Diet

Want to lose weight? Instead of counting calories, try counting this instead. Research recently completed by Brigham Young University scientists reveals that people who counted how many bites of food they ate--and then decreased that by 20 to 30 percent--ended up losing four pounds in a month, considered optimal by nutritionists. As an added bonus, the participants made no other changes to their diet, making it easier to adhere to. The research appears in the October issue of Advances in…
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For decades people have debated what is the best diet, but what about the cheapest diet? That's a question researchers from the Miriam Hospital and the Rhode Island Community Food Bank recently investigated for a study made public earlier this month, and, not surprisingly, meat-laden diets didn't fare well. So what did? As it turned out, it was a vegetarian diet. Comparing both meat-based and meatless diets, researchers found that a vegetarian meal plan reduced a person's grocery bill by…
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So what's the cause of overeating? Researchers from Vanderbilt University think they have the answer--and it's not a good one. According to their research, which now appears in the open access journal Heliyon, eating too much fat could trigger the need to overeat, thanks to it causing an imbalance in the body triggering stronger cravings for food instead of eating just to survive. An imbalance like that could be a disaster for dieters. "We have always been struck by how…
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Let's face it, you could lose a few pounds--and chances are your Americanized diet isn't helping. With its emphasis on processed food, simple carbohydrates, and sugar, these common American staples often equal disaster for your waistline; and worse yet, it's harder to reverse. So what's the fix here? Believe it or not, your best bet isn't to go on a diet--instead, try eating like an Asian. Here's why. Why Eat Like an Asian? Compare Western and Asian adults and you'll…
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So what's the best diet to prevent heart disease? As it turns out, a low-carbohydrate diet could be your best bet--but there's a catch. According to new research from the British Medical Journal Open, people who adopted an "Eco-Atkins" diet, or a low-carbohydrate diet that was also vegan, lowered their risk of heart disease by as much as 10 percent over a 10 year time span. In addition, they lost an average of four more pounds than those who ate…
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Having trouble shedding those last few pounds? No worries, say researchers from the University of Birmingham--just drink water. The findings, which appear in the journal Obesity, reveal that people who sipped 500ml of water just 30 minutes before a meal shed 10 pounds more than people that did not during a 12 week time span. That's definitely more than a few pounds--and an effortless way for dieters to speed up their weight loss. For researcher Dr. Helen Parretti, the findings…
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For a slimmer bod, controlling your appetite is key for obvious reasons--after all, if you're less hungry, you won't eat as many calories. Now there may be one strange--albeit effective--way to curb your appetite, say researchers from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. According to their research, which now appears in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, consuming high amounts of iron, something people do when they eat too much red meat, could increase something called leptin by 42 percent. Leptin, a…
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Never have time to sit down to enjoy a meal? Watch out, say researchers: Doing so could actually make you obese. Published in the Journal of Health Psychology, researchers say that women who ate while on the go were more likely to eat more food later on during the day, causing them to consume more calories--something that could ultimately lead to weight gain. That's definitely not good news if you're trying to lose weight. "Eating on the go may make…
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Have food cravings you just can't get rid of? Here's a new way to stop them: Play Tetris. Research led by scientists at the University of Plymouth in Australia reveal that people who played Tetris for just three minutes lowered their cravings for drugs, certain activities, or food by as much as 14 percent. Now researchers say this could be an effective tool for beating a multitude of cravings. The research appears in the journal Addictive Behaviors. "Playing Tetris decreased…
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For a healthy bod, eating plenty of veggies is key--but now a certain vegetable could have additional benefits for dieters. According to new research published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, thylakoids, an extract taken from spinach, also helps release satiety hormones, helping cut hunger levels and making people feel fuller faster. As for how it works, it appears to slow down fat digestion--something which triggers the release of satiety hormones in the body. "By retarding fat…
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