COLD TEMPERATURES AND SPICY FOOD HELP BURN FAT

Here’s an unconventional way to shed those extra pounds: exposure to cold and consuming chemicals found in chili peppers could help burn fat, according to a recent study published in the journal Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care.

Constant exposure to colder climes and chili-based food both appear to increase the number and activity of so-called "brown" fat cells, which burn energy, rather than store it as typical "white" fat cells do, said Takeshi Yoneshiro, a researcher at Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan.

In the study, researchers exposed eight people with little or no brown fat cells to moderately low temperatures of 17 degrees Celsius for two hours daily, over the course of six weeks.
Compared with the control subjects, the cold-exposed people had about 5% less body fat at the end of the study, and also burned more energy when exposed to cold.

 

Yoneshiro's team also observed that individuals who ate spicy food for the same amount of time burned more energy even if they didn’t lose any more "white fat".

By the end of the study, researchers concluded that those who regularly ate chili-based food managed to burn more energy and fat than those who didn't. A previous study that lasted 12 weeks found the capsinoid ingestion led to significant body fat decreases in mildly obese people.
Capsinoids appear to induce brown fat in the same way as cold, by "capturing" the same cellular system that the body's nervous system uses to increase heat production, Yoneshiro said.

"The most interesting thing about this study from a treatment point of view is the capsinoids," said Jan Nedergaard, a physiologist at Stockholm University in Sweden who wasn't involved in the study. Reduction of fat from cold exposure was expected, he said, but "as everybody realizes, that's a difficult thing to put into practice."

Capsinoids come from "sweet" chili peppers that don't taste hot, but produce some of the same physiological effects -- for example, producing sweat.


Luckily, the -ber months are here so you don't have to worry about the weather. Just add a bit of spice to your meals, and you may be well on your way to burning more calories.























Source: http://www.livescience.com/

THE LOW-SUGAR, HIGH-FIBER SUPERFRUIT: PITAYA

Move over pineapple, it’s pitaya time. A wave of exotic fruits exploding with nutrients and antioxidants is hitting produce shelves, and it’s worth getting to know them better.
Native to Mexico, Central and South America, the pitaya—also known as dragon fruit— comes in white, red and yellow varieties. The name "dragon fruit" was coined by the Chinese, who claim that, thousands of years ago two huge dragons were fighting in the sky, throwing flames at each other. Hot droplets of flame then rained down upon the earth, which when cooled became dragon fruit.

Nutritional Value
Dragon fruit is rich in carbohydrates, protein, calcium, iron and phosphorus. It also provides large amounts of niacin (vitamin B3) and ascorbic acid (vitamin C). The fruit is rich in water and fiber, and contains significant quantities of phytaolbumin antioxidants, which prevent formation of cancer-causing free radicals.
In Taiwan, diabetics use the fruit as a food substitute for rice and as a source of dietary fiber. It is also known to control blood glucose levels.

Dragon fruit is ideal for weight watchers: it's low in calories and rich of fibre, so you can feel full and satisfied without craving fatty, sugary snacks. 

Fiber Benefits
Due to its high fiber content, with almost 1 g of fiber per 100 g of fresh fruit, the dragon fruit can serve as a natural laxative to treat constipation. Dried fruit can contain up to 10 g or more of dietary fiber per 100 g.

It may also help lower "bad" cholesterol levels and reduce blood pressure and inflammation. Dragon fruit is a good help for people suffering from diabetes: according to some tests made (http://diabeticlifediet.com/), the fiber in dragon fruit also helps control blood sugar levels by slowing the sugar's absorption and keeping levels low after a meal. The effect can last up to 90 minutes. A study involving diabetic rats, published in 2010 in "Pharmacognosy Research," found that dragon fruit extract helped decrease aortic stiffness and the increase in blood pressure caused by stiff arteries.

Vitamin C Benefits
Dragon fruits are a rich source of vitamin C, containing 9 mg of vitamin C per 100 g of fruit.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends a daily amount of 90 mg for adult males and 75 mg for females. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps limit the damage caused to your cells by free radicals. It is also necessary for healing wounds and producing collagen, which is used to make cartilage, skin, tendons, ligaments and blood vessels. Eating it on a regular basis will also help ward off chronic respiratory disorders such as asthma and cough.

B Vitamin Benefits
Dragon fruit contains vitamins B-1, B-2 and B-3. Vitamin B-1 is beneficial for energy production and carbohydrate metabolism, while vitamin B-2 improves appetite. The fruit's vitamin B-3 content reduces cholesterol and enhances skin appearance, keeping it moisturized and smooth.

Other Benefits
This fruit is also an excellent source of calcium and phosphorus, minerals involved in bone mineralization. They help strengthen bones and teeth and form new tissues. The fruit is also said to help neutralize and excrete heavy-metal toxins. Dragon fruit may combat gout and arthritis through its beta carotene content.

How to choose the best dragon fruit
When choosing your dragon fruit, it is important to choose a fruit that has good color. The skin should be very bright and somewhat shiny, and the scales on the pink fruit should be bright green. There should be no brown spots on either the main part of the fruit or the scales. This is usually a sign that the fruit has ripened too much.

Someone trying to choose a perfectly ripe dragon fruit should also gently squeeze the fruit. Fruits that are not quite ripe will usually feel very firm, and these should be avoided. On the other hand, these fruits should not be very soft, nor should they have any mushy spots on them. Many experts claim that a perfectly ripe dragon fruit will feel a bit like a kiwi when it is squeezed.

How to Eat Dragon Fruit
The dragon fruit is praised for its appetising crunchy texture and refreshing, sweet flavour which is like a cross between a kiwi and a pear. To preserve most of its flavour and nutrients, the dragon fruit is usually eaten raw or dried as a healthy snack: the fruit is cut in half and the pulp inside is spooned out (the skin is not edible).

The pulp of dragon fruit contains small dark seeds which are eaten with the pulp. They have a nutty flavor and are rich in lipids (polyunsaturated fatty acids), but must be chewed to be digested.
You can add cubes of dragon fruit to a fruit salad or a smoothie, puree it with
lemon juice and freeze it in an ice cream maker to make a sorbet or add pureed dragon fruit to your  cheesecake filling for a delicious treat.

Anyone else out there a fan of the dragon fruit?
What are your favorite ways to eat it?

Easy recipes for a healthy drink or a delicious breakfast

Dragon fruit shake - 4 servings

From foodrepublic by The-Food-Vietnam-Luke-Nguyen

Ingredients:

1 dragon fruit, peeled and sliced

1 cup crushed ice

1 tablespoon condensed milk

Directions: 

1. Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend for 20 seconds, or until the ice has dissolved.
2. Serve in tall glasses.

                                       Breakfast parfait

Sources: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3140125/
http://www.ft.lk/2013/09/18/dragon-fruit-the-new-commercial-crop/
http://dragonfruitpitaya.org/
http://www.bullsranch.com/webe/html/nutrition/index.php 

WHOLE FOODS ARE MORE PROTECTIVE THAN SUPPLEMENTS

Food provides not only essential nutrients needed for life but also other bioactive compounds for health promotion and disease prevention. Consumption of fruit and vegetables, as well as grains, has been strongly associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer disease, cataracts, and age-related functional decline.
Phytochemicals—the bioactive nonnutrient plant compounds in fruit, vegetables, grains, and other plant foods—have been linked to reductions in the risk of major chronic diseases.

Cells in humans and other organisms are constantly exposed to a variety of oxidizing agents, some of which are necessary for life. These agents may be present in air, food, and water, or they may be produced by metabolic activities within cells. The key factor is to maintain a balance between oxidants and antioxidants to sustain optimal physiologic conditions in the body.
Fruit and vegetables contain a wide variety of antioxidant compounds (phytochemicals) such as phenolics and carotenoids that may help protect cellular systems from oxidative damage and lower the risk of chronic diseases.
A recent study showed that the actions of the antioxidant nutrients alone do not explain the observed health benefits of diets rich in fruits and vegetables, because taken alone, the individual antioxidants studied in clinical trials do not appear to have consistent preventive effects.
Researchers from the Department of Food Science at Cornell University have shown that the major part of total antioxidant activity is from the combination of phytochemicals. The additive and synergistic effects of phytochemicals in fruits and vegetables are responsible for their potent antioxidant and anticancer activities.

The benefit of a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains is attributed to the complex mixture of phytochemicals present in these and other whole foods. This explains why no single antioxidant can replace the combination of natural phytochemicals in fruits and vegetables and achieve their health benefits.
In lab studies, Cornell University researchers found that apple extract given together with apple skin worked better to prevent the oxidation of free-radicals (unstable molecules that damage cells and are believed to contribute to many diseases) than apple extract without the skin. They also found that catechins (a type of phytochemical found in apples), when combined with two other phytochemicals, had an effect that was five times greater than expected.

The evidence suggests that antioxidants or bioactive compounds are best acquired through whole-food consumption, not from expensive dietary supplements.
There are ≈8000 phytochemicals present in whole foods. These compounds differ in molecular size, polarity, and solubility, and these differences may affect the bioavailability and distribution of each phytochemical in different macromolecules, subcellular organelles, cells, organs, and tissues.
Pills or tablets simply cannot mimic this balanced natural combination of phytochemicals present in fruit and vegetables.

Therefore, scholars suggest that eating 5 to 10 servings of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables daily is an appropriate strategy for significantly reducing the risk of chronic diseasesand to meet the nutrient requirements for optimum health.

If you'd like to fully enjoy all the benefits of whole foods, buy organic fruit and vegetables. GMO foods have been proven to have fewer phytochemicals. Plants doused in thousands of pounds of Round Up Ready chemicals, the main herbicide used by Monsanto, actually produce less cancer-fighting flavanoids, too. Whether these changes were intended by the makers of GMO corn, soy, wheat, and sugar, are unknown, but GM crops have altered levels of nutrients in study after study.

CHIA: TINY SEED, BIG BENEFITS

What is chia?
The seeds come from Salvia Hispanica plant, which is native to southern Mexico and Guatemala although they are cultivated in many other places now especially in Australia, which is probably the worlds largest producer. The seeds can be black, brown or white and the nutritional value is more or less the same, although the darker seeds have a slightly higher concentration of antioxidants.

Chia seeds are often compared to flax seeds because they have similar nutritional profiles. But the main difference is that chia seeds don't need to be ground the way flax seeds do. Chia also has a longer shelf life and does not go rancid like flax does.

Nutrition facts and benefits

Essential minerals for your bones and teeth

A serving of chia seeds - that's around 15g or a level tablespoon - has 18% of the recommended daily intake for calcium, which puts your well on your way to maintaining bone and oral health, and preventing osteoporosis. Chia seeds give you 27% of your daily value for phosphorus, a mineral that also helps you maintain healthy bones and teeth. Phosphorus is also used by the body to synthesize protein for cell and tissue growth and repair.
Manganese isn't a well-known nutrient, but it's important for our health: it's good for your bones and helps your body use other essential nutrients like biotin and thiamin. One serving of chia seeds, or 28 grams, has 30% of your recommended intake of this mineral.

More anti-oxidants than in blueberries
The antioxidant content (which includes quercetin, caffeic acid and chloregenic acid) in chia seeds has an impressively high ranking on the ORAC scale (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) at over 10,000 per 100g (blueberries have 9,000).

Complete protein
Chia seeds are a complete protein as they have all the essential amino acids and so are useful for vegetarians and vegans. Moreover, chia seeds don't have any cholesterol. One 28-gram serving of these super seeds has 4.4 grams of protein, nearly 10% of the daily value.

Rich in fibre, chia is a natural aid in controlling DIABETES
Chia seeds have a very good amount of fibre: just a 28-gram or one-ounce serving of chia has 11 grams of dietary fibre — about a third of the recommended daily intake for adults.
But here's where it gets really cool. If you soak chia seeds in water for about 30 minutes, you will get a glass of almost solid gelatin. Science believes this is the result of the soluble fiber in the chia. These fibers, known as mucilages, may also form this gel-like texture in the stomach when you eat chia, creating a barrier between carbohydrates and the digestive enzymes that break them down, slowing the conversion of carbohydrates to sugar... so they can be a natural aid in controlling diabetes!

 Chia seeds are the "perfect food" for WEIGHT LOSS
And chia can help you get skinny. Because they can help prevent the absorption of some of the food you eat (along with the calories), chia can be a great asset to any diet plan. And with their high fiber content and nutritional density, chia helps dieters feel fuller faster and remain sated for longer periods of time. Tryptophan, an amino acid found in turkey, is also found in chia seeds. Tryptophan helps regulate appetite, sleep and improve mood.

Chia seeds: great enhancer in hydrating our bodies, a valuable tool for athletes
It gets better. Chia seeds are considered to be hydrophilic, meaning they can absorb large amounts of water quickly. They can hold 10 times their weight in water, making them a great enhancer in hydrating our bodies, a valuable tool for athletes or anyone looking to improve their day to day performance and endurance.

Rich in Omega-3, chia lowers risk of heart disease
But it's the fat content of chia that seems to be a focal point for its supporters. Eaten raw, chia seeds contain a rich concentration of essential fatty acids, with 30% of their fat coming from omega-3 and 10% from omega-6, considered the perfect balance for healthy human tissue.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, chia seeds have been shown to improve blood pressure in diabetics, and may also increase healthy cholesterol while lowering total, LDL, and triglyceride cholesterol.

How to use chia seeds
With no cholesterol, simple sugar or gluten, high in the most prized nutrients we need, easy to digest and needing no grinding, chia seeds could well be nature's perfect food. At 137 calories an ounce, they just may be one of the healthiest things around...

You can simply sprinkle them on various dishes, like salads and whole grains; you can soak and sprout them to create smoothies or morning porridges, like oatmeal; you can add them to baked goods like breads, muffins and biscuits. Small, like poppy seeds, chia are mildly nutty, but without a strong flavor, so they can be used in a variety of ways without altering the flavor of a dish.
Here are two easy to make recipes...

Roasted chia cauliflower

Prep Time: 10 minutes - Cook time: 30 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• a pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp. chia seeds
• 1 head cauliflower, broken into florets
• salt + pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. Heat olive oil and pepper flakes in a small saucepan over medium heat for about 3 minutes to infuse the flavor of the pepper into the oil. Set aside.
3. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Transfer cauliflower to the baking sheet and drizzle with infused olive oil. Toss with tongs to coat. Sprinkle chia seeds over the cauliflower and add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Bake cauliflower for 20-30 minutes, or until softened and just beginning to brown.

Pomegranate lime chia fresca

Prep Time: 15 minutes - Yield: 1

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp. chia seeds
• 1/2 c. water
• 3/4 c. pomegranate juice
• 1 tbsp. fresh lime juice

Directions

1. Place chia seeds in a glass. Pour water, pomegranate juice, and lime juice over seeds. Let sit for 15 minutes. Whisk to break up any clumps of seeds and serve.

Sources: http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/, http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/, http://ohmyveggies.com/recipe-roasted-chia-cauliflower/, http://ohmyveggies.com/how-to-make-your-own-chia-drink-pomegranate-lime-chia-fresca-recipe/

DIET SODA DOESN'T HELP WEIGHT LOSS AND CAN BE HARMFUL FOR HEALTH

Diet beverages and other non-caloric, artificially sweetened foods and drinks may not be the healthy choice to manage weight that they appear, according to a Purdue University expert's review of recent scientific studies. "Public health officials are rightfully concerned about the consequences of consuming sugar-sweetened beverages, such as soft drinks, but these warnings may need to be expanded to advocate limiting the intake of all sweeteners, including no-calorie sweeteners and so-called diet soft drinks," said Susan E. Swithers, a professor of psychological sciences and a behavioral neuroscientist. "Although it seems like common sense that diet sodas would not be problematic, that doesn't appear to be the case.

Findings from a variety of studies show that routine consumption of diet sodas, even one per day, can be connected to higher likelihood of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and high blood pressure, in addition to contributing to weight gain."

Diet soda and obesity
Artificial sweeteners used in these drinks are meant to give you the taste without the calories but a major review of scientific studies suggests they may instead interfere with the body's normal energy regulation. In a paper published in Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism Susan Swithers says sweet tastes normally trigger a psychological response that signals the arrival of nutrients in the stomach. However, research shows when artificial sweeteners are consumed no such energy burst follows the taste and over time this appears to weaken the body's natural response to a sweetness.

In a previous study, Swithers showed that when we substitute artificial sweetener for real sugar, the body learns it can no longer use its sense of taste to gauge calories. So, the body may be fooled into thinking a product sweetened with sugar has no calories and, therefore, people overeat. "Historically, we knew that our body learns that if the food is thick, such as whole milk, it tends to have more calories than compared to a thinner liquid such as skim milk," Swithers said. "Now, our research reinforces this and takes it one step further, showing that our bodies translate this information about perceived calories into a gauge to tell us when to stop eating." As a result, the body's natural ability to regulate food intake and body weight may be weakened when this natural relationship is impaired by artificial sweeteners.

 A study presented at a meeting of the American Diabetes Association in 2011 showed that drinking diet soda is associated with a wider waist in humans. In the study, researchers collected height, weight, waist circumference and diet soda intake data from 474 elderly people who participated in the San Antonio Longitudinal Study of Aging. They were followed up an average of 9.5 years later, according to the research. Researchers found that the diet soda drinkers had waist circumference increases of 70 % greater than those who non-diet soda drinkers. And people who drank diet soda the most frequently -- at least two diet sodas a day -- had waist circumference increases that were 500 % greater than people who didn't drink any diet soda, the study said.

Diet soda and diabetes
The American Diabetes Association found that people who drank diet soda are at increased risk of diabetes by 67%. 
Artificial sugar didn't produce any better results in a test on mice. Researchers for this test found that diabetes-prone mice that were fed a diet that included aspartame for three months, had higher blood glucose levels than mice not given aspartame.
And in a study published earlier this year in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, French researchers found an association between Type 2 diabetes and self-reported diet soda consumption. Plus, when comparing the diabetes risk of drinkers of diet with drinkers of regular sodas, researchers found that diet drinkers had the higher diabetes risk.

Diet soda and heart disease
Researchers from the University of Miami and Columbia University found that people who drink diet soda every day have a 43% higher risk of experiencing a vascular event over a 10-year period, compared with people who didn't drink soda. Plus, this association held true even after taking into account known stroke and heart risk factors like diabetes and high blood pressure.

These studies are observational. It's unknown if the diet soda is actually causing these conditions, or if people who are already at high risk for a heart attack, stroke and Type 2 diabetes tend to drink diet soda in an effort to lead a healthier lifestyle.
If diet soda really was causing heart attacks and strokes, there would have been spikes in these conditions in recent years. Rather, it's more likely a result of the fact that people who eat a lot of artificial sweeteners may not have the healthiest diet. "At that point, the less healthier the diet, the more prone you are to cardiovascular disease," says Dr. David Katz, the founding director of Yale University's Prevention Research Center. "It's a sign that there's something wrong with the dietary pattern overall."

Diet soda and kidney problems
A study published in Harvard Medical School’s Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology found that women who drank 2 or more cans of diet soda per day were more likely to suffer decline in kidney function.

Diet soda and depression
A recent study has linked soft drinks to depression – with diet versions particularly problematic.
The finding comes from US researchers who studied the drink consumption of 265,000 men and women aged 50 to 71. Ten years into the study, the volunteers were asked if they had been diagnosed with depression in the previous five years. Those who drank more than four cans of soft drinks a day were 30% more likely to have had depression than those who drank none, the American Academy of Neurology conference heard. The risk seemed greater among those who preferred diet drinks. The researchers said this may be due to the presence of the artificial sweetener aspartame. Making the link does not prove soft drinks cause depression. But researcher Honglei Chen said: "While our findings are preliminary and the underlying biological mechanisms are not known, they are consistent with a small but growing body of evidence suggesting that artificially sweetened beverages may be associated with poor health."

 
Diet soda and teeth damage
Although regular soda may be worse for your teeth, diet soda can still do damage. The high acidity of diet sodas causes erosion, resulting in weak, ugly and unhealthy teeth.

Tips to stop drinking diet soda
Breaking any habit or stopping any unhealthy behavior requires willpower, confidence, and most important, a good plan.

Start getting rid of any diet soda in your home, workplace, car, ...
Then switch to healthy alternatives:

• Infused water. Commercial brands deliver a calorie-free water with a hint of anything from cucumber to lemon to blueberry -- but these sips are just as easy (and less expensive) to make at home. Simply cut up your favorite fruit or vegetable and leave in a pitcher of water for at least three hours, according to Martha Stewart's recipe. You can also add herbs like mint or rosemary for an extra flavor punch.

• Flavored Seltzer. Flavored seltzer can stave off cravings for the sweeter stuff. Although they are low-calorie and caffeine-free, they are full of flavors like raspberry, lemon-lime or black cherry and are just as refreshing. 

• Iced Tea. This iced treat is an easy way to control the terms of your tea: caffeinated varieties like black, green and white tea make nice, strong iced teas -- but herbal options also abound for those of you who care to stay caffeine-free. Simply brew a strong tea -- if you like your drinks sweet, add a hint of honey. Leave in the refrigerator until cool and then pour over ice. The tea also delivers a burst of polyphenols -- an antioxidant found in tea tannins -- that can help stave off some cancers and regulate cholesterol.

• Iced Coffee. For those who get a kick from caffeine, flavored water just can't beat a Diet Coke. That's where iced coffee comes in: highly adaptable (add or skip the sugar! use dairy milk or a substitute like almond!), relatively inexpensive and with a strong, almost caramel-like flavor, a cold, eye-popping coffee can serve as a lower sugar alternative to your favorite soda. And research shows that coffee may have health benefits that extend well beyond weight management: helping to protect against several types of cancer, Type 2 diabetes and more.

• Fresh Juice. Unlike bottled varieties, freshly juiced fruits and vegetables have no added sugar. By selecting the ingredients, you can also control sugar portions by tempering sweet fruits like mangoes, grapes and melons with low-sugar, high-fiber fare such as kale, celery and lettuce. 

Sources: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/11/, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

Popcorn as healthy as veggies? How you pop it makes the difference

Nothing goes better with a TV show or a movie than freshly popped popcorn.

But, popcorn can become a nutritional nightmare once it is drenched in butter and salt. Now, chemist Joe Vinson and his team at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania are looking at the unsung health benefits of plain, unadorned popcorn.

“Microwave popcorn is healthier than other snacks. It has more fiber, more polyphenols, and less calories, less fat,” said Vinson.

According to Vinson's research, one serving of popcorn contains high levels of healthy antioxidants called polyphenols.

The study found that there were 300 mg of polyphenols in a serving of popcorn, compared to 160 mg in a serving of fruit. This is due to the fact that fruit and vegetables have high water content and the healthy antioxidants are diluted. Popcorn is only 4 percent water – compared to the 90 percent water that makes up many fruits and vegetables – so the concentration of polyphenols is much higher in the snack food because it is not as diluted.

Polyphenols may combat deadly diseases like cancer and heart disease, but none of popcorn’s great health benefits are found in the white fluffy part of the food: “If you want the maximum benefit to your health – the fiber and the antioxidants – then you need to eat that little kernel, despite the fact that it sticks between your teeth,” Vinson said.

Researchers also said that microwaving, or air-popping, popcorn does not affect its antioxidant levels. 

Vinson called popcorn the perfect snack food: “It's the only snack that is 100 percent unprocessed whole grain,” he said. “All other grains are processed and diluted with other ingredients...One serving of popcorn will provide more than 70 percent of the daily intake of whole grain. The average person only gets about half a serving of whole grains a day, and popcorn could fill that gap in a very pleasant way."

Popcorn contains three times more fibre by weight than sunflower seeds, keeping you feeling fuller for longer, as well as balancing your blood sugar levels (so no mood swings or cravings for sweet snacks) and helping to lower 'bad' LDL cholesterol. 

But the good news is not over. Popcorn also contains a number of vitamins:  folate, niacin, riboflavin, thiamin, pantothenic acid, and vitamins B6, A, E and K.  A serving of popcorn contains about 8 percent of the daily value of iron, with lesser amounts of calcium, copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium and zinc.  The popcorn hull is the source of much of the food's nutritional value.  Hulls contain beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin that are important in maintaining eye health.

However, Vinson warned that it is very easy to turn this healthy snack into an unhealthy one. Air-popped popcorn is much lower than calories than microwave popcorn – although slathering on butter, oil and other ingredients can cause the calorie and fat content to rise exponentially.
Also, Vinson added that popcorn cannot replace fruits and vegetables in a healthy diet because fruits and vegetables contain essential vitamins and other nutrients that popcorn lacks.

But if you’re craving a crunchy, healthy snack, look no further than a bag of microwavable popcorn.

Here is an idea for a healthy snack

Dilly lemon munch - Yield: 2 quarts

Ingredients

• 2 quarts popcorn popped 
• 2 tablespoons shredded lemon peel
• 1 teaspoon dill weed
• Optional: 1/2 teaspoon low-sodium salt

Directions

1. Toss popcorn with lemon peel and dill weed.
2. Flavor enhances as popcorn stands.

Sources: http://www.scranton.edu/ , http://www.acs.org/, http://www.ars.usda.gov/, http://resources.popcorn.org/nutrition/

COMPARING CALORIES TO MILES CURBS CALORIE INTAKE

Nutrition labeling has been required on packaged food since 1990, and the new federal food safety law will require calorie counts to be posted for restaurant food — all in an effort to get the American public to eat healthier.
But most studies on calorie count labels show they don't do much to nudge people toward better food choices. If I want that oh-so-delicious Chunky Monkey ice cream, knowing that a half-cup serving 300 calories and 18 grams of fat isn't going to stop me. But what if I knew that it would take me an hour and 20 minutes of brisk walking to burn off those Chunky Monkey calories? Would I think twice?
Probably, says Ashlei James, a graduate student at Texas Christian University. Researchers found out that subjects who were offered a menu that showed the number of minutes of brisk walking it would take to burn off the calories consumed from the food were more likely to choose healthier options than those who were given menus with or without calorie counts.
"Brisk walking is something nearly everyone can relate to, which is why we displayed on the menu the minutes of brisk walking needed to burn food calories," said Ashlei James in a press release.

The researchers asked 300 men and women between the ages of 18 to 30 to look at a menu with either calorie labels, a menu without calorie labels or a menu that listed the amount of minutes of brisk walking it would take to negate the calories consumed if a person ate that option. For example, a woman would have to walk for two hours to get rid of the calories in a quarter-pound double cheeseburger. All the menus had the same food options, which included burgers, chicken sandwiches or tenders, salad, fries, desserts, soda and water. There was no difference observed in ordering choices between the group that had menus with calorie labels and those that saw a menu without them. However, the exercise menu group ordered foods that contained 100 fewer calories on average.
Dr Meena Shah, who led the study, said the study showed a need for a more effective strategy to encourage people to order and consume fewer calories from restaurant menus.
She added: "This study suggests there are benefits to displaying exercise minutes to a group of young men and women".

Another study published in the journal Appetite (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article), pointed to similar findings.
Anthony Viera and his colleagues of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine conducted an online survey of 802 individuals randomly presented with one of four hypothetical menus. One of the menus provided only calorie counts, another supplemented this with information about the number of minutes one would need to walk to burn those calories whereas the third menu showed calorie numbers plus the distance necessary to walk them off. The fourth menu had no nutritional data whatsoever. All of the physical activity labeling for walking was based on the energy expenditure of a 160-pound adult walking at a rate of 30 minutes per mile, so aregular burger was, for example, listed as containing 250 calories, the equivalent amount burned in 2.6 miles, or 78 minutes of walking.
People who viewed the menu without nutritional information ordered a meal totaling 1,020 calories, on average, significantly more than the average 826 calories ordered by those who viewed menus that included information about walking-distance. Study participants ordered meals adding up to averages of 927 calories and 916 calories from menus with only calorie information or calorie information plus minutes walking, respectively, although the differences between these two totals were not statistically significant.A difference of 200 or even 100 calories might not seem large but a 2011 study from researchers that included scientists at the National Institutes of Health calculated that eating just 10 fewer calories a day would make a person shed a pound of weight over three years.

The test menu shows calorie information next to food items

and the number of miles or minutes a 160-pound person

would have to walk to use up the calories.

According to the USDA’s 2010 dietary guidelines, the average adult male who is moderately active should consume 2200-2800 calories each day, depending on age. The average adult female who is moderately active should consume 1800-2000 calories each day, depending on age. Most Americans consume far more calories than the recommended amount.
So, how many calories do you burn with brisk walking? According to the Mayo Clinic, a 160-pound person who walks 3.5 miles in an hour will burn about 314 calories. Below a table by healthgram shows how long that person would have to exercise to burn the calories in the following popular restaurant foods.


In the meantime those curious about physical activity equivalents of the food they eat can chew on this: the recent publication Convert Anything to Calories reportedly states that you can burn off the calories in one Big Mac with 350,000 clicks of a computer mouse.

Food	Calories	Minutes of Brisk Walking to Burn Calories
Applebee's Sizzling Skillet Fajitas - Chicken	1290	246.5
Arby's French Dip & Swiss Sandwich	810	154.8
Ben & Jerry's Vanilla Ice Cream (1/2 cup)	230	43.9
Brixx Wood Fired Pizza Buffalo Chicken Pizza	1096	209.4
Burger King Chicken BLT Garden Fresh Salad	550	105.1
Cheesecake Factory Original Cheesecake	710	135.7
Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich	440	84.1
Hooters Chicken Wings (5 piece)	866	165.5
International House of Pancakes Country Omelet	1220	233.1
McAlister's Chicken Tortilla Soup (in bread bowl)	650	124.2
McDonald's Cheeseburger	300	57.3
Morton's Steakhouse Chicago Style Bone-In Ribeye Steak	1360	259.9
Olive Garden Fettuccine Alfredo (dinner portion)	1220	233.1
P.F. Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps (1/4 order)	160	30.6
Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino (grande)	270	51.6
Subway Meatball Marinara Sub (6 inch)	480	91.7
Taco Bell Nachos BellGrande	305	58.3
Wendy's Natural-Cut French Fries (small)	325	62.1