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For Diet Success, Follow These 10 Tips on Snacking
Feel full and satisfied without adding pounds
Around 97 percent of American adults snack between meals. Once upon a time, we got our calories from three square meals a day, but now almost one-quarter of them come from snacks. And the average calorie count and size of those snacks have grown over the years. That’s enough to sabotage any attempt to lose weight — or keep it off.
Yet there are ways to snack well and whittle waistlines. Here’s what the experts advise.
1. Snack throughout the day. People who lose weight and keep it off don’t skip meals or wait until they’re ravenously hungry before they eat, says Lawrence Cheskin, M.D., director of the Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center in Baltimore. “If you spread your calories throughout the day, your blood sugar won’t fall and you won’t feel hungry,” he says. “When you eat 100 calories here and 100 calories there, you’ll do a better job of not thinking that you’re starving yourself.”
2. Timing matters. A new study in the December Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that women who snack between breakfast and lunch lose less weight than those who don’t. Many people eat out of habit, rather than to satisfy real hunger. And these mid-morning snackers might be among that group, says the senior author of the study, Anne McTiernan, M.D., director of the Prevention Center at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle. Mid-morning snackers also reach for more snacks during the day than the women who are more successful at losing weight.
But calories are calories, says Robert Eckel, M.D., of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. “If you want a mid-morning snack, decide what calories you’ll give up later in the day.”
3. Go nuts. Most people who are dieting believe they should stay far away from nuts. But nuts “are one of the healthiest snacks around. They’re not digested quickly, so they help you feel full longer,” says Donald Hensrud, M.D., a preventive medicine specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. “In fact, some studies show that overall calories don’t go up by much if you add nuts to a diet, because people seem to eat fewer calories from other sources.” Don’t overdo it, though, Hensrud urges. “All you need is a small handful to tide you over until your next meal.”
4. Plan ahead. “Before you turn in for the night, cut up some carrot, celery and cucumber sticks, pack them in a snack-size plastic bag and refrigerate,” recommends Barbara Rolls, a professor of nutritional sciences at Pennsylvania State University. Take the bag with you when you go out the next morning, and you’ll have a snack ready when hunger strikes.
5. Prepack your portions. Don’t be in a rush to store big bargain-size boxes of snacks in the cupboard as soon as you get home from shopping. “Instead, count out 100 calories’ worth of crackers or pretzels, and store each serving in a small plastic bag,” says Rena Wing, a Brown University professor of psychiatry and director of the Weight Control and Diabetes Clinic at Miriam Hospital in Providence, R.I. Toss the empty box into the recycling bin. When you feel a snack attack coming on, grab a single serving. Voila! Automatic portion control.
6. Sip your food. Foods bulked up by water fill you up on fewer calories, so try a broth-based vegetable soup as a snack, advises Rolls of Penn State. “If you don’t want to fuss, buy heat-and-eat soup,” she says, “or make a big pot of broth filled with vegetables, pack it into single-serve containers, label and freeze.” Then, when you’re ready for a snack, zap one in the microwave.
7. Pay attention when eating your snack. To avoid mindless eating, concentrate on your food, advises Cheskin. “It’s incredibly easy to overeat when you’re distracted,” he says. “There’s no sense in having a snack if you get no pleasure from it.” So turn off the television, close your book, forget the crossword puzzle and give your attention to your food.
8. Consider calcium. All of us need more calcium after we hit age 50, and snacking on fat-free dairy provides a great way to get more of this vital mineral without loading up on calories, says Rolls. Use a blender to whip up a thick, airy and filling smoothie with nonfat milk or yogurt, a banana, some frozen fruit and a few ice cubes.
9. Focus on protein. Calorie for calorie, protein is the most satisfying food, fat the least satisfying, says Cheskin. “A lot of people believe that fatty foods are filling,” he continues. “They are, but only if you eat 1,000 calories worth. If you eat an equal amount of calories, then 200 calories of roast chicken breast will be a lot more filling than three one-inch cubes of Cheddar cheese.” A high-protein, low-calorie snack is the best for curbing your appetite. Try some peanut butter on whole-grain crackers or a small serving of low-fat cottage cheese.
10. Drink the good beverages. Beverages are excellent snacks, says McTiernan, “but make sure to avoid sugary drinks.” Coffee, tea and water are fine; if you add a lot of sugary syrup and whipped cream to that low-fat latte, it’s no longer a low-calorie drink. “And rather than drinking fruit juice, which contains a lot of sugar, opt for the whole fruit, which contains fiber that helps you feel full.”
Source: AARP.org
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6 Fabulous Foods to Fight High Blood Pressure
The good news: They’re some of your favorites
New science is changing the way people 50 and older judge their blood pressure, and a slew of new studies on foods and hypertension suggest it may be easier than you thought to reduce high blood pressure.
For adults under 65, it’s that upper number in your blood pressure reading that may be the best indicator of future heart problems or even premature death. A normal reading is around 120/80. If that first number is 140 or higher, you have reason for concern.
For those 65 and older, however, it’s a trickier situation. Readings may vary more and doctors need to be careful in prescribing blood pressure medication for older patients.
One safe, effective way to decrease blood pressure for all age groups is to eat foods that work naturally to dilate blood vessels so the heart doesn’t have to work so hard.
Eat more of these six fabulous foods for an easy, delicious way to help lower your blood pressure numbers.
1. Go blue!
Just one serving of blueberries a week can help cut your risk of high blood pressure. Blueberries, as well as raspberries and strawberries, contain natural compounds called anthocyanins that protect against hypertension, according to a recent British and American study of about 157,000 men and women published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
2. Cereal thriller
Having a bowl of breakfast cereal, especially whole-grain, high-fiber cereals like oatmeal, oat squares, bran flakes or shredded wheat, can reduce your chance of developing high blood pressure, Harvard University researchers recently found. Plus, the more servings of cereal you eat a week, the greater the benefits. Add to that the recent research on blueberries, and you could double your health rewards by topping your cereal with berries.
3. One potato, two
Everyone loves a baked potato, right? But did you know that a baked potato is high in potassium and magnesium, two important minerals that can help fight high blood pressure? Research shows that if Americans boosted their potassium intake, adult cases of high blood pressure could fall by more than 10 percent. As for magnesium, many older Americans fail to get enough in their diet, according to the National Institutes of Health. So why not kill two birds with one food. In addition to baked potatoes, here are some other foods high in both these minerals: halibut, spinach, bananas, soybeans, kidney beans and plain nonfat yogurt.
4. The beet goes on
Drinking a glass of beet juice can lower blood pressure within just a few hours, according to a Queen Mary University of London study published last year in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension. The nitrate in the juice has the same effect as taking a nitrate tablet, the researchers found. Beet juice can be found at some health food stores and specialty groceries such as Whole Foods. Other nitrate-rich foods include spinach, lettuce, cabbage, carrots and, of course, whole beets.
5. Got (skim) milk?
Eating low-fat dairy products can reduce a woman’s risk of developing hypertension. That’s the conclusion of a 2008 study of nearly 30,000 women with an average age of 54. The women who ate the most low-fat dairy products — yogurt, low-fat cottage cheese, frozen yogurt, skim or low-fat milk — were 11 percent less likely to develop high blood pressure.
6. The dark side
Chocolate lovers rejoice! Eating a one-ounce square of dark chocolate daily can help lower blood pressure, especially in people who already have hypertension, according to Harvard researchers who analyzed 24 chocolate studies. Dark chocolate is high in flavonoids, natural compounds that cause dilation of the blood vessels. Look for chocolates that say they contain 50 to 70 percent cacao, such as Ghirardelli 60 percent cacao dark chocolate squares.
Source: AARP.org
Contact Pure Home Care Services at (586) 293-2457 today! If you live in Sterling Heights or the surrounding area, we can help you care for your loved ones.
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5 Superfoods For Health
When Food Network chef Dave Lieberman and New York Times science writer Anahad O’Connor surveyed the growing pantheon of so-called superfoods, they found many that were health-promoting powerhouses — but also many that were expensive, tricky to cook with and not particularly tasty. So the two set out to create their own list of foods that have scientifically supported health benefits and also are “affordable, appealing and versatile in the kitchen.” O’Connor narrowed the list to 20, and Lieberman reduced that by half. The result was their co-authored cookbook, The 10 Things You Need to Eat, and More than 100 Easy and Delicious Ways to Prepare Them. For AARP.org, Lieberman discussed the merits of these superfoods and offered recipes for using them.
Avocados
Put them in brownies. Seriously. “The natural creaminess of avocado makes it a great substitute for creamy, saturated milk fat such as butter and cream,” says Lieberman, “which is why you can make delicious brownies, smoothies and other desserts with avocado as the main source of fat.”
Though avocados contain more fat than almost any other fruit, it’s virtually all monounsaturated fat whose many benefits include raising good cholesterol, lowering bad cholesterol and preventing heart disease. And if that weren’t enough, it’s high in fiber, low in calories, and even higher than bananas in the blood-pressure-reducing mineral potassium.
Beets
If you ate canned beets as a kid and think you hate them, try them again. They are “nature’s multivitamin,” according to Lieberman and O’Connor, who say the beet contains a greater range of nutrients ounce for ounce “than virtually any other fruit or vegetable on the planet.” The antioxidants that turn beets deep red also fight off free radicals that attack the body’s cells and can lead to aging and disease including cancer. Compounds in beets also have been shown to lower blood pressure and cardiovascular disease risk, and to help cleanse the body of harmful chemicals in processed foods, such as nitrates. “Beets are surprisingly versatile,” Lieberman says. “They can be eaten raw or cooked and are delicious cold and hot.”
Berries
Forget those fancy exotic berries like the Acai from the Brazilian rain forest. North America’s berries are just as laden with antioxidants, more economical, and versatile and tasty to boot. Raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and blueberries make their “all-star team of superfruits.” Each should be added equally to a diet to reap their individual benefits: strawberries for potassium, raspberries for vitamin C, blueberries for fiber and blackberries for vitamin E and more. “It’s not hard to come up with crowd-pleasing recipes with berries,” Lieberman says. “But making both sweet and savory dishes with berries was an adventure for me, and it turned out great.”
Cabbage
In the super-healthy family of cruciferous vegetables that includes broccoli and cauliflower, cabbage is a standout. Scientists have identified compounds in cabbage that reduce the risk of cancers — including breast, stomach, lung and prostate cancer — as well as heart disease, gastrointestinal problems and Alzheimer’s disease. Cabbage is also a rich source of vitamins A, C and K, which protects joints and can lower the risk of osteoarthritis. Lieberman contends that “probably the biggest misconception about cabbage is that it needs to be cooked forever. That’s not true at all. It’s fantastic raw, and even with very brief cooking times in quick curries and stews.”
Fish
“Super Fish” are low in contaminants and high in the omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil — chief among them, salmon, Arctic char, halibut and rainbow trout. Studies show that regularly consuming such fish can help lower blood pressure and reduce inflammation; and that the fish oil in them provides a brain-nourishing compound that can slow the mental decline associated with aging. Lieberman said cooks increasingly can find “lots of simple, quick fish recipes that take the worry and stress out of cooking fish,” such as his recipe for Roasted Salmon over French Lentils, Tomatoes, and Fennel, which includes not just one but three of his 10 superfoods.
Source: AARP.org
Contact Pure Home Care Services at (586) 293-2457 today! If you live in Farmington Hills or the surrounding area, we can help you care for your loved ones.