Targeting “breakfast-skipping teens” in a study by University of Missouri, researchers found that eating a healthy breakfast, especially one high in protein, increases satiety and reduces hunger throughout the day.
Breakfast-eaters tend to have lower rates of heart disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, the American Heart Association reported, but the group says the science isn’t strong enough to suggest that people who don’t normally eat breakfast should start.
What The Scans Say
In addition, using fMRI brain scans, the researchers found that eating a protein-rich breakfast reduces the brain signals that cause hard-to-resist cravings later in the day. The study used fMRI to identify brain activation in specific regions related to food motivation and reward.
The researchers decided to target ‘breakfast-skipping’ teens. The reason? First, skipping breakfast has been strongly associated with unhealthy snacking, overeating (especially at night), weight gain and obesity. Second, approximately 60 percent of adolescents’ skip breakfast on a daily basis.
What Research Says
For three weeks, the teens either continued to skip breakfast or consumed 500-calorie breakfast meals (containing average quantities of protein) or higher protein meals. At the end of each week, the volunteers completed appetite and satiety questionnaires. Right before lunch, the volunteers completed a brain scan, using fMRI, to identify brain activation responses.
Compared to breakfast skipping, both breakfast meals led to increased fullness and reduced hunger throughout the morning. The brain scans showed less activity in the areas of the brain related to food cravings. However, the higher protein breakfast led to even greater changes in appetite, satiety and cravings compared to the normal protein breakfast.
Protein + Breakfast Ideas
• Enjoy a healthy omelet with eggs, turkey and avocado.
• Have a smoothie prepared with pea, rice, or whey protein.
• High protein “dinner leftovers” can work.
• Sugar free yogurt or cottage cheese mixed with fresh fruit and nuts is a nice way to start the day.
• High protein, low sugar cereals and breads can work if you are not gluten sensitive. Nut butter spread is better than jelly or honey.
• Spread peanut or almond butter on an apple or banana.
• Enjoy a small palm full of healthy nuts (walnuts and almonds are great choices).
We Can Help
For other great tips, hundreds of healthy recipes, and interactive journals to help you get thinner, happier and smarter, check out our online support community at BrainFitLife.
This research study will make you stand up and pay attention, or at least we hope so.
A recent study found that sitting six or more hours a day increased the risk of early death from all causes by an average of 35% for women and 18% for men — even if you exercise.
What Research Says
Researchers from the American Cancer Society compared a large group of long-time sitters to people who sat less than three hours a day and controlled for factors like smoking.
Death from heart disease was the biggest risk associated with prolonged sitting, and again women were more vulnerable.
Failing to exercise plus sitting for long stretches proved even more hazardous. The combination of little physical activity and long periods of sitting was linked to a 94% higher risk of premature death for women and a 48% higher risk for men compared with those who sat the least and exercised the most.
The Results
1. Women who sat more than six hours a day faced a 33% higher risk of early death from cardiovascular disease compared with women who sat fewer than three hours a day. Long-sitting men had an 18% increased risk of premature death from heart disease.
2. In cancer, there was a 30% higher risk of early death in women who sat the longest compared with women who sat the least. There was no indication of increased cancer risk among men who sat the longest.
What You Can Do
Researchers believe this may be because uninterrupted sitting can cause large muscle groups to shut down and leads to damaging metabolic damage.
Considering this study, couch sitters and computer programmers may want to adjust their habits. Here’s some ideas:
1. Stand up, move around and get your blood flowing at least once an hour.
2. Some people set a timer to remind themselves to get up and do something else for five to ten minutes every hour.
3. Increase your steps.
4. Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
5. Park further from the door so you have walk further.
6. Bring a pair of tennis shoes to work and do a quick walk around the block after lunch.
7. Do 3 or 4 ten-minute “walk abouts” during the day if you work at home.
We Can Help
A great way to get off the couch and get motivated to move is to join our online coaching program at home. First, we must acknowledge there is significant room for improvement in mental health care as there remains an unacceptably high number of suicides among veterans, and the success rates for PTSD, depression, and anxiety disorders have not improved in years.
In addition, the fallout from 9/11/01 will forever impact veterans, families and our society for at least 70 more years. PTSD, depression, and traumatic brain injuries (TBI), common among our veterans, all increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.
These problems will not be solved without intense, long-term focus and commitment. Anything this country can do to improve mental health care to our war-injured, we should do. It is more than extending a helping hand.
Leslie and Her Story of 9/11 and PTSD
We asked Leslie how she deals with reoccurrences of PTSD, she says she doesn’t want to spiritualize the very real biological issues in her brain; but that for her, she begins by going to God in her soul and spirit in prayer and seeking His help and peace. She also seeks treatment from professionals trained in PTSD, along with reaching out to understanding family and friends. Writing and comforting others has also been therapeutic.
Leslie’s Daily Reminders
Leslie speaks kind reminders to herself, saying, “I am okay to not be okay. I am still beautiful, God loves me and He loves my brain that got so wounded by this trauma. I will climb out of the PTSD place, rung by messy rung. Sometimes when I am triggered it only takes a couple of days. But in the past, it has also taken weeks and even months to get balanced again.”
What Does PTSD Look Like on a SPECT Scan?
In a brain SPECT scan, PTSD shows up in a “diamond pattern.” The right temporal lobe, for example, involved in reliving and re-enacting past experiences and is one of the points of the “diamond” that lights up on a scan. Reliving past experiences or having flashbacks is one of the symptoms of PTSD.
When it is over-active, it tends to be hyper-vigilant which is why people with PTSD, when triggered, feel on the alert or that something or someone is out to harm them.
Amen Clinics Can Help Today
The good news is that PTSD can be treated. At Amen Clinics, we use a variety of natural methods, including eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) and neurofeedback to help people with PTSD. If you or someone you love is suffering with PTSD, call us today at (888) 288-9834 or tell us more online to seek guidance.
Do those with more pep in their step live longer?
What Research Says
Studies show that after age 65, one strong predictor of longevity is walking speed. Those who can still walk at a decent pace after age 75, have an even better chance of living even longer.
An 80-year-old man who clocks 1 mph has a 10% probability of reaching 90, while a woman of the same age walking at that pace has a 23% chance. Now let’s assume this pair is hoofing it a little faster at a speed of 3.5 mph. Now, the 80-year-old man has 84% probability of reaching 90, while a woman would have an 86% chance.
Better Than Happy Pills
If you’re prone to anxiety and depression, exercise is one of the best natural treatments that exists—and it’s free! Exercise activates the same pathways in the brain as morphine and increases the release of endorphins, your natural feel-good neurotransmitters.
A depression study compared the benefits of exercise to those of the prescription drug, Zoloft. After 12 weeks, the exercise proved equally effective as Zoloft in curbing depression. And after 10 months, exercise surpassed the effects of the drug with zero negative side effects! Exercise is not only a fountain of youth but also the closest thing to a happy pill that you will ever find.
Turn Back Your Biological Clock
According to research done at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, individuals with weaker muscles appear to have a higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease and declines in cognitive function over time. Those at the 90th percentile of muscle strength had about a 61 percent reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease compared with those in the 10th percentile.
Exercise improves telomere maintenance by increasing the activity of the enzyme telomerase that builds and repairs telomeres.
What Is a Telomere?
Telomeres are the part of your chromosomes that control aging. They represent your biological clock.
When you are young your telomeres are longer and progressively shorten with age. But the rate at which that shortening occurs is directly influenced by lifestyle choices. So at any age, healthier individuals have longer telomeres than their unhealthy counterparts.
We Can Help
If you or someone you know needs help getting back on track, we would love to speak with you today. Please reach out at 888-288-9834 or schedule a visit.
