Research shows -Three Foods That Make You Slimmer (Surprisingly)

Here are some foods you must try to stay slim….

 

1. Eat more Curry  

Do you love a great Indian or Thai curry? Good! Because those dishes are prepared with hot chili pepper, which contains a metabolism-revving ingredient called capsaicin. According to SELF contributing editor Janis Jibrin, a registered dietician, capsaicin offers

a "double boost" to your weight-loss efforts. Research from Aarhus University in Denmark, published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, shows that capsaicin consumption was associated with an increase in thermogenesis (the process by which cells convert energy into heat), which boosts body temperature and the metabolism. "It encourages your body to burn more calories," Jibrin explains, "and, according to the research, it may also help suppress appetite."

Just make sure to steer clear of creamy curry sauces, because they can defeat the slimming components of the hot chili.

2. More Cheese

Experts believe that although it's calorie-dense (especially full-fat cheeses), studies show that cheese-eaters tend to be thinner! As SELF previously reported, a study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that women who ate an ounce of full-fat cheese daily gained fewer pounds over time than their less-cheesy peers. A possible explanation is that whole dairy contains conjugated linoleic acid, which may stoke your metabolism. But, keep in mind -- that's only eating one ounce -- not a lot.

Jibrin points to other studies that show consumers of ALL dairy products are thinner, which, she says, may be because of the calcium. "One theory," she says, "is that when you're deficient in calcium, your appetite increases in the hopes that if you eat more, you'll take in more calcium." Jibrin says low-fat cheeses are your best bet for weight loss. "Stick to about 2-3 ounces daily," she recommends, "and try to keep the rest of your meal low in saturated fat, which cheese is notoriously rich in."

3. Eat Mixed nuts

Let's count the ways," says Jibrin. "First, relative to other foods, nuts are highly satiating, meaning you feel fuller, longer for the calories," she says. Research from the University of Barcelona, published in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Proteome Research, found that eating mixed nuts increases your serotonin levels (one of your "feel-good" neurochemicals), which improves your mood, decreases your appetite and is good for your heart!

And, a study from Purdue University, Indiana, published in the International Journal of Obesity, found that when study participants added about 500 calories' worth of peanuts to their diets, not only did they eat less at subsequent meals, but their metabolisms revved up by 11 percent. This brings us to Jibrin's second point: "Compared to other foods, nuts tend to increase calorie burn after eating them." She adds, "You don't fully absorb them, so some of the nuts leave your system -- along with their calories."

(Source- Journal of Biological Chemistry)

Dining out ideas for people with Diabetes

 

Big question –They can eat or not?

Answer –Yes

 

What is type 1 diabetes?

Your body gets energy by making glucose from foods like bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, milk and fruit. To use this glucose, your body needs insulin.

Insulin is a hormone that helps your body control the level of glucose (sugar) in your blood.

Type 1 diabetes is a disease in which the pancreas does not produce insulin. If you have type 1 diabetes, glucose builds up in your blood instead of being used for energy.

The cause of type 1 diabetes remains unknown. However, it is not preventable, and it is not caused by eating too much sugar. The body’s defense system may attack insulin-making cells by mistake, but we don’t know why. People are usually diagnosed with type 1 diabetes before the age of 30, most often during childhood or their teens.

Whether you are eating in a fancy restaurant or at the drive-thru, it is important to make healthy food choices when you have diabetes. Picking the right amount and type of food can help you manage blood glucose levels and maintain your weight

1. Watch out for large portions

Restaurant portions have grown larger over the years. If you are served a big portion of food, you will probably eat more than you need to. This can affect your blood glucose level. Monitor your portion sizes! For balance, your plate should look like this:

•Half the plate should be vegetables

•One quarter of the plate should be grains (like pasta, rice or potato)

•One quarter of the plate should be protein (like lean meat, poultry, fish or tofu)

•Fruit and milk can be on the side

2. Choose healthy foods most often

Scan the menu for fibre-rich foods. Fibre slows the rise in blood glucose levels and helps you feel full. Choose items made with:

•Whole grain bread, bulgur, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, quinoa or oats

•Vegetables and fruit

•Legumes: Beans, chickpeas and lentils

Choose fewer high fat foods that are deep-fried, breaded or battered. Instead, choose items that are poached, baked, steamed, grilled or roasted. Try to have some protein with every meal. Choose lean meat, poultry, fish, tofu or legumes.

Here are some better-for-you restaurant meal choices. Be mindful of the portion sizes:

•Grilled fish with vegetables and potatoes

•Bean burrito in a whole grain tortilla with tomato and lettuce

•Stir-fried vegetables with beef, tofu, shrimp or chicken on steamed noodles

•Vegetarian pizza on whole grain thin crust

•Grilled chicken kebab, salad, hummus and whole grain pita

•Plain single hamburger with salad

•Turkey and vegetable sandwich on whole wheat bread

•Sashimi, brown rice and seaweed salad

3. Know what to ask for

Don’t be shy! Ask your server for information about ingredients and cooking methods. If you know how your food is prepared, you can make changes so your meal will meet your needs. You can also look on the restaurant’s website to see the nutrient content for some restaurant items.

Most restaurants will help with your special requests. You can make your food healthier by asking for:

•Half-portions of large orders

•Sauce or dressing on the side (then dip sparingly)

•Salad or steamed vegetables instead of French fries

•Brown instead of white rice

•No added salt during cooking

•Olive oil instead of butter

•Whole wheat pasta or pizza dough

•Tomato sauce instead of cream sauce

•Less cheese

•Baked instead of fried options

•Leftovers in a to-go container (instead of eating the whole meal)

•Low fat milk instead of cream for coffee

These options may not be on the menu. Ask your server anyway!

4. Limit drinks with extra calories

Many restaurants offer pop with free refills. Remember that regular pop, juice, iced tea and fruit drinks provide sugar and calories, which may make it difficult to control blood glucose levels. The more sugar you consume, the higher your blood glucose will be. Limit regular pop and fruit drinks. Enjoy water or sparkling water instead.

Burn more body fat with modest Exercise changes

Simple exercise alteration for burning more body fat

This is my 5^th article on health issues related to body fat. You can burn more body fat with simple exercise changes.

What are body fats?

The more technical term for body fat is adipose tissue, with individual cells being called adipocytes (adipo = fat ; cyte = cell). In humans, the primary type of fat cell is called white adipose tissue, or WAT, so named because of its color (it’s actually sort of a milky yellow). While there is another type of fat, called brown adipose tissue or BAT (which is actually reddish/orangeish), it’s generally been thought that humans didn’t have much BAT and hence it could be ignored.  As I’ll discuss later, this has been brought into question by recent research. I’ll come back to BAT in the next chapter.

In humans, there may be anywhere from XXX to YYY billion fat cells, which range in diameter from 70 to 120 µm (micro-meters, that’s one millionth of a meter). WAT in humans is composed primarily (anywhere from 80 to 95%) of lipid. By lipid, I mean stored triglycerides (TG) which is simply a glycerol molecule bound to three free fatty acid (FFA) chains.

The remaining part of the fat cell is comprised of a little bit of water as well as all of the cellular machinery needed to produce the various enzymes, proteins, and products that fat cells need to do their duty. As it’s turning out, fat cells produce quite a bit of stuff, some good, some bad, that affects your overall metabolism.

Here are some cool tips to burn fast

 

1. Listen to fast music

 If you seem to have trouble pumping yourself up for a workout, try popping in those ear buds! In a small study by the Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, scientists found that when male college students pedaled stationary bicycles while listening to fast popular music, the subjects pedaled faster and elevated their heart rates more. The students even perceived their workouts to be less intense than they actually were. And when the music slowed down? The opposite happened. So listen to music you love and get your cardio on

2. Speed up

The simplest advice of all for upping your calorie burn is to Increase your pace even if it's just a little bit. The tortoise may have won the race, but the hare burned more calories!

 

3. Don’t work too hard

This might sound counter-intuitive but hear me out. We all know how important intensity is to any workout plan, but also think about how your workout affects the rest of your day. If you spend an hour at the gym sprinting and doing lunges, you might burn 600 calories in a short amount of time, but if that intense workout completely wipes you out for the rest of the day, the extra calorie burn might not be worth it. Be honest with yourself and definitely push yourself, but not so hard that it gets in the way of other daily activities. After all, the goal is to improve your quality of life.

 

4. Add some intervals

By varying your intensity through different intervals (think one minute running then two minutes walking), you can actually improve your fitness more quickly than by steady state cardio, and you can burn more calories. The bonus? Time seems to fly when you add interval training!

 

5. Use your whole body

 Most cardio exercises focus on the lower body (biking, walking, elliptical, stair climbing, etc.), but if you want to burn more calories, one easy tip is to incorporate your upper body. Pump those arms hard and high when running and walking, make sure to grab the elliptical with moving handles, and even consider adding a more full-body exercise to your cardio mix such as the rowing machine. The more muscles you move, the more calories you will burn!

6. Do cardio first

Over the years, many clients have asked me, "Should I do weights or cardio first?" If you want to up your calorie burn (and who doesn't?), research shows that you should do cardio first. Published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, one study examined how many calories exercisers burned doing one of four workout combinations: running only, strength training only, running followed by strength training, and strength training followed by running. Researchers found that while all exercisers experienced a strong "after burn" (a higher rate of calories burned when at rest after exercise) for the two hours after working out, the strength training and run/strength training groups had the highest exercise after burn of all. So what does this mean? Although it's just one study, the takeaway is that we might burn more calories after working out if we do our cardio first.

7. Try plyometric

If you consider yourself an intermediate or advanced exerciser and are looking for ways to burn more calories, plyometrics are the way to go. These high-intensity, explosive exercises such as jumping and hopping, get your heart rate up quickly, which equals a higher rate of calories burned. Additionally, these athletic movements really target your fast-twitch muscles, coordination and agility, so you're training your body in an entirely new and challenging way. And challenging workouts almost always equal results—and more calories burned. Because using proper form is essential when doing these advanced high-impact moves, consider learning the ropes first!

8. More Focus

 

We talk a lot about the importance of the mind-body connection and fitness. Although cardio isn't as Zen-like as yoga, cardio can still benefit from a strong sense of awareness. The next time you do cardio, focus on the movements and breathing while squeezing those muscles. By engaging your mind, you can actually better engage your muscles, which allows you to complete the exercise more easily and still burn more calories!

 

Why couch potato like sitting in work is harming our health (research results)

Many Risks of sitting too long

Prolonged sitting has been engineered into our daily lives. Cars, computers and television are some of the main culprits. Unfortunately, new research suggests that we may be sitting our way to poor health.

An important step is starting to recognize that prolonged sitting can be a health risk. Just as we promote regular participation in moderate physical activity, we can also recommend that people reduce their sitting time.

Research results of sitting long-time

What We found out from the AusDiab Study: Too Much Sitting is a Health Risk

In the mid-1990s, professor Paul Zimmet from the International Diabetes Institute in Melbourne initiated the first national Australian study on the prevalence of diabetes and its risk factors: AusDiab, the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle study.

Included in AusDiab’s detailed biomedical, behavioural and lifestyle assessment protocol was a question regarding television viewing time.

A team led by associate professor David Dunstan used the data from this question to explore whether people’s television viewing time was related to their metabolic health. It turned out that prolonged television viewing time, particularly more than four hours a day, was associated with higher blood sugar levels, higher blood fat levels, larger waist circumference, and higher risk of metabolic syndrome.

 

How working in a sitting position for long time can affect your health

Those who must spend long periods in a seated position on the job such as taxi drivers, call centre professionals and office workers, are at risk for injury and a variety of adverse health effects.

The most common injuries occur in the muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments, affecting the neck and lower back regions. Prolonged sitting:

•reduces body movement making muscles more likely to pull, cramp or strain when stretched suddenly,

•causes fatigue in the back and neck muscles by slowing the blood supply and puts high tension on the spine, especially in the low back or neck, and

•causes a steady compression on the spinal discs that hinders their nutrition and can contribute to their premature degeneration.

Sedentary employees may also face a gradual deterioration in health if they do not exercise or do not lead an otherwise physically active life. The most common health problems that these employees experience are disorders in blood circulation and injuries affecting their ability to move. Deep Veinous Thrombosis (DVT), where a clot forms in a large vein after prolonged sitting, sometimes called "Traveller's Thrombosis" because it is sometimes observed after a long flight, is also a risk.

Employees, who for years spend most of their working time seated, may experience other, less specific adverse health effects. Decreased fitness, reduced heart and lung efficiency, and digestive problems are common. Recent research has identified too much sitting as an important part of the physical activity and health equation, and suggests we should focus on the harm caused by daily inactivity such as prolonged sitting.

Data collected in a 1990's Australian study on the prevalence of diabetes and its risk factors was further analysed by a team led by associate professor David Dunstan to determine whether people's television viewing time was related to their metabolic health. Results showed that people who watched television for long periods of time (more than four hours a day), were at risk of:

•higher blood levels of sugar and fats,

•larger waistlines, and

•higher risk of metabolic syndrome

Regardless of how much moderate to vigorous exercise they had.

In addition, people who interrupted their sitting time more often just by standing or with light activities such as housework, shopping, and moving about the office had healthier blood sugar and fat levels, and smaller waistlines than those whose sitting time was not broken up.

What does this mean for workers?

Injuries resulting from sitting for long periods are a serious occupational health and safety problem and are expected to become more common with the continuing trend toward work in a sitting position. An important step is to recognize that prolonged sitting can be a health risk, and that efforts must be made to design jobs that help people reduce and break up their sitting time.

What can be done if job requires prolonged sitting?

The main objective of a job design for a seated employee is to reduce the amount of time the person spends "just" sitting. Frequent changes in the sitting position are not enough to protect against blood pooling in the legs or to prevent other injuries.

Five minutes break every 50 minutes

Five minutes of a more vigorous activity, such as walking for every 40 to 50 minutes of sitting, can provide protection. These breaks are also beneficial because they give the heart, lungs and muscles some exercise to help counterbalance the effects of sitting for prolonged periods in a relatively fixed position. Where practical, jobs should incorporate "activity breaks" such as work-related tasks away from the desk or simple exercises which employees can carry out at the workstation or worksite.

Adjustments

Another important aspect of job design is consulting with and getting feedback from employees. No matter how good the workplace and the job designs, there are always aspects of the job that can and must be tailored to the individual.

 

Get off your backside as frequently

The bottom line: stand up, move around and get off your backside as frequently as you possibly can. But understand that physical activity is just one part of the equation for preventing the harmful effects of prolonged sitting. Other important factors include chair selection, workstation design and training. More information can be found in Additional Resources below.

How to eat immune boosting foods for less cold and flu in this winter

Best immune system boosting common foods

This is my 4rth article on cold and flu season. In the last blog we saw How to diminish the spreading of cold and flu germs in your house. Catching a cold or flu at least once a year is inevitable for most of people. In this article you will see how to eat immune boosting foods.

 

We can give our body’s defense system a good base with a balanced, nutritious diet: whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and low-fat but nutrient-rich dairy and protein, with some beneficial fats from foods like nuts and fish. But keep an eye out for a few nutrients that your immune system especially depends on:

Eat more Vitamin A

This antioxidant vitamin plays an integral role in maintaining our physical barriers to infection – skin, mucous membranes, and intestinal linings.

Good Food sources

Carrots, kale, chard, collard greens, cantaloupe, tomatoes, and basil, among many other produce section choices.

Eat more B vitamins

 This family of nutrients is involved in cellular energy production, so they support the immune cells in general.

Good Food sources

Plain white mushrooms are a great source of several of the B’s. Almost all types of green vegetables contain plenty of B vitamins. But to get much B6 and B12, you’ll have to add meat, fish, or dairy aisles.

Vitamin E

This antioxidant vitamin supports healthy skin, our immune system’s first and largest protective mechanism – your skin prevents infection by keeping out germs and viruses.

Good Food sources

Mustard, turnip, collard greens, and chard; sunflower seeds and almonds; papaya, kiwifruit, and blueberries.

More Selenium

 We need only a very small amount of this antioxidant mineral. It is involved in most processes in our cells and is required for a health immune system.

Good Food sources

To get your daily fill of selenium, you need only eat one Brazil nut. You can also get selenium from mushrooms, cod, snapper, tuna, halibut, salmon, shrimp, eggs, turkey, oats, or barley.

Zinc intake

Zinc supports the immune system by making sure your immune cells are healthy and functional to fight off possible infections.

Good Food sources

Beef, lamb, and calf’s liver, pumpkin seeds, basil, thyme, sesame seeds; a variety of greens;, squash, asparagus, miso, maple syrup, and mushrooms.

Eat more Probiotic food

Probiotics are good bacteria that may help your immune system in the battle against micro-organisms that might cause disease. Probiotics also support healthy digestion of the vitamins and minerals you need for general health.

Good Food sources

Probiotic foods include fermented items like yogurt, miso, some cheeses, kimchi, sauerkraut, and pickles.

How to diminish the spreading of cold and flu germs in your house?

How to take care of Your Health in Cold or Flu Season

This is my third blog on cold and flu season. In the last blog we saw some Simple and new home remedies for Cough/cold (no side effect). In this blog you will see how to take care of Your Health in Cold or Flu Season.

Catching a cold or flu at least once a year is inevitable for most of people. Here are some tips for take care and cutting down on cold and flu germs in your house.

 

Avoid Sharing

    

Sharing household items such as utensils, towels, bedding, and toothbrushes can spread infections. Make sure each family member has their own, and change and clean them regularly.

 

Clean germ hiding places

Clean the germ hiding places on a regular basis. Focus on the places where germs love to live: doorknobs, light switches, faucets, toilet handles, drawer handles, fridge doors, remote controls, telephones and keyboards.

 

Use household disinfectant

Use soap and water or a regular household disinfectant to clean surfaces. To avoid spreading germs from one surface to another with your cleaning cloth, use a disposable cloth or a separate non-disposable cloth for each surface.

 

Exercise more

By doing low-impact exercise such as a brisk walk stimulates the immune system and activates your body’s defenses against infection.

 

Proper Hand washing

Wash your hands frequently, and teach your kids to do the same. Hands carry germs, and one sick person can spread germs to your whole family by touching things around the house. Cold and flu viruses can live for up to 48 hours on household surfaces. Wash your hands before eating, touching your face, preparing food, or caring for a child after blowing your nose, using the washroom, caring for an animal or sick person, or handling garbage.

 

Cough and sneezing etiquette

Practice good cough and sneezing etiquette. Teach everyone in your family to cough or sneeze into a tissue, or if one is not available, into their sleeve. They should throw out used tissues right away and wash their hands after coughing, sneezing, or handling a used tissue. Research has shown that by doing low-impact exercise such as a brisk walk stimulates the immune system and activates your body’s defenses against infection.

Smokers beware

 

If you smoke, quit smoking as second-hand smoke can increase the risk of colds and make colds worse. If you are having trouble quitting, at least don't smoke in the house. The old tricks of opening windows, smoking in a different room, spraying air freshener, using an air purifier, or turning on a fan don't get rid of harmful second-hand smoke. Don’t forget, children are often exposed to more germs than adults are. Teach them these guidelines, and help them avoid colds and flu.

Lastly, you want to know whether it’s a cold or flu. Some symptoms of colds and flu are similar, and it can be hard to tell them apart. But here are a few things to watch for. Colds start slowly and are generally mild. Flu comes on fast and tends to be more severe. Identifying your illness can help you choose the best medication for relief.