Striving4Zen

We all know that rich people eat better, but it's nice how they put it in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association: "People with higher socio-economic status and educational levels are more likely to consume a costly but high-quality diet of lower-energy-density foods." Love that tone. (Thx ModernMedicine.com.)

What we didn't know was that certain clever, rich people might be losing weight by drinking "white tea." Black teas, we just learned, are "cured and oxidized," whereas white tea is the unadulterated, virgin leaf, (and often comes complete with young leaves and flowering buds.)

German researchers are now saying that -- just maybe -- white tea slows the growth of new fat cells. Time to hit up your local Whole Foods. Meanwhile, at the other end of the socio-economic spectrum, poor people are using soup cans and dishtowels to stay in shape, and they're guzzling Hydroxycut dietary supplements, many of which are currently being recalled (by the ironically named manufacturer Iovate Health Sciences) because, well, they might destroy your liver or kill you.

Thanks!

Labels: bagged tea, burn fat, diet, Hydroxycut, Iovate Health, study, weight loss, white tea

1. Protein In May early results were reported for the multipart study called "Diogenes" (a name created by combining the words diet, obesity and genes), which is being funded by the European Community. Researchers split 205 people who'd lost weight on a fixed diet over two months into five groups, each eating a different kind of diet, to see which group did the best at keeping the weight off. The results: participants who ate more protein were least likely to regain the lost pounds.

2. Nuts Although they are high in calories, research suggests that nuts help keep people thin. In one study with more than 8,000 participants, at the University of Navarra in Spain, people who rarely or never ate nuts gained slightly more over two years than those who munched on them at least twice a week (the results were adjusted for risk factors for obesity). Another study, at Loma Linda University in California, found that overweight women lost weight over six months when they were given almonds to eat and otherwise ate as they chose. Nuts contain mostly unsaturated fat, especially monounsaturated fats, which raise "good" cholesterol. They tend to be filling and may push the body to burn more fat, says Dr. Leo Galland, author of "The Fat Resistance Diet" (Broadway, 2005).

3. Fruits and Vegetables Women who consume five or more fruit and vegetable servings daily are more likely to maintain weight loss than those who eat fewer servings, according to the Centers of Disease Control. (How much is a serving? It's about a half cup of cut-up fruit, berries, or nonleafy vegetables, one full cup of leafy veggies or one medium-size whole fruit.)

4. Berries As you enjoy your daily servings of fruit, don't forget berries. Research at Doshisha University in Japan suggests that anthocyanins, the flavonoids that give berries (and other plant foods) a red, blue or purple color, alter the activity of genes found in human fat cells. In a separate study in which mice were fed anthocyanins, researchers found they didn't gain weight, even when they were given an otherwise high-fat diet that would typically plump them up.

Source

Disclaimer: I believe in eating these foods because they're healthy, not to make you skinny as per Newsweek.

Labels: anthocyanins, berries, eating healthy, flavonoids, nutrition, Nuts, protein, weight loss

According to a review of the published scientific literature, claims that low-fat dairy products or calcium can help people lose weight are untrue. Neither dairy products in general nor calcium intake promote weight loss.

Out of 49 clinical trials, 41 showed no effects of diary or calcium on weight, two showed an increase in body weight with a dairy regimen, and one showed a lower rate of weight gain. Only five showed weight loss.

An association between calcium or dairy intake and weight loss has been seen in some "observational" studies, possibly due to other factors such as increased exercise, cutting out high-calorie foods with little nutritional value, or other diet changes.

Source

Labels: health information, milk, myths, nutrition, study, weight loss