FAT FIGHTING FOODS - infographic

As amazing as it may seem, it is possible to boost your metabolism with metabolism foods. Since metabolism is basically how fast and efficiently your body burns the calories you eat every day, the idea is to eat only what your body needs for optimal cell function on a daily basis. That means choosing foods low in caloric value, but high in nutritional value. In addition, some of the foods found in nature can speed up your metabolism and help with fat burning.

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Changing gut bacteria through diet affects the way we think - study shows

Researchers have known that the brain sends signals to the gut, which is why stress and other emotions can contribute to gastrointestinal symptoms. This study (conducted by scientists with UCLA’s Gail and Gerald Oppenheimer Family Center for Neurobiology of Stress and the Ahmanson–Lovelace Brain Mapping Center at UCLA) shows what has been suspected but until now had been proved only in animal studies: that signals travel the opposite way as well.

“Time and time again, we hear from patients that they never felt depressed or anxious until they started experiencing problems with their gut,” said Dr Kirsten Tillisch lead author of the study. “Our study shows that the gut–brain connection is a two-way street.”

“Many of us have a container of yogurt in our refrigerator that we may eat for enjoyment, for calcium or because we think it might help our health in other ways,” Tillisch said. “Our findings indicate that some of the contents of yogurt may actually change the way our brain responds to the environment. When we consider the implications of this work, the old sayings ‘you are what you eat’ and ‘gut feelings’ take on new meaning.”

In the study, published in the journal Gastroenterology. thirty-six women were divided in into three groups: one group ate a yogurt containing a mix of probiotics (Bifidobacteriumanimalis subsp Lactis, Streptococcus thermophiles, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, and Lactococcus lactis subsp Lactis twice a day for four weeks); another group consumed a dairy product that looked and tasted like the yogurt but contained no probiotics; and a third group ate no product at all.
The researchers found that the brain effects from the probiotic food could be seen in many areas, including those involved in sensory processing and those associated with emotion.

The knowledge that signals are sent from the intestine to the brain and that they can be modulated by a dietary change is likely to lead to an expansion of research aimed at finding new strategies to prevent or treat digestive, mental and neurological disorders, said Dr. Emeran Mayer, a professor of medicine, physiology and psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the study’s senior author.
“There are studies showing that what we eat can alter the composition and products of the gut flora — in particular, that people with high-vegetable, fiber-based diets have a different composition of their microbiota, or gut environment, than people who eat the more typical Western diet that is high in fat and carbohydrates,” Mayer said. “Now we know that this has an effect not only on the metabolism but also affects brain function.”

The UCLA researchers are seeking to pinpoint particular chemicals produced by gut bacteria that may be triggering the signals to the brain. They also plan to study whether people with gastrointestinal symptoms such as bloating, abdominal pain and altered bowel movements have improvements in their digestive symptoms which correlate with changes in brain response. Meanwhile, these findings could lead the way to creating probiotic dietary interventions that alter mood, anxiety, stress, and pain sensitivity.It's also possible that changing the composition of gut bacteria could lead to treatments for chronic pain disorders, he said, as well as symptoms of brain conditions like autism, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's disease.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF YOGURT

Yogurt was a long-established staple in Eastern Europe and the Middle East before it reached our shores. Today, yogurt is commonly consumed by men, women, and children of all ages; walk into any supermarket, and you'll see the varieties and flavors of this nutritious food take up considerable space in the dairy section. Yogurt is one of the foods which are very simple but have a lot of benefits and do well to our bodies. Here you can read how including yogurt in your daily diet can make your body healthier.

Yogurt is easier to digest than milk
Many people who cannot tolerate milk, either because of a protein allergy or lactose intolerance, can enjoy yogurt. The culturing process makes yogurt more digestible than milk. The live active cultures create lactase, the enzyme lactose-intolerant people lack, and another enzyme contained in some yogurts (beta-galactosidase) also helps improve lactose absorption in lactase-deficient persons. Bacterial enzymes created by the culturing process, partially digest the milk protein casein, making it easier to absorb and less allergenic. While the amount varies among brands of yogurt, in general, yogurt has less lactose than milk. The culturing process has already broken down the milk sugar lactose into glucose and galactose, two sugars that are easily absorbed by lactose-intolerant persons.

Yogurt is packed with vitamins
One serving is a significant source of potassium, phosphorous, riboflavin, iodine, zinc, and vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid). Yogurt also contains B12, which maintains red blood cells and helps keep your nervous system functioning properly. Vitamin B12 is found mostly in animal products, such as chicken and fish, so strict vegetarians can easily fall short. Eating more yogurt can help close the nutrient gap: an eight-ounce serving contains 1.4 micrograms of the vitamin, about 60% of what adult women need daily. 

Yogurt is a rich source of protein
Yogurt can be an excellent source of protein, but one variety may contain more than double the protein of another. Greek yogurt, which is strained to make it thicker, has up to 20 grams of protein per container; traditional yogurt may have as few as five grams. If you're eating it for the protein, look for brands that provide at least eight to 10 grams per serving.

Yogurt curbs your hunger

The protein in yogurt isn't only good for muscle repair and growth, it also also fills you up. Studies also suggest that a higher protein breakfast can curb hunger later in the day. In addition, a study from the University of Washington in Seattle tested hunger, fullness, and calories eaten at the next meal on 16 men and 16 women who had a 200-calorie snack. The snack was either:

• Semisolid yogurt containing pieces of peach and eaten with a spoon
• The same yogurt in drinkable form
• A peach-flavored dairy beverage
• Peach juice

Although those who had the yogurt snacks did not eat fewer calories at the next meal, both types of yogurt resulted in lower hunger ratings and higher fullness ratings than either of the other snacks.

Yogurt may help you lose weight
In addition to keeping you feeling full longer, Harvard researchers found that bacterial cultures in yogurt help to shed pounds. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed that people who ate a serving of yogurt every day lost an average of one pound every four years. Previously, a University of Tennessee, Knoxville study showed that yogurt increases fat loss. People who ate 18 ounces of yogurt a day -- in conjunction with cutting their total calories -- lost 22% more weight and 81% more belly fat than dieters who skipped the snack. They also retained one-third more calorie-torching lean muscle mass, which can help you maintain weight loss.

Yogurt boosts the immune system

While much also remains to be learned about probiotics and the immune system, recent studies suggest that certain probiotic strains offer some benefits:

• One review article suggests probiotics may help with inflammatory bowel disease by changing the intestinal microflora and lessening the immune system response that can worsen the disease.
• Another study indicated probiotics may enhance resistance to and recovery from infection. In research on elderly people, researchers found that the duration of all illnesses was significantly lower in a group that consumed a certain probiotic found in fermented milk. They reported a possible 20% reduction in the length of winter infections (including gastrointestinal and respiratory infections).
• Yogurt containing two probiotics, lactobacillus and bifidobacterium, was found to improve the success of drug therapy (using four specific medications) on 138 people with persistent H. pylori infections, according to a recent Taiwanese study. H. pylori is a bacterium that can cause infection in the stomach and upper part of the small intestine. It can lead to ulcers and can increase the risk of developing stomach cancer as well.

Yogurt is good for digestive system
There's some evidence that yogurt with active cultures may help certain gastrointestinal conditions, including:

• Lactose intolerance
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Colon cancer
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• H. pylori infection

That's what researchers from the Jean Mayer U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University concluded in a review article. The benefits are thought to be due to:

• changes in the microflora of the gut
• the time food takes to go through the bowel
• enhancement of the body's immune system.

Yogurt is good for the bones
Yogurt is a good source of calcium and vitamin D, which are both necessary for maintaining healthy bones. Since it naturally contains calcium, you'd think the amount would be the same no matter which yogurt you pick. Wrong. The levels can vary widely from brand to brand, so you really need to check the label. How much is in a container depends on processing. For instance, fruit yogurt tends to have less calcium than plain because the sugar and fruit take up precious space in the container. Vitamin D isn't naturally in yogurt, but because it helps boost calcium absorption, most companies add it: it's really important to check the nutrition labels.

Yogurt may help lower blood pressure

Yogurt is rich in potassium, which can help to lower blood pressure. It's also high in calcium, a lack of which contributes to high blood pressure. One study, which followed more than 5,000 university graduates in Spain for about two years, found a link between dairy intake and risk of high blood pressure. "We observed a 50% reduction in the risk of developing high blood pressure among people eating 2-3 servings of low-fat dairy a day (or more), compared with those without any intake," Alvaro Alonso, MD, PhD, a researcher in the department of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, says in an interview. Although most of the low-fat dairy consumed by the study subjects was as milk, Alvaro believes low-fat yogurt would likely have the same effect. Dutch researchers recently reported that higher dairy consumption (mainly from milk and yogurt) was modestly linked to lower blood pressure in 2064 Dutch men and women ages 50 to 75.

Yogurt can help your smile

Despite its sugar content, yogurt doesn't cause cavities. When scientists at Marmara University in Turkey tested low-fat, light, and fruit flavors, they found that none of them eroded tooth enamel, the main cause of decay. The lactic acid in yogurt appears to give your gums protection as well. People who eat at least two ounces a day have a 60% lower risk of acquiring severe periodontal disease than those who skip it.




Sources: http://www.webmd.com/, http://www.businessinsider.com/, http://beforeitsnews.com , http://www.askdrsears.com/

EATING SLOWLY CAN HELP CURB CALORIES BUT ONLY IF...

All dieters are told one possible strategy to control caloric consumption is to eat more slowly.
But does it really work? A new study says that may all depend on how much you already weigh.
Led by Jen Copeland, a former graduate student in Texas Christian U’s Department of Kinesiology, under the guidance of professor, Dr. Meena Shah, the study showed that eating speeds affect different weight groups differently. Specifically, overweight and obese individuals may not reap the same benefits of eating slowly as their normal-weight counterparts.

The study, published online Jan. 2 in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, is especially noteworthy because it analyses the intricate relationship between eating speed and calorie consumption in two different weight groups. Previous studies on eating speed and body weight primarily focused only on normal-weight individuals.

The study
The team's study included 35 normal weight people and 35 who were overweight or obese. All of the participants were asked to eat the same vegetarian pasta meal on two different occasions. The first time around, people were asked to eat either quickly or slowly, based on a random assignment. A few days later, they were given the opposite instructions.

On fast eating days, the researchers asked participants to eat as quickly as possible without feeling uncomfortable - as though they had time constraints. They told them to take large bites, chew quickly, not put utensils down and not pause between bites.
On the slow eating days, they told people to eat as if they had no time constraints. They instructed them to take small bites, chew thoroughly and put their fork or spoon down and pause between bites. The researchers secretly measured how much food participants ate by weighing their plates after meals.

The results
Normal weight participants consumed 88 fewer calories during the meal when they ate slowly, on average - 805 calories compared to 893 calories during the faster meal. That was a clear change.
Overweight and obese people consumed 58 fewer calories during the slow meal - 667 calories versus 725 calories. But that difference could have been due to chance: Shah believes the overweight and obese participants may have eaten less because they felt self-conscious during the study.
Dr. Shah and her team determined that this 58-kilocalorie drop was not large enough to be considered statistically significant, meaning that eating more slowly doesn’t necessarily aid in controlling calories if you are already overweight or obese.

But there is a silver lining: satiety. Although the overweight or obese group didn’t eat much less calorie-wise, they reported feeling significantly less hungry 60 minutes after the start of the slow meal than after the fast one. The same went for the normal-weight group.

Dr. Shah and her fellow researchers surmised that this feeling of being less hungry might be linked to increased oro-sensory signals influencing the metabolic processes that determine hunger and fullness. Another theory is that slower eating makes subjects more mindful when it comes to meals – providing more time for sensory experiences that help determine levels of hunger and fullness. It may also be partly linked to the increased water consumption (both weight groups drank significantly more water over the course of the slower-paced meal).

Dr. Shah suggested, “Slowing the speed of eating may help to lower energy intake and suppress hunger levels, and it may even enhance the enjoyment of a meal.”

Wise words to remember the next time you pick up a fork.



Sources: http://www.reuters.com/, http://consumer.healthday.com, http://www.newsevents.tcu.edu/

ALSO EXERCISING TOO MUCH CAN BECOME A PROBLEM - infographic

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SMELLS TO HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT

People have used the scents of plants, trees, herbs and fruits since ancient times to fight inflammation, depression and induce sleep. “Smells act on the brain like a drug,” says neurologist Dr Alan Hirsch, founder of the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago.
“In the future there will be new treatments based on smell.”

Smells stimulate nerves in the nose that send impulses to the brain. These impulses usually go to the brain’s limbic system which is the center of our emotions, and this may help to explain why so many scents can trigger our emotions and memories. The limbic lobe in turn directly activates the hypothalamus, which houses and controls our satiety center. In other words, our nose dictates our hunger level more quickly and more efficiently than our stomach!

Appetite suppressing scents whose effectiveness has been proven
In scientific research, people preferred sweet smells, and strongly sweet scents such as chocolate often triggered feelings of hunger and led to overeating or binge eating, while “neutral” sweet smells actually curbed appetite.

Green apple and banana
To test this theory, researchers asked 3,193 overweight people (mostly women) aged 18-64 to inhale a variety of “neutral” sweet smells, including banana, green apple, vanilla, and peppermint, three times in each nostril whenever they were hungry. After six months, the participants in this study lost an average of five pounds a month, or 30 pounds in total.

Vanilla
Researchers have found that the scent of vanilla specifically reduces your cravings for chocolate and it can also reduce your cravings for other sweets. You can spray vanilla-scented perfume, use a vanilla-based air freshener or light a vanilla-scented candle when you feel tempted to reach out for something sweet.

Peppermint
Bryan Raudenbush, a professor at Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia, found that volunteers who sniffed peppermint scent every two hours were not as hungry as nonsniffers and — even better — they ate 2,800 fewer calories in a week. That's enough to lose close to a pound.

The peppermint, he says,  “is distracting you from your hunger pains, and you don't feel as inclined to eat as much.” Raudenbush's earlier studies showed that athletes perform better if they sniff peppermint. “They were able to go longer at the gym, able to push themselves, were more motivated, less fatigued and felt like they had more energy.” The study also concluded “another implication would be that peppermint scent could be used to curb individuals' false hunger cravings, i.e. emotional eating.”

Garlic and spicy foods
According to a 2012 study in the journal Flavour, strong aromas make you take smaller bites of food. Look for spicy food with bold flavors like chiles or onions, or try sprinkling red chile pepper flakes into a simple soup for a strong kick.

Extra Virgin olive oil
A new study from the German Research Center for Food Chemistry found that even just smelling Extra Virgin olive oil may lead to greater feelings of fullness. When an aromatic extract was added to yogurt, participants consumed fewer calories and had a better blood sugar response compared to those who were given plain yogurt without any added extracts. They also had higher increases in serotonin, a hormone associated with satiety. This is great news for olive oil enthusiasts because this potent substance is also loaded with MUFAs, the healthy fats that help blast belly fat.

Grapefruit
This vitamin C and lycopene-loaded citrus powerhouse is a favorite fruit of dieters, but it might boost your weight loss efforts even more if you take a few seconds to smell it before digging in. Researchers at Osaka University in Japan found that exposing rats to the scent of grapefruit oil for 15-minute intervals helped lower their appetite and weight. Researchers believe it may have to do with how the smell interacts with liver enzymes.

Fennel
This crunchy, refreshing plant with a hint of licorice flavoring has long been used by Italians as a palate cleansers between courses, but according to the West Coast Institute of Aromatherapy, it also functions as an appetite suppresant. When cravings hit, break off a stalk or two of the celery-like herb and have a tall, cold glass of water.



Sources: http://www.express.co.uk/, http://www.rd.com/,

Adding avocado to lunch helps increase satiety

The avocado’s effectiveness in reaching feelings of fullness and what is known as the Satiety Index may be a key link to effective weight loss. The Internet is buzzing with the latest research released in Nutrition Journal’s November 2013 publication, which found that consuming half an avocado leads to a reduced chance of snacking after meals and a greater feeling of fullness.

What’s the secret behind participants feeling full and less peckish after consuming the green fruit?
The answer, while seemingly simple, lies in large part in people’s feelings of satiety. "People who feel satisfied are less likely to snack between meals," said Dr. Joan Sabate, Chair of the nutrition department of Loma Linda University.

The trial
For the study, 26 people ages 25 to 65 who were overweight and moderately obese (with a body mass index higher than 25 but less than 35) were given the same breakfast for three days. Then for lunch, the participants ate one of three meals: a control lunch, which did not include avocados but had a salad, a French baguette and some chocolate chip cookies; an avocado-inclusive lunch, which included about half an avocado (but where portion sizes of salad dressing and cookie were reduced so that the calories and nutrients were still the same as the control lunch); and an avocado-added lunch, which included about half an avocado in addition to the control lunch.

The results
Researchers found that participants who added half a fresh avocado to their lunch reported 40% decreased desire to eat in the following three hours as well as a 28% reduced desire to eat over the subsequent five hours. In addition, they reported increased feelings of satisfaction over the three hours following the meal.
However, the researchers did note that addition of the half-avocado did mean an additional consumption of 112 calories. Avocados are known to be high in fat -- but they're high in the good kinds of fats, called monounsaturated fat, that are known to help lower cholesterol levels.

Bottom line
Study leader, Dr Joan Sabate, said: "Satiety is an important factor in weight management, because people who feel satisfied are less likely to snack between meals. We noted that though adding avocados increased participants' calorie and carbohydrate intake at lunch, there was no increase in blood sugar levels beyond what was observed after eating the standard lunch. This leads us to believe that avocados’ potential role in blood sugar management is worth further investigation".
Satiety – or the feelings of fullness – provides a regulatory signal to our brains when it’s time to stop eating. This is done through our bodies as food and drink is consumed, digested and absorbed. So if our bodies would just listen to when our feelings of fullness arrived, wouldn’t we have already solved our own weight issues and curbed our eating habits long ago?
Unfortunately, it’s a more complex story than that, as full satiety signals often take 15-20 minutes after eating before people process the complete feeling of fullness. The British Nutrition Foundation reveals there are a number of other factors that also control our eating behavior and impact satiety – including portion size, emotional states and social situations which may or may not include alcohol.

The Satiety Index
The avocado’s key ability to lead to feelings of fullness and impact weight loss is not lost amongst other foods which also curb hunger through the Satiety Index.
A quick scan of the Satiety Index reveals that in general, fruits (such as oranges, bananas, apples) and proteins (lentils, cheese, fish and beef) rank quite high on the index scale. Some carbohydrates do as well; potatoes rank at 323%, for example. The list of foods low on the index include snacks, such as peanuts, chips and ice cream.

Best choices
Some of the best foods for satiety include proteins such as eggs, beans and the aforementioned beef. And for a snack that did make the Satiety Index score:  popcorn. As long as it’s not “smothered in butter, oil, and salt,” the hull is rich with polyphenols – antioxidants with disease-fighting properties. And of course, the avocado, with its ability to aid in the feelings of fullness is amongst the other foods to help the journey of effective weight loss.



Sources: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/ , http://www.dailymail.co.uk/, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/, http://guardianlv.com/