DIPPING YOUR OREOS IN COFFEE

It can get really confusing, all the information about whatfoods to eat, which ones to avoid, this one will help your heart and that onewill make you fat. Just walking down any isle in any major supermarket can makeone queasy with all of the bad food choices lined up next to the few goodones.  Let’s face it, eating healthy isnecessary for being healthy, but it is also very hard to maintain. When are weallowed to “fudge” our diets for the sake of our taste buds, is indulging aslippery slope to a bad diet? That’s a good question, especially at this timeof year with the holidays approaching.

Researchers at Connecticut College found that lab ratsflocked to the Oreo side of a maze instead of the side with rice cakes. Researchersthen studied the rats’ brains to find that neuronal activation, or the“pleasure center” of the brain was significantly more in the Oreo-eating rats.

Most of us are not rats, but the argument is that thecombination of high fat and sugar, prevalent in modern processed foods,produces an addiction-like phenomenon. We have the ability to change the waythey eat and relate to food, which can be powerful. There are some easy stepsto avoid the downward spiral you might fear after having that extra slice ofpumpkin pie.

· Instead of denying yourself certain foods, (thatcan make you want them even more), stock your cabinets with nutritious foodsand when you want something with sugar and fat, be super selective and eat asmall portion with or after the meal.

· Eat balanced meals and snacks at regularintervals. This will help you avoid grabbing a cookie or worse for a quickhunger fix.

· Exercise and get plenty of rest. Studies showthat people who are stressed and don’t get enough sleep tend to crave morefoods with sugar and fat.

Now, to the argument that coffee seems to offer a benefit toheart health. A new study from Japan shows a 30 percent increase in blood flowthrough the small vessels of people's fingertips, suggesting that the caffeinein a cup of coffee might help your small blood vessels work better, which couldease strain on the heart. Previous studies have shown an association betweencoffee drinking and lower risk of heart attack, heart disease and stroke. Butresearchers have not been able to figure out why this is, given the fact thatcoffee also can increase blood pressure, damaging arteries.

A U.S. National Institutes of Health study published lastyear in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that drinking six or morecups of coffee a day reduced men's risk of early death by 10 percent andwomen's risk by 15 percent. That may be true, but what about all the other riskfactors 6 cups of coffee will wire you up to?

The bottom line is, all these studies are still searchingfor answers for everybody that do not address the individual. Pay attention tohow YOUR body reacts to certain foods and act accordingly, but always with theemphasis on whole, natural and non-processed foods. You can take all of thesestudies with a grain of salt, but remember; too much salt is bad for you.