FitSugar

All the News That's Fit to Eat - Apr. 15, 2009

YumSugar — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 12:50:14 -0700

Bartenders are looking beyond simple syrup to sweeten your sipper. - San Francisco Chronicle
With its mild flavor and slight bitterness, broccoli rabe should be a staple in home kitchens. - New York Times
Turn to these satisfying and healthful meal ideas for road trips. - Boston Globe
Preparing homemade baby food is easy and economical. - Washington Post
Meet 10 superfoods that you may not be familiar with. - Chicago Tribune
Did you know that the kinds of food you eat may have an impact on your appetite? - Wall Street Journal
A food club has kept these gourmands together for 45 years. - Los Angeles Times

Appetite Cell Phone Case Is Protection Perfection

GeekSugar — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 07:30:09 -0700

This past weekend PetSugar took a little trip to Portland, OR, and while out doing some shopping at a local craft exhibit, she found the perfect case for her BlackBerry Pearl! PetSugar picked up one of these $14 leather cases with a hand-painted yellow flower accent to protect her cell phone. The company that creates these cases is called Appetite and thankfully has an Esty store, so we can check out its other cute designs.

Appetite also makes an assortment of vegan as well as nonvegan cases for everything from laptops and cell phones to itsy bitsy cases for iPod nanos. Here's hoping it updates the online store with some BlackBerry Curve cases so I can get my hands on one just in time for Fall!

What's the Deal With: Leptin

FitSugar — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 02:00:00 -0700

I have come across the word "leptin" a lot recently and instead of just skimming over it and knowing it is vaguely related to weight, I thought I'd do a bit more research.

Leptin (from the Greek word leptos meaning thin) is a hormone that helps control appetite and metabolism. In a normal weight person, when body fat increases, leptin levels rise which signal the brain that it needs to speed up metabolism and decrease appetite. According to Leo Galland, M.D., author of The Fat Resistance Diet, when folks are overweight the leptin message gets lost and the body cannot regulate its fat stores.

New research indicates that inflammation, a condition in which your immune system is kicked into overdrive, may lead to weight gain and make losing more difficult. Doctors think inflammation interferes with leptin production. So from a nutritional perspective you should eat inflammation fighting foods that are high in omega-3 fatty acids.

Simply put, leptin is part of the complicated chemical process that helps regulate weight.