Health Care

Are midnight snacks sabotaging your diet? The surprising answer

By Elizabeth Somer, M.A., R.D

The late-night news is on and the fridge is beckoning. Must you resist? Not really—as long as you choose wisely and don’t overindulge in high-calorie comfort foods like ice cream and chips. “It’s the calories, not the time of day, that lead to weight gain,” says John Foreyt, Ph.D., director of the Behavioral Medicine Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and an expert on weight management.

But the midnight munchies can be a sign of an out-of-whack eating schedule, and they can lead to an unfortunate tendency to eat the bulk of your calories later in the day. The result: You wake up not feeling hungry, skip breakfast, then pig out again at night. “The problem here is not only that you are overeating at night. You’re also skipping the most important meal of the day: breakfast,” explains James Hill, Ph.D., the cofounder of the National Weight Control Registry and author of The Step Diet.

Research shows that breakfast—especially if it’s a healthy combination such as whole grain cereal, milk and fruit—is one of the most nutritious and lowfat meals of the day. So it makes sense that breakfast eaters (compared to skippers) take in fewer calories and have an easier time managing weight.

If midnight raids on the refrigerator are adding inches to your waistline, take a vow not to go into the kitchen after dinner. Or choose only healthy munchies like apples.

Get Your Antioxidants!

Researchers at the University of Oslo, Norway, analyzed 1,113 foods to identify those richest in antioxidants—healthful compounds that help slow cell aging. Spices, herbs, nuts, seeds, berries, fruit and vegetables all ranked high. The best? Blackberries, walnuts, strawberries, artichokes, cranberries, brewed coffee, raspberries, pecans, blueberries, ground cloves, grape juice and unsweetened baking chocolate.

Fast Food: Too High a Price!

A “value meal” at a fast-food restaurant may not be much of a deal. According to researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the additional 400 calories in a supersized meal cost 67 cents more and add 36 grams of fat to your body. From this meal, over the next year the added body weight will increase your gasoline costs by 5 cents, your food costs (to maintain that weight) by 36 cents and your health care costs by up to $6.64. And that’s not counting lost workdays, reduction in quality and length of life, and emotional costs of carrying excess weight.

source :www.healthyupdates.com

About the Author
Elizabeth Somer, M.A., R.D., is author of 10 Habits That Mess Up a Woman’s Diet and Age-Proof Your Body, as well as editor in chief of Nutrition Alert, a newsletter that summarizes current nutrition research. She also appears regularly on national television shows.