear of caffeine after 4 pm and try to avoid iPhones or watching TV in your bedroom. Instead, unwind by reading before going to bed.

You're depressed
The problem here is twofold. Most people share an emotional relationship with food. So when depressed, they tend to eat more. However, antidepressants can also stimulate the appetite as, when people feel happier, thanks to the medication, they overeat.
Fix it: It's important not to use an increase in appetite as an excuse to eat the wrong foods. Instead, make sure you always have healthy snacks, such as fruit, nuts and seeds, on hand to stave off those pangs of hunger. If you feel your medication is to blame for your weight gain, then see your GP who might be able to prescribe alternatives.

You're stressed
When adrenaline (the stress hormone) kicks in, the body produces more cortisol, which in turn causes hunger. When you're stressed it's tempting to turn to unhealthy ready meals, high-calorie snacks or alcohol. Stress can also make you feel lethargic. All of these factors take their toll on the waistline.
Fix it: Even in times of stress, eat regular, healthy meals. People who are stressed at work tend to laze around in bed on weekends, but that makes matters worse. Unless you eat within half an hour of waking up, the body will go into fasting mode and store up the last meal in case you don't eat.

Thyroid to blame
Hypothyroidism, or an underactive thyroid, slows down the metabolism; many people find they put on weight while it goes undiagnosed. With treatment, the hormones will balance out and weight will soon return to normal.
Fix it: Symptoms of hypothyroidism include tiredness, constipation, aches, dry skin, lifeless hair and feeling cold. If you experience any of these, see your GP for a blood test.

PCOS syndrome
Many overweight women suffer from polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS. They have a resistance to insulin, just like people with diabetes, which in the case of PCOS makes it difficult for them to convert the male hormone testosterone in the ovaries into the female hormone oestrogen.
Higher levels of testosterone in the body will make sufferers put on weight and the insulin resistance does the same thing because the body can't utilise the calories it is taking in.
Fix it: Patients are treated with metformin (the same medication given to type 2 diabetics). It reduces the insulin resistance, which rectifies the hormone balance. They are also encouraged to maintain a healthy lifestyle by eating well and exercising regularly. Other symptoms of PCOS include excessive body hair, irregular periods, infertility, hair loss and acne.

Eating late at night
Studies have shown that people who consume the same calories as others, but eat them an hour or two before going to bed will put on more weight than those who eat earlier. This is because the body is aware that you are not being active, so it stores the calories by turning them into fat. It takes the body longer to convert this stored fat into energy again.
Fix it: Eat your main meal at lunchtime and then have a smaller, lighter meal in the evening, at least three hours before going to bed. The body's ability to digest food reduces as the sun sets.

You've cut out carbs
We all know you need a balanced diet to be healthy but for many of us, cutting out carbs is a sure-fire way to reduce a few kilos quickly. However, when you eliminate something from your diet, the body starts to crave it. Carbs are important building blocks for the body to turn into energy.
Fix it: Eat healthy carbs, such as wholemeal breads, rotis, and brown rice. Avoid diets that ban them.

MOST adavnced Anti-ageing Cream tailor-made to an individual's DNA reduces Wrinkles by a third in just 12 weeks

Are you weary of aging or know someone who is? Here is a discovery I found and decided to share.

Scientists newly launched the most advanced anti-ageing cream which matched each individual DNA or person's skin needs in order to be more effective.

 

First the scientist  used our own DNA to create and test anti-ageing serum ever. This cream involves a microchip which creates a genetic profile for each individual after a 30-minute test.

 

Clinical trials suggest the product by Geneu (pronounced 'Gene You') reduces fine lines and wrinkles by up to a third in just 12 weeks.   It examines two elements of an individual's genetic code - including their levels of anti-oxidants and how fast they degrade collagen.

 

Product is at Geneu's New Bond Street clinic in London. The product costs £600 for a four-week course.
 

Doctors  exercise treatment by taking a cheek swab from customers before isolating the strands of DNA and injecting them into the microchip. In half an hour, the profile is ready and a custom anti-ageing cream is created to deliver the right amount of collagen, the structural protein that keeps skin plump, and anti-oxidants to reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles.
 

Professor Chris Toumazou, developed the microchip which tests anti-oxidant levels and how fast a person degrades collagen. Regius Professor at Imperial College London, who won European Inventor of the Year 2014 for his development.
 

Credit: UK Daily

HIV infections in the UK reach an all-time high - but 25% of people are unaware they have the condition

The number of people in the UK infected with HIV has reached nearly 110,000 are living with the condition, but around a quarter are unaware they have it. They are therefore at risk of passing on the virus to others through unprotected sex, experts warn. 

 

The figures, from Public Health England (PHE show that overall, more people are being diagnosed earlier. The proportion of people diagnosed with a late stage of HIV infection fell from 57 per cent in 2004 to 42 per cent in 2013.

 

Meanwhile, around six per cent of gay and bisexual men are now living with HIV.

This rises to 13 per cent in London - meaning that one in eight sexually active gay men now has the condition.

 

In 2013, 3,250 men were newly diagnosed - an all-time annual high. 

It is estimated that over 7,000 gay men have an HIV infection that remains undiagnosed and that an estimated 2,800 men acquired HIV in 2013

 In a statement, Public Health England (PHE) said: 'While the large majority of black Africans do not have the HIV infection, the report also draws attention to the fact that one-third of the 40,000 black African heterosexual men and women living with HIV in the UK do not know they have HIV.'

Dr Valerie Delpech, head of PHE's national HIV surveillance, said: 'We can’t overstate the importance of testing for HIV to ensure an early diagnosis

'People diagnosed promptly with HIV infection can expect to live long and healthy lives. 

'However in 2013, people diagnosed with HIV late were 10 times more likely to die in the first year of diagnosis compared to those diagnosed promptly. 

'People who remain unaware of their infection are also at risk of transmitting HIV to others.

'Knowing HIV status is the key to both effective treatment, and to preventing onward transmission'.

 

As a result, PHE is encouraging people most at risk to take an HIV test and used correctly and consistently, condoms remain an inexpensive and effective way to prevent HIV said Professor Noel Gill.


Credit: Mailonline

Drying your washing indoors 'can pose serious health risk': Damp clothes help deadly spores breed, warn Doctors

Are you drying your under wear or little clothing indoor. You should read this:

Doctors warned that  clothes drying indoor or warm radiators can raise moisture levels in the home by up to 30 per cent, creating ideal breeding conditions for mould spores can pose a serious health risk to people with weakened immune systems or severe asthma.

 

Experts says in leds to breed of Aspergillus fumigatus spores, which can cause lung infections.

 

Aspergillosis is the name of a group of conditions caused by a fungal mould called aspergillus. It usually affects the respiratory system (windpipe, sinuses and lungs), but it can spread to anywhere in the body. Depending on a number of factors, the symptoms of aspergillosis can vary in severity from mild wheezing tocoughing up blood. Someone with a weakened immune system is at greater risk of being more severely affected.

 

Professor David Denning and his team at the National Aspergillosis Centre in Manchester have issued the warning after treating a growing number of patients who have inhaled Aspergillus fungal spores.

 

Professor Denning said: 'One load of wet washing contains almost two litres of water, which is released into the room. Most of us are either immune to the fungus which grows in these humid conditions, or have a sufficiently healthy system to fight the infection.

 

But in asthma sufferers it can produce coughing and wheeziness, and in people with weak or damaged immune systems, such as cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, Aids patients and people who have an auto immune disease, the fungus can cause pulmonary aspergillosis – a condition which can cause irreparable, and sometime fatal, damage to the lungs and sinuses. 

 

My advice would be when in doubt dry wet washing outside, in a tumble dryer or in a well-ventilated indoor space away from bedrooms and living areas to be safe rather than sorry.'

Read more from NHS Choices

 

 

Here's how to turn an ordinary balloon into a smartphone case in just 10 seconds

If you've ever fancied a cheap phone case for your new smartphone this could be just what you're looking for. 

 

The balloon costs the rocket bottom price of 99 cents and will take just 10 seconds to put on. 

 

The first step is to blow up the balloon and place the phone over it.

Then one person should loosely hold the balloon opening while the other holds the phone down. 

Soon, the balloon begins to mold into the phone’s shape. 

And that's it! Your new phone case is on. 

 

The only downside is that unlike most cases you won’t have access to your phone’s various ports or earphone jack.  And while you may not want to keep this case on your phone for too long.

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This is why Snakes have two penises and Men only have one

Researchers think they have answered the biological mystery of why reptiles have two penises and birds and mammals with only have one.

The answer, according to a paper published in Nature yesterday is that it depends on the location of the embryonic cloaca, which eventually develops into the urinary tract.

The cloaca issues signals telling neighbouring cells to form into genitals. In reptiles the cloaca is nearer their legs, or in the case of snakes what used to be paired limbs, so two penises develop (even though only one is used for mating).

In mammals the cloaca is nearer the tail bud, so one penis develops. And no we don’t know how this research impacts on our understanding of double dick dude.

Lead author Patrick Tschopp of Harvard Medical School’s Department of Genetics said: “This might help to explain why limbs and genitalia use such similar gene regulatory programs during development.”

Teenagers’ Brains actually Shut down when their parents are talking to them, says Science

Neuroscientists recently discovered that a teenager’s brain shows declined activity when listening to criticism from their mother.

Publishing their results in the Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience journal, leading researchers from Harvard, Berkeley and the University of Pittsburgh found that “youth shut down social processing and possibly do not think about their parents’ mental states”.

34 teens and pre-teens brain activity were studied while they listened to a 30 second recording of their own mother “nagging” and then a second recording of their mother talking about something mundane like grocery shopping.

Three sets of neural processes were expected - activating emotional reactions, regulating those reactions and social cognitive processing.

When listening to criticism the teenagers’ showed more activity in areas of the brain that deal with negative emotions but less activity in areas that handle emotional control and empathy.

They conclude by saying that:

"Parents may benefit from understanding that when they criticize their adolescents, adolescents may experience strong negative emotional reaction, may have difficulty cognitively controlling this emotion and may also find it challenging to understand the parent’s perspective or mental state."

Credit: Independent 

E-cigarettes 'contain 10 TIMES more Cancer-causing Chemicals than regular Cigarettes'

 

Health experts in Japan discovered high levels of chemicals including formaldehyde and acetaldehyde in the vapor produced by several types of e-cigarette liquid

 

This findings shows E-cigarettes contain 10 times the level of cancer-causing agents as regular tobacco.

 

The devices, which are becoming increasingly popular around the world, particularly among young people, function by heating flavored liquid, which often contains nicotine, into a vapour that is inhaled, much like traditional cigarettes but without the smoke.

 

Formaldehyde - a substance found in building materials and embalming fluids - was present at much higher levels than carcinogens found in the smoke from regular cigarettes, a health official said.

 

Acetaldehyde, which occurs naturally in small quantities but is mainly used in industrial plants to make acids and other chemicals, was also found in higher levels than in normal tobacco.

 

 According to Dr Naoki Kunugita, of the National Institute of Public Health, Japan in one brand of e-cigarette the team found more than 10 times the level of carcinogens contained in one regular cigarette.

 

When the wire which vaporises the liquid gets overheated, higher amounts of those harmful substances seem to be produced, he added.

 

Nicotine e-cigarettes, or so-called Electronic Nicotine Delivery System (ENDS) are not readily available in shops as they are in the U.S. and Europe, they can be bought easily on the internet.

 

'The government is now studying the possible risks associated with them, with view to looking at how they should be regulated.'

 

In August, the World Health Organisation (WHO) called on governments to ban the sale of e-cigarettes to minors, warning they pose a 'serious threat' to unborn babies and young people.