Tag: Persuasion

Shifting to these type of foods keeps your blood sugar levels steady and increases fat metabolism.

Shifting to these type of foods keeps your blood sugar levels steady and increases fat metabolism.

Replacing carbohydrates with protein and fat reduces high blood sugar and liver fat content over a period of six weeks, research finds.

Conventional dietary advice for type 2 diabetics involves a low fat diet and high-carb foods with a low glycaemic index (GI) but a Danish study suggests this is not the best approach.

The GI is a ranking system of carbohydrate content in foods that shows those carbs that are slower to digest and be absorbed

Presently, 85 percent of type 2 diabetics are overweight and are told to follow a weight loss diet with fewer calories, low in fat and a high in carbohydrates with a low GI.

The idea is to overcome type 2 diabetes by helping patients to keep their blood sugar levels under control.

However, the Danish researchers assessed a group of type 2 diabetes patients and found that a diet low in carbohydrates, high in protein and moderately increased fat will improve regulating blood glucose levels (glycaemic control).

Additionally, it helps fat metabolism and reduces the fat content in the liver and pancreas.

Excess fat will cause fatty liver (hepatic steatosis) and fatty pancreas (pancreatic steatosis) disease.

Dr Thure Krarup, study co-author, said:

“The purpose of our study was to investigate the effects of the diet without ‘interference’ from a weight loss.

For that reason, the patients were asked to maintain their weight.

Our study confirms the assumption that a diet with a reduced carbohydrate content can improve patients’ ability to regulate their blood sugar levels — without the patients concurrently losing weight.

Our findings are important, because we’ve removed weight loss from the equation.

Previous studies have provided contradictory conclusions, and weight loss has complicated interpretations in a number of these studies.”

Several studies have suggested that a low-carb, high protein diet can benefit type 2 diabetics by reduction in sugar cravings, improved energy levels, and increased weight loss.

Dr Krarup concluded:

“The study shows that by reducing the share of carbohydrates in the diet and increasing the share of protein and fat, you can both treat high blood sugar and reduce liver fat content.

Further intensive research is needed in order to optimise our dietary recommendations for patients with type 2 diabetes”

The study was published in the journal Diabetologia (Skytte et al., 2019).

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From the DMV to the doctor’s office, waiting can drive us crazy—but why? Science finally has the answer.

From the DMV to the doctor’s office, waiting can drive us crazy—but why? Science finally has the answer.

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Author: Jeremy Dean

Psychologist, Jeremy Dean, PhD is the founder and author of PsyBlog. He holds a doctorate in psychology from University College London and two other advanced degrees in psychology. He has been writing about scientific research on PsyBlog since 2004. He is also the author of the book “Making Habits, Breaking Habits” (Da Capo, 2013) and several ebooks. View all posts by Jeremy Dean

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A steady decline? Experts question whether the human brain really slows down with age.

A steady decline? Experts question whether the human brain really slows down with age.

Linguistic experts argue that people’s brains do not slow down with age, but actually show the benefits of experience.

Tests that had previously been taken to show cognitive decline as people age, they maintain, are actually showing the effects of having more information to process.

While accepting that physiological diseases of old age clearly exist, they say that the usual cognitive changes associated with age are exactly what you’d expect as the brain gathers more experience.

Remembering names

As linguists, they decided to test their theory using words–specifically the number of words that a person learns across their lifetime.

They set up a computer simulation to model this.

As the simulation got ‘older’, it began to slow down as it learnt more words–exactly as people do with ageing.

The lead author of the study, Dr Michael Ramscar, explained it like this:

“Imagine someone who knows two people’s birthdays and can recall them almost perfectly.

Would you really want to say that person has a better memory than a person who knows the birthdays of 2000 people, but can ‘only’ match the right person to the right birthday nine times out of ten?”

It’s not that people are forgetting words with age, it’s that there are more words competing for attention.

People face a similar problem with names: as they age, they learn more names, so one name is harder to recall because it is competing with a larger pool of alternate names in memory.

On top of this, names have become varied.

The authors give the example that in the 1880s, when trying to recall a woman’s first-name, there were about 100 equally possible alternatives.

Due to the greater variety in first-names now, however, you’d be trying to choose between 2,000 likely alternatives.

Age and experience

Even better news for the ageing population, the linguists argue, is that older people are actually making better use of the extra information that comes with experience.

On some tests, related to learning pairs of works, older people do better as they have access to more words which have been learnt over a lifetime.

Biology

What, you might wonder, about all the neurobiological evidence that the brain’s cognitive powers decline with age?

Well, excepting real diseases like Alzheimer’s, scientists have only discovered that the brain changes with age, not that these changes are the cause of any cognitive decline.

It has only been assumed that neurobiological changes in the brain are related to cognitive declines, since these two were thought to be happening simultaneously.

Now that there are questions over whether cognitive declines are really there, these neurobiological changes may have to be reassessed.

Is cognitive decline a myth?

If cognitive decline with age really is a myth then, the authors worry, simply being told that your brain slows down with age is damaging.

That’s because when people are told they are getting more stupid, they behave as though this were true.

The authors conclude by saying:

“…population aging is seen as a problem because…

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Not all depression symptoms are easy to spot.

Not all depression symptoms are easy to spot.

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Author: Jeremy Dean

Psychologist, Jeremy Dean, PhD is the founder and author of PsyBlog. He holds a doctorate in psychology from University College London and two other advanced degrees in psychology. He has been writing about scientific research on PsyBlog since 2004. He is also the author of the book “Making Habits, Breaking Habits” (Da Capo, 2013) and several ebooks. View all posts by Jeremy Dean

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A 2020 Gallup poll found that three-quarters of Americans had experienced work burnout at some point.

A 2020 Gallup poll found that three-quarters of Americans had experienced work burnout at some point.

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Author: Jeremy Dean

Psychologist, Jeremy Dean, PhD is the founder and author of PsyBlog. He holds a doctorate in psychology from University College London and two other advanced degrees in psychology. He has been writing about scientific research on PsyBlog since 2004. He is also the author of the book “Making Habits, Breaking Habits” (Da Capo, 2013) and several ebooks. View all posts by Jeremy Dean

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There are only a handful of weight loss supplements that work.

There are only a handful of weight loss supplements that work.

Low-fat dairy, fibre and green tea are the best supplements for weight loss, research finds.

Soluble fibres, like those in beans, vegetables and fruits, improve weight loss and reduce belly fat by reducing appetite.

The caffeine and flavonoids contained in green tea help to speed up the metabolism and process fat more quickly.

Vitamin D and calcium are present in relatively high levels in dairy products.

Low levels of calcium are frequently linked to obesity and vitamin D helps in the absorption of calcium.

The conclusions come from research that examined multiple studies carried out on supplements for weight loss.

Professor Melinda Manore, the study’s author, said that while supplements can help, making dietary changes is critical:

“For most people, unless you alter your diet and get daily exercise, no supplement is going to have a big impact.

I don’t know how you eliminate exercise from the equation.

The data is very strong that exercise is crucial to not only losing weight and preserving muscle mass, but keeping the weight off.”

Increasing protein intake may also be effective, along with these three changes, Professor Manore said:

“Adding fiber, calcium, protein and drinking green tea can help.

But none of these will have much effect unless you exercise and eat fruits and vegetables.”

The research looked at a variety of weight loss supplements including appetite suppressants and caffeine, but few were effective, the study concluded.

Professor Manore said:

“What people want is to lose weight and maintain or increase lean tissue mass.

There is no evidence that any one supplement does this.

And some have side effects ranging from the unpleasant, such as bloating and gas, to very serious issues such as strokes and heart problems.”

The study was published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism (Manore et al., 2012).

Author: Jeremy Dean

Psychologist, Jeremy Dean, PhD is the founder and author of PsyBlog. He holds a doctorate in psychology from University College London and two other advanced degrees in psychology. He has been writing about scientific research on PsyBlog since 2004. He is also the author of the book “Making Habits, Breaking Habits” (Da Capo, 2013) and several ebooks. View all posts by Jeremy Dean

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The link to intelligence is especially strong in women.

The link to intelligence is especially strong in women.

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Author: Jeremy Dean

Psychologist, Jeremy Dean, PhD is the founder and author of PsyBlog. He holds a doctorate in psychology from University College London and two other advanced degrees in psychology. He has been writing about scientific research on PsyBlog since 2004. He is also the author of the book “Making Habits, Breaking Habits” (Da Capo, 2013) and several ebooks. View all posts by Jeremy Dean

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Over 200 studies confirm it: exercise is a powerful tool against major depressive disorder. But which are best, and for whom?

Over 200 studies confirm it: exercise is a powerful tool against major depressive disorder. But which are best, and for whom?

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Psychologist, Jeremy Dean, PhD is the founder and author of PsyBlog. He holds a doctorate in psychology from University College London and two other advanced degrees in psychology. He has been writing about scientific research on PsyBlog since 2004. He is also the author of the book “Making Habits, Breaking Habits” (Da Capo, 2013) and several ebooks. View all posts by Jeremy Dean

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The diet helps people control their blood sugar more effectively.

The diet helps people control their blood sugar more effectively.

Going on a vegan diet accelerates weight loss and reduces harmful belly fat, research suggests.

People following a plant-based, vegan diet for 16 weeks lost an average of over 12 pounds, including almost 9 pounds of fat mass and belly fat.

More fibre is the most critical element of the diet, researchers think.

Plant-based diets contain plenty of fibre which helps to boost healthy bacteria in the gut.

The study included 147 overweight people who were randomised to a vegan diet or no change for 16 weeks.

The results revealed that a vegan diet reduced weight significantly.

A vegan diet also helped people control their blood sugar more effectively.

The study’s authors write:

“A 16-week low-fat vegan dietary intervention induced changes in gut microbiota that were related to changes in weight, body composition and insulin sensitivity in overweight adults.”

The diet also increased the health of the gut.

People with a greater abundance of critical healthy bacteria in the gut lost more weight.

Bacteria that a vegan diet boosts include Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Bacteroides fragilis.

The authors conclude:

“A plant-based diet has been shown to be effective in weight management, and in diabetes prevention and treatment.

We have demonstrated that a plant-based diet elicited changes in gut microbiome that were associated with weight loss, reduction in fat mass and visceral fat volume, and increase in insulin sensitivity.”

Fibre is the key to weight loss and a healthy gut, the authors write:

“The main shift in the gut microbiome composition was due to an increased relative content of short-chain fatty acid producing bacteria that feed on fibre.

Therefore, high dietary fibre content seems to be essential for the changes observed in our study.”

The study was presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Barcelona, Spain (Kahleova et al., 2019).

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It’s mostly written by psychologist and author, Dr Jeremy Dean.

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Psychologist, Jeremy Dean, PhD is the founder and author of PsyBlog. He holds a doctorate in psychology from University College London and two other advanced degrees in psychology. He has been writing about scientific research on PsyBlog since 2004. He is also the author of the book “Making Habits, Breaking Habits” (Da Capo, 2013) and several ebooks. View all posts by Jeremy Dean

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This bold and confident sign is linked to higher academic achievement.

This bold and confident sign is linked to higher academic achievement.

People who are very sure of their intellectual abilities are, in fact, smarter than others, research finds.

Intellectual arrogance was linked to achieving higher grades in the study.

People who are intellectually arrogant tend to agree with statements like, “I believe my own ideas are superior to others.”

People are seen as intellectually arrogant by others when they are extraverted and dominate the group, wanting to be the centre of attention.

Professor Wade C. Rowatt, study co-author, said:

“One possibility is that people who view themselves as intellectually arrogant know what they know and that translates to increases in academic performance.”

For the study, the work of 103 students was followed over a semester.

The results showed that those who felt they were superior to others performed better in their coursework.

However, people who were more humble about their abilities were liked better by their peers.

So, intellectual arrogance may come with a penalty to social relationships.

The study’s authors were surprised by the results: they had predicted that intellectual humility would be linked to better performance.

However, this was not the case.

Dr Benjamin R. Meagher, the study’s first author, still thinks humility is a vital trait:

“What I think is important about intellectual humility is its necessity for not only science, but for just learning generally — and that applies to the classroom, a work setting, wherever.

Learning something new requires first acknowledging your own ignorance and being willing to make your ignorance known to others.

People clearly differ in terms of their willingness to do something like that, but that willingness to learn, change one’s mind and value the opinion of others is really needed if people and groups are going to develop and grow.”

The study was published in the Journal of Research in Personality (Meagher et al., 2015).

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Hello, and welcome to PsyBlog. Thanks for dropping by.

This site is all about scientific research into how the mind works.

It’s mostly written by psychologist and author, Dr Jeremy Dean.

I try to dig up fascinating studies that tell us something about what it means to be human.

→ Get FREE email updates to PsyBlog. Join the mailing list.

Author: Jeremy Dean

Psychologist, Jeremy Dean, PhD is the founder and author of PsyBlog. He holds a doctorate in psychology from University College London and two other advanced degrees in psychology. He has been writing about scientific research on PsyBlog since 2004. He is also the author of the book “Making Habits, Breaking Habits” (Da Capo, 2013) and several ebooks. View all posts by Jeremy Dean

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