M&M’s as diet food?
Chronic dieters tend to consume more calories when foods and packages are smaller, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. In a series of studies, the researchers assessed peoples' perceptions of M&Ms in mini-packs versus regular-sized packages. They found that participants tended to have conflicting thoughts about the mini-packs: They thought of them as "diet food," yet they overestimated how many calories the packages contained. In subsequent studies, the researchers assessed participants' relationship with food, dividing them into "restrained" and "unrestrained" eaters. The "restrained" eaters tended to consume more calories from mini-packs than "unrestrained" participants.
Source: The Effects of Reduced Food Size and Package Size on the Consumption Behavior of Restrained and Unrestrained Eaters.
Fact #2:
“Quercetin, the virus slayer.”
Mice given quercetin, a naturally occurring substance found in fruits and vegetables were less likely to contract the flu, according to a study published by The American Physiological Society. The study also found that stressful exercise increased the susceptibility of mice to the flu, but quercetin canceled out that negative effect. The new study was conducted using mice, but if quercetin provides a similar benefit for humans, it could help endurance athletes, soldiers and others undergoing difficult training regimens, as well as people under psychological stress.
DFH offers two quercetin products, Quercetin + Nettles and Quercetin Ascorbate. Don’t forget our Resveratrol Synergy contains 200 mg quercetin along with 200 mg resveratrol.
Source: Quercetin reduces susceptibility to influenza infection following stressful exercise.
Fact #3:
“I think, therefore I…exercise.”
“Directed Thinking” involves asking people to think about information related to a topic that they already know which directs them to action. A study in the Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research shows how “directed thinking” led to an increase in exercise performance and fitness in sedentary college students.
“Our results suggest that people who are out of shape and at risk for serious health problems may be able to think their own way out of their unhealthy lifestyle and onto the path towards better physical fitness,” the authors conclude. “It could change the way that people think about motivating themselves and others.”
Source: 'Directed Thinking' Increases Time Spent Exercising.
Fact #4:
Calcium and colon cancer.
Men who have too much calcium in their bloodstreams may have an increased risk of fatal prostate cancer, according to a new analysis from Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the University of Wisconsin. Too little calcium in blood, less than 7 milligrams per deciliter, can cause uncontrolled muscular convulsions or contractions. Too much calcium, above 14 milligrams per deciliter, can cause a coma. "Your body obviously cannot afford to oscillate between convulsions and coma, so the range of serum calcium is tightly controlled”, said researcher Gary G. Schwartz.
"To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine prostate cancer risk in relation to serum calcium," Schwartz and Skinner wrote. "These results support the hypothesis that high serum calcium, or a factor strongly associated with it, such as high serum parathyroid hormone, increases the risk for fatal prostate cancer."
DFH’s Tri-K contains vitamin K in both the MK-4 and MK-7 forms, which helps bind calcium into the bone matrix, taking calcium from the blood serum and thus improving bone integrity.
Source: Serum calcium and incident and fatal prostate cancer in the national health and nutrition examination survey.
Fact #5:
“To B or not to B.”
A deficiency of B-vitamins may cause vascular cognitive impairment, according to a new study. Aron Troen, who is an assistant professor at Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, explains, "Mice fed a diet deficient in folate and vitamins B12 and B6 demonstrated significant deficits in spatial learning and memory compared with normal mice." "The B-vitamin-deficient mice also developed plasma homocysteine concentrations that were seven-fold higher than the concentrations observed in mice fed a normal diet," adds Troen.
Studies have linked elevations in plasma homocysteine with an increased risk for cognitive impairment. "However," Troen says, "it has not been determined that homocysteine is directly responsible. Based on the findings of our study, we theorize that a deficiency of B-vitamins induces a metabolic disorder that manifests with high homocysteine, as well as cerebral microvascular dysfunction."
Source: B-vitamin deficiency causes hyperhomocysteinemia and vascular cognitive impairment in mice.
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