Eat Eggs

by Neil Anderson

I feel bad for eggs.  Yep, eggs.  Once the scientific community made the link between cholesterol and heart disease it (quite blindly) banned them completely.  During the 1980s and 1990s the anti-egg paranoia hit fever pitch.  Although things in the anti-egg camp have cooled off (complete reversal actually) there are still a lot of people (including health care providers) who won't touch them.  Seems like once a food gets a bad rep it sticks.  

Eggs are heart healthy.  They are recommended eating for GPPrs.  They are an excellent source of:

Choline - promotes memory.
Lutein and zeaxanthin - antioxidants thought to promote eye health.
Selenium and Vitamin E - stress busters also antioxidants
Protein - might be the highest-quality most inexpensive protein on the planet.
Small amounts of vital nutrients, including folate, riboflavin, selenium and B12.  

They are also an e(gg)cellent (couldn't resist) snack.  Only 75 calories per.  Doctors now recommend them for LOWERING cholesterol.  Most nutritional experts say 1-2 per day promotes health.

If You Struggle With Your Weight

by Neil Anderson

According to a new Columbia University study - Females who do not get enough sleep tend to eat 328 more calories per day.  Ladies, that is 119,720 extra calories per year.  It will add up to 34 lbs. of weight gain per year if you miss a year's worth of Zs.  Men over do it by 263 calories extra.  Gents, that is 95,995 extra calories per year!  That would mean a weight gain of 27 lbs. if you spent a whole year tossing and turning. 

We have long said that you cannot out-exercise or out-nutrition bad sleeping habits.  Scientists have determined that a good night of sleep consists of more than 6 hours and less than 9 hours of sleep. BTW - you MAY not need all of that sleep at once (more on that to come...).

Sleeping Too Little/Much Makes You Fat

by Neil Anderson

Sleeping too little – or too much – can increase your risk for future weight gain, according to a study published in the April 1 issue of the journal Sleep.

For the study, researchers from the Laval University in Quebec, Canada evaluated the sleep habits and body composition of 276 adults between the ages of 21 and 64.

After adjusting for age, gender and baseline body mass index (BMI) the researchers determined that across the six year study period, those who slept for five to six hours per night gained 1.98 kg (4.36 lbs) more than “average duration” sleepers who slept between seven and eight hours per night. Those who slept between nine and 10 hours per night, meanwhile, gained 1.58 kg (3.48 lbs) more than average duration sleepers. In addition, the researchers report that the risk of becoming obese was elevated for both short and long duration sleepers, with short duration sleepers experiencing a 27% increased obesity risk and long duration sleepers experiencing a 21% increased risk compared to average duration sleepers.