The Dukan diet

Dr. Pierre Dukan, a 69-year-old neurologist whose books have already sold millions of copies and been translated into 14 languages.

Inspired by both the Atkins diet and Weight Watchers, Pierre Dukan created a diet which he believes is better since it doesn’t involve counting calories like Weight Watchers and also doesn’t allow an unlimited consumption of fat like Atkins.

Dukan told New York Times that Atkins was a legend in his time, but now, “Atkins is dead.” The Dukan diet involves four phases called attack (protein-rich foods only), cruise (add veggies), consolidation (add bread, cheese, fruit, with dessert twice) and stabilization (one day of strict protein and six days of anything).

The basics are a high-protein, low-fat approach, lots of water, all the oat-bran you can eat, lots of veggies, no fruit, and a few wine and desert days to make it all livable.

The exercise requirement sounds light enough for most Americans – 20 minutes of walking and no elevators.

Does any of this work? Supermodel Giselle Bundchen and Kate Middleton’s mom thinks so, according to the Boston Globe, but you should probably decide for yourself.

The forensic pathologist in Ottawa county, Michigan ruled Wes Leonard suffered cardiac arrest due to his enlarged heart.

Leonard, a star athlete at Fennville High, died Thursday night just after making the game winning lay up, helping his team remain undefeated for the regular season.

Paramedics performed CPR but he was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Adam Siegel, a teammate of Leonard’s, said, “He was great. The perfect teammate. A leader. Strong for us. Just did everything right.”

Leonard was also Fennville High’s star quarterback.

Kickboxing: 800 calories per hour

Kickboxing offers a great full-body workout because it requires you to use every major muscle group and includes interval training.

Your heart rate will soar and stabilize several times throughout the class, which is optimal for weight loss. 24 Hour Fitness clubs report that attendees of their Turbo Kick classes can burn up to 800 calories in one hour-long class.

Biking: 700 calories per hour

You can burn up to 700 calories at your average cycling class or take to the road on your own to enjoy fresh air to boot! Just make sure you keep a pace of about 14 to 16 miles per hour to reach the 700-calorie goal.

Zumba: 500 or more calories per hour

Who knew an hour of dancing could produce such results?! Because this Latin-inspired dance workout uses the principles of interval training and resistance exercise, the workout will boost your metabolism considerably, according to FitnessZumba.com.

However, like any fitness regimen, the number of calories burned varies from person to person depending on weight, sex, current fitness level, and how a hard a person works out. Still the massive weight loss and toning benefits of hip-swishing and shimmying make this dance workout one of the most popular today.

Jumping Rope: 780 calories per hour

Only got ten minutes? You can still squeeze in cardio with this highly effective activity, which can have you burning 130 calories every ten minutes (or 780 calories per hour).

you’d have to run an eight-minute mile to burn as many calories as jumping rope for the same amount of time, making it a good choice for someone who is starting a fitness regime and may not have the endurance to maintain a fast running speed for an extended period of time. If you have limited space and time, jumping rope is the most efficient way to see results.

Aerobic Step Classes: 600 calories per hour

Aerobic step classes are high-intensity and high-impact, meaning you’ll burn fat and calories. The number of calories burned depends on how high the step is, but using just a six-inch platform can allow you to burn up to 600 calories in one hour-long class.

Running: 650 calories per hour

Running consistently for an hour can be challenging if it isn’t a part of your current exercise regimen. You can work up to this goal and increase your cardiovascular fitness by adding walking intervals throughout your workout. For instance, run for three minutes and then walk briskly for one minute. This practice will increase your endurance, lower your heart-rate recovery time, and burn fat.

UK stroke experts said the findings were “promising”.

Tests on stroke patients 90 days after being given the drug found that patients taking fluoxetine had gained significantly more function in their upper and lower limbs than patients who were not given the drug. Patients in the fluoxetine group were also more likely to be coping independently.

The study noted that the side-effects from the antidepressant were generally mild and infrequent, although this group did notice more instances of nausea and diarrhoea. Every year in the UK 150,000 people have a stroke and a third of these will be left with a disability such as paralysis down one side of their body.

Dr Sharlin Ahmed, research liaison officer at the UK Stroke Association, said: “We are continually searching for new treatments which can improve the outcomes for stroke survivors and the results of this research look promising.

“Antidepressants, such as fluoxetine, can be used to treat stroke patients with depression which is a common side effect of stroke, so it’s very interesting to see that this already licensed drug could have a dual benefit.

“However, further research needs to be undertaken before the use of this antidepressant can be accepted as an effective treatment for improving movement following a stroke.”

More than half of the bottled water products surveyed failed EWG’s transparency test –18 percent didn’t say where their water comes from, and another 32 percent did not disclose any information on treatment or purity of water.

The Environmental Protection Agency says on its website that consumers have the right to know where their water comes from and what’s in it so they can “make informed choices that affect the health of themselves and their families.”

Only three brands earned the highest possible marks for disclosing information and using the most advanced treatment methods available – Gerber Pure Purified Water, Nestle Pure Life Purified Water, and Penta Ultra-Purified Water.

On the other end of the spectrum, these six brands got the worst marks in EWG’s report because they don’t provide consumers with the three basic facts about water on product labels or their company website – Whole Foods Italian Still Mineral Water, Vintage Natural Spring Water, Sahara Premium Drinking Water, O Water Sport Electrolyte Enhanced Purified Drinking Water, Market Basket Natural Spring Water, and Cumby’s Spring Water.

How does your bottled water brand stack up? Here’s a look at the 10 top-selling* U.S. brands:

1.     Pure Life Purified Water (Nestle), EWG grade = B

2.     Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = C

3.     Aquafina Purified Drinking Water (Pepsi), EWG grade = D

4.     Dasani Purified Water (Coca-Cola), EWG grade = D

5.     Deer Park Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D

6.     Ice Mountain Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D

7.     Ozarka Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D

8.     Poland Spring Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D

9.     Zephyrhills Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D

10.  Crystal Geyser Natural Alpine Spring Water (CG Roxane), EWG grade =  F
Filtered tap water received the best grade (an A) from EWG because if you change your filter regularly, EWG says it is purer than bottled water, plus it saves money (bottled water can cost up to 1,900 times more than what flows from your tap). Drinking tap water also takes less of a toll on the planet. EWG offers plenty of tips for filtering your tap water so that you can drink the healthiest water possible.

What should you do when bottled water is your only option? “While our top choice is filtered tap water, when you do need to choose bottled water, we recommend brands that tell you what’s in the water and that use advanced treatment technologies like reverse osmosis and micro-filtration,” says Houlihan.

The advice to drink filtered tap water can seem confusing when there are often reports about the contaminants found in municipal water supplies. Just last month, for example, EWG announced that cancer causing hexavalent chromium (chromium-6) is in 31 cities’ tap water. Houlihan says chromium-6 is as likely to be in your bottled water as it is in your tap water and we need action from the federal government on this. She points out that a reverse osmosis filter can remove the worrisome contaminant. You can guarantee its removal in your home supply, but in many cases you don’t know what’s in the bottle you’re drinking from.