Craving Carbs

Here's a portion of an article reporting the results of a careful study of what people eat when they've skipped a meal or otherwise fasted. If you didn't already know that skipping breakfast (for instance) is a bad idea, this research provides more evidence to support that healthy-foodie "rule."
The study also reminds me of another healthy-foodie rule to live by, which is to snack smart.
To read the entire article, click here.

Craving Carbs on an Empty Stomach

By ANAHAD O'CONNOR

A new study shows that people who sit down to eat after an overnight fast are more likely to ignore protein, fats and vegetables and head straight for high-calorie carbohydrates and starches first.

The study also revealed some telling details about food choices and the order in which we eat different kinds of foods. When given the opportunity to eat a salad and a plate of French fries, people who started with the starchy food downed significantly more calories per meal than those who did the reverse.

The findings have implications for people who regularly miss meals, whether because of hectic schedules or for the deliberate purpose of losing weight. Nationwide, about 15 percent of adults say they have fasted to slim down, and a number of popular diets encourage intermittent fasting.

"I think this emphasizes the importance of controlling your environment as far as the types of foods you're exposed to when you're hungry and how much of them you can get," said Aner Tal, a postdoctoral research associate in the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell and lead author of the study, published in Archives of Internal Medicine. "Because otherwise, you will mindlessly choose foods that are less healthy for you."

For regular dieters and people who frequently find themselves ravenous after missing meals, Dr. Tal said the lesson is to keep high-calorie foods out of reach, or at least make them less visible in the pantry or kitchen cabinets.