Can you trick your metabolism into burning more calories?

Ready to have your mind blown? Pull up a chair and sit down. This is BIG news!
Many people carefully study food labels in a bid to determine if the product is fattening and unhealthy. And now, research suggests the content of the label could be almost as important as the content of the product itself.
This is because scientists found people’s metabolisms speed up when they believe they are consuming something very indulgent and high in calories – regardless of how fattening the product actually is. In contrast, our metabolisms slow down when they we eat something our bodies believe to be low in calories.

The milkshake study
Alia Crum, clinical psychologist with Columbia Business School in New York,  developed an experiment where two identical milkshakes were labeled as very different foods. One was labeled as a diet drink, with no fat or added sugars and only 140 calories. The other was labeled as an indulgent treat, loaded with sugar, fat and 620 calories.
In reality, the shakes had 380 calories each. They were identical aside from their labels.
The labels created expectations for the study participants. Just as you might read a label for a breakfast cereal and determine one might be better than the other, the 46 participants in this study made judgments on the milkshake they were consuming. It was this mindset that Crum believed had a significant impact on how the body responded to the milkshakes.

As a little scientific background, ghrelin is a hormone secreted in the digestive system in response to hunger. When ghrelin levels rise, it tells us that it’s time to eat and lowers metabolism just in case we have to wait a while before mealtime. After eating, ghrelin levels fall. Researchers have found that a full, satisfying meal causes ghrelin levels to plummet more significantly, ramping up metabolism to digest the bigger meal. Small snacks result in a more conservative drop and metabolism doesn’t fire up in the same way.
In the study, Mind over milkshakes: mindsets, not just nutrients, determine ghrelin response, Crum discovered ghrelin levels (and thusly metabolism) were directly related to what the participants thought they were eating. When they had the supposedly indulgent milkshake, ghrelin levels plummeted, and when they consumed what they thought was a lighter treat, the ghrelin response was far less dramatic.
In the past, scientists believed ghrelin response was related to the nutrients reaching the digestive system. But Crum’s research suggests that’s far from the entire story — that what we think about our food has a significant impact.

Bottom line
When we go into a meal or snack believing we are being deprived, our body responds accordingly, regardless of the content of the meal. But if we sit down to eat foods we believe are somehow “off limits” or far too loaded with calories to be healthy, our digestive system literally gobbles them up, responding with dramatic drops in ghrelin and a higher metabolism.
Perhaps the key to healthy weight management can be found in rethinking what it means to indulge or deprive. As a result, Dr Crum suggests that the best way for people to lose weight might be to eat food that is very low in calories but which they believe to be high in calories.


So - just to start practising- here below you find a low calorie milkshake recipe: enjoy it and think... you're drinking a high calorie drink!

Skinny Chocolate Peanut Butter Milkshake

Preparation time: 5 mns - Number of servings (yield): 3

Ingredients

• 2 cups of ice (optional: skip the ice and use a frozen banana)
• 1 banana
• 2 cups Silk Almond Milk, Dark Chocolate Flavor
• 2 Tablespoons Peanut Butter Powder

Directions

1. Place ice & banana in blender
2. Add Silk Almond Milk
3. Add powdered peanut butter
4. Blend well until smooth & frothy, then serve immediately

Just 3 ingredients and only 130 calories….what’s not to love?


Sources: http://www.ahchealthenews.com/, http://guardianlv.com/, http://www.allvoices.com/, http://fixmoneyy2minutes.com/, http://www.livingwellspendingless.com

Paleo diet twice as effective for weight loss: study

The best way for a woman to lose weight may be to eat like her Stone Age ancestors.

New research shows a cavewoman diet is potentially one of the most effective ways to slim.

Scientists came up with the findings after tracking female dieters for up to two years and comparing weight loss among those on the cavewoman - or paleolithic - diet with those complying with modern nutritional guidelines.

Women who adopted a so-called Palaeolithic diet lost twice as much weight within six months as those who followed a modern programme based on official health guidelines. Researchers also saw a greater reduction in their waist circumference, although the difference between the two groups became smaller after two years of dieting. 

The Palaeolithic diet involves eating plenty of berries, vegetables and lean meats such as chicken, but some types of food such as bread, rice, pasta and dairy products are banned. Scientists said it could be preferable to other forms of diet, such as those which are low in carbohydrates but high in fat, because it strips out all unhealthy foods meaning there are unlikely to be negative side effects.

It is designed to simulate what our ancestors ate before the advent of farming, meaning followers can eat whatever they like except for certain types of food including grains, refined sugars and salt.
One previous experiment found that men who followed the Palaeolithic diet for just three weeks were less likely to suffer from heart attacks and strokes.

The study in detail
In the latest study, published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers divided 70 postmenopausal, heavily overweight women into two groups.
One was told to follow a Palaeolithic diet, and the other a Nordic diet based on whole-grain cereals, low-fat dairy products, fruit, pulses, fish and vegetable oils.
Dr Caroline Mellberg, who led the study along with colleagues at Umeå University and researchers at Cambridge University, said: “Since pasta and rice and such things were excluded, most [participants] ate pretty normal things like a chicken fillet, but they excluded pasta and added vegetables instead.”
Participants were asked to design their diet to get about 30% of their total energy intake from protein but found it difficult to reach that level and compensated by eating extra carbohydrates and five to seven portions of fruit and vegetables each day, she added.
“They lost weight probably due to a low energy intake,” she said. “It is quite hard to eat enough fruit and vegetables to fill your energy needs. None of them complained about being hungry, so I guess the foods are quite filling. They ate a lot.”

After six months those on the Palaeolithic diet had lost an average of 6.2kg of fat and 11cm from their waistline, compared with 2.6kg and 5.8cm in the other group, and levels of harmful blood fat known as triglyceride were also lower.
By the end of the two-year study the difference between the groups had narrowed, but Dr Mellberg suggested there could be a simple explanation – people on the Palaeolithic diet grew tired of it.
“I think the participants weren’t compliant,” she said. “It is quite a hard diet [to follow] in the Western world. We eat a lot of foods like bread, pasta, cereals.”
“They were quite satisfied too, after the first year. They had lost a lot of weight and many of the participants did not want to lose any more, so they started to eat more normal foods.”
Catherine Collins, chief dietitian at St George’s Hospital in London, added that the low protein intake could have slowed the rate at which participants’ bodies burned calories over time.
“As the metabolic rate declines, at some point that will stop you losing weight,” she explained.



Sources: http://sciencenordic.com/, http://food.ninemsn.com.au/, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/, http://www.iol.co.za/

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/

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/

Eating Little & Often Myth Busted: Total Calorie Count is Important - study found

Eating small but frequent meals is often recommended for weight loss. But new research suggests this approach may not boost your metabolism or encourage weight loss.
In fact, the study - presented at the Society for Endocrinology annual BES conference few days ago - suggests counting calories is all that really matters when it comes to losing weight.

The study
The researchers of this latest study, led by Dr. Milan Kumar Piya of the University of Warwick in the UK, note that previous research has suggested eating a single high-fat meal increases low-level inflammation in the body when bits of gut bacteria - known as endotoxins - enter the blood stream.
Since this kind of inflammation has been linked to a future risk of developing cardiovascular disease and type-2 diabetes, the researchers wanted to investigate whether eating often would cause more damage that might increase these risks in obese individuals.

To conduct their study, the team analyzed 24 lean and obese women who were given two meals or five meals on separate days.
These women consumed the same number of calories on both days, and the researchers meanwhile measured their energy expenditure using whole body monitor calorimeters.
The finding revealed two important factsFindings from the study revealed that whether the women ate two meals or five meals had no effect on how many calories were burned. Over a 24-hour period, the women burned the same number of calories when they ate both numbers of meals.
Additionally, the investigators observed that obese women who ate five meals had significantly higher endotoxin levels by the end of each day, compared with when they only ate two meals.
Dr. Piya says their research has yielded two main findings:

• The size and the frequency of the meal has no relation with the amount of calories burnt in the day and the weight of the women. This directly contradicts previous belief that eating less and often is good if you are on a diet or planning to loose weight. The only important factor to consider is the amount of calorie taken and the number of calories burnt.
• The other important inference which came out of the research was that eating more frequently keeping the calorie count equal could actually result in more endotoxin production in obese individuals. Dr Priya pointed out that carrying more weight with increased frequency of meals will result in formation of more endotoxin which has been directly linked to Type 2 Diabetes and Cardiovascular disease.

The next step of the research is to assess the impact of diet, gut flora, and calories burned in different people. “By understanding how diet affects inflammatory risk and energy expenditure, we will further our understanding of how we can better target diet intervention on an individual basis,” Piya notes.

Bottom line
Though we need more research to be conducted with relatively greater sample size. But, one thing is clear: if you are on a diet the only thing you should be working towards is keeping the calorie count to what suits your age, sex and BMI [Body Mass Index]. Eating less and often does not boost metabolism or increase your chances of losing weight.
Burn what you eat, is all time advice that the doctors give to people who are interested in losing weight or want to live healthy disease free life.

Sources: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/, http://www.medicinetips.net/, http://www.futurity.org/