Wednesday, October 27, 2021

The health benefits of your PB&J



Peanut butter jelly time: How healthy is the American classic? 

First published in USA Today
The peanut butter and jelly sandwich dates back to a 1901 recipe. A PB&J can have 12 grams of protein, 18 grams of sugar and 390 calories. Experts say the sandwich can be part of a healthy meal, depending on how it's made.
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches do it all. The sandwich has maintained its popularity for decades. It's spurred on the creation of products like Uncrustables, a circular, freezable version of the sandwich without – you guessed it – the crust.

 



Healing the Brain: Stress, Trauma and Development


“Easy to read. Difficult to put down.”--Micheal J. Colucciello, Jr., NY State pharmaceutical researcher, retired.

“David Balog takes a subject fraught with difficulty and makes it simple and accessible to everyone. The book goes a long way in helping one understand how and why and in what ways stress affects how we live and cope. Invaluable.”--Jessica Hudson, former president, National Association of Former Foster Children

According to "Peanuts: The Illustrious History of the Goober Pea," written by Andrew F. Smith, the first reference to the sandwich was a recipe written by a woman named Julia Davis Chandler in 1901. 
Since then, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches have maintained their place as an iconic part of many American school lunches. The protein-rich peanut butter makes it a parent go-to, and kids love the sweet taste of jelly.
But just how healthy is this American classic? We asked experts. 
Let's talk nutrition
The three ingredient sandwich seems fairly straight forward, but great debate surrounds the PB&J. Crunchy peanut butter or smooth? Grape jelly or strawberry? Crust on or crust off?
Because of this, the exact nutritional details will depend on how you make your PB&J. 
For argument's sake, let's breakdown the typical sandwich.
Two slices of white bread have about 5 grams of protein and 3 grams of sugar. Two tablespoons of peanut butter contain about 7 grams of protein and 3 grams of sugar, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. One tablespoon of grape jelly has 12 grams of sugar. In total, a run-of-the-mill PB&J has about 12 grams of protein and 18 grams of sugar, coming out to around 390 calories. 
How to make your PB&J healthier 
Making this signature snack better for you can happen with just a few substitutions, especially when it comes to the most sugary part. 
"Healthy would be a small amount of a low sugar jelly or better yet not jelly at all but perhaps a banana instead," said Dr. Natalie Muth, a pediatrician, registered dietitian and spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics. 
Making smart choices when it comes to which bread is used is important, too.
Choosing a whole grain bread can contribute more protein and fiber. 
As for the "PB," choosing a natural peanut butter is just as important as the amount you put on the sandwich.
And for those allergic to peanuts or other types of nuts, sunflower seed butter can be a healthy and safe alternative. 

 



Healing the Brain: Stress, Trauma and Development


“Easy to read. Difficult to put down.”--Micheal J. Colucciello, Jr., NY State pharmaceutical researcher, retired.

“David Balog takes a subject fraught with difficulty and makes it simple and accessible to everyone. The book goes a long way in helping one understand how and why and in what ways stress affects how we live and cope. Invaluable.”--Jessica Hudson, former president, National Association of Former Foster Children




Wednesday, October 20, 2021

Better memory: Avoid junk food


Study in animals suggests omega-3 may reduce effects


Date:

October 14, 2021

Source:

Ohio State University


Summary:


Four weeks on a diet of highly processed food led to a strong inflammatory response in the brains of aging rats that was accompanied by behavioral signs of memory loss, a new study has found. Researchers also found that supplementing the processed diet with the omega-3 fatty acid DHA prevented memory problems and reduced the inflammatory effects almost entirely in older rats.

    

FULL STORY

Four weeks on a diet of highly processed food led to a strong inflammatory response in the brains of aging rats that was accompanied by behavioral signs of memory loss, a new study has found.


Researchers also found that supplementing the processed diet with the omega-3 fatty acid DHA prevented memory problems and reduced the inflammatory effects almost entirely in older rats.


Neuroinflammation and cognitive problems were not detected in young adult rats that ate the processed diet.


 



Healing the Brain: Stress, Trauma and Development


“Easy to read. Difficult to put down.”--Micheal J. Colucciello, Jr., NY State pharmaceutical researcher, retired.

“David Balog takes a subject fraught with difficulty and makes it simple and accessible to everyone. The book goes a long way in helping one understand how and why and in what ways stress affects how we live and cope. Invaluable.”--Jessica Hudson, former president, National Association of Former Foster Children

ORDER HERE


The study diet mimicked ready-to-eat human foods that are often packaged for long shelf lives, such as potato chips and other snacks, frozen entrees like pasta dishes and pizzas, and deli meats containing preservatives.


Highly processed diets are also associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes, suggesting older consumers might want to scale back on convenience foods and add foods rich in DHA, such as salmon, to their diets, researchers say -- especially considering harm to the aged brain in this study was evident in only four weeks.


"The fact we're seeing these effects so quickly is a little bit alarming," said senior study author Ruth Barrientos, an investigator in The Ohio State University Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research and associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral health.


"These findings indicate that consumption of a processed diet can produce significant and abrupt memory deficits -- and in the aging population, rapid memory decline has a greater likelihood of progressing into neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. By being aware of this, maybe we can limit processed foods in our diets and increase consumption of foods that are rich in the omega-3 fatty acid DHA to either prevent or slow that progression."


The research is published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.




Healing the Brain: Stress, Trauma and Development


“Easy to read. Difficult to put down.”--Micheal J. Colucciello, Jr., NY State pharmaceutical researcher, retired.

“David Balog takes a subject fraught with difficulty and makes it simple and accessible to everyone. The book goes a long way in helping one understand how and why and in what ways stress affects how we live and cope. Invaluable.”--Jessica Hudson, former president, National Association of Former Foster Children

ORDER HERE



Barrientos' lab studies how everyday life events -- such as surgery, an infection or, in this case, an unhealthy diet -- might trigger inflammation in the aging brain, with a specific focus on the hippocampus and amygdala regions. This work builds on her previous research suggesting a short-term, high-fat diet can lead to memory loss and brain inflammation in older animals, and that DHA levels are lower in the hippocampus and amygdala of the aged rat brain.



Thursday, October 14, 2021

Children who eat more fruit and veggies have better mental health


Date:
September 28, 2021
Source:
University of East Anglia
Summary:
New research finds that children who eat more fruit and veg have better mental health. The study is the first to investigate the association between fruit and vegetable intakes, breakfast and lunch choices, and mental wellbeing in UK school children. The research team studied data from almost 9,000 children in 50 schools. They found that the types of breakfast and lunch eaten by both primary and secondary school pupils were significantly important. 

Children who eat a better diet, packed with fruit and vegetables, have better mental wellbeing -- according to new research from the University of East Anglia.

Lead researcher Prof Ailsa Welch, from UEA's Norwich Medical School, said: "We know that poor mental wellbeing is a major issue for young people and is likely to have long-term negative consequences.

"The pressures of social media and modern school culture have been touted as potential reasons for a rising prevalence of low mental wellbeing in children and young people.

"And there is a growing recognition of the importance of mental health and wellbeing in early life -- not least because adolescent mental health problems often persist into adulthood, leading to poorer life outcomes and achievement.

 



Healing the Brain: Stress, Trauma and Development


“Easy to read. Difficult to put down.”--Micheal J. Colucciello, Jr., NY State pharmaceutical researcher, retired.

“David Balog takes a subject fraught with difficulty and makes it simple and accessible to everyone. The book goes a long way in helping one understand how and why and in what ways stress affects how we live and cope. Invaluable.”--Jessica Hudson, former president, National Association of Former Foster Children


"While the links between nutrition and physical health are well understood, until now, not much has been known about whether nutrition plays a part in children's emotional wellbeing. So, we set out to investigate the association between dietary choices and mental wellbeing among schoolchildren."

Thursday, October 7, 2021

10 Proven Ways How to Lose Weight Without Exercise


Popsci.com

10. Get enough sleep to help lose weight without exercise

Insufficient sleep is associated with reduced leptin and elevated ghrelin, two opposing hormones involved in the regulation of appetite. Leptin decreases your appetite and ghrelin increases appetite. These differences in leptin and ghrelin caused by lack of sleep are likely to increase your appetite.[22]

What can you do? Make sure you are getting 8 hours of sleep every night to keep your hunger hormones in balance.

9. Drink more water to help lose weight without exercise

Increasing your water intake to a liter (34 oz) or more every day without making any other changes to your lifestyle can help you lose weight.[20]

 



Healing the Brain: Stress, Trauma and Development


“Easy to read. Difficult to put down.”--Micheal J. Colucciello, Jr., NY State pharmaceutical researcher, retired.

“David Balog takes a subject fraught with difficulty and makes it simple and accessible to everyone. The book goes a long way in helping one understand how and why and in what ways stress affects how we live and cope. Invaluable.”--Jessica Hudson, former president, National Association of Former Foster Children

Drinking half a liter (17 oz) of water before a meal can help boost your weight loss efforts

[What can you do? Replace sugary drinks with water to give your weight loss efforts even more of a boost. If you don’t like drinking plain water, make yourself some infused water, there are many recipes available on the Internet.

8. Make smart alcohol choices to help lose weight without exercise

Ideally, alcohol should be eliminated for maximum weight loss results. But if you do choose to drink alcohol, drink in moderation. Research has shown that moderate alcohol consumption has health benefits. Moderate alcohol consumption of about a drink a day is linked to a 14-25% reduction in heart disease risk compared to no alcohol at all.[18]

Your choice of alcohol can have a significant impact on your calorie intake. Cocktails and other sugar filled alcoholic drinks are the worst calorie culprits. And unfortunately those yummy craft beers are also packed with calories, so if you have to drink beer, light beers are the better option. Although straight shots or on the rocks drinks have the least calories, the ellagic acid in red wine helps to delay the growth of fat cells while slowing the development of new fat cells.[19]

What can you do? Eliminate alcohol or drink in moderation. Avoid sweetened drinks, the sweeter a drink is, the more calories it has. Switch to red wine.

7. Drink green tea to help lose weight without exercise

Several studies have shown that green tea can help with weight and fat reduction by helping to increase energy expenditure.[14][15][16][17] This is mostly due to a phytochemical compound in green tea called EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate).

What can you do? Look for a green tea that has a high catechin content. Research has also shown that green tea steeped in bottled water contains more antioxidants in comparison to tea steeped in tap water.[1] The green tea had almost twice the amount of the EGCG antioxidant when steeped in bottled water, making it more bitter compared to tea steeped in tap water. If you do not enjoy drinking green tea, try an EGCG extract, which is available as a dietary supplement

 



Healing the Brain: Stress, Trauma and Development


“Easy to read. Difficult to put down.”--Micheal J. Colucciello, Jr., NY State pharmaceutical researcher, retired.

“David Balog takes a subject fraught with difficulty and makes it simple and accessible to everyone. The book goes a long way in helping one understand how and why and in what ways stress affects how we live and cope. Invaluable.”--Jessica Hudson, former president, National Association of Former Foster Children

6. Increase your protein intake to help lose weight without exercise

Increasing your daily protein intake can help you consume less total daily calories. A 15% to 30% dietary protein increase at a constant carbohydrate intake helped study participants eat 441 less calories a day and lose 11 lbs in 12 weeks.[12]

Starting your day with a protein rich breakfast can help to reduce hunger cravings during the day.[13]

5. Cut out sugary drinks to help lose weight without exercise

Research has proven that sugary drinks increase the risk of obesity,[9] as well as heart disease, diabetes, and gout. A typical 20-ounce soda contains 240 calories or more. These calories do not give a feeling of fullness, so you will not eat any less. Replacing sugary drinks with non-sugary drinks can result in an average weight loss of 2% to 2.5%.[10]

Beware of artificially sweetened drinks, artificial sweeteners can increase appetite.

4. Increase your baseline activity to help lose weight without exercise

Baseline activity is your day to day activity, the usual light or sedentary activities of daily living such as walking, household chores, etc. These activities generally don’t burn up a lot of calories, but increasing your baseline activity can help increase your energy expenditure. Study results suggest that any increase in physical activity can help reduce belly fat and body weight and is useful for preventing chronic diseases.[8]

What can you do? Adjust your daily routine to allow for at least one baseline activity to be increased, e.g. get into the habit of taking the stairs instead of the escalator/elevator. Engage in more recreational physical activities

Choosing healthy snacks is important. Avoid junk food snacks and snack instead on nuts like pistachios and low calorie fruit such as apples, which contain a soluble fiber called pectin. Pectin promotes satiety (the feeling of fullness), and helps to slow down digestion.[7]

 



Healing the Brain: Stress, Trauma and Development


“Easy to read. Difficult to put down.”--Micheal J. Colucciello, Jr., NY State pharmaceutical researcher, retired.

“David Balog takes a subject fraught with difficulty and makes it simple and accessible to everyone. The book goes a long way in helping one understand how and why and in what ways stress affects how we live and cope. Invaluable.”--Jessica Hudson, former president, National Association of Former Foster Children

2. Weigh yourself every day to help lose weight without exercise

A four year study involving 875 participants revealed that those who used their smart scales the most lost more weight.[4] Men lost an additional 2.5 lbs and women lost 2 lbs in 1 year.

Research has shown that more or less 40% of weight lost by any means is regained in 1 year, and close on 100% of weight lost is regained after 5 years.

1. Use smaller plates to help lose weight without exercise

Dinner plate sizes have increased on average by 23% since 1900.[1] Using bigger plates can result in you serving 9% to 31% bigger portions than you usually would.[2] Larger portions encourage you to eat more, and will inevitably lead to an increase in weight gain.

In one study, participants who were offered a larger portion increased their calorie intake by 30% compared to those offered a smaller portion.[3]

If the plate or bowl size encourages you to eat only 50 more calories a day, your increase in weight would be about 5 pounds a year.

What can you do? Invest in smaller plates and either get rid of all bigger plates and bowls or store them so that they cannot be used. Use disposable portion control plates for eating on the go.

Crefit: https://www.shape-able.com/