Chomping on a wad of gum may not make you look all that intelligent (in fact, I always tell my kids it does the opposite).

However, some new research has just popped into the pipeline that’s got me thinking differently. Instead of eschewing the chewing, I may now be singing its praises. Want to know why?

It may actually help make you smarter!

Chew On This

In one study,¹ researchers from Japan asked 17 volunteers to watch a video screen and push buttons with their left and right thumbs. Each person did the task a few times, sometimes chewing gum, sometimes not. The end result?

The gum chewing improved reaction times by 7 percent!

Another study,² this one out of Great Britain, divided 38 people into two groups – one chewed gum, the other didn’t. Both groups listened to a list of numbers from one to nine read aloud in what seemed like random order and were told to look for a pattern.

After listening, participants were scored on how accurately and quickly they were able to discover a pattern.

The gum chewers had quicker reaction times and more accurate results than those whose mouths were empty. This was especially true toward the end of the task. “Interestingly, participants who didn’t chew gum performed slightly better at the beginning of the task but were overtaken by the end,” explains Kate Morgan, of Cardiff University, one of the study authors. “This suggests that chewing gum helps us focus on tasks that require continuous monitoring over a longer amount of time.”

How Does Gum Activate Your Brain?

In the Japanese study, scans revealed more activity in eight different areas of the brain, including those that control executive and motor functions. The researchers theorize the boost in brainpower could be because chewing gum stimulates certain regions of your brain, including the premotor cortex.

Stimulating the premotor cortex appears to prepare your brain for movement and reaction, both of which contribute to better motor performance.

Warning: Not All Gums Are Created Equally

One unfortunate thing about the research on gum chewing is that much of it was done with sugarless sticks – which inevitably contains artificial sweeteners that we know have dangerous long-term side effects. For example, many sugarless gums contain Aspartame, an artificial sweetener that has been associated with a wide array of side effects you definitely want to avoid.

What’s worse, some studies – such as one published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition³ – seem to suggest Aspartame could actually increase appetite at future meals. None of this is what you want, and runs contrary to the whole purpose of chewing gum for weight loss. So any gum with Aspartame is out… (Also be sure to avoid any sorbitol-based gum, since it can cause bloating and have a strong laxative effect.)

The best alternative is gum sweetened with a naturally-derived, low-calorie sugar substitute called xylitol – which tastes great and is actually good for your teeth. I’ve personally found the brands Spry and Xyla to be excellent. Find them at any health food store, or online at Amazon.com.

Speaking of which… I’m running out to buy some more gum. With four kids, I could use all the brainpower I can get! I think I’ll go with cinnamon flavor, which helps increase my focus and attention to tackle my busy day. What’s your favorite flavor?

Steven Sisskind, M.D.

First, let’s take a look at the research. Thirty minutes before lunch, subjects drank one of three strawberry smoothies, each containing the exact same ingredients. The only difference was the way they were mixed.¹

• Smoothie #1 was gently hand mixed.
• Smoothie #2 was whipped in a blender for two and a half minutes.
• Smoothie #3 was whipped in a blender for five minutes.

Which smoothie do you think put the brakes on hunger the best?

And the winner is…

Smoothie #3… In fact, when the participants drank this smoothie, they were so satisfied that they ate 12 percent – or about 100 calories – less at lunch than when they drank Smoothie #1.

So, are you ready to find out the magic ingredient hidden in Smoothie #3 (but missing in Smoothie #1)?

The big reveal…

Air!

That’s right. Smoothie #1 had less air, so when poured into a glass, it only filled it up half way. Not all that appealing. Smoothie #3, on the other hand, had so much air that it filled up the entire glass. This made smoothie #3 LOOK more filling and more substantial than smoothie #1.

This isn’t the only study to find that air helps fill you up. In a similar study, researchers gave people carte blanche to feed their faces with cheese puffs over the course of four afternoons. One group munched on dense cheese puffs, while others snacked on the puffier ones with more air.²

The group snacking on the puffier puffs ate 21 percent fewer calories on average.

Pump up the volume

I know adding cheese puffs into your diet is not sound diet advice. Nor is suggesting you fill up on only foods filled with air. You might get a stomachache and would probably burp a lot. Or worse!

But these studies do show that puffed-up portions appear to satisfy better than ones that are small and packed down… even when the two have the exact same number of calories.

Fill up, slim down

Here are some tips and tricks to help you puff up your food to make you feel fuller on fewer calories.

• Add vegetables, which have a lot of volume-adding water, to your favorite recipes.
• Always choose fresh fruit over dried or juice. For around the same amount of calories, you can get a whole cup of grapes compared to a measly three tablespoons of raisins.
• Choose air-popped popcorn over pretzels.
• Get creative with blender drinks, and make sure to blend thoroughly to add the most air into your smoothie of choice. Add ice cubes or freeze yogurt, milk, tea or other liquids before blending to add volume. Blend in a scoop of RealMeal GF™ for added hunger control.

Speaking of RealMeal GF™ …

We’re about to add a new benefit for our RealMeal GF™ customers …A booklet filled with 25 insanely delicious smoothie recipes. (I know – I’ve tried them all!)

Everything from pre-workout smoothies to sleepytime smoothies. Want a sneak peek? Here’s one of my favorites:

Mocha Madness

• ½ c Lowfat greek yogurt
• ½ c Milk (Coconut)
• ½ c Water
• 2 tsp Unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 scoop RealMeal GF™(Chocolate)
• Ice

We’d love to add one of your recipes to the mix! Have you found any fresh and funky ways to blend RealMeal GF™? I’d love to hear about them. Please share with us below, and yours might make it into the recipe booklet!

Steven Sisskind, M.D.

Hard to believe? I’ll show you the evidence if you read on…

For this study, researchers at Ball State University recruited 30 adults, and gave them two separate meals, spaced a week apart.

Meal #1: A bowl of hot cereal
Meal #2: A bowl of hot cereal with two and a half teaspoons of cinnamon.

Both times researchers measured blood sugar before the meal and then again two hours after eating.

Here’s what they found…

The cereal with cinnamon significantly improved blood sugar balance. In fact, the cinnamon-spiked cereal resulted in a 24 percent reduction in total blood sugar during the two-hour post-meal period.¹ The reason for this appears to be cinnamon’s ability to help your insulin work more efficiently.

What’s weight got to do with it? (I feel a Tina Turner song coming on…)

Everything … If you’re overweight, you’re likely experiencing some level of insulin resistance. What this means is that the insulin in your body has become less effective at lowering your blood sugar, making it harder to lose weight, even when following a low-calorie diet.

And when your body isn’t using sugar properly, you’ll often crave sugars or carbohydrates. It’s a losing game because as you consume more of the sugar you crave, less of it is being converted into energy… Instead it’s being stored as body fat.

This is why cinnamon’s ability to help your insulin work more efficiently² can have a direct impact on your waistline.

Other cinnamon kudos

Emerging research³ reveals that cinnamon also decreases inflammation. Inflammation can be a positive when in response to environmental attacks, viruses, or bodily damage. But chronic, low-grade inflammation, which happens when fat cells overrun the body, triggers a reaction that causes cells to stop responding to insulin.

Inflammation also messes with leptin, a key weight-controlling hormone. When insulin and leptin hormones no longer function properly, all kinds of metabolic mayhem ensue. And the weight not only begins to pile on, it also becomes much harder to lose.

11 ways to make cinnamon a habit

• Add cinnamon to a cup of tea, hot chocolate or coffee
• Sprinkle on low-fat cottage cheese or low-fat yogurt
• Combine with ginger, garlic and olive oil to season steamed vegetables
• Dip an apple into peanut butter, then cinnamon
• Sprinkle cinnamon on fruit salad
• Add to your favorite vegetable stir-fry
• Dust on whole-grain pancakes
• Shake on quinoa cereal
• Combine with ginger, tarragon, salt and pepper and bake with chicken
• Add cinnamon to black bean soup for a unique twist
• Throw in the blender when you’re whipping up a breakfast smoothie

Has this study convinced you to add some more cinnamon into your life? Me too. I’m going to try some in my oatmeal tomorrow morning. Let me know if you find any interesting ways to use cinnamon. I’d love to hear about them.

Steven Sisskind, M.D.

Is that even possible? Surprisingly, yes. And the secret is found right in your kitchen.

Today I’m going to tell you about five foods that can ignite your body’s thermal burn (aka: your metabolism) to help zap calories without you setting foot in the gym.

What are these wonder-foods? I’ll tell you in just a few.

But first, let me give you the 411 on metabolism. Whether you’re watching The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, or running the New York City Marathon, your body is working away, keeping your heart, lungs, kidneys, and every other process in your body going. That’s what we call metabolism, and keeping you alive uses energy, in the form of calories.

There’s also a special kind of metabolism, called the “thermic effect of food.” That’s the energy (calories) your body uses in order to take your chicken salad sandwich and digest, process and use it. So the net calories your body ends up with is actually less than the amount contained in the food.

Certain foods have a high thermic effect. They fuel your internal furnace just by working, and working hard, to get through the digestive process. And those, my friends, are the foods today’s post will focus on. What are the five foods I recommend you eat and drink often?

Grab a fork (and maybe a knife, spoon, and a cup too)… and read on…

Calorie-Kicking Food #1: Hot peppers

Cayenne pepper brings new meaning to turning up the heat in your food. A Purdue University study found that when people sprinkled one half-teaspoon of cayenne pepper on their food they sped up their metabolism, burning more calories after eating.¹ Pepper also decreased appetite, especially for fatty, salty and sweet foods, in people who weren’t used to the spice.

Calorie-Kicking Food #2: Tea

Tea is rich in polyphenols, potent antioxidants that detoxify cell-damaging free radicals in the body, and may also help you lose weight.

A large, long-term study in Taiwan found that those who drank at least one glass of black, green or oolong tea per week had 20 percent less body fat and two percent less abdominal fat than those who drank none. Since the results were independent of subjects’ physical activity, food intake, and other lifestyle habits, researchers concluded tea was the key to kicking up their metabolism.²

Tip: The longer you steep the tea, the more flavonoids you’ll get in your brew.

Calorie-Kicking Food #3: Vinegar

In my last post I told you about the fat-fighting effects of olive oil. Well vinegar appears to have some of the same effects. In one study out of Arizona State University, two teaspoons of vinegar with a meal effectively reduced postprandial glycemia (a highfalutin term that means the sugar rush you get after eating).³

Vinegar’s lip-puckering potency comes from acetic acid, which allows some sugars and starches to pass through to the intestines more slowly. So, you feel fuller longer, and are less tempted to raid your secret stash of leftover Halloween candy.

Calorie-Kicking Food #4: Lean beef

Chicken and fish get all the glory when it comes to weight loss. And while I’m not knocking either (see my next calorie-kicking food), lean beef should have a place on your diet plate too.

Beef contains the amino acid leucine, which helps you maintain more muscle as you lose weight. And beef takes a while to chew, maximizing your mealtime, and giving your stomach more time to register that it’s full, and help you eat less overall.

And, digesting protein uses more thermal-burn than carbs or fat (increasing your metabolism by a whopping 20 to 30 percent, compared to 5 to 10 percent for carbs, and a measly 5 percent for fat).

In other words, if you eat 200 calories of a high-protein food, your body will use 60 calories just to digest and process it! So your metabolism will still be on full throttle long after you swallow that last bite of steak.

Calorie-Kicking Food #5: Fatty fish

You already know that fatty fish is good for heart health.

But did you also know that research has shown the omega-3s in fatty fish like salmon, anchovies, albacore tuna, sardines and lake trout help build muscle?⁴

And the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn all the time.

Remember I talked earlier about how your body works all day to keep your system running. Well, it takes more calories to maintain muscle than it does to maintain fat… translation: The more muscle you have, the more calories you’ll burn 24/7.

Is your mouth watering yet? Mine too! I love finding foods that not only taste great, but really work for you as well. Got any favorite foods that may help you lose weight? Tell me about them!

Steven Sisskind, M.D.

I am not so sure about these expensive salts, but according to a recent study out of Vienna, you may be able to actually get results from one of my favorite fats.

Hint: If you’ve been reading our articles for a period of time, you know that I recommend using this fat instead of dangerous “all natural” salad dressings.

And if you are a customer, you know I recommend consuming it every day because I consider it one of the “healthy fats”.

Smell This, Lose Weight

But what I didn’t tell you (because I didn’t know)… is that the smell of this specific fat might actually help you get rid of some flab.

How is this?

Let’s go back to the research from Vienna… Some really clever researchers decided to test the effects of eating two cups of fat-free yogurt per day for three months.

One group ate plain yogurt, while four additional groups ate yogurt enriched with about three tablespoons of one of four fats: lard, heavy cream, canola oil, or olive oil.

Group One: Yogurt Only (Boring)
Group Two: Yogurt and Lard (Yuck)
Group Three: Yogurt and Heavy Cream (Yummy)
Group Four: Yogurt and Canola Oil (Awkward)
Group Five: Yogurt and Olive Oil (Not So Sure)

After three months, researchers were surprised by a star performer… Can you guess which one?

And The Winning Fat Is…

Despite the extra calories of the yogurt and fat – 567 extra calories per day to be exact^1,2 – the olive oil group did not gain body fat percentage, had the highest increase in serotonin (a hormone associated with satiation and mood), and naturally cut back on the rest of their food intake.

What puzzled the researchers was why olive oil had this effect when canola did not… despite their similar health properties. So they continued on with another study to determine whether something other than the nutrients in the two oils accounted for the body fat differences.

Get a whiff of this.

This time they divided 30 participants into two groups. One group ate yogurt mixed with an olive oil aroma extract only, while the other group ate plain yogurt. The results were pretty astounding…

Compared to the plain yogurt group, the olive oil-scented yogurt group:
• Ate 176 fewer calories per day
• Showed stable serotonin levels (compared to a drop in the yogurt-only group)
• Decreased body fat percentage

In my opinion this is a very powerful effect, from just the scent of one of my favorite oils.

Another study found that a diet high in olive oil can also help reduce insulin resistance and help maintain higher levels of adiponectin³. As you may know, higher adiponectin (a hormone increased by Weight Loss Formula No. 1) levels are directly correlated to lower body fat.

And yet another study found that olive oil helps women burn stored fat for energy quicker than other fats⁴.

How Are You Using Olive Oil?

Whether it’s the scent, the olive oil itself, or a little bit of both, olive oil is a great staple to use in your diet. Drizzle it in a salad dressing, use it to marinade lean meats or vegetables, or mix it with some cooked white beans and garlic to make a heart-healthy dip.

Always store olive oil in a dark, room-temperature cupboard or even in the refrigerator, and use within a year.

And pay attention, because in a little bit I am going to share with you a way to get the best olive oil you have ever tasted!

Steven Sisskind, M.D.

However, I’ve just read some interesting new research that suggests another factor may be at play. It seems a calorie may be less fattening if it’s eaten at the right time of day. And more fattening if it’s eaten at the wrong time of day.

If you are like me, you guessed that… eating most of your calories at breakfast is the way to go.

If you did, you would also be incorrect.

So what’s the meal that’s most important to time right? You’ll find out in a minute….

When to Eat Your Biggest Meal

Let’s take a look at the study. Over a five-month period, Harvard researchers followed 420 middle-aged overweight dieters. The dieters were simply encouraged to follow a traditional Mediterranean diet, which includes plenty of fish, olive oil, vegetables and whole grains.

The diet also emphasized lunch as the main meal. Why is this important? Because it was this meal that demonstrated that a calorie might not just be a calorie.

It turns out that those who ate this main meal before 3:00 pm lost significantly more weight, and at a faster rate than those who ate a later lunch.¹ And, the early lunch eaters also had significantly better insulin sensitivity than the late lunch eaters.

I was more than a little surprised to see these results. Especially when you consider that the participants consumed the same number of calories per day, the same type of calories per day, and had similar amounts of activity levels.

What is also surprising is that timing of breakfast and dinner did NOT have an effect. Only the timing of the main meal of the day made a difference… I find this remarkable.

Why Did Early Lunch Eaters Lose More?

So why did the early-lunch eaters lose more weight than those who ate it later? The research isn’t clear, but one theory is that sugar may be processed differently depending on the time of day. Remember, the early lunch eaters had better insulin sensitivity than late lunch eaters.

And why should that matter, you ask?

Here’s why: After you eat, the pancreas pumps out insulin to shuttle the sugar out of your bloodstream and into your cells. Once inside the cells, the sugar is either used for energy, or converted into fat. When insulin is working in top form (aka better insulin sensitivity), it’s more easily able to get the sugar into the cells for energy and less is stored in your body as fat.

Again, we’re not sure this is the answer. However the fact that early lunch eaters had better insulin sensitivity than late lunch eaters makes it a good guess.

What are some diet truths you’re sure about? Tell me about them and I’ll investigate. As you can see, even the experts can be wrong sometimes.

Steven Sisskind, M.D.

So we asked her about her daily diet, and it looked pretty good. Except there was one big problem…

She told me that she enjoyed a mid-morning granola bar daily. She bought her favorite snack by the case, thinking it was a healthy choice to include in her daily diet plan.

After all, this tasty treat contained a mere 200 calories and the package proclaimed to help keep her full all morning long.

You might also think granola bars are good for your diet. But it turns out that this was the very thing that was holding Mary back. You will find out why later in this article.

Many of us think we’re eating healthy, good-for-us foods that won’t make us gain an ounce because the package proclaims the foods are “natural” or “diet” or “calorie-free.” But in reality, many diet or natural foods are anything but.

Let’s take a closer look at three foods that might be working against your weight-loss efforts… and yes, one of those is granola bars…

1. “Diet” soda

The average 12-ounce can of regular soda packs about 150 calories, while the same size diet drink is…drum roll please…zero calories. Seems like a calorie-saving no-brainer, right? Not so fast. Diet sodas may actually be stoking your sweet tooth, setting off cravings that lead you to binge on high-calorie foods later.

How? Blame it on biology.

Let me explain. Normally, after your tastebuds have sensed sweet, a message is delivered to the brain that a high-calorie food’s a’comin. That triggers a biochemical cascade that promotes a feeling of fullness.

But the diet-soda sweet isn’t followed up with the promised calories. So if you drink diet drinks often enough, the brain will learn to ignore sweet taste as a predictor of a big-calorie payoff, and continue to want more and more food.

Science proves this out. In one study published in Physiology and Behavior¹, researchers enrolled 24 healthy adults who either drank at least one diet soda daily or avoided drinking diet soda altogether.

After measuring brain scan activity, researchers found that regularly drinking diet sodas inhibits activation in a key area of the brain that helps to regulate food intake.

Additionally, the more diet soda participants drank, the less their sweet sensors worked properly. In other words, regularly drinking diet soda stymies the brain’s ability to let you know you are full.

Maybe that is why, according to a long-term study from the University of Texas, diet soda drinkers’ waists expanded five times more than those who did not drink diet sodas.²

2. Low-fat or fat-free salad dressings

You douse your lettuce and dip your celery stalks in so-called diet dressings to mask the ho hum flavor. But these packaged salad dressings typically contain high-fructose corn syrup, which, according to a 10-week study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation³, was found to not only increase abdominal fat, but also raise cholesterol and decrease insulin sensitivity.

In addition, the calories per serving—typically one to two tablespoons—tend to be deceptively low. You’re most likely shaking on two or three times more than a serving, doubling or even tripling the calorie count listed on the label.

3. Granola bars

As you now know, the word “natural” has nothing to do with low-calorie. A recent evaluation of over 2,500 packaged granola, protein or energy bars published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics revealed that almost four out of five contain cane sugar, corn syrup, honey or another sweetener that contributes empty calories of little or no nutritional value.⁴ Meaning they benefit neither your waistline nor your health.

So, what are some good alternatives? Here are a few ideas:

Instead of diet soda, use 100 percent fruit juice (try concord grape, pomegranate or cranberry) to make ice cubes then add them to a glass of seltzer. As the ice melts it will sweeten the seltzer and add loads of antioxidants.

Instead of granola bars, keep a perfect portion (one ounce) of almonds or walnuts in a small tin or plastic bag in your purse, briefcase, desk drawer or car to provide a protein-rich snack that will help curb your appetite. Craving something sweet? Add two squares of dark chocolate to the mix.

Instead of packaged, fat-free salad dressings, sub in your own, made fresh. Try olive oil, vinegar and fresh herbs. Or, use the full-fat version of your favorite dressing. While it may contain more fat, you’ll likely be more satisfied with just a little bit of it, rather than the great gobs you have to use to feel fulfilled with the no-fat version. Thus, saving calories on the backend.

Added bonus: You’ll get more nutrients out of your salad. A study published in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, found that when people paired their salads with full-fat dressing, they absorbed more fat-soluble carotenoids, (antioxidants that have been shown to reduce the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease).⁵

What are the most common diet foods you’re eating these days? Are they truly helping you get to your weight-loss goal? Post your number one noshes and I’ll let you know.

Steven Sisskind, M.D.

1. Green E, Murphy C. Altered processing of sweet taste in the brain of diet soda drinkers. Physiol Behav. 2012;107(4):560-567. PMID: 22583859.

2. http://www.uthscsa.edu/hscnews/singleformat2.asp?newID=3861

3. Stanhope KL, Schwarz JM, Keim NL, et al. Consuming fructose-sweetened, not glucose-sweetened, beverages increases visceral adiposity and lipids and decreases insulin sensitivity in overweight/obese humans. J Clin Invest. 2009;119(5):1322-1334. PMID: 19381015.

4. Ng SW, Slining MM, Popkin BM. Use of caloric and noncaloric sweeteners in US consumer packaged foods, 2005-2009. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2012;112(11):1828-1834. PMID: 23102182.

5. Shellen R. Goltz, Wayne W. Campbell, Chureeporn Chitchumroonchokchai, Mark L. Failla, Mario G. Ferruzzi. Meal triacylglycerol profile modulates postprandial absorption of carotenoids in humans. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, 2012; 56 (6): 866 DOI:

I am not going to tell you exactly how to read your results, but I will tell you the most important numbers to look at… plus give you some all- natural ways to improve them.

And I hope this goes without saying, always consult with your doctor. If you are looking for a physician, I suggest finding a doctor who specializes in Functional Medicine.

The Most Important Number On Your Cholesterol Test

In a recent study¹ published in the journal Clinics, the most important predictor of heart disease was not LDL to HDL, or Total Cholesterol… Instead it was the ratio of Triglycerides to HDL.

According the study, those people with the highest ratio of Triglycerides to HDL, had 16 times the risk of a heart attack compared to those with the lowest ratio.

More importantly, the study examined all common predictors of heart disease and concluded, “Elevation in the ratio of TG to HDL-c was the single most powerful predictor of extensive coronary heart disease among all the lipid variables examined.”

How to Lower Your Triglyceride to HDL Ratio

In order to calculate your Triglyceride to HDL ratio, you simply divide your triglyceride level by your HDL level: Triglyceride/HDL = Triglyceride to HDL Ratio.

What result are we looking for?

According to my friend Dr. Jonny Bowden, you want to keep the ratio below 2. So if your HDL is 50, you would not want your triglyceride levels any higher than 100.

Our job then is to lower triglycerides (a type of fat that circulates in your blood), and raise HDL (the “good” cholesterol that reduces the risk of heart disease).

Natural Ways to Lower Your Triglyceride Levels

Similar to cholesterol, triglycerides are a type of fat that gives you energy. They are produced by the liver, but you can also get triglycerides from foods. Courtesy of John’s Hopkin’s School of Medicine², here are six ways to reduce your triglyceride levels:

* Lose weight. If you’re overweight, losing 5 to 10 percent of your body weight will reduce your triglycerides by approximately 20 percent. If you are having issues with weight, please consider trying RealDose Weight Loss Formula No. 1.

* Cut the sugar. Individuals whose added sugar intake is less than 10 percent of daily calories have the lowest triglyceride levels. The American Heart Association recommends that only 5 percent of your daily calories come from added sugars.

* Stock up on fiber. Instead of consuming sugar and other refined carbohydrates, focus on more fiber-rich foods, such as vegetables, fruits and whole grains.

* Limit fructose. Studies have found that consuming too much fructose – a type of sugar – leads to high triglycerides. High-fructose corn syrup is a major source of fructose. You can determine whether a food contains sugar or high-fructose corn syrup by reading the ingredients list.

* Add omega-3 fatty acids. Fatty fish such as salmon, herring, sardines, lake trout and albacore tuna are abundant in omega-3 fatty acids – a type of fat that is actually good for you. To reap the benefits, the American Heart Association recommends that you eat fatty fish at least twice a week. And make sure to take your RealDose Super Critical Omega-3 TG every day!

* Exercise. If you have high triglycerides, getting at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity most days of the week may lower your triglyceride levels.

Try doing these things, and see how you can lower this heart damaging fat.

Natural Ways to Increase HDL

“Boosting HDL is the next frontier in heart disease prevention,” says P.K. Shah, M.D., Director of Cardiology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Although experts are not completely sure why raising HDL helps reduce heart disease, it appears that HDL protects against plaque formation in artery walls and has anti-inflammatory properties.

Here are some all-natural foods you can eat that appear to raise the heart healthy HDL cholesterol.

* Dive into some chocolate. This yummy treat keeps rising to the occasion. In a delicious study³, subjects consumed 26 grams of cocoa with 12 grams of sugar every day for 12 weeks (tough job I know). The result… subjects increased their HDL by an average of 24%!

* Make sure to eat your eggs. According to an interesting study, just adding one egg a day for three months increased HDL levels. Even better, it increased the ratio of HDL to total cholesterol. I am a big fan of eggs and like to make sure I always have a hard-boiled one on hand for a tasty, healthy snack.

* Take omega-3 fatty acids (yes not only do they lower triglycerides, they increase HDL).

In a really interesting study, people experienced a significant increase in HDL-cholesterol, and a decrease in triglycerides when an omega-3 fatty acid spread (derived from fish oil) was added to their bread. While those who consumed the same bread without the omega-3 fatty acids experienced no change in either measure.

How they were able to get people to eat bread with a fish oil on it is beyond me (yuck). I think it’s easier to simply eat more fish (just make sure it is not farm raised), and you can also ensure you’re getting enough Omega-3′s by taking your Super Critical Omega-3 TG daily.

* Decrease your glycemic load.

According to The National Cholesterol Educational Program (NCEP)⁶, as glycemic load goes up, HDL goes down. The advice here is when you eat carbohydrates, choose those that will give you a minimal rise in blood sugar. For a more in depth explanation of glycemic load please click here.

Putting it All Together and a Word of Caution

Once you are over the age of 30 it’s important you get your cholesterol checked yearly. Make sure to pay attention to your Triglyceride to HDL ratio and make sure it’s below 2. I have shown you some natural ways to lower this ratio… but the list is by no means exhaustive.

There are other very important numbers to look at as well, so make sure you can find a doctor who can help you make sense of them. I do recommend finding one who is well versed in functional medicine. These doctors strive to treat the cause and not the symptom.

Please feel free to ask questions, this topic is worth discussing.

Steven Sisskind, M.D.

There’s a good lesson in there: When you make a mistake, the best thing to do is pick yourself back up and carry on.

The same can be said about dieting.

Every once in awhile… okay, more often than you’d like, you feel the pull of the hot fudge sundae, and you just… can’t… resist.

But just like you get back up after a fall, you can get back on your healthy-eating plan.

And in fact, instead of driving yourself crazy with guilt anger and shame, here’s something to chew on: A recent study found that women who allowed themselves to cheat occasionally actually lost more weight than those who never strayed.¹

Turns out, when you allow yourself that occasional treat, reward or celebration, you are more likely to enjoy your process of weight management, get to your goal and stick to it. Or think like this: if you ruminate about what’s on your plate, fat will be your fate.

So what do you do when you scarf that bag of chips, inhale that fudge brownie, or break down and dive head-first into a bowl of mac & cheese?

5 Post-Cheating “No-No’s”

First, let’s take a look at what not to do:

Detox: There is no evidence whatsoever that a detox diet is linked to the body’s ability to burn calories. And unless you really know what you’re doing, detoxes can be dangerous.

Sauna: Any weight lost while sweating it out will be right back in the minute you take a drink of water.

Over-exercising: When you push yourself too hard, the only thing you’ll wind up losing is your energy for the rest of the day. Or a doctor’s co-pay, as you may end up with pulled muscles or a case of dehydration.

Fasting: When you cut your calories that drastically, your body goes into starvation mode, and your metabolism will come to a screeching halt. So not eating anything at all will actually have the opposite effect of what you want.

Laxatives: Using a laxative to kick out the remnants of that pie ala mode only serves to clean your colon, because the calories (and fats) have already been absorbed. You may be less constipated, but you won’t be any leaner.

Instead, Do This After You Cheat

It may seem paradoxical, but after you go off course, the best way to get back on track is to eat. Here are some strategies I recommend:

Use a meal replacement for your next meal: More than a dozen clinical trials show that diets containing one to three meal replacements per day result in more weight loss than healthy diets without them.

Try these pre-meal tricks:

Drink a protein shake: In a controlled-setting study, subjects who consumed a protein shake before an all-you-could-eat buffet ate fewer calories than those who didn’t. And the more protein consumed, the less the subjects ate. Those who had 34 grams of protein half an hour before the buffet consumed the equivalent of a whopping 300 calories less than those who did not.³

Eat an apple: Eating a whole apple before lunch significantly reduced overall calorie intake by 15 percent, or 190 calories on average according to one study.⁴

Try a soup or salad: One study discovered that enjoying a low-calorie soup before a meal may reduce calorie intake by as much as 20 percent! And it’s not just bland broth that does the trick — chunky veggie or pureed veggie soups worked just as well.⁵

Similarly, another study that had folks munch on a low-calorie salad pre-meal reduced overall meal-calorie intake by seven percent for a small salad and 12 percent for a larger one.⁶

Note to self: Cheesy, cream soups with bacon or salads smothered in cream dressings and festooned with croutons and bacon bits does not count as low-calorie!

Increase the fiber: One of fiber’s many super powers is that it controls hunger, keeping your cravings at bay. Here’s why… One meta-analysis (a study of studies) determined that increasing your fiber intake helps you stay fuller for longer, meaning you won’t crave those night-time snacks.

Another study showed that adding 14 grams of fiber a day causes an increase in weight loss of a pound a month. Meaning, if you change nothing about your diet other than adding fiber daily, you can lose an average of 12 pounds in one year.⁷

Here is one final thought that can be powerfully effective after you’ve cheated. Learn positive self-talk. An interesting study showed that folks who successfully got to their goal weight and maintained did these three things: They focused on the progress they made, kept their goals in mind and indulged in the knowledge of how much better they were feeling as they got thinner.⁸ This attitude is critical for success.

If you have your own post-cheating success strategies, I’d love to hear all about them.

Steven Sisskind, M.D.

1. Westenhoefer J, Engel D, Holst C, et al. Cognitive and weight-related correlates of flexible and rigid restrained eating behaviour. Eat Behav. 2013;14(1):69-72. PMID: 23265405.

2. Smeets AJ, Westerterp-Plantenga MS. Acute effects on metabolism and appetite profile of one meal difference in the lower range of meal frequency. Br J Nutr. 2008;99(6):1316-1321. PMID: 18053311

3. Bertenshaw EJ, Lluch A, Yeomans MR. Dose-dependent effects of beverage protein content upon short-term intake. Appetite. 2009;52(3):580-587. PMID: 19501753

4. Flood-Obbagy JE, Rolls BJ. The effect of fruit in different forms on energy intake and satiety at a meal. Appetite. 2009;52(2):416-422. PMID: 19110020

5. Flood JE, Rolls BJ. Soup preloads in a variety of forms reduce meal energy intake. Appetite. 2007;49(3):626-634. PMID: 17574705

6. Rolls BJ, Roe LS, Meengs JS. Salad and satiety: energy density and portion size of a first-course salad affect energy intake at lunch. J Am Diet Assoc. 2004;104(10):1570-1576. PMID: 15389416

7. Howarth NC, Saltzman E, Roberts SB. Dietary fiber and weight regulation. Nutr Rev. 2001;59(5):129-139. PMID: 11396693

8. Sciamanna CN, Kiernan M, Rolls BJ, et al. Practices associated with weight loss versus weight-loss maintenance results of a national survey. Am J Prev Med. 2011;41(2):159-166. PMID: 21767723.

Avocado eaters weigh seven pounds less than non-avocado eaters

As a doctor, I do my best to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet, focusing on low-fat, low-calorie foods. But I do allow myself the occasional high-cal, high-fat goody. Hey, even a doctor’s got to have some vices, right?

So imagine how excited I was to read about a new study linking one of my favorite high-fat splurges – avocados – with better health.

Researchers looked at data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 2001 and 2008 and found that those who indulged in a daily serving of avocado weighed less than non-avocado eaters (on average, seven pounds less!).

The avocado eaters also had smaller waistlines and lower BMIs…

So, will eating more avocados have you slipping into your skinny jeans in no time? Well, not necessarily… Turns out the avocado eaters also ate better diets (more fruit and veggies, more fiber, and fewer added sugars) than those who didn’t eat the green stuff.¹

What this means is that it might not be the avocados causing the weight loss. It might just be that avocado eaters also chose diets that were more likely to lead to weight loss than non-avocado eaters.

That being said, it does help advance the case that my decadent treat isn’t so degenerate after all. So I decided to do some research on this fascinating little fruit. Some fun facts I found:

• Avocados help keep your appetite in check. Oleic acid accounts for a significant chunk of the monounsaturated fatty acids in avocado — somewhere between 50 percent² and 90 percent!³ And, according to emerging laboratory⁴ research, oleic acid may help curb appetite.

Not only that. The unsaturated fat in avocados may increase leptin, the hunger-halting hormone that lets your brain know you’re full. A study done at Loma Linda University found that subjects who incorporated avocado into a meal significantly increased post-meal leptin levels over the next three hours.⁵

This could be part of the reason why the avocado eaters weighed seven pounds less than the non-avocado eaters.

• Avocados are rich in dietary fiber. Another reason why the avocado eaters were thinner might be the avocado’s high fiber content. One serving contains about 4.6 grams of fiber, of which about 25 percent⁶ is soluble fiber. Eating a high-fiber diet also tends to make a meal feel meatier, and keeps you feeling fuller longer, which can help you lose weight.

And people who eat enough fiber have a significantly lower risk of developing a wide range of diseases, including heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and certain gastrointestinal diseases. Soluble fiber, in particular, helps maintain healthy blood sugar levels and promotes insulin sensitivity.⁷

• Avocados are rich in heart-healthy monounsaturated fat. One serving contains about 10.5 grams of fat, of which about 60 percent is monounsaturated. And research suggests that diets rich in monounsaturated fats help lower “bad” LDL-cholesterol and increase “good” HDL-cholesterol, which reduces the risk of coronary artery disease and stroke.⁸

• Avocados can help improve absorption of certain antioxidants. Studies have found that adding avocado to a salad or salsa boosts the absorption of key carotenoids, including alpha- and beta-carotene, lutein and lycopene.⁹

So, if you’d like to join me in some avocado debauchery, here are some tips to keep in mind:

To best spare the nutrients, use the “nick and peel” method

Peel it right. Since the nutrient concentration increases as you get closer to the peel, you don’t want to take off any more of that dark green section of fruit than necessary. To best spare the nutrients, use the “nick and peel” method: Cut the fruit in half and pop out the pit. Then use your thumb and index finger to grip the outer dark layer of skin and pull it away from the inner green flesh of the fruit. If any of the darker portions of the skin remain, simply cut them away.¹⁰

Choose wisely

If you want to experiment in the kitchen, you can do so much more with an avocado than just make guacamole

At breakfast. Top a protein-rich poached egg with thick slices of avocado to boost fiber and curb hunger.

At lunch. Slice fresh tomatoes and alternate with slices of avocado and mozzarella cheese. Top with basil. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Delicious.

At dinner. Start your meal with an avocado soup or garnish your favorite fish entrée with pureed avocado.

As a beverage. Blend avocado into your favorite protein smoothie to add creamy texture and a flavor punch.

This was a fun post to write! I love finding new information about my favorite foods, especially if the news turns out to be good. Anything about avocados you’d like to know? Or, any foods you’d like to learn about? Leave me a message and I’ll do some digging for you.

Steven Sisskind, M.D.