EATING!

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Negative and positive moods may lead to different food preferences and choices according to an article co-authored by a University of Delaware associate professor. However, whether those preferences govern food choice depends on the way people construe time, authors said. People in positive moods, which synched with healthier food choices, tended to consider future health benefits more than those in negative moods, who favoured instant gratification. Yet it’s possible to override a yen for junk, experts said. Focusing on an imagining an ideal future – not the present – could inhibit emotional eating.

Need to get your shut-eye back on track? Increase your tuna intake. Higher blood
levels of the long-chain omega-3 DHA (the main omega-3 fatty acid found in the brain, found in
algae and seafood) are associated with significantly better sleep. Researchers suggested supplementing with 600 mg of supplements daily for 16 weeks.

BIG MEALS KEEP ON TURNING

The ubiquitous food counsel to eat small but frequent meals throughout the day has been challenged by researchers, who say it does not boost metabolism or encourage weight loss. Research presented to the Society for Endocrinology suggests that women who ate two meals and those who ate five burned the same proportion of total daily energy expenditure over 24 hours.

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Hard-to-digest carbohydrates could be behind unexplained weight gain according to research published in the journal Nature Genetics. Having too few copies of a gene called AMY1, which is responsible for the first enzyme food encounters when it enters the mouth and which starts to digest starch, was found to be a factor in obese study subjects. Every additional copy of the gene correlated with 20 per cent lower risk of becoming obese. Another study concluded that a high genetic risk score for obesity could amplify the effects of a poor diet.

13 THE PERCENTAGE LOWER THAT THE OVERALL RISK OF DEATH WAS FOR EACH SALAD CONSUMED ACCORDING TO A STUDY BY UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON’S DEPARTMENT OF EPIDEMIOLOGY & PUBLIC HEALTH. FRESH FRUIT CORRELATED WITH FOUR PER CENT LOWER MORTALITY RISK. THE FINDINGS SUPPORT  THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT’S ‘GO FOR 2 + 5’ GUIDELINES.

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