Fill Up on Filling Foods

By Al Sears, MD

Last weekend, I went to a picnic at my son’s school. (The warm weather here in Florida allows us to barbeque during the winter.) As I stood in line to get my burger, I watched the other parents piling huge mounds of food onto their paper plates. Then I watched many go back for seconds of French fries, potato salad, and homemade brownies.

This made me think of a pair of studies I read recently.

In 1984, researchers from Penn State asked the students who were participating in their study to eat their meals in the school cafeteria … and to take as much food as they wanted. Then, in 2003, researchers from Rutgers did the same thing - and they found that their subjects put 20 percent to 50 percent more food on their plates than the Penn State students did in 1984.

Clearly, people are eating more than they used to. But why?

Here’s my take: It’s the kind of food we’re eating that makes us eat more. High-carb and highly processed foods lower sensitivity to a hormone called leptin. Leptin is the messenger that tells your brain "I’m full." Without it, you keep eating and eating.

The easiest way to eat smaller portions is to eat foods that make you feel full sooner. So instead of trying to deny yourself, focus on foods high in protein - like lean meats, poultry, fish, and nuts. These foods trigger the leptin receptors in your brain and give you the feeling that you’ve "had enough."

Another winning strategy is to use the glycemic index. Foods that score below 40 keep your blood sugar and insulin at low levels. This is the key to preventing weight gain if you’re going to a party or out to dinner and expect to be eating a lot.
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Worth Quoting: Rachael Ray on Persistence

"You have to be open-minded when those early opportunities present themselves. Take advantage of them, whether they’re going to make you a lot of money or not. I did 30-Minute Meals for five years on local television, and I earned nothing the first two years. Then I earned $50 a segment. I spent more than that on gas and groceries, but I really enjoyed making the show and I loved going to a viewer’s house each week. I knew I enjoyed it, so I stuck with it even though it cost me."

(Source: Business 2.0)
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Word to the Wise: Indolent

Someone who is "indolent" (IN-duh-lunt) - from the Latin for "not suffering pain" - is inclined to avoid work or other physical exertion.

Example (as used by John Bayley in Elegy for Iris): "We worked very hard - at least Iris [Murdoch] did; I was more naturally indolent."

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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #1940, 01-16-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.