Daily Health Tips: Trusted Medical Information, Health Tips and Advices

You know those pills that block fat absorption? There may be a natural snack that offers a similar benefit: toasted nori. This crispy Japanese munchie -- made of thin sheets of seaweed that have been roasted or toasted and lightly salted -- could help your body block fat calories. In a new study, a special fiber found in seaweed appeared to inhibit fat absorption by over 75 percent! Natural Fat-Blocker The fat-blocking fiber in seaweed is called alginate. And in a recent lab study using an artificial gut, alginate interfered with a key enzyme responsible for breaking down dietary fat. The likely result in a real gut? The undigested fat would just pass right through and get expelled, which means fewer fat calories to use or store. Another small study using alginate-spiked drinks provides additional evidence of the fat-blocking effect. In that study, getting just 1.5 grams per day of alginate fiber caused a reduction in calorie intake over the course of a week.    Th

Before you spend 20 minutes pumping iron at the gym or hauling your body up that park hill, feed yourself a little protein-rich snack first. Research suggests that a protein fix before a workout could boost your metabolic rate -- and thus your calorie burn -- for a full 24 hours after you strength train. Muscle Factory Whether you use elastic bands, gym weights, or your own body as resistance, strength training revs up your body's calorie burning from hours to days after a single session. And there are two reasons why: First, your body is simply working overtime to replenish the fuel -- oxygen and blood sugar -- you used up in your workout. But second, your body is also trying to rebuild the muscle broken down in the workout. And, as it turns out, a little extra protein may encourage your body to work even harder on that second part. The Power of Protein In a study done on exercisers, a protein-rich drink consumed 20 minutes before strength-training resulted

Eating lunch at your desk? Good for productivity, maybe. But very bad for your waistline. Research confirms it. Seems that eating when your mind is somewhere else -- whether it's on a work project, a YouTube video, or a magazine article -- can make you apt to eat more than you need to. Food out of Focus In a study, men and women were served a lunch consisting of several different foods. Half of the participants played a computer card game while eating; the other half had a distraction-free lunch. After the meal, people who played the game reported feeling less full compared with the nongamers, and they ate twice as many cookies during a taste test 30 minutes later. The card players also had more trouble listing in order the food items they had eaten for lunch.    Multitasking Mayhem A number of studies have shown that people tend to eat more while watching TV. But this study associates the effects of distracted eating with other activities. Basically, anything