Lose weight without going on a diet

ISLAMABAD: A study from the University of Cornell found out that a fixed portion of food when eaten from a larger plate, diners felt hungrier and ate more.

While, the same portion of food, when eaten from a smaller plate, the meal seemed substantial and thus eaten less, The Times of India reported.

It is established from an Italian study that there is a relationship between the fork size and the level of consumption.

The research found that diners who used smaller forks ate more than those with larger ones.

Drinking water before meals cuts down the level of consumption. It is believed that those who drink two to three glasses of water before each meal lose weight faster than those who drink water after the meal is over.

Keeping unhealthy snacks out of sight can benefit loads.

Chocolates, crunches when out of reach reduce binge eating.

Be careful about your friends. Even if they insist you on indulging on those fat-filled snacks and heavy meals, refrain.

Remember, at the end you will be the only person to suffer if you give into their pressures.

Remember to read the food labels before you pick up something.

Nutrition labels on food packages eat around 5 per cent less fat than those who do not bother to read them.

Snacking at night often tends to increase your weight. Since there is no form of exercise done at night, this habit will land you in serious problem if you do not put an end to it instantly.

Thin people have large appetites. Be careful. Since you do not figure on the same chart, you should be cautious about what you eat so that you don't tend to put on more weight.


Source: http://www.geo.tv

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Psychological distress can lower life expectancy: Study

A new study conducted by the British researchers indicates that people who suffer from mild mental diseases such as anxiety or depression are more likely to die early.

According to the study, funded by independent charity Wellcome Trust, that was published in the British Medical Journal, scientists found a link between psychological distress and death.

A team of researchers from the University College London and Edinburgh University followed the case by analyzing the premature deaths from conditions such as heart disease and cancer of 68,000 people in England from 1994 to 2004.

People who experienced symptoms of anxiety or depression on a standardized scale had a higher risk of death from several causes, including cardiovascular disease, than those without any such symptoms, the researchers found after reviewing the survey data and death certificates.

The result suggested that low-level distress raised the risk by 16 percent, while more serious problems increased it by 67 percent, though lifestyle factors such as drinking and smoking were taken into account.

"While this study looks at depression and anxiety, people with severe mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia die, on average, 20 years earlier than the rest of us," said chief executive of the charity Rethink Paul Jenkins. (APP)

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Too Much Sitting Can Kill You

It’s not just how much physical activity a person gets, it’s how much time spent sitting that increases the risk of death, U.S. researchers say.

Researchers at the American Cancer Society say time spent sitting was independently associated with total mortality, regardless of physical activity level.

Study leader Alpa Patel and colleagues analyzed survey responses from 53,440 men and 69,776 women who had no history of cancer, heart attack, stroke or emphysema /other lung disease enrolled in the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Prevention II study in 1992.

The study finds women who said they spent 6 hours per day sitting during leisure time were 37 percent more likely to die during the time period studied — 1993 to 2006 — than those who sat fewer than 3 hours a day, while men who sat more than 6 hours a day were 18 percent more likely to die than those who sat fewer than 3 hours per day.

In addition, the study says women and men who both sat more during their leisure time and were less physically active were 94 percent and 48 percent more likely, respectively, to die compared with those who reported sitting the least and being most active. (Yahoo News)

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Smoking doubles depression risk

CHRISTCHURCH: Researchers from Otago University’s long-running Christchurch Health and Development Study found nicotine addicts were more than twice as likely to have symptoms of depression as non-smokers.

The study confirms research connecting smoking and depression but shows the risks are unrelated to smokers having a predisposition to the mental illness.

Lead researcher Professor David Fergusson said it was not the case that people who were more likely to get depression were also more likely to smoke, but that smoking increased people’s chances of developing depression.

The Christchurch study involved more than 1000 people who were asked at ages 18, 21 and 25 about their smoking habits and whether they had symptoms of depression.
(Geo News)

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Honey Kills Bacteria: Research

AMSTERDAM: Scientists have identified a secret ingredient in honey that kills bacteria.

They have found that bees make a protein that they add to the honey, called defensin-1, which could one day be used to treat burns and skin infections and to develop new drugs that could combat antibiotic-resistant infections.

“We have completely elucidated the molecular basis of the antibacterial activity of a single medical-grade honey, which contributes to the applicability of honey in medicine,” said a researcher involved in the work from the Department of Medical Microbiology at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam.

“Honey or isolated honey-derived components might be of great value for prevention and treatment of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria,” he added.

To make the discovery, researchers investigated the antibacterial activity of medical-grade honey in test tubes against a panel of antibiotic-resistant, disease-causing bacteria.

They developed a method to selectively neutralize the known antibacterial factors in honey and determine their individual antibacterial contributions. Ultimately, researchers isolated the defensin-1 protein, which is part of the honeybee immune system and is added by bees to honey.

After analysis, the scientists concluded that the vast majority of honey’s antibacterial properties come from that protein. (Geo News)

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