Surprising Foods That Fight Fat

Get excited: You can burn calories and combat fat by eating yummy food. "If you choose the right picks, studies show you can torch up to 300 extra calories a day," says Pamela Peeke, MD, author of The Hunger Fix. Whole, unrefined foods are your heroes. Your metabolism has to work harder to break them down than processed ones, so you're zapping more calories—and storing less as fat. These recipes double up (even triple up) on foods with serious metabolism-boosting power. Take that, dastardly fat!

Salmon
What a catch! Research suggests the omega-3s in salmon and other fatty fish help build muscle—and the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn. Omega-3s may also help reduce fat storage by lowering cortisol levels (scientists have yet to confirm how).
Go for: Two 3-oz servings of fatty fish per week.
Try this recipe: Salmon Noodle Bowl

Yogurt
Calcium-rich foods have slimming superpowers. Get too little of this mineral and your body's more likely to pack away calories as fat, according to a review of studies. With up to 50 percent more calcium per ounce than milk, yogurt is a potent source. Better yet, its probiotics may help keep belly fat under control.
Go for: At least two servings a day.
Try these recipes:
Creamy Bean Dip
Cooling Raita

Keep reading for five more foods that fight fat.

Avocado
For a speedy metabolism, you need to keep inflammation in check and blood vessels clear and supple. Avocado's unique combo of essential fatty acids, monounsaturated fats, and antioxidants helps you do just that. Plus, one avocado's 14 grams of fiber kicks up your calorie burn.
Go for: One to two daily servings of foods high in healthy fats.
Try this recipe: Avocado Whip

Beans
High in resistant starch and fiber, beans force your system to use extra energy (as in calories) to break them down. Research from the University of Colorado suggests that if you choose foods high in resistant starch—it's also found in whole grains and not-quite-ripe bananas—you can increase your calorie-burning power by up to 24 percent over the course of the day.
Go for: One serving of a resistant-starch food per meal.
Try this recipe: Warm Two-Bean Chard Salad

Chili peppers
Feel the burn? It's more than mere sensation: chilies' heat signals the presence of capsaicin, a compound that, along with capsiate, can propel the body to scorch an extra 50 to 100 calories following a spicy meal.
Go for: Chilies as hot as you can stand. (But watch out! The hottest ones—habanero, Scotch bonnet, and Thai or Indian peppers—are too fiery for many people.)
Try these recipes:
Scrambled Eggs With Chilies
Roast Chicken With Yogurt-Chili Rub

Green tea
This packs caffeine and antioxidants called catechins, a dynamic duo believed to stimulate your nervous system and increase fat-burning. Studies suggest that drinking green tea can help you drop pounds and trim your waist.
Go for: Several cups a day (keeping in mind how caffeine affects you).
Try this recipe: Spiced Green Tea Smoothie

Coffee
You use it to wake up—and your metabolism will, too. The caffeine in one cup of joe temporarily perks up your metabolism by as much as 15 percent. Caffeine also helps mobilize the forces that burn stored fat.
Go for: One to two cups a day, especially before exercise.
Try this recipe: Spiced Coffee Shake.

read more here: http://www.fitsugar.com/Surprising-Foods-Fight-Fat-25237409

Should you be taking probiotics?

By Liz Graham
You could be forgiven for thinking that probiotics, or "good" bacteria found in our digestive system as well as in foods and supplements, hold the answer to all our health problems. They are available in a variety of forms, from yoghurts and fermented drinks to powders and capsules, and the health claims that accompany them are just as diverse. But what do the medical experts say?

"So far, the research says that probiotics aren't the cure-all everyone thinks they are, but they are beneficial for certain conditions," says Dr Daniel Lemberg, gastroenterologist and department head at Sydney Children's Hospital, and co-author of a review of probiotics research published in the Medical Journal Of Australia.

Dr Vicki Kotsirilos, a Melbourne-based GP and authority on integrative and complementary medicines, says probiotics are not a magic pill for health, but their benefi ts are "really exciting". "I'm thrilled to see patients benefit from them, and that those benefits are supported by a growing body of scientific evidence," she says.

The important message for consumers is that the type and strength make all the difference. "Different probiotics treat different conditions, in the same way as antibiotics do," Lemberg says.

The strength of a probiotic is measured in colony forming units (CFU). Experts and research differ on the minimum amount of CFU required in a dose of probiotic in order for it to be clinically effective, with recommendations ranging from two billion to more than 10 billion CFU per dose.

"Most foods may not contain adequate live concentrations of probiotics," Kotsirilos says.

body+soul spoke to several leading authorities on probiotics. Here are their verdicts.

Proven benefits for...............

Diarrhoea caused by antibiotics and infection

"This is an area where probiotics really make a difference," Lemberg says.

With antibiotic-related diarrhoea, which occurs in up to a quarter of patients, the research shows both Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and Saccharomyces boulardii help prevent symptoms, particularly in children, Lemberg says.

As a general guide, he advises taking probiotics alongside antibiotics and then for 10 to 14 days afterwards.

With infectious diarrhoea, which commonly affects young children, Lemberg says taking Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG early in the illness signifi cantly reduces the length of symptoms, but says you should check the dosage. "There has to be more than 10 billion CFU in a dose for it to work, so yoghurts aren't going to cut it."


Inflammatory bowel disease

There is solid evidence that the probiotic VSL#3 helps people with ulcerative colitis (the main type of infl ammatory bowel disease) after they have undergone surgery for the disease, Lemberg says. "It helps prevent a relapse, and helps prevent and treat pouchitis, a condition that may arise from the surgery," he says.

Ulcerative colitis is estimated to affect between 30,000 and 40,000 Australians.

Likely benefits for...

Female genital health

Kotsirilos says probiotics may help reduce the recurrence of vaginal candidiasis (thrush) and bacterial vaginosis.

"I've been using it for patients for 20 years, and it's backed by some research," Kotsirilos says.

She says the strains with the most evidence behind them are Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus acidophilus, which can be taken as vaginal pessaries.

"If it's a mild case, we may just use the good bacteria with hygiene advice, but if it's severe, I'd recommend a course of antibiotics followed by the probiotics."


Boosting immunity and recovery in highly active people

If you are one of the many who trained through winter for a running event and were struck down by a cold, a probiotic may help.

"There's some really exciting possibilities here," says Professor David Pyne, senior physiologist with the Australian Institute of Sport and a probiotics researcher.

In a recent research review, Pyne found probiotics reduce the duration and severity of colds in athletes and highly active people. "It's not going to improve your athletic performance, but it will allow you to get back to training and normal life quicker," he says.

While there is no one strain that has been proven to be the most effective, studies have shown beneficial results with the strains Lactobacillus fermentum and Lactobacillus casei (Shirota).

Pyne warns taking a probiotic isn't going to do much good if your diet, lifestyle and stress levels are unhealthy. "Your immune system is affected by a whole range of factors, so probiotics aren't a magic pill."


Irritable bowel syndrome

Experts don't all agree on the usefulness of probiotics in this area. Lemberg says the evidence is inconclusive, but Kotsirilos says there is some evidence supporting the strain Lactobacillus plantarum. She recommends it to some of her patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

"It can reduce the severity of abdominal pain and produce better-formed stools," she says, but adds that probiotics are just one aspect of IBS treatment. "It's just as important to eat fermented foods like sauerkraut, and foods rich in the soluble fi bre inulin, as they also build up good bacteria in the gut," she says.

read more here:

http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/health+healing/news+features/should+you+be+taking+probioticsr,19631

‘Anti-Hunger’ Yogurts and Smoothies Get New Food Ingredient

Promising results were reported here today from a proof-of-concept clinical trial of an “anti-hunger” ingredient for yogurt, fruit shakes, smoothies and other foods that would make people feel full longer and ease the craving to eat. Scientists described the ingredient, a new version of a food additive that has been in use for more than 50 years, at the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society.

The potential new tool in the battle of the bulge is methyl cellulose, a white powder that dissolves in cold water to form a thick solution that turns into a “gel” or gelatin-like material upon heating.

Methyl cellulose provides a pleasant texture and holds together the ingredients in hundreds of food products like baked goods, sweet and savory snacks and ready meals.

Carsten Huettermann, Ph.D., who presented the report, said that this is the first use of methyl cellulose as a satiety ingredient in food.

“This ingredient would make people feel full after eating smaller amounts of food,” Huettermann explained. “With that sense of fullness and hunger-satisfaction, they would not crave more food. In our first study, we saw that fewer calories were consumed at the following meal after eating our new product. Our next step now is to investigate in further studies the mechanism of action and whether this may have an impact on weight management.”

The updated methyl cellulose, named SATISFIT-LTG, showed promise for doing that in a controlled clinical trial that Huettermann discussed at the meeting. He is with Dow Wolff Cellulosics in Bomlitz, Germany, which manufactures methyl cellulose. Volunteers who consumed SATISFIT-LTG experienced a reduction in the sensation of hunger that lasted until the consumption of a following meal in which the volunteers could eat as much as they wanted (two hours after eating SATISFIT-LTG) and a statistically significant reduced intake of calories at this meal. The consumption of SATISFIT-LTG resulted in a 13 percent decrease in calorie intake.

Huettermann explained that conventional versions of methyl cellulose pass through the stomach rapidly and do not work as a satiety ingredient. SATISFIT-LTG, however, forms a gel at body temperature, and the gel lingers in the stomach before passing into the small intestine.

The scientists are developing SATISFIT-LTG as a potential ingredient in cold foods, such as smoothies and yogurts, and Huettermann said that work will continue based on the promising clinical trial results.