Junk-proof your day!

Skipping breakfast leads to cravings for junk food.

British researchers tracked the amount of blood to the reward center- where cravings originate- in volunteers' brains as they viewed images of tempting high-cal foods (pizza, cake, and chocolate) and healthy low-cal foods (vegetables, fish, and salad). When the volunteers ate breakfast before the test, all of their responses were the same, but when they fasted for an average of 16 hours beforehand, seeing the unhealthy foods made their reward centers light up like Vegas slot machines. The findings help explain how starting your day empty hijacks the brain's response to food and may strengthen your cravings for anti-diet grub.

source: Women's Health Magazine