A new study shows that remaining on a diet and maintaining weight loss may have more to do with our brain waves than the growling in our tummy! Here's what you need to know .
By Colette Bouchez
Have you ever struggled to lose weight ...only to gain it back again, sometimes even adding extra pounds?
If you've been blaming your downfall on a lack of will power , give yourself a break! Some new research suggests it just might be your brain waves sabotaging your skinny-jeans plan!
Indeed, new research, just published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that it could be a sort of “glitch” in the way our brain responds to not just the food we eat but the food we see that actually tempts us into going off the track of healthy eating and back to our old evil high-calorie ways!
“Our findings shed some light on the biological factors that may contribute to weight loss maintenance ….and [providing] an intriguing complement to previous behaviorial studies that suggest people who have maintained long term weight- loss monitor their food intake closely and exibit restraint in their food choices”, says lead author Jeanne McCaffrey of Miriam Hospital's Weight Control and Dibetes Center where the research was conducted.
Experts say the new findings suggest that the brains of people who successfully keep weight off may respond differently to outside eating cues – including the sight of food - than the brains of people who either can't maintain their weight loss, or are unable to even stay on a diet at all.
It is those brain responses, says McCaffrey, that appear to play a role in controlling our appetite and our desire to eat. More importantly, they can also become the source of the “impulse” that leads us to over eat - and the trigger that can make it so difficult for many people to maintain their weight loss, even after they achieve their goals.
Indeed, studies show that while those of us brave enough to tackle a weight loss diet frequently lose up to 10 percent of our body weight within 6 months, only two-thirds of us maintain that loss after a year. Morever, in 5 years, most of us return to our original weight – and sometimes more.
How The Study Was Done
The research involved 51 people, divided into three groups. The first group of 16 were obese and unable to successful control their weight; the second group of 17 had maintained a weight loss of 30 pounds or more for a minimum of three years; the final group of 18 were of normal weight and had no problems maintaining that weight.
To conduct the study, members of each group were shown images of various types of food – including low calorie “healthy” meals such as whole grain cereal fruits and vegetables, as well as high calorie foods such as cheeseburgers, desserts, and french fries. Acting as a control, the three groups were also shown images of non-food items such as bricks, plants and flowers.
After exposure to the various images, the researchers used an MRI to measure brain responses of each member of each group.
The result: When viewing the food photos, the brain wave activity in those who either had no weight problem, or who had maintained their weight loss was markedly different than in those unsuccessful dieters who remained obese. This, they researchers suggests that how our brain responds when we we view food may play a role in not only our food choices, but in how hard or easy it is to change our eating habits.
“It is possible that brain responses may lead to preventive or corrective behaviors – particularly greater regulation of eating”, says McCaffrey.
Indeed, experts say that when it comes to controlling our appetite, the mind may be even more influential than that growling tummy!
What the reseaerch didn't tell us : Whether or not these brain waves can be changed and if so – how we can go about changing them. That said, an editorial that accompanied the article suggests they can be changed, suggesting that the new research can lead to the development of more useful behaviorial therapies to help change our mental attitude towards food.
In the meantime, taking just a moment to stop and think before you eat could be all you need to interrupt that decision to take a bite ...or walk away!
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Copyright by Colette Bouchez 2009 - All Rights Reserved.
In addition to US Copyright, the text of this RedDressDiary article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License. All formatting and style elements of this page are not available under this license, and Colette Bouchez retains all rights in those elements.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
When What You See IS NOT What You Eat!
Friday, May 29, 2009
Study: Sweet Fiber Curbs Appetite -Boosts Weight Loss
The key to controlling your weight is controlling your hunger – and now a new study sheds light on a natural food ingredient that can help you do just that ! - By Colette Bouchez
As anyone who's ever tried to diet can tell you, the key to losing weight is not controlling what you eat – it's controlling your desire to eat it! I'm talking about appetite – and how the ability to control your hunger pangs and the desire to quench them is key to weight control.
But if a new study just published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition is right, that key is about to open a headlock on obesity – and doing so may require nothing more than adding a specific type high fiber sweetener to your diet.
That ingredient say experts, is oligofructose. Not to be confused with fructose or fruit sugar, oligofructose is a slightly sweet plant fiber, that appears to suppress levels of a hormone that actually controls our desire to eat!
Moreover, oligofructose also functions as a probiotic – a type of healthy bacteria that's been shown to have a positive impact on intestinal health - plus it may also help regulate blood sugar, another plus in controlling your appetite.
“Independent of other lifestyle changes, oligofructose supplementation has the potential to promote weight loss and improve glucose regulation in overweight adults,” write researchers Jill Parnell and Raylene Reimer who conducted the research at the University of Calgary in Canada.
Parnell and Reimer also report that foods high in this probiotic fiber not only help reduce levels of ghrelin, a hormone linked to appetite control, but they also increase levels of a peptide hormone known as PYY – which is the natural compound involved in chemically signaling the brain that we have reached our satiation point and we don't need to eat any more.
Conversely, many researchers believe that when ghrelin levels rise and PYY levels fall , it becomes nearly impossible to feel full or control our appetite – not to mention stay on a diet.
A Sweet Way To Lose Weight
The 12 week study involved 48 overweight or obese adults with no other known health issues. Each member of the group was weighed and then randomly assigned to receive either a daily dose of 21 grams of oligofructose, or a placebo. They were then told to eat as they normally would. At the end of the 12 weeks, each member of the group was weighed again.
The result: Those who were taking the oligofructose lost an average of 1.02 kg of weight, while the placebo group gained an average of .45 kg. Moreover , testing showed that while the supplement was able to suppress production of ghrelin ( which helped control appetite), as well as increase levels of PPY( the signal that tells the brain we are full), other hormones involved in the satiation response were not affected.
That said, the researchers report it became clear that the oligofructose was controlling appetite since everyone in the group using the supplement reported a decrease in the desire to eat – and noted they felt fuller on less food. Moreover, no one in the group taking the supplement reported any adverse effects.
Oligofructose is closely related to another plant fiber known as inulin and previous studies have shown that both can be beneficial in reducing body mass index (BMI) while controlling appetite. The research conducted by Parnell and Reimer was among the first human studies to demonstrate the ability of oligofructose to have a direct impact on the body chemistry linked to overeating.
Both oligofructose and inulin can be found in a number of yogursts, and some fruit juices. Oligofructose is also available as a sweetening ingredient and can be found in in some low carbohydrate candies and baked goods.
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In addition to US Copyright, the text of this RedDressDiary article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License. All formatting and style elements of this page are not available under this license, and Colette Bouchez retains all rights in those elements.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Study: Supplement That Curbs Carb/Sweet Tooth Naturally!
Do you find it almost impossible to walk by a fast food restaurant without grabbing at least one bag of something greasy, yeasty or chocolaty-sweet? Do you crave it, even when there isn’t a Golden Arches or a Dunkin Donuts in sight?If so, there’s good news: Researchers reporting in the journal Diabetes Technology and Therapeutics say a daily dose of a specific nutrient could not only help women control cravings, but actually control appetite and get you to lose weight without even trying! Or, at least without feeling the pain.
What’s the magic nutrient? It’s called chromium picolinate and some are now suggesting it could fast become a dieter’s best friend.
“Participants receiving [chromium picolinate] reported decreased cravings for carbohydrates, fast foods, high-fat foods, and sweets over time,” said lead author Stephen Anton.
Moreover, says Anton, they also lost weight – and reported feeling less hungry between meals.
All this is particularly good news for middle-aged women, since the hormone shifts that occur beginning in your 40’s can impact your metabolism in a way that causes you to put on those extra pounds even if you’re not necessarily eating more calories.
If you’ve also battled a sweet/carb tooth all your life, there is some evidence that mid life shifts in reproductive hormones may increase those cravings – much the way they can for younger women in the premenstrual time of each cycle. And that can mean a greater desire for those foods that quickly put on the pounds.
Natural Appetite Control: How They Did It
The new study involved 42 overweight women, with an average BMI of 31, and a self-confessed “craving” for carbohydrates. The women were randomly assigned to receive a daily chromium picolinate supplement or a placebo for a period of 8 weeks – and were told to eat as they normally would.
The doctors measured the women’s daily food intake at the start of the study, after one week and again after 8 weeks.
The result: At the end of the 8-week study period the women taking the chromium picolinate supplement reduced their food intake by 25%, compared to just 8 % in the placebo group. Moreover, the women taking the supplement lost a .5 kg of weight, while the placebo group gained .5kg of weight.
Perhaps most important, the women in the chromium group reported fewer cravings for carbs, sweets and high fat foods - and said it was simply easier to eat less.
“To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine whether chromium picolinate affects food intake in humans,” says Anton.
Chromium is an essential trace mineral that occurs naturally in foods like brewers yeast, lean meats, cheese, and whole grain breads and cereals. While it is known to play a key role in the metabolism of carbs, fats and protein, the human body does not absorb this mineral well. And that means we often don’t get the benefits of even chromium-rich foods.
Chromium picolinate is a specific form of this mineral that previous studies have shown is better tolerate and absorbed by humans. Currently it is only available in supplement form.
The researchers, which hailed from Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University, and the University of Florida, suggest that if their findings are validated by other studies, chromium picolinate may become an important weight loss tool and a way to control appetite naturally.
In studies published elsewhere researchers from the University of Cincinnati found that supplements of chromium picolinate also helped increase brain activity and improve memory. In a second study presented at the American Diabetes Association's 68th Annual Scientific Session earlier this year researchers suggested chromium supplements may decrease inflammation associated with diabetes and reduce the risk of heart disease.
To learn more about the study, including the exact type of supplements used and the specific dosages, click here.
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Friday, September 19, 2008
Food Fight: Don't Rely on Will Power To Lose Weight
For decades we blamed a lack of will power on our diet failures. Now some experts say your will has little do with your waistline. By Colette Bouchez
If you’re always blaming that mystical “ lack of will power” for failing off your weight loss wagon, there's something you should know: The very newest weight loss theories say will power has nothing to do with it!
Indeed, while it was long believed that having a “weak will” was the number one reason that folks just couldn’t say “ no” to that plate of cupcakes or bowl of chips, today a growing number of experts believe that the mystical concept of will power is just that - a mystical concept that doesn't really exist. At least not in regard to food temptations.
“People like to think of will power as some magical force over which they have no control – but in reality there is no such thing,“ says Gerard Musante, PhD, founder and director of Structure House, an in-patient weight loss program in Durham, North Carolina.
Moreover, Musante says crediting some mystical “force ” with the ability to control your life only serves to make you less, and not more in control of your appetite. And more likely to fail at your weight loss plan.
Psychologist and weight control expert Dr. Warren Huberman agrees.
“Once you buy into the idea that something else is controlling you, then on some level you also acknowledge that what you eat is not within in your control – and that line of thinking puts you on the fast track to weight loss failure,” says Huberman, who frequently counsels patients at the NYU –Langone Medical Program for Surgical Weight Loss.
So if it’s not a weak will, then what exactly is behind that uncontrollable urge to eat the entire gallon of ice cream - when we really should be satisfied with just a Dixie cup?
Many believe “temptation” can take a somewhat surreptitious route.
Indeed, experts say the first path is paved with learned behaviors, coupled with conscious choices. In short, those of us who are able to resist that plate of Sarah Lee brownies – or harder still, eat just one and walk away – have acquired the skills to do so, and are making the choice to act on those skills.
What about the rest of us, who simply can’t walk away? Well, it seems we’re acting on a learned behavior as well, and some decision-making is also involved. The only difference is, most of us don’t see it quite that way. Instead, we blame our inability to say "no" to food on a lack of will power.
“What’s key here is to recognize that within each of us lies the power to make these correct food choices –it’s not about will power, nothing is controlling us, it is about choice,” says Huberman.
And what about those moments when we just reach for that extra slice of pizza without even thinking? Sometimes, says Huberman, it’s just a plain old bad habit calling the shots.
“It can actually be a conditioned response to reach for that last slice of pizza, even when you really don’t want it – old food habits die hard,” he says.
The Biology of Temptation
Psycho-social dramas aside, there is yet another force tempting and teasing our appetite – and it has nothing what so ever to do with what we think or feel about food.
Quite simply it is our biology at work – and the primitive but never ending evolutionary urge to keep our bellies full.
If the only thing around when it does is a plate of Dove chocolates, then Dove chocolates are goin’ down the hatch. And while that may make you feel weak-willed, the truth is, you’re just plain hungry - and unprepared to deal with it.
The Devil Made Me Eat It !
While not every weight loss expert agrees on what’s driving our food temptations, most say the power to choose what we eat is very much within our control.
1. Try to eat at regular intervals, and eat the same time every day. This will keep your appetite from raging out of control when nothing is sight but a box of donuts.
3. If you’re going to be around decadent, high cal foods – whether it be the local PTA cake sale or your mother’s house for dinner – decide ahead of time how many items you will sample, then stick to it. For example, allow yourself 4 “tastes” or “ 3” full portions – and don’t go over.
4. Eat “mindfully”. If you think about every piece of food you put in your mouth you’ll naturally put in less.
5.In the immortal words of weight loss guru and Our Lady of Weight loss author Janice Taylor, if you have gorged yourself on a forbidden food, don’t beat yourself up for a lack of will power. Instead, forgive yourself and simply “ Move On.”
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Friday, August 1, 2008
Study: Hungry Again? It's In Your Genes!
Do you wonder why you’re the only one at the neighborhood barbecue going back for not only “seconds” but “thirds”?
Do “all you can eat” restaurants shudder when they see you walk in the door?
And are you frustrated – and maybe even a little angry – because you’re just so hungry all the time you simply can’t stay on a diet?
If this sounds familiar, don’t beat yourself up …your humongous appetite may be all in your genes.
At least that’s the conclusion of a new British study conducted at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College in London.
The research , just published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, indicates the gene at fault is known as FTO - and when it's present it appears to modify our appetite so that we don’t get the feeling of satiety or fullness after eating a reasonable amount of food.
"“It is not simply the case that people who carry the risky variant of this gene automatically become overweight – but they are more susceptible to overeating," says lead author Professor Jane Wardle.
The study which focused on more than 3,000 children aged 8-11, compared the appetites and eating habits among those who carried the gene to those who did not.
Doctors relied on parental reports of the children’s vital statistics – including height, weight and waist circumference, and asked each family to fill out a food questionnaire designed to detail their children’s eating habits.
According Wardle, “What we have shown is that children with the ’risky’ variants of the gene have weaker satiety responses – meaning they don’t just overeat, but they struggle to recognize when they are full, ” she says.
Moreover, she adds that FTO has a similar effect on both boys and girls, and that age, current weight, body mass index or socio economic background doesn’t seem to matter. FTO is, however, the first obesity gene to be discovered among the Caucasian race.
And while the researchers are quick to point out that carrying the extra gene doesn’t guarantee you are carrying the extra pounds – but it does put you at risk for being overweight simply because you are likely to eat more than the person whose appetite is under proper genetic control.
This is not the first study to link FTO with obesity. Previous research has shown that adults who harbor the gene generally weigh more than those who don't. The missing piece was whether or not FTO influences appetite or calorie burning. This was the first research to hone in on FTO's link to appetite.
Moreover, experts say the findings add to a growing body of evidence that obesity is, at least in part, influenced by genetics. One recent study suggested it may be responsible for up to 77% of all weight problems – with only 25% of the blame going to environmental factors.
Researchers also estimate there are some 600 different genes currently identified as playing a role in obesity – indicating there is no one single genetic cause, and that issues could be different for each of us.
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