Welcome to “FitnessMantra Weekend”, your once-a-week health news update. As always you can also stay updated with the latest in fitness news by subscribing separately to the Fitness Mantra del.icio.us feed.

One of my biggest gripes with Girl Scout Cookies was that they were always made with heart-stopping trans fats (although as usual the labels would declare them to be free of trans fat because a single serving had less than 0.5 g of partially-hydrogenated oils). For example consider the nutrition label and ingredients of the most popular of them all - “The Thin Mints” (taken from the Girl Scout Cookies ABCs page for Thin Mints):

Ingredients: Enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), sugar, vegetable shortening (palm, partially hydrogenated palm kernel and/or soybean oil), cocoa (processed with alkali), caramel color, contains less than 2% of: high fructose corn syrup, corn starch, whey, salt, leavening (sodium bicarbonate), soy lecithin, natural and artificial flavor, peppermint oil.

Enriched flour, partially hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup - the unhealthy trifecta for your eating pleasure, folks! It used to give me a good excuse when I refused to buy these artery cloggers from coworkers, though! I would point to my heart and they had to back down. But after reading this MSNBC article it looks like I might have finally run out of excuses now:

For much of the country, it’s Girl Scout cookie time again. And this year, all those cookies, not just the Thin Mints and a few others, will come nearly free of harmful trans fats. […] The change reflects a movement by the scouts in recent years to add an element of health consciousness to their annual bake sale.

- Girl Scout cookies toss out trans fats

As always a healthful change in recipe is always welcome but in this case, all the more so since it involves children (although if you see some of my coworkers buying these cookies, you might disagree that it is all about the children!).

Anyway, here are the week’s top health and fitness stories:

1. Washington youth at high risk for obesity: Almost one in four of eighth, 10th and 12th graders in Washington state is overweight or obese, and most of the kids who are heaviest now will have weight problems as adults.
2. UK women are now officially the fattest in Europe: The scale of the obesity crisis was laid bare last night when an alarming report revealed Britons are the fattest people in Europe.
3. Job burn-out ‘ups diabetes risk’: People who suffer from job burn-out may be prone to developing type 2 diabetes, research suggests.
4. Why Weight-Loss Efforts Fail: About one in three American adults is trying to lose weight at any given time, and while their track record for trying is good, their track record for succeeding is not.
5. Girl Scout cookies toss out trans fats: For much of the country, it’s Girl Scout cookie time again. And this year, all those cookies, not just the Thin Mints and a few others, will come nearly free of harmful trans fats.
6. Caffeine may prevent heart disease death in elderly: Drinking caffeinated beverages often may provide protection against heart disease mortality in the elderly people aged 65 or older, according to researchers at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and Brooklyn College.
7. Vitamin D May Cut Elders’ Falls: Vitamin D, taken in a high dose, may help prevent falls in the elderly.
8. Kids Living Near ‘Green Spaces’ Less Likely to Be Overweight: Children who live in densely populated urban areas may be less likely to be overweight if they have parks and lawns in their neighborhoods, a U.S. study suggests.
9. Coffee May Pack Dietary Fiber: Your coffee may come with a little something extra — and not just cream and sugar. Some of the dietary fiber in coffee beans may make it into your mug, Spanish researchers report.
10. Trans fats are not the only villain in American diets: Artery-clogging trans fats are the villain of the moment in the enduring story of America’s love affair with food. Now, some nutrition and health analysts say the preoccupation with trans fats has gone too far.
11. Eat Your Favorite Foods and Still Lose Weight: The best way to peel away pounds and get the body you want is to eat what you want in moderation.
12. Junk food ad ban plans laid out: The broadcasting regulator is sticking to its plans to ban junk food ads during TV shows watched by under-16s.
13. Health care costs will keep climbing: Health care is expected to account for $1 of every $5 spent in the United States in another decade.
14. Boost your brain power with exercise: Can exercise make you smarter?
15. Location is key to seniors walking: The benefits of walking and being active are well known, especially for older people, but what kind of neighborhood gets seniors going?
16. Researcher Says Anorexia May Be Genetic: A researcher at a Tulsa clinic says a decade-long study into anorexia nervosa is beginning to reveal that those who suffer from the disease might have a genetic predisposition toward it.
17. The Hindu News Update Service: The “diabetes clock” may start ticking in women years in advance of a medical diagnosis of the disease, new research has shown.
18. Young ‘hung up on their bodies’: Some 51% of young women would have surgery to improve their looks and a third of those who are a size 12 think they are overweight, a survey suggests.
19. A Silent Epidemic: During a routine postoperative checkup several weeks later, Cordell vividly remembers, she was stunned when the nurse asked, “How are you since your hysterectomy?”
20. Negative Reinforcement: If you’re just getting into regular weight training, or have hit a plateau in your progress, here’s an offbeat suggestion: Accentuate the negative.
21. Sir, Yes, Sir!: There’s a reason new military recruits are put through boot camp: to make them strong and fit and all that they can be. But could I really be all that I never was?
22. New guidelines issued for women’s heart health: Nearly all American women are in danger of heart disease or stroke and should be more aggressive about lowering their risk — including asking their doctors about daily aspirin use, the American Heart Association said today in new guidelines.
23. $5M to bring back ParticipACTION exercise program: The federal government pledged $5 million over two years Monday to renew ParticipACTION, the federal fitness-awareness campaign.
24. Computer games ‘burn up calories’: Playing new style computer games can help people burn up a significant number of calories, research has found.
25. Waistlines keep expanding around the globe: No matter how you tip the scales, Americans are getting wider every year. What’s worse is that many nations are following suit.
26. 5 Simple Steps to Keep Off Rebound Pounds: Want to keep lost pounds from finding their way home again? Try these five simple rules
27. Study: Cholesterol may help cause diabetes: Cholesterol may not just be bad for your heart. A study suggests problems with cholesterol regulation in the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas may be responsible for the development of Type 2 (formerly known as late onset) diabetes.
28. Some cocoa may improve brain blood flow: A nice cup of the right kind of cocoa could hold the promise of promoting brain function as people age.
29. Chemicals ‘could be the cause of obesity’: Exposing babies to plastics and pesticides before they are born could make them more prone to obesity and disease, a scientist said yesterday.
30. Exercise May Help Prevent Breast Cancer: Exercise may help prevent breast cancer, and help those who do get it cope, two new studies show.
31. Diabetes in pregnancy can hamper infant memory: Babies whose mothers had diabetes during pregnancy may be less able to form early memories than children whose mothers had normal pregnancies, a U.S. researcher said on Friday.
32. Cooking Garlic? Crush It First: Got a recipe that involves cooking garlic? You might want to crush the garlic first.
33. Get the diet scoop: 6 promising supplements, 6 to avoid: The sales pitches are irresistible: “Lose 2 Pounds a Day!” “Burn Fat Round the Clock!”
34. Your drinks may be making you fat: New findings are adding to the research suggesting that more than ever before, what and how much we drink may increase calorie intake and weight without our noticing.

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Have a great weekend!

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“Got Milk?” I asked in one of my previous posts, where I described the numerous health benefits of drinking at least 24 ounces of milk everyday.

As you already know after reading that post, milk is an excellent source of complete protein (containing all 9 essential amino acids which are required to meet our physiological needs), one of the primary sources of bone-building calcium for adults and also a treasure-trove of vitamins (especially D and K).

So if 24 ounces of milk are all you need in a a day, is there any specific reason to get 8 of those ounces just before going to bed at night? Read on:

1. Casein absorption: Almost 80% of the protein found in milk is in the phosphorus-containing form known as casein - a complete protein. Casein is hydrophobic (literally “scared of water”) and so it is not soluble in water but instead appears in milk as a suspension - and for this reason it is also called “Micellar Casein” (separated without the use of chemicals). The human body, however, processes casein a little uniquely. Unlike whey (another dairy protein) which the body can absorb very fast, Micellar Casein takes a while to be absorbed into the cells and so its processing is not a high priority task for the body. Milk consumed during the day will still slowly get you the protein, but when consumed at night it gives the body the best chance of maximum absorption. You can read a good description of Micellar Casein at N101.
2. Tryptophan: Remember those 9 essential amino acids I keep harping about? Well, turns out one of those is the sleep-inducing tryptophan. If you are wondering where you have heard that before, it is the same chemical found in turkey leading people to feel sleepy after a hearty Thanksgiving dinner. Of course scientists point out that tryptophan works best on an empty stomach and so it would be wise to give a gap of atleast 1-2 hours between dinner and your glass of milk!
3. Controlled snacking: With an 8 oz glass of milk reserved to be your final snack of the day, you are that much less likely to indulge in a heavier, diet-crashing, cake/cookie/pastry snack when hunger hits at bed-time. Your trusted elixir will keep you well satiated.
4. Get to 24 ounces: I don’t know about you but with a full-schedule day, I find getting 24 ounces of milk a pretty difficult goal to achieve. Even if you ensure 8oz in the morning and somehow manage another glass during the day, you are still likely to fall short of your target. Unless you make the bedtime glass of milk a regular habit.
5. Calcium: What better time to get some calcium into your system than when your body most needs it to build strong bones and damaged muscles caused by exercise? Remember you don’t build your body in the gym - you build it when you sleep/rest.

There you have it readers - 5 pertinent reasons to drink a nice, tall, warm glass of milk right before bedtime at night. Just make sure, though, that you are drinking either skim or 1-2% milk and not the whole-milk variety - leave whole milk for the babies!

Technorati Tags: health, fitness, nutrition, milk, got milk

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