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According to Greystripe, fully 39% of iPhone/iTouch owners are using their devices for health related activiites. With over 42 million units sold to date for the iPhone alone, that is over 16 million people using their iPhone to help get or stay healthy. That is like the entire state of Florida using the iPhone as a health tool. Pretty staggering numbers.

Of the users who stated they utilize an iPhone for health-focused purposes, here is how their usage breaks down. 48% stated they use the iPhone  to search for outdoor activities. 36% tap away in search of a physician. 35% are using things like Google maps to search for pharmacies. Lastly, about 23% are trying to find hospitals. Appendix burst? There is an app for that.

In regards to actual health related apps, the study found fitness programs were largely the perferred mechanism.  Fully 40% of iPhone users using the phone for any health care purposes are downloading them. 28% of these folks are downloading diet apps and similarly 27% are utilizing medical apps.

This is no surprise to us. One of our most popular pages on TheMedifastPlan.com is our Diet and Nutrition iPhone Apps review. These are amazing devices and allow you to do everything from track calories to monitor your work out regime. We recommend checking our our app review page if you are rocking an iPhone. Also, we would love any suggestions for new apps to review. Comment away! 

The theory basically comes down to this. Sugar substitutes and artificial sweeteners are likely impeding our brains ability to naturaly recognize and measure the amount of calories we intake. Thus, we feel the need to intake more calories and have a tendency to overeat.

A recent study done by neuroscientists and psychologists and published in the medical journal Behavioral Neuroscience points to evidence as such. Granted, it was performed on rats, but much of our initial testing that leads to successful products for our health comes from our little furry friends.  Back on topic. The rats were either given artificially sweetened yogurt or standard sugar-powered yogurt as well as their standard rat food. The rats that ate the artificially sweetened yogurt gained more weight, and they also appeared to lose their innate ability to keep track of extra calories and eat smaller amounts later on.

Why you may ask? Well, the theory continues. One of the authors of the paper, DR. Terry Davidson, a neuroscientist at Purdue University explains it thusly. “Animals learn to use taste to predict caloric consequences, and in nature, sweetness is almost always an indicator of calories.” So, when rats or humans experience a sweet sensation when tasting something, yet there is a greatly reduced or zero count caloric intake, it muddles our ability to calibrate our intake.

Now the somewhat alarming aspect of this study. Repetitive intake and experiences with artificial sweeteners and sugar substitutes may actually permanently affect our ability to count calories for good. In the rats, effects were seen in as few as 10 days!

Of course, this study was done on rats and they have a much more limited diet than us humans, but still, the evidence is compelling and a little alarming. Obviously, more study is needed, but this is definitely something to think about that next time you are reaching for a Coke Zero.

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We are launching the new section with ten new articles we have developed covering everything from Top Nutrition Plans for Schools to Understanding The Glycemic Index. These are more serious refernce type of articles and typically have citations and links to even more useful information and tools available on the subjects covered.

If you have any specific topics you would like us to cover, please feel free to drop us a line and we will consider it for a future in-depth feature article.

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Medifast launched their "Happy Afters" contest recently and it is opent to all Medifast and Take Shape for Life customers. Do you have what it takes? Or, we guess the better way to ask that is do you no longer have what it takes? :)  

You can see below that there are some pretty sweet perks if you are one of the 10 chosen winners. Even a chance to appear in nation Medifast TV, print and online advertising (you might even show up on our pages soon!). A pretty cool opportunity and a great way to show off your new body.

See below for details, and click on the description to be taken to the application form. Good luck! 

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Whether you are looking to get going with a full blown plan, or just wanting to save some money on your next order, we have the latest coupon for you to utilize. And who doesn’t like saving money? 

So, feel get in there and and drop some of your knowledge on the rest of us. Or, pick up some of the knowledge and experiences the rest of us have accumulated over the years.

So, what is this mystery culprit? According to biologist Bruce Blumberg of UC Irvine, who has done several studies in the area, it is bisphenol A, or BPA as it is commonly know. Many of you will recognize the three letter abbreviation as the subject of the great Nalgene water bottle scare from a couple of years ago. It is widely believed that even if BPA isn’t conclusively linked to weight management issues, it is not good stuff to have floating about in your body. And it sounds like we have it all floating in our bodies. Frederick vom Saal, a University of Missouri biologist, is quoted in the article with the following scary stat. "There is virtually nobody in the U.S. without biologically active levels of BPA in the body."

So, what is BPA doing to make us fat, or at least hinder our ability to reduce fat we already have? The current thinking is that BPA mimics the hormone estrogen and can interfere with the body’s natural ability to regulate fat cells. So, with elevated levels of BPA, you are likely experiencing the equivalent of elevated levels of estrogen. When estrogen levels are above normal, or present when not normally, the body will try to retain fat.

The biggest question with this theory is just how much BPA is affecting those exposed to it? What is the relationship between the levels of BPA present in the body and the amount of elevated fat retention signals our body is receiving? In other words, how much BPA do we need to have in our system in order for it to affect our ability to regulate fat cells normally? In mice, a single exposure to BPA while the mom is pregnant results in offspring that are 10-15% fatter as adults according to a study conducted by von Staal. So, it seems that this can be passed on genetically as well.

So, what should you do and what can you do to help this? Considering how prolific BPA is in the environment, over 7 billon pounds are produced a year, it isn’t going to be easy. It is best to avoid polycarbonate -containing plastics. These are stamped with recycling numbers three or seven. However, if what happens in mice carries over to us, and your mom was exposed to BPA, you likely already have BPA in your system and it might be too late so to speak.

The holidays are about giving and getting, but too often it is your body that gets a little too much in the last two months of the year. Or, it doesn’t get enough…attention that is. It is interesting how we don’t perceive overeating and poor diet as punishing ourselves, instead viewing it as a treat, or emotional solace, or something we deserve. How can something so tiny as taste buds dictate how our whole body should be treated? 

Yes, you should feed yourself adequately. A good diet isn’t about starving, it is about delivering the right level of nutrition that your particular body and lifestyle need to optimize health. But, stuffing yourself is no better than starving and it can have even more dire consequences in the long-term.

So, give your whole self a gift this Christmas, not just your taste buds. Make an appointment to visit with your physician for some guidance, then do some research as to which plan of attack best matches the goals you have in mind.Then, treat yourself to the best Christmas present you could ever give to yourself.

There is not quesiton that American’s eat way too much. Our portion sizes have increased in lock step with our waistlines. Not to continue to pick on Burger King, but does anyone really need a BK Quad Stacker? At 1100 calories and 70 grams of fat, it is an enoumous amount of nutrition to consume at any one sitting. Throw in a super lage fry and 32 oz Coke, and you have consumed a simply massive amount of calories, at just under 1980, in one meal! 

However, is the opposite any better. Are extreme diets that limit your intake to 800 or less calories a day any better for your overall health? This CNN art seeks to answer that question with a closer look at Very Low Calorie Diets (VLCD).

The first thing that people considering a diet like this needs to know, is that it most definitely isn’t for everyone. It is expensive, costing from $6,000 to $10,000 a year to stay on the program. It is also quite demanding from a mental and physical standpoint. Applicants for the four certified programs in the US are pre-screened for any mental or physical issues that might not allow them to complete such a plan. Some clinics require bloodwork and heart health monitoring monthly to ensure physical health. This leads to the last issue, the side effects. Dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, gout, kidnesy stones…kind of scary. You have to remember that you aren’t exactly eating a balanced diet on one of these plans, and you can place a great deal of stress on your primary body systems.

You also don’t want to do one of these diets if you are looking to drop 5-10 pounds to get into that dress for the holidy party. These diets are designed for obese patients, with off the chart BMI ratings. Anyone can lose 10 pounds in a month with some strict nutrition. But to safely lose 200, 300, or more pounds, you need the strict management these plans provide.

So, what if you need to lose more than ten pounds but don’t feel like you need to be on a VLCD? How about Medifast? With the approval of over 20,000 doctors since the program was launched, it is a proven, respected and won’t make you feel like you are starving to death. A win-win…