Fatty comfort foods cheer you up

Ever thought why we reach for ice cream, pizza and other fatty foods when we're feeling down? There may be a scientific reason.
A new research has suggested that fatty foods literally serve as 'comfort' foods and help lift our mood.
The findings could explain why so many people become obese when facing stressful situations.
Dr Lukas Van Oudenhove from the University of Leuven, in Belgium, and his colleagues used MRI scans to assess the emotional impact of fat when injected into the stomach.

They recruited 12 healthy-weight volunteers and scanned their brainwaves as they were shown a series of sad and neutral images as well as exposing them to sad and neutral music.
They then inserted either fatty acids or saline into their stomachs but didn't tell the volunteers which was which.
This meant they could bypass the effects of sensory stimulation as well as any associations to childhood foods.
The scientists found the music and expressions caused people's moods to fall across the board.
However, the levels of sadness among those who consumed fatty acids were around 50 per cent lower compared to those who received saline.
"Eating fat seems to make us less vulnerable to sad emotions, even if we don't know we're eating fat," the Daily Mail quoted Oudenhove as telling HealthDay.
The researchers said their findings could have important implications for people with obesity, eating disorders and depression.
The study is published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Soak up the sun for Vitamin D

It's free and easily available in India. But lack of it can lead to many health problems. Yes, we are talking about Vitamin D. 

Vitamin D sufficiency, along with diet and exercise, has emerged as one of the most important preventive factors in human health. Many studies now link vitamin D deficiency with significantly higher rates of many forms of cancer , as well as heart disease , osteoporosis , multiple sclerosis and many other conditions and diseases.

So, it's time to soak up the sun. Spending long hours in air-conditioned rooms have become the norm of urban lifestyle. Human beings spend less time in the sun today than at any point in human history - which is why more than one billion people worldwide are vitamin D deficient. Hence, it's very essential to look at life through rays of sunshine.
Get is easily: 
We can get 90 per cent of our vitamin D naturally from sunlight exposure to our skin - specifically, from ultraviolet B exposure to the skin, which naturally initiates the conversion of cholesterol in the skin to vitamin D3. Few food items like salmon, egg, tuna, fortified milk can also give you your share of vitamin D. But nothing matches sunshine which is so easily available.

Sunlight is the best and only natural source of vitamin D. The main source of vitamin D is sunlight. Vitamin D is called the 'sunshine vitamin' because it is formed in the skin through exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun. It is estimated that throughout the seasons, around 15 minutes exposure to the sun a few days a week is enough to provide the required amount of vitamin D.

So what should you do? 
Experts say there's no need to lose sleep over it. Fair-skinned people only need around 15 minutes of direct sunlight to produce enough vitamin D to last for several days (although people with darker skin may need more exposure). And it's not suggested that this exposure to the sun has to be every day; instead, a few short exposures a week is considered to be plenty. These exposures could be fitted into your day-to-day activities. Go for walks, bicycle rides or even driving with windows rolled down when the sun is shining. No need to go for all these activities in the night if you want your quota of Vitamin D.