Looking for an easy way to lose weight? Study shows exposure to bright light linked to significantly lower BMI

Wanna lose a few pounds? Get yourself out of bed as early as possible and bathe in the morning light for 20 to 30 minutes. Sure, you’re thinking, another ridiculous weight loss tip! But this one, believe it or not, is backed by science.

A new study from Northwestern University finds that the timing, intensity, and duration of your daily light exposure is linked to your weight. In fact, the researchers discovered that participants who had most of their exposure to even moderately bright light in the morning had a significantly lower body mass index (BMI) than those who had most of their light exposure later in the day. “Light is a powerful biological signal and appropriate timing, intensity and duration of exposure may represent a potentially modifiable risk factor for the prevention and management of obesity in modern societies,” wrote the authors in the conclusion of their study.

The study
Participants in the study -26 men and 28 women, with an average age of 30- were asked to log their mealtimes and sleep times and were asked to wear a wrist device that monitored their movements.
Those who were exposed to daily light above 500 lux in the early part of the day had lower BMIs.
Room light is between 150-500 lux while outdoor light is more than 1,000 lux, even on cloudy days.
“The earlier this light exposure occurred during the day, the lower the individuals’ body mass index,” wrote co-lead author Dr. Kathryn Reid. “The later the hour of moderately bright light exposure, the higher a person’s BMI.”

Significantly, the influence of morning light exposure on body weight was independent of a participant's physical activity level, calorie intake, sleep timing, age, or season. Plus, it accounted for about 20% of a person's BMI. “Our results suggest that the relationship between light and BMI is not simply a function of the accumulated minutes of light during the day, but more importantly the temporal pattern of light exposure above a biological threshold,” the authors wrote. 

Our internal body clock
“Light is the most potent agent to synchronize your internal body clock that regulates circadian rhythms, which in turn also regulate energy balance,” explained Phyllis C. Zee, M.D., director of the Sleep and Circadian Rhythms Research Program at Northwestern. “If a person doesn’t get sufficient light at the appropriate time of day, it could de-synchronize your internal body clock, which is known to alter metabolism and can lead to weight gain.”
According to Zee, the crucial hours we should be aiming to see bright light are between eight 8am and midday. No need to overdo it though; about 20 to 30 minutes of this early light is enough to affect BMI.

It isn’t just people who get up late who are at risk of upsetting their metabolism. The fact that most of us work indoors in poorly lit environments also contributes to the problem. The results of the study showed 500 lux to be "the magic number"  in lowering BMI. This is about 200 to 300 lux higher than the artificial lighting provided in an average office.

Bottom line
The researchers believe that their findings could lead to a break-through in approaches to weight management, with the manipulation of light providing a whole new avenue in the treatment of obesity. In addition, lifestyle changes such as taking lunch breaks outside (weather permitting), could help get society in shape.  Zee suggests that we should cultivate a good relationship with our body clocks from a young age, and is convinced that improved lighting and outdoor breaks in schools could “prevent obesity on a larger scale”.

Sources: http://www.eurekalert.org/, http://www.medicaldaily.com/, http://www.independent.co.uk/, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

Heart disease risk slashed by handful of beans - new study

They are one of our favourite convenience foods. And now it seems that adding a handful of beans, chickpeas or lentils to your diet every day can cut 'bad' cholesterol and slash the risk of heart disease. Researchers have found by eating one small serving a day of pulses, it is possible to cut low-density lipoprotein cholesterol by 5%. This would translate into a 5 to 6% reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease.

All it takes it a daily portion of pulses - 4½oz, the equivalent of a small apple - said the report for the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
However most people eat less than half that a day. That's because legumes have been tied to flatulence, bloating and discomfort, although this side effect subsided after a while, said lead researcher Dr John Sievenpiper from St Michael’s Hospital, Toronto.

“Pulses are generally considered healthy, but they’re not traditionally part of current guidelines,” Sievenpiper said. “They have a lot of amazing things in them. They are a whole food, they have wonderful vitamins and minerals – magnesium, calcium, sticky fibres that lower cholesterol, plant protein, a low glycemic index,” Sievenpiper said. Consuming more pulses could also cut down on trans fats or processed meat because you’re reaching for plant protein over animal protein.

The study
In the research, Sievenpiper and research coordinator Vanessa Ha conducted a meta-analysis of more than 3,000 studies. They narrowed down their search to 26 studies that looked at any benefits pulses had to offer to 1,037 people over the course of at least three weeks.
The results showed that men had a greater reduction in their bad cholesterol levels than women. But the researchers said men's diets tended to be poorer and cholesterol levels higher, which was why they benefited more markedly.
Most of the trials involved people already on heart-healthy low-fat diets, which also produce a 5-10% reduction in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, said the researchers.

Bottom line
Oats, plant sterols in margarine, soy, nuts and other products offer the same benefits, yet pulses haven’t received the same FDA approval claims.
“Our study can hopefully influence those guidelines so they can potentially consider pulses alone as a viable way of lowering bad cholesterol and improving cardiovascular risk,” he said. That means official health organizations could approve and promote pulses to those with or at risk of heart disease. Beans, chickpeas and lentils could have labels that remind consumers of their cholesterol-lowering properties, too.

Urging people to eat more pulses, Dr Sievenpiper said: “We have a lot of room in our diets for increasing our intake to derive the cardiovascular benefits. As an added bonus, they’re inexpensive.”
Sievenpiper suggests that people could increase the cholesterol-lowering benefits by building their diets around these groups of foods. Have some oatmeal in the morning, nuts as a snack and bean salad for lunch, for example. Each food would take on about a 5% decrease in bad cholesterol.
“You could build a portfolio of foods that could actually give you cholesterol-lowering that could rival drugs. That’s how diet could have a benefit in terms of heart disease risk in a way that’s meaningful and comparable with [statins],” Sievenpiper said. “Pulses are a superfood as they offer a lot of different potential benefits for people,” he said.

Toss the Salt and Spice Up Your Life

Here's a crazy stat: only 3% of Americans consume the Institute of Medicine's recommended 1,500 mg or less of sodium per day (the upper limit, FYI, is 2,300). That's a bad thing, since high sodium consumption can raise blood pressure, which is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke.
"It is difficult to adhere to guidelines for sodium intake because sodium is very common in the food supply," said Cheryl Anderson, Ph.D., of the University of California at San Diego School of Medicine's Division of Preventive Medicine. "To meet guidelines, it is recommended that Americans prepare and consume fresh foods instead of packaged or processed foods." Which, let's face it, is way easier said than done.

So a new study from Anderson and her team of researchers is promising: they tested out an intervention focusing on teaching participants to flavor their food using herbs and spices, and found that by the end of the study period, compared to a control group, the intervention group was taking in significantly less sodium.

The study
The study, which was presented at an annual conference hosted by the American Heart Association, followed 55 volunteers involved in a two-phase experiment spanning 24 weeks. At the start of the study, more than 60% of them had high blood pressure, and about 18% reported diabetes or weight problems.
For the first four weeks, all participants followed a low-sodium diet with foods flavored with herbs and spices. For example:

• Meat flavored with a rub made from olive oil, coffee extract, cherry extract, smoke paprika and smokehouse pepper
• Spreading olive oil flavored with garlic powder on unsalted bread before making grilled cheese
• A marinade made with lime juice, black pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, onion powder and honey

For the remaining 20 weeks, participants were either asked to lower their sodium intake on their own or partake in a behavioral intervention program designed to educate them on low-sodium eating. The sessions focused on ways to substitute salt with herbs and spices when cooking. Anderson and her colleagues found that, although sodium intake went up for both groups following the initial four-week intervention, those participating in the behavioral sessions ate significantly less salt over the 20-week period. On average, they consumed nearly 1,000 daily milligrams of sodium less than the control group.

"People in the intervention group learned problem-solving strategies, use of herbs and spices in recipes, how culture influences spice choices, how to monitor diet, overcoming the barriers to making dietary changes, how to choose and order foods when eating out and how to make low-sodium intake permanent," Anderson explained.

Spice it up - for better overall health
The results backup a number of other studies highlighting the benefits of bringing a more diverse range of spices into your cooking. One example is a recent paper from the University of Kentucky, in which researchers show that curcumin — a compound occurring in curry — may slow the growth of breast tumors.
With some development, the education model outlined in the study could prove a valuable tool for health officials working to sodium-related health complications like hypertension, osteoporosis, and kidney disease. "Given the challenges of lowering salt in the American diet, we need a public health approach aimed at making it possible for consumers to adhere to an eating pattern with less salt. This intervention using education and tasty alternatives to sodium could be one solution."
Large-scale interventions, including increasing access to fresh foods and whole grains, will likely be necessary to help people achieve lower sodium levels nationwide, according to Anderson.
"We need to be mindful of food access issues and how they are playing out for some of our most vulnerable citizens..." Anderson said. "Spices and herbs are a wonderful message, because from an access perspective, people can grow herbs and spices relatively cheap; people could get to them relatively easily if they have a supermarket somewhere close by. But we need to be mindful of how the message of ‘eat more herbs and spices’ reaches everyone, not just those of us who have more access or means."




 Sources: http://newsroom.heart.org/, http://www.medicaldaily.com/, http://www.self.com/, http://www.foxnews.com/

For Strong Bones, Eat Magnesium Rich Foods - Study

A higher intake of magnesium may reduce the risk of hip fractures, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and published in the journal Bone.

Norway has one of the highest rates of hip fractures in the world, with approximately 9,000 cases per year. This is considered a major public health problem, given the seriousness of hip fractures and the high costs of care.
In the United States, there were 258,000 hospital admissions for hip fractures among people aged 65 and older, in 2010, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Although scientists have identified many hip fracture risk factors, including smoking, body mass index, vitamin D levels, diet and exercise, these factors are unable to explain the majority of variation in fracture rates.

Because both hip fracture rates and water quality vary dramatically across separate regions of Norway, the researchers sought to determine whether different levels of magnesium and calcium in drinking water were correlated with rates of hip fractures. Both calcium and magnesium are known to play a role in bone strength.

Magnesium protects; calcium doesn't
For the study, the researchers collected information from three sources - a prior project in Norway on drinking water, data about Norwegians from the National Population Register from 1994 until 2000 and the registry of hip fractures. The researchers followed 700,000 men and women over the period of seven years. Information from these sources was clubbed to create a list of fractures occurring in areas where calcium and magnesium in drinking water was low. They found about 5,500 hip fractures among men and 13,600 hip fractures for women during this period. The experts said that the absence of magnesium in drinking water could explain the high number of hip fractures in Norway.

"The protective effect of magnesium was unsurprising but the correlation between calcium and magnesium in water and hip fracture was complex and somewhat unexpected," Cecilie Dahl, co-author of the study, said in a statement. "Therefore more research is needed to get a more reliable result of the relationship between drinking water and hip fractures and to get a better picture of the biological mechanism in the body."

Up your magnesium intake
If this study's findings are confirmed, the researchers said, utility companies may be able to reduce hip fracture rates simply by adding more magnesium to the water.

But there's no need for individual consumers to rely on water companies to boost their magnesium intake for them. You can increase the amount of magnesium in your diet simply by eating more green leafy vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds.

And it will benefit more than just your bones. A study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that higher magnesium intake was correlated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer, while one in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found an association with lower risk of stroke. And higher magnesium intake may also lower your risk of diabetes, according to a study in the journal Diabetes Care.



Sources: http://www.fhi.no/eway/, http://www.sciencedaily.com/, http://www.eurekalert.org/, http://www.naturalnews.com/, http://www.universityherald.com/

Forget five a day: You need SEVEN portions of fresh fruit and veg per day to live longer, says new research

Five portions of fruit and vegetables a day – a familiar mantra for those concerned about their own and their children's health – may not, after all, be enough, according to a new report by scientists, who suggest we should instead be aiming for seven a day, and mostly vegetables at that.

Good fruit, bad fruit
Examining the eating habits of 65,000 people in England between 2001 and 2013, the researchers from University College London (UCL) found that people who ate seven or more portions daily had a 42% reduced risk of death overall compared to those who managed just one. Boosting consumption was also associated with a 25% lower risk of cancer and 31% lower risk of heart disease or stroke.
Fresh vegetables were found to have the strongest protective effect, followed by salad and then fruit. Two to three daily portions of vegetables resulted in a 19% lower risk of death among those studied, compared with 10% for the equivalent amount of fruit. Overall, vegetables pack more of a protective punch than fruit, the authors said.

There was a surprise finding: people who ate canned or frozen fruit actually had a higher risk - 17% -  of heart disease, stroke and cancer.
The authors, Dr Oyinlola Oyebode and colleagues from the department of epidemiology and public health at UCL, said they were unsure how to interpret the findings on canned or frozen fruit. It could be that people eating canned fruit may not live in areas where there is fresh fruit in the shops, which could indicate a poorer diet.
Alternatively, they could be people who are already in ill-health or they could lead hectic lifestyles. There is also another possibility: frozen and tinned fruit were grouped together in the questions, but while frozen fruit is considered to be nutritionally the same as fresh, tinned fruit is stored in syrup containing extra sugar. More work needs to be done to see whether sweetened, tinned fruit is in fact the issue, the researchers say.

Why these findings are interesting
Oyebode and colleagues took into account the socio-economic background, smoking habits and other lifestyle factors that affect people's health. What they have found, they say, is a strong association between high levels of fruit and vegetable consumption and lower premature death rates – not a causal relationship.
But the strength of the study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, is in the big numbers and the fact that the data comes from the real world – not a collection of individuals who had a particular health condition or occupation, but a random selection.

Can policy changes encourage us to eat more fruit and veggies?
The study calls for the 5-a-day message based on World Health Organisation guidance to be revised upwards, and possibly exclude portions of dried and tinned fruit, smoothies and fruit juice which contain large amounts of sugar.
Other experts agreed that the study was sound and representative of the population, but cautioned that in a study of the habits of people in the real world, it is hard to take full account of complications, such as education, smoking habits and people failing to tell the exact truth about their diet.
They say it is too early to change the current 5-a-day message to seven or more a day on the basis of this study. Considering that most people do not achieve the 5-a-day target, experts believe moving the goalposts to 7-a-day will deter people from even trying to eat a healthier diet.

They say current efforts will therefore be better spent in getting the population intake to meet the guideline of eating at least 5-a-day, which offers a win-win for all.

Bottom line
"The clear message here is that the more fruit and vegetables you eat, the less likely you are to die at any age. Vegetables have a larger effect than fruit, but fruit still makes a real difference.
However, people shouldn't feel daunted by a big target like seven. Whatever your starting point, it is always worth eating more fruit and vegetables.
In our study even those eating one to three portions had a significantly lower risk than those eating less than one." concluded Dr Oyinlola Oyebode.

Sources: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/, http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/, http://www.newscientist.com/, http://www.theguardian.com/, http://www.independent.co.uk/, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

Why do some stay slim despite eating high-calorie food?

We've often come across people who tend to eat a lot yet remain slim, dodging the effect of the extra calories consumed. The answer lies in our muscles. The way the muscles of the inherently thin work may give them the edge, research reveals.

"Daily physical activity is an inherited trait with a strong association to how fat or thin a person is," said Chaitanya K. Gavini, a researcher with Kent State University's School of Biomedical Sciences.

The study
Aerobic capacity or the Genetic Tendency is a major predictor of daily physical activity level among humans and laboratory animals. In the study, researchers compared female rats with high aerobic capacity (genetic tendency toward leanness) or low aerobic capacity (genetic tendency toward obesity) to investigate how muscle physiology affects leanness.

Though the rats in each group were similar in weight and lean body mass, the rats with a high aerobic capacity were consistently more active than the low capacity rats. While all the rats had similar energy expenditures when at rest, big differences in energy expenditure (calorie burn) occurred during mild exercise.

The findings
"We found the muscles of rats with lean genes demonstrated 'poor fuel economy', meaning that they burned more calories when performing the same exercise as those with fat genes," Gavini added. This may be owing to more lean rats having higher levels of proteins that support energy expenditure and lower levels of proteins that encourage energy conservation.

Bottom line
The research has implications for how we consider metabolism when attempting to prevent or treat obesity, Gavini noted in the study published in the American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Sources: http://machineslikeus.com/, http://www.sciencedaily.com/, http://medicalxpress.com/

This is gross: is Facebook triggering eating disorders?

Provocative new research ties high Facebook use to an increased risk of eating disorders.
Florida State University investigators studied a group of college women and found that more time on Facebook was associated with higher levels of disordered eating. The research, published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders, is believed to be the first of its kind to prove that time spent on the social media website reinforces women’s concerns about weight and shape, and can lead to increased anxiety.

Women who placed greater importance on receiving comments and “likes” on their status updates and were more likely to untag photos of themselves and compare their own photos to friends’ posted photos reported the highest levels of disordered eating.
“Facebook provides a fun way to stay connected with friends, but it also presents women with a new medium through which they are confronted by a thin ideal that impacts their risk for eating disorders,” said lead study author and psychology professor Pamela Keel in a statement.

The study
Keel, along with co-authors Annalise Mabe and K. Jean Forney, studied 960 female college students.
These women were evaluated on the time they spent on Facebook, how important they considered ‘likes’ to be and whether or not they ‘untagged’ photos of themselves.
‘Over 95% of college women in our study use Facebook, and those with Facebook accounts described typically spending 20 minutes on the site during each visit, amounting to over an hour on the site each day,’ said Dr Pamela Keel.
Dr Keel found that the women who spent the most time on Facebook had the highest levels of body image problems and were the most likely to have an eating disorder.

Increased body consciousness raises the risk of an eating disorder
‘This causal link is important because anxiety and body image concerns both increase risk for developing eating disorders,’ Dr Keel stated. She added: ‘Facebook merges powerful peer influences with broader societal messages that focus on the importance of women's appearance into a single platform that women carry with them throughout the day’.
‘As researchers and clinicians attempt to understand and address risk factors for eating disorders, greater attention is needed to the emerging role of social media in young people's lives.’These women were also more likely to view receiving comments and ‘likes’ on status updates as important, frequently they ‘untagged’ pictures of themselves and compared their photos to those of friends. ‘In examining the immediate consequences of Facebook use, we found that 20 minutes of Facebook use contributed to maintenance of higher weight and shape concerns and anxiety compared to a control internet condition’.

Bottom line
Researchers have long recognized the powerful impact of peer/social influences and traditional media on the risk for eating disorders. Facebook combines those factors.
“Now it’s not the case that the only place you’re seeing thin and idealized images of women in bathing suits is on magazine covers,” Keel said. “Now your friends are posting carefully curated photos of themselves on their Facebook page that you’re being exposed to constantly. It represents a very unique merging of two things that we already knew could increase risk for eating disorders.”

The research is important because it may lead to interventions to reduce risk factors for eating disorders, which are among the most serious forms of mental illness.
“Eating disorders are associated with the highest rates of mortality of any psychiatric illness,” Keel said. “They are associated with high rates of chronicity — they’re not things that women necessarily grow out of. We know that peer factors have a significant influence, so understanding when and how peers do things that are unhelpful to one another gives us an important opportunity to protect and prevent.”
Ironically, Facebook may be one of the best ways to employ intervention strategies, such as encouraging women to put a stop to so-called “fat talk.”
“That’s when women get together and engage in negative commentary, usually about their own body, and it gets reinforced because it’s a way women bond with one another and they get reassurance — ‘Oh, no, you don’t look fat. Look at me,’” she said.
“It’s bad for women because it reinforces how important it is to be thin and reinforces really negative talk about the self.”

Her advice to young women?
“Consider what it is you are pursuing when you post on Facebook,” she said. “Try to remember that you are a whole person and not an object, so don’t display yourself as a commodity that then can be approved or not approved.”

Sources: http://www.ahchealthenews.com/, http://psychcentral.com/news/, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/