FitSugar

The Pros and Cons of Snacking

FitSugar — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 07:30:00 PDT

Snacking has endured a bad reputation for a very long time, but it seems to be coming back into vogue. There are pros and cons to the habit and one should never snack mindlessly, of course!

Here are some of the pros and cons to snacking.

The Pros

Snacking can fill nutritional gaps and boost your intake of fruits and veggies. This of course is only true if you are snacking on fresh fruits and veggies which I highly recommend. Peaches and cherry tomatoes are phenomenal this time of year and make tasty snacks.
Snacking can keep your mood on an even keel, when you feel like your blood sugar is sinking it is easy to feel "low,"
Snacks can help with appetite and weight control since they can prevent over indulgence at meals.
Snacking, spreading meals and calories, might require less insulin and might reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The Cons

The danger in snacking is that it can add extra calories to your day. By unconsciously adding 100 calories per day beyond the calories you burn can make you gain 10 pounds in a year.
Snacking should mirror your over all diet philosophy of moderation (yep, my favorite concept).
If you find yourself too hungry, when you are reaching for a snack, you might end up reaching for something loaded with calories. So plan your snacks ahead of time.

Looking for a healthy snack? Check out all these ideas for your next snack attack.

Insulin IS a Hormone

FitSugar — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 03:30:00 PDT

There is so much in the news about Diabetes these days, especially since Type 2 Diabetes is on the rise and the number of new cases seems to be sky rocketing. Since yesterday was American Diabetes Alert Day , I wanted to learn a bit more about the disease. I thought I should start at the beginning, go to the source as they say, and figure out what insulin is and what it does.

First off, insulin is a hormone that is produced in an area of the pancreas known as the Islets of Langerhans hence its name - insulin is derived from the Latin word insula meaning island. Hormones are chemical messengers bringing "information" from one cell to one or more other cells. Inuslin helps move glucose (aka energy) around our bodies, from the bloodstream to individual cells. Cells require glucose for movement, growth, repair, and other functions. It acts as a messenger between the bloodstream and cells, helping the cells absorb energy.

Insulin also regulates carbohydrate metabolism, the breakdown of carbs primarily into glucose. It effects fat metabolism as well.

When glucose enters our blood, the pancreas should automatically produce the right amount of insulin to move glucose into our cells. Type 1 diabetes (previously called juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes) is a disorder of the body's immune system that results from the pancreas not producing any insulin. Type 2 diabetes (previously called adult onset diabetes) results when the body doesn't respond appropriately to insulin, a condition called "insulin resistance."

Huma-Pen For Diabetics

FitSugar — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 15:15:00 PST

James Bond like gadgets just got health conscious. Check this new gizmo out!!!

Scientists at Battelle’s Health and Life Science Division have designed an insulin injector for Eli Lilly that looks like a fountain pen and remembers how much of the drug you’ve taken and when.

The Huma-Pen Memoir hides a hypodermic needle and uses insulin cartridges. It records the dose, date, and time of the past 16 injections. The memory is a safety feature for diabetics because overdosing is life-threatening (they have to take so many injections a day, sometimes they forget when they've last taken one.

Want to know how it works? Put it on your stomach, push the top and hold it for five seconds. A fresh, half-inch needle is inserted for each use. Then you replace the cap after the injection.

The Huma-Pen, which was unveiled on February 2, will go on sale next week, costing only $45.

Fat-Proof Your Life

Health — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 04:06:06 PST

We are pumped to share one of our favorite stories from Health.com here on our site.

By Maridel Reyes

It's true that there are certain times in your life when extra poundage seems to appear out of nowhere . . . and settle on you. In fact, experts have honed in on the exact moments when you're most vulnerable to weight gain.

"Life transitions, having a baby, and going through menopause cause many women to pile on pounds," says Susan Albers, PsyD, author of But I Deserve This Chocolate!: The 50 Most Common Diet-Derailing Excuses and How to Outwit Them. "But with planning and prep, you can stay thin."

We asked top experts for their strategies to help you ward off weight creep - and even shed pounds - at these tricky stages. Solutions ahead.

Getting married

Heavier ever after? It can be the flip side of wedded bliss: "Six out of 10 of my clients come back heavier after the honeymoon," says celebrity fitness and wellness guru David Kirsch.

Health.com: 25 Diet-Busting Foods You Should Never Eat

Young newlyweds pack on an extra six to nine pounds in the five years after getting hitched compared to singletons, according to research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. And most of that gain happens in the first year of marriage.

"Couples start to mirror each other's eating habits," explains Albers. "You might be matching him calorie for calorie without realizing it."

Learn how to keep the pounds down postmarriage and in the mommy years, after the break.

5 Surprising Health Benefits of Being a Sports Fan

Prevention — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 04:19:15 PST

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

By Cristina Goyanes, Prevention

It’s no wonder your friends aren’t available to hang out on Sundays in the Fall and Winter - according to a 2005 Gallup Poll, 64 percent of Americans claim to be professional football fans, and as of 2010, women make up 44 percent of the NFL fan base.

Being a sports fan doesn’t mean you’re expected to know all the players and stats of your hometown teams and destined for a beer gut - it’s about coming together in the name of good times as part of a community.

“Bonding over sports - the highs and lows of the game - strengthens ties, helps us feel supported, and makes it easier for you to open up about personal things,” says Renee Clauselle, PsyD, who runs a private psychology practice in Long Island, NY.

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Rooting for the same team creates an immediate sense of family, says Daniel Wann, PhD, a Murray State University professor who has been studying the psychology of sports fans for over 20 years. “If you identify with a local team, you build an instant connection to others around you,” he says.

Beyond the bonding aspects, watching sports can motivate you to pump up your own workouts - and even burn a few extra calories when you jump, cheer, and clap during the highlights of the game. Find out more ways being a sports fan is a winning situation for your health.

Keep reading to learn how being a sports fan benefits your health.

How Can I Get Rid of Love Handles?

Shape — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 04:14:40 PST

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Shape here on FitSugar. This week Shape turns to personal trainer and strength coach Joe Dowdell for some help!

Q: How can I get rid of love handles?

A: There isn't just one secret to losing love handles - it's a combination of factors. It's true that the typical answer of total-body strength training, high-intensity cardio intervals, proper nutrition, and sound recovery strategies are the keys to long-term success, but there are more secret strategies for burning belly fat.

You've probably heard that cortisol, the "stress hormone," is responsible for excess abdominal fat, but that's only part of the story. Your body produces cortisol in response to stress—physical, mental, or emotional. This may include extremely low-calorie diets (fasting or starvation), infection, lack of quality sleep, emotional trauma, or intense exercise, as well as daily stressors such as job pressure or relationship trouble.

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Stress and cortisol alone do not make you fat, but research has linked high cortisol levels with storage of body fat, particularly visceral belly fat. Visceral fat is packed deeper in the abdominal cavity and around the internal organs, whereas "regular" fat is stored below the skin (known as subcutaneous fat). Visceral fat is particularly unhealthy because it is a risk factor for heart disease and diabetes. Therefore, the key to avoid storing excess fat around your middle is controlling your cortisol response, or the amount of stress on your body.

Learn the top tips for getting rid of love handles after the break!

Health Junkie: Hormones and Chemicals Released Due to Exercise

Anna Monette Roberts — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 01:17:15 PDT

Ever wonder what is going on chemically in the body while you sweat it out at the gym? The euphoric feelings during and after exercise, as well as the muscle soreness that might just come a day later, don't just appear magically. Your body is made up of millions of chemical reactions, which result in different physical and mental feelings. Take a look at some of the top hormones and chemicals that are released when you workout.

Endorphins
These chemicals are released by your pituitary gland, which is located in the base of your brain. Endorphins make you feel exhilarated and happy and block any feelings of pain, so you can power through any discomfort caused by exercising. That's why people become addicted to strenuous forms of exercises and experience "runner's high."

Estrogen
Estrogen determines whether carbs or fat fuel the body during an intense exercise session. Women tend to burn fat for fuel, while men tend to burn carbs, because women have higher estrogen levels. When women undergo menopause, they usually experience some weight gain because of lowered estrogen levels.

See more chemicals released while exercising.

Ask the Diet Doctor: The Best Post-Workout Snack

Shape — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 04:11:23 PDT

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Shape here on FitSugar. This week Shape turns to nutritional consultant Mike Roussell, PhD, for some help!

Q: I'm starving after my workout! What can I do to stop that or to avoid canceling out the calories I just burned?

-Regina, Facebook

A: It may seem a little counterintuitive, but immediately after your workout is the best time of day to eat, so even if you're not starving, you should still eat something.

The good news is that you can't cancel out the calories you just burned during your workout. Weight loss and the human body don't work like that. When you're working out, your body burns fat to be used as energy. If you eat right after your workout, those calories won't be used to replace the burned body fat. Your body only stores food as body fat when it doesn’t have anything else to do with the extra calories you eat. After your workout, your body needs to start restoring and repairing itself from your training session. In other words, it needs calories.

The calories you eat after your workout will be used to replace energy stores in your muscles that got used up during your training session. Your body also uses any protein you eat to build and repair your muscles that were broken down as a result of you pushing them to their limits.

Eating immediately after you finish a workout is beneficial for many reasons. Your body will automatically use the calories you eat for good (repair and recovery) and not bad (fat storage). In fact, research shows that your body's ability to refill muscle energy stores decreases by 50 percent if you wait to eat just two hours after your workout compared to eating right away. Eating after your workout may also increase your body’s insulin sensitivity or its ability to use carbohydrates - an important factor for weight loss and health for the following 24 hours.

Find out which foods you should eat post-workout after the break!

These Soap Cakes May Be Prettier Than the Real Thing

Miriam Lacey — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 12:00:56 PDT

There are few things sweeter, in a number of senses, than a beautifully decorated cake. But with the risk of developing insulin resistance from all the sugar and the ever-present danger of crushing the icing when the cake slides around in the box, perhaps we'd all be better off with these oh-so-pretty Yorkshire Soap Co. soap cakes.

The company hand-makes soap cakes to order, and the finished products look almost better than the real thing. Would you buy one of these for a sucrose-averse loved one? And which cake do you think looks the most real?

Source: The Yorkshire Soap Co.

Combat "Lethal Sitting" With These Tips

Leta Shy — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 13:55:09 PDT

We all know that sitting at a desk all day is not exactly the best thing for our bodies, but a recent New York Times Magazine article posits that not only is it bad, it could be lethal.

James Levine, a researcher at the Mayo Clinic, has been studying the effects of sitting and says that it can lead to earlier death - up to 20 percent, according to his and others' research.

Why is being sedentary so bad? As soon as we sit, Levine says, our muscle activity, insulin effectiveness, and good (HDL) cholesterol levels fall, and our calorie-burning rate drops to a third of what it is when we walk. All of this also increases our risk for developing Type 2 diabetes and becoming obese. Sitting is so bad for you, Levine says, that an otherwise active lifestyle can't combat the negative effects of sitting at the office for nine hours a day.

But since we can't all have a job that keeps us moving and in shape, the researcher suggests that we do little things - "non-exercise activities" - to combat the effects of excessive sitting when we can. Read on for some of my non-exercise suggestions after the break!