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Women's Brains and Migraines

FitSugar — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 02:00:00 PDT

It is no secret that the female brain is different than its male counter part. It seems these differences are giving us headaches, and I mean that literally. Women are 3 times more likely to suffer from migraines. A recent study proved that it isn't all in our heads (figuratively speaking).

Advances in brain imaging technology now suggest that migraines may start as a result of brain excitability. People with migraines show dramatic waves of brain activity that spread across the surface of the brain. This activity is thought to trigger not only the severe pain associated with migraines but also the visual symptoms, dizziness, and difficulty concentrating often associated with migraines. Researchers believe many factors, like genes, hormones, and environmental triggers like stress, diet, and
changes in sleep patterns, may contribute to migraines in both sexes.

For further reading on this topic, check out the article Why Women Have More Migraines than Men at the Science Daily.

Source

10 Ways to School Yourself Post Graduation

SavvySugar — Thu, 24 May 2012 14:25:16 PDT

Education and intellectual growth shouldn't stop when the final bell rings and you walk across the stage to accept your diploma. Continuing brain development, mastering your chosen field, and sharpening your reading comprehension should be lifelong projects. Not only will it keep your brain active and sharp, but you'll have a leg up on the competition. You should learn something new every day, after all. Here are some ways to sneak smart activities into your tight schedule.

High-Fructose Corn Syrup Makes You Stupid, Omega-3s Make You Smart

Leta Shy — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:56:36 PDT

As if you needed another reminder to stop eating processed foods: a new study has found that foods high in high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) can make you stupid. But there's good news, too: eating foods high in omega-3s can help combat loss of brain function.

The study looked at different groups of rats that had been trained on a maze. After a few days on the maze, some of the rats were fed an HFCS-sweetened solution as their drinking water for six weeks, with some also receiving a diet high in omega-3s. After the diet, the rats were tested on how well they could recall the maze. The researchers found that the rats who ate the omega-3 diet were faster at completing the maze than the other rats, whether or not they were also given HFCS. Not only that, but the rats given the HFCS and not omega-3s were the slowest at completing the maze, and their brains showed a decline in activity and memory function.

This latest lab study is yet more evidence that processed foods can mess with our minds (other studies, for example, have linked fast food to depression) and that a diet high in omega-3s can help protect your brain from aging and mental decline. Ready to swap that fast-food burger for a mind-sharpening meal instead? Here's a list of vegan sources of omega-3s and five staples of the omega-3-rich Mediterranean diet.

5 Foods That Boost Your Memory

Prevention — Mon, 14 May 2012 04:17:12 PDT

We are pumped to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar!

By Mandy Oaklander, Prevention

Leave it to scientists to burst our bubble. For years, studies have told us that chewing gum can boost memory recall, and as such, we’d pop Chiclets during noggin-twisting times: exams, high school reunions, Jeopardy. Did it ever work for us? Honestly, we can’t remember - and there might be reason for that.

A study out of Cardiff University in the UK found that not only does chewing gum not help your short-term memory, but it also impairs it. Though there are certain activities that surprisingly boost brain health, gum chewing isn’t one of them.

In a series of three experiments, 97 university students were asked to recall either a short sequence of letters or identify the missing item in a list. They performed significantly worse when chewing gum, no matter how vigorously or how lazily they chomped. Researchers speculate that the tongue, mouth, and jaw movements of gum chewing disrupt short-term memory (For a fun way to refresh your mind, try these seven brain games).

Nine Surprising Reasons You Can’t Concentrate

You can still fight short-term memory loss, hand to mouth, with these five tricks!

5 Reasons Why You Should Remember to Eat More Berries

Michele Foley — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:54:32 PDT

Berry season is right around the corner, and if a big bowl of strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries didn't excite you before, maybe this news will: eating at least two servings of berries per week can help delay age-related memory loss in women. A recent Harvard study followed 16,010 women over the age of 70, finding those who ate berries slowed memory loss by almost three years. Researchers cite the plethora of antioxidants packed into these small fruits as being the reason. If preventing memory loss weren't enough, here are five more reasons why you should up your berry intake.

They help with weight loss: Berries are loaded with the antioxidant anthocyanin, which has been shown to alter the activity of genes found in human fat cells, making it more difficult to put on weight. Blueberries, specifically, have been shown to diminish stubborn belly fat.
They are good for your brain: Investigators with the US Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging in Boston found that the polyphenols in berries help the part of the brain that takes care of regular maintenance and "housekeeping." Blueberries and strawberries were said to contain the most polyphenols.
They are good for your eyes: Berries, especially blueberries and raspberries, contain lutein, which is important for healthy eyes and sharp vision.
They help protect against disease: Berries are brimming with carotenoids, an antioxidant that has been shown to reduce the risk of cancer. Other phytonutrients in berries have been shown to protect against heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis. Those deep hues pay off tenfold when it comes to maintaining the health of your body.
They help slow down the aging process: The powerful antioxidants in berries prevent free radical damage in your body, and less free radical damage means slowing down the aging process to help you live longer!

Amped up for berry season yet? Mix things up by making one of these healthy berry recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and cocktail hour!

It's Time to Quit Your Sugar Addiction Once and For All

Leta Shy — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 03:05:34 PDT

There's lots to love about sugar: it makes dessert delicious and fruit flavorful. But eating too much sugar (more than the recommended six teaspoons a day) is bad for more than your waistline. Read on for three important reasons to cut back on sugar.

You always want more: It's hard to stop at just one cookie or piece of cake; that's because sugar is addictive. Eating sugar activates feel-good chemicals in your brain, making it hard to resist cravings. As a sugar high diminishes, the body's want for it increases, leading to a never-ending cycle of trying to resist the call of the cookie jar.

It makes you tired: Sugar may energize you at first (thanks to that quick insulin spike), but once you crash, you're left feeling fatigued. If you're tired of feeling foggy-headed as the afternoon wears on, try limiting sugary and starchy foods. But don't think this means you need to lay off that afternoon apple, however; while containing fructose, fruit is also made up of fiber and other nutrients that make them some of the best kinds of snacks.

It increases your risk of serious illnesses: Eating too much sugar can lead to heart disease, liver damage, stroke, and an increased risk of cancer. Many processed foods contain a surprising amount of hidden sugars already, so it helps to make a conscious effort to stick to whole, natural foods.

These should be reasons enough to cut back on your sugar intake! If you need help cutting back on sugar, read our tips on how to reduce your sugar (and salt) cravings here.

Spice Up Your Sex Life With These Simple Foods

Fitness Magazine — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 04:35:53 PDT

We are pumped to share one of our fave stories from Fitness Magazine here on FitSugar!

Feeling a little lackluster in the kitchen lately? How about the bedroom? The two could be related. Food can be a very sensual prop that helps keep things spicy behind closed doors, but which ones should you be welcoming with open arms and which should you close your taste buds to? JJ Virgin, cohost of TLC’s Freaky Eaters, gave us some food for thought on how to kick things up a notch for supersizzling results!

The three main things to look for in an arousing appetite are a rise in blood flow, circulation, and dopamine levels, Virgin explains. Try adding these to your next candlelit dinner for a big bite of romance!

Oysters and avocados both have a big dose of healthy fats, which are full of dopamine, a neurotransmitter triggering the part of our brain that recognizes reward and pleasure.
Walnuts (or any nut except peanuts) have high levels of arginine, a natural amino acid that boosts blood flow.
Fish not only have arginine, but an added bonus of omega-3 fatty acids, which can improve your cardiovascular health and increase dopamine. A triple threat!
Spicy dishes, like this Roast Salmon With Thai Red Curry Sauce, stimulate your tongue and kick-start the nervous system - great for postdinner activities!

And if you don’t want to send your sweetheart flying out the door (OK, maybe that’s a little extreme), keep reading to see which foods to stay away from.

More from Fitness:

Do You Think Sugar Is as Addictive as Drinking or Smoking?

Anna Monette Roberts — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 15:12:57 PDT

If you thought a little sugar never hurt anyone, think again. 60 Minutes reported that the average American consumes 130 pounds of sugar a year, and scientists are confirming that this overloaded amount is causing liver damage, heart disease, and cancer. While we are biologically designed to enjoy sweet tastes because they are a sign that a food isn't poisonous, in today's society, most of our sugar ingestion comes from a refined source, stripped of its nutrients, fiber, and natural makeup.

Sugar, even the smallest amount, activates the brain and releases a burst of dopamine into the bloodstream, much like cocaine's effect on the body. Just like drug addictions, the highs diminish with the more sugar you consume, so you develop a craving for more and more to get that same feel-good fix.

While it's hard to fathom that sugar is as addictive and deadly as a drinking or smoking habit, several studies are currently proving otherwise. How do you feel about the great sugar debate? Perhaps in the near future, we could see warning labels appear on soda cans and candy boxes, urging consumers to reduce consumption.

3 Snacking Habits to Break Now

Prevention — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 04:08:19 PDT

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar!

These noshing habits could be the reason your scale is stalled
By Karen Ansel, RD, Prevention

We do it in the car, on the train, in front of the TV, on the phone, and even in bed. For too many of us, snacking has become so automatic that our brains barely register the hand-to-mouth motion. And it's not as if we're all reaching for diet-friendly apples: A 2010 study from the University of North Carolina found that most of us eat nearly 600 calories a day-roughly a third of our food-in snacks rather than meals.

"The business plan of the modern food company has been to put their foods on every street corner, making it socially acceptable to eat 24-7," says David Kessler, MD, former commissioner of the FDA and the author of The End of Overeating (Rodale, 2009).

6 Ways to Stop Overeating

The result has been a nutritional disaster. In their natural state, whole foods may be high in fat or sugar, but they're rarely high in both. Today we have man-made snack foods with a tantalizing combination of fat and sugar rolled into one. "Foods have become so 'hyperpalatable' that they're now capable of hijacking our brains the same way that nicotine and alcohol do," says Ashley Gearhardt, the lead author of a Yale University study on food addiction.

Keep reading to learn how to fix your snacking habits.

Is Ice Cream Addictive? The Truth About "Addictive" Foods

Self — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 06:58:37 PST

We are pumped to share one of our favorite stories from Self here on FitSugar!

You've heard the ice cream calling your name from the freezer (or is that just me?) - but are you actually addicted to the stuff? A new study takes a look at how eating ice cream literally affects your brain.

Researchers Kyle Burger and Eric Stice of the Oregon Research Institute in Eugene studied how the brain responds to eating ice cream over time, and made a fascinating discovery: the more ice cream you eat, the more you need to eat in order for your brain to send signals that it's enjoying the treat!

Burger and Kyle surveyed 151 teenagers with healthy body weights about their food cravings. Then they showed the teens pictures of a chocolate milkshake while scanning their brains to see how strong their cravings were. Then they gave the teens real milkshakes while scanning their brains again. The results? The teens who reported eating the most ice cream in the few weeks prior to the study enjoyed the shakes the least, according to scans that tracked activity in the brain associated with reward. "Our results provide novel evidence that frequent consumption of ice cream, independent of body fat, is related to a reduction in reward-region responsivity in humans, paralleling the tolerance observed in drug addiction," the researchers say in the study. In other words: the more you have it, the more of it you need in order to experience pleasure from it.

So is it possible to be chemically addicted to food, like this study and other recent studies suggest? Bloomberg reported that 28 scientific studies and papers on food addiction were published as of November 2011, in an article that compared processed foods and sugary drinks to cocaine. Self contributing editor Janis Jibrin, a registered dietician, believes the answer is "yes." "This study is consistent with other research that shows there is definitely something about the brains of people who report being addicted to foods," she says.

"It seems to be twofold - if you eat these sugary, high-fat foods regularly, you build up a kind of tolerance and you need more and more to get the same hit," Jibrin says. "Some people might also have a genetic predisposition to food addition, and then we live in an environment where it's so easy to access these types of food."

Read on for more reasons why we become addicted to high-fat, high-sugar foods.