Atkins Diabetes Revolution or Psychobiology of Physical Activity

Atkins Diabetes Revolution: The Groundbreaking Approach to Preventing and Controlling Type 2 Diabetes

Author: Robert C Atkins

Atkins Diabetes Revolution will help you:

• Find out if you have the metabolic syndrome
• Identify your risk for diabetes as soon as possible
• Make permanent lifestyle changes to normalize the underlying metabolic imbalances that lead to Type 2 diabetes
• Reduce your chances of suffering a heart attack, stroke, and even some cancers
• Reduce your risk of heart disease by lowering your triglycerides while increasing your HDL ("good") cholesterol

Read by Sara Krieger

Publishers Weekly

Having been marketed to millions as a weight-loss solution, the Atkins diet is now presented as a means of preventing type 2 diabetes, a disease whose rates are skyrocketing, thanks to the prevalence of risk factors such as obesity and high lipid and blood sugar levels. The authors clearly outline their interpretation of the path to diabetes, arguing that carbs cause blood sugar spikes, triggering the release of more insulin-the hormone that regulates blood sugar-than the cells need. Blood sugar ends up stored as fat and the body's cells start responding more slowly to the insulin, which leads to elevated blood sugar levels. But the tone the authors adopt when touting their low-carb, high-protein, high-fat approach may arouse some skepticism and even fear. "In the end, only you can decide what's best for your health," they warn. "You can choose the Atkins approach and improve your health, or you can choose the ADA [American Diabetes Association] approach and descend into more and more medications and poor health." While studies now demonstrate low-carb dieting can lead to weight loss and cholesterol control over the short term, experts tend to agree that diets that demonize one food group aren't easy to stick to over the long haul. Still, the work includes valuable nutritional information and sounds a needed alarm about the diabetes epidemic. (On sale Aug. 3) Forecast: With national TV, radio and print ads, as well as online promotions, this latest Atkins guide should have no trouble climbing bestseller lists. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

See also: Plain Lives in a Golden Age or Travel Perspectives

Psychobiology of Physical Activity

Author: Edmund O Acevedo

Psychobiology of Physical Activity fills a void in the scientific literature by addressing psychobiologic factors as they relate to exercise and sport. As the first resource of its kind, it sparks greater interest in the integration of topics in the growing area known as the psychobiology of physical activity. The text defines and expands the field by covering various disciplines, including psychophysiology, psychoneuroendocrinology, psychoimmunology, neuroscience, physiological psychology, and behavioral genetics.

The edited volume consists of 17 chapters written by internationally renowned scholars who consistently present a multilevel integrative approach to the study of human behavior in exercise and sport. The contributors share their cutting-edge research findings from diverse perspectives in chapters on physical activity and the brain, cognition, emotion, stress, pain, and human performance.

Part I, Introduction, traces the history of psychobiological investigations in the fields of sport and exercise psychology and reviews what is currently known about the workings of the central nervous system during physical activity.

Part II, Physical Activity and Cognition, examines recent evidence on the role of physical activity and fitness in preserving cognitive function in the aging human brain and the effects of exercise on neurogenesis, the formation of new neurons.

Part III, Physical Activity and Emotion, discusses the effects of exercise on emotion from multiple levels: the level of the synapse, the level of the human brain, and the level of the body as an integrated self-protecting system.

Part IV, Physical Activity and Psychosomatic Health, analyzes the role of exercise on central and peripheral factors related to cardiovascular and neuroendocrine stress reactivity, the function of the immune system, and pain.

Part V, Psychobiology of Human Performance, focuses on factors influencing human performance in competitive settings, including attention and cognition, biofeedback, and mental imagery.

As a professional reference, the book provides researchers and scholars with a valuable summary of cutting-edge research and up-to-date information. As a textbook, it challenges researchers and graduate students with an integrated approach to the study of human behavior in exercise and sport. In addition, Psychobiology of Physical Activity translates for sophisticated practitioners-such as clinical exercise physiologists-psychobiologic research into practice in the areas of exercise and sport.

Table of Contents:

Part I: Introduction