Dr. Beth Gruber

Dr. Gruber is a graduate of the Southern California University of Health Sciences, and has been in private chiropractic practice in Long Beach, California since 1964. She also received both a Bachelor's Degree and a Master's Degree from California State University at Long Beach. She has written on health-related subjects for over 30 years, for several different publications. She lives in Southern California with her husband of 33 years. Both she and her husband follow and live the low carb lifestyle full time.

Dieting By “Blocking” Starch And “Blocking” Fat

The idea that starch or fat can be blocked from digestion appears to be an appealing idea. For the past thirty or more years, these products have come to the forefront periodically with promises for a new generation of overweight people. Each time they come on the market, they offer up suggestions that you can eat what you want so long as you take their product. The product, so goes the promise, will protect you from the consequences of eating the blocked food group.

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Know About the Weight Loss Diet Stack Before You Take It!

The combination of ephedrine, caffeine, and aspirin is commonly referred to as the "E-C-A Stack" or just the "Stack". Many of the herbal products on the market contain ma-huang in combination with willow bark, a naturally-occurring source of a chemical similar to aspirin, and with guarana or kola nuts, sources of caffeine. There are also products that mix chemical sources of caffeine and actual aspirin in the mix with the ma-huang. Some people who take the Stack prefer using ephedrine/ma-huang alone, and accompanying it with a caffeine-containing beverage and a half an aspirin.

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Diet Pills And Dieting

In my last article, I discussed the development of the diet pill phenomenon. This brilliant marketing strategy changed the course of the medical treatment for obesity by grouping together different kinds of drugs that might (or might not, for that matter) have some relation to weight loss, and then selling the patient all the drugs at once. The plan was enormously lucrative for the drug companies who manufactured the chemicals, and also for the so-called "fat doctors" who prescribed them. But before we put all the blame on the drug companies and the doctors, we must face a certain reality. The public was very willing to hear the message that overweight can be treated with chemicals.

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The Resurrection Of Calorie Counting – Big Time!

During World War II, there was not a lot of focus on dieting. People had other things to worry about, and there was rationing of many items, including food. There was less time to think about personal weight issues. Many women worked in factories and industry while the men were overseas. But when the war ended, things changed quickly. Large numbers of women left the workforce and returned to their homes, many as newly-wed housewives.

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The History Of Diets And Dieting, Part VI More Approaches To Weight Loss

Last time we continued our discussion of the history of diets and dieting by talking about the first low calorie diet plan, and about the beginnings of counting calories. We also looked at diets that were based on 'magic pairs' and on special food combinations said to promote weight loss because of some supposedly long-forgotten-but-now-rediscovered chemical connection between the two foods. These connections were said to somehow fool the body into absorbing less nutrients than the individual foods, eaten separately, would provide.

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The History of Diets and Dieting Part V The First Low Calorie Plan

We've been discussing the history of diets and dieting. It may seem obvious to you that the idea of the calorie, at least as it pertains to dieting, must have been with us since the beginning of dieting. However, such is not the case. As we discussed last time, it wasn't until the 1890s and early 1900s that chemists Wilbur Atwater and Russell Chittenden did the initial work of measuring food as units of heat that could be produced by burning it. But from the get-go, the calorie concept has never been nearly as scientific as it may appear.

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The History Of Diets And Dieting Part IV

Our low carbohydrate way of life is not new, dear readers. Last time I told you that the world's very first diet book was a low carbohydrate plan written in the mid 1800s by William Banting. Banting was told about this approach to obesity control by his ear doctor, Dr. William Harvey. Dr. Harvey said that he had heard about healthful advantages from a diet low in sugar and starch while he was in Germany and Paris. He related that he had traveled to attend a lecture given at Stuttgart by a celebrated physician and professor, Dr. Niemeyer. Dr. Harvey had also gone to Paris to hear a certain Doctor Bernard report on using the diet plan for treatment of diabetes.

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