Tag: press release

KIND Snacks Urges FDA to Redefine “Healthy”

Company, with Support of Nutrition Experts Petitions U.S. Food and Drug Administration to Update Guidelines Established 20+ Years Ago

 KIND Snacks, with support from leading nutrition, public health and public policy experts, has filed a Citizen Petition urging the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to update its regulations around the term healthy when used as a nutrient content claim in food labeling. http://dnr.vnr1.com/2015/11/30/KIND_Snacks

KIND Founder and CEO Daniel Lubetzky explains that wholesome and nutrient-rich foods like almonds, salmon, olive oil and avocados cannot be labeled as healthy because of these foods inherent fat content.

The petition also reflects the importance of eating whole foods and foods made with wholesome and nutrient-rich ingredients as part of a healthy dietary pattern.

Currently, the FDA mandates that the word “healthy” only be used as a nutrient content claim to describe individual foods that contain 3 grams or less total fat and 1 gram or less of saturated fat per serving. Fish and meat must have 5g or less total fat and 3g or less saturated fat per serving to use healthy as a nutrition content claim.

The policy effort, which cites evidence from multiple nutrition studies and current federal Dietary Guidelines, is supported by a number of leading health and wellness experts including Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, DrPhD, Dean, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts; Sara Baer-Sinnott, President of Oldways; and Connie Diekman, Registered Dietitian and former President of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

For more information, visit KIND Snacks’ blog at www.KINDsnacks.com

THE LAZY GIRL’S HIGH TECH TRICK FOR LOSING INCHES BY NEW YEAR’S AND FITNESS HACKS

With just one month left until New Year’s Eve, it’s time to squeeze into a little black dress and stay up ‘til midnight, it’s time to prep. The good news is, if you don’t want to squeeze into your outfit, there’s still four weeks left to tone up and loose those few pounds or inches that make the difference between, “You look great!” and jaw-dropping silence. Here are some fitness hacks and one high tech “lazy girl’s trick for achieving your ideal NYE look.

THE HIGH TECH WAY- STRAWBERRY LASER LIPO

www.strawberry-laser.us

First introduced in London, the Strawberry Laser’s cold laser technology is now available in the United States. Already, over 5 million people worldwide have lost instant inches with Strawberry. There are now Strawberry systems installed in over 30 countries.

The Strawberry Laser is an FDA cleared, painless alternative to liposuction that achieves non-invasive inch-loss and body contouring by shrinking fat cells. With each 10-20 minute treatment, unwanted fat is naturally released from the body via the lymphatic system. The results are instant. Clients can lose up to 8 inches in 1 treatment and two areas of the body can be treated at once.

So how does it work?

Prior to each treatment, precise measurements are taken at multiple levels around a patient’s specific target area(s). During the treatment, low-level (cold) laser technology is used to painlessly melt fat within the fat cells. The process is similar to exercise. When a person exercises, triglycerides are released from the fat cells. With these being released, the fat cells reduce in size (adipocytes). The Strawberry Laser works in a similar way, pulling the triglycerides from the fat cells. This results in millions of fat cells becoming smaller, so inches are reduced off the waist, hips, thighs, arms, buttocks and male breasts. Exercising in conjunction with Strawberry Laser treatments further stimulates the fat reduction process. Surrounding tissues, such as blood vessels, nerves and skin cells are unaffected by the procedure.

Cost: Between $1,500 and $2,000 for a course of 8, 20 minute treatments.

THE TRADITIONAL WAY – FITNESS HACKS

www.franicohen.com

Franci Cohen is a NYC certified fitness trainer, nutritionist and exercise physiologist. Here she provides tips on how to hack your way to better fitness before New Year’s.

Strength with Cardio

For most, weight-training and cardio exercise are two separate events. However, mixing strength exercises with a cardio interval, like a 30 second sprint, will boost the metabolism and growth hormones.

Go Compound

Try multi-joint or compound exercises that engage multiple muscle groups at the same time. Replace isolated exercises, which only focus on one muscle group at a time, with movements like the squat or deadlift to burn more calories and increase your metabolic rate.

Train Like an Athlete

Huge biceps look great, but are unlikely to contribute to overall health. Instead of training like a bodybuilder try exercising like an athlete. Include plyometrics, kettlebell swings and sprints in your training plan to add intensity and variety to workouts while improving overall fitness.

Go Heavy

Lifting heavier weights for less repetitions helps to build strength and shed fat. Start with a weight that is manageable for 15 reps. Then add weight over time to find a weight that is doable for eight to ten repetitions. Remember, always practice perfect form, and try to work for an extra rep before calling it quits.
Bring a Friend

Working out with a partner improves results and makes the going-to-the-gym experience a more enjoyable one. Having a partner to provide encouragement during workouts can help you get the most out of a workout. And when you have someone relying on you to do the same, it makes you accountable and more likely to show up for workouts.

Don't Train, Compete

Turn workouts into a competition with yourself of a workout partner. Join a sports league, play pick-up basketball or sign-up for a 5K. Or create your own challenges in the gym by completing a circuit workout as fast as possible, pushing the pace and intensity.

Write it Down

Record the exercises, sets and repetitions performed during workouts. Keeping track of goals and progress will reveal what you have accomplished and where you can improve. With that knowledge on hand, it's then possible to structure workouts that play to your strengths and improve weaknesses.

Hydrate

Be sure to drink plenty of water during workouts and throughout the day. Heading into a workout dehydrated takes its toll on muscles, motivation and energy levels. Drink up and train hard, then don't forget to refuel with food and water after workouts to promote recovery.

Toronto's first modern Pierogarnia restaurant, The Saucy Pierogi is now open 

Dundas West restaurant now serving full dinner menu, share plates, premium vodkas, cocktails and craft beers

Toronto, ON - After dominating the Toronto food scene for over two years as a pop-up restaurant and festival favourite, The Saucy Pierogi (TSP) is now open on trendy Dundas St. West (1282 Dundas St. W.). The restaurant pairs creative Pierogi dishes with a relaxed and vibrant atmosphere.

“This menu is without a doubt Polish in its DNA but since we’re in Canada, we wanted to celebrate its ingredients in our dishes,” says Konrad Obara, owner. “I wanted to blend traditional Polish cooking techniques with “out-of-the-box” flavour combinations in a cool venue with good vibes.” 

Meant to be shared, the dinner menu features pierogi stuffed with gourmet fillings like braised beef, pulled pork, jerk chicken, and classics like cheddar potato. Pierogi and all other menu items are made in house; including soups, stocks and schnitzel. The cocktail and beer menu features signature cocktails, founded on the classics as well as a rotating craft beer menu and both premium and rare vodkas.

TSP blends a standing cocktail bar and sit-down restaurant, serving through to late night, offering house creations inspired by traditional polish Pierogarnia. The lively atmosphere is suitable for a quick after-work snack or a top spot to end an evening on the Dundas and Ossington strip.

TSP’s 1000 sq. ft. interior seats 77, with 10 comfortable stools at the bar. Boasting floor-to-ceiling front windows that slide open for the summer, and wood finished accents under candle lit table tops; the venue draws a warmth and rustic balance to the contemporary design, which, displays Polish-street art and photography throughout.

TSP will also feature a retail section offering take home goods, including soups such as Cabbage and Bacon, or their vegan Potato and Leek, house-made sauces, grab and go dinners, cabbage rolls, and frozen pierogi dozens for home preparation.

The Saucy Pierogi is open from 6pm until Late, Tuesday through Saturday.

Website: www.thesaucypierogi.com Twitter: @thesaucypierogi Facebook: @TheSaucyPierogi Instagram: @thesaucypierogi

About The Saucy Pierogi: 

The Saucy Pierogi is Toronto's first modern Pierogarnia restaurant. Established in 2013, The Saucy Pierogi has sparked a passion for delicious and innovative pierogi. The Saucy Pierogi features modern handmade pierogi filled with delicious ingredients like jerk chicken, braised beef and pulled pork, all accompanied by unique and inspired sauces and salads.

For more information, interviews or high-res images, please contact: Noah Parker, at info@thesaucypierogi.com or 416.516.1361

1282 Dundas St West

Toronto, Ontario M6J 1X7

“Sleep Secrets is the book you should read for good, practical information on how to get a good night’s sleep.  Insomnia, sleep deprivation, snoring and sleep apnea — this comprehensive resource has it all.”

Dr. Andrew Weil, MD, author and director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona

Get a Good Night’s Sleep – Reset Your Biological Clock 

Some people are blessed with the ability to sleep anywhere at any time. Others find falling asleep a challenge that worsens with the passing of years. Left unattended, insomnia can become chronic, disabling and eventually even a medical condition.

Ronald M. Bazar, author of the new book Sleep Secrets: How to Fall Asleep Fast,

Beat Fatigue and Insomnia, and Get a Great Night’s Sleep, says that lack of sleep not only affects your ability to work effectively but can have serious effects on your relationships and your enjoyment of life. Lack of sleep also can wreak havoc with your hormones, your immune system and your body's ability to fight off disease.

“You need six and half to eight hours of good relaxed sleep per night in order to maintain and regenerate your bodies’ natural systems,” he said. “You don’t need to resort to taking drugs and narcotics every night either. There are other natural and alternative ways that work even better."

Bazar’s comprehensive and easy-to-read book includes, yet goes beyond, the sleep tips you've heard about and gets into both science-based research and complementary medicine tips for help resolving insomnia and other problems caused by sleep deprivation.

“One of the most important things to do is to reboot your body naturally and then control every factor that prevents you from falling and staying asleep.  Here are some of his top recommendations about how to reset your bodies’ biological clock and create solid reliable sleep habits:

1. Detach from your electronic devices well before bed. They are insomnia creators.

1. Stretch before bed time. Get on the floor and do some stretching exercises half an hour before bed time. Do some yoga poses to relax your back and neck, and stretch your legs and especially your calves to help reduce cramping.

1. If you are hungry before bed, have a light snack like fruit but don’t have heavy foods or a full meal or a very late dinner.

1. Set your sleep time intentionally. Tell yourself that 10 PM is bed time and 6 AM is wake up time. Mentally establish and commit yourself to sleep on a regular schedule. Stick to it. Go to sleep the same time every night and get up the same time every morning. Make it a habit.

1. Listen to soothing music or read for fifteen minutes or more before you turn off the lights. Just make sure you choose something that won’t stimulate your thinking, make you tense up or worry right when you want to go to sleep.

1. Don't have any electronic devices in the room where you sleep. Turn off all lights, TV and radios, cell phones, laptops, computers, and all those power supplies that have a glowing LED or light. Move them into another room and away from your bedroom so they can’t make sounds that wake you up and interrupt your sleep. Use foam ear plugs to reduce noise levels that can prevent you from sleeping.

1. Go dark, totally dark. Cover the windows with blackout shades to prevent light from entering the room where you sleep. Wear an eye mask for total blackness. You may even need to replace your alarm clock with something that doesn’t have glowing numbers or is backlit.

1. Get up early! Set the alarm and get up just when it is getting light, before the sun rises. Better yet, learn how to awaken without an alarm. Don’t touch that snooze button.

1. Get outside and spend 20 minutes or more in the bright early morning sun and fresh air. Take a walk, walk the dog, go for a bike ride, or do some work in the garden.

1. Eliminate stimulants such as coffee, tea, soda or anything with caffeine, and sweet drinks with sugar. If you drink coffee, only have it in the morning and never have it after lunch or within four to six hours of bed time. Don’t drink energy drinks or caffeine drinks in the afternoon or evening.

1. Take a short nap during the day only if you are sleepy. But if you have problems falling asleep at night, then do not nap until you re-establish a new rhythm. It’s OK to take a 20 minute nap if you get tired, but don’t go over 30 minutes and take the nap at least six hours before your normal bed time so that you are not over-rested to the point where it interferes with your normal sleep time.

1. Get a comfortable bed and coverings. Turn the temperature down at night so it’s cool in the air and warm in the bed. Go hypoallergenic or organic.

Here are some other actions you can learn to get to sleep fast:

• Mind techniques to quiet the mind and help you relax
• Simple breathing techniques that will help you sleep easier and deeper
• Eat the foods that will help you sleep, and avoid the foods that don't
• How to fall back asleep quickly if you wake up in the middle of the night
• The best pillow to use for sleeping
• Inclining your bed can help you sleep
• Walking outside barefoot can actually help you sleep better at night
• Supplements and remedies to target your sleep needs -- or eliminate fears
• Solutions to snoring and sleep apnea
• Jet lag prevention tips
• Cannabis for sleep? How to find the right strain
• Special sleep advice for babies, teens, and elders

“Be consistent,” Ron says. “You can train your body and achieve the cyclic rhythms you need to go to sleep when you want to and get a good night’s rest. "

Extremely Active Rats Become Lazy when They Artificially Receive “Runners’ High”

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Past research has shown that the pleasure and reward centers of the brain are activated similarly by dangerous drugs as well as by exercise, which is why therapies have been developed for drug addicts that include lots of exercise. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found that activating these pleasure and reward receptors in the brain could provide the “reward” of dangerous drugs without having to consume those drugs.

For the study, a team of scientists led by Frank Booth, a professor at the MU College of Veterinary Medicine, selectively bred rats that exhibited traits of either extreme activity or extreme laziness. The researchers then gave chemicals to the rats to either activate or shut off their mu-opioid receptors, which are the genes in the brains of rats and humans which release dopamine, a pleasure-inducing chemical. Greg Ruegsegger, a doctoral student in the MU College of Veterinary Medicine and lead author of the study, says that when the receptors of the extremely energetic rats were activated, those rats were much less inclined to exercise.

“These highly active rats would run on their wheels constantly,” Ruegsegger said. “However, when we chemically activated their mu-opioid receptors, those rats drastically reduced their amounts of activity. Since exercise and addiction to substances follow this same chemical process in the brain, it stands to reason that activating these receptors in people with dangerous addictions could provide the same rewards they are craving without the use of dangerous drugs or alcohol.”

When MU researchers studied the brains of the rats, they found 400 percent more of the reward receptors in the extremely active rats than the extremely lazy rats. They believe this indicates that the extremely active rats were active to receive “rewards” from their mu-opioid receptors, which may explain why they voluntarily run such extreme amounts.

The researchers also used chemicals to shut off the mu-opioid receptors in the active rats, but found that it similarly reduced activity in the rats, though not as drastically as turning on those receptors in the active rats. Researchers found that activating and shutting off the receptors in the lazy rats seemed to have no significant effect on those rats’ overall activity levels.

This study was published in the journal Neuropharmacology.

Highly Innovative Pipeline Could Transform Obesity Treatment Landscape, says GBI Research 

NEW YORK (GBI Research), 8 October 2015

While the current obesity treatment market has a high level of unmet need, the therapeutic landscape could be transformed by a highly innovative and diverse pipeline that includes 248 products in active development, according to business intelligence provider GBI Research.

The company’s latest report* states that despite the current market’s clinical and regulatory challenges, the obesity pipeline is robust and contains a high level of diversity in both molecule types and molecular targets, with 39% of the pipeline products with disclosed molecular targets classified as first-in-class.

Angel Wong, Senior Analyst for GBI Research, says that while most pipeline products target gut hormone receptors, the remainder target a wide range of processes thought to be dysregulated in obesity, such as angiogenesis, insulin signaling, inflammation, fat absorption, lipid synthesis, and metabolism.

Wong comments: “The high level of innovation and diversity in molecular target in development is encouraging, with a number of these not only showing close alignment to the disease pathophysiology but also addressing multiple mechanisms underpinning the development of obesity.

“As obesity is a multifactorial disease, targeting multiple systems may potentially avoid compensatory mechanisms that lead to weight regain and achieve sustainable weight loss over the long term.”

The analyst adds that small molecules, accounting for 66% of the overall pipeline, are the dominant molecule type in all stages of development for obesity treatment. Biologic therapeutics, consisting largely of peptides, proteins, antibodies and vaccines, also feature prominently.

GBI Research’s report also states that the long-term treatment options for obesity remain sparse, including the dietary fat absorption inhibitor Xenical (orlistat), and appetite suppressants such as Qsymia (phentermine and topiramate extended release), Belviq (lorcaserin hydrochloride), and the two new market entrants Contrave (naltrexone and bupropion) and Saxenda (liraglutide rDNA origin).

Wong continues: “Prescription of these treatments is generally limited, primarily due to concerns over their long-term safety, with the past decade seeing a number of drug withdrawals in the market as a result of serious cardiovascular risks and psychiatric adverse reactions.

“The uptake of anti-obesity drugs has also been hindered by their modest efficacy in inducing sustained body weight reduction. All of these factors are driving efforts to address the significant unmet need for effective obesity therapeutics with favorable safety profiles,” the analyst concludes.

*Frontier Pharma: Obesity - Identifying and Commercializing First-in-Class Innovation