The Sonoma Diet: A New Spin on the Mediterranean Diet

The Sonoma diet has billed itself as the "most flavorful diet under the sun." The Sonoma diet has been created to package and sell the benefits of the Mediterranean diet, using the principles described in the Lyon heart study.

Like the Mediterranean diet, the Sonoma diet emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains and nuts. In fact, it singles out 10 "super foods" based on recent scientific research suggesting health benefits of each of these foods. They include: almonds, bell peppers, blueberries, broccoli, grapes, olive oil, spinach, strawberries, tomatoes, and whole grains. The Sonoma diet also encourages the moderate intake of wine.

Like other popular diets, the Sonoma diet is structured in 3 phases. The first phase is very restrictive with tiny portion sizes to provide a fast initial weight loss. The second is a longer weight loss phase, with slightly larger portion sizes. The third phase is designed for weight maintenance, and is intended to be life-long.

The Sonoma diet book describes the diet and 3 phase structure, and provides a step by step guide with over 500 recipes. The recipes are very well thought out, tasty, and easy to cook. Because of the types of foods included in most recipes, it is not by any means a low cost diet, but the health and weight loss benefits may make the cost worth it. The online diet program provides more recipes, and helps by putting together printable shopping lists. Costs of the online program are $5 a week.

Overall, I think that the Sonoma diet is one of the better commercial diets. It is based on scientific research showing significant health benefits of the Mediterranean diet, and recent studies showing benefits of specific "super foods." The recipes are healthy and tasty.

My only concern about the Sonoma diet for weight loss is that the 3 phase structure seems to be a gimmick employed by many popular fad diets. The very restrictive 1st phase is a weight loss trick, used by most diet gurus, to provide a very rapid weight reduction so that dieters will start talking about how much weight they are losing. I am disappointed that the author fell prey to this gimmick. The science of dieting shows very clear that this kind of "crash" dieting is not beneficial and contributes to the yo-yo dieting phenomenon.

With this criticism aside, I think that overall the Sonoma diet is an excellent weight loss program based solidly on the science of healthy eating. The whole family can enjoy the health benefits of the Sonoma diet.

Obesity High Among Baltimore's Homeless, Johns Hopkins Researchers Say
A small but telling study from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center reveals an ominous trend: more than expected, obesity shadows Baltimore's homeless children and their caregivers, putting them at high risk for heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes, among other conditions."Not long ago, homeless people were undernourished. [click link for full article]

Belly Fat May Drive Inflammatory Processes Associated With Disease
As scientists learn more about the key role of inflammation in diabetes, heart disease and other disorders, new research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that fat in the belly may be an important promoter of that inflammation.Excess fat is known to be associated with disease, but now the researchers have confirmed that fat cells inside the abdomen are secreting molecules that increase inflammation. [click link for full article]

New Data On Fructose-Sweetened Beverages And Hepatic Metabolism
According to figures published by the World Health Organitzation (WHO), in the year 2015 some 2.3 billion adults will be overweight and more than 700 million will suffer from obesity, a pathology which is increasingly being seen in children. In addition, for some time now the high incidence of obesity in developed countries has coincided with an increase in the consumption of beverages sweetened with fructose, a powerful sweetener. [click link for full article]

Singapore To Cancel Anti-Obesity Program
Singapore plans to end a 15-year-old anti-obesity program in schools after complaints from parents that overweight children, in particular, were being singled out and teased by classmates....

A Short Walk Helps Smokers Quit
Smokers should do short bouts of exercise to help them resist the temptation to light up, say experts at the University of Exeter. A review, recently published in the international journal 'Addiction', concludes that when smokers abstain from smoking, exercise can help them to manage withdrawal symptoms and resist the urge to smoke. [click link for full article]

News Roundup and Quick Links
The Carrot Diet A woman eats carrots every 15 minutes for 3 months in order to cure her infertility. The solution seemed to work as she became pregnant. A tabloid special Active kids say slim "Children who did 15 minutes a day of moderate exercise -- equivalent to a brisk walk -- were 50 percent less likely than inactive...

Obesity At The Time Of Prostate-Cancer Diagnosis Dramatically Increases The Risk Of Dying From The Disease
Obese men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer have more than two-and-a-half times the risk of dying from the disease as compared to men of normal weight at the time of diagnosis, according to a study by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The findings by senior author Alan Kristal, Dr.P.H., and colleagues appear online and will be published in the March 15 print edition of the journal Cancer. [click link for full article]

Patients Should Be Alert For Obesity Surgery Complication
It is important for obesity surgery patients to take their prescribed vitamin supplements and to be alert for symptoms such as vomiting, confusion, lack of coordination and visual changes signs of a serious neurological condition that can develop after the surgery. [click link for full article]

First UK Study To Determine How General Practice Professionals Can Tackle Adolescent Obesity
Academics at the University of Hertfordshire are conducting the first UK study to investigate how health professionals based in general practice can help adolescents who are obese to lose weight. [click link for full article]

DVT Awareness Survey Findings For Respondents In High-Risk Groups: Obese Individuals
Up to two million Americans are affected each year by DVT, with up to 600,000 hospitalized. Its primary complication, pulmonary embolism (PE), claims up to 300,000 lives annually -- more than breast cancer and AIDS combined. The Coalition to Prevent Deep-Vein Thrombosis (DVT) recently sponsored an online survey of a nationally representative sample of consumers and physicians. [click link for full article]