Double Down Details

I know I'm a little late on bringing up this whole KFC Double Down topic, seeing as how it's been creating quite the buzz since its April 12 debut. This is mostly because every time I even think about the sandwich – strips of bacon, cheese and sauce sitting between two pieces of fried chicken – I can just feel my arteries clogging on the spot. 

But I do want to bring up one thing that has me scratching my head. According to KFC's website, the Original Recipe Double Down has only 540 calories, 32 grams of fat and 1,380 mg of sodium. I don't mean to make it sound like that's not an astronomical amount (because it is – especially the sodium), but if that's true, you're telling me that it is more "nutritious" than, say, Burger King's Tendercrisp Garden Salad (which has 670 calories, 45 grams of fat and 1,740 mg of sodium)?? I find that hard to believe. 

For a list of more fast food items that are supposedly worse for you than the Double Down, check out this website: http://consumerist.com/m/2010/04/10-fast-food-items-worse-for-you-than-the-kfc-double-down.html. 

Broccoli vs. Breast Cancer

Didn't your mother always tell you to eat your broccoli? Well, it turns out mom was right – but now for a very different reason than just being low-calorie and highly nutritious. 

A recent study conducted at the University of Michigan's Comprehensive Cancer Center has found that an extract in broccoli – sulforaphane – can kill breast cancer stem cells, which drive a tumor's growth. By killing the stem cells, it actually stopped new tumors from forming. 

The findings are particularly significant because even existing chemotherapy treatments do not eliminate the stem cells of cancer, which means it's possible for the cancer to spread or come back. 

The study, which was conducted on mice and in human cell cultures, relied on higher concentrations of sulforaphane than can be ingested by simply eating the green veggie, but there are supplements out there. However, since the concentration in these supplements are not controlled or regulated, and clinical trials on actual patients haven't been done yet, researchers don't recommend adding the extract to one's diet yet. 

But hey, it's a start. 

Cardio Conundrum

I have always subscribed  to the "calorie in, calorie out" philosophy, which states that in order to lose weight, you must burn more calories than you take in. And since I typically only have an hour a day to exercise, I want to make sure I burn as many calories as I can in that period of time – which typically means heavy on the cardio – to take advantage of that window, right? Well, maybe not. 

Although cardio does burn 10 to 12 calories a minute, compared to only 8 to 10 calories per minute with strength training, it's the weights that will give your metabolism a boost for up to an hour after your workout. Since your body is trying to help your muscles recover, it's burning an additional 25 percent of the calories you just burned during your workout. Plus, for every three pounds of muscle you build, your body burns an extra 120 calories a day with no extra effort. 

Another thing to consider is your target heart rate for fat burning. Technically, working at a lower intensity (such as walking, light weights, etc.) requires less quick energy, so your body is burning a higher percentage of fat rather than carbs. This is great for someone who is at their ideal weight, but wants to tone up. However, if the goal is to lose weight, a calorie in is still a calorie out, so a leisurely walk around the park won't do much. Confusing, isn't it? 

A great tool to help you keep track of your heart rate and overall calories burned is a heart rate monitor. I personally like the Polar products. Check them out here (www.polarusa.com) and find which one is right for you.

What Dreams May Come

There's nothing I love more than a good power nap. In fact, in college, I pretty much had it down to a science: 22 minutes was all I needed to recharge for the rest of the day. 

And as it turns out, I may have been unknowingly boosting my memory with each snooze. According to a new study done at the Center for Sleep and Cognition at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, naps may boost your ability to process and store information, but only if you dream. 

The study followed 99 college students who were asked to memorize a complex maze on a computer. They were then placed inside a virtual, 3-D version of the maze and asked to navigate to another spot within it. After doing this a few times, half of the students took a 90-minute nap while the other half stayed awake and watched videos. Five hours later, all the students were given the maze test again, and guess what? The nappers did better than the students who stayed awake. And the ones who dreamed about the maze did especially well – 10 times better than the nappers who didn't, to be exact. 

And luckily for those who don't have enough time to take a 90-minute nap – like me – it doesn't even have to be a deep sleep to work. Researchers found that the students' dreaming and learning occurred after as little as one minute of non-REM sleep. 

In that case, I think we should all push for nap time at work. Who's with me? 

Acai: Super Food or Super Fraud?

For years, the acai berry has been touted as a "miracle fruit" that will help shed unwanted pounds when taken as a weight loss supplement. But although the Amazonian fruit does contain many beneficial properties, including antioxidants, fiber and heart-healthy fats, it's not all that different than other antioxidant-rich fruits like blueberries, blackberries and red grapes. 

That's not stopping marketers, however, from continuing to make claims about the "super food" that have never been proven, such as the fact that it will help you lose weight, lower your cholesterol and boost your energy. In fact, Stephen Talcott, a biochemist and leading expert on the acai berry told the New York Times, "There is currently no scientific research to support a weight loss claim for acai fruit. Some companies are capitalizing on the fact that the acai berry is still mostly unknown to the broader public, and is sold as a miracle curative fruit from the deep, dark Amazonian jungle. It is doing nothing more than playing on consumer ignorance." 

That's for sure, as it's used in everything from diet pills to ice cream to skin care products. And make sure to check the ingredient list, because some items – including Snapple's Acai Blackberry drink – don't even contain the fruit at all. 

The truth is, acai is good for you. It's not going to hurt you. But it's also not going to be the miracle, cure-all fruit that marketers and scam artists would like you to believe it is. 

Ginkgo: Forget About It

For years, ginkgo biloba has been one of the most popular dietary supplements for brain health around. Ask my mother. For as long as I can remember, she would rarely leave the house without taking her "memory pills." Well, sorry mom, but you're going to have to find something else to keep that brain from aging. Because according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers have found no evidence that the herb reduces the normal cognitive decline that comes with aging. These findings come out just over a year after another study found that the herb doesn't prevent dementia and Alzheimer's either. 

My mom is not alone, however. Ginkgo has been used for more than 1,600 years to promote mental acuity, and Americans spent $107 million on the herb in 2007 alone. In its place, try exercising your mind a little by learning a new language or doing crossword puzzles. Like they say, if you don't use it, you lose it. 

How Sweet It Is

I'll admit it, I'm addicted to Splenda. Every morning I have a bowl of oatmeal with two Splenda packets mixed in. And many afternoons I enjoy a nice chai tea latte from Starbucks with another two. Not to mention all the sugar-free items I buy that are sweetened with the sucralose-based sweetener. 

I mean, no calories and 600 times sweeter than real sugar? Talk about having your cake and eating it too. But of course, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. 

Splenda, along with other artificial sweeteners like aspartame and saccharin, have been under fire for years for possible health risks, and have been tested and tested and tested, with both good and bad findings. And when I interviewed West Palm Beach-based weight loss specialist Dr. Gloria Hakkarainen last week, she didn't have the highest opinion of sucralose (or any other unnatural sweeteners for that matter). She did recommend Truvia, which is an all-natural/no-calorie sweetener made from the stevia plant. While it doesn't quite satisfy my sweet tooth like Splenda does, I'm trying to get used to it. Doctor's orders.