Dieters note: six signs of dangerous malnutrition

Lose weight and die of starvation – not one and the same.

Trying to lose weight as quickly as possible, many people begin to literally starve. Not realizing that too harsh calorie restriction may not accelerate, but rather to stall weight loss.

Calorie restriction up to starvation almost always gives a result opposite of the desired effect. In fact, to burn calories, our bodies needed the calories. This is how to light a fire – you need to have something extra for ignition, at least a match. Food is not only fuel for the body, but also a means of firing: it “stirs up” the metabolism and triggering the process of burning calories. When food is not enough, the body begins to burn, but primarily to store energy.

Although calorie daily depends on activity level, age and gender, most women should eat 1200 to 1500 calories a day. If you fall below this level then the body becomes difficult to perform their basic biological functions that support overall health. Not sure if you fit the right numbers? There are several symptoms that points to critical lack of calories:

You always think about food

Can’t concentrate on your everyday duties, because all thoughts are about food? You are either eating too little or choosing the wrong foods that increase the feeling of hunger. Healthy snacks in between meals (yogurt, nuts, and dried fruits) will help you achieve optimal energy intake and concentrate on eating, and on current Affairs. In order not to suffer constantly from hunger, combine in a food product rich in proteins, and foods that are high in fiber. The same yogurt can be supplemented with fruit, a chicken breast with vegetables or cereals, cottage cheese – nuts.

You eat irregularly

I think the fewer there are, the faster you will lose weight? Too long – over 4 hours – missing meals, first, it is fraught with health, secondly, slow metabolism, and thirdly, more likely to lead to a breakdown of dieting and overeating. If you and then skip Breakfast or evening meal, you need to try to eat more regularly. It is recommended that 3 main meals and 2 small snacks a day. If you adhere to the strategy “Not to eat after 6”, then before bed you must, at least drink a glass of nonfat yogurt.

You have lost menstruation

If you lose weight properly, healthy and wholesome foods with enough vitamins and minerals, and reasonable exercise, then you should not notice any critical changes in the menstrual cycle. Lack of calories can lead to violation of menstruation, or even to stop them. The body is simply not enough fat to produce the hormones that trigger menstruation. All because of a reasonable nature simply does not allow for procreation in the conditions of a hypothetical hunger.

Do you suffer from migraines

Our brain operates on glucose coming from the blood, and the blood glucose falls due to eaten carbohydrates. Reduce calories and carbs to the deficit – and your brain is simply not enough energy. If you feel involuntary trembling, dizziness, weakness, if you have clouded consciousness or the onset of a migraine for no apparent reason, it could mean that you do not have enough calories and blood sugar dropped too low. Diabetics as hypoglycemia are well known, but those who never experienced skip-threatening symptoms very easily. In this case, you need to eat some “fast” carbs, simply put, something sweet. And in the future to avoid similar conditions by returning to the diet a little more calories.

You are too irritable

No wonder it is believed that fat people are good people. The hunger on the background of the lack of calories triggers the production of the stress hormone cortisol, which causes irritability. Incidentally, the same hormone responsible for “warehousing” fats. So, if you’re angry all the time, then you start to get fat even with a strict calorie restriction.

You fall asleep on the go

Haven’t done anything yet, and already tired? If the thought of work you tend to sleep, and the day you are constantly dozing off, the blame for this can be not the shortage of sleep and lack of calories. The body due to the lack of energy goes into “sleep mode”. To prevent this from happening, in any case can not refuse a Breakfast or replace it with a Cup of coffee. For Breakfast you need ample calories from protein and complex carbohydrates, which will provide a feeling of satiety and maintain during the working day.

Sugar IS fuelling various forms of cancer by giving tumours the energy they need to multiply, scientists admit

• Range of previous studies have suggested that tumours actually thrive off sugar
• They pointed to it using glucose as energy to mutate and spread across the body
• Now experts have shown 1 type of cancer has more of a sweet tooth than others
• The findings are worrying because 'we are very addicted to sugar', they said 

A sugar rich diet may be fuelling various forms of cancer, as new research confirms a long suspected belief.

Previous studies have suggested that tumours thrive off sugar, using it as energy to mutate and spread across the body. Now scientists have shown one type of cancer - which can be found in the lungs, head and neck, oesophagus and cervix - has more of a sweet tooth than others.

Squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC) was more dependent on sugar to grow, University of Texas experts found.

This form of the disease used higher levels of a protein that carries glucose to cells to enable them to multiply, they discovered.

Previous studies have suggested that tumours thrive off sugar, using it as energy to mutate and spread across the body. A new study has proved this theory to be true

Lead author Dr Jung-whan Kim said: 'It has been suspected that many cancer cells are heavily dependent on sugar as their energy supply. 'But it turns out that one specific type - squamous cell carcinoma - is remarkably more dependent.

'This type of cancer clearly consumes a lot of sugar. One of our next steps is to look at why this is the case.'

Writing in the journal Nature Communications, he warned the findings were worrying because 'as a culture, we are very addicted to sugar'.

He added: 'Excessive sugar consumption is not only a problem that can lead to complications like diabetes, but also, based on our studies and others, the evidence is mounting that some cancers are also highly dependent on sugar.

'We'd like to know from a scientific standpoint whether we might be able to affect cancer progression with dietary changes.'

Health officials across the world have stood firm on their stance towards sugar in recent years, despite growing evidence showing it to potentially fuel tumour growth.

Instead, they highlight the fact that all cells, not just cancerous ones, require energy, which is found in the form of glucose, to survive.

Writing in the journal Nature Communications, researchers warned the findings were worrying because 'as a culture, we are very addicted to sugar'

Without a sufficient supply of the sugar, each cell in the body would struggle to perform their duties.

Cancer Research UK make clear that cancerous cells aren't just dependent on sugar for their growth, as they rely on amino acids and fats also.

The new findings came after researchers looked into the differences between two major subtypes of non-small cell lung cancer - adenocarcinoma (ADC) and SqCC.

About one quarter of all lung cancers are SqCC, which has been difficult to treat with targeted therapies. The study first tapped into The Cancer Genome Atlas, which maps information about 33 types of cancer gathered from more than 11,000 patients.

Based on that data, it found a protein responsible for transporting glucose into cells was present in significantly higher levels in lung SqCC than in lung ADC.

The protein, called glucose transporter 1, or GLUT1, takes up glucose into cells, where the sugar provides a fundamental energy source and fuels cell metabolism.

REVEALED: WHAT SUGAR REALLY DOES TO YOUR BODY

Sugar interrupts the supply of important neurotransmitter precursors through the blood-brain barrier - and particularly ones that help produce serotonin and dopamine, which influence mood. Too much sugar can increase the risk of anxiety and depression due to a mix of energy rushes after ingestion followed by subsequent sugar crashes.

HEART

Increased sugar levels can decrease the amount of good cholesterol in the bloodstream and increase the amount of bad cholesterol, as well as blood fats. These factors all lead to an increased risk of heart disease. Sugary foods convert to glucose, which causes insulin to be released in a matter of minutes. This rapid process raises the heart rate, as well as the risk of high blood pressure.

LIVER

The liver struggles to process excessive amounts of sugar. The unprocessed sugars are converted to fat calls, which are distributed throughout the body.

As a result, you can gain weight and are at risk for fatty liver disease and even obesity. Over time, the liver can become resistant to insulin which can lead to elevated insulin levels throughout the body.

PANCREAS

The pancreas regulates blood sugar levels either by lowering them with insulin or raising them through glucagon. Maintaining blood sugar levels helps several organs function including the brain, heart and liver.

DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

Too much sugar in the body can cause bacteria to migrate from the colon to the small intestine, where nearly no bacteria is present. As they proliferate on the foods digesting in the small intestine, it can cause bloating, acid reflux, gas and abdominal cramping.

GLUT1 is also necessary for normal cell function, such as building cell membranes.

As high levels of GLUT1 was implicated in SqCC's appetite for sugar, the researchers examined human lung tissue, isolated lung cancer cells and animals to find evidence of the link.

Professor Kim added: 'We looked at this from several different experimental angles, and consistently, GLUT1 was highly active in the squamous subtype of cancer.

'Adenocarcinoma is much less dependent on sugar.

'Our study is the first to show systematically that the metabolism of these two subtypes are indeed distinct and unique.'

The study also investigated the effect of a GLUT1 inhibitor in isolated lung cancer cells and mice with both types of non-small cell lung cancer.

When the mice were given the inhibitors, their SqCC growth slowed down, but this was the opposite for the adenocarcinoma. The findings indicate that GLUT1 could be a potential target for new lines of drug therapy, especially for SqCC.

The study also found GLUT1 levels were much higher in four other types of squamous cell cancer of the head and neck, oesophagus and cervix.

Study finds gray matter density increases during adolescence

MRI-derived gray matter measures, density, volume, mass, and cortical thickness, show distinct age and sex effects, as well as age-dependent intermodal correlations around adolescence

For years, the common narrative in human developmental neuroimaging has been that gray matter in the brain - the tissue found in regions of the brain responsible for muscle control, sensory perception such as seeing and hearing, memory, emotions, speech, decision making, and self-control—declines in adolescence, a finding derived mainly from studies of gray matter volume and cortical thickness (the thickness of the outer layers of brain that contain gray matter). Since it has been well-established that larger brain volume is associated with better cognitive performance, it was puzzling that cognitive performance shows a dramatic improvement from childhood to young adulthood at the same time that brain volume and cortical thickness decline.

A new study published by Penn Medicine researchers this month and featured on the cover of the Journal of Neuroscience may help resolve this puzzle, revealing that while volume indeed decreases from childhood to young adulthood, gray matter density actually increases. Their findings also show that while females have lower brain volume, proportionate to their smaller size, they have higher gray matter density than males, which could explain why their cognitive performance is comparable despite having lower brain volume. Thus, while adolescents lose brain volume, and females have lower brain volume than males, this is compensated for by increased density of gray matter.

"It is quite rare for a single study to solve a paradox that has been lingering in a field for decades, let alone two paradoxes, as was done by Gennatas in his analysis of data from this large-scale study of a whole cohort of youths," said Ruben Gur.

"We now have a richer, fuller concept of what happens during brain development and now better understand the complementary unfolding processes in the brain that describe what happens."

The study was led by Ruben Gur, PhD, professor of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Radiology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Raquel Gur, MD, PhD, a professor of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Radiology, and Efstathios Gennatas, MBBS, a doctoral student of neuroscience working in the Brain Behavior Laboratory at Penn.

According to Gur, the study findings may better explain the extent and intensity of changes in mental life and behavior that occur during the transition from childhood to young adulthood.

"If we are puzzled by the behavior of adolescents, it may help to know that they need to adjust to a brain that is changing in its size and composition at the same time that demands on performance and acceptable behavior keep scaling up," Gur added.

In the study, the researchers evaluated 1,189 youth between the ages of 8 and 23 who completed magnetic resonance imaging as part of the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort, a community-based study of brain development that includes rich neuroimaging and cognitive data, to look at age-related effects on multiple measures of regional gray matter, including gray matter volume, gray matter density, and cortical thickness. Neuroimaging allowed the researchers to derive several measures of human brain structure in a noninvasive way.

Observing such measures during development allowed the researchers to study the brain at different ages to characterize how a child's brain differs from an adult's. "This novel characterization of brain development may help us better understand the relationship between brain structure and cognitive performance," Gennatas said.

"Our findings also emphasize the need to examine several measures of brain structure at the same time. Volume and cortical thickness have received the most attention in developmental studies in the past, but gray matter density may be as important for understanding how improved performance relates to brain development."

Further study is required to fully characterize the biological underpinnings of different MRI-derived measures by combining neuroimaging and brain histology. The study's findings in healthy people can also help researchers understand the effects of brain disorders in males and females as they evolve during adolescence.

Can hand amputation and reattachment affect the brain?

The effects of amputation on the brain may continue even as amputees recover sensory and motor functions in transplanted hands.

Changes in the brain can persist in individuals who receive hand transplants.

The amputation of a limb severs nerves that control sensation and movement, but also leads to dramatic changes in areas of the brain that controlled the functions of the lost limb. Researchers from the University of Missouri have found evidence of specific neurochemical changes associated with lower neuronal health in these brain regions. Further, they report that some of these changes in the brain may persist in individuals who receive hand transplants, despite their recovered hand function.

“When there is a sudden increase or decrease in stimulation that the brain receives, the function and structure of the brain begins to change,” said lead author Carmen M. Cirstea. “Using a noninvasive approach known as magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to examine areas of the brain previously involved with hand function, we observed the types of changes taking place at the neurochemical level after amputation, transplantation or reattachment.”

Cirstea, with co-author Scott Frey, used MRS to evaluate the neuronal health and function of nerve cells of current hand amputees, former amputees and healthy subjects.The researchers instructed volunteers to flex their fingers to activate sensorimotor areas in both sides of the brain. The research team then analyzed N-acetylaspartate (NAA) levels, a chemical associated with neuronal health. The researchers found that NAA values for the reattachment and transplant patients were similar to levels of amputees and significantly lower than the healthy control group.

Frey noted, “These findings show that after surgical repairs, the effects of nerve injuries on the mature brain may continue even as former amputees recover varying degrees of sensory and motor functions in replanted or transplanted hands.”Due to the small number of reattachment and transplant patients studied, the researchers said that the results should be interpreted with caution until more work is completed.