Liz Bonis is a registered dietitian, a certified nutritionist, a certified personal trainer, and a diabetes educator with a master's degree in public communication.

Health Notes
3/15/13

American Dietetic Association: Clean and Green
A new report from the American Dietetic Association says if you want to get your body into shape for spring, you might want to think green—and clean.

That means adding some items back into your diet (“clean” or “green” foods) that you may have been missing during the winter months. These include asparagus (anti-aging), avocado (good fats), Brussels sprouts (antioxidants), kale (good eyesight), and kiwi (vitamin C).

American College of Cardiology: Lose and Win (Cash)
If you really want to lose weight, get your friends together and bet on it...because people lose more weight when cash is on the line! The American College of Cardiology released a new study recently which states that people who received $20 a month for weight loss lost about seven more pounds than those who didn’t get money.

They also stuck with it better when they had the option of winning extra bonus bucks for keeping it off.

Psychoneuroendocrinology: Delusions of Portion Size
As if we didn’t have enough problems losing weight and keeping it off, new research shows that a lack of sleep may also make us eat more. People can manage stress in different ways; exercise is one way, getting the proper amount of sleep another, and when we don’t get enough sleep, we tend to binge on junk food.

Published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology, the study assessed what happened when 16 people picked out normal portions of junk food after they’d had a normal night’s sleep (eight hours), then did the same thing when they were sleep deprived. Researchers found that the subjects selected larger portions when they had less sleep...and they thought they’d chosen normal portions.

Ways to Get Healthy in the New Year
1/3/13

Improve Your Breakfast
Make your breakfast healthier by swapping your usual orange juice for lower-calorie cranberry juice instead. A study by the American Heart Association showed that people who drank cranberry juice for eight weeks lowered their blood pressure as effectively as taking medication. Researchers say it’s likely due to the antioxidants in the cranberry juice.

Boost Your Fertility
If you’re trying to have a baby, you can increase your odds by exercising—but don’t overdo it. A study of 3,500 Danish women between the ages of 18 and 40, published in Fertility and Sterility, found that women who engaged in moderate exercise, such as walking, biking, or even yoga, at least five hours a week were 18 percent more likely to get pregnant than those who were less active (exercised less than an hour a week). However, moderation is key: vigorous exercise was found to delay conception.

Improve Your Diet
- A report in Environmental Nutrition says that if you eat beans every week, you can lower your cholesterol levels.

- Don’t cut out food, but do cut down. People who eat just 100 fewer calories a day by eating smaller portions or skipping something as simple as a slice of cheese can drop 10 lbs. a year.

- Eat fish instead of red meat at least twice a week. If you do, you could lower your risk for developing cancer and diabetes.

- Eat fruit or a vegetable at every meal. That way you’ll get the nutrients your body needs for better-looking skin.

- Drink water instead of soda or sports drinks. That’ll cut your sugar intake and you’ll drop weight more easily.

- Eat a handful of nuts every day. Your waistline will shrink and you’ll lower your risk of heart disease.

Health Notes
9/18/12

National Institute on Aging: Might as Well Chow Down
The secret to living longer might not have anything to do with how little you eat.

Although results of previous studied seemed to indicate that restricting calories could add years to your life, a recently concluded 23-year-long study has shown that you might just do better eating healthy food and getting regular exercise.

Researchers compared the lifespans of monkeys who ate a normal diet with the lifespans of those who ate 30 percent fewer calories (but got the same amount of nutrients). It turned out that the monkeys who ate less didn’t live any longer than the ones who ate more, nor did they have fewer health problems, such as arthritis and diabetes.

Pediatrics: Kids Have High Blood Pressure Too
New research shows that kids are getting too much salt in their diets, and it’s leading to higher blood pressure.

Of the 6,200 children who participated in the study, those who had more sodium in their diets were likely to have higher blood pressure. Four out of every 10 children and teens in the study were overweight or obese, and 15 percent of those also had high blood pressure.

The children in the study, regardless of their size, were getting an average of 3,400mg of sodium in their diets per day. The recommended daily amount of sodium is less than 2,300mg per day.

The best way to prevent high blood pressure in children is to reduce the amount of processed foods in their diet, as well as reduce the amount of added salt, plus get them to exercise. When we perspire, we lose sodium—as well as drop weight, and losing even 5 lbs. can help reduce blood pressure.

Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise: Cake? Not Worth It
An interesting study has shown that exercising can affect your attitude about food. Researchers found that when women looked at pictures of food after they worked out, they were less likely to pay attention to them. This proved to be true whether the women were of average weight or were obese.

Health Notes
8/3/12

Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise: Small (Frequent) Steps, Big Results
It seems you really should sweat the small stuff. According to a new study, walking briskly for 10 minutes three times a day is actually better for you than a single half-hour session. Researchers found that those who took frequent, shorter walks lowered their blood pressure more than those who took longer walks.

European Journal of Nutrition: Soda Is Even Worse for You Than You Think
That can of regular soda might be doing damage not only to your waistline, but also to your ability to burn off calories. A recent report states that regular intake of sugary drinks alters your metabolism, encouraging your muscles to prefer to burn sugar rather than fat. This could lower your body’s ability to burn fat overall and make weight loss more difficult.

Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition: More Vitamin C, Stat!
Think you get enough vitamin C? Think again. Researchers have found that adults’ daily recommended amount of vitamin should likely be increased 100 percent, from the current recommended daily allowance of 90mg to 200mg. Their report states that people who get more vitamin C in their diet have far lower blood pressure and lower risk of dying of heart disease. For perspective, 200mg means drinking about four glasses of orange juice a day, but watch out for the sugar content in juice.

Liz's Latest Links:
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MyClyns Germ Defense Solutions