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 BLUE PLATE, LOSE WEIGHT?
Diners Eschew Taboo
Hue
Do you like blue eggs and ham? I do not like
them, Sam-I-am. A variation on the famous Dr. Seuss line, granted,
but an apt one given research that suggests a natural human aversion
to blue-colored food.
"In tests, many people could not bring
themselves to eat foods colored blue," says Kenneth R. Fehrman,
author of Color, The Secret Influence. Fehrman speculates
this anti-indigo instinct is the result of years of evolution,
during which our ancestors learned to equate blue and purple with
poisonous or spoiled.
But dieters can turn the blue taboo to
their advantage by harnessing the hue to curb hunger. Try using blue
plates or blue napkins for subtle appetite-suppressing cues. If
you're having a hard time getting a handle on fridge-raiding habits,
try installing a blue bulb to make munchies
de-materialize.
Die-hard dieters might try dye-ing to be
thin. Add some blue food coloring to eats you can't get enough of to
see if cerulean helps enhance your self-control.
GRAPEFRUIT DIET: FACT NOT FICTION
New Research Backs
Up Weight Loss Benefits
Think the grapefruit diet
belongs to weight loss folklore? Researchers at the Scripps Clinic
have found evidence that may make you want to change your mind.
Study subjects in the 12-week pilot program were monitored for
weight loss, calorie intake and metabolic changes. Those who ate half a grapefruit with each meal lost an
average of 3.6 pounds, while those who drank grapefruit juice
three times a day lost 3.3 pounds. Many subjects lost more than
10 pounds in the study.
"For years people have talked
about the grapefruit diet, and some even swear by it," said study
author Dr. Ken Fujioka, "but now, we have data that grapefruit helps
weight loss."
Participants added the grapefruit to their
regular diet and exercise regimens. Researchers speculate that
compounds in grapefruit reduce insulin levels and encourage weight
loss. Grapefruit's low calorie count (65 calories per serving)
combined with its high fiber and water content also may play a role
in helping dieters feel fuller and therefore eat less of more
fattening foods.
Pink and red grapefruit varieties provide an
excellent source of vitamin A, plus a potent dose of the anti-cancer
carotenoid, lycopene. Then there are the benefits of
grapefruit's ample vitamin C -- a free-radical scavenging antioxidant
that also helps stimulate collagen formation (see today's Dole Spa
for more ways to use grapefruit to get that golden
glow).
Keep in mind that certain compounds in grapefruit can
affect how some medications are absorbed in the intestine -- and may
actually raise drug levels in blood. Consult your physician if you
are taking prescribed medications and frequently consume grapefruit
or grapefruit juice.
THE FIDGET FACTOR
Calorie Advantage For Those Who
Can't Sit Still
Stop fidgeting? Not if you want to burn extra
calories. Your mom may have had plenty of sound dietary adages
("eat your veggies" comes to mind) but "just sit still" was not
among them. All that nervous energy burns extra calories -- at least
according to one study by the Mayo Clinic. Subjects were asked to
increase their daily caloric intake by 1,000 calories a day for
eight weeks, and monitored to see which of the subjects were most
likely to store the extra calories as fat.
They found that
the most accurate predictor of fat gain was something called
non-exercise activity thermogenesis, or NEAT, -- a fancy way of
saying fidgeting. Certain people automatically switch to NEAT mode
-- moving around, tapping feet and drumming fingers, little
movements that add up to big calorie expenditures over time. So if
you've got "ants in your pants," go with it! You may find those same
pants fitting a little more loosely as a result.
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 GREAT AMERICAN SMOKEOUT NOV. 18
Put Down Cigs, Pick
Up Fruit, to Avoid Lung Cancer
In the haze of my
smoking days, I used to quip: "Quitting is easy -- I've quit at
least a dozen times." Obviously, the fact that I returned to the bad
habit at least a dozen times more underscores just how challenging
kicking butts for good can be.
Successful quitters have relied on different methods
and tools -- and the American Cancer Society has a quiz that may
help you find out what could work for you. As for me, I stubbed out
my last cigarette after getting away from the PPT -- the people,
places and things -- that were triggers for this self-destructive
addiction.
As nature abhors a vacuum, finding new,
good habits can help you replace old, bad ones. Picking up a
piece of fruit, instead of a cigarette, puts you on the path to
better health in several ways. Choosing low-calorie, high-fiber
produce over empty-calorie junk food will help you avoid the weight
gain some quitters fear when going cold turkey. Whereas cigarettes
deplete the body's stores of vitamin C, most fruits and veggies will
help you replenish this important free-radical scavenging
antioxidant.
Most important, you'll be trading in the most
significant risk factor for lung cancer for consumption of a food
researchers have linked to lower lung cancer risk. A report
published last year in the International Journal of Cancer
pooled results from eight different cohort studies, comprising the
dietary data of 430,281 individuals.
Controlling for
smoking-related risk, the study found subjects who ate the most
fruit were found to have a 24% lower risk of developing lung cancer
than those who consumed the least fruit. Apples, pears, oranges and
tangerines were among those fruits showing a greater protective
benefit.
Switching from cigs to fruit also will do wonders
for your love life -- so far no complaints have been lodged about
"orange-breath." What's more, saying nyet to nicotine avoids damage to those areas of the brain that affect
emotional control and sexual arousal.
Turning down
tobacco will not only help you turn up the heat in the bedroom
(without creating a fire hazard), you'll also be saving your
fertility. Smoking doubles a woman's odds of infertility. According
to British researchers, 40% of malignant cervical cancer cases are
caused by cigarette smoking. Quitting now can help your ovaries
recover and increase your chances of conceiving in the
future.
Cervical cancer is just one of the myriad ailments
linked to smoking. Everyone knows that lung cancer tops the list,
but did you know female smokers were up to three times more likely
to develop the disease than their male counterparts? Differences in
body composition, hormones and genetic factors may be responsible
for the variance. But only you can be responsible for
protecting yourself from smoking's deadly effects.
It's been
40 years since the Surgeon General's office first warned of the link
between cigarettes and lung cancer. Since then, cardiovascular
disease, osteoporosis, ulcers and cancers of the bladder, mouth,
kidney, pancreas and stomach have been associated with the lethal
habit. The good news is that the sooner you quit, the better your
chances of regaining those years you might have forfeited if you
kept lighting up.
Quit by 50 and you'll snatch six years back
from the grim reaper. Quit by 40 and you'll gain nine years in life
expectancy. Quit by 30 and over time your body will recuperate,
giving you back the 10 years tobacco might otherwise have taken
away. How's that for a second chance at life?
GIVE PEAS A CHANCE
Celebrate National Split-Pea Soup
Week (Nov. 9 to 15)
What better way to keep cozy on
a chilly November afternoon than with a warm bowl of split-pea soup.
Made from dried peas (which split naturally once hulled and
dehydrated), split-pea soup provides a heart-healthy helping of
soluble fiber, which binds with cholesterol to carry it out of your
system. This kind of fiber also is optimal for intestinal health,
keeping you regular and diminishing your odds of contracting
digestive disorders like diverticulitis.
Peas are also one of
the highest vegetable sources of protein -- as well as a good source
of folic acid, fiber, vitamin A and vitamin C. What's more, peas contain a high amount
of a starch component called amylose, giving this legume a lower
glycemic index than other starchy foods -- a bonus for diabetics.
Such a bounty of benefits is enough to give lesser legumes a case of
pea-ness envy.
Don't nix these health benefits by porking up
your split-pea soup with fatty ham. We prefer the vegan version from
one of our fave cookbooks, Moosewood Cookbook 2000 Edition,
shared in our featured recipe section. So grab a soup kettle and
start stewing!
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 SPECIAL CAMPUS DOLE POLL:
Students Would Trade
Shorter Life for Ideal Weight
The latest edition of
the "Dole Poll" features a unique look at a specific population:
college students. Like the population at, um, large, campus co-eds
were concerned about weight. But in contrast to the hand-wringing
hype about colleges being hotbeds of negative body-image and eating
disorders, what we found was that students tended to take themselves
pretty lightly -- at least when it came to estimating their
weight.
Only 18% of the 400 students surveyed nationally
identified themselves as "overweight." If anything, that
self-estimate tracks a lot lighter than official rates of obesity
among this age group. The latest CDC figures for college students
are nearly a decade old, but even these stale stats found more than
20% of this population was overweight. Given the steep upward
trajectories of rising obesity rates among other demographic groups,
this figure is probably a lot closer to 25% today.
College
students aren't alone in deluding themselves about just how much
they weigh. Folks in the "real world" also have a surreal sense of
their size. Just four in 10 Americans think they may be overweight
according to a Gallup poll, when in fact the opposite is true: 65%
are either overweight or obese, according to CDC
statistics.
Even though less than one in five co-eds thought
they were overweight, twice that proportion (40%) said they'd be
willing to shave a year off their life in order to remain their
ideal weight for the rest of their lives. Most media coverage of our
poll cited this figure as evidence that young people feel too much
pressure about their weight.
I have a contrary view. Put
yourself in the shoes of a 20-year-old: From their perspective, "the
rest of your life" seems like a very, very long time indeed. Hence,
a willingness on the part of the 40% to trade a perceived
inexhaustible resource (time) for the ability to eat whatever they
want and not have to worry about gaining weight is not as irrational
as it may seem at first glance. In fact, those 40% who would shave
off a year of life to remain at an ideal weight would probably end
up living longer than the 60% who were unwilling to make such
a crass bargain.
How? Simple. This generation is the first to
have a shorter life expectancy than their parents due to
weight-related ailments such as cancer, cardiovascular disease,
diabetes and hypertension that can cost far more than a mere year of
mortality. Struggle mightily though we may, more than two-thirds of
us end up compromising our health by being too heavy. For those of
us who do manage to keep in fighting trim, the hours devoted to
calorie expenditure can also add up: If you start at the age of 15,
a lifetime of exercising 30 minutes, five days a week, will add up
to a year by age 75.
While students in our survey were
willing to sacrifice a year of life to live thin, they were less
sanguine about the prospect of parting with cash or dropping down a
grade in exchange for weight loss. Only 22% said they would be
willing to take a lower grade in exchange for the loss of 10 pounds,
and an even smaller number, 16%, would rather be $20,000 in debt
than be 20 pounds overweight.
When we move from the realm of
the hypothetical to those choices that can actually help students
manage their weight, we find healthy fruits and vegetables forgone
in favor of heavier fare. While a plurality of students correctly
identified "5" as the government-recommended minimum number of
servings of fruits and vegetables each day, most admitted that they
consume, on average, just two servings.
When asked to cite
their favorite food, not a single college student surveyed mentioned
a fruit or a vegetable. Rather, Italian food (30%) and meat (24%)
topped the list. However, when asked specifically about fruits and
vegetables, broccoli received top veggie marks (23%), while apples
and bananas were found to be favorite fruits (23% and 11%
respectively).
One bright spot was that students may not be
imbibing as much alcohol as commonly believed. Results from the Dole
Poll also found almost one-half (49%) of students report not
drinking on a regular basis, while another third (31%) drink five or
fewer alcoholic beverages in an average week. However, more than one
in 10 (12%) consume 10 or more drinks per week.
Other Key
Demographic Findings:
Black and Hispanic college students
were the most likely to report themselves as overweight (22% of
blacks and 25% of Hispanics vs. 17% of whites).
Not surprisingly,
more women than men perceived themselves to be overweight (20% of
women vs. 16% of men).
Men were slightly more likely than women
to choose gaining weight over taking on $20,000 of debt (83% of men
compared to 76% of women).
Black students were the most likely
among other racial groups to choose being 20 pounds overweight
instead of $20,000 in debt (86% of black students would pack on the
pounds as would 79% of whites and 78% of Hispanics).
Students
more likely than most to imbibe 10 or more alcoholic drinks per week
include 22- and 23-year-olds, North Central and Pacific students
(20%), males and New Englanders (18%), and, despite their age,
18-year-olds (17%).
Students more likely than others to not drink
at all are blacks (76%), South Central students (61%), 19-year-olds
(60%), 18-year-olds and those who consider themselves overweight
(58%), and South Atlantic students (56%).
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Split-Pea Soup
3 cups dry split
peas
about 7 cups water or veggie stock
1 bay leaf
1/2 to 1
tsp. dry mustard
2 cups minced onion
4-5 medium cloves garlic,
crushed
3 stalks celery, sliced thin
2 medium carrots, sliced
or diced
1 small potato, cut in half lengthwise and sliced
thinly
1 tsp. salt (reduced from 2 tsp., you can reduce it
further or omit it)
lots of fresh-ground black pepper
3-4 Tbs.
red wine or cider vinegar (balsamic would be good, too)
Place
split peas, water or stock, bay leaf and dry mustard in a large soup
kettle. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to lowest setting and simmer
for about 20 minutes, partially covered. Add onion, garlic, celery,
carrots and potato. Partially cover and simmer for an additional 40
minutes, stirring occasionally. Add pepper, vinegar and salt if
desired. Serve topped with fresh tomato and/or minced
parsley.
Recipe by Mollie Katzen (Moosewood Cookbook 2000
Edition).
Reprinted with permission.
http://rdr.sbml.cc/Click?q=5a-aho1IP0IdDeiJb024Y5ZBJQ_
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Florida Grapefruit Freshener
Double your
beauty benefits by adding grapefruit to your daily diet, then use
the peel to mix up this super antioxidant skin
spritzer.
Courtesy of Janice Cox, author of Natural Beauty for All
Seasons
Yield: 8 ounces
Peel from 1
medium-size grapefruit (approximately 1/2 cup)
1 vitamin C
tablet
1 cup boiling water
Place the grapefruit peel in a
small ceramic or glass bowl. Dissolve the vitamin C tablet in the
boiling water and pour the solution over the peels. Allow mixture to
cool completely. When cool, strain the liquid into a clean
container.
To use:
Apply to the skin with a clean
cotton ball or spray bottle. Store in a cool, dark, dry place.
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 Hypothetically speaking, if you
were given the chance to remain at your ideal weight for
the rest of your life, would you be willing to lessen
your lifespan by one year?
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