Standardized Phaseolus Vulgaris (Phase 2) helps overweight men and women slim down

A joint study by the Catholic University of Rome and Georgetown University was performed assessing the ability of Phase 2 (in the presence of a low level nutrients) to improve the body mass of 60 overweight individuals who were placed on a 2000 to 2200 calorie a day diet. The patients took either inactive placebo or Phase 2 (445mg) once a day with a main meal rich in carbohydrates for 30 days. Those on Phase 2 had a greater reduction in body weight (over 6 pounds vs. 3/4 pounds), waist size (over 1 inch vs. 20% of an inch), the size of the hip and thigh, and fat mass vs. placebo. 80% of the weight lost on the Phase 2 was fat but in the diet only group only 50% of the weight lost was fat. The study is published in the September 25th, 2007 issue of the International Journal of Medical Sciences.

Lack of sleep increases the risk of dying

In a 17-year-long British study from the University of Warwick and the University College London that included 10,000 government workers it was found that those who cut their sleep from seven hours per night to five or less faced a 170% increased risk of dying from any cause and a 200% increased risk of dying from a cardiovascular cause. The lack of sleep seemed to trigger a rise in blood pressure which is a risk for heart attack and stroke. Those who slept more than nine hours a night also had an increased risk of dying but there was no cardiovascular link to dying in over sleepers. The study was presented at the annual conference of the British Sleep Society and will soon be published in the journal Sleep.