The month of July brings with it a new breeze of enthusiasm to eat healthy and lead better lives, as well as the distant echoes of a seasoning commercial jingle about sinabawang gulay. (If you didn’t get that last reference, look it up on YouTube. It just might change your life.)   Whenever we celebrate the Nutrition Month, we are met with a wave of reminders on our FB Newsfeeds and TV ads to eat balanced meals. Same old, same old. But while these guidelines are proven and tested ways to stay fit, it doesn’t really hurt to hear some new information about food and nutrition.   The last few years have churned out several food-related research—some of which are ground-breaking and others downright shocking. Curious? Read on to see some of them.

Coffee may help fight obesity.

This is good news for all you Starbucks lovers out there.   In a study that concluded June this year, researchers found that coffee may help activate the body’s brown fat, also known as “good fat.” Unlike white fat, which is stored from the body’s extra calories, brown fat supplies the body with heat and helps convert nutrients to energy. Through its ability to turn stored fat into energy, brown fat helps a person stay lean.

Researchers from Nottingham University in UK have found that coffee increases the metabolism of fat-storing cells. Meaning, drinking coffee can help the body use stored fat and turn it into energy. Previous research has also shown that caffeine is somehow linked to weight loss, but the researchers of the current study noted that they still need to see whether caffeine or another coffee ingredient is causing the brown fat activation. But whatever they find out later, I guess what they have now is enough to kinda stave off the guilt from another Tall Caramel Machiato.  

Soy protein helps lower bad cholesterol.

If you love taho to bits and can’t get enough of that silky, melts-in-your-mouth tofu that is usually found in miso soup, then this is great news for you.   University of Toronto researchers found that soy protein can reduce the body’s low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDP), which is the sort of cholesterol that’s bad for the heart. The study involved data from various clinical trials from the last 20 years, which may be a good reason to believe that this finding is reliable.

The findings come in the midst of a hot debate about whether or not soy protein really is good for the heart, after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) called for the removal of its health claim on food labels two years ago. The matter has remained unresolved until now, but these recent findings may just help soy re-establish its good reputation that was marred with years of debate.   Sadly, though, this study still won’t help vindicate us for our requests for extra arnibal.

There’s a lot of sugar in milk tea (and sinkers!). Too much sugar, in fact.

Yup. Captain Obvious says you’re welcome.   I know, I know. I just had to say it. And I guess I could try to console you with the fact that the truth hurts me as much as it hurts you. However, the health concerns around milk tea isn’t something we can just shrug off, considering that in the last few years, this drink has been selling like pancakes in PH. Well, a lot better than pancakes, actually. The tea in its name may have given people the impression that the drink is a healthier alternative to sugary drinks like soda. However, research has found that the amount of sugar in 16 ounces of milk tea exceeds the recommended amount of daily sugar intake by the US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. And the fact that milk tea goes really well with egg pudding and nata de coco does not help either, as these popular sinkers are also very rich in sugar.   Well, this doesn’t really mean that we’re no longer allowed to enjoy this treat. Though, I guess we should start regarding it as that: a treat reserved for life’s special moments.

Chocolate cake for breakfast is good for you.

Yeah, and I mean “good = beneficial,” not just “good = pleasurable.” We already knew that.   If you’re one of those people who had dreamt of eating this delectable dessert along with your morning coffee, then this one is good news: Science says, “Go ahead.”   A 2012 study from Israel has found that chocolate cake in the morning helps people curb their sweets cravings throughout the day. This then helps reduce a person’s chances of bingeing on sweets and starch later on in the day, which, in turn, helps lose weight. And as if this wasn’t enough good news, another study done four years later in the US found that eating chocolate regularly can help improve one’s cognitive abilities. Before you go and add chocolate cake into your monthly food budget though, be sure to take precaution and read up on the right portions that won’t throw off your nutritional balance. Cliché as it sounds, moderation is still the *insert key emoji here*.   And there we go. I hope the studies above made you appreciate your favorites more, or think thrice about giving in to your cravings. But if this article did make you crave, be sure to share it to your friends so that you’ll have someone to join you on your food trip. Just don’t forget though—crave moderately!