Use olive oil to reduce fat
Olive oil leads to satiety, shows a study that points out the mechanism behind it. Reduced-fat food products are gaining popularity. More people are choosing “light” products in an attempt to lose weight, or at least in the hope that they would not gain pounds.
But whether these products are effective or not is a matter of dispute- while it is true that they contain fewer calories, people tend to overcompensate by eating more if they do not feel full. A study has shown how “natural” oils and fats regulate the sensation of feeling full after eating, with olive oil leading the way.
A daily dose
College kids who don't consume at least three servings of dairy daily are three times more likely to develop metabolic syndrome than those who do, a new study has found. Researchers from the University of Illinois studied 339 Mexican college applicants who filled out a food frequency questionnaire and were then evaluated for metabolic syndrome risk factors. “Only one in four young persons in the study was getting the recommended amount of dairy,” said researcher Margarita Teran-Garcia. That alarming finding means that three-fourths of the 18- to 25-year-old college applicants surveyed are at risk for metabolic syndrome, she said.
Brain filter
The brain's prefrontal cortex is thought to be the seat of cognitive control, working as a kind of filter that keeps irrelevant thoughts, perceptions and memories from interfering with a task at hand. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have shown that inhibiting this filter can boost performance for tasks in which unfiltered, creative thoughts present an advantage. The research was conducted by Sharon Thompson-Schill, the Christopher H Browne Distinguished Professor of Psychology and director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, and Evangelia Chrysikou, a member of her lab. They collaborated with Roy Hamilton and H Branch Coslett of the Department of Neurology and Abhishek Datta and Marom Bikson of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the City College.
Being playful
Secondary school students who follow an in-class mindfulness programme report reduced indications of depression, anxiety and stress up to six months later. Moreover, these students were less likely to develop pronounced depression-like symptoms. The study, conducted by Professor Filip Raes (Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU leuven), is the first to examine mindfulness in a large sample of adolescents in a school-based setting. Mindfulness is a form of meditation therapy focused on exercising ‘attentiveness'. Depression is often rooted in a downward spiral of negative feelings and worries. Once a person learns to more quickly recognise these feelings and thoughts, he or she can intervene before depression sinks in.
Causes for depression
A surprisingly high number of women have postpartum depressive symptoms, according to a new, large-scale study by a Medicine researcher. This is the largest scale depression screening of postpartum women and the first time a full psychiatric assessment has been done in a study of postpartum women who screened positive for depression. The study, which included a depression screening of 10,000 women, who had recently delivered infants at single obstetrical hospital, revealed a large percentage of women who suffered recurrent episodes of major depression.