When We Eat, or Don’t Eat, May Be Critical for Health (Published 2018)

How fasting can improve overall health

Researchers found evidence that fasting affects circadian clocks in the liver and skeletal muscle, causing them to rewire their metabolism, which can ultimately lead to improved health and protection against aging-associated diseases.

A diet guru explains why you should eat dinner at 2pm

There have been two main changes in dietary habits from the 1970s (before the obesity epidemic) until today. First, there was the change is what we were recommended to eat. Prior to 1970, there was no official government sanctioned dietary advice. You ate what your mother told you to eat. With the publication of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, we were told to cut the fat in our diets way down and replace that with carbohydrates, which might have been OK if it was all broccoli and kale, but might not be OK if it was all white bread and sugar.

The Meal is Not the Product

There are many reasons that people go out to eat. Some of those reasons involve food; many do not. If you’re going out to watch a game with friends, for example, the number and size of TVs is at least as important as the menu. For a date, the chef is generally important, but so

Abolishing Daylight Saving Time is easy, setting a permanent time is not

Daylight Saving Time – the biannual ritual of adjusting clocks forwards and backwards – has long been debated. Advocates argue it saves energy and promotes outdoor activities, while critics highlight its disruptive effects on health, productivity, and social routines. This column examines the health impacts, societal costs, and the outdated rationale behind the implementation of Daylight Saving Time, and argues that there is good reason to abolish it. This would imply trade-offs, however. While adopting Standard Time permanently would be better from a health perspective, ‘summer time’ is preferred in many countries.

Simulated Interventions to Ameliorate Age-Related Bone Loss Indicate the Importance of Timing

Bone remodeling is the continuous process of bone resorption by osteoclasts and bone formation by osteoblasts, in order to maintain homeostasis. The activity of osteoclasts and osteoblasts is regulated by a network of signaling pathways, including Wnt, parathyroid hormone (PTH), RANKL/OPG and TGF-β, in response to stimuli such as mechanical loading. During aging there is a gradual loss of bone mass due to dysregulation of signaling pathways. This may be due to a decline in physical activity with age and/or changes in hormones and other signaling molecules. In particular, hormones such as PTH have a circadian rhythm which may be disrupted in aging. Due to the complexity of the molecular and cellular networks involved in bone remodeling, several mathematical models have been proposed to aid understanding of the processes involved. However, to date there are no models which explicitly consider the effects of mechanical loading, the circadian rhythm of PTH and the dynamics of signaling molecules on bone remodeling. Therefore, we have constructed a network model of the system using a modular approach which will allow further modifications as required in future research. The model was used to simulate the effects of mechanical loading and also the effects of different interventions such as continuous or intermittent administration of PTH. Our model predicts that the absence of regular mechanical loading and/or an impaired PTH circadian rhythm leads to a gradual decrease in bone mass over time which can be restored by simulated interventions and that the effectiveness of some interventions may depend on their timing.

Think Twice: How the Gut's "Second Brain" Influences Mood and Well-Being

The emerging and surprising view of how the enteric nervous system in our bellies goes far beyond just processing the food we eat

Sorry, There’s Nothing Magical About Breakfast (Published 2016)

Don’t feel bad if you’d rather skip it. Studies have not proved its importance.

How to Gamify Wellness Without Missing the Point | Built In

SuperBetter designed a game to support healthy real-world habits. Here’s how its designers combine UX with behavioral science.

Laziness Does Not Exist

Psychological research is clear: when people procrastinate, there's usually a good reason

Annual Reports | CAA

For archived content, please refer to the National Diet Library's Web Archiving Project (WARP).

How I became a morning person (and why I decided to make the change)

It’s early and dark. The alarm sounds, and you reach over to switch it off. After a short pause, you sit up. You swing your legs off the…

Free Printable Visual Schedules and Daily Routine Charts for Children

Download free printable visual schedules and daily routine charts to help children build structure, independence, and confidence. These resources include customisable visual symbols, morning and bedtime routine planners, and all-day...

Opinion | Yes, Your Sleep Schedule Is Making You Sick (Published 2017)

What jet lag, insomnia and mental illness have in common.

Scientists reveal foods to eat now to stave off cognitive decline later

Data on over 3,000 people shows only 8 percent with low-quality diets maintained high cognitive abilities into their 70s, a new study reveals.

More protein in your breakfast or snacks won’t give you more muscle without more work – a biologist separates the science from the marketing

Protein powders and protein-fortified versions of all manner of foods line grocery store shelves. But just because something has added protein doesn’t necessarily make it better.