Lifted from
Reader's Digest, under their 13 things trending topics, here are the
13 things you never knew about your weight. From its original article title, I just thought I need to think of a different blog post title.
Enjoy the read, friends!
1. It Really Is Genetic. In some scientific studies, obesity and being over weight can be adopted from your mom, or dad, or grandfather or grandmother who are actually experiencing the same. But, proper exercise can prevent the risk. So if your dad and/or mom who are actually over weight, and you still have the normal body weight now, you better start living healthy asap. Haha.
2. Some People Just Have More Fat Cells. Even if you've lost a few pounds (or gained some), your fat-cell count remains, holding tight to the fat already inside and forever thirsting to be filled up with more. (To add insult to injury, the fat cells of overweight and obese people hold more fat too.)
3. You Can Change Your Metabolism. According to studies, as you gain more fat, it becomes harder to lose it. So meaning, when you gain more, your metabolism will slow down, so it'll be harder for you to burn fat. Hmmm.. so again, exercise will make it easier and will make you healthy.
4. Stress Fattens You Up. Agree much. And it can also lose weight to some. Stressful circumstances (your bank account, your boss) spark cravings for carbohydrate-rich snack foods, which in turn calm stress hormones. To whittle yourself back down to size, in addition to your usual workout routine, make time for stress relief—whether it's a yoga class or quality time with family.
5. Mom's Pregnancy Sealed Your Fate. A mother's cigarettes increase the risk of low birth weight, and alcohol can damage her baby's brain. So why wouldn't unhealthy foods wreak similar havoc? A growing body of science suggests that sugary and fatty foods, consumed even before you're born, do exactly that. A Pennington study on rodents reports that overweight females have higher levels of glucose and free fatty acids floating around in the womb than normal-weight ones do. These molecules trigger the release of proteins that can upset the appetite-control and metabolic systems in the developing brain.
Women weighed less after the surgery, as expected, but their children were also half as likely to be obese. Because siblings have such similar genetic profiles, the researchers attributed the weight differences to changes in the womb environment. Moms-to-be, take note: You can give your kids a head start by eating well before they're born.
6. Sleep More, Lose More. When patients see Louis Aronne, MD, past president of the Obesity Society and author of the forthcoming book The Skinny, they're as likely to have their sleep assessed as their eating habits. If patients are getting less than seven to eight hours, Dr. Aronne may prescribe more shut-eye rather than the latest diet or drug. With more sleep, he says, "they have a greater sense of fullness, and they'll spontaneously lose weight."
Why? University of Chicago researchers reported that sleep deprivation upsets our hormone balance, triggering both a decrease in leptin (which helps you feel full) and an increase of ghrelin (which triggers hunger). As a result, we think we're hungry even though we aren't—and so we eat. Indeed, sleep may be the cheapest and easiest obesity treatment there is.
This really is insteresting. I thought otherwise. :)
7. Your Spouse's Weight Matters. The researchers concluded that obesity seems to spread through social networks. Also shows that weight gain and loss can be, well, contagious.
Obviously, if your partner is a gym-person or a health buff who launch his/her own weight-loss plan and healthy habits... who would not dive into it as well? Diba?
8. Achoo! A Virus Can Cause Obesity. Adenoviruses are responsible for a host of ills, from upper respiratory tract problems to gastrointestinal troubles. The link to fat was uncovered when researchers at the University of Wisconsin injected chickens with the viruses and found that certain strains fattened them up.
Stem cells, known for their chameleonlike abilities to transform, also turned into fat cells when infected with the viruses. "The virus seems to increase the number of fat cells in the body as well as the fat content of these cells," says Nikhil Dhurandhar, PhD, now an associate professor of infections and obesity at Pennington.
Human studies, including comparisons of twins, suggest that obese people are indeed more likely to harbor antibodies for a particular virus, known as adenovirus-36.
So I guess to prevent this, we can have our flu shots. Now.
9. Cookies Really Are Addictive. While food is not addictive the way cocaine or alcohol is, scientists in recent years have found some uncanny similarities. When subjects at Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia were shown the names of foods they liked, the parts of the brain that got excited were the same parts activated in drug addicts. It may have to do with dopamine, the hormone linked to motivation and pleasure, say researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York. If obese people have fewer dopamine receptors, they may need more food to get that pleasurable reaction.
Hmm, yes this can be very true. Right, Dar?
10. Ear Infections Can Taint Your Taste Buds. Could an ear infection, which can damage a taste nerve running through the middle ear, be the missing link? After tabulating 6,584 questionnaires, the team at Linda Bartoshuk's taste lab at the University of Florida discovered that those over 35 who had suffered several ear infections had almost double the chance of being obese.
Responses to additional questions provided clues as to why. Former ear-infection patients were a little more likely to love sweets and fatty foods—perhaps because the damaged nerve causes them to have a higher threshold for sensing sweetness and fattiness. Even a small increase in calories from bad food choices adds up over time.
Childhood ear infections are as hard to avoid as the colds that tend to bring them on, but limiting passive smoke seems to drive down incidents of ear infection. If you're an overweight adult who suffered a severe ear infection as a child, it may be worth paying attention to the taste and texture of your food. Simply finding healthier substitutes, such as fruit instead of candy, or olive oil instead of butter, may help drive you toward eating better and weighing less.
I didn't know this, 'til now. I know a person who have an ear infection and now, he gained triple his normal weight. Gosh. True enough.
11. Antioxidants Are Also Anti-Fat. Free radicals are now blamed not only for making you look old but also for making you fat. Zane Andrews, PhD, a neuroendocrinologist at Monash University in Australia, says these oxidizing molecules damage the cells that tell us we're full. Free radicals emerge when we eat (something even the keenest dieter must do to survive), but they're especially prevalent when we gorge on candy bars, chips, and other carbohydrates. With every passing year, these fullness signifiers suffer wear and tear-causing the "stop eating!" signal to get weaker and appetites (and possibly our stomachs) to get bigger. The best way to fight back? Avoid the junk and load up on colorful, antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables.
So I did some research on different Antioxidants Food you can start on:
1. Antioxidant Fruits
- Berries (Cherry, blackberry, strawberry, raspberry, crowberry, blueberry, bilberry/wild blueberry, black currant), mulberry, pomegranate, grape, orange, plum, pineapple, kiwi fruit, grapefruit, guava.
Antioxidant concentrations in some fruits are: about 500 mg per 100 g in guavas, 330 mg in plums, 170 mg in mangoes, 135 mg in pomegranates, 125mg in apples and 30 mg in bananas. Watermelons and pineapples offer the least protection for the body's fight against free radicals, according to Dr Sreeramulu reported in the Telegraph (2012) and to be published in the Food Research International Journal. The study found that guavas are the ultimate super food with the highest concentration of antioxidants.
2. Antioxidant Vegetables
- Kale, chili pepper, red cabbage, peppers, parsley, artichoke, Brussels sprouts, spinach, lemon, ginger, red beets.
3. Dry Fruits high in antioxidants
4. Antioxidant Legumes
- Broad beans, pinto beans, soybeans.
5. Antioxidant Nuts and seeds
- Pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, ground nut or peanuts, sunflower seeds.
Peanuts contain high concentrations of antioxidant polyphenols, roasting boosts its overall antioxidant content by as much as 22 per cent. Roasted peanuts are far richer in antioxidants than apples, beets and carrots and comparable to the antioxidant content of strawberries and blackberries.
6. Antioxidant Cereals
- Barley, millet, oats, corn.
7. Antioxidant Spices
- cloves, cinnamon, oregano
12. Pick a Diet, Any Diet. With every new guideline and selling point, each diet acknowledges that there are really four basic rules to healthy eating (drumroll, please):
Consume carbs in the form of whole grains and fiber.
Avoid trans fats and saturated fats.
Eat lean protein.
Fill up on fruits and vegetables.
The key to all of this, of course, is moderation rather than deprivation -- eating in a way you can live with. And for some people, an important side effect of eating more plant-based foods is that it's better for the environment.
Yun na yun!!! :) Diba?
13. You Can Be Fat and Fit. A growing body of literature suggests that size doesn't matter when it comes to your health. A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine surveyed 5,440 American adults and found that 51 percent of the overweight and almost 32 percent of the obese had mostly normal cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure, and other measures of good health.
Remember Steven Blair, the self-described short, fat, bald guy? At age 69, his blood pressure is in check, his cholesterol levels are normal, and his heart is strong. What's more, he may have even more positive vital signs, according to his recent study in the journal Obesity: Men who are fit (determined by their performance on a treadmill) have a lower risk of dying of cancer than out-of-shape guys, regardless of their body mass index, waist size, or percentage of body fat.
The news is heartening, says Blair: "We don't have great tools to change people's weight, but we know we can change their fitness levels."
While reading this, may mga naiisip akong kaibigan at kakilala na who are actually going through this kind of situation. And in case you guys don't have much time researching and reading about how to lose weight, feel healthy, and prevent to becoming over weight or obese, I wish this post could help! :)
For me, just never allow someone to justify your looks, or physical appearance. A healthy mind and a clean soul is best than a perfect body, or perfect life. ;)
The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd druther not. ~Mark Twain
