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Quick Tip: Think Before You Snack in the Morning

November 30, 2011 By

The next time you reach for that midmorning snack after breakfast, think about it: are you really hungry? If the answer is no, that unneeded morning snack may be the reason why you’re not losing weight, according to a new study.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, followed 123 overweight women on weight-loss plans and found that the women who ate a snack between breakfast and lunch lost seven percent of their body weight over a year, while those who didn’t snack in the morning lost more — 11 percent of their body weight during the same time period. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Health & Fitness Tagged With: ,

Cooking Should Be Fun

November 29, 2011 By

Food in the different parts of the world has changed dramatically in the recent years. This transformation has brought many peoples’ interest making a living in cooking. As more reality television shows begin featuring aspiring and established chefs, the “chef” occupation has become increasingly popular. Chef or Head Cook Jobs comes with managerial and administrative duties on top of preparing and cooking food, but to most chefs what sets them apart from a cook is the ability to implement menus, develop recipes and, most importantly, create signature dishes for which he or she will be known. This is what made a friend of mine, a culinary expert in his field and has master in cooking techniques to land such a good job abroad where lucrative pay is very promising.

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Can Mother’s Diet During Pregnancy Change Child’s Food Preference?

November 28, 2011 By

What if a mother could predispose her child to like broccoli or Brussels sprouts — or at least not make a face and spit it out — by what she ate during pregnancy?

Some health care practitioners are suggesting that if mothers include a wide range of foods in their diet during pregnancy, they can shape their children’s food preferences later in life. Those choices, researchers say, have the potential to reduce the risks of diabetes and obesity.

The concept is called prenatal flavor learning.

The flavor and odors of what mothers eat show up in the amniotic fluid, which is swallowed by the fetus, and in breast milk. There is evidence that fetal taste bud are mature in utero by 13 to 15 weeks, with taste receptor cells appearing at 16 weeks, according to researchers. [Read more...]

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Mediterranean-ish Diet Tied To Better Heart Health

November 27, 2011 By

Once again, eating a diet based on fish, legumes, vegetables and moderate amounts of alcohol is linked to lower chances of dying from a heart attack, stroke or other vascular “events,” according to a new study of New York City residents.

The mostly Hispanic and black study participants did not necessarily eat traditional foods from Mediterranean countries, but the closer their diets were to the spirit of Mediterranean eating — with plenty of fish, healthy fats like olive oil, whole grains and vegetables — the lower their risk of death from vascular problems including heart attacks.

“While it’s not the Mediterranean diet, it is comparing a healthier diet to a less healthy diet, and there was some improvement,” said Teresa Fung, a professor at Simmons College in Boston who was not involved in the study. [Read more...]

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Canned Foods Raise Levels Of Chemical Linked To Heart Disease, Obesity And Diabetes, Study Shows

November 26, 2011 By

Eating tinned soup may be associated with increased levels of a chemical that is linked to heart disease, obesity and diabetes, a study suggests.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is added to the lining of food and drinks cans to stop rusting and keep food fresh. It is also found in plastic bottles, pizza boxes and dental sealants.

The chemical mimics the effects of oestrogen and some studies suggest it hinders neurological and reproductive development. It is already banned from baby bottles in Europe. [Read more...]

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4 Cups Coffee A Day May Keep Womb Cancer At Bay

November 25, 2011 By

Women, please note – drinking four cups of coffee a day could help you keep womb cancer at bay, a new study has claimed.

Researchers at Harvard School of Public Health have found a link between regular consumption of coffee and lower risk of developing endometrial cancer, the most common form of the disease.

Women who drank four or more cups a day over many years were 25% less likely to develop the disease than those who limited themselves to less than a cup daily, the 26-year study of 70,000 women found.

Both caffeinated and decaffeinated varieties seemed to help ward off the disease, although tea had no effect-They said, “Increasing exercise and maintaining normal body weight are the most important ways to prevent endometrial cancer. Additional strategies are needed and dietary habits such as coffee drinking could provide one option.” [Read more...]

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Exercise Can Make It Easier To Eat Healthy

November 24, 2011 By

The tendency towards a healthy diet and the right amount of physical exercise are interlinked and often go hand in hand, a new study has suggested.

According to researchers from Harvard University, an increase in physical activity is linked to an improvement in diet quality.

“Understanding the interaction between exercise and a healthy diet could improve preventative and therapeutic measures against obesity by strengthening current approaches and treatments,” Miguel Alonso Alonso, a researcher at Harvard University, said.

The researchers also found that exercise also brings benefits such as an increase in sensitivity to physiological signs of fullness. This not only means that appetite can be controlled better but it also modifies hedonic responses to food stimuli. [Read more...]

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