BACKGROUND Aspergillus niger prolyl endoprotease (AN-PEP) efficiently degrades gluten molecules into non-immunogenic peptides in vitro. AIM To assess the efficacy of AN-PEP on gluten degradation in a low and high calorie meal in healthy subjects. METHODS In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study 12 healthy volunteers attended to four test days. A liquid low or h...

OBJECTIVE Although caloric restriction is a widely used intervention to reduce body weight and insulin resistance, many patients are unable to comply with such dietary therapy for long periods. The clinical effectiveness of low-carbohydrate diets was recently described in a position statement of Diabetes UK and a scientific review conducted by the American Diabetes Association. However, randomi...

BACKGROUND Although obesity continues to rise and remains a great public health concern in the U.S., a number of important levers such as self-perception of weight and calorie postings at point-of-purchase in restaurants are still not well-characterized in the literature, especially for low-income and minority groups in Los Angeles County (LAC). To study this gap, we examined the associations o...

BACKGROUND The loss of self-control or inability to resist tempting/rewarding foods, and the development of less healthful eating habits may be explained by three key neural systems: (1) a hyper-functioning striatum system driven by external rewarding cues; (2) a hypo-functioning decision-making and impulse control system; and (3) an altered insula system involved in the translation of homeosta...

Background: Obesity and infertility have been linked together by several studies. Obesity results in an increased production of estrogen; this hormonal imbalance in turn interferes with ovulation, which of course, is the basis of successful conception. Auricular acupuncture is one of the acupuncture therapies used to prevent and treat obesity. Materials and Methods: In this research we used aur...

Aim of the Work: To investigate the effect of low calorie diet alone and the effect of low calorie diet and exercise on the levels of thyroid hormones, leptin, and BMI. Also we tried to investigate if there is a relation between thyroid hormones and leptin levels. Subjects and Methods: Two groups of normal male subjects, each group consists of 25 person matched for age and BMI. Group I had low ...

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions worldwide. Obesity results in reduced serum testosterone levels, which causes many disorders in men. Lifestyle modifications (increased physical activity and calorie restriction) can increase serum testosterone levels. However, it is unknown whether increased physical activity or calorie restriction during lifestyle modifications has a greater effects on...

Obesity is a heterogeneous condition with obese individuals displaying different eating patterns. Growing evidence suggests that there is a subgroup of obese adults that is marked by frequent and intense food cravings and addiction-like consumption of high-calorie foods. Little is known, however, about such a subgroup of obese individuals in childhood and adolescence. In the present study, a sa...