What's in Sugar?

When you read food labels, a few grams don’t sound like much. But did you know that 4.2 grams of sugar equal 1 teaspoon? And one teaspoon of sugar contains 16.3 calories, which can add up.

White, refined sugar is high in calories and has no real nutritional value, yet it’s a main ingredient in a lot of the foods we love and crave. It can make your energy spike and drop throughout the day, but you can take charge of sugar ruling your diet.

• Eat fresh fruits for a snack or dessert instead of treats made with processed sugar.
• Add fruit to your meals instead of processed sugar.
• Choose drinks and snacks wisely that have low or no sugar — and stick with small portions.
• Watch out for “sugar-free” labels on foods with ingredients ending in “-ose” (which can be hidden sugar) or sugar alcohols like sorbitol, mannitol and xylitol that can be just as fattening as the sugared version.

How Did I Gain Weight?

You know what's good for you to eat and you know what's bad. You may not be the strictest dieter, but you generally follow the rules. Why is it then that you still gain weight? Are you sabotaging yourself or is there something else going on that you aren't aware of? The answers to these questions are surprising facts you need to know to help you stop gaining extra pounds.

Don't let your senses fool you

If you've ever told someone you can't smell fast food without gaining weight, you know what this is all about -- and there is some truth to that. The sight or smell of food can trigger your hunger and make you crave it and want more of it. Keeping bad foods out of sight, out of reach and far from your olfactory senses can prevent that desire to overeat.

Pay attention to what you eat

Watching what you eat takes on a whole new meaning when you learn that eating while distracted can cause you to overeat. If your mind is elsewhere, it may not register that you are filling your stomach. Be sure to drop the multitasking and turn off the TV while you eat so that your body knows when it is truly satisfied.

Make it exciting

Variety in what you eat can lessen your chances of overstuffing yourself. It's a fact that we make room for dessert, even after having a huge meal because we haven't satisfied our sweet tooth yet. The solution? Include a bit of fruit in your meal (or try as a dessert alternative) to get that fix.

Portion control

The larger your plate or take-out container, the more you could potentially eat. When eating out of a larger container, you could eat 25 to 50 percent more than someone else eating from a smaller one. The trick is to use smaller utensils, bowls, plates, etc. so it doesn't appear that you are depriving yourself.

Avoid alcohol

Not only can alcoholic beverages add unnecessary calories to your diet, it can stimulate your appetite. Too much of it can impair your judgement -- and cause you to overeat. Limiting your intake or steering clear of it keeps those unwanted calories away.

Keep warm

Colder temperatures make you want to eat more and your metabolism drops (just think how cool restaurants are kept!). Regulate your hunger by keeping the temps in your own home warm and not too cool.

Sugar or Sweetener?

Over recent years many people have been reaching for artificial sweeteners, thinking that it's healthier than the real thing. It turns out that your tastebuds don't know the difference between sugar and sweetener -- but your brain does.

A new study out of the Netherlands used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure brain responses in people sipping two different orangeade drinks -- one mixed with sugar and another mixed with four artificial sweeteners (aspartame, acesulfame K, cyclamate and saccharin).

The sugar and sweeteners were found to stimulate the amygdala, which is the part of the brain that detects pleasure. Only the sugared drink stimulated the caudate in the brain, showing that the human brain can tell the difference between a caloric drink and a noncaloric one.

Other research on artificially sweetened beverages include:

-They can activate parts of the brain that create appetite, but do not satiate it.
-Increased appetite has been found to occur in people who don't consume artificially sweetened beverages often.
-People who drink artificially sweetened beverages regularly tend to weigh more than those who don't.
-For those who consume a lot of artificially sweetened beverages, however, their brains, can become used to the sweeteners and may not necessarily cause them to eat more.

--L.A. Times

Birth Control and Weight Loss

For many years "the pill" has been blamed for weight gain in women, causing many to forego taking that particular method of birth control, but recent research has shown it is not the culprit.

The birth control pill is an effective hormonal method of contraception, and has often been seen as the cause of weight gain. However, clinical trials have found there is no causal link between birth control and weight gain, especially considering that women gain weight as they age -- whether they take birth control or not. In fact, choosing not to take the pill doesn't necessarily help women control their weight either.

There are no quick fixes to shedding pounds, but leading a healthy lifestyle and maintaining a well-balanced diet is still the number one way to lose weight the healthy way.

Source ScienceDaily

Tonsillectomy and Weight Gain Connected for Children

Based on a report published in Pediatrics, children who have a tonsillectomy (with or without their adenoids removed) have a higher risk of being overweight in later years.

The data came from a study of 3,963 children in the Dutch Prevention and Incidence of Asthma and Mite Allergy (PIAMA) birth cohort study in which height, weight, tonsillectomy status and other factors were assessed through yearly parental questionnaires.

Tonsillectomy with or without adenoidectomy significantly increased the odds of being overweight and obese at 8 years by 61 percent and 136 percent, respectively. Adenoidectomy alone did not increase the risk of becoming overweight, but it did increase the risk of obesity by 94 percent.

"Longitudinal data on weight and height in the years before and after surgery," the authors note, "suggest that (adeno) tonsillectomy forms a turning point between a period of growth faltering and a period of catch-up growth," which may explain the increased risk of becoming overweight and explain the increased risk of becoming overweight after the operation."

Authors of the study conclude that parents should be armed with information on dietary and lifestyle choices if their children are having a tonsillectomy performed, and also recommend that children's weight and growth be closely monitored following surgery. —Reuters

Female Renters Weigh Less Than Homeowners

In some offbeat weight-related news, homeowners on average weigh 12 pounds more than renters do, says a new study conducted by University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School assistant professor of real estate Grace Wong Bucchianeri.

Female homeowners experienced more aggravation and have less time available for leisure activities or exercise, the study of 600 women found.

"On the other hand, they consistently report a higher level of pain — or what you might call negative feelings — connected to their home, and that's after controlling for all kinds of demographic characteristics, their financial situation, how many children they have and so on," Bucchianeri told the Canwest News.

The findings present a chicken-or-the-egg question for social scientists, who are unsure if home ownership causes these patterns or if people prone to less sociability, less interest in leisure activities and higher stress are simply more attracted to owning homes.

While we "tend to think of homeowners as social animals," Bucchianeri suggests they may actually be introverts who are naturally inclined to lay down roots.

Source Canwest News Service