Virus may contribute to obesity

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WASHINGTON (AP)  -- In the buffet of reasons for why Americans are getting fatter, researchers are piling more evidence on the plate for one still-controversial cause: a virus.

New research announced Monday found that when human stem cells -- the blank slate of the cell world -- were exposed to a common virus they turned into fat cells. They didn't just change, they stored fat, too.

While this may be a guilt-free explanation for putting on pounds, it doesn't explain all or even most of America's growing obesity problem. But it adds to other recent evidence that blames more than just super-sized appetites and underused muscles for expanding waistlines.

For several years, researchers have looked at a possible link between obesity and this common virus, called adenovirus-36, from a family of viruses that cause colds and pinkeye in people. They had already found that a higher percentage of fat people had been infected with the virus than nonfat people. They had exposed animals to the virus and got them to fatten up and even found a a gene in the virus that causes animals to get obese.

But ethical restraints kept researchers from exposing people to the virus to see what happens. So they did what would be considered the next best thing, said Nikhil Dhurandhar, who headed the research at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in the Louisiana State University system.

They took fat tissue from people who had liposuction, removed adult stem cells from the tissue and exposed the cells to the virus in the lab. Adult stem cells can regenerate and turn into different types of specialized cells to help the body heal itself.

More than half the stem cells exposed to the virus turned into fat cells and accumulated fats, while only a small percentage of the non-exposed stem cells did the same, said researcher Dr. Magdalena Pasarica, who presented the results Monday at the American Chemical Society's annual meeting in Boston, Massachusetts.

"It's the first time we see an effect in human cells," Pasarica said in a phone interview.

If a viral cause of obesity can be confirmed, a vaccine could be developed, maybe within five to 10 years, to prevent the virus from making some people fat, Dhurandhar said. However, it wouldn't help people already obese, he said.

Outside experts are intrigued but worry about people blaming viruses for all obesity, when this may be just one of many causes. It doesn't mean it's OK to overeat, blame a bug or wait for some kind of antivirus medicine, they said.

"The cause for obesity in everyone is the same," said Dr. Samuel Klein, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "You eat more calories than you burn up; You can't get away from that basic law of physics."

But there are many causes that trigger overeating and extra storage of fat in the body, including the virus, Klein said. However, he said he considers the virus only a small factor, easily outweighed by genetics and even childhood eating habits.

Dhurandhar said some of his earlier research found that 30 percent of obese Americans had developed antibodies to the virus, showing they had been exposed to it at some point. But for non-obese people, only 11 percent had antibodies, he said.

That means for some people it is not their fault they are fat, Dhurandhar said.

But Klein said that's not completely right.

"We don't want obese people to feel that it's all their fault because it is not all their fault ... but clearly the buck finally lies with the person," Klein said.

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[Tsalagi]

Tsalagi's challenge to all persons overweight and unable to lose (I used to weigh 255 at 6' 1", optimal weight for my body type is about 180):

STOP EATING anything that comes in a package, at all.  If God made it, you can eat it, otherwise no.  NO FAST FOOD AT ALL.  The food companies are allowed by the FDA to put 'secret ingredients' in the food that 'enhance taste', addict you to the substance and encourage weight gain.  These are listed under 'spice', 'spices', 'flavors', etc.  There is a list of mind-boggling length of substances that are allowed to be put into your food without notice, without being required to be listed as 'ingredients'.

DO NOT drink sodas.  DO NOT drink diet anything.  Drink only distilled water.  REFINED SUGAR WILL KILL YOU.

Take your vitamins and minerals.  Eat only true organic if you can, otherwise just try to avoid processed foods and genetically modified foods. 

The 'Bragg Healthy Lifestyle' books are great, with some provisos - I don't buy everything that anyone says.

DO cleanses (colon, liver, gallbladder, heavy metals etc).

IF you will do these things, you WILL lose weight.

I haven't been exercising now for several months, have been eating regularly (only according to the rules), and am still losing fat. 

I am currently under 200 pounds and have never felt better in my life.

Get a shower filter.  Stop using commercial soaps, shampoos, laundry detergents, cleaners, furniture polishes etc.  Contrary to popular belief, this can be done for much less money than one usually spends on these items - so not only would you be saving money, but your health.

[Sis]

I found out that some restraunts use pancake mix to fluff up scrambled eggs! Now what if a person was allergic to wheat? They would think they were getting something pure, and it has just the thing you're allergic to.

I really wish we could go back to simple eating, myself. I wish companies weren't allowed to push their junk in schools. That was the worst move they ever made, allowing junk food and pop machines in the school. We used to have to walk six blocks to get it. LOL But really. They pushed the free lunch programs to give kids "healthy" meals, then they push junk food. Go figure.

[Tsalagi]

Another little oddball bit of news.  I used to be one of those parents who would rush their kids (and themselves) to the doctor and to the pharmacy as soon as they got sick.  Not anymore.

The reason?  Simple.  WE DON'T GET SICK ANYMORE.

Since I have stopped taking any and all prescription and/or non-prescription drugs, I have not been seriously sick at all.  The only exception was a sickness acquired on board an airplane coming back into Houston, and I have my suspicions about that, given the absolute rapidity of infection - which I won't go into here.

1.) Drugs seriously hamper your bodies ability to repair itself.

2.) There are no 'good' drugs.

3.) Unless you do not believe in God, there is no reason to believe that HE did not make an herb or natural remedy for every illness known to man.

4.) Ditto above in the case of chemical engineering.  Folks, these guys used to be called 'alchemists' back in the day - and their root is sorcery, mysticism and the continuing attempt to reverse-engineer the universe whether God likes it or not. 

...and I'll stop here.  I could go on for days, but I won't

[Sis]

Yeah, I'm sick of the way drug companies pay millions of dollars to med schools, then demand to teach things "their" way. Pushing drugs at every little ailment.

I wish I didn't have to take thyroid meds.

They push a medication on you instead of finding out what the problem is. Thyroid disease creates many symptoms. They wanted to treat each symptom. I demanded they find out what was causing the symptoms. They told me I was depressed and treated me like a hypoconcriac.
I found out, and one med took care of most of it, but since they let me go for TEN years without even giving me a blood test, some of the problems linger.

Restless leg syndrome is another example. It's usually caused by a rapid depletion of potassium. When someone starts to diet and starts to drink more water, they get rid of their stores of potassium in their waste. One of the symptoms of potassium loss is leg cramps.

Now, would the doctors tell you to go to Walmart and get some potassium for $4?  NOOOOOO they got a med for it, with several undesirable side effects. Doctors don't like me much because I don't want to kill my liver by pouring in lots of drugs. I'm stuck with the thyroid med (BTW, I've been taking the "natural" one instead of the synthetic).

The bottom line is money. Your health depends on which drug company gives the most freebies to your doctor for prescribing their drug, whether you need it or not.