Dr.Dreams A Health,Medical & Wellness Blog » food

Do You Avoid Eating Late at Night to Prevent Weight Gain?

Dr Dreams — Mon, 21 May 2012 19:18:46 +0000

On one hand, knowing how to eat right can be simple – eat when you’re hungry, and stick to nutritious foods that fill you up and keep you satisfied. But another component of playing the weight loss game is when you eat, and that’s when things can get complicated. While studies have proven that eating late at night doesn’t automatically lead to your body storing more fat , a new study in mice has found a link between when you eat and weight gain. Researchers looked at two groups of mice, both of which were fed the same amount of a high-fat diet, and found that the mice who were only allowed to eat during an eight-hour period during the day ended up gaining less weight than the mice that were allowed to eat the same amount of food any time during the day and night. Researchers believe that the difference in weight gain is due to the fact that the body’s organs operate at peak efficiency at different times, so everything from your liver to your muscles may be burning more calories and working harder depending on the time of day or night. Frequent eating throughout the day and night, they say, may throw off your body’s metabolic cycles, so you may be more successful with weight loss if you stop eating at a certain point during your day (even if you are eating the same amount of food). This newest study is just one more piece of information in the late-night eating debate, but the theory hasn’t been tested on humans yet. And it’s important to note that this study doesn’t prove the myth that you shouldn’t eat past a certain time to avoid your food turning into fat – the study is just saying that restricting when you eat to a certain time period may help regulate your metabolic cycles. In any case, what’s your take on the issue: do you avoid eating late at night to prevent gaining weight? Do You Avoid Eating Late at Night to Prevent Weight Gain? Yes – I think eating at night makes me gain weight. No – I eat late if I want to, and it hasn’t been an issue. No, but I want to stop.

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Do You Avoid Eating Late at Night to Prevent Weight Gain?

Save Money, Help the Planet With These DIY Healthy Snacks

Dr Dreams — Tue, 15 May 2012 23:28:48 +0000

Eating healthy isn’t always cheap, but it’s a must if you want to improve your overall health. If you choose to buy organic or exotic options like dried blueberries - $13 for a small bag! – snacks can quickly eat up your food budget. Find out how to nosh on healthy nibbles and still have money left in your wallet. Cheese sticks: Instead of buying individually wrapped cheese sticks, save money and avoid plastic packaging by making your own. Buy a block of your favorite cheese for a few bucks- mozzarella and monterey jack work well – and cut the block into long wedges for a grab-and-go snack. Nut butter: Nut butters are great on toast, crackers, or sliced fruit, but if you buy organic jars, you can spend almost $8. Try this instead: buy huge bags of unsalted raw nuts, pour a cup in the food processor, and make your own. You can even make mixed nut butter with a few of your fave nuts and seeds. Spoon the creamy mixture into a glass container to store in the fridge. Keep reading for more money-saving snack tips.

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Save Money, Help the Planet With These DIY Healthy Snacks

Our (Yummy, Guilt-Free) Lunch With Jillian Michaels

Dr Dreams — Tue, 15 May 2012 11:16:25 +0000

We are pumped to share one of our fave stories from Fitness Magazine here on FitSugar! Ever wish you had a personal chef to deliver diet-friendly meals right to your home? Us, too! That’s why we had to catch up with Jillian Michaels at her recent event at the W Residences in Hollywood to get the skinny on her new partnership with Freshology, a food delivery program that brings gourmet, calorie-controlled meals straight to your door. “I’ve been wanting to get involved with something like this for a long time, but either the food sucked or it was packed with unhealthy preservatives,” says Michaels. “It’s not just calories – the quality of the food matters when it comes to health and weight loss, which is why I really clicked with the Freshology’s commitment to fresh, clean food.” Teaming up with Freshology’s five-star chef, Michaels used her nutrition principles to create a total weight-loss plan that delivers healthy, wholesome, and delicious food with no preservatives, no hormones, no artificial sweeteners, and no trans fats. On the program, you’ll receive a twice-weekly delivery stocked with daily meals totaling 1,400 to 1,800 calories: breakfast (240 to 475 calories), lunch (230 to 470 calories), dinner (303 to 536 calories), and a dessert. The 28-day rotation ensures you’ll never experience taste bud boredom. And all the food is precooked, chilled, and ready to go, so at the very most, all you have to do is zap it in the microwave. For added “thinspiration,” you’ll also get Michaels’s fitness DVDs , texts to keep you motivated, and a copy of her book, Master Your Metabolism . Keep reading to see if Freshology passed our taste test. More from Fitness Magazine: Five Moves to Get Jillian Michaels’s Amazing Arms Bob Harper’s 20-Minute Fat-Blasting Circuit The New Diet Rules: Eight Easy Steps to Eat Better

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Our (Yummy, Guilt-Free) Lunch With Jillian Michaels

A.M. Vitals: Autism Shift Won’t Leave Kids Behind, Study Says

Sean Duffy — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:10:07 +0000

Here’s what’s making health news this morning: Study Damps Fears on Autism Change (WSJ): A controversial change to the criteria for diagnosing autism turns out to “almost always” catch children diagnosed under the current guidelines, new data show. FDA Panel Considers HIV Drug for New Use (WSJ): Gilead Sciences has asked the Food and Drug Administration to consider approving its HIV treatment Truvada as a preventive medicine—a potential first—that could keep people from contracting the virus. An advisory panel will vote Thursday. Insurers Embrace “Virtual” Doctor Visits (Kaiser Health News): Some large insurers are promoting telemedicine visits to lower the cost of doctors services, though physicians worry the shift could shortchange patients. Drugmakers’ Deal With Obama Said to Be Probed by House (Bloomberg): House Republicans are probing drugmakers over an agreement forged with the Obama administration to support the 2010 federal health law. Discrepancies on Medical Bills Can Leave a Credit Stain (New York Times): As patients increasingly pay for larger shares of their health-care costs out-of-pocket, dealing with medical bills is becoming a more complicated task.

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A.M. Vitals: Autism Shift Won’t Leave Kids Behind, Study Says

Smarter Eats: Mix Veggies You Hate With Ones You Love

Sean Duffy — Thu, 03 May 2012 18:02:48 +0000

Even the most healthy of eaters can’t love every single veggie. You could cover the broccoli you despise with melted cheese to make those florets more palatable, but of course that’s not a superhealthy option. Here’s a healthy trick to help those unfavorite veggies go down: mix them with veggies you love. If it’s mashed potatoes you crave, add chopped kale to your bowl, or grill peppers or zucchini with your beloved onions. If you’re a huge pasta fan, toss mushrooms into the tomato sauce, or mix steamed carrots with cubes of sweet potato. When you eat veggies you don’t care for with ones you can’t live without, you can just focus on the flavors you love while still reaping the nutritional benefits from those unwanted veggies. Source: Flickr User VirtualErn

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Smarter Eats: Mix Veggies You Hate With Ones You Love

What Keeps The Five-Year Engagement’s Emily Blunt Healthy and Fit

Dr Dreams — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 22:25:09 +0000

If the movie trailer for The Five-Year Engagement is any indication, then we’re in for a treat! The romantic comedy is set to hit theaters tomorrow, and to celebrate, we’re taking a look at how its star Emily Blunt stays so healthy and fit. She lets herself indulge : Emily has been vocal about avoiding strict diets (with the exception of shaping up for a few movie roles ), instead choosing to enjoy things in moderation – whether that be pasta, cheese, or any other food commonly off limits. But, when it’s time to let loose, she gives herself a free pass. Emily told Women’s Health that while on a trip to Paris, she did nothing but “eat cheese and bread.” She keeps active in her relationship : Whether it’s touring the Hamptons on bikes or surfing on a Hawaiian getaway , Emily and husband John Krasinski are never content to just sit at home. But perhaps the best motivation keeping the pair fit are the almost-daily walks they take together with Finn , their red Labrador. Learn what Emily’s fitness routine is after the break!

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What Keeps The Five-Year Engagement’s Emily Blunt Healthy and Fit

New Mad Cow Case Poses No Risk, USDA Says

Martin Neumann — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 20:50:03 +0000

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is reporting a case of mad cow disease in a California dairy cow, the first new case in the U.S. since 2006, but says consumers shouldn’t be worried about any human health risk. The agency says that no meat from the animal entered the food supply, the Wall Street Journal reports . The animal in question has been destroyed, and milk doesn’t transmit mad cow, the USDA said in a statement . Mad cow, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is a neurological disorder that has been linked to a rare, fatal human disease known as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease . Both are so-called prion diseases, caused by an abnormal protein, and it’s believed that humans can contract VCJD by eating meat from animals with mad cow. There have been three reported cases in U.S. residents, but all were believed to have been exposed to mad cow outside the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For more information, here’s a link to the USDA’s fact sheets on protections against mad cow disease in the U.S.

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New Mad Cow Case Poses No Risk, USDA Says

Say Olé: 12 Healthy Mexican Recipes

Dr Dreams — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:35:29 +0000

Looking to lighten things up a little for your upcoming Cinco de Mayo celebrations? The fun and festive holiday is just around the corner, but all the food can get a little overwhelming. Whether you’re planning a big bash or you want to try a lighter version of these sometimes calorie-laden foods, we’ve got you covered. The next time you crave some Mexican fare, tempt your taste buds with these 12 healthier recipes. View Slideshow ›

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Say Olé: 12 Healthy Mexican Recipes

Healthy Dose Link Time: McDonald’s in 26 American Hospitals

Martin Neumann — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:17:44 +0000

What’s McDonald’s doing in 26 of our nation’s hospitals? – Mind Body Green Get your nosh: two dozen snacks, all under 200 calories – Real Simple Not a passing fad, hula-hooping is a fun way to tone your belly – Health Learn the forbidden foods that actually work to keep you slim – Self Why kicking back and relaxing is essential to good health – HuffPost Healthy Living Cruise into Spring on two wheels with these stylish bikes – Olivia Palermo Try this booty-busting treadmill routine. Hint: it’s intervals – Peanut Butter Fingers Avoid these six surprising foods that make your seasonal allergies worse – Prevention

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Healthy Dose Link Time: McDonald’s in 26 American Hospitals

The Best and Worst Foods to Eat on Your Wedding Day

Dr Dreams — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 11:26:28 +0000

We are pumped to share one of our fave stories from Fitness Magazine here on FitSugar! The last thing you probably want to think about on your wedding day is the food you can and cannot eat. But you might be interested to know that what you munch on can make a big difference in how you feel on the big day. Here, the best and worst foods to nosh on before and after saying, “I do.” The Secret Superfood: Asparagus It might not be the first food that comes to mind when planning your menu, but according to Lauren O’Connor, MS, RD, munching on some stalks throughout the day has some big perks. O’Connor says asparagus has diureticlike properties that can help fight bloating, along with keeping you fuller longer due to the high fiber content. And when you’re trying to look good in a custom-fit wedding dress, these two things are kind of a big deal. For On-the-Go Grazing: Homemade Trail Mix Your wedding day will be the happiest day of your life and also the longest. It’s important to have a stash of snacks on hand to prevent mindless munching until your next meal. Lauren Harris-Pincus, MS, RD, and Kathleen Siegel, RD, CDN, of NutritionBabes.com suggest creating your own trail mix with dried fruit, almonds, walnuts, and seeds to keep your hunger in check no matter how hectic the day gets. No time to DIY ? Fresh fruit is another option to fill you up fast. See which other foods are wedding-day-approved after the break!

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The Best and Worst Foods to Eat on Your Wedding Day