Fitness Mantra : A Health and Fitness Blog

25

July

Is this you?

You can’t resist reaching for a toffee everytime you walk by the dreaded candy-dish corridor at work.
You havebeen caught more than once with your hands (literally) in the cookie jar.
Your idea of a balanced meal is equal amounts of chocolate in one hand and cake in the other.

Fruits If so, then take heart, because a new study at Cornell University, led by Brian Wansink, director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab, shows that you are more likely to eat fruit than those who prefer salty snacks.

The researchers analyzed self-reported eating habits of more than 14,000 Americans contained in U.S. Department of Agriculture surveys and also analysed the results of a snack consumption survey of 405 individuals. While the USDA data suggested the link between sugary snacks and fruit, unfortunately, the survey of individuals showed the reverse is also true: fruit lovers eat more sweets than vegetable lovers!

Wansink said parents and public health officials could use this information to encourage the phase-in of more fruits among kids and other people with a sweet tooth.

-Via WashingtonPost

Tips to tackle the sweet tooth:

While it’s not easy to eliminate man’s dependence on sugar (you do know why we crave sugar, right?) there are ways to reduce that dependence and our key ally in this is the use of fruit (which was the reason we got into the sugar craves in the first place!). Here are some easy tips:

Top your oatmeal or other cereals with blueberries or sliced strawberries instead of spoonfuls of sugar.
Try bananas and berries in your milkshake instead of sugar.
Can’t go without dessert? Experiment with sliced bananas, apples and blueberries in lowfat vanilla yogurt and top it off with your favorite nuts like almonds or walnuts. (close your eyes and you’ll almost believe it’s Haagen Dazs!)

Also try other ideas of your own. There is a two-fold advantage to this: of course, you are reducing your sugar-dependence, but more importantly you are increasing your intake of fresh fruits which are excellent sources of vitamins, minerals and fiber.

Technorati Tags: health, fitness, nutrition, sugar control, fruits

Spice up to lower insulin spike?

14

July

cayenne peppers A study titled “Effects of chili consumption on postprandial glucose, insulin, and energy metabolism“, conducted by graduate student Kiran Ahuja and Madeleine Ball, MD from Australia’s University of Tasmania has found a surprising effect of including cayene chili spice blends in meals.

36 healthy adults in their mid-forties were studied and the researchers sampled blood provided after the subjects ate two types of meals: one was a regular meal of burger, bread and a sugar drink while the other had the burger spiced with cayenne chili.

It was found that the spiced food showed a decrease in insulin spike as opposed to the bland food.

Why Insulin Matters

Here’s why insulin levels are important. Abnormally high insulin levels may be a sign of insulin resistance, in which the body falters in its ability to control blood sugar. Ultimately, that may lead to type 2 diabetes — the most common type of diabetes — and other health problems.

The researchers aren’t exactly sure how chili helped reduce post-meal insulin spikes. They note that capsaicin — the fiery chemical in chili — and chili’s antioxidants might play a role. Ahuja’s team calls for more studies on chili’s effects on insulin spikes.

-Via WebMD

While it has been known that moderate quantities of spicy foods like chili peppers increases metabolism in the short while, this is the first connection shown to insulin spikes in the body.

So spice up your food - if anything it will make you drink more water and these hot summer days demand that more than anything else to ensure a healthier, fitter, well-hydrated body!

Technorati Tags: health, fitness, nutrition, cayenne chili, insulin