Eating Mediterranean

By Sandy Todd Webster IDEA Fitness Journal July/August 2011

A recent analysis of more than a half million healthy adults showed that following a Mediterranean diet was associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular mortality and overall mortality; a reduced incidence of cancer and cancer mortality; and a reduced incidence of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. The diet also has significant impact on a person’s waist circumference, HDL cholesterol levels, triglycerides levels, blood pressure levels and glucose metabolism.

The study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (March 15, 2011), was conducted by scientists from the region where the diet originated. Their study meta-analyzed findings from 50 previous epidemiological studies and clinical trials that had assessed the effect of a Mediterranean diet on metabolic syndrome and its components. Metabolic syndrome is defined as a combination of medical disorders that increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The 50 studies tracked a total of 534,906 individuals.

Instead of limiting total fat intake, the Mediterranean diet provides alternate options for the type of fats used. The menu includes monounsaturated fats, found in olive oil, nuts and avocados; polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids, found in fatty fish (salmon, tuna, sardines and trout); and fats from plant sources, like flaxseed. Limiting processed and packaged foods keeps the diet extremely low in unhealthy trans fats, which have been shown to increase the risk of heart disease and strokes.

The Mediterranean people use olive oil in almost everything they eat, including pastas, breads, vegetables, salads, fish and even cakes and pastries. A compound in olive oil may reduce inflammation, an outcome that helps prevent conditions like heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, autoimmune diseases and certain cancers.

Omega-3 fatty acids, found in abundance in the Mediterranean diet, are bursting with health benefits. Fatty acids have been shown to reduce the incidence of heart attacks, blood clots, hypertension and strokes. Omega-3s may also prevent certain forms of cancer and lower the risk of neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity and some types of cancer.

No-Workout Weight Loss

No time to get to the gym? No problem! Sneak extra activity into your day with these easy exercise shortcuts.

Adding more activity into your daily and weekly routine can help you burn extra calories that could be as beneficial as getting in a workout. Check this out:

At Work:

Instead of taking the elevator, take the stairs. If you park five blocks from your office, then walk and take the stairs you can burn 700 calories in five days (instead of 280).

Sitting and talking on the phone for one hour will burn 40 calories, but stand up and pace while talking will burn 140 calories!

Sitting down for a 45 minute lunch will mostly add calories, but if you eat for 15 minutes and add a 30 minute walk, you could burn 100 calories and cut your lunch calories in half.

At Home:

Watch TV sitting on the coach will burn about 10 calories, but take a 30 minute stroll after dinner browsing a book store or walking through town and burn 60 calories

Get more social and play a game with your family for an hour (instead of surfing the internet alone) and burn about 30 calories.

Tidy up just one room a day for 15 minutes and you could burn 150 calories in five days – and have your weekend off from cleaning.

Out and About:

Don’t drive around the mall for 10 minutes looking for a parking spot close to the door, park in the farthest spot and walk 15 minutes to and from and store entrance and burn 80 calories.

With just these small changes to your days you could burn close to 1,500 calories a day. And once you revamp that routine to maximize your movement, you’ll notice increased energy, improved mood, and a weight loss of up to two pounds a week!

Exercise Helps Self-Control

IDEA Fitness Journal July/August 2011 By Kelly McGonigal, PhD

Imagine this: You’re a participant in a scientific study, and you’ve just been put through a challenging mental test designed to stress you out. The researcher then walks in with your favorite instant stress reliever: chocolate. The researcher offers you a variety of chocolate bars, asks you to choose your favorite and instructs you to unwrap it. But before you can savor the first creamy mouthful, she tells you not to eat it.

Researchers at the University of Exeter, England, put 25 chocolate lovers through this mini stress test as part of a study on exercise and self-control. We tend to think of exercise as something that requires self-control, but psychologists are now considering the possibility that it also increases self-control. For this study, the researchers wanted to know: Could a 15-minute walk before the mental stress test help people resist the temptation to soothe their stress with chocolate?

All participants were asked to abstain from chocolate for 3 days, which previous research has shown increases cravings. When the participants arrived at the laboratory, half of them were asked to walk briskly on a treadmill. These participants showed smaller blood pressure increases during both the stressful mental task and the self-control test, suggesting that exercise helped them cope better with both challenges. Exercise also reduced these participants’ chocolate cravings and urges to eat the candy bar.

This is just one study demonstrating that short doses of exercise can strengthen self-control. The same research team has shown that a 15-minute treadmill walk reduces cravings for cigarettes among smokers and improves concentration in the face of distractions. One study looked at brain activation among smokers presented with images of cigarettes. After exercise, the brain’s reward system—which is responsible for feelings of desire and craving—was less reactive to the images. Another study tracked the eye gaze of smokers and found that those who had just exercised spent less time looking at smoking-related images.

Kate Janse Van Rensburg, MSc, lead author of these studies, says, “A single session of exercise can reduce the attention-grabbing power of temptations. Daily sessions of brief exercise could be integrated into any behavior change attempt to help reduce cravings and handle withdrawal.”

Research also shows that as little as 5 minutes of outdoor physical activity improves mood and self-esteem. What can you do in 5 minutes?

• Get out of the office and head for the closest greenery or open sky.

• Cue up a favorite song on your MP3 player and walk or jog around the block.

• Take your dog outside to play (and chase the toy yourself).

• Do a bit of work in your yard or garden.

• Step outside for some fresh air and do a few simple stretches.

• Challenge your kids to a race or game in the backyard or local park.

Happy Moving!