As a Matter of Fat

As a Matter of Fat - What's Up, USANA?

By Matt Jaggi in Infographic

All it takes is opening a cupboard or searching through the fridge to discover the truth: we are obsessed with low-fat foods. From fat-free salad dressings and light potato chips to low-fat frozen waffles and 100-calorie snack packs—somewhere along the line, we were taught to shun fat from our diets.
Ironically, a closer look at the nutrition labels on these fat-free foods often uncovers something worse: large amounts of refined carbohydrates and sugars, which can be detrimental to good health.
What’s more startling is the fact that even though Americans have been advised consistently over the last 30 years to decrease their fat consumption, obesity continues to rise steadily. In fact, USDA data suggests the average daily calorie intake for adults in the United States has increased by 24.5 percent between 1970 and 2000. That’s a whopping 530 extra calories a day on average.
And where are most of these extra calories coming from? Surprisingly, most of them come from the refined carbohydrates found in unhealthy snack foods—not fats.
So how did the idea that all fats are bad get started? Check out fat’s large history in the infographic below to learn more.
It’s almost like a Nancy Drew and the Case of the Bad Fats story.

High-intensity exercise may influence appetite regulation and food selection

Exercise effects both lifestyle and health.  New research provides insight into how exercise may encourage healthier dietary choices.

At a Glance


Increased physical activity is associated with long-term successful weight maintenance due to mechanisms more complex than just increased energy expenditure. A study using MRI imaging has shown that intense exercise not only affects energy output, but may also influence how people respond to food.

Read more about this research below. 

Short periods of intense exercise are known to suppress hunger through appetite regulating hormones. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition compared the effects of high-intensity exercise on central (brain) response to visual food stimuli.  
 

The researchers recruited 15 healthy lean men in their early twenties. The study participants completed two 60 minute tests: exercise (running at 70% maximum aerobic capacity) and a resting control. After each test, images of high- and low- calorie foods were viewed and the brain response to the foods was measured using an MRI.      

After the exercise session, thirst and core body temperature were increased while appetite response was significantly suppressed. Exercise significantly suppressed ghrelin (an appetite stimulating hormone) and enhanced the release of peptide YY (an appetite reducing hormone). When compared to the resting control, neural (brain) response in the brain’s reward related regions were stimulated in response to viewing the images of low-calorie foods, but suppressed upon viewing images of high-calorie foods.  

This study found that high intensity exercise increases neural responses in reward-related regions of the brain in response to images of low-calorie foods, and suppresses activation during the viewing of high-calorie foods. These central responses are associated with exercise-induced changes in peripheral signals related to hydration and appetite-regulation.

Exercise is a well-known important component of a healthy lifestyle. This study provides further evidence that exercise can do more than just providing a caloric deficit, it may also influence you to make healthier food choices.   

Crabtree DR, et al. The effects of high-intensity exercise on neural responses to images of food. Am J Clin Nutr. 2014 Feb;99(2):258-67. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.113.071381. Epub 2013 Dec 4.

Food Pyramid Revised

The Food Pyramid Revisted

The USDA has recently revised their recommendations for a healthy diet. The food pyramid has now been replaced by a food plate.

The new food recommendations call for a much greater amount of vegetables and fruit, with smaller portions of carbohydrates, fats and meat.

Harvard's School of Public Health a slightly different version of the healthy eating plate from USDA's presumably due to the influence of agribusiness and commodity interests on the USDA.

You can see a comparison on their website, along with 5 tips for using the healthy plates and pyramid. The healthy plate-pyramid are handy guidelines for anyone who desires to make positive changes in their diet because diet is a basic factor in health outcomes.


 photo credit: IPhilVeryGood via photopin cc

Have You Joined the Wellness Revolution Yet?

The trend toward health and wellness continues nearly ten years on since Paul Zane Pilzer first published The Wellness Revolution. In that book, Pilzer predicted explosive growth in the health and wellness field in the coming decade. As we near the 10th anniversary since the publication of that book, that trend continues despite the weak economy of the past few years. Health and wellness has been one of the strongest and most recession resistant areas of the economy.

"Wellness industry products and services have perhaps the strongest legs of any product or service, as people immediately notice when someone has a wellness experience and are anxious to duplicate the results."
-- Paul Zane Pilzer
There are signs of this all around, as many more persons are seeking out alternative health practitioners who emphasize prevention rather than treatment of disease led by the baby boomer generation, but now closly followed by younger generations too.
A growing awareness of the effects of toxic chemicals in agribusiness as well as concerns about the use of hormones, antibiotics and general inhumane practices of raising livestock has contributed to the rising popularity of organic foods. The organic products, which have been raised without the use of chemical fertilizers, toxic pesticides, hormones and antibiotics has been a growth area in agriculture.
As consumers seek healthier alternatives, organic farming has morphed from the fringes of agricultural producers to main stream, as organic produce, dairy and other products are made available even in chain grocers such as Wal-Mart. Along with that is the increasing number of farmers markets where shoppers are able to buy locally produced food items ranging from flower plants and herbs, fruits and vegetables, honey, dairy, meat, poultry, and even baked goods directly from the producers.
Fitness and exercise venues are also areas that continue to grow although impacted somewhat by the recession as some people cut back on their spending for monthly memberships. Yoga, martial arts, jazzercise, health clubs, and other programs remain popular as people realize the value of physical activity for health and well-being.
These health trends are the result of increasing numbers of people who desire to take more control over their personal health and well being, by seeking more choices both in their diet and their options for physical fitness as well.