Nutrition Frenzy

11 tips to help you enjoy the season without busting your diet

Food temptations are everywhere during the holidays. Office parties, tins packed with homemade cookies, and festive cocktails offer little escape. But if you follow these tips, you’ll survive the season a little happier and healthier.

Psych yourself

Don’t tell yourself, “It’s okay, it’s the holidays.” That opens the door to 6 weeks of splurging. Switch out of holiday mode as soon as the party’s over. Don’t turn Thanksgiving through New Year’s into one long binge. For the duration of the holidays, wear your snuggest clothes that don’t allow much room for expanding waists or bums. Wearing sweats — or your favorite fat pants — is out until January.

Back away from the food

As obvious as it sounds, don’t stand near the food at parties. Make the weight loss effort, and you’ll find you eat less. At a buffet? Eating a little of everything guarantees high calories. Decide on three or four things, only one of which is high in calories. Save that for last so there’s less chance of overeating. Scan the buffet for shrimp with cocktail sauce – it’s practically fat-free and high in protein, iron, and the antioxidant lycopene.

Stop, drop and roll

Instead of burning the candle into the wee hours every night, just STOP what you’re doing; DROP into bed; and ROLL over! Nothing horrible will happen if you let some decorating wait until tomorrow. Your body will thank you. Studies have shown that a lack of sleep can cause weight gain. If you aren’t getting enough sleep you’re more likely to make poor choices when it comes to food and fitness.

It’s all about calories in vs. calories out, so make exercise a nonnegotiable priority. Try squeezing exercise minutes into each day to get your heart pumping. Remember: minutes, not hours. Ten minutes is better than nothing. In fact, 10 minutes in the morning is often the best time for weight loss during the holiday since our days get busy with extra to-do’s and social events.

A mere 10 minutes can burn off a few hors d’oeuvres, a glass of wine or it can just simply be a healthy release of stress. A brisk walk on the treadmill or elliptical can keep your jeans from feeling tight, especially at this time of the year when you’re ingesting more calories.

Stick with the 5-a-day plan

Make sure to get your fruits and vegetables. In a bid to cut calories and save time, we often forgo the foods that would nourish us during the holidays. The excess sugar often consumed during the holidays gives us an energy high and then a crash. So fill up on healthy food — eat five fruits and vegetables a day BEFORE you allow yourself to snack on holiday treats. Those few extra minutes you take to plan some healthy snacks and meals will save you many minutes of burning off extra calories later!

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Are potatoes and bread fattening? Does drinking water curb your appetite? Get the straight facts on these and many other popular diet mantras.

Myth 1: Potatoes and bread are fattening.
Actually: It’s just the opposite. Starchy vegetables and bread (whole-grain bread, that is) are quality carbs needed to fuel every part of you, from your brain to your muscles. What gets you into trouble is how you eat them: Smear butter on a slice of whole-wheat bread or deep-fry potatoes and you can double, triple, or quadruple the calories.

Myth 2: Drinking a glass of water before a meal curbs appetite.
Actually: Yes and no. Water tames appetite if it’s incorporated into food, such as soup, or a thick drink, like V8 100% Vegetable Juice. Apparently, when water is bound to food, digestion is slower, explains Elizabeth Somer, RD, author of 10 Habits That Mess Up a Woman’s Diet. That’s why women in one study found chicken-rice soup more satisfying than chicken-rice casserole and a glass of water — even though the soup had 27% fewer calories! One exception to this rule: It’s easy to confuse hunger and thirst, so if you find yourself craving something — but what? — drink a big glass of water and wait a few minutes. You may find that’s what your body really wanted.

Myth 3: Shellfish is high in cholesterol.
Actually: On the one hand, it’s true: Just 3 ounces of shrimp delivers more than a third of your daily cholesterol. But there’s a surprising flip side to this story: Shrimp is low in saturated fat — the kind that becomes artery-clogging bad cholesterol — and has a smidgen of heart-healthy omega-3s. In fact, University of Southern California researchers discovered that eating shellfish, such as shrimp, every week reduced heart attack risk by 59 percent!

Myth 4: The occasional burger and fries won’t kill you.
Actually: It depends on your definition of “occasional.” If occasional means every Friday night and then some, well, you may be pushing it. But if it means every few months, and you’re fit, and you’ve got good numbers (i.e., weight, waist size, cholesterol, blood pressure), AND you’re chowing down on vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and other nutritious fare most other days, hey, you’ll live. But few of us are that perfect. If you do occasionally indulge, offset the effects of a fat fiesta with a brisk 90-minute walk afterward.

Myth 5: Women naturally gain weight after menopause.
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Increase in Death Risk Not Limited to Overweight, Obese

Belly fat has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes. Now an important new study links belly fat to early death.

Researchers followed about 360,000 Europeans enrolled in one of the largest, longest health studies in the world.

They found that people with the most belly fat had about double the risk of dying prematurely as people with the least amount of belly fat.

Death risk increased with waist circumference, whether the participants were overweight or not.

The study provides some of the strongest evidence yet linking belly fat to early death, says lead author Tobias Pischon, MD, MPH. It appears in the Nov. 12 issue of TheNew EnglandJournal of Medicine.

“Our study shows that accumulating excess fat around your middle can put your health at risk even if your weight is normal,” he says. “There aren’t many simple individual characteristics that can increase a person’s risk of premature death to this extent, independent of smoking and drinking.”

Belly Fat Research
It has long been recognized that people who carry their excess weight around their middles — those who are apple-shaped instead of pear-shaped — have a higher risk for heart attacks and strokes.

Recent research also suggests a link between belly fat and a range of other diseases, including diabetes, some cancers, and even age-related dementias.

But it has not been clear whether the increase in death risk associated with abdominal obesity occurs independently of recognized risk factors like general obesity, Pischon says.

The researchers used two measures of abdominal obesity — waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio — in their attempt to better understand the role of belly fat in early death.

They examined data on 359,387 European adults followed for nearly 10 years who were enrolled in the larger, ongoing European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) health study.

Other research showed that high-fat diets rich in processed meats and cheeses may affect measures of heart failure.

Courtesy of Charlene Laino: Failing to eat enough vegetables, soy, and fish can have the same effect, says Longjian Liu, MD, of Drexel University School of Public Health in Philadelphia.

Consuming a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, on the other hand, was associated with improved blood vessel function, other research showed.

Eckel shares these tips for a heart-healthy diet:

Eat fresh, frozen, and canned vegetables and fruits without high-calorie sauces and added salt and sugars.
Increase fiber intake by eating beans, whole-grain products, fruits, and vegetables.
Use liquid vegetable oils in place of solid fats.
Limit beverages and foods high in added sugars. Common forms of added sugars are sucrose, glucose, fructose, maltose, dextrose, corn syrups, concentrated fruit juice, and honey.
Choose foods made with whole grains. Common forms of whole grains are whole wheat, oats/oatmeal, rye, barley, corn, popcorn, brown rice, wild rice, buckwheat, triticale, bulgur (cracked wheat), millet, quinoa, and sorghum.
Cut back on pastries and high-calorie bakery products such as muffins and doughnuts.
Select milk and dairy products that are either fat free or low-fat.
Incorporate vegetable-based meat substitutes into favorite recipes.
Encourage the consumption of whole vegetables and fruits in place of juices.

Legumes Help Lower Cholesterol Levels
Other research presented at the meeting suggested that eating a diet rich in pinto beans, chickpeas, and other legumes may help to lower cholesterol levels.

“Based on our findings, [I'd suggest you] consume at least three cups of dry beans and peas, or legumes, a week,” says researcher Lydia A. Bazzano, MD, of Tulane University in New Orleans.

Past research has shown that eating soy-rich products may help to control cholesterol levels, but little was known about the non-soy legumes that are more popular in the U.S., she says.

To fill in the knowledge gap, Bazzano and colleagues pooled and analyzed results of 12 studies involving nearly 300 men and women.

Most of them had “undesirable cholesterol levels,” she says. Their average total cholesterol level was 250 points at the start of the study; their average LDL, or bad, cholesterol was 172 points.

Total cholesterol in those who ate a legume-rich diet for at least three weeks dropped by an average of 14 points compared to those on placebo. LDL cholesterol dropped by an average of 11 points more in the group eating lots of beans.

Courtesy Robynne Boyd: Study Shows Protein in Diet Should Be Based on Weight, Not Age

The amount of protein an adult needs to stay healthy is based on weight, not age.

That’s according to a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

As people age, their metabolism and physiology usually change. And these changes can influence a person’s nutritional needs. Although many researchers believe that older adults require more protein than younger adults, it’s not reflected in the current Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) and Estimated Average Requirement (EAR), which are the same for all healthy men and women aged 19 and older.

The RDA and EAR for protein is 0.80 grams and 0.66 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, respectively. That’s an RDA of about 54 grams of protein a day for a 150-pound adult, or approximately 1.5 chicken breasts and a 7-ounce steak.

Wayne Campbell, PhD a researcher and professor of foods and nutrition at Purdue University, and colleagues developed a study to test whether protein requirements actually change with age.

The researchers recruited 42 people to participate in the study: 11 young men, 12 young women, eight older men, and 11 older women. The age range for the younger and older adults was 21 to 46 and 63 to 81.

Each participant underwent three 18-day study periods in which his or her diet was firmly restricted. During each 18-day trial, they were given 63%, 94%, or 125% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance of protein. They were also allowed to eat their usual diet for at least one week between the study periods.

During the 14th to 17th day of each trial, the researchers measured the participants’ nitrogen balance. Nitrogen balance determines the difference between how much nitrogen (mainly from protein) a person is ingesting and excreting (as waste). Healthy adults eliminate the same amount of nitrogen as they consume.

Researchers say the study shows that younger and older adults don’t require different amount of protein to be healthy. This means that the RDA of 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight should be adequate for virtually every older person.

However, in an editorial accompanying the study, Joe Millward, PhD, the head of nutrition and safety at the at the University of Surrey, England, writes that even though the study shows that an adult’s daily protein requirement is likely to be independent of age, it should not “be classed as definitive in terms of the absolute magnitude of the requirement.” He notes the difficulty in precisely assessing nitrogen balance.

Having trouble switching from dreamland to realityville? Head for the kitchen. What you eat can help you be more alert, think more clearly, have more energy, and even be more creative, says Elizabeth Somer, RD, author of Food & Mood. Assuming you’ve clocked at least 7 hours of sleep, these foods will get you up, focused, and feeling like a morning person — even if you’re totally not.

1. A spoonful of sweetness: A tad of sugar in your coffee or honey in your smoothie stimulates the release of acetylcholine, a brain chemical that enhances memory. But don’t overdo it or you’ll soon feel drowsy. Excess sweetness can raise serotonin levels to a sleep-inducing high.

2. A whole-wheat bagel: Your primo brain fuel is glucose, the basic building block of carbs. So after a night of fasting, your brain is on red alert for a carb fix. But you don’t need a lot — half a whole-wheat bagel will rev up your engines. So will a bowl of oatmeal. Pick your fave.

3. Lox on that bagel: Salmon contains a fat known as DHA, which makes up 97% of the omega-3 fatty acids in your brain. You need lots of it to get your mental decks cleared for action — part of DHA’s job is to carry away cellular waste products that make your brain feel sluggish.

4. Spicy V8: Hot and spicy foods amp up blood flow, which is like warming your engines. If tomatoes are too acidic for you in the morning, toss a tablespoon of peeled fresh ginger into hot tea or a cold smoothie for a similar rush.

5. Soy: It contains compounds called isoflavones that help clear your mind (and fight memory loss, too). Drink a glass of calcium-fortified soymilk, pour it over whole-grain cereal, or toss some chopped tofu into scrambled eggs.

6. Ice water: A small glass of frosty H2O will get your blood pumping. The cold shock forces your system to defend its normal temperature, which gives your metabolism a slight boost.

7. Coffee: But of course! Caffeine helps alertness by dampening a chemical called adenosine, which otherwise blocks energy-boosting brain chemicals. As a result, you think faster, drive better, and remember more. Just know your jitter threshold — getting too wired can undermine your efficiency.

8. If all else fails: Place a tin of ginger-flavored Altoids, a few Red Hots, or a packet of Listerine strips beside your alarm clock. When the buzzer goes off, pop one or two of them into your mouth before hitting the snooze button. It’s virtually impossible to sleep with that “curiously strong” taste waking up your mouth!

Besides facing the day — we all have to, eventually — the real benefit of switching your system to “on” in the morning is that your brain starts buzzing, absorbing interesting info and making sense of the news.

Tesofensine Helps Obese People Lose Weight in Early Studies

An experimental diet drug may prove to be twice as effective as currently available weight loss medications if results from an early study are confirmed.

Researchers did not compare the drug tesofensine head-to-head with currently approved weight loss medications. But researcher Arne Astrup, MD, of the University of Copenhagen tells WebMD that the weight loss in the study was roughly double that reported in trials of these drugs.

Danish biopharmaceutical company Neurosearch A/S, which hopes to market tesofensine as a weight loss drug, paid for the study.

“Normally the drugs now on the market give you at best a weight loss of 5 kilograms (11 pounds) with diet and exercise,” Astrup says. “In this study we doubled that weight loss.”

Tesofensine Targets Appetite Centers
Astrup says the drug works on three different appetite regulatory centers of the brain — the neurotransmitters noradrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin.

The phase II study, reported today in The Lancet, included 203 obese patients whose average weight was about 220 pounds.

All the participants were placed on a calorie-restricted diet and all were asked to increase their physical activity to between 30 minutes to an hour a day.

Participants were treated with either a placebo, 0.25 milligrams of tesofensine, 0.5 milligrams of the drug, or 1 milligram of the drug daily.

In all, 161 of the participants completed the six-month study, with average weight loss ranging from a low of around 5 pounds in the placebo group to 28 pounds among patients taking the highest dose of the tesofensine.

But patients on the highest dose of the experimental drug also showed significant increases in blood pressure.

Because of this, patients who participate in a planned phase III study of the drug will be treated with the 0.5 milligram dose, which rivaled the higher dose in terms of weight loss in the phase II trial but elicited only a slight increase in pressure over placebo.

A spokeswoman for Neurosearch A/S tells WebMD that the phase III trials are planned for both the U.S. and Europe. Assuming the trials are positive, the company hopes to have the drug on the market within four years.

Checking the Drug’s Safety
Thomas Wadden, PhD, who directs the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine Center for Weight and Eating Disorders, tells WebMD that the phase III study should help answer important questions about the safety of the experimental weight loss drug.

“The phase II results are very promising, but larger studies are needed to confirm the findings and tell us more about the safety profile,” he says.

Wadden says the blood pressure finding is particularly troubling, as was the finding that study participants treated with tesofensine reported more anger, hostility, and confusion than participants in the placebo arm of the study.

“We need to do more extensive assessment of the psychiatric effect of medications like this one that operate on the central nervous system,” he says.

It’s not in meat. Or milk. Or fish. It is only found in things that grow in the ground, such as vegetables, grains, fruit and nuts. No, we are not talking about the ‘08 election. We’re talking about “dietary fiber,” various components in our food that benefit our health.

Basically, according to the newest definition by the Institute of Medicine and described in a recent position paper by the American Dietetic Association (ADA), dietary fiber includes the carbohydrate components of plants that are not digested and absorbed into the human small intestine.

Fiber is just . . . on its way through. So why is it important in our die

1. An adequate intake of dietary fiber protects against heart disease. Current research shows that 12 to 33 grams of dietary fiber a day may lower blood pressure, improve blood cholesterol levels, and reduce the “inflammation” now attributed to cardiovascular disease. A pooled analysis of several studies found that every 10 grams of dietary fiber added to the diet (that’s about the amount in a cup of beans) decreased the risk of dying of heart disease by 27 percent.

2. Soluble fibers lower bad cholesterol in your blood. Although some experts now frown on using the terms “soluble” and “insoluble” to describe two types of fiber, these are the terms we still find on food labels. While scientists fight it out, there is still some evidence that soluble fibers absorb water as they pass through the body, which helps pull “bad” LDL cholesterol out of the body. Foods that contain a good dose of soluble fibers include apples, barley, oats, beans and other legumes, fruits and vegetables. Other soluble fiber sources include psyllium, guar gum, beet fiber, xanthan gum and pectin.

3. Insoluble fibers tend to encourage “laxation” of the gastrointestinal tract. Stool weight increases as the intake of these dietary fibers increase. The result is a quicker trip through the body and more normal bowel movements. Whole grain foods such as whole wheat bread or brown rice are good sources of insoluble fiber. Some foods contain substances that are natural laxatives. They include cabbage, rhubarb, honey, figs, prunes, raspberries, strawberries and stewed apples.

4. Dietary fiber may help control diabetes. Remember, dietary fiber is a carbohydrate the body does not absorb. So a fiber-rich diet results in fewer total carbohydrates converting to high blood sugars. High fiber meals are also processed more slowly and result in slower rises of blood sugars after meals, according to the ADA.

5. Dietary fiber promotes the health of our gastrointestinal tract. Certain types of natural fibers in fruit, vegetables and whole grains are fermented in the large colon and may actually help our bodies absorb important minerals such as calcium.

6. Dietary fiber may help keep the pounds off. Our human body does not derive any energy, or calories, from fiber. So when we eat high fiber foods, we fill up on “bulk” that makes us feel satisfied but does not turn into love handles. And ask any cow: high fiber plant food requires a lot of chewing. The longer you have to chew your food, the fewer calories you are likely to take in. Lastly, foods high in fiber tend to contain fewer calories. For example, a cup of broccoli (high in fiber) contains about 25 calories; a cup of white rice (low in fiber) contains more than 200 calories.

How much do we need? About 14 grams of dietary fiber for every 1,000 calories that we eat. That’s about 25 grams for most women and 38 grams for adult men. No recommendations have been made for children under the age of 2.

Most fruits, vegetables and whole grains contain about 2 to 3 grams of dietary fiber per serving. Cooked dried beans and legumes contain 10 to 15 grams dietary fiber per cup.

Possible psychiatric side effects may have doomed companies’ research

French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis said Wednesday it is halting all research on a diet drug sold in Europe, Acomplia, and rival Pfizer Inc. hours later said it is ending research on an experimental weight-loss drug in the same class.

Both drugs work by blocking the pleasure centers that give marijuana smokers the “munchies” — the cannabinoid type 1, or CB1, receptors.

Given that obesity and related complications are arguably the world’s biggest public health problem, the demise of both drugs will be a big disappointment for patients and doctors, and possibly for investors. The decisions leave New York-based Pfizer, the world’s top drugmaker by sales, and Paris-based Sanofi-Aventis, ranked No. 4, suddenly without drugs in a category all but guaranteed as a blockbuster.

Two weeks ago, Sanofi-Aventis temporarily stopped sales in Europe, where the pill had been marketed in 18 European Union countries since 2006. That move came after the European Medicines Agency recommended the European Commission temporarily suspend sales of Acomplia, saying its risks — depression, anxiety and stress disorders — outweighed its benefits.

At the time, Sanofi-Aventis said it “remains committed to Acomplia to bring an important therapeutic approach to obese and overweight patients,” about 700,000 of whom it said had used Acomplia and gained health benefits. The company said it planned to provide additional evidence for health officials to re-evaluate its risks and benefits in patients with diabetes and heart disease.

In the U.S., a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel unanimously rejected the drug on June 13, 2007, citing psychiatric problems including increased risk of suicidal thoughts. Two weeks later, Sanofi-Aventis withdrew its application for U.S. approval.

For the first nine months of this year, Accomplia had sales of only 81 euros, about $113 million, not even making the company’s top 15 products.

On Wednesday, Pfizer said it ended final-stage human testing of a drug known only by the designation CP-945,598 — not explicitly for safety concerns but because of “changing regulatory perspectives on the risk/benefit profile of the CB1 class and likely new regulatory requirements for approval.”

Mushrooms are one of my absolute favorite vegetables! Enjoy today’s post!

Some people think they’re nutritional nothings. But jazzing up pizza, soup, and sandwiches with mushrooms could mean a big something for your heart . . .

. . . and that “something” is clearer arteries. A potent antioxidant in mushrooms could help cut down on risky plaque buildup.

A Whole Lotta Ergo
Mushrooms may be the top source of ergothioneine. And in a lab study, the substance reigned supreme in inhibiting adhesion molecules — the ones responsible for helping plaque-forming cells latch onto blood vessel walls. Ergothioneine is found in other foods, too, like wheat germ and chicken liver. But the amount in white button mushrooms is 4 to 12 times higher, and meaty portobello mushrooms have even more.

Cancer Prevention, Too?
White button mushrooms may also have cancer-fighting powers. In animal studies, powdered white mushrooms ramped up production of natural killer cells that help protect against tumors.

Rustic Mushroom Tart

Don’t let phyllo dough’s fussy reputation put you off: our method of brushing olive oil and sprinkling breadcrumbs between the layers makes this tart actually quite simple to assemble, and helps keep it healthy. It can be served as a main course or cut into smaller pieces and enjoyed as an appetizer.

Makes 12 servings

ACTIVE TIME: 30 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 1 hour

EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

3/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup soft goat cheese (2 ounces)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 tablespoon butter
4 cups mixed wild mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 large leek, white part only, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced and thoroughly washed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup white wine
10 sheets (14×18-inch) or 20 sheets (9×14-inch) thawed phyllo dough (see Timing Tip)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup plain dry breadcrumbs

1. Combine ricotta, goat cheese, rosemary and pepper in a medium bowl. Set aside.
2. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, leek and salt and cook, stirring, until the leek starts to soften and the mushrooms release their juices, about 3 minutes. Pour in wine and simmer until the liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet (approximately 12 by 17 inches) with parchment paper. Lay one large sheet of phyllo on the prepared pan. (If using the smaller
size, slightly overlap two sheets to form a rectangle.) Keep the remaining phyllo covered with plastic wrap or wax paper and a damp kitchen towel.
4. Lightly coat the phyllo with oil using a pastry brush. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon breadcrumbs. Repeat this step, layering the remaining phyllo on top. Carefully roll about 3/4 inch of each side toward the center to form the outer rim of the tart.
5. Spread the reserved cheese mixture evenly over the phyllo. Top with the reserved mushroom mixture.
6. Bake the tart until the crust is brown and crispy, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. To serve, lift the parchment paper and slide the tart onto a cutting board or large platter. Serve warm.

Add these smart choices to your diet to boost nutrition and shed pounds

Boost the benefits of your workout and burn more fat, faster, with these seven smart food choices. Add them to your daily diet and you can shed about 10 pounds over the course of a year

Water with lemon

A California study of 240 women found that dieters who replaced their sweetened drinks with water lost an average of 3 pounds more a year than those who didn’t. Subjects who sipped more than 4 cups of water a day lost 2 additional pounds, compared with those who drank less. Plus, the phosphoric acid in soda may contribute to bone loss — and osteoporosis — by changing the acid balance in your blood.

High-fiber granola bars

A small British study found that women who eat a fiber-rich, high-carb breakfast burn twice as much fat during workouts later in the day as those who eat more refined (lower-fiber) foods. Try a granola bar with at least 4 g of fiber, like Kashi, instead of the typical bar that contains just a single gram. Refined carbs spike your insulin levels, which limits your body’s ability to use fat as fuel, explains Lisa Dorfman, RD, adjunct professor at the University of Miami.

Ground flaxseed

Flaxseed is rich in fiber and healthy fats, which help stabilize blood sugar, so you’re less likely to binge. Some research suggests flax can also help soothe symptoms of hormone swings because it’s high in plant estrogens. Ground seeds are easier to digest. Sprinkle them over cereals, soups, or salads; add them to smoothies; or substitute 1 cup of ground flaxseed for 1/3 cup canola, corn, or other oil or shortening in muffins and cookies. Note: Lower oven temperature slightly, since baked goods brown faster with flax.

Walnuts

Instead of snacking on some chips, open up a bag of nuts: Walnuts are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which may keep you feeling fuller longer. In a 1-year study of people with diabetes who were following a low-fat diet, Australian researchers discovered that those who included 8 to 10 walnuts a day lost more weight and body fat. The subjects also reduced their insulin levels, which helps keep fat storage in check.

Hot sauce

Forget bland condiments. If you want to burn fat, spice things up. In a study of 36 men and women, Australian researchers found that following a spicy meal, levels of insulin — the hormone that triggers body fat storage — were lowered by as much as 32 percent. One theory: Capsaicin, the chemical that gives chiles their fire, may improve the body’s ability to clear insulin from the bloodstream after you eat, so you’re more likely to burn fat following a meal spiked with chile peppers than after one that isn’t packing heat.

Cinnamon

Sweeten your oatmeal or frothy coffee drinks with this sweet spice instead of sugar (which has 16 calories per teaspoon) and you can save a couple hundred calories a week, enough to shed 2 to 3 pounds in a year without doing anything else. You’ll also be doing your heart a favor as protective estrogen levels decline: Pakistani researchers found that 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon a day could lower heart-damaging cholesterol by 18 percent and triglycerides by 30 percent.

Salmon

Just 3 ounces of canned salmon delivers 530 IU (more than the Daily Value) for vitamin D and 181 mg of calcium, a power-packed nutritional combination that may be just what your waistline needs as you get older. In a 7-year study of more than 36,000 women ages 50 to 79, researchers at Kaiser Permanente found that those who took both calcium and vitamin D supplements gained less weight after menopause than those who took a placebo. Other research shows that without enough vitamin D, our appetite-regulating hormone leptin can’t do its job. Other fatty fish choices include tuna, sardines, and mackerel.

Tip Control for Candy Cravings

The trick to avoiding a candy binge? Surprising as this sounds: Put the minipacks away, and take a small handful from a big bag instead.

Treats in small Halloween-size packages can trick even careful eaters into overindulging. In a recent study, people concerned about their waistlines ate more high-calorie snacks when given small bags instead of big ones.

Persuasive Packets
Why? In a related study, minipacks of foods like M&M’s and little cookies led people to go overboard because they viewed the smaller portions as “healthier” versions of high-calorie treats. And careful eaters were less likely to even open big bags of candy, unlike snack packs. Which means small bags may do a better job of luring you into high-calorie munching in the first place.

Caveat for the Unconcerned
One alert: According to the study, minis don’t seem to make everyone overeat — only those who are concerned about managing their weight. People who weren’t concerned about gaining weight munched more snacks from large bags than small ones. Either way, what it all boils down to is portion control.

Eat Less by Keeping This in Mind

So you grabbed a bag of chips, and a short while later, you were down to the crumbs. How’d that happen?

While you’re figuring that out, here’s how you can stop it from happening again: Practice mindful eating. There’s a growing army of slim people singing this savor-the-moment practice.

Your Mantra:
Relax, Focus
To teach yourself how to eat mindfully, start with a raisin. Take a deep, relaxing breath as you pick it up. Look at it for a few seconds. Smell it. Place it in your mouth and roll it around on your tongue. Feel the wrinkles. Now bite. Note the chewy, gritty texture — the sweet, fruity, astringent taste. Extract all the flavor before you swallow. That’s kind of the idea with mindful eating — to savor the look, smell, texture, and taste of every bite. And it works! It had a huge impact on curbing chronic binge eating in a recent study.

In fact, when it comes to food, price is becoming the No. 1 concern for cash-strapped consumers, according to a recent study from the International Food Information Council. How do we eat well and not bust our diet or grocery budgets?

Bonnie Taub-Dix, a registered dietitian in New York City and a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association and Lisa Young, a registered dietitian, adjunct professor at New York University and author of “The Portion Teller Plan,” weigh in.

Q. How does someone eat a healthy diet on a tight budget and still focus on convenience?
A. Bonnie Taub-Dix: You have to shop smart and be creative in your cooking. For example, a lot of people still think protein is such an important thing to have in large quantities and that’s not the case. If you want to save money, protein is an expensive part of the meal. But you can make dishes with a little less protein. Buy frozen, canned or fresh vegetables and add some protein to the vegetable dish, such as a cooked whole grain pasta. Or chunks of chicken. You’ll have a combination dish that’s not only low in fat, full of vitamins and minerals, but it’s really quite inexpensive and convenient to make.

Another inexpensive item people tend to under use is eggs. You could make a frittata for your family with lots of veggies and some low-fat cheese and two whole eggs. It’s low in calories, high in protein and really low in carbohydrates.

Also, people don’t always have time to cook and prepare breakfast. In that case, have a turkey sandwich. Even a quick sandwich of something like that is a great healthy and inexpensive way to start your day. It’s certainly better than skipping breakfast and less expensive than buying a muffin, pastry or croissant outside. All you get from those items is carbohydrates and fat. They’re not going to nourish you through the day

When everything is so expensive, people aren’t going to think that clearly about eating healthfully. It’s easier and cheaper to get junk food and you have to think about trying to get the healthy stuff.

If you’re going out to a restaurant, don’t be lured by the dollar menus. The problem with them, they tend to be junk like soda or fries. When you go to fast food, the best thing to get would be to get a salad or grilled chicken.

There’s a combination things of going on. The dollar menus are being pushed, but there’s also the possibility of smaller portions being offered in restaurants instead of raising the prices, which is a good thing [for waistlines]. For example, Dunkin’ Donuts is pushing a 99-cent latte promotion. It’s a smaller size with fewer calories. That’s an example of a smaller portion that’s also good for the budget.

A health minister in England wants eateries there to follow the lead of U.S. restaurants by posting calorie counts on menus.

Will England Start Calorie Counting?
British Health Minister Dawn Primarolo has issued a call for England’s restaurants to start posting calorie counts on their menus, according to U.K. paper The Daily Telegraph. Primarolo noted that a similar initiative has been declared a success in the United States, and said, “If it works for them why can’t it happen here.”

Obesity has been at the forefront of health officials’ concerns in England for some time. Currently, one in four British adults is overweight or obese, and the situation is expected to worsen. “I know good diet isn’t just about calorie content, and I know there will be difficulties for independent restaurants, but we have to start somewhere,” Primarolo told The Daily Telegraph. “Why can’t we have calorie content on menus in all chain restaurants?”

England is also trying to address the weight problems of its younger population. In August, the country rolled out a new plan to help reduce cases of childhood obesity.

Background: Trans fat bans, and calorie accountability
To protect the health of California residents who frequently consume fast food, on July 25 Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a law ordering all restaurants to eliminate the use of trans fats by Jan. 1, 2010. “Consuming trans fat is linked to coronary heart disease, and today we are taking a strong step toward creating a healthier future for California,” the governor said. Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said that trans fats are “causing several thousand deaths each year.”

Although the ban was opposed by the California Restaurant Association, many restaurants have taken the initiative to ban trans fat on their own. McDonald’s has switched to cooking french fries in oils free of trans fats in all restaurants in the U.S. and Canada. Jim Skinner, chief executive of the restaurant chain, said that by the end of the year, McDonald’s pies and other baked goods will be trans fat-free as well.

Wendy’s fast food restaurants switched to trans fat-free cooking in 2006, KFC and Taco Bell chains switched over last year, and Burger King has promised to switch to trans fat-free cooking by the end of 2008.