Diet

Athletes who adopt a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet may hurt their performance, not enhance it, sports nutritionists say. For years, such diets have attracted throngs of athletes, from high school to professional levels, who seek to build muscle and drop unwanted pounds. Although conceding that the diet may well lead to weight loss, sports nutritionists warn that it may not be the kind of weight athletes want to lose.

The following is a blog documenting two Los Angeles Times editors' attempts to lose weight. It all began on Jan. 10 . One benefit of my move from Boston to Los Angeles this year has been the avoidance of snow.  Not that I mind it.  I like the winter.  But even a veteran of ‘real winter’ can tire of the constant Arctic pummelings.  Like the humongous storm beginning to wreak havoc on a significant part of the country today.  Headlines around the Web are screaming: Monster winter storm takes aim at one-third of US; Life-threatening blizzard is on its way; Snowstorm to bury New England!

A diet rich in fiber and vegetables appears to lower cholesterol just as much as taking a statin drug. Researchers said people who cannot tolerate the statin drugs because of side effects could turn to the diet, which they said their volunteers could easily follow. David Jenkins of St.

Re: "Teen Scene: Diet Pills" (Nov. 6): Thank you for finally printing an article about teens and their unhealthy habit of using dangerous pills as a form of dieting. Many teens today are socially taught that it is so important to be skinny to look like the models do. Little do they know that they are only harming their bodies by taking these over-the-counter drugs when they are not overweight to begin with. Many of my close friends are becoming increasingly obsessive over their weight, where they think that the only way to be skinny is to consume these pills and only have an apple and coffee a day for their bodies' nutrients.

Officials of the diet industry, which has been under scrutiny by a House subcommittee, defended their programs Monday, insisting they are medically supervised and based on sound nutritional guidelines. "There are no quick fixes, no effortless miracle cures," said Allen Stewart, president of The Diet Center Inc., of Rexburg, Ida. "Obesity is a chronic, recurring illness. One that cannot be cured, but one that . . .

A multi-year study involving more than 100,000 participants provides added support that eating lots of fruits and vegetables is good for the heart. But the analysis failed to show similar benefits for reducing cancer risk, a result that prompted the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, which published the study Tuesday, to raise questions about its findings. The report supports the American Heart Assn.'

When your pants begin to feel a little snug around the waistline, do you vow to start working out for an hour every day? Ask the kid at McDonald's to hold the bun when you order a Quarter Pounder? Switch to low-carb beer? If so, welcome to the club: You're a typical guy. Women will try just about any approach to shedding pounds, weight-loss experts say, but men who set out to get slim tend to follow predictable patterns.

Ron Artest felt slow and sluggish, very much unlike the defender he used to be. "I'm trying to get my defense back to what it was a couple of years ago," the Lakers forward said Wednesday. "I think I'm on the path. The second half of this season and then next year, I should be one of the best defenders." Artest was slowed this season by plantar fasciitis -- painful swelling on the underside of his feet -- but also took a look at something else: his diet. He weighed 266 two months ago. He kept thinking how he weighed 245 when he was the NBA's defensive player of the year in 2004.

Breast milk, pediatricians agree, is by far the best food a mother can give her newborn. But what of the older child--the one who prefers cheeseburgers and chocolate-covered candy bars to steamed vegetables and plain yogurt? What is a mother--or father--to do when they begin to lose control of what their children eat?

The diet drug Qnexa helps obese people with weight-related medical conditions to lose more weight than those who take a dummy pill and could allow some to scale back on medications for diabetes, high blood pressure or cholesterol, according to a new study published online in the Lancet . Only this study is not so new -- and its findings may be less weighty than might be concluded with its publication in this respected medical journal....