Why I love my protein...

If you've seen my previous post about my fridge, you know I like protein (meat, fish, etc.). Usually, I'll drink a protein shake after exercising. =)

Here's an interesting article today about protein from Reuters:

Study explains how protein keeps hunger at bay

By Julie Steenhuysen Thu Jan 17, 7:20 PM ET

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Diets high in protein may be the best way to keep hunger in check, U.S. researchers said on Thursday in a study that offers insight into how diets work.

They found that protein does the best job at keeping a hunger hormone in check, while carbohydrates and fats may well deserve their current nasty reputation.

The study, which will appear in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, looked at the effectiveness of different nutrients at suppressing ghrelin, a hormone secreted by the stomach that stimulates appetite.

"Suppression of ghrelin is one of the ways that you lose your appetite as you begin to eat and become sated," said Dr. David Cummings of the University of Washington in Seattle, who worked on the study.

The researchers gave 16 people three different beverages, each with varying levels of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. They took blood samples before the first beverage, then every 20 minutes for six hours afterward, measuring ghrelin levels in each sample.

"The interesting findings were that fats suppress ghrelin quite poorly," Cummings said in a telephone interview. They fared the poorest overall.

"Proteins were the best suppressor of ghrelin in terms of the combination of the depth and duration of suppression," he said. "That is truly satisfying because high proteins are essentially common to almost all of the popular diets."

They also found that eating carbohydrates resulted in a strong ghrelin suppression at first, but ghrelin levels rebounded with a vengeance, rising to an even higher level.

Basically, the carbohydrates eventually made people even hungrier than before they had eaten.

Cummings said the findings may aid in future research on the effectiveness of different diets.

And the study likely means that nightly bowl of ice cream is out. "That is a bad idea no matter what," he said.

In a nutshell, protein suppresses hunger, which means you'll eat less.

My Favorite Breakfast

Although I'm a big fan of the typical American breakfast, this is my personal favorite. Cantonese style Dim Sum. Going clockwise from the bottom left we have shrimp dumplings with glass noodle wraps (really hard to make), chicken feet (braised in black bean/curry sauce), beef tripe (don't knock it until you try it), pan-fried turnip cakes, and porridge (with pork and thousand-year-old eggs.) What could be better? =)

L.A. weather

Of all the places I've visited, nothing beats L.A. weather. First of all, it hardly ever rains. There's so little rain that two songs have been written about it. Here are a few lyrics from one of them.

I haven't seen your face in a year
I can't wait till I get there
Just to kiss and squeeze and hug
Girl you know the rest 'cause they tell me

It never rains in southern California
It never rains in southern California

Maybe I'll take the flight out tonight and you can pick me up about 8
I don't know what airline girl but I know it won't be late 'cause they tell me

It never rains in southern California
It never rains in southern California

Also, it's a very mild winter. I was wearing short sleeves and almost turned on my car's a/c. The temperatures averaged about 70F (23C) during the day in January.

My Flight Home....

I had a very pleasant flight home. Incheon is one of the nicest airports. On the right is a picture of my plane. It's a Boeing 777. I really like the personal video monitors and the design of the interior, much better than the old 747. =)