Try to hold the extra flavorings, the special boosters and the yogurt if possible (or use fat free). If you don’t think you can do without the added sugar - try it once. You may be surprised. Finally, get a small! Too much sugar, even natural sugar, and too many carbs are not good for your waistline. Everything in moderation and you can enjoy your smoothies all summer long without packing on the pounds.

The fat rats became so hooked on junk food that when researchers took away the bad stuff and replaced it with healthy food, the rodents chose to starve themselves.

Scripps Florida scientists Paul Kenny and Paul Johnson say junk food changed the rats’ brain chemistry in the same way that chronic cocaine use alters an addict’s brain function. Their study, published Sunday in the journal Nature Neuroscience, bolsters the increasingly popular theory that Americans’ bulging waistlines can be blamed in part on the addictive attributes of unhealthy food.

As part of three years of experiments, Kenny, an associate professor, and Johnson, a graduate student, served one group of rats healthy, nutritionally balanced fare. Another group got unlimited access high fat snacks from a local supermarket including bacon, sausage, cheesecake, pound cake, Ding Dongs and frosting.

Not surprisingly, the rats fed junk food put on weight and became less active.

More surprisingly, the fat rats exhibited the sort of self-destructive behavior associated with human junkies. The rats would eat junk food even if they knew doing so would result in a mild but distinctly uncomfortable electrical shock to their feet.

When Kenny and Johnson replaced the unhealthy food with the healthy diet the rats had been raised on, the animals refused to eat at all.

“They actually voluntarily starved themselves,” Kenny said.

Kenny blames the same culprit that afflicts cocaine addicts: the brain’s dopamine D2 receptor. The brain releases dopamine in response to enjoyable experiences such as eating cheesecake, having sex or snorting cocaine.

But, scientists believe, too much pleasure skews the brain’s reward pathways by overstimulating the D2 receptor and causing it to shut down. For the rats addicted to junk food, Kenny said, the only way to stimulate their pleasure centers was to eat more high-fat, high-calorie food.

“They’re not experiencing rewards the way they should,” Kenny said. “When you experience that, one way of feeling better is to go back to the junk food.”

As part of his research, Kenny used a virus to essentially block healthy rats’ D2 receptors. Those rats quickly developed compulsive eating habits.

Nearly all the rats given junk food became obese yet many Americans can handle the temptation of easily available junk food.

Kenny says that’s because overeating is driven by not just the genetic factors that make us crave junk food but also by social pressures. Humans know junk food is bad for us, and we try to avoid it. But rats don’t find their impulses tempered by clothes that no longer fit or by books by Dr. Oz, TV shows like The Biggest Loser and movies such as Super Size Me.

“The rats don’t suffer from the same social pressures that we do,” Kenny said.

Source: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/health/scripps-florida-addicted-rats-starved-themselves-rather-than-470310.html

When you have an overdose of alcohol, the level of vitamins in your body goes down; especially Vitamin B12 reduces to a large extent. Studies have shown that vitamin B6 does help reducing the effects of a hangover. So it is helpful for you ensure that the levels of these essential vitamins do not go down in your body.

While vitamins help you reduce the effect, amino acids helps to mop up those nasty chemicals left behind by an alcohol in your body. Eggs contain cysteine which is a form of amino acid that helps clean your system and reduce the hangover effect.

A little fiber in your diet can enhance digestion. Keep the sodium levels of your food low as sodium leads to water retention and may encourage puffing of your body. Include more of potassium rich food as potassium helps in getting rid of excess water from your body.

Include more fluids in your daily diet. This means you need to consume more of fruits and vegetables. However, avoid alcohol as it tends to dehydrate your body.

Yogurt & Berries

Once air from any source enters your digestive system, you may feel bloated. So eat slowly with your mouth closed and substitute carbonated drinks to fresh juices. Similarly, yogurt with probiotics helps in enhancing your digestive system and helps relieve bloating.

By making such simple tweaks to your daily lifestyle, you can stay fit through the holidays!

All you need to do is some planning and thinking about holiday food a little differently. First you need to plan your food properly. Fix your plate size and ensure that it has more of vegetables and protein rich food.

Remember to eat before you go for any holiday food invitation. Having a small piece of fruit with some peanut butter or a small container of yogurt will help you reduce the temptation of overeating.

Picking and choosing is a better idea to follow if you wish to maintain your weight. Instead of choosing all the three desserts, choose the one that seems tempting and limit yourself to just one. Avoid binging and overeating.

Alcohol is loaded with calories. So it is wise to substitute alcohol to fresh juices like fruit juice or vegetables juice.

If you are the host or hostess of a party, you need to take control. Prepare broth based soups that are loaded with vegetables as your first course. Switch from buffets to meals that are served as this will help pace-eating.

By following such simple strategies you can help yourself and ensure that your weight is under control.

(Source)

Fat & Calories:

Turkey is very low in calories and won’t wreck your diet, especially with it’s rich protein benefits. Turkey breast is lowest in fat, but dark meat turkey is still not a bad choice. Go for a second helping of turkey before you go for more bread or dressing!

Vitamins:

The antioxidant selenium and B3 and B6 vitamins are all abundant in a serving of the Thanksgiving bird.

Tryptophan?:

Turkey is indeed loaded with tryptophan. Tryptophan is an amino acid that is a natural sedative, but it doesn’t affect us unless we eat it on an empty stomach and separate from other amino acids. When tryptophan is consumed along with the other amino acids found in turkey, it’s no longer sleep-inducing.

For those of you who are not meat eaters, Tofurky Vegetarian Roast makes a fantastic vegan substitute, but if you’re having guests, keep in mind that they may want the real thing.

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Pumpkin is absolutely loaded with beta-carotene, and antioxidant that is converted to vitamin A in the body. Beta-carotene may reduce risk of cancer and heart disease.

Other nutrients in pumpkin such as lutein, help reduce some effects of aging. Lutein helps reduce the risk of cataracts and macular degeneration.

A few great ways to have pumpkin at Thanksgiving … pumpkin pie of course, pumpkin custard, pumpkin bread.

You can also toast the pumpkin seeds, which is so great for you, but that’s a whole other post!

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1 - Aromatherapy: have a peppermint. Or a cup of mint tea. Or use a little mint lip balm. The smell of mint stimulates your brain. Also, great for stress relief.

2 - If it’s not raining, step outside. 15 minutes of sunshine triggers your brain into action, releasing serotonin, the “feel good” hormone.

3 - Turn off the television. It is a definite energy zapper.

4 - A short walk gets your blood moving faster and wakes up the circulatory system. Another good stress reliever.

This decision was not attributed as a direct response to a letter Kellogg received from San Francisco city attorney indicating how concerning it is that this company may likely be misleading the public into thinking this sugary cereal is a healthy choice.

Adding vitamins to junk food is not a way to nourish your body.

Only all natural foods and vitamins have the true nutrients your body needs to be strong and healthy.

Source: Kellogg: Rice Krispies Won’t Protect Your Kid From Swine Flu

The study failed to answer whether children who are “difficult” are more likely to be allowed to indulge their love of sweets or whether parents were just not allowing normal kids to learn to delay gratification. However, it ruled out factors that could have contributed like parenting, area of residence, higher education and access to a car.

The research was an attempt to investigate the role that poor diet in children might have in contributing to violent tendencies. Although not everyone is convinced, of these findings, the investigators have suggested that any efforts that aim to improve childrens’ diets may help reduce aggressive tendencies.

The study will definitely cause parents to think twice before indulging their childrens’ sweet tooth. So should you curb your child’s intake of sugar? Well, a better way to put it would be that nothing but good can come out of giving your children a healthier diet or supplementing their existing diet with vitamins and minerals that may be lacking. Healthy and balanced lifestyle can be taught at an early age.