The Best, great tasing Foods for Dieters

By Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH, RD, LD

If your diet includes foods you don't particularly enjoy: READ this entire article.

After all, how much cabbage soup can a person stand? The good news is that there are thousands of diet foods that are healthy, taste great, and can help you stick to your weight loss plan. Visit any grocery store to witness the explosion of lower-calorie, lower-fat, or portion-controlled options.

Here are just a few of the best foods for dieters:

1. Calorie-Controlled Snacks. Plenty of consumers are buying the 100-calorie (more or less) snack packs of everything from chips to cupcakes, but are they really the answer for weight loss?

Carolyn O'Neil, RD, author of The Dish on Eating Healthy and Being Fabulous, likes calorie-controlled packages because they eliminate the chance for mindless overeating. "Foods packaged in 100-calorie packs do the work and calorie math for you so you can enjoy snacking on foods that need to be enjoyed in limited amounts," she says.

Quaker Mini Delights (90 calories) and Hostess 100-calorie cupcakes are among the more addictive options.

But American Dietetic Association spokeswoman Lona Sandon, MEd, RD, says that though these snacks can satisfy a sweet tooth, "many of them won't fill you up for very long, and can't replace a more nutritious snack."

Sandon suggests checking the ingredient list and nutrition facts on the package. "Look for products that offer some nutritious benefits, such as ones that contain less than 3 grams fat, less than 140 milligrams sodium, 15 grams or less sugar, and are made from whole grain with about 2 to 3 grams fiber and about 7 grams protein," says Sandon, assistant professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Jacques' NOTE: a recent health warning and recall of salmonella-laden peanut products, including snack packs, should be observed.

2. Healthier Fast Food. Fast food restaurants don't have to spell disaster for dieters. Try Quiznos' Flatbread Sammies (all less than 250 calories) or a small Honey Bourbon Chicken sub (320 calories); Taco Bell's Fresco-style items (less than 350 calories); McDonald's Southwest salad with grilled chicken (320); or any of Subway's subs with 6 grams of fat or less (230-370 calories).

3. Low-Fat and Fat-Free Dairy Products. Milk, yogurt (solid, frozen, and drinkable), cheese, sour cream, and cream cheese are available in lower-fat varieties that offer both healthy nutrients and great taste. Laughing Cow light cheese has only 35 calories per individually wrapped wedge, and Yoplait Fiber One nonfat yogurt combines yogurt crunchy cereal for a fiber boost and only 80 calories per 4 oz. cup.

Fat-free half-and-half is a suitable substitute for heavy cream with a fraction of the calories. And lower-fat and fat-free cream cheese and sour cream can easily pitch-hit for their fattier counterparts, particularly in recipes.

"You can trim calories effortlessly if you use low-fat and lighter products and if the product is mixed in with other ingredients, no one will ever notice," says Elaine Magee, MPH, RD, and the "Recipe Doctor" for WebMD and the WebMD Weight Loss Clinic.

(Continued in our next Post)
Courtesy: WebMD newsleter

7 Foods to NEVER Eat!

By Jaclyn Johnson


There will always be those fattening foods that are easy to make, easy to get, and easy to crave. You think "OK, I know this is bad but it can't be that bad!" Think again. Here are the top seven foods you should never ever feed your family or yourself!

1. Doughnuts It's hard to resist the smell of a Krispy Kreme doughnut, which is why I never step foot in the store. Doughnuts are fried chock-full of sugar and white flour and loads of trans fat.

According to the Krispy Kreme Web site, an average 3.5-ounce sugar doughnut weighs in with about 400 calories and contains few other nutrients besides fat. These sugary treats may satisfy your craving but it won't satisfy your hunger as most of the calories come from fat.

"Eating a lot of refined sugar contributes to blood sugar 'swings' or extreme fluctuations," Nutritionist Susan Burke said.

2. Cheeseburger with fries The age-old classic may be delicious but think twice before sinking your teeth into that Whopper. The saturated fat found in cheese burgers has been linked to heart attacks, strokes and some types of cancer.
"In fact, fast-food portions are gargantuan, almost double the calories per meal compared to 20 years ago," Susan says. "Twenty years ago the average fast-food cheeseburger had about 300 calories. Today's BK Whopper with Cheese has 720. To burn the excess 420 calories, you'd have to run for 40 minutes. For example, in 1985 a medium French fry had 240 calories, 2.4 ounces. Today's "medium" is 6.9 ounces and 610 calories.

"This fast-food meal of cheeseburger and fries has way too many calories and fat grams, not to mention grams of saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol and sodium."Let's break down this meal. First, take the white-flour bun (refined carbohydrates), then add some processed cheese (saturated fat and trans fat, plus lots of additives and preservatives) and then top off with fried red meat (cholesterol and saturated fats). And let's not forget about the condiments such as the always fattening mayonnaise.

Not sounding so appetizing anymore, huh? Oh, and let's not forget about the infamous side dish. You cheeseburger will most likely come with a side of French fries, which is sadly the most popular vegetable dish in the U.S. Don't kid yourself, French fries are not vegetables, they are extremely high in fat and contain a tiny amount of nutrients.

3. Fried Chicken and Chicken Nuggets Foods cooked in highly heated oils (most notably partially hydrogenated oil) have been known to cause cancer, weight gain and other serious health risks if ingested regularly. A 10-piece chicken McNugget from McDonald's has 420 calories, 24 grams of fat and 1120 milligrams of sodium. One Extra Crispy Chicken Breast from KFC has around 420 calories and eight grams of saturated fat. So unless you want to super size yourself, it's best to make a clean break with fried foods.

4. Oscar Mayer's Lunchables Sure they are convenient and easy , but boy are they unhealthy! These kid-marketed lunches are loaded with saturated fat and sodium. They usually contain highly processed meats and cheeses, white flour crackers and sugary treats. Lunchables get two-thirds of their calories from fat and sugar. And they provide lopsided nutrition since they contain no fruits or vegetables.

"They insidiously promote obesity by making kids think that lunch normally comes in a cellophane-wrapped box," Susan says. "Parents are promoting their children's obesity by buying these items. They're expensive, too. Pack a sandwich and save dollars and health."

5. Sugary Cereal Not all cereals are created equally. And while your kids might beg for the latest cookie or marshmallow chocolate surprise cereals, it is a safe bet they are about as healthy as a dessert. Keywords to look out for are puffed, dyed and sweetened.

Most kids' cereals are so highly processed they no longer look like the grains they were originally made from. A healthy alternative is oatmeal. Although, if you are buying pre-packaged oatmeal make sure to check the label and see how much sugar it contains, you might be surprised.

"A little sugar isn't a problem but when the first ingredient on the box is sugar, then watch out," she said. "There is no fruit in Froot Loops. But the unsweetened original Cheerios or Rice Krispies are fine, and you can sweeten them naturally with blueberries and strawberries."

6. Processed Meats. What falls under the category of processed meats? Hot dogs, sausage, jerky, bacon, certain lunch meats and meats used in canned soup products. Almost all processed meats have sodium nitrite added as a preservative.

A recent study conducted at the University of Hawaii found that sodium nitrite can act as "a precursor to highly carcinogenic nitrosamines -- potent cancer-causing chemicals that accelerate the formation and growth of cancer cells throughout the body." So eliminate these meats from your diet before they eliminate you!

7. Canned soup. Sometimes regarded as a healthy food, soups can be very deceiving. You must stay on your guard because many canned soups have high levels of trans fats, sodium and artificial preservatives such as MSG. Just one serving (which is roughly one cup) can have almost 1,000 milligrams of salt. Also, steer clear of soups that are cream-based, they can be high in calories and fat.

Susan says it is important to "read labels from back to front. Ignore the health claims, and instead focus on the ingredients and serving size. Watch out for hydrogenated fat (trans fat) and sodium. If you're buying bread to go with you soup, the first ingredient should be whole grain -- either whole wheat, rye or other grain. If it just says 'wheat bread,' that doesn't mean whole wheat."

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Courtesy: eDiets.com

Simple Steps to Craving Control

You're on a diet, but when faced with chocolate or ice cream, do you find yourself in a tug-of-war between the angel of good intentions and the devil of desire?

Put aside the guilt. Food cravings are not a sign of a lack of willpower. Research has uncovered a far more complex cause of those irresistible urges. Luckily, there is much you can do to tame the crave beast and manage your waistline.

A Fantastic Voyage Serotonin, endorphins, neuropeptide Y and galanin sound like characters from Star Wars, but they are some of the many microscopic chemicals at the helm of your crave control.

Serotonin: People often crave carbohydrates because their brains are low in the hormone-like substance called serotonin, which regulates carbohydrate intake and mood. A person feels depressed, irritable and tense when serotonin levels are low; satisfying a sweet tooth with a doughnut or raisin bagel raises serotonin levels in the brain and calms down carbohydrate-sensitive people.

Endorphins: Both sugar and fat are suspected to release endorphins, morphine-like compounds in the brain that produce a natural euphoria. It's no wonder people turn to chocolate when depressed or stressed -- chocolate is a combination of sugar, fat and other compounds that might stimulate endorphin release in the brain! Studies show that a sweet taste on the tongue alone stimulates the release of endorphins in the brain, which in turn produces a calming effect.

NPY & Galanin: Another brain chemical called neuropeptide Y (NPY) kick starts the day's eating cycle by dictating a preference for carbohydrates. Waffles, toast, pancakes and fruit replenish carbohydrate stores drained after an overnight fast. Animals eat more carbs when NPY levels are high or when NPY is injected into their brains. On the other hand, storage energy is regulated by the neurochemical galanin, which rises as the day progresses and triggers a desire for fatty foods such as meats, creamed sauces on pasta, salad dressing or desserts. Galanin levels also rise when estrogen levels are high or during weight loss, when body fat is being burned for energy.

Stress adds to the food-craving orchestra. Everything from boredom to anxiety can set off a crave attack. Interestingly, the stress hormones raise NPY and galanin levels, which in turn increase food cravings, overeating and weight gain. In short, you can't will away food cravings. These chemicals go berserk when a person adopts a quick weight-loss diet.

For example, rats placed on a calorie-restricted diet and then allowed to eat at will increase their consumption of fat from a typical 35 percent of calories to as much as 60 percent of calories. People who repeatedly gain and lose weight also crave sweet fatty foods more than people who maintain their weight. It is likely that restricting these foods raises NPY or galanin levels (or lowers serotonin and endorphin levels), setting up a rebound effect that swings the eating pendulum from abstinence to binge.

Courtesy: Glee Magazine/ eDiets.com

Why Men Are Better Dieters Than Women

Well, my friends... I spent most of yesterday watching the Presidential Inauguration ceremonies and happenings from Washington, D.C.: what a momentous and historical day and night it was!

Our new, the 44th., President Obama never misses his 45 minutes of morning exercise, it was brought up several times. Perhaps he will inspire and motivate us all to follow suit, and Change the U.S. into a nation of losers! :o)

And so, I felt that the following article by JEFFREY KLUGER was a fitting one to share with you! GO, U.S.A.!

Have a Great Day!
Your Friend,

Jacques
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Facebook Yahoo! Buzz Mixx Permalink Reprints Related You wouldn't think a diet would be a cause of marital discord. But it often is — at least when couples try to shed pounds together and, as often happens, the husband drops the weight a lot faster than the wife does. Well, guess what, guys? It's not your steely resolve or your trips to the gym or your superior genes that are entirely behind it. It might just be your brain.

It's hardly a secret that men and women gain weight, lose weight and think about weight entirely differently. It's also not news that body-fat percentage alone — with females naturally carrying an extra ladling of adipose tissue — gives males a head start in the slimming game. But a new study from Brookhaven National Laboratory looked deeper into the primal ways in which we react to the very presence of food — and if you like to eat, this is not a study you would have wanted any part of. (See the Year in Medicine 2008.)

Nuclear-medicine specialist Dr. Gene-Jack Wang first recruited a group of 23 male and female volunteers — none of whom were obese and all of whom were in good general health — and instructed them to fast for 17 hours. During that period, he and his team interviewed them about their favorite foods and asked them to rank each on a 1-to-10 scale. The researchers then selected one food for each subject, the only requirement being that it scored 7 or above in desirability. When the 17 hours were up, the volunteers were injected with a nuclear tracer, placed in a brain-imaging PET scanner and presented with a food they craved. Actually, they were more than merely presented with it.

"If you said you liked barbecued ribs, we'd put a big portion of them in front of you," says Wang. "We'd warm them in a microwave first so you couldn't get away from the smell, and we'd give you a cotton ball with a bit of the food on it so you could taste it. Then we'd have one of the nurses describe how the food was made."

When a hungry person is hit with such multisensory stimuli, it's no surprise that the brain starts screaming chow time, and the PET scan showed that it was screaming loudly. Appetite and hunger are processed in a lot of regions — most notably the orbital frontal cortex, which is linked to self-control; the striatum, which is linked to motivation; the hippocampus, which is linked to memory; and the amygdala, which is linked to powerful emotions. In Wang's subjects, all these regions were ringing the dinner bell.

Wang then told his volunteers to do what few mortal people could do: think about something else. For the next 40 minutes, while the PET scanner hummed, the subjects fought to close their minds to the thoughts of food in any way they could, though they were required to keep their eyes open. "We tried to make it a real-life experience. It's like being in a buffet line, only it lasts a lot longer," says Wang.

When the scans were studied and the results were tallied, it appeared that both sexes were actually able to lower the overall sensation of hunger. In most people, the brain may grow partially habituated to an empty belly over time, and all of Wang's volunteers did a good job of hastening that desensitization. What the men could do that the women couldn't was quit ruminating on food, successfully suppressing — if only temporarily — the conscious desire to eat. The women continued experiencing emotional cravings even if their hunger had subsided.

Wang is not certain what's behind the differences, though he suspects hormones may play a significant role. He did get a better sense of the areas of the brain those hormones affect most, owing to the fact that he used a long-running PET scan rather than a shorter session with a functional magnetic resonance imager (fMRI), which is how such studies are usually conducted. This afforded him a good look at the amygdala, the deepest and most primitive of the brain structures involved. When the amygdala acts up, it's exceedingly hard to bring it to heel, as anyone suffering from anxiety conditions like phobias or obsessive-compulsive disorder could attest. That the men in Wang's study had some success disciplining their amygdalas was an undeniable accomplishment, but it was one that required enormous effort.

"It takes a lot of inhibition to control the amygdala," says Wang.

That, no doubt, is why even the most resolute dieters — both male and female — so often fail, eventually pouncing on the barbecued ribs. While that does nothing for your waistline or your cholesterol count, it may, briefly, mean more peace in your marriage. At least until the next diet begins.
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JACQUES' P.S.:

As a clinical therapist, I also learned that one of women's instinctive, inborn drives is that based on eating or hoarding more food than their bodies need...as a means of building up reserves for when they have babies to grow and feed...Something like female birds, wolves, etc. tend to gather feathers and other soft materials with which to build nests to keep and protect their young.

Time For Change: Presidential Health Tips

By Shawn McKee
Staff Writer

Change has arrived: Barack Obama is the 44th president of the United States of America. Whether you voted for him or not, you're witnessing something unprecedented in the history of this country.

In an unscientific food poll, we predicted Obama (and his family chili recip-(*)-) would win the election. So far, we are 100 percent accurate in presidential predictions -- this being our first. Now that we've patted ourselves on the back, we're looking to the future and how we can use this milestone to make positive changes in our own lives.

We've learned a lot about ourselves, our country and our new president over the past months. Indifference was replaced by involvement, the apathetic became active and something wonderful happened -- we all strived for change.

Electing the first African-American president was simply the first step on the path to change. Obama is faced with two unfinished wars, an economy in recession, struggling healthcare and education systems, oh, and he's quitting smoking while doing all of this.

"I was never really a heavy smoker. Probably at my peak I was smoking seven or eight a day," Obama said in a November interview for Men’s Health.

"There have been a couple of times during the campaign when I fell off the wagon and bummed one, and I had to kick it again. But I figure, seeing as I’m running for president, I need to cut myself a little slack."

He understands that he's not perfect and he will occasionally make mistakes just like everyone else, but when he falls, he gets right back up as he explained in a recent interview with Barbara Walters:

"Part of what I think comes with this role as president is not that you’re perfect, but hopefully you’re trying to set a good example for people and that starts with my two kids."

We should all try and take the lead of our new commander-in-chief. Obama is probably the busiest man in America right now, but he still finds time to exercise -- almost every day.

"The main reason I do it is just to clear my head and relieve me of stress," he said in his Men’s Health interview. "Most of my workouts have to come before my day starts. Usually I get in about 45 minutes, six days a week. I’ll lift [weights] one day, do cardio the next."

He also finds time to squeeze in basketball games as another fun fitness diversion. The No.1 reason Americans give for not exercising is lack of time. If the busiest man in America can find 45 minutes a day, you can find a little time, too.

If you're like me, you had too much going on to kick-start your resolutions on Jan.1, but that's OK. Let's use the inauguration as the beginning of not just another year, but of a new lifestyle. Let's follow the leader on improving our health and doing our part to make this a healthier, more active country.

Can you change your life?

Yes, you can.

The key to a seamless transition is your team. Obama is surrounding himself with top-notch aides and filling his cabinet with capable people because he knows he can't do it all on his own. He knows his weaknesses and surrounds himself with people who count those areas as strengths. If you're planning on losing weight and getting healthy, you need to do the same thing.

Can't get motivated for the gym? Get a personal trainer, a workout partner or find a fun activity you enjoy.

Can we all get healthy and reach our weight-loss goals?

Yes, we can.

Things are always changing. Let's choose to make those changes positive, to not beat ourselves up over slip ups, to find time to exercise, to be positive role models for our family and our community, and to not strive for perfection, just improvement.

Now that's change everyone can believe in.

Are you ready for change? Post below and let us know your plan for a healthier lifestyle.
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(*) Barack Obama's Family Chili Recipe

Hungry? Here's Barack Obama's family chili recipe:



Ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
Several cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground turkey or beef
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground oregano
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon ground basil
1 tablespoon chili powder
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Several tomatoes, depending on size, chopped
1 can red kidney beans


Directions:

Saute onions, green pepper and garlic in olive oil until soft.
Add ground meat and brown.
Combine spices together into a mixture, then add to ground meat.
Add red wine vinegar.
Add tomatoes and let simmer, until tomatoes cook down.
Add kidney beans and cook for a few more minutes.
Serve over white or brown rice.
Garnish with grated cheddar cheese, onions and sour cream.
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Until tomorrow's Historic Inauguration, Opt Now for Change! Have a Great Day!

Your Friend,

Jacques

Courtesy: eDiets.com

Laughter Yoga to Improve Health? It’s No Joke

By Sally Abrahms - August 8, 2008 - AARP Bulletin Today
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HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The more I read the following, the more I knew that this topic is a "Must Share" with you, my dear friends, as the Best possible opener for your "To Do in 2009" list!

And was especially moved by the acknowledgement of a dear friend and collaborator of mine: Norman Cousins, who passed on in 1990, never to be forgotten for his tremendous contribution to Wellness based on the "belly laughter" that saved his life and -through his writings on this simple exercise - many thouands of lives to boot!

I never miss teaching this fun, giant little known shortcut to better health during every one of my Seminars. "You should see the puzzled looks on the faces of attendees in adjoining Conference Salons where other Seminars are being conducted", I was often told by my staff of assistants..."as well as curious passers-by who stick their heads in for a peek---and end up laughing to tears themselves!"

Learn to gradually laugh out loud at least once every day---for up to five minutes non-stop...So heartily that your stomach muscles hurt! (If you live with others who may fear that you "flipped out"---isolate yourself in the bathroom---turn on the shower and radio---or whatever---and, later on get them involved in this Therapeutic marvel!) LOL

As the Head speaker and fund raiser for medical reasearch at U.C.L.A., he enabled its School of Medicine to discover and record that the sustained belly laughter he used on himself and later prescribed to the rest of us actually triggered the most potent self-produced pain killer and mood elevator: endorphins (READ BELOW).

And, to all "dieters": they found that just three minutes of continuous belly guffaws is equivalent to a 4-1/2 mile energetic walk in burning calories! SO: Hahaha, Hohoho to you! :o)

I dedicate this excellent article to his memory and to Your Good Health!

Your Friend,

Jacques

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Many senior centers offer laughter yoga classes for free, or for $10 to $15 per session. In New York, for example, laughter therapist leader Francine Shore teaches 60-minute classes that cover laughter yoga, deep breathing and meditation, to older people, dementia patients and Holocaust survivors “who were never given permission to laugh,” Shore says. Her Monday afternoon Komedy Klatch class for seniors is a much-needed weekly fix for Harold Krinsky, a former postal worker in his late 80s. “People get sick and die, neighbors and friends move, and there are physical body changes,” he says. “What seniors like me need is a laugh.”

Do-it-yourself laughter therapy is available through the more than 5,000 laughter clubs. These are independent community-based organizations that meet on a regular basis with one agenda: laughing. For information on your nearest laughter club, and
to learn more about laughter therapy go to Rxlaughter.org. For laughter yoga classes near you, go to LaughterYoga.org.

When she was first introduced to laughter yoga at her New York City senior center, Millie Mund thought it was “weird.” And who wouldn’t? Stretching her hands skyward, taking deep breaths, clapping her hands and chanting “ho ho, ha ha ha” while staring directly at other group members until everyone is laughing uncontrollably, took getting used to.

“At the beginning, I felt silly, but then I forgot about my pain,” says Mund, 85, who has osteoporosis, arthritis, high blood pressure and circulatory problems. “You look around and see everybody laughing and smiling. It’s a lot of fun.”

Developed in 1995 by Madan Kataria, M.D., a family practitioner from India, laughter yoga “is based on the scientific concept that your body can’t tell the difference between simulated and spontaneous laughter,” Kataria says. “You get the same health benefits. The yoga breathing, in combination with laughter exercises, brings more oxygen to the body and makes you feel energetic and stay healthy.”

Laughter yoga is only one tool in the growing field of laughter therapy. Today, humor is used to treat chronic pain associated with cancer, arthritis or other illnesses, as well as depression, anxiety and stress disorders. Psychiatrists, family therapists, social workers and an increasing number of “certified laughter therapists” or “laughter leaders” prescribe jokes, reading funny books, watching comic movies—or anything that evokes gut-splitting squeals for the purpose of feeling better. Clips from classic TV sitcoms like I Love Lucy, The Carol Burnett Show, Saturday Night Live, Seinfeld, All in the Family or The Bob Newhart Show work well. Standup comedy shticks from Lily Tomlin, CDs such as “The 2000 Year Old Man” with Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks, or movies like Blazing Saddles or There’s Something About Mary can be just the right medicine.

Many laughter therapists teach workshops at government offices, corporations, nursing homes and police departments. Even some Roman Catholic nuns find laughter therapy useful in ministering to others. Sister Angelica Menta, a Houston nun and a licensed family therapist, has traveled throughout Texas for 20 years conducting laughter workshops for cancer patients and at senior centers and workplaces. Known as “the Stand-Up Nun,” Sister Menta wears silly hats, tells jokes and encourages her people to find laughter in everyday life, using humor as a path to spirituality.

The medical community has recognized the healing power of humor since the 14th century, when the French surgeon Henri de Mondeville suggested that doctors should look after each patient’s joy and happiness “by having someone tell him jokes.” But the modern father of laughter therapy is thought to be Norman Cousins, for 30 years the editor of the Saturday Review. Cousins recounted his own self-treatment with humor in an article in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1976, after he’d been diagnosed with a very painful, life-threatening form of arthritis called ankylosing spondylitis. Doctors gave him little chance of recovery.

When traditional medicine failed to relieve his pain, Cousins left the hospital, checked into a hotel, took megadoses of vitamin C and watched Marx Brothers films and TV sitcoms, finding that 10 minutes of “belly laughter” allowed him two hours of pain-free sleep. He eventually recovered and wrote a series of best-selling books on humor and healing. Before he died in 1990 at age 75 from heart failure, Cousins was made an adjunct professor of medical humanities at the University of California, Los Angeles, medical school.

What Cousins discovered on his own, researchers have recently been trying to prove through scientific study: that laughter can relieve pain, reduce depression, promote relaxation, boost the immune system, improve blood flow and breathing, lower blood pressure and glucose levels, and even slow the growth of cancer cells. “Studies indicate that participating in laughter therapy is beneficial in terms of disease control,” says William Fry, M.D., professor emeritus at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Just how powerful a medicine laughter may be was demonstrated by Michael Miller, M.D., director of preventive cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center. In 2006, in the journal Heart, Miller reported on a group of 20 healthy volunteers, none suffering from heart disease or high blood pressure, randomly assigned to watch a 15- to 30-minute segment of either a comedy film, to induce laughter, or an action-packed drama, to cause mental stress.

Miller measured the flow of blood in his subjects’ brachial arteries in the upper arm before and after the movies. Nineteen of the 20 people who watched the comedy experienced increased blood flow by a mean of 15 percent, suggesting that laughter relaxes the arteries and may ease strain on the heart. On the other hand, 14 of the 20 volunteers who watched the drama found that blood flow in their arteries was reduced by a mean of 47 percent, an amount Miller compares to a fit of anger, which may raise blood pressure, constrict arteries and stress the heart.

“We think this is the real deal,” says Miller. “There’s no question in my mind that there is some physiological benefit from laughter. Now, we need to translate what those changes in our blood vessels mean clinically.”

California researcher Lee Berk, an associate professor at Loma Linda University School of Public Health, is documenting laughter’s ability to boost immune cell activity and improve mood. “Just the anticipation of laughter can change your biology, lower stress hormones and increase endorphins that affect mood states and vigor,” says Berk.

In a 2006 study, Berk and his colleagues found that body chemicals called beta-endorphins, nature’s pain relievers and antidepressants, increased by 27 percent when volunteers simply anticipated watching a humorous video. Human growth hormone, which boost immunity to disease, also rose in the volunteers—by 87 percent. No increase in these hormones occurred in the control group, which wasn’t told they would see the video.

This year, the same researchers looked at the impact of anticipating laughter on three major stress hormones. High levels of stress hormones can have a detrimental impact on the immune and cardiovascular systems. All three stress hormones were reduced when subjects anticipated seeing the funny video—and one, epinephrine, dropped by 70 percent.

Although there’s no scientific explanation, it’s widely known that one of laughter’s most therapeutic characteristics is that it is extremely contagious. Recently, Millie Mund decided to spread a little cheer by introducing laughter yoga to her son, daughter-in-law and adult grandchildren. “They thought I was crazy,” she says, “but before I knew it, they were all doing ‘ho ho, ha ha ha’ and laughing!”
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Sally Abrahms of Brookline, Mass., writes about health, workplace and aging issues.

Courtesy: AARP Bulletin Today

Double Your Weight Loss: The Write Idea

Double Your Weight Loss: The Write Idea
By Shawn McKee
Staff Writer

Wouldn't it be nice if there was something you could do to double your weight loss efforts?

According to one of the largest and longest running weight-loss trials ever conducted, there is.

What's this new weight-loss miracle? Is it a drug? A new machine for blasting your abs? A crazy diet where you eat nothing but broccoli?

No. It's simply your keyboard. Keeping a food diary -- recording what you eat throughout the day -- can double a person's weight loss efforts, according to a study conducted by Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research.

The study, which will be published in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, found that keeping a daily record can keep your diet on track.

"The more food records people kept, the more weight they lost," said Kaiser Permanente lead author Jack Hollis Ph.D. in a press release. "Those who kept daily food records lost twice as much weight as those who kept no records. It seems that the simple act of writing down what you eat encourages people to consume fewer calories."

The average weight loss over 6 months was roughly 13 pounds, with more than two-thirds of the nearly 1,700 participants losing at least 9 pounds. Those who participated were asked to follow the heart-healthy DASH diet, which is rich in fruits and vegetables, attend weekly support group sessions and exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, as well as tracking what they ate. Participants who used their daily food journals doubled their results.

With more than two-thirds of Americans overweight -- and the African American community being particularly susceptible to problems linked to obesity, like heart disease and diabetes -- this study was one of the few trials to have a large percentage of African Americans -- nearly half of the participants.

"If we all just lost 9 pounds, like the majority of people in this study did, our nation would see vast decreases in hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease and stroke," noted study co-author Victor Stevens, Ph.D., who found in a previous study that losing as little as 5 pounds can reduce the risk of developing high blood pressure by 20 percent.

If it's as simple as tracking what you eat to lose weight, then fire up the computer. If you eat it, type it in. Food diaries increase accountability and demonstrate where excess calories are coming from according to study participants.

Keeping a food diary doesn't have to be a formal thing, noted Dr. Keith Bachman in the press release. Bachman, who heads Kaiser Permanente’s Weight Management Initiative, explained that journaling helps people reflect on what they eat, helping them become aware of their habits and, hopefully, changing their behavior.

"Every day I hear patients say they can't lose weight," he said. "This study shows that most people can lose weight if they have the right tools and support. And food journaling in conjunction with a weight management program or class is the ideal combination of tools and support."

Courtesy: Glee Magazine (a eDiet.com publication)

A Simple Way to Lose Weight

To start you on the road to a Happy, Healthy 2009, the following is sent to you Courtesy: RealAge Newsletter.


If dinner feels like a race against the clock, then consider this a speeding ticket from the food police.

Quickly plowing through your meals until your meter hits "full" can easily lead to extra pounds. (Maybe it already has.)

Rush-Hour Power

In a recent study, two factors were strong predictors of weight gain. The first, no surprise, was how much people ate. The second? How quickly they ate. Speedy eaters in the study who typically noshed until they felt full were 3 times more likely to be overweight than people who ate at a more leisurely pace. Speed demons also consistently consume more calories overall.

Meals in the Moment

Here are a few tricks to help you slow down and enjoy your meals more:

Keep distractions to a minimum so you can focus on your food.

Serve small portions. You can have seconds or eat more later if you’re hungry again.

Stay tuned in to each bite. Here’s what we mean by that.
Take a couple of sips of water between bites. (Could you be thirsty, not hungry?)
Give yourself plenty of time to feel full. It may take 20 minutes for your satisfied stomach to send a signal to your brain.

Aim for three-quarters full instead of stuffed.
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References Published on 01/01/2009.

The joint impact on being overweight of self reported behaviours of eating quickly and eating until full: cross sectional survey. Maruyama, K. et al., BMJ 2008 Oct 21;337:a2002.

Here are some ideas to help you eat slower and lose faster:
Make portion control easy with the Meal Measure.
Put down your fork or spoon after each bite -- and don’t pick it up again until after you swallow.
Make smaller dishes to start with