Diet

Halloween is just another excuse to quit the diet for a few days and binge on leftover chocolate and goodies. Sorry! Not true. Halloween is a time to indulge but there’s no need to go overboard.

Eating two or more servings of vegetables a day may slow a person's mental decline by about 40 per cent, compared with a person who consumes few vegetables, according to a six-year study of nearly 4,000 Chicago residents age 65 or older.

There are five steps to a healthy heart that can all be included in your everyday lifestyle. Make these lifestyle changes and you may be able to prevent certain heart conditions and live a longer, healthier life. Why take any chances?

Healthy Eating: It starts here! Too much saturated fat and bad food can clog up your arteries and put a strain on your heart. Eating fish, poultry and vegetables etc can help.

Well for one, the kids are back in school and routines are falling back in to place. Now you can pick up where you left off before the summer came and took up all your free time, filling it with vacations, picnics, and BBQs. Fall is the perfect time to launch a diet and fitness regimen to put the focus back on you.

A recent survey of 1500 moms showed the moms said they look forward to getting back to their regular routines and having more time to focus on themselves when their kids go back to school. They ranked summer second (behind the winter holidays) as the time of year when they tended to put on the most weight. Now it is time to work it off!

Don’t give in to the books and the talk and the hoopla! Fad diets are everywhere – most of the authors are people looking to make money and earn success by preying on people’s desperate need to lose weight. Remember- a healthy lifestyle can be achieved with your own education on good food and diet.

Don’t give up! You can do it! You’ve put in all that hard work and it will start to show, diet success will be yours! Sticking to your diet is hard so make sure you have the skills and self-knowledge to keep you on track.

Interested in a cheap, healthy way of losing weight? A new study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, shows that using smaller bowls, plates and spoons may curb the amount of food you take in. Based on the findings "obese patients may want to use smaller bowls and spoons at home to reduce over-consumption," while "larger bowls and spoons would encourage more food intake than the smaller bowls and spoons that are often provided," for undernourished individuals.

In previous studies, researchers from Cornell University found that teenagers poured 77 percent less juice into tall narrow glasses than they did into short wide glasses. In a similar study, Philadelphia bartenders poured less liquor into "highball" glasses than they did into tumblers. 

OT at the office leaving you stressed? Burning the midnight oil, as they say? Women, you may be even more affected by long work hours than men, a British study shows.

Researchers studied 193 men and 229 women who were, on average, about 40 years old. Participants completed surveys about their work environment, personality, height, weight, food intake and other demographic information.

In a new study, Harvard Medical School researchers document a 73.5 per cent increase in fat babies over a 22-year period -- a trend they warn has worrisome implications for the U.S. obesity epidemic, reports the Chicago Tribune.

You’ve heard it many times. Portion, portion, portion! Portion control is the key to many successful diets, and your dishware can help or hinder your goals. Big plates and jumbo-sized serving spoons might secretly sabotage your diet.

If you like to dine out but you’re watching your diet, be careful not to underestimate the fat in the food at your favorite local diner. At restaurants people underestimate the fat, caloric, and sodium content of food on the menu by about half, according to a new survey.

Who knew that splurging on a diet would be okay? Many of us equate starting a weight-loss plan with forever forsaking the foods we love. Yet, this approach may lead to resentment – we can even quit our goals altogether. As long as you splurge the sensible way, experts say you can still have diet success.

Beware of those so-called “health-conscious” food products you’re buying – they may be disguised as low-calorie, but these culprits could put a dent in your diet goals. Just when you think you’re getting a low-fat muffin, you’re snacking on tons of extra calories. And the ones that seem to be obviously good for you, well, that isn’t always the case!

Soups: certain soups can be packed full of calories and fat, especially favorites like New England clam chowder or cream of broccoli.

Looking to lower cholesterol? And you still want to be able to snack like everyone else? Well look no further. All sorts of nuts and seeds will keep you satisfied and keep your heart healthy.

All you need to remember is the two F’s! FRUIT and FIBRE. These are the two key words to live by if you want to emulate the eating habits of the thin population.

Why? People who aren't overweight generally eat more fruit and fiber than overweight people, researchers report in June's Journal of the American Dietetic Association. A diet containing more than average amounts of fiber, complex carbohydrate, and fruit was associated with normal body fat stored and standard weight for height.

A single clove may be too little, 20 too much, but a new study suggests about a dozen cloves of garlic per day may be just right for lowering cholesterol. We know garlic is good for the heart, but just how much should we be eating to reap the most health benefits of this flavorful produce?

So you’ve just moved in with the love of your life, the honeymoon phase is still going strong, but your new lifestyle may be taking a toll on your weight. Many couples can get too comfortable when it comes to their eating habits together. Just don’t blame your partner when you put on a few pounds.

A shoal of piranha fish on show at a British aquatic centre have had to be put on a diet after putting on weight in captivity, officials reported on May 19th. A nutrient-rich diet will help these predators slim down as staff monitor their size over the next month.

Overeating happens to the best of us, even when we’re trying to cut calories and watch our weight. If you are bad at stopping when you feel full, there are ways to feel more satisfied without wolfing down extra calories.

Soccer practices, long workdays, dance recitals – sounds like your home? Family schedules are all over the place – it’s no longer the norm to have family meals together at the dinner table. Parents especially will be interested to know that studies have shown family dinner hour is an important part of healthy living.

After a hectic work week, it’s easy to lose momentum on your diet and exercise goals once the weekend hits. You’re going out for dinner, going to parties, drinking alcohol, and your diet goes out the window. Don’t undo all your hard work during the week in those two relaxing days off. Here’s some advice just in time for the weekend!

The bigger you are the better you are - well not in this case. The world's 25 biggest food companies are failing to take the global crisis in diet seriously and often only change their practices when faced with adverse publicity that could damage their sales, a new study claims.

There are actually diet rules out there that are meant to be broken? Yes, recently many dated diet guidelines and myths are up for speculation. You’ve probably heard all these silly rules before, but experts weigh-in on the worthiness of these supposed truisms - most of which won't help you lose weight or make dieting any easier.

10 Food Rules You Can Ignore:

Thinking about giving up your diet for a few days over the Easter weekend to gorge on holiday food? You know the kind! Many of us break the diet rules to stuff ourselves with dishes made of rich, fatty foods; and eat and drink late into the night. The Easter /Passover season can tempt us to abandon our healthy eating regime. So what can you do?

This may sound like a potential pitfall for dieters, but Buffalo University researchers suggest that woman especially should eat before they go to the gym or go for a jog. They have determined that skimping on fat and calories could elevate a woman's risk of getting hurt or experiencing a fatigue-related injury when working out.

The one-year study examined the eating habits and injury rates of 87 female runners who logged an average of 30 miles a week. Fifty-five percent reported injuries such as stress fractures during the period. These injured runners ate approximately 200 fewer calories per day than the rest of the joggers.

Can what you eat affect the health of your eyes? The answer is yes.

A report, published in Nutrition magazine, shows that diet and lifestyle might affect eye health, more specifically the development of Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD). Never heard of AMD? Not many have, but AMD is a leading cause of vision loss. The study shows that diet, smoking, and BMI (body mass index) may affect your chances of getting AMD.

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Are you running for the medicine cabinet as soon as you feel the slight pang of a headache coming on? I think we all do. There is a way we can be more proactive and decrease the amount of headaches we get simply by looking at our diet.

Research shows that some headaches, primarily the severe migraine type, can be triggered by what we eat. Experts suggest keeping a headache diary. Look for patterns to see which foods or beverages consistently cause headaches. Once you've identified a potential trigger, cut it out of your diet and see if the result is fewer headaches.

Men - you may love your beer even more now! Studies have suggested that, when consumed in moderation, beer has many health benefits. An Emory University study involving over 2,200 elderly men and women discovered that those who consumed at least 1.5 drinks daily had up to a 50% lesser risk of suffering from heart failure. Another study conducted by Germany, France and the United Kingdom found that moderate consumption of beer or wine may have anti-inflammatory properties, which can lower coronary heart disease risk. The French, who drink lots of red wine and have the highest per capita alcohol consumption, actually have one of the lowest rates of coronary heart disease mortality.

We have heard the conflicting comments before…sunlight is the best source of vitamin D, and vitamin D appears to have all kinds of health benefits, but too much sun can cause skin cancer. So what should people do?

Researchers from across North America have assessed the risks and benefits of ultraviolet radiation. Although some experts say this is not enough, they concur that exposing the hands and face (without sunscreen) to sunlight for just five to 10 minutes a week, even on sunny days in winter, will boost vitamin D levels. In summer, when UV levels are high, just 20 seconds of sun exposure allows the body to manufacture 400 international units of vitamin D, the current recommended daily allowance for most age groups.

Looking to lower your cholesterol? You may not need to go any further than your fridge. Research shows that with the right foods in stock, men and women can lower their levels through proper diet. You may even be able to avoid certain medicines.

A new study shows people who eat a plant-based diet rich in cholesterol-lowering foods, such as soy protein, almonds, plant sterol-enriched margarines, and natural fiber (from items such as oats, psyllium, okra, and eggplant) for a year lowered their cholesterol levels and the risk of heart disease by 20% or more, a reduction comparable with that found with statins (cholesterol medicine).