For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

This week processed food makes you lazy, some soups may extend lifespan, and the true time frame for forming habits.

Want to see all my favorite links? (There’s lots more). Be sure to follow me on on Delicious. I also share links on Twitter @summertomato,  Google+ and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you. (And yes, I took that pepper heart pic myself).

Links of the Week

• Junk food makes you lazy: Study looks at overweight, unmotivated rats <<What’s really interesting to me about this study is that unlike the usual “high fat, high sugar” diet they give experimental mice to make them obese, these animals were given food with about the same amount of carbs, fat and protein as the control animals. The only difference was how refined and processed it was. Not only did the processing increase weight gain, it also sapped motivation. Wow. (LA Times)
• Are You Programmed to Enjoy Exercise? <<Speaking of motivation, there may be a genetic component to motivation as well (at least in the realm of exercise). The good news is that while it may be a little harder for some to develop it, it can be developed with a little effort. (NY Times)
• Trying to lose weight? Willpower is more than saying ‘I won’t’ <<I love this message about why finding the strength to NOT do something is way harder than trying to DO something new. Again, I highly, highly recommend The Willpower Instinct book this was based on. (LA Times)
• Glucosamine promotes longevity in worms and mice, study says <<Encouraging new study about how the compound glucosamine may increase life by mimicking caloric restriction. This research is still really new, but what’s interesting to me is that food sources of glucosamine (e.g. cartilage and shrimp/seafood shells) are very rare in the US diet, but our eaten regularly (usually in soups) in other cultures. This is why “Try a new food” is on my list of favorite habits. (LA Times)
• How Long Does it Actually Take to Form a New Habit? (Backed by Science) <<Habit forming takes a substantial amount of time. That’s why it’s so important to start with something easy enough for you to actually do for several months. Once it becomes automatic, you can always increase intensity. But if you try to do too much, you’ll likely fail. (James Clear)
• Beans, Lentils, Peas: Your Recipe for Lower Cholesterol? <<Finally legumes are getting some love. I keep saying they are game changers for weight loss. Seems like they’re linked to better blood lipids as well. (Medline)
• What to Think About During Exercise <<Find exercise boring? Here’s some tips on how to occupy your thoughts and get double the benefits. (Zen Habits)
• Yes, We’re All Susceptible to Food Advertising <<Think you’re immune to food advertising just because you read Summer Tomato? Think again. (Mark’s Daily Apple)
• Calorie Intake and the US Obesity Epidemic <<Wonder why you’re overweight? There’s a good chance you’re eating 350 calories per day more than you should be. (Whole Health Source)
• SPRING VEG TABBOULEH WITH GREEN HARISSA <<I found a lot of delicious looking spring recipes this week, but this one just floored me. How beautiful and delicious does this look?! (The Year in Food)

What inspired you this week?