US Health Insurance Plans and Medical Tourism?

As healthcare costs soar and health insurance becomes even harder to afford, medical tourism is earning billions of dollars a year abroad. But is this a viable answer to our healthcare problems, and even more, is it safe?

Ten years ago, medical tourism was hardly large enough to be noticed. Today, more than 250,000 patients per year visit Singapore alone--nearly half of them from the Middle East. This year, approximately half a million foreign patients will travel to India for medical care, whereas in 2002, the number was only 150,000.

And all of them are traveling for medical reasons. Whether its plastic surgery, dental work, or major operations, its much easier and cheaper for the underinsured to get treatment abroad.

The ease of international travel, combined with outrageous health insurance costs, is making medical tourism a billion dollar business. But whether it's India, the Philippines, or Mexico, travelers are always taking risks when they go abroad for their medicine. The qualifications of doctors, accreditation of the hospital, and ability to communicate with the staff are all in question when having surgery abroad, and all can lead to dangerous side effects or other problems.

Facts on:
Health Insurance and Medical Tourism
Did you know...
This year, approximately half a million foreign patients will travel to India for medical care?
But at costs of sometimes a tenth of what one would pay here, it's easy to see why medical tourism is so alluring.

Hopefully health insurance costs will go down in the wake of upcoming legislation, making it easier for Americans to get the treatments they need right here at home. Until then, many citizens will enjoy the hospitality of hospitals abroad who promise medical care at more affordable rates.

admiral insurance company claims

First Report of Loss
You may report a claim by one of the following methods:

I. Submit online.
Click on 'Report New Claim' side menu item and complete the claim form.

II. Regular or overnight mail.
Admiral Insurance Company1255 Caldwell Road
P.O Box 1255
Cherry Hill, N.J. 08034
Attention: Angela Rando
Clearly state it is a "NEW CLAIM".
III. Email
admclaims@admiralins.com
Do not email claims to ANY claims individual.

IV. FAX
Fax #: (856) 429-3630
Attention: Angela RandoClearly state it is a "NEW CLAIM".

claim form

Tescocompare.com Enters Car Insurance Comparison Market

Today sees the introduction of the latest financial comparison website to hit the UK. Tesco have launched tescocompare.com which will initially offer a car insurance comparison service before moving into other areas.

Facing fierce competition, in an already crowded market, that includes household names such as confused.com and moneysupermarket.com; Tesco, according to managing director Peter Dingle, aim to make an impact by focusing on accurate quotes and policy details:

“We have placed great emphasis on the fact that our site not only compares price but also looks at individual policy features to allow users to make sure they are getting the right policy for them. There will be no extra costs or charges when it comes to paying your insurance, the price quoted will be the same as if the customer went direct."

It is the last part “the price quoted will be the same as if the customer went direct” that is bound to stir up intrigue within the industry. One criticism of some motor insurance comparison services is that the quotes they find sometimes differ from what is offered upon application. This is because of assumptions the aggregator sites have to make and is something they continually strive to improve.

So how does tescocompare.com aim to deliver on this promise?

The tescocompare.com site has been launched in partnership with the Royal Bank of Scotland. The comparison service offered by this paring covers 25 insurance brands. They includes Churchill and Privilege; owned by RBS and Virgin Money, Lloyds TSB and Nationwide; underwritten by RBS.

By having this close control over the insurers on its panel their hope is they can provide greater accuracy. After the teething problems experienced by tescocompare.com on its debut it is hard to pass judgement on the quality of its service.

One notable absentee from the panel of compared insurers is Direct Line, one of RBS’ largest brands, who recently launched scathing attacks on the price comparison arena and appear to be sticking to their guns.

So will Tesco triumph in yet another industry? Only time will tell, they certainly have the brand power and the marketing budget but will limiting their panel to the RBS stable prove a wise move? Or will it restrict their ability to offer the cheapest car insurance quotes compared to sites such as confused who compare 95% of the market?

You decide…

Travel Insurance Made Easy

You are finally going to take that holiday you have been planning in your head for a long time now. You did your research on the best time of year to travel to your dream location, places to go and things to see when you get to your chosen destination, where the best attractions and venues are located, which hotels are best, and whether or not you can rent a car at the airport!

You monitored the airline ticket prices for months until a great deal popped up, and then you grabbed it! You have even purchased some new clothing and a set of new luggage for this trip. As far as you are concerned, you have left nothing undone when it comes to making plans for this holiday. After all, you have been waiting for just years now to see your plans come to fruition!

Wait a minute… it seems as if you forgot one thing. One very important item is missing from your list above. You did not include travel insurance, even though you are quite aware of the importance of having a good policy, just in case something should go wrong while you are away from home. Why would you neglect an item that can keep your dream holiday from turning into a nightmare?

Let me get this straight. You say that someone told you that it was difficult to take out a travel insurance policy, and that you would have to visit a travel agent in order to get a marginally decent policy? Friend, I don’t know who you have been speaking with, but they are definitely steering you in the wrong direction when it comes to travel insurance. There is nothing at all difficult about obtaining travel insurance, and you most certainly do not have to let a travel agent sell you a policy that could very well be frightfully overpriced! Purchasing travel insurance is really very easy to do, right from your computer.

You can shop for travel insurance online without the help of a travel agent, or anyone else for that matter. Take all the time you need to look over the various policy offerings, and don’t forget to check out the Product Disclosure statement, which is what some people call the “fine print”. This will tell you everything you need to know about the insurance policy you are considering. Any reputable website will have the PDS available to download and read.

This is an easy task as well. Once you have zeroed in on two or three insurance policies that seem to be what you want, complete an online quote from each of them. Often, you will have this information in a minute or less. Compare the two or three quotes, and also compare the policies, so you can see just what you would get for that price. You know your needs better than anyone else, so it should be fairly clear as to which policy would be the best deal for you.

When you have made up your mind, purchase the travel insurance policy, and print out your paperwork. Now, you can continue to anticipate your dream vacation, knowing that you are fully covered by insurance in case of an unexpected dilemma. You can protect the investment you have in your holiday by buying travel insurance.
Cheap Insurance Article Source :
http://www.insure4less.com.au/blog/2009/04/17/travel-insurance-made-easy/

Healthcare Reform and Keeping Your Home Clean

Start Your Own Healthcare Reform by Keeping Your Surroundings Clean

Amidst the raging healthcare reform war, few consider the simple ways they can prevent illness as a result of their immediate surroundings. Reform your health by avoiding common causes of illness-certain to be a faster solution than the one we are waiting on from our federal government.

Obama has a number of ideas for healthcare reform, and while some are more popular than others, they are all sure to make getting healthy possible for more of us. Here's how you can make some of the same changes possible within your own home.

* The Obama administration wants to "protect families from bankruptcy or debt because of healthcare costs." At home, you can choose to use green, plant-based cleaning products rather than antibacterial chemicals to prevent the growth and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The overuse of antibacterial cleansers in a domestic setting can affect their use in healthcare settings, where they are needed to prevent the spread of disease in a highly infectious environment. An outbreak of bacteria that is resistant to disinfectant cleansers can cause disease that is more dangerous and massively expensive to treat.

* The Obama administration wants to "invest in prevention and wellness." At home, you can keep the surfaces that harbor dangerous germs clean to prevent illness. In addition to places like your toilet and kitchen counters that probably get the most attention, don't forget to wipe down your doorknob, computer keyboards, and salt and pepper shakers-all places that have high germ traffic but often go overlooked when cleaning your home. Hiring a professional cleaning service with experience in spotting hiding germs will help keep your home hygenic without cutting into your busy schedule.

* And, most importantly, the Obama administration wants to do this all on a budget. You probably want the same thing. There are plenty of reasonable ways to keep your home as devoid of disease-causing bacteria as possible.

Cleaning services can be very reasonably priced and you can negotiate further price reductions, particularly if you have worked with the cleaning company for some time (our Denver cleaning services clients can testify to that). You can also make your own cleaning products from things you already keep in your kitchen, like lemon juice, baking soda, or vinegar.

By staying vigilant with your home's cleaning needs, you can create your own healthcare reform-one that will be sure to improve your health and healthcare costs without getting sidelined by a filibuster.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Yelena_M_Gertsenova

pmi mortgage insurance

What is Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) And How Does it Work?

Private Mortgage Insurance is a home-buying aid that nearly anyone can use. It is insurance that protects the lender if the buyer defaults on the loan. It is generally required for people who cannot get a 20% down payment. Buyers can purchase a home with as little as 3-5% down using PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance). With home prices climbing, many people have difficulty getting the 20% down payment; and studies have shown that buyers who put down less than 20% are more likely to default on the loan. Thus the PMI is useful to the lender in securing the loan, and buyers can buy sooner because they don't have to wait for years while they accumulate an acceptable down payment.

When you purchase a home with PMI, the lender secures the policy for you. You pay for the PMI at closing or, most often, you pay a monthly fee with the monthly payment. If you default on the loan, the lender receives the difference between the down payment you made and 20% of the loan amount. PMI payments can be considerable, so it is best to avoid using private mortgage insurance if possible.

Once the loan is paid down to 80% of the property value, most lenders would drop PMI coverage if buyers had a good payment history and requested to drop it. However, most consumers were not aware of this possibility and had to keep track of their loan balances. People often failed to request the change, and they paid unnecessary insurance payments for years. New laws passed in 1998 have made lenders and buyers equally responsible for how long the PMI is carried on a loan so that this situation is no longer a problem. When a loan is paid down to 78% of the value and if the buyer is current on the loan, the lender must automatically terminate the PMI.

Private Mortgage Insurance is a helpful option to protect lenders and to help people get into homes without having to wait while a large down payment is accumulated.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eric_Kandell

Different Types of Mortgage Insurance

There are different kinds of mortgage insurance. Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is insurance that protects the lender - the mortgage company. Many home buyers cannot afford to make the traditional 20% down payment on a home. They can make SOME down payment, but they don't have and can't get the money necessary to make a 20% down payment. With less than a 20% down payment, the lender is taking a larger risk. PMI is their guarantee that they won't lose money. The buyer pays the monthly premiums for PMI.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and the Veterans Administration (VA) are both governmental entities that guarantee mortgages. Borrowers must meet certain requirements in order to qualify for an FHA or VA guaranteed loan.

Basically, mortgage insurance works like this. Let's say that you want to buy a home that sells for $264,000 - that was the average price of a home in the U.S. in October 2007. A 20% down payment would be $52,000. Not many people can come up with that much cash all at one time. If you can make a down payment of, say, $15,000, a private mortgage insurance policy will be written to insure the balance of the usual down payment, and the premiums will be added to the monthly payment.

Many people do not realize that the PMI policy can be canceled after the mortgage has been reduced and/or the home has appreciated in value.

In the past, buyers were not informed that mortgage insurance could be canceled when the loan-to-value ratio decreased to a certain point - usually 78%. The Homeowner's Protection Act of 1998 made it mandatory for companies to inform buyers each year about the terms and status of their mortgage insurance and give them the option to cancel when it was no longer required by law.

=> http://mortgage.need-to-know.net/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Milos_Pesic

How Does Insurance Work?

There are lots of different kinds of health insurance. Plan that cover medical services and prescription medicines, plans that cover dental expenses, disability insurance that replaces income lost due to extended illness or injury, long-term care, and so on. In the United States, people typically refer to the plans that cover medical expenses as "health insurance", and these plans are usually bought by employers and offered to employees as part of their compensation, or "benefits".

Health insurance plans are usually sold once, then renewed on an annual basis. So when a consumer buys health insurance (either directly or through an employer), the insurer agrees to pay for health expenses as long as the premiums are paid on time and the account is in good standing.

Health insurance plans come in two flavors: "Fee-for-Service" or "Managed Care". Both types of insurance cover major medical, surgical and hospital expenses, and are often referred to as "major medical plans". Fee-for-service plans pay the medical service provider a fee for each service provided to a patient, and that patient can usually go see whatever health care provider they wish. Managed care plans, on the other hand, pre-pay contracted providers for each member's coverage in advance. Members are offered a financial incentive to use providers who belong to the plan.

Here are a few common terms that you'll probably run into:

Deductible: This is the amount you must pay out-of-pocket before the insurer will pay anything. Deductibles can vary widely, ranging from $0 to a few thousand dollars.

Co-insurance amount: This is the percentage of your medical expenses you must pay after you reach your deductible. This will typically range from 10-30%.

Maximum out-of-pocket amount: This is maximum amount you are required to pay in a given year, after which the insurer will pay 100% of the cost of covered medical expenses.

Covered benefits: Types of medical services the insurer will pay for.

Exclusions: Types of medical services the insurer will not pay for.

Its true: there's a lot of jargon, and plans are difficult to evaluate and compare. But it's important, and worth your time. Carefully review plan descriptions, and take your time to understand the coverage of any plan you're currently under - or considering purchasing.

Kurt Stammberger is VP, Marketing at Healthia Inc. Healthia provides integrated comparison-shopping information on group health insurance and small business insurance plans [http://www.healthia.com], free tips and advice for selecting the best plans that suit your needs.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kurt_Stammberger

Cheap Car Insurance

Overall, a good cheap car insurance broker can help save time and possibly also help save money.

While there are many advantages that a cheap car insurance broker has over a customer dealing with an insurance agent on their own, there can be a few downsides, especially if the broker is less than experienced or not truthful in their dealings. One thing to be wary of is the fact that a broker could very well be using the same methods that are available to the general public for searching car insurance quotes. In this case, the customer may be better off searching for quotes on their own. Some brokers may also favor a particular insurance company, leading one to believe that they are being paid more per client than other companies in exchange for steering more customers to that particular company. Customers can make sure that their cheap car insurance broker is impartial in their dealings by asking if they favor one insurance company over another and have a high percentage of clients at that company. Experience is also a key factor, so don’t forget to find out how many years of experience the broker has in the business.

Looking for a cheap car insurance broker isn’t as tough as it seems. These days, cheap car insurance brokers can be found on internet listings and websites. All it takes is a few key phrases on the search engine to get the results you are looking for. A more traditional approach is looking for a car insurance broker through the telephone directory, although this is more time consuming. Some insurance brokers specialize in certain types of car insurance, whether it be sports cars, classic cars or heavy vehicle insurance.

When shopping for cheap car insurance, either with a cheap car insurance broker or on your own, there are many factors that a person who is looking for a cheap car insurance broker should keep in mind. These factors often have a great influence on the cost of insurance coverage and the monthly premium that must be paid. Car insurance companies will often take these factors into consideration when calculating the possible amount of risk that the customer may represent, which is then reflected in the monthly premiums to be paid. Age, gender, and location will have an influence on car insurance costs, as well as the type of car to be insured, the number of cars insured and the number of traffic violations that the customer may have, if any. While cheap car insurance brokers keep these factors in mind, it is also important for the clients to do the same, as they could very well end up searching for an insurance company on their own.

Age is one of the biggest factors to be considered when shopping for a cheap car insurance broker. Younger drivers are considered to be bigger risks than other drivers due to the fact that they are comparatively inexperienced on the road and have a greater chance of being involved in accidents. This is why drivers under the age of 25 will have higher car insurance premiums than those over the age of 25. Having a driver under the age of 25 covered under a parent’s insurance coverage may result in slightly higher premiums for the parent, but it is often cheaper in the long run than that driver having their own coverage.

Older drivers may also have to deal with higher insurance premiums. Car insurance companies may charge higher car insurance premiums to drivers over the age of 50 due to concerns that those drivers represent a greater risk. This is due to some older drivers being involved in accidents with greater frequency than other age groups because of deteriorating health, mental alertness and failing eyesight. These factors often prompt car insurance companies to raise premiums at either age 50 or age 65, depending on the company. That said, a cheap car insurance broker may have the lowest rates of all car insurance companies, but those rates may still be above average compared to other age groups.

Gender is also another important factor in deciding insurance premiums. Male drivers are often considered a higher risk because they tend to be more aggressive drivers, according to various studies. Females and married men are more likely to see lower insurance premiums. Drivers can receive discounts for a clean driving record, insuring multiple cars and affiliation with certain groups. Drivers who have taken defensive driving courses are often eligible for discounts, while those who have anti-theft devices installed on their cars are also eligible, with some companies providing extra discounts for added security items such as VIN number window etching.

In the end, the important thing to do when looking for a cheap car insurance broker is to simply ask questions. Questions such as what automobile insurance companies they use and how much experience they have in the business can go a long way in deciding which broker to use. While all brokers may seem the same, a good cheap car insurance broker can make his or herself stand out from the rest.

Getting Quotes and Buying a Policy Online

Car insurance is confusing, especially when you're having to worry about a bunch of terms and policies that you don't understand. Though there are a variety of benefits to shopping online, but often they are hard to see because of the confusion. Due to the current bleakness of our economy, many motorists have been tempted to bypass purchasing car insurance all together.
However, the cost of your potential legal ramifications can easily surpass the few hundreds of dollars you may save right now. To be smart, you need to look for cheaper options, not the elimination of options entirely. The use of online quotes can help you do just that.

Since people must have car insurance, many motorists are anxious about the premiums they are being charged. High risk drivers are shouldering the higher end of expensive premiums due to their past mistakes. Even new drivers, due to a lack of experience, are being overcharged. There are discounts available to most motorists, and insurance companies can provide installment plans to ease the burden of paying for your policy.

How do you know which insurance provider to purchase from? The hallmarks of a worthy company include its reputation, its financial stability, and its pricing. Even if you find a company that you think meets all of these criteria, how can you know for certain that it is the best one?

Your best option to seek answers to your questions and concerns is to get an automobile insurance quote online. By answering a brief questionnaire about your vital statistics and coverage needs, you will be provided with multiple rates from different insurance providers on the policy you are interested in. The process is simple and quick, and it can be performed at no charge to you. You can research as many or as few companies as you like. The more companies you are able to select from, the better your chances will be of finding the one that suits your needs.

US Life Insurance Top Companies

Here is a list of U.S. life Insurance Companies which most recently have been coming out on top consistenly.
Feel free to Click "Life Insurance - US Top Companies" link in the Label.
And please to contact each company directly if you have specific plan or product questions.
But please note that almost all companies sell only through agents. If you contact a company to purchase coverage, they will not sell it to you. Rather, they will direct you to one of their agents.

And one more thing, I have no affiliation with the companies profiled in on this site,
and those companies do not necessarily endorse these profiles. All content is provided for informational and educational purposes only.

American General Life Insurance Company
Sunday, April 13, 2008 2:30 PM

American United Ratings
A.M. Best: A
Fitch : AA-
Standard and Poor's: AA-

American General Life Insurance Company
P.O. Box 1591
Houston, TX 77251
(800) 231-3655
Website : www.aigag.com


Banner Life Insurance Company
Sunday, April 13, 2008 2:30 PM

Banner Life Ratings
A.M. Best: A+
Standard & Poor's: AA

Banner Life Insurance Company
1701 Research Blvd.
Rockville, MD 20850
(800) 638-8428
Website : www.lgamerica.com


Cincinnati Life Insurance Company
Sunday, April 13, 2008 2:30 PM

Cincinnati Life Ratings
A.M. Best: A+
Fitch: AA
Standard & Poor's: AA-

Cincinnati Life Insurance Company
6200 South Gilmore Road
Fairfield, OH 45014
(513) 870-2000
Website : www.cinfin.com


Empire General Life Assurance Corporation
Sunday, April 13, 2008 2:30 PM

Empire General Ratings
A.M. Best: A+
Standard and Poor's: AA
Fitch: AA-

Empire General Life Assurance Corporation
P.O. Box 11266
Birmingham, AL 35202
(800) 327-1303
Website : www.empiregeneral.com


First Colony Life Insurance Company
Sunday, April 13, 2008 2:30 PM

First Colony ratings
A.M. Best: A+
Standard and Poor's: AA-
Moody's: Aa3

First Colony Life Insurance Company
700 Main St.
Lynchburg, VA 24505
(888) 325-5433
Website : www.firstcolonylife.com

Genworth Life Insurance Company
Sunday, April 13, 2008 2:30 PM

Genworth Financial Ratings
A.M. Best: A+
Standard and Poor's: AA-
Moody's: Aa3

Genworth Life Insurance Company
700 Main St.
Lynchburg, VA 24505
(888) 325-5433
Website : www.genworth.com


Lincoln National Life Insurance Company
Sunday, April 13, 2008 2:30 PM

Financial Ratings for Lincoln National Life
A.M. Best: A+
Standard and Poor's: AA-
Moody's: Aa3
Fitch: AA

Lincoln National Life Insurance Company
1300 South Clinton Street
Fort Wayne, IN 46801
(800) 444-2363
Website : www.lfg.com

Midland National Life Insurance Company
Sunday, April 13, 2008 2:30 PM

Financial Ratings for Midland National Life
A.M. Best: A+
Standard and Poor's: AA
Weiss: A-

Midland National Life Insurance Company
1 Midland Plaza
Sioux Falls, SD 57193
(605) 335-5700
Website : www.mnlife.com

Ohio National Life Assurance Corporation
Sunday, April 13, 2008 2:30 PM

Financial ratings for Ohio National Financial
A.M. Best: A+
Fitch: A
Moody's: A1
Standard and Poor's: AA

Ohio National Life Assurance Corporation
P.O. Box 237
Cincinnati, OH 45201
(800) 366-6654
Website : www.ohionatl.com

Protective Life Insurance Company
Sunday, April 13, 2008 2:30 PM

Financial ratings for Protective Life Insurance
A.M. Best: A+
Fitc: AA-
Standard and Poor's: AA
Moody's: Aa3

Protective Life Insurance Company
P.O. Box 2606
Birmingham, AL 35202
(800) 866-3555
Website : www.protective.com


Pruco Life Insurance Company
Sunday, April 13, 2008 2:30 PM

Financial ratings for Pruco Life
A.M. Best: A+
Fitch: AA-
Moody's: Aa3
Standard and Poor's: AA-

Pruco Life Insurance Company
213 Washington St.
Newark, NJ 07102
(800) 778-2255
Website : www.prudential.co

ReliaStar Life Insurance Company
Sunday, April 13, 2008 2:30 PM

Financial ratings for Reliastar
A.M. Best: A+
Fitch: AA
Moody's: Aa3
Standard and Poor's: AA

ReliaStar Life Insurance Company
20 Washington Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55401
(877) 886-5050
Website : www.ing-usa.com

USAA Life Insurance Company
Sunday, April 13, 2008 2:30 PM

Financial ratings for USAA Life
A.M. Best: A++
Moody's: Aa1
Standard and Poor's: AAA

USAA Life Insurance Company
P.O. Box 659464
San Antonio, TX 78265
(800) 365-8722
Website : www.usaa.com

Auto Insurance

There are more cars than ever on the roads today. This means more accidents and generally higher car insurance costs. What can you do about locating cheap car insurance?

Millions more cars are added to what is essentially the same road system every year. More cars on the same roads mean more accidents and higher car insurance costs. How can you find cheap car insurance in the face of overall increasing costs?

Actually, there are many ways to improve your insurance rates. Some areas you can change anytime you like, while others may require some time.

Start by being a good driver. Studies have shown that, even if you never had an accident, if you have had many tickets, you are much more likely to have an accident in the future than those without tickets. If you have already received more than a few tickets, you cannot do much about it immediately. However, start driving more carefully now and those tickets will "fall off the radar" in a few years.

If you simply must have that fast or very expensive car, that is a personal decision. However, you should know that it will cause higher car insurance premium rates.

If your driving profile has changed, you may be eligible for discounts and do not even know it. If you have moved and your car is now garage parked rather than parked on the street, you should point it out to your agent. If you now commute to work by train versus by car previously, you will again qualify for a rate reduction. Sometimes you may qualify by doing nothing. Insurance companies from time-to-time re-rate the risk factors associated with a given zip code and your rate could go down. Check with your agent.

Be sure you shop around at renewal time. Insurance companies are counting on you to simply sign up again. However, insurance companies do change their priorities from time-to-time. Similarly, your personal situation may have changed as well. You should take the time to review your policy against your current needs.

Then, look into several other car insurance companies for quotes. It's easier than ever these days to locate cheap car insurance. The internet provides convenience that did not used to exist. Before, you had to sit through a question and answer session with an agent that was intent on signing you up on the spot. Today, you can get many quotes from the internet faster you once got just one. There are even online sites that will take your information once and return to you with multiple comparative quotes.

cheap life insurance quotes

Cheap life insurance quotes: Those who are paid much less where those zero waste their hard-earned money. The following should help you in your search for better rates ...

1. Some insurers are willing to reduce your premium if you establish a history of reducing your cholesterol. Therefore, take steps in that direction if you are paying very high rates because of your cholesterol. If your insurer does not give you concessions so check with another insurer. Some insurance companies seem to understand certain conditions better than others and are willing to reward those who take steps to reduce their risk factor.

2. If you take part in high risk or extreme sports, you will attract the rate of life insurance. So you leave these dangerous sports if you're looking for lower life insurance rates.

3. Believe it or not, your driving culture can affect your life insurance rates negatively. Speeding tickets and other traffic offenses may actually increase your life insurance premium. The reason is that you make a greater risk to your insurer.
Improving your driving history and the development of a culture of good driving rates lower your life insurance. Sports cars and super bikes will increase your premium because you are a bad risk. It is because they are more easily cause the death of policyholders because of their higher risk of accidents.

4. Get riders where they make sense and save considerably. In case you do not know what is a rider, this is an extension to a policy that allows you to get more coverage than you normally this policy. But also note that some riders not worth the paper they are written on. May you be much better with a brand new policy is a number of cases. So do your best to educate you on this issue and you'll be better prepared to take the right decision for you.

5. Obtain and compare quotes from the reputation of sites. Visit a minimum of five of such for the best results. It's free, quick and easy. You can get prices that will have a range of more than $ 2,000. You can easily save both something with the lowest life insurance quote. And, you know that, because the likelihood of life insurance lower price is proportional to the number of prizes you get, the more companies you get estimates from, the better your chances.

Book Review: S.P.E.E.D.

This book was sent to me by Matt Schoeneberger, who co-authored it with Jeff Thiboutot. Both have master's degrees in exercise science and health promotion. S.P.E.E.D. stands for Sleep, Psychology, Exercise, Environment and Diet. The authors have attempted to create a concise, comprehensive weight loss strategy based on what they feel is the most compelling scientific evidence available. It's subtitled "The Only Weight Loss Book Worth Reading". Despite the subtitle that's impossible to live up to, it was an interesting and well-researched book. It was a very fast read at 205 large-print pages including 32 pages of appendices and index.

I really appreciate the abundant in-text references the authors provided. I have a hard time taking a health and nutrition book seriously that doesn't provide any basis to evaluate its statements. There are already way too many people flapping their lips out there, without providing any outside support for their statements, for me to tolerate that sort of thing. Even well-referenced books can be a pain if the references aren't in the text itself. Schoeneberger and Thiboutot provided appropriate, accessible references for nearly every major statement in the book.

Chapter one, "What is a Healthy Weight", discusses the evidence for an association between body weight and health. They note that both underweight and obesity are associated with poor health outcomes, whereas moderate overweight isn't. While I agree, I continue to maintain that being fairly lean and appropriately muscled (which doesn't necessarily mean muscular) is probably optimal. The reason that people with a body mass index (BMI) considered to be "ideal" aren't healthier on average than people who are moderately overweight may have to do with the fact that many people with an "ideal" BMI are skinny-fat, i.e. have low muscle mass and too much abdominal fat.

Chapter 2, "Sleep", discusses the importance of sleep in weight regulation and overall health. They reference some good studies and I think they make a compelling case that it's important. Chapter 3, "Psychology", details psychological strategies to motivate and plan for effective weight loss.

Chapter 4, "Exercise", provides an exercise plan for weight loss. The main message: do it! I think they give a fair overview of the different categories of exercise and their relative merits, including high-intensity intermittent training (HIIT). However, the exercise regimen they suggest is intense and will probably lead to overtraining in many people. They recommend resistance training major, multi-joint exercises, 1-3 sets to muscular failure 2-4 days a week. I've been at the higher end of that recommendation and it made my joints hurt, plus I was weaker than when I strength trained less frequently. I think the lower end of their recommendation, 1 set of each exercise to failure twice a week, is more than sufficient to meet the goal of maximizing improvements in body composition in most people. My current routine is one brief strength training session and one sprint session per week (in addition to my leisurely cycle commute), which works well for me on a cost-benefit level. However, I was stronger when I was strength training twice a week and never going to muscular failure (a la Pavel Tsatsouline).

Chapter 5, "Environment", is an interesting discussion of different factors that promote excessive calorie intake, such as the setting of the meal, the company or lack thereof, and food presentation. While they support their statements very well with evidence from scientific studies, I do have a lingering doubt about these types of studies: as far as I know, they're all based on short-term interventions. Science would be a lot easier if short-term always translated to long term, but unfortunately that's not the case. For example, studies lasting one or two weeks show that low glycemic index foods cause a reduction in calorie intake and greater feelings of fullness. However, this effect disappears in the long term, and numerous controlled trials show that low glycemic index diets have no effect on food intake, body weight or insulin sensitivity in the long term. I reviewed those studies here.

The body has homeostatic mechanisms (homeostatic = maintains the status quo) that regulate long-term energy balance. Whether short-term changes in calorie intake based on environmental cues would translate into sustained changes that would have a significant impact on body fat, I don't know. For example, if you eat a meal with your extended family at a restaurant that serves massive portions, you might eat twice as much as you would by yourself in your own home. But the question is, will your body factor that huge meal into your subsequent calorie intake and energy expenditure over the following days? The answer is clearly yes, but the degree of compensation is unclear. Since I'm not aware of any trials indicating that changing meal context can actually lead to long-term weight loss, I can't put much faith in this strategy (if you know otherwise, please link to the study in the comments).

Chapter 6, "Diet", is a very brief discussion of what to eat for weight loss. They basically recommend a low-calorie, low-carb diet focused on whole, natural foods. I think low-carbohydrate diets can be useful for some overweight people trying to lose weight, if for no other reason than the fact that they make it easier to control appetite. In addition, a subset of people respond very well to carbohydrate restriction in terms of body composition, health and well-being. The authors emphasize nutrient density, but don't really explain how to achieve it. It would have been nice to see a discussion of a few topics such as organ meats, leafy greens, dairy quality (pastured vs. conventional) and vitamin D. These may not help you lose weight, but they will help keep you healthy, particularly on a calorie-restricted diet. The authors also recommend a few energy bars, powders and supplements that I don't support. They state that they have no financial connection to the manufacturers of the products they recommend.

I'm wary of their recommendation to deliberately restrict calorie intake. Although it will clearly cause fat loss if you restrict calories enough, it's been shown to be ineffective for sustainable, long-term fat loss over and over again. The only exception is the rare person with an iron will who is able to withstand misery indefinitely. I'm going to keep an open mind on this question though. There may be a place for deliberate calorie restriction in the right context. But at this point I'm going to require some pretty solid evidence that it's effective, sustainable, and doesn't have unacceptable side effects.

The book contains a nice bonus, an appendix titled "What is Quality Evidence"? It's a brief discussion of common logical pitfalls when evaluating evidence, and I think many people could benefit from reading it.

Overall, S.P.E.E.D. was a worthwhile read, definitely superior to 95% of fat loss books. With some caveats mentioned above, I think it could be a useful resource for someone interested in fat loss.

Auto Insurance for Financed Vehicles

What kinds of car insurance are you required to maintain for a financed vehicle? Is it the same as it would be for a vehicle with no balance on it? While most states require only a specific monetary minimum of liability insurance for vehicles as a whole, if you have a financed vehicle, your requirements will be slightly different. As a condition of financing a vehicle, a lending company will usually require that you acquire physical damage coverage for the car in question. The car is considered to be the financing company's collateral in the loan.
The lending company wishes to dodge, at all costs, a scenario in which the financed car is damaged or stolen and is not recovered or repaired. Such a scenario can lead to a motorist defaulting on their payments for the vehicle or the lending company losing its collateral in the loan. They put protection requirements on those vehicles as a way to protect themselves from such events.

If you own a vehicle with an outstanding balance on it, you will be required to have collision insurance in addition to liability insurance. Essentially, collision coverage provides for the repair of your car if it is damaged in an accident. The monetary amount that an insurance company will provide for the cost of repairing your car will not exceed the current market value for the vehicle. However, if the car is damaged beyond repair, the insurance company will elect to "total" the vehicle. In this case, the insurance company will pay you the amount of the value of the vehicle.

Collision insurance combined with comprehensive insurance is sometimes known as "full coverage". Comprehensive insurance is an optional form of coverage that will pay for the cost of damage repairs that your car may incur due to crime or an act of nature. The value of full coverage is based upon a car's replacement value, among other factors. How often a car may be victimized by a crime or the driver's personal statistics and driver's license record will affect how much is paid in premiums for these types of coverage.

Collision insurance and comprehensive insurance both have a deductible. A deductible is the amount of money you are required to pay upfront in order for repair work to commence on your car. The insurance company will cover the remainder of the balance according to the terms in your policy. The higher of a deductible you select when choosing your coverage will result in lower premiums accordingly. If you opt to choose a high deductible, make certain that it is an amount of money you will have readily available should you need it.

You must maintain collision insurance on a financed vehicle. Besides being required by law, if you do not maintain this coverage yourself, the lending company may add it for you. This can result in astronomical rates on the loan, and the policy that the lending company might add for you may not be in compliance with the other forms of coverage your state may require. Therefore, in addition to the lending company enforced policy, you will have to purchase another policy in order to be able drive legally. If you find yourself in this situation, you may be able to purchase a policy with collision insurance on it. If you provide the lending company with proof of coverage, they may remove their policy and free you of the high rates.

phil heath Kai Greene Branch Warren after the 2009 Mr Olympia video phil heath met rx

phil heath



video of phil heath Kai Greene and Branch Warren after the 2009 Mr Olympia, phil heath was unlucky at the 2009 mr olympia due to some illness going into the mr olympia bodybuilding contest.

but aspect to see phil heath pushing for the 2010 mr olympia title and in much better condition then the 2009 mr olympia contest.

phil heath is wearing a met rx t-shirt in the video not sure if phil heath is still sponsored by met rx or not now.

Magnesium and Insulin Sensitivity

From a paper based on US NHANES nutrition and health survey data (1):

During 1999–2000, the diet of a large proportion of the U.S. population did not contain adequate magnesium... Furthermore, racial or ethnic differences in magnesium persist and may contribute to some health disparities.... Because magnesium intake is low among many people in the United States and inadequate magnesium status is associated with increased risk of acute and chronic conditions, an urgent need exists to perform a current survey to assess the physiologic status of magnesium in the U.S. population.

Magnesium is an essential mineral that's slowly disappearing from the modern diet, as industrial agriculture and industrial food processing increasingly dominate our food choices. One of the many things it's necessary for in mammals is proper insulin sensitivity and glucose control. A loss of glucose control due to insulin resistance can eventually lead to diabetes and all its complications.

Magnesium status is associated with insulin sensitivity (2, 3), and a low magnesium intake predicts the development of type II diabetes in most studies (4, 5) but not all (6). Magnesium supplements largely prevent diabetes in a rat model* (7). Interestingly, excess blood glucose and insulin themselves seem to reduce magnesium status, possibly creating a vicious cycle.

In a 1993 trial, a low-magnesium diet reduced insulin sensitivity in healthy volunteers by 25% in just four weeks (8). It also increased urinary thromboxane concentration, a potential concern for cardiovascular health**.

At least three trials have shown that magnesium supplementation increases insulin sensitivity in insulin-resistant diabetics and non-diabetics (9, 10, 11). In some cases, the results were remarkable. In type II diabetics, 16 weeks of magnesium supplementation improved fasting glucose, calculated insulin sensitivity and HbA1c*** (12). HbA1c dropped by 22 percent.

In insulin resistant volunteers with low blood magnesium, magnesium supplementation for four months reduced estimated insulin resistance by 43 percent and decreased fasting insulin by 32 percent (13). This suggests to me that magnesium deficiency was probably one of the main reasons they were insulin resistant in the first place. But the study had another very interesting finding: magnesium improved the subjects' blood lipid profile remarkably. Total cholesterol decreased, LDL decreased, HDL increased and triglycerides decreased by a whopping 39 percent. The same thing had been reported in the medical literature decades earlier when doctors used magnesium injections to treat heart disease, and also in animals treated with magnesium. Magnesium supplementation also suppresses atherosclerosis (thickening and hardening of the arteries) in animal models, a fact that I may discuss in more detail at some point (14, 15).

In the previous study, participants were given 2.5 g magnesium chloride (MgCl2) per day. That's a bit more than the USDA recommended daily allowance (MgCl2 is mostly chloride by weight), in addition to what they were already getting from their diet. Most of a person's magnesium is in their bones, so correcting a deficiency by eating a nutritious diet may take a while.

Speaking of nutritious diets, how does one get magnesium? Good sources include halibut, leafy greens, chocolate and nuts. Bone broths are also an excellent source of highly absorbable magnesium. Whole grains and beans are also fairly good sources, while refined grains lack most of the magnesium in the whole grain. Organic foods, particularly artisanally produced foods from a farmer's market, are richer in magnesium because they grow on better soil and often use older varieties that are more nutritious.

The problem with seeds such as grains, beans and nuts is that they also contain phytic acid which prevents the absorption of magnesium and other minerals (16). Healthy non-industrial societies that relied on grains took great care in their preparation: they soaked them, often fermented them, and also frequently removed a portion of the bran before cooking (17). These steps all served to reduce the level of phytic acid and other anti-nutrients. I've posted a method for effectively reducing the amount of phytic acid in brown rice (18). Beans should ideally be soaked for 24 hours before cooking, preferably in warm water.

Industrial agriculture has systematically depleted our soil of many minerals, due to high-yield crop varieties and the fact that synthetic fertilizers only replace a few minerals. The mineral content of foods in the US, including magnesium, has dropped sharply in the last 50 years. The reason we need to use fertilizers in the first place is that we've broken the natural nutrient cycle in which minerals always return to the soil in the same place they were removed. In 21st century America, minerals are removed from the soil, pass through our toilets, and end up in the landfill or in waste water. This will continue until we find an acceptable way to return human feces and urine to agricultural soil, as many cultures do to this day****.

I believe that an adequate magnesium intake is critical for proper insulin sensitivity and overall health.


* Zucker rats that lack leptin signaling

** Thromboxane A2 is an omega-6 derived eicosanoid that potently constricts blood vessels and promotes blood clotting. It's interesting that magnesium has such a strong effect on it. It indicates that fatty acid balance is not the only major influence on eicosanoid production.

*** Glycated hemoglobin. A measure of the average blood glucose level over the past few weeks.

**** Anyone interested in further reading on this should look up The Humanure Handbook

Lindeberg on Obesity

I'm currently reading Dr. Staffan Lindeberg's magnum opus Food and Western Disease, recently published in English for the first time. Dr. Lindeberg is one of the world's leading experts on the health and diet of non-industrial cultures, particularly in Papua New Guinea. The book contains 2,034 references. It's also full of quotable statements. Here's what he has to say about obesity:

Middle-age spread is a normal phenomenon - assuming you live in the West. Few people are able to maintain their [youthful] waistline after age 50. The usual explanation - too little exercise and too much food - does not fully take into account the situation among traditional populations. Such people are usually not as physically active as you may think, and they usually eat large quantities of food.

Overweight has been extremely rare among hunter-gatherers and other traditional cultures [18 references]. This simple fact has been quickly apparent to all foreign visitors...

The Kitava study measured height, weight, waist circumference, subcutaneous fat thickness at the back of the upper arm (triceps skinfold) and upper arm circumference on 272 persons ages 4-86 years. Overweight and obesity were absent and average [body mass index] was low across all age groups. ...no one was larger around their waist than around their hips.

...The circumference of the upper arm [mostly indicating muscle mass] was only negligibly smaller on Kitava [compared with Sweden], which indicates that there was no malnutrition. It is obvious from our investigations that lack of food is an unknown concept, and that the surplus of fruits and vegetables regularly rots or is eaten by dogs.

The Population of Kitava occupies a unique position in the world in terms of the negligible effect that the Western lifestyle has had on the island.

The only obese Kitavans Dr. Lindeberg observed were two people who had spent several years off the island living a modern, urban lifestyle, and were back on Kitava for a visit.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who has a scholarly interest in health and nutrition, and somewhat of a background in science and medicine. It's extremely well referenced, which makes it much more valuable.

Dissolve Away those Pesky Bones with Corn Oil

I just read an interesting paper from Gabriel Fernandes's group at the University of Texas. It's titled "High fat diet-induced animal model of age-associated obesity and osteoporosis". I was expecting this to be the usual "we fed mice industrial lard for 60% of calories and they got sick" paper, but I was pleasantly surprised. From the introduction:

CO [corn oil] is known to promote bone loss, obesity, impaired glucose tolerance, insulin resistance and thus represents a useful model for studying the early stages in the development of obesity, hyperglycemia, Type 2 diabetes [23] and osteoporosis. We have used omega-6 fatty acids enriched diet as a fat source which is commonly observed in today's Western diets basically responsible for the pathogenesis of many diseases [24].

Just 10% of the diet as corn oil (roughly 20% of calories), with no added omega-3, on top of an otherwise poor laboratory diet, caused:

• Obesity
• Osteoporosis
• The replacement of bone marrow with fat cells
  
• Diabetes
• Insulin resistance
  
• Generalized inflammation
• Elevated liver weight (possibly indicating fatty liver)
  

Hmm, some of these sound familiar... We can add them to the findings that omega-6 also promotes various types of cancer in rodents (1).

20% fat is less than the amount it typically takes to make a rodent this sick. This leads me to conclude that corn oil is particularly good at causing mouse versions of some of the most common facets of the "diseases of civilization". It's exceptionally high in omega-6 (linoleic acid) with virtually no omega-3.

Make sure to eat your heart-healthy corn oil! It's made in the USA, dirt cheap and it even lowers cholesterol!

How to Review Your Homeowners Insurance Renewal Statement

For most of us, our home is our single largest and most important investment. Many of us have poured thousands of dollars and countless hours into maintaining, improving and (hopefully) paying off our homes. Many people own their homes free of any mortgage. These assets are pure equity. Certainly its worthwhile to invest 15 minutes a year to be sure it's properly insured.

Thankfully, the insurance company offers you a perfect reminder and opportunity in sending out your annual renewal statement. Even if your insurance is paid by your mortgage company as part of your impound account, the insurance company still mails you a statement of renewal every year to update you with your current coverage limits and deductible.

Here's a few important steps you can take to be sure that HOME SWEET HOME is properly protected.

1. Check the basics. Check your name, address and any other description of the insured property. Make sure there's been no change of vesting or ownership that needs to be updated. Check your address to be sure no numbers are transposed.

2. Check the mortgagee clause. Here's where you can be sure that the current mortagee on your home is listed correctly. Check the lender, address and your loan number. Be sure there's no old information there. Maybe you had a HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit) or a second mortgage that no longer applies. Be sure to get them removed.

HEADS UP: Whenever you have a significant claim, the mortgage company will be one of the payees on your claim settlement check. Just that alone can be an inconvenience. But it becomes a major hassle when one of the institutions listed no longer has a vested interest in your home. The insurance company is bound by contract to include the mortgage company on all settlement checks beyond a stated threshold.

*3. Check the coverage on your home (dwelling or building). This is without question the single most important coverage to examine, consider and adjust whenever necessary. Having been an agent during the two raging firestorms in San Diego, CA in this decade, I can tell you that underinsured homes are just NO FUN! Two of my clients lost their homes in the 2003 fires and fortunately they were both adequately insured. (we call all our homeowner clients once a year to review their coverages and suggest improvements and adjustments) But I can tell you that there were literally hundreds of people in the area that were not so fortunate. Many were underinsured by over $100,000! Contractors were giving rebuilding bids on homes for $400,000 with insurance policies with limits less than $300,000. See if that doesn't tweak your financial well-being just a little. Here's the solution.

Get an accurate rendering of the square footage of your home. Check county records, take a look at zillow.com, call your favorite Realtor, or get a tape measure and do your thing. Usually you don't include the garage in this calculation. Once you get your square footage, then you need to determine the building cost per square foot in your area for a home like yours. Call a local contractor for a quick estimate or you can call your insurance agent. Average costs in San Diego run about $200 per square foot. With that, a 2000 square foot would take about $400,000 to rebuild. Custom homes can be significantlly more. For a more complete discussion of this, check out: How Much Homeowners Insurance Do You REALLY Need?

Your contents coverage is usually 75% of the amount you have on your home. For example, if you have $400,000 on your home, you'll have an additional $300,000 to cover your personal property (furniture, clothing, dishes, TV, collections, shoes, tools, etc) Usually this is enough, but think through it anyway. If you have antiques, art, collections of any kind then you may need more. Ask your agent for help if you need to.

4. Look at your Personal Liability Coverage. This is the coverage you need when you get sued. Little Johnny runs across your front yard and trips on one of your sprinklers and ruins his chances to become America's Next Top Model and his parents sue your for $250,000. Make sure you don't scrimp here. It's not too expensive to get $500,000 or even $1 Million of liability coverage. If you have $100,000 or less, you could be setting yourself up for a mess just waiting to happen. Put a really big checkbook between your assets and someone who sees an injury as a lifetime paycheck. You might even consider a Liability Umbrella.

5. Check your 'special limits'. This is a REALLY BROAD subject that I just can't do justice to here in this post. Simply stated, there's limits on many things such as cash, computers, cameras, jewelry, furs, goldware, silverware, tools, etc. Call your company and ask for a review. You can increase many of these limits for just a few dollars a year. Sometimes the available increase isn't enough. That's the perfect time to consider a Personal Articles Floater (or it's called many different names) It's a policy that's designed to place stated amounts of coverage on many items from jewelry, business tools, iPods, hearing aids, cameras, musical instruments and on and on. If you have more than 'the average Joe' of ANYTHING, then check this out FOR SURE!

6. Check your deductible! This can be a tremendous cost-control tool in your insurance spending. Simply stated: The larger your deductible, the greater your savings. Usually you can save close to $100 per year just by going from a $500 deductible to $1000. Pick the largest number you can stand without losing sleep at night and ask your agent or company the savings you'd realize by changing. If you have a $250 or smaller deductible, it's definitely time to change it UP! Keep in mind that you usually hit a point of 'diminishing returns' once you get to $4000 or more. This means that you'll save less and less for each additional $1000 you choose. It might make sense to go from $1000 to $2000 if you save $85 a year by doing so, but not from $5000 to $6000 if you only save another $21 by making that jump.

Monitoring your insurance costs and coverages can result in a lot of savings AND peace of mind. Be sure you keep notes and file your thoughts and changes from year to year. These recoreds will make your annual call quicker and easier each year.

Feel free to contact me anytime if you have questions.

Till next time...

It's a Good Life !

Dennis Volz Insurance Agency
10783 Jamacha Bl, Suite 1, Spring Valley, CA 91978
OFFICE: (619) 670-1000 - FAX: (619) 670-1121

eMail:Dennis@DennisVolzInsurance.com

Websites: Company Site: DennisVolzInsurance.com

Client Convenience Site: 6701000.com

My 'Other Blogs'
Working by Referral
Musings from California

Thank You

I'd like to extend my sincere thanks to everyone who has supported me through donations this year. The money has allowed me to buy materials that I wouldn't otherwise have been able to afford, and I feel it has enriched the blog for everyone. Here are some of the books I've bought using donations. Some were quite expensive:

Food and western disease: health and nutrition from an evolutionary perspective. Staffan Lindeberg (just released!!)

Nutrition and disease. Edward Mellanby

Migration and health in a small society: the case of Tokelau. Edited by Albert F. Wessen

The saccharine disease. T. L. Cleave

Culture, ecology and dental anthropology. John R. Lukacs

Vitamin K in health and disease. John W. Suttie

Craniofacial development. Geoffrey H. Sperber

Western diseases: their emergence and prevention. Hugh C. Trowell and Denis P. Burkitt

The ultimate omega-3 diet. Evelyn Tribole

Our changing fare. John Yudkin and colleagues


Donations have also paid for many, many photocopies at the medical library. I'd also like to thank everyone who participates in the community by leaving comments, or by linking to my posts. I appreciate your encouragement, and also the learning opportunities.

The Body Fat Setpoint, Part IV: Changing the Setpoint

Prevention is Easier than Cure

Experiments in animals have confirmed what common sense suggests: it's easier to prevent health problems than to reverse them. Still, many health conditions can be improved, and in some cases reversed, through lifestyle interventions. It's important to have realistic expectations and to be kind to oneself. Cultivating a drill sergeant mentality will not improve quality of life, and isn't likely to be sustainable.

Fat Loss: a New Approach

If there's one thing that's consistent in the medical literature, it's that telling people to eat fewer calories does not help them lose weight in the long term. Gary Taubes has written about this at length in his book Good Calories, Bad Calories, and in his upcoming book on body fat. Many people who use this strategy see transient fat loss, followed by fat regain and a feeling of defeat. There's a simple reason for it: the body doesn't want to lose weight. It's extremely difficult to fight the fat mass setpoint, and the body will use every tool it has to maintain its preferred level of fat: hunger, reduced body temperature, higher muscle efficiency (i.e., less energy is expended for the same movement), lethargy, lowered immune function, et cetera.

Therefore, what we need for sustainable fat loss is not starvation; we need a treatment that lowers the fat mass setpoint. There are several criteria that this treatment will have to meet to qualify:

1. It must cause fat loss
2. It must not involve deliberate calorie restriction
3. It must maintain fat loss over a long period of time
4. It must not be harmful to overall health
   

I also prefer strategies that make sense from the perspective of human evolution.

Strategies: Diet Pattern

The most obvious treatment that fits all of my criteria is low-carbohydrate dieting. Overweight people eating low-carbohydrate diets generally lose fat and spontaneously reduce their calorie intake. In fact, in several diet studies, investigators compared an all-you-can-eat low-carbohydrate diet with a calorie-restricted low-fat diet. The low-carbohydrate dieters generally reduced their calorie intake and body fat to a similar or greater degree than the low-fat dieters, despite the fact that they ate all the calories they wanted (1). This suggest that their fat mass setpoint had changed. At this point, I think moderate carbohydrate restriction may be preferable to strict carbohydrate restriction for some people, due to the increasing number of reports I've read of people doing poorly in the long run on extremely low-carbohydrate diets (2).

Another strategy that appears effective is the "paleolithic" diet. In Dr. Staffan Lindeberg's 2007 diet study, overweight volunteers with heart disease lost fat and reduced their calorie intake to a remarkable degree while eating a diet consistent with our hunter-gatherer heritage (3). This result is consistent with another diet trial of the paleolithic diet in diabetics (4). In post hoc analysis, Dr. Lindeberg's group showed that the reduction in weight was apparently independent of changes in carbohydrate intake*. This suggests that the paleolithic diet has health benefits that are independent of carbohydrate intake.

Strategies: Gastrointestinal Health

Since the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is so intimately involved in body fat metabolism and overall health (see the former post), the next strategy is to improve GI health. There are a number of ways to do this, but they all center around four things:

1. Don't eat food that encourages the growth of harmful bacteria
2. Eat food that encourages the growth of good bacteria
3. Don't eat food that impairs gut barrier function
4. Eat food that promotes gut barrier health

The first one is pretty easy: avoid refined sugar, refined carbohydrate in general, and lactose if you're lactose intolerant. For the second and fourth points, make sure to eat fermentable fiber. In one trial, oligofructose supplements led to sustained fat loss, without any other changes in diet (5). This is consistent with experiments in rodents showing improvements in gut bacteria profile, gut barrier health, glucose tolerance and body fat mass with oligofructose supplementation (6, 7, 8).

Oligofructose is similar to inulin, a fiber that occurs naturally in a wide variety of plants. Good sources are jerusalem artichokes, jicama, artichokes, onions, leeks, burdock and chicory root. Certain non-industrial cultures had a high intake of inulin. There are some caveats to inulin, however: inulin and oligofructose can cause gas, and can also exacerbate gastroesophageal reflux disorder (9). So don't eat a big plate of jerusalem artichokes before that important date.

The colon is packed with symbiotic bacteria, and is the site of most intestinal fermentation. The small intestine contains fewer bacteria, but gut barrier function there is critical as well. The small intestine is where the GI doctor will take a biopsy to look for celiac disease. Celiac disease is a degeneration of the small intestinal lining due to an autoimmune reaction caused by gluten (in wheat, barley and rye). This brings us to one of the most important elements of maintaining gut barrier health: avoiding food sensitivities. Gluten and casein (in dairy protein) are the two most common offenders. Gluten sensitivity is widespread and typically undiagnosed (10).

Eating raw fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, yogurt and half-sour pickles also helps maintain the integrity of the upper GI tract. I doubt these have any effect on the colon, given the huge number of bacteria already present. Other important factors in gut barrier health are keeping the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats in balance, eating nutrient-dense food, and avoiding the questionable chemical additives in processed food. If triglycerides are important for leptin sensitivity, then avoiding sugar and ensuring a regular source of omega-3 should aid weight loss as well.

Strategies: Micronutrients

As I discussed in the last post, micronutrient deficiency probably plays a role in obesity, both in ways that we understand and ways that we (or I) don't. Eating a diet that has a high nutrient density and ensuring a good vitamin D status will help any sustainable fat loss strategy. The easiest way to do this is to eliminate industrially processed foods such as white flour, sugar and seed oils. These constitute more than 50% of calories for the average Westerner.

After that, you can further increase your diet's nutrient density by learning to properly prepare grains and legumes to maximize their nutritional value and digestibility (11, 12; or by avoiding grains and legumes altogether if you wish), selecting organic and/or pasture-raised foods if possible, and eating seafood including seaweed. One of the problems with extremely low-carbohydrate diets is that they may be low in water-soluble micronutrients, although this isn't necessarily the case.

Strategies: Miscellaneous

In general, exercise isn't necessarily helpful for fat loss. However, there is one type of exercise that clearly is: high-intensity intermittent training (HIIT). It's basically a fancy name for sprints. They can be done on a track, on a stationary bicycle, using weight training circuits, or any other way that allows sufficient intensity. The key is to achieve maximal exertion for several brief periods, separated by rest. This type of exercise is not about burning calories through exertion: it's about increasing hormone sensitivity using an intense, brief stressor (hormesis). Even a ridiculously short period of time spent training HIIT each week can result in significant fat loss, despite no change in diet or calorie intake (13).

Anecdotally, many people have had success using intermittent fasting (IF) for fat loss. There's some evidence in the scientific literature that IF and related approaches may be helpful (14). There are different approaches to IF, but a common and effective method is to do two complete 24-hour fasts per week. It's important to note that IF isn't about restricting calories, it's about resetting the fat mass setpoint. After a fast, allow yourself to eat quality food until you're no longer hungry.

Insufficient sleep has been strongly and repeatedly linked to obesity. Whether it's a cause or consequence of obesity I can't say for sure, but in any case it's important for health to sleep until you feel rested. If your sleep quality is poor due to psychological stress, meditating before bedtime may help. I find that meditation has a remarkable effect on my sleep quality. Due to the poor development of oral and nasal structures in industrial nations, many people do not breathe effectively and may suffer from conditions such as sleep apnea that reduce sleep quality. Overweight also contributes to these problems.

I'm sure there are other useful strategies, but that's all I have for now. If you have something to add, please put it in the comments.


* Since reducing carbohydrate intake wasn't part of the intervention, this result is observational.

The Body Fat Setpoint, Part III: Dietary Causes of Obesity

What Caused the Setpoint to Change?

We have two criteria to narrow our search for the cause of modern fat gain:

1. It has to be new to the human environment
   
2. It has to cause leptin resistance or otherwise disturb the setpoint
   

Although I believe that exercise is part of a healthy lifestyle, it probably can't explain the increase in fat mass in modern nations. I've written about that here and here. There are various other possible explanations, such as industrial pollutants, a lack of sleep and psychological stress, which may play a role. But I feel that diet is likely to be the primary cause. When you're drinking 20 oz Cokes, bisphenol-A contamination is the least of your worries.

In the last post, I described two mechanisms that may contribute to elevating the body fat set point by causing leptin resistance: inflammation in the hypothalamus, and impaired leptin transport into the brain due to elevated triglycerides. After more reading and discussing it with my mentor, I've decided that the triglyceride hypothesis is on shaky ground*. Nevertheless, it is consistent with certain observations:

• Fibrate drugs that lower triglycerides can lower fat mass in rodents and humans
  
• Low-carbohydrate diets are effective for fat loss and lower triglycerides
• Fructose can cause leptin resistance in rodents and it elevates triglycerides (1)
• Fish oil reduces triglycerides. Some but not all studies have shown that fish oil aids fat loss (2)
  

Inflammation in the hypothalamus, with accompanying resistance to leptin signaling, has been reported in a number of animal studies of diet-induced obesity. I feel it's likely to occur in humans as well, although the dietary causes are probably different for humans. The hypothalamus is the primary site where leptin acts to regulate fat mass (3). Importantly, preventing inflammation in the brain prevents leptin resistance and obesity in diet-induced obese mice (3.1). The hypothalamus is likely to be the most important site of action. Research is underway on this.

The Role of Digestive Health

What causes inflammation in the hypothalamus? One of the most interesting hypotheses is that increased intestinal permeability allows inflammatory substances to cross into the circulation from the gut, irritating a number of tissues including the hypothalamus.

Dr. Remy Burcelin and his group have spearheaded this research. They've shown that high-fat diets cause obesity in mice, and that they also increase the level of an inflammatory substance called lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the blood. LPS is produced by gram-negative bacteria in the gut and is one of the main factors that activates the immune system during an infection. Antibiotics that kill gram-negative bacteria in the gut prevent the negative consequences of high-fat feeding in mice.

Burcelin's group showed that infusing LPS into mice on a low-fat chow diet causes them to become obese and insulin resistant just like high-fat fed mice (4). Furthermore, adding 10% of the soluble fiber oligofructose to the high-fat diet prevented the increase in intestinal permeability and also largely prevented the body fat gain and insulin resistance from high-fat feeding (5). Oligofructose is food for friendly gut bacteria and ends up being converted to butyrate and other short-chain fatty acids in the colon. This results in lower intestinal permeability to toxins such as LPS. This is particularly interesting because oligofructose supplements cause fat loss in humans (6).

A recent study showed that blood LPS levels are correlated with body fat, elevated cholesterol and triglycerides, and insulin resistance in humans (7). However, a separate study didn't come to the same conclusion (8). The discrepancy may be due to the fact that LPS isn't the only inflammatory substance to cross the gut lining-- other substances may also be involved. Anything in the blood that shouldn't be there is potentially inflammatory.

Overall, I think gut dysfunction probably plays a major role in obesity and other modern metabolic problems. Insufficient dietary fiber, micronutrient deficiencies, excessive gut irritating substances such as gluten, abnormal bacterial growth due to refined carbohydrates (particularly sugar), and omega-6:3 imbalance may all contribute to abnormal gut bacteria and increased gut permeability.

The Role of Fatty Acids and Micronutrients

Any time a disease involves inflammation, the first thing that comes to my mind is the balance between omega-6 and omega-3 fats. The modern Western diet is heavily weighted toward omega-6, which are the precursors to some very inflammatory substances (as well as a few that are anti-inflammatory). These substances are essential for health in the correct amounts, but they need to be balanced with omega-3 to prevent excessive and uncontrolled inflammatory responses. Animal models have repeatedly shown that omega-3 deficiency contributes to the fat gain and insulin resistance they develop when fed high-fat diets (9, 10, 11).

As a matter of fact, most of the papers claiming "saturated fat causes this or that in rodents" are actually studying omega-3 deficiency. The "saturated fats" that are typically used in high-fat rodent diets are refined fats from conventionally raised animals, which are very low in omega-3. If you add a bit of omega-3 to these diets, suddenly they don't cause the same metabolic problems, and are generally superior to refined seed oils, even in rodents (12, 13).

I believe that micronutrient deficiency also plays a role. Inadequate vitamin and mineral status can contribute to inflammation and weight gain. Obese people typically show deficiencies in several vitamins and minerals. The problem is that we don't know whether the deficiencies caused the obesity or vice versa. Refined carbohydrates and refined oils are the worst offenders because they're almost completely devoid of micronutrients.

Vitamin D in particular plays an important role in immune responses (including inflammation), and also appears to influence body fat mass. Vitamin D status is associated with body fat and insulin sensitivity in humans (14, 15, 16). More convincingly, genetic differences in the vitamin D receptor gene are also associated with body fat mass (17, 18), and vitamin D intake predicts future fat gain (19).

Exiting the Niche

I believe that we have strayed too far from our species' ecological niche, and our health is suffering. One manifestation of that is body fat gain. Many factors probably contribute, but I believe that diet is the most important. A diet heavy in nutrient-poor refined carbohydrates and industrial omega-6 oils, high in gut irritating substances such as gluten and sugar, and a lack of direct sunlight, have caused us to lose the robust digestion and good micronutrient status that characterized our distant ancestors. I believe that one consequence has been the dysregulation of the system that maintains the fat mass "setpoint". This has resulted in an increase in body fat in 20th century affluent nations, and other cultures eating our industrial food products.

In the next post, I'll discuss my thoughts on how to reset the body fat setpoint.


* The ratio of leptin in the serum to leptin in the brain is diminished in obesity, but given that serum leptin is very high in the obese, the absolute level of leptin in the brain is typically not lower than a lean person. Leptin is transported into the brain by a transport mechanism that saturates when serum leptin is not that much higher than the normal level for a lean person. Therefore, the fact that the ratio of serum to brain leptin is higher in the obese does not necessarily reflect a defect in transport, but rather the fact that the mechanism that transports leptin is already at full capacity.

Krauss's New Article on Saturated Fat Intervention Trials

Dr. Ronald Krauss's group just published another article in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, this time on the intervention trials examining the effectiveness of reducing saturated fat and/or replacing it with other nutrients, particularly carbohydrate or polyunsaturated seed oils. I don't agree with everything in this article. For example, they cite the Finnish Mental Hospital trial. They openly acknowledge some contradictory data, although they left out the Sydney diet-heart study and the Rose et al. corn oil study, both of which showed greatly increased mortality from replacing animal fats with polyunsaturated seed oils. Nevertheless, they get it right in the end:

Particularly given the differential effects of dietary saturated fats and carbohydrates on concentrations of larger and smaller LDL particles, respectively, dietary efforts to improve the increasing burden of CVD risk associated with atherogenic dyslipidemia should primarily emphasize the limitation of refined carbohydrate intakes and a reduction in excess adiposity.

This is really cool. Krauss is channeling Weston Price. If this keeps up, I may have no reason to blog anymore!

New Saturated Fat Review Article by Dr. Ronald Krauss

I never thought I'd see the day when one of the most prominent lipid researchers in the world did an honest review of the observational studies evaluating the link between saturated fat and cardiovascular disease. Dr. Ronald Krauss's group has published a review article titled "Meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies evaluating the association of saturated fat with cardiovascular disease". As anyone with two eyes and access to the medical literature would conclude (including myself), they found no association whatsoever between saturated fat intake and heart disease or stroke:

A meta-analysis of prospective epidemiologic studies showed that there is no significant evidence for concluding that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of CHD or CVD.

Bravo, Dr. Krauss. That was a brave move.

Thanks to Peter for pointing out this article.

Paleo is Going Mainstream

There was an article on the modern "Paleolithic" lifestyle in the New York Times today. I thought it was a pretty fair treatment of the subject, although it did paint it as more macho and carnivorous than it needs to be. It features three attractive NY cave people. It appeared in the styles section here. Paleo is going mainstream. We can expect media health authorities to start getting defensive about it any minute now.

Phil heath youtube video - "Phil heath is my dad :D (joke)".

new Phil heath youtube video, well kind of, just found this video on youtube of a amateur odybuilder posing, video title says "Phil heath is my dad :D", i think the poser is meaning in relation to him having such good genetics, and muscle shape like phil heath.

though the guys shape also has a look of dexter jackson as well.



can the real phil heath stand up, phil heath arms, phil being known for some of the biggest arms in bodybuilding:



going to be looking at the phil heath diet and phil heath workout in some upcoming posts as well.