5 Non-Diet Ways to Trick Yourself into Losing Weight

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Convenient. Attractive. Normal. These three words (which are the basis for the even easier to remember acronym C.A.N.) may be the key to eating healthier without really trying, according to a new paper from Cornell University. The review of 112 studies concluded that eaters make good choices when healthy foods are visible and within reach; they’re displayed enticingly; and they’re set up as the most obvious choices compared to other food options. It just makes sense: When you place gorgeous pieces of fresh fruit in a pretty bowl on your counter, you’re more likely to take one than if they’re hidden away—especially if the chips or cookies are even easier to grab. Bottom line, make it handy to eat healthfully and you’ll follow through, no “diet” or willpower required.

RELATED: 8 Salads That Satisfy

In addition to remembering C.A.N., there are plenty of other research-backed strategies for not dieting, and still shedding pounds. Here, four more easy tactics you can adopt.

Plate your veggies artistically

In a University of Oxford study, subjects in one group received salads arranged to resemble an artistic painting; a second group was provided with salads featuring vegetables lined up in neat rows, and salads in a third group were served in a typical piled-up fashion. While all the salads contained identical ingredients, dressing, and condiments, the artistic salad was rated the best by subjects, by a nearly 20 percent margin. In fact, people reported that they’d be willing to pay twice as much for the painting-like versions. The takeaway: We eat with our eyes as well as our stomachs, so if you’re trying to reach for healthy foods more often, put some effort into how you present them. (I think this study demonstrates one reason why Mason jar salads—and the myriad of photos of them on social media—have become so popular.)

RELATED: Change Plates to Lose Weight

Nosh before you shop

You’ve heard this one before, but it’s worth repeating: A 2013 study, also from Cornell University, found that skipping meals before heading to the supermarket is a surefire way to sabotage healthy shopping. Volunteers were asked to fast for five hours, then either given nothing to eat or crackers, and asked to make purchases at a simulated food market. The fasting group bought 18.6% more food—including  a whopping 44.8% more calorie-packed items, like chips and ice cream—than the cracker eating crowd. In a follow-up study, researchers observed shoppers at an actual supermarket just after lunch and in the late afternoon. Compared to post-lunch shoppers, those who strolled the aisles in the late afternoon—when they were way more likely to be hungry—bought over a quarter fewer low-calorie foods like vegetables. To prevent hunger from keeping healthy food items out of your grocery cart, eat something to take the edge off pre-shopping. Stash a golf-ball sized portion of nuts or seeds in your bag, and try to finish them before you walk through the entrance of the supermarket.

RELATED: How to Grocery Shop on a Diet

Spend a little time in the morning sun

The timing, intensity, and length of your exposure to light during the day may significantly affect your weight. In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers at Northwestern University found that compared to people who got most of their light exposure later in the day, those who enjoyed even moderately bright light in the morning had significantly lower BMIs. In fact, the later the hour of light exposure, the higher a person’s BMI, and vice versa. The numbers held true independent of an individual’s exercise regime, calorie intake, sleep timing, and age. The powerful effect, researchers say, is due to how light influences our body’s circadian rhythms, which regulate metabolism and weight regulation. To keep those rhythms in sync and your weight in check, researchers advise getting 20 to 30 minutes of bright light exposure between 8:00 a.m. and noon. And no, you don’t have to be outdoors—a room brightened by natural sun (versus a room with no windows and only artificial light) will do.

Don’t dine while distracted

Bringing your lunch to work is a smart way to control your calories. But if you surf the Web while you eat, you may consume more than you would’ve if you’d focused on your meal, both during eating and later in the day. In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, people who played a computer game while lunching felt less full, snacked more, and had more trouble recalling what they had eaten than those who’d eaten without distractions. So while it may feel weird to sit at your desk without checking email or doing anything but eating, that’s the best lunchtime strategy for your waistline. Bonus: You’ll actually enjoy your lunch.

RELATED: 9 Appetite Suppressants That Really Work

What are your thoughts on this topic? Chat with us on Twitter by mentioning @goodhealth and @CynthiaSass.

Cynthia Sass is a nutritionist and registered dietitian with master’s degrees in both nutrition science and public health. Frequently seen on national TV, she’s Health’s contributing nutrition editor, and privately counsels clients in New York, Los Angeles, and long distance. Cynthia is currently the sports nutrition consultant to the New York Rangers NHL team and the New York Yankees MLB team, and is board certified as a specialist in sports dietetics. Cynthia is a three time New York Times best selling author, and her brand new book is Slim Down Now: Shed Pounds and Inches with Real Food, Real Fast. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

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5 Secrets for Aging Gracefully Like Barbara Bush

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The Bush family matriarch turned an impressive 90 years old today, and though Barbara Bush won’t be doing any skydiving—the 90th birthday activity of choice for her husband, former president George H.W. Bush—to celebrate, the nonagenarian is still going strong.

In an interview with her granddaughter Jenna Hager Bush on the Today Show, she talked about her life so far and the (not necessarily scientific) ways she kept feeling and looking great through nine decades, starting with her distinctive pearl necklaces.

“The pearls are to cover the wrinkles, which they no longer do,” Barbara said. “You can’t wear pearls all over your face.”

RELATED: Quiz: Discover Your Real Age

While wrinkles are pretty much impossible to avoid at 90, she and Jenna agreed that Barbara is as sharp as ever. “You’re getting older, but your mind doesn’t seem like it, your humor doesn’t seem like it,” Jenna said.

“No. I’m brilliant,” Barbara cheekily replied, keying in on one of the top ways science has shown you can add years to your life: having a positive attitude.

And that’s just one of the many things you can do to up your odds of making it to 90, just like the former First Lady. Here are four more.

RELATED: 14 Ways to Age in Reverse

Sip a cup of joe

Coffee keeps you going for longer than a mere work day: Multiple studies show that drinking it can lower your risk for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and more.

Get frisky

You’ve already heard that it burns calories, but did you know that regularly having sex can add years to your life too? In fact, the more orgasms women have, the longer they’re likely to live, according to research by Howard S. Friedman, PhD, author of The Longevity Project ($14, amazon.com).

Get pregnant later in life

A 2014 study found that women who naturally have babies after 33 tend to live longer than those who have their last kid in their twenties. Boston University School of Medicine researchers believe it’s because the gene that allows for later pregnancies to occur may be related to the one that helps you live longer, too.

Enjoy a glass of wine

Research into the world’s Blue Zones—regions where people typically live to 100 and onwards—has uncovered fascinating data about what residents there tend to eat and drink. Aside from eating up to 3 ounces of fish a day and sticking to sourdough or whole wheat breads over white, they also tend to drink red wine. Stick to no more than a glass or two a day, and your health may stay golden well into your golden years.

RELATED: What’s Healthier: Red Wine or Beer?

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Chris Pratt Recalls Life at His Highest Weight: ‘I Had Real Health Issues’

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Celebrities and Health readers alike will tell you how exercising and eating healthy grub doesn’t just help you lose a few pounds—it’s crucial for keeping up your energy levels, your mental health—even your sex drive.

Just ask actor and star of the upcoming Jurassic World Chris Pratt.

Pratt’s weight has famously gone up and down for his roles. “I’d gone back and forth, lost weight for Moneyball, got fat again, then trimmed down for Zero Dark Thirty, then gained it all back again for Andy [from Parks and Recreation],” he explained to Men’s Health U.K.

RELATED: 5 Tips to Restart Your Weight Loss

“It became a bit of a game: how fat can I get and how fast,” Pratt said, about purposefully packing on the pounds to play Andy. “I would eat four burgers at every [script] read. I became really fat and got up to almost 300 pounds.”

Not helping were the epic feasts his now-wife, actress (and former Health cover star) Anna Faris, was making for him “I love to cook big, fattening meals,” she said in Health‘s April issue. “I make a really good roast chicken with homemade croutons that are fried and delicious. I used to be able to spend all day making a meal—drinking wine, cooking, and watching television. That was the best way to spend a Saturday.”

Says Pratt now: “I’d fallen in love with a woman who loved to feed her man. We were drinking a lot of wine and having fun. I was her little Hansel out in the woods and she was fattening me up to put me in the fire. It was like Momma Bear and Papa Bear. She would eat a little bit, I would eat all of mine and the rest of hers.”

RELATED: 12 Ways Your Relationship Can Hurt Your Health

During that period, Pratt said that he had never seen himself funnier. Still, getting those laughs didn’t make up for how his body felt: “I was impotent, fatigued, emotionally depressed.”

“I had real health issues that were affecting me in a major way. It’s bad for your heart, your skin, your system, your spirit,” he continued.

It wasn’t until the actor actually got to see himself slimmed down on the big screen in Zero Dark Thirty that Pratt says he decided to clean up his diet. Now, the actor admits his meals aren’t as fun anymore (Pratt goes as far as to describe them as “lame”—which we’d feel too if we’d previously been eating four hamburgers a day, plus Faris’s cooking), yet he’s seeing the perks of eating lighter. “All the time between meals, I feel great,” he said.

As for Faris’s dinners: “Chris won’t let me cook those meals for him anymore. It’s just sad,” the actress told Health with a laugh.

RELATED: Giada De Laurentiis’ Slim-Cooking Secrets

 

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Another Tick-Borne Illness Documented in Northeast

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, June 8, 2015 (HealthDay News) — The same ticks that spread Lyme disease may also carry a rarer bacteria that’s causing serious illness in the northeastern United States.

Like Lyme disease, Borrelia miyamotoi disease causes flu-like symptoms such as headache, fever, chills and muscle pain. But at its most severe, it can lead to a serious brain infection — meningoencephalitis, researchers say.

And nearly one-quarter of patients treated for the disease require hospitalization, a new study suggests.

“This is an emerging infection and a lot of people and doctors have not heard about it,” said lead researcher Dr. Philip Molloy, medical director of Imugen Inc., a Norwood, Mass.-based company that develops blood tests for tick-borne diseases. Imugen funded the new study.

Fortunately, B. miyamotoi disease (BMD) can be treated with the same antibiotics used to treat Lyme disease, experts said.

How many people actually have BMD is not known. Since most doctors aren’t looking for it, patients with symptoms may be tested for Lyme disease, but these tests are negative, Molloy said.

Also, it’s probable that people get BMD but never see a doctor. “Undoubtedly, there are milder cases out there,” he said.

Hoping to learn more about this emerging threat, Molloy’s team reviewed 51 out of 97 BMD infections identified from thousands of blood samples taken in 2013 and 2014.

When identified in Japan in 1994, BMD was thought not to harm humans. The first human cases were reported in Russia in 2011. The first case in the northeastern United States was seen in 2013, Molloy said.

The new report was published June 9 online in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

The tick that spreads BMD is the tiny, hard-bodied deer tick (Ixodes scapularis). These ticks carry six germs that can infect humans, said Dr. Peter Krause, a senior research scientist at the Yale School of Public Health and a co-author of an accompanying journal editorial.

Krause said the best way to avoid getting BMD or any tick-borne disease is to check yourself for ticks after being in grassy areas, where ticks are likely to live.

Usually a tick has to remain attached to your skin for about 24 hours for a germ to enter your bloodstream, Molloy said. “It’s not just casual contact with ticks,” he said.

A recurring fever is a hallmark of the infection. If treated early, the fever does not return. A rash is seen in fewer than 10 percent of patients, as opposed to 90 percent of people infected with Lyme disease, he said.

“The peak of BMD appears to be August,” he said. “That’s a month later than Lyme disease.” This difference is due to the life cycle of the tick, which spreads different diseases at different times, Krause explained.

Many patients have probably been misdiagnosed and treated incorrectly, he said. “Until recently, no one was even looking for BMD in this country,” Krause said. “We know now it’s in this country and it has probably been here for a long time.”

More information

For more on Borrelia miyamotoi disease, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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‘Talk Therapy’ May Help Persistent Sleeplessness

By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, June 8, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Non-drug therapy can help adults who lie awake in bed most nights, a review of research finds.

Instead of popping a sleeping pill, someone with insomnia might benefit from techniques associated with “cognitive behavior therapy,” researchers said after reviewing 20 prior studies.

Cognitive behavior therapy is a type of talk therapy where the goal is to help people change their thought patterns and learn better responses to situations.

Individuals who engaged in the sleep-enhancing practices fell asleep 20 minutes sooner, on average, and slept 30 minutes more each night, the investigators said.

“Effects appeared to continue over time and to result in an improvement in symptoms and general well-being,” said review lead author Dr. James Trauer, a sleep physician with the Melbourne Sleep Disorders Center in Australia.

Up to 15 percent of adults worldwide regularly have sleep difficulties, which can lead to anxiety, depression and even type 2 diabetes, the researchers reported in background notes. Sleeping pills and other medications, while widely marketed, can cause dependence and troublesome side effects, they added.

Each of the 20 studies assessed at least three of five sleep-enhancing techniques used in cognitive behavior therapy. The studies included adults with insomnia but no medical or psychiatric problems that disrupt sleep. For example, no one with sleep apnea or depression was included.

For people without those problems, the review suggests that cognitive behavior therapy can help, “provided you are prepared to work hard at it and change your behaviors and attitudes to sleep,” Trauer said.

“Before the treatment, the average time to get to sleep was just under an hour and the average time awake in bed after initially getting to sleep was about an hour and a quarter,” Trauer said. “Time to get to sleep was improved by about 20 minutes, and time awake after initially getting to sleep decreased by about half an hour. We think these are significant improvements.”

Also, he said, the proportion of time in bed spent asleep improved by about 10 percentage points, he said. “That represents a marked improvement as well and, most importantly, people felt significantly better after the treatment,” he added.

For their analysis, published in the June 9 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, the researchers drew statistics from 19 of the 20 studies. More than 1,160 patients, with an average age of 56, were involved in all. Almost 65 percent of participants were women.

People with insomnia get stressed by lying in bed, Trauer explained. Essentially, the therapeutic treatments “short-circuit” that process, he said.

The essential elements include talk therapy aimed at reducing anxiety and negative thoughts about sleeplessness; “stimulus control” to boost the relationship between bed and sleep; and restricting overall time spent in bed. Also, “sleep hygiene” addresses good bedtime habits, and “relaxation techniques” are taught to minimize muscle tension and mental distractions.

“One major advantage is that [cognitive therapy] involves teaching skills to patients that they can then maintain lifelong and use whenever symptoms recur,” Trauer said.

Charles Morin, a professor at Laval University in Quebec City, Canada, praised the research. “This is additional evidence that cognitive behavioral therapy works, even for people who have severe and chronic insomnia,” said Morin, author of an accompanying journal editorial.

There are challenges, however. Although patients are generally receptive to these non-medical approaches, Morin said, “it will take more time than just using a sleeping pill.” At least four to six weekly visits to get training may be required, he said. But, he added, that’s not much for patients who may have suffered for more than a decade from poor sleep.

“We’re talking about very persistent insomnia,” he said. “They’ve gone to many doctors and tried many medications and don’t know what else to do.”

Morin estimated the cost of cognitive training at $600 to $800. The researchers said training in these techniques is not available everywhere, but there are books that can be used instead.

More information

For more about non-medical treatment for sleep problems, see the National Sleep Foundation.

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Doctors Can Influence End-of-Life Care

MONDAY, June 8, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Doctors appear to have a strong influence on whether or not dying patients enroll in hospice care, a new study finds.

Researchers reviewed information on nearly 199,000 cancer patients in the United States who were eligible for hospice care because they were dying. The average age was 78. The information was gathered between 2006 and 2011.

Two-thirds enrolled in hospice care. Those who chose hospice were more likely to be women, white and to live in higher income areas.

The investigators found that patients were more likely to enroll in hospice care if their doctor had a high number of patients in hospice care.

The researchers accounted for patient, hospital and geographic factors associated with hospice care. They found that patients were 27 percent more likely to enroll in hospice care if their doctor was in the top 10 percent of doctors using hospice care compared to patients whose doctors were in the bottom 10 percent.

However, while the study found an association between a doctor’s use of hospice and their patients’ choice, it couldn’t prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

“We found that the physician a patient sees is the single most important predictor we know of whether or not that patient enrolls in hospice care,” study author Dr. Ziad Obermeyer, a physician researcher in the department of emergency medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, said in a hospital news release.

“This new information provides a clear policy target for improving and advancing the quality of care for patients at the end of their lives,” he added.

The researchers also found that a large number of patients in the study were seen by a small group of doctors.

“Our data show that about 10 percent of physicians cared for about half of all patients. This suggests that we can target a small group of physicians with interventions geared towards physician specialty and how often their patients enroll in hospice to improve end of life care,” Obermeyer said.

The study was published in the June issue of the journal Health Affairs.

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about hospice care.

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Tougher Night Driving Rules for Teens May Lower Crash Rates

MONDAY, June 8, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Tougher rules for night driving by teen drivers in Massachusetts reduced their risk for serious and fatal crashes, a new study shows.

In 2007, the state introduced a number of new regulations for young drivers, including more severe penalties for unsupervised nighttime driving by 16- and 17-year-old new drivers, and mandatory drowsy driving education.

Brigham and Women’s Hospital researchers analyzed data about police-reported crashes that occurred from March 31, 2006, to March 30, 2012, and found that rates of serious and fatal crashes among drivers aged 16 to 17 fell by 40 percent after the new rules were implemented.

“The 40 percent reduction in fatal and incapacitating injury crashes that we observed for teen drivers has been sustained for five years following passage of this law,” senior study author Dr. Charles Czeisler, chief of the division of sleep and circadian disorders at Brigham, said in a hospital news release.

There was a 19 percent overall decline in all crashes involving drivers aged 16 to 17, and they were involved in 29 percent fewer nighttime crashes after the new regulations took effect, according to the study in the June issue of the journal Health Affairs.

“We know that teenaged drivers are more vulnerable to performance impairment due to sleep deprivation than older people,” study author Shantha Rajaratnam, an associate neuroscientist in the division of sleep and circadian disorders at the Boston-based hospital, said in the news release.

“Our research shows that restricting unsupervised nighttime driving until age 18 years, with significant penalties for violating the law, contributed to a significant reduction in the crash rate in junior operators and, importantly, reduced crashes that occurred at night and those that caused serious injury,” Rajaratnam added.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about teen drivers.

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Exercise Can Cut Risk of Pregnancy-Related Diabetes: Study

MONDAY, June 8, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Exercise reduces pregnant women’s risk of developing gestational diabetes and also helps control weight gain, a new review shows.

In the report, published recently in the BJOG: an International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Spanish researchers analyzed 13 studies — including a total of more than 2,800 pregnant women — who normally did little or no exercise. The studies looked at what happened when the women participated in exercise programs.

“Exercise is not something to be feared during pregnancy — the moderate levels of exercise used in these studies had significantly positive effects on health and were found to be safe for both mother and baby,” lead author Gema Sanabria-Martinez, from Virgen de la Luz Hospital in Cuenca, Spain, said in a journal news release.

Women who exercised reduced their risk of pregnancy-related — or “gestational” — diabetes by more than 30 percent. For women who exercised throughout pregnancy, the risk of gestational diabetes was 36 percent lower, the study found.

The benefits were strongest among women who combined toning, strength, flexibility and aerobic exercise, the researchers said.

Another benefit the investigators also found from exercise was a slightly lower weight. Women who exercised during pregnancy were about 2 pounds lighter than women who didn’t exercise, the findings showed.

“This careful analysis of previous studies shows a beneficial effect of exercise on healthy pregnant women who ordinarily did little or no exercise,” journal deputy editor-in-chief Mike Marsh said in the news release.

“It may influence recommendations for exercise in pregnancy in such women. Further studies are needed to establish whether this effect is seen in all pregnant women,” Marsh added.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has more about gestational diabetes.

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Millions More Long-Term Care Workers Needed by 2030: Study

MONDAY, June 8, 2015 (HealthDay News) — At least 2.5 million more long-term care workers will be needed to look after older Americans by 2030, a new study shows.

This demand will remain even if there is a major shift from institutional care to home care, according to the researchers.

“Even if 20 percent of elderly patients move out of nursing homes into home health care, which would be huge change, the projected increase in demand for long-term care workers would only drop from 79 percent to 74 percent,” study author Joanne Spetz, a professor at the Institute for Health Policy Studies at the University of California, San Francisco, said in a university news release.

“Filling these jobs will be a big challenge under any scenario,” she noted. Spetz is also associate director for research strategy at the Center for the Health Professions.

Policy makers and educators need to “redouble” their efforts to recruit, train and maintain long-term care workers, the researchers said.

They noted that 20 percent of Americans will be aged 65 or older by 2030. Nineteen million adults will require long-term care by 2050. That number was just 8 million in 2000, the researchers added.

Over the next 15 years, the biggest increases in demand will be for counselors, community and social workers, and home health and personal care aides, the researchers predicted.

“In terms of sheer numbers, the greatest need is going to be for home health and personal care aides, with well over 1 million additional jobs by 2030,” Spetz said.

“The challenge is that these are currently very low-paid, high-turnover, entry-level positions. A lot of people in these jobs are living in poverty while working full time. We have to figure out how to make them sustainable,” she added.

The study was published in the June issue of the journal Health Affairs.

More information

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has more about long-term care.

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4 Things You Should Know About A High Alkaline Diet

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It’s no secret that Kelly Ripa is serious about her healthy lifestyle, but now the Live! With Kelly and Michael host is sharing a well, interesting, method that she says changed her life. On a recent episode of the show, the 44-year-old credited a high-alkaline cleanse with alleviating post-injury problems she’s been in physical therapy to treat. It’s “responsible for me not being in pain,” she said.

Ripa isn’t the only alkaline supporter. Celebs like Victoria Beckham, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jennifer Aniston have all admitted that they are fans. The theory behind high-alkaline eating is that it can optimize your body’s pH balance by swapping out foods high in acidity—like meat, dairy, sweets, caffeine, alcohol, and artificial and processed products—for a diet rich in fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.

RELATED: I Tried a Detox Diet!

But is it just another crazy Hollywood fad—or could it actually improve your health and well-being? Here are four facts you should know before trying it.

The research is limited

Despite the celeb support, many doctors are skeptical of this diet’s restorative powers. “Many health professionals dismiss an alkaline diet as completely unnecessary, because our bodies are inherently designed to maintain pH balance,” Health‘s contributing nutrition editor Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD notes in a previous post for Health. “The key benefits of this approach seem to stem from guidelines you’ve already heard a million times: eat more fruits, veggies, and plants; cut back or cut out sugar and processed foods; and slash your sodium intake.”

In other words, eating more “alkaline” foods can’t hurt, but the benefits of the diet likely have little to do with your body’s pH.

There is no one specific alkaline regime

The “alkaline diet” is more of a theory rather than a specific plan, which can make it a little confusing to follow. It can refer to anything from a short-term, highly-restrictive juicing cleanse to simply adding more foods with higher alkaline content to your long-term eating plan, Sass writes. Advocates also disagree on what the exact ratio of alkaline foods to acidic ones in your diet should be. Generally, 80/20 is the most popular.

RELATED: 10 ‘Powerhouse’ Vegetables to Add to Your Cart

Acidic foods aren’t necessarily bad

Making things more difficult is the fact that proponents of the plan disagree over which foods are considered alkaline and which are acidic. And many foods that tend to fall under the acid-forming category, like cranberries, pomegranates, chickpeas, walnuts, and tea, actually offer great health benefits. “While these foods aren’t entirely off limits [in alkaline diets], I question the need to ration them,” Sass writes.

Watch your protein intake if you partake

Because a high-alkaline diet reduces your intake of meat and dairy products, it is really important to sub in protein-rich foods that are generally considered to be alkaline, like almonds, chestnuts, and tofu. As Sass told Health in an interview this week: “It all comes back to balancing.”

RELATED: 14 Best Vegan and Vegetarian Protein Sources

 

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