MSN Health and Fitness
No bossy list of health to-dos here! Just insider info from Mehmet Oz, M.D., that’ll make you want to treat yourself right.
I give health advice to everyone: patients, friends and, of course, my 23-year-old daughter. But it doesn’t really stick unless they know the why. I’ve found that if you understand how your body works—say, the effect that getting four hours of sleep instead of eight has on your brain—you’re more apt to make a healthier choice. So I’m going to share some of the info that doctors usually don’t have time to get into: Use it to help yourself feel, look and live better.
What happens when … you try a fad diet
The Master Cleanse and other restrictive weight-loss plans seem to have become more popular than ever. But let me fill you in on something: After a few days of massively scaling back food intake, your metabolism starts to plummet. That’s because your brain senses that there isn’t enough food coming in. It tells your body to cling desperately to the fat stores it already has, and starts burning lean muscle tissue for fuel—two things that ultimately increase your percentage of body fat. After several days on a very low-calorie diet, levels of omega-3 fats
in your brain can fall as well. Around 30 percent of the brain is made up of these fats, and without enough of them, you may be more prone to depression.
Comment from Leslie
Great article – interesting points and good advice.
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