What and when you eat certain foods can boost how you feel at different times during the day. When it comes to meal planning, timing is everything. Important for anyone trying to lose weight, research shows that having a high-protein breakfast — that means 35 grams’ worth — can keep your appetite in check for the entire day. It may even help you avoid evening snacking. Options with that amount of protein include a very generous cup-and-a-half of Greek yogurt; an omelet prepared with one egg and three egg whites and filled with ricotta or cottage cheese; or a less conventional breakfast of four ounces of chicken breast or six ounces of canned salmon. A lot has been written about what to eat before and after workouts. Choosing the right foods at the appropriate times can boost your stamina and quicken recovery time. Current thinking is to have a small meal with carbs and protein one to three hours before you exercise, and then a snack 15 to 20 minutes afterward to replenish energy stores and help muscles grow. Pre-Exercise Fuel Choices Peanut butter and banana or PBJ sandwich Fruit slices with nut butter Greek yogurt or oatmeal and berries Handful of raisins and nuts Post-Exercise Fuel Choices Whole-grain wrap with turkey Low-fat chocolate milk Low-fat milk and fruit smoothie One study found that having…  read on >

Your unhealthy eating habits could increase your risk of cancer as much as drinking alcohol can, new research reports. The Tufts University study found that poor diets cause about the same number of cancer cases as alcohol consumption does in the United States. The researchers said their modeling study estimated that dietary factors may have accounted for over 80,000 of the new invasive cancer cases reported in 2015, or about 5% of that year’s total among U.S. adults. Alcohol was associated with 4% to 6% of cases, overweight and obesity with 7% to 8% of cases, and physical inactivity with 2% to 3%, the study authors noted. The study also found that poor diet was linked with 38% of colorectal cancer cases, and with nearly 26% of mouth, pharynx and larynx cancers reported in 2015 in the United States. In actual numbers, in 2015, poor diet was associated with over 52,200 colorectal cancer cases; over 14,400 mouth, pharynx and larynx cancers; nearly 3,200 uterine cancers; just over 3,000 cases of breast cancer in postmenopausal women; 2,000 kidney cancers; nearly 1,600 stomach cancers; and 1,000 liver cancers. The investigators also looked at specific eating habits linked with cancer risk. Low intake of whole grains was associated with the largest number and proportion of diet-related cancer cases, followed by low levels of dairy products, eating lots of…  read on >

Many people — including those who are overweight themselves — view people with obesity as less human or less evolved, new research reveals. In four online studies questioning more than 1,500 participants from the United States, the United Kingdom and India, researchers also found that dehumanization of those with obesity predicted support for policies that discriminate against this group. “We’ve obviously heard the way that people speak about people with obesity,” said study author Inge Kersbergen. She’s a research fellow at the University of Sheffield in England. “In that sense, we’d be surprised if we didn’t find anything,” Kersbergen said. “But I don’t think we were prepared for the magnitude of our findings.” In the first report believed to indicate that people with obesity are blatantly dehumanized, Kersbergen and her colleagues pooled data examining whether dehumanization depended on participants’ body weight and if those with obesity were dehumanized more than other social groups different from the norm. These other social groups included those based on appearance, such as underweight Americans, or illness, such as Americans with cancer. Different measures of attitudes toward people with obesity were used in the four separate studies. For example, participants indicated how evolved they considered various groups of people to be, including Americans, obese Americans, Americans addicted to heroin, Arabs, homeless Americans, and employed Americans. The research also included measures…  read on >

If you’re looking for a tasty way to hydrate in warm weather, a juicy melon is the ticket. Melons are low-calorie, high-water content foods that also provide high doses of certain vitamins, minerals and important phyto-nutrients. Nutrients in Powerhouse Melons Cantaloupe: vitamins A and C, carotenoids, folate and potassium Honeydew: vitamins B and C, potassium and copper Watermelon: lycopene, vitamins A and C, and potassium To pick the perfect melon, gently rap it with your knuckles. If it makes a dull thud, it’s full of juice, and ripe for consumption. As refreshing as it is to bite into a melon, don’t limit yourself to snacking on chunks or wedges. Melons make great ingredients for salads, like the popular combination of watermelon and feta over arugula. Honeydew pairs well with cilantro and lime for a twist on salsa. And there are few easier appetizer recipes than melon and prosciutto, a centuries-old Italian antipasto that’s ideal for entertaining. Here’s a crunchy take on this tasty dish to serve at your next cookout or dinner get-together. The ingredients can be multiplied as needed. Melon and Prosciutto 4 slices prosciutto 1 small ripe cantaloupe, seeded and thinly sliced 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, torn into small pieces Preheat your oven…  read on >

Java junkies can sniff out even tiny amounts of coffee, and the more they drink, the better they can smell it, British researchers say. It’s a discovery with powerful implications for treating people addicted to substances with a distinct smell. “The higher the caffeine use, the quicker a person recognized the odor of coffee,” said study leader Lorenzo Stafford. He is an olfactory expert at the University of Portsmouth, in England. Not only could the regular coffee drinkers among the more than 90 volunteers quickly detect the aroma of a heavily diluted coffee chemical, their ability to do so increased with their level of craving, the findings showed. “The more they desired caffeine, the better their sense of smell for coffee,” Stafford said in a university news release. It’s the first evidence that java junkies are more sensitive to the smell of coffee, according to the study published recently in the journal Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology. Researchers had wondered if coffee drinkers and non-drinkers responded differently to the smell, and whether cravings might be related to an increased ability to detect it. Describing caffeine as the “most widely consumed psychoactive drug,” Stafford said the findings suggest that changes in the ability to detect smells could be a useful index of drug dependency. The study authors said their work could lead to new methods of aversion…  read on >