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What you dont eat is also important, Ahmed said. Large amounts of refined carbohydrates [such as sweets and white bread] can cause blood sugar spikes, which prompt the body to store fat in a different way and can lead to obesity and diabetes.

Postbiotics

Youve heard of probiotics and prebiotics but postbiotics are probiotics end products of the fermentation that occurs in the gut. These metabolites are being examined for their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits, Today.com reported. Its possible that they may aid in supporting the immune system, too.

Additionally, studies show that postbiotics could help leaky gut and may aid in preventing Type 2 diabetes.

Intermittent Fasting

Prevention reported that this diet trend, which focuses on cycling between patterns of fasting and eating, is one of the best ones to use to lose weight in 2021.

Registered dietitian Meridan Zerner of Dallas, Texas Cooper Clinic told the publication that theres some evidence that intermittent fasting can increase your metabolism rate.

Kelp

Kale was all the rage around five years ago, but next year, its fresh kelp that will take the glory. The seaweed is filled with minerals including calcium, and offers B vitamins in each serving, Today.com reported. WebMD reported it could aid in diabetes control and help with thyroid health and prevent anemia.

Carnivore Diet

People who follow this diet are required to eat mostly meat as well as fat and some eggs. Despite its growing popularity, its not recommended by all experts.

This is not a healthy or sustainable diet, and there are healthier ways to lose weight, Amy Gorin, registered dietitian nutritionist and owner of New York Citys Amy Gorin Nutrition told Everyday Health.

Keto Diet

A popular way to drop weight fast, this diet, which involves consuming lots of calories from fat and drastically reducing carbs, doesnt have substantive research behind it to support its safety and effectiveness in the long term.

Some negative side effects of a long-term ketogenic diet have been suggested, including increased risk of kidney stones and osteoporosis, and increased blood levels of uric acid (a risk factor for gout), a diet review from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health noted. Possible nutrient deficiencies may arise if a variety of recommended foods on the ketogenic diet are not included.

Excerpt from:
2021 New Years resolutions: Heres the lowdown on the most popular diet trends - Atlanta Journal Constitution

Tom Corwin|Augusta Chronicle

Usually when Lizzie Keen is seeing patients at Doctors Hospital of Augusta, their chronic conditions have already worsened and the registered dietitian is trying to help themget things under control. For those who will be making a New Year's resolution to lose weight and get healthier, however, she thinks small and steady change is better.

Vowing to lose weight in the new year is always a top resolution people make: 65% of men in a survey of those ages 30-65 were making a resolution to lose weight next year, according to the telehealth company Vault Health.

For many it is more of an ongoing resolution.The number of adults age 20 and older who are following a special diet in the U.S. increased from 14.3% in 2007-08 to 17.4% in 2017-18, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Those rates increase with age, with those age 20-39 reporting 13.3% on a special diet compared with 19.3% for those 60 and older, according to a recent report from the center.

The biggest mistake people make, however, is in thinking of it as a diet, Keen said.

"Probably the first mistake people make is saying, 'I am going to go on a diet' vs. 'I am going to make some healthy lifestyle changes to manage my chronic disease,'"she said. "Saying you are on a diet constitutes restriction."

A better word is moderation. Too often people are focused on rapid weight loss when the goal should be no more than two pounds a week, Keen said.

"More than that, it is unhealthy and it can be attributed to fluid loss, which is not good because obviously you want to stay hydrated," she said. "Also the faster you lose weight, the sooner you plateau. Then people might not be seeing results as quickly, get frustrated and go to more drastic measures, which arenot sustainable in the long run."

As a better way to set goals, Keen offers the acronym SMART:Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound or Timely.

"If you can set your goals up that way, it just overall makes it more sustainable," she said. "If you create small goals, they are a lot easier to meet, you are a lot more likely to keep yourself accountable and they are a lot more likely to turn into lifestyle changes versus just a temporary diet. If you make too many changes at once, it can be overwhelming, it can be unmanageable, and difficult to adhere to."

Also, think about other areas that will help promote better health, such as exercise, getting an adequate amount of sleep, stress management and hydration, Keen said. Often when one area is out of balance, it can throw the others off as well, she said.

"If you dont get enough sleep, you tend to overeat," Keen said. "If you dont get enough sleep, you tend to be more stressed. If you are more stressed, you tend not to sleep as well" and then it becomes a vicious cycle.

Also, think about stretching more, she said.

"Alot of of people dont think about that, but that plays into exercise," Keen said. "Just daily stretching can provide you with a lot of benefits."

That could be particularly true this year, she said.

"A lot of people are working from home now, sitting in a chair for a majority of the day, not getting up and walking around as much as they might in a work setting," Keen said. "(Stretching) is a great way to relieve joint pain, get the body moving, get a little bit of exercise into your sedentary workday, and it just makes you feel better all over."

Ultimately,it might be better to start off with one healthy change, stickwith that for a month until it becomes a habit,thenadd a new goal for the next month, she said.

"Think tortoise, not hare," Keen said. "Slow and steady is going to win the race when it comes to lifestyle choices."

Link:
Resolutions: Small, steady change to lifestyle is better than dieting, expert says - The Augusta Chronicle

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One of the most important components of recovery is nutrition. Over the past 20 years of my life, between ages 50 and 70, Ive made some significant changes to my diet. Until I was 50, though, I ate much the same diet during and after college. As I look back, Im appalled by all of the junk food in my daily dietcookies, potato chips, pastries, soft drinks, and more. The list is almost endless. I suppose I was just being a typical young American male. Yet despite the poor average quality of my diet, I still managed to train and race well. Could I have been a better athlete? Possibly, although there is something about being young that allows us to get away with a lot of dietary mistakes. Ive watched my son, Dirk, go through the same process as a road cyclist. Now that hes in his mid-40s, he is beginning to make adjustments to his diet in order to perform better after 30 years of top-level racing. Hes fixing his diet at a younger age than I did, and hell probably benefit from the change sooner than I did, too.

While what you eat is important to recovery, whatever foods and eating patterns you find work well for you shouldnt be compromised as you get older as long as you are getting good results. If you are seeing a decline in performance, though, you should look at your diet. A diet based largely on junk food will catch up with you at some point in the aging process. Its not a matter of if but rather when.

I expect youve already discovered that food quality has something to do with your recovery and performance. By age 50 its generally becoming apparent to most. Only a few, truly unique aging athletes can continue eating lots of junk food and still perform at a high level well into their 50s, 60s, and 70s. Most certainly cannot.

But simply eliminating junk food isnt the full story. If one source of energy is eliminated, some other source must take its place. So what should you eat more of after cutting out the junk? And of nearly equal importance, when should you eat it? If you havent discovered what foods and eating patterns work best for your recovery and training, then you may get some ideas in this section.

The two most common diets chosen by endurance athletes are high-carbohydrate and high-fat diets. By high I mean a chronic (daily) diet in which at least half of ones calories come from either carbs or fat. High-protein diets are rare, but protein plays an important and unique role in the recovery of senior athletes, so well examine that macronutrient in a separate section.

Our purpose is not to take your chronic diet in a new direction but rather to better understand how you can eat to speed recovery. Well do that by examining the types of foods you can choose at various times in order to produce the fastest and most complete recovery for you given the normal diet that you already eat. Were thinking only in terms of eating for recovery from exercise.

As mentioned, the chronic diets we are considering are those made up primarily of either carbohydrate or fat. For most athletes, a high-fat diet is hard to comprehend because it doesnt follow the normal set of nutritional rules for exercise and recovery. For example, the primary rule that most athletes accept at face value is that fuel must be frequently ingested during long exercise and in the hours afterward in order to produce movement and physical recovery. Another rule is that the tank must be topped off before starting to exercise. But the high-fat diet doesnt follow these rules. How can that be?

The starting point for understanding the high-fat diet is that the body has different sources of fuel that it can call on to produce energy. The two most common sources are carbohydrate and fat. (Protein is also a potential fuel source but is used in comparatively minute amounts.) Without going into all of the physiology behind the fueling of exercise, well condense the explanation to say that when eating the typical high-carb diet, the body relies heavily on glucose, a sugar, for fuel. Even when the tank is full, glucose is quite limited in the athletes body; depending on body size, high-carb athletes store around 1,500 to 2,000 calories of glucose in their bodies (most of it in the muscles). Thats enough to last perhaps 2 to 3 hours at a duration-specific, high-intensity effort. So fuel must be ingested before starting exercise in order to top off the limited levels. More fuel must be taken in during exercise to keep the muscles functioning, and carbohydrate also needs to be replaced soon after exercise to restock the depleted tank. These are the rules that most endurance athletes are used to following.

When fat is the primary macronutrient in the daily diet, however, ketones, not glucose, are the primary energy source. Ketones are produced by the liver from fat. For the athlete on a high-fat/low-carbohydrate diet, there is little in the way of glucose available; ketone production increases, and the athlete is said to be in a state of ketosis (not to be confused with ketoacidosis, which is a serious medical condition sometimes experienced by type 1 diabetics). The skeletal muscles along with the heart, brain, and other vital organs function normally on ketones once the body adapts, which can take a few weeks.

Since even the skinniest athlete has plenty of stored body fat, the source of energy is unlikely to run out during endurance events lasting even several hours. So in-race refueling is not an issue, as it is when eating a high-carb diet. For example, many ultramarathon runners follow a high-fat diet and take in little or no fuel during events of 50 kilometers (31 miles) or more.

Recovery is also simple on a high-fat diet. Normal meals and snacks, made up primarily of fat, are eaten after workouts with no need to consume extra fat. Theres also no need for loading before a long race.

You cant mix the two dietsits either a high-carb or a high-fat diet if you are to perform well. The body preferentially depends on either fat or sugar for fueling your aerobic exercise based on which it receives the most of on a daily basis. Eat a lot of carbohydrate, and the body burns a lot of sugar. Eat mostly fat, and the body is fueled mostly with fat. You also must follow the standard rules for recovery on your chosen diet. Eating a high-fat diet but recovering with lots of sugar is counterproductive, and recovering with fat on a high-carb diet wont cut it, either. Lets look into the role of protein in recovery and its implications for the senior athlete.

While the number of studies on the topics of food, recovery, and aging is small, all of those studies seem to indicate that older athletes need more protein, especially during recovery, than younger athletes do. There is evidence to suggest that we dont synthesizemeaning process in order to rebuild tissuesprotein as well as we get older, especially for the restructuring of the slow-twitch endurance muscles. The older athlete, therefore, needs more protein to ensure that there is enough to help with the rebuilding that takes place during sleep. It also appears that on the days of strength training and intervals, eating some protein about 30 minutes before going to bed helps to stimulate muscle building, at least in young athletes. This dovetails very nicely with what you read earlier regarding the University of North Dakota study on macronutrient choices late in the day to improve sleep. But bear in mind that a large late-evening snack may conflict with falling asleep, as we saw earlier.

Since simply eating more total calories in order to take in additional protein isnt a good way to increase this food type, it implies that there is a reduced need for either carbohydrate or fat with aging.

Protein has other benefits for the aging athlete when it comes to recovery. A 2014 review of the scientific literature related to protein intake and exercise by Stuart Phillips of McMaster University in Canada showed that when and how much protein you take in after a workout, especially a strength-building session such as lifting weights, has a lot to do with how beneficial the workout is for the muscles. To build or even just to maintain muscle mass, the rate of muscle protein synthesis must be greater than the rate of muscle protein breakdown as it happens during and after a strength workout. Fortunately, strength training stimulates muscle protein synthesis. But without adequate dietary protein to support this rebuilding process, the body is forced to cannibalize itself by taking protein from lightly used muscles to rebuild the highly stressed muscles. This suggests the need to take in protein after workouts to meet the bodys needs.

And it just so happens that eating protein also increases the rate of muscle rebuilding, especially if its eaten immediately after exercise. The benefit decreases the longer you wait. So I recommend that after a strength workout or any session that is highly stressful to the muscles, such as aerobic-capacity or lactate-threshold intervals, you eat some protein within 30 minutes of finishing. How much?

In reviewing the research on how much protein should be eaten, Dr. Phillips found that older athletes need a lot. While a young athlete benefits from eating 20 to 25 grams (about 80 to 100 calories) of protein after a workout, older athletes may need 40 grams (about 160 calories) to achieve the same level of muscle protein synthesis.37 Consuming 160 calories from protein is equivalent to eating about six boiled eggs (with 6.29 g of protein per egg) after a workout. Thats a lot of eggs. It may be less difficult to get your protein by also including protein powder in your postworkout recovery drink. In that case Id recommend using egg- or whey-based protein powder.

There are several amino acids in foods that together make up what we call protein. The individual amino acid that has been shown to be the most beneficial for muscle rebuilding during recovery is leucine, which has many good sources including whole eggs, egg whites, egg protein powder, and whey protein. Egg protein powder, however, can be quite expensive. Besides eggs, other common foods relatively high in leucine are most all dairy products, all animal products, dried figs, pasta, spinach, buttermilk, most nuts, most seeds, coconut milk and cream, avocado, most beans, corn, peas, spirulina, and succotash. These are good food choices for your postworkout recovery snack and the next meal after a hard workout to boost protein and leucine intake and muscle rebuilding.

Adapted fromFast After 50by Joe Friel, with permission of VeloPress.

Fast After 50

Continued here:
Fast after 50: Nutrition and Recovery - VeloNews

This has not been a very good year for sleep.

With the coronavirus pandemic, and school and work disruptions, contributing to countless sleepless nights, sleep experts have encouraged people to adopt a variety of measures to overcome their stress-related insomnia. Among their recommendations engage in regular exercise, establish a nightly bedtime routine and cut back on screen-time and social media.

But many people may be overlooking another important factor in poor sleep diet. A growing body of research suggests that the foods you eat can affect how well you sleep, and your sleep patterns can affect your dietary choices.

Researchers have found that eating a diet that is high in sugar, saturated fat and processed carbohydrates can disrupt your sleep, while eating more plants, fibre and foods rich in unsaturated fat such as nuts, olive oil, fish and avocados seems to have the opposite effect, helping to promote sound sleep.

Much of what we know about sleep and diet comes from large epidemiological studies that, over the years, have found that people who suffer from consistently bad sleep tend to have poorer quality diets, with less protein, fewer fruits and vegetables, and a higher intake of added sugar from foods like sugary beverages, desserts and ultra-processed foods. But by their nature, epidemiological studies can show only correlations, not cause and effect. They cannot explain, for example, whether poor diet precedes and leads to poor sleep, or the reverse.

To get a better understanding of the relationship between diet and sleep, some researchers have turned to randomised controlled trials in which they tell participants what to eat and then look for sleep changes. A number of studies have looked at the impact of individual foods, from warm milk to fruit juice. But those studies often have been small and not very rigorous.

Some of these trials have also been funded by the food industry, which can bias results. One study, funded by Zespri International, the worlds largest marketer of kiwi fruit, for example, found that people assigned to eat two kiwis an hour before their bedtime every night for four weeks had improvements in their sleep onset, duration and efficiency. The authors of the study attributed their findings in part to an abundance of antioxidants in kiwis. But importantly, the study lacked a control group, so it is possible that any benefits could have resulted from the placebo effect.

Other studies, funded by the cherry industry, have found that drinking tart cherry juice can modestly improve sleep in people with insomnia, supposedly by promoting tryptophan, one of the building blocks of the sleep-regulating hormone melatonin.

Tryptophan is an amino acid found in many foods, including dairy and turkey, which is one of the reasons commonly given for why so many of us feel so sleepy after our Thanksgiving feasts. But tryptophan has to cross the blood-brain barrier to have any soporific effects, and in the presence of other amino acids found in food it ends up competing, largely unsuccessfully, for absorption. Studies show that eating protein-rich foods such as milk and turkey on their own actually decreases the ability of tryptophan to cross the blood-brain barrier.

One way to enhance tryptophans uptake is to pair foods that contain it with carbohydrates. That combination stimulates the release of insulin, which causes competing amino acids to be absorbed by muscles, in turn making it easier for tryptophan to cross into the brain, said Marie-Pierre St-Onge, an associate professor of nutritional medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Centre and the director of the Sleep Centre of Excellence at Columbia.

St-Onge has spent years studying the relationship between diet and sleep. Her work suggests that rather than emphasising one or two specific foods with supposedly sleep-inducing properties, it is better to focus on the overall quality of your diet. In one randomised clinical trial, she and her colleagues recruited 26 healthy adults and controlled what they ate for four days, providing them regular meals prepared by nutritionists while also monitoring how they slept at night. On the fifth day, the subjects were allowed to eat whatever they wanted.

The researchers discovered that eating more saturated fat and less fibre from foods like vegetables, fruits and whole grains led to reductions in slow-wave sleep, which is the deep, restorative kind. In general, clinical trials have also found that carbohydrates have a significant impact on sleep: People tend to fall asleep much faster at night when they consume a high-carbohydrate diet compared to when they consume a high-fat or high-protein diet. That may have something to do with carbs helping tryptophan cross into the brain more easily.

But the quality of carbs matters. In fact, they can be a double-edged sword when it comes to slumber. St-Onge has found in her research that when people eat more sugar and simple carbs such as white bread, bagels, pastries and pasta they wake up more frequently throughout the night. In other words, eating carbs may help you fall asleep faster, but it is best to consume complex carbs that contain fibre, which may help you obtain more deep, restorative sleep.

Complex carbohydrates provide a more stable blood sugar level, she said. So if blood sugar levels are more stable at night, that could be the reason complex carbohydrates are associated with better sleep.

One example of a dietary pattern that may be optimal for better sleep is the Mediterranean diet, which emphasises such foods as vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes, whole grains, seafood, poultry, yogurt, herbs and spices and olive oil. Large observational studies have found that people who follow this type of dietary pattern are less likely to suffer from insomnia and short sleep, though more research is needed to confirm the correlation.

But the relationship between poor diet and bad sleep is a two-way street: Scientists have found that as people lose sleep, they experience physiological changes that can nudge them to seek out junk food. In clinical trials, healthy adults who are allowed to sleep only four or five hours a night end up consuming more calories and snacking more frequently throughout the day. They experience more hunger and their preference for sweet foods increases.

In men, sleep deprivation stimulates increased levels of ghrelin, the so-called hunger hormone, while in women, restricting sleep leads to lower levels of GLP-1, a hormone that signals satiety. So in men, short sleep promotes greater appetite and desire to eat, and in women there is less of a signal that makes you stop eating, St-Onge said.

Changes also occur in the brain. St-Onge found that when men and women were restricted to four hours of nightly sleep for five nights in a row, they had greater activation in reward centres of the brain in response to pepperoni pizza, doughnuts and candy compared to healthy foods such as carrots, yogurt, oatmeal and fruit. After five nights of normal sleep, however, this pattern disappeared.

Another study, led by researchers at Kings College London, also demonstrated how proper sleep can increase your willpower to avoid unhealthy foods. It found that habitually short sleepers who went through a program to help them sleep longer had improvements in their diet. The most striking change was that they cut about 10 grams of added sugar from their diets each day, about 2 teaspoons.

The takeaway is that diet and sleep are entwined. Improving one can help you improve the other and vice versa, creating a positive cycle where they perpetuate one another, said Dr Susan Redline, a senior physician at the Brigham and Womens Hospital and a professor of sleep medicine at Harvard Medical School who studies diet and sleep disorders. The best way to approach health is to emphasise a healthy diet and healthy sleep, she added. These are two very important health behaviours that can reinforce each other. New York Times

Read more here:
How what you are eating is affecting how you sleep - The Irish Times

By Sarah Lindenfeld Hall, Go Ask Mom editor

For many of us, a new year turns to thoughts of losing weight and getting fit. But when we have kids, we also need to be mindful about how we talk about our bodies and the food we eat.

Before you resolve to start a new fad diet, I checked in with Rachel Pohlman, a registered dietitian at Poe Center for Health Education in Raleigh and mom of two teens, to get some tips for how to talk to our kids about food and get healthy.

Here's a Q&A.

Go Ask Mom: As a new year approaches, people look to getting in shape. Some look to fad diets and other weight loss strategies that can be unhealthy. What's the best way to be healthful in regards to food?

Rachel Pohlman: It is best to avoid fad diets and other gimmicks. These may have some short-term success but it is best to look for practices that can be sustained long-term and support your overall health. This starts by being honest with yourself and really looking at your current practices. It may take some tracking to do this. Once this is done, think about an easy first step to take that you can enjoy and sustain. Make it part of an overall healthy lifestyle.

This first step will look different for everyone. It could be to put away screens when you eat, to include a vegetable at dinner every night, to replace a drink with water. Whatever makes sense for you. Practice this for several weeks, keeping in mind it takes a long time to create a habit. If you dont get it right one day, dont worry. Just pick up where you left off. Once you are feeling comfortable with your first change, add another step. People tend to create very lofty, broad goals especially for the new year. Small, realistic steps like those mentioned tend to help us be more successful in meeting our goals.

GAM: Kids practice what we preach, and if we're constantly worrying about our weight, they often follow. What's the best way to talk about food and eating with our kids?

RP: It may not always seem like it, but our kids really are watching and listening. When parents put down their own bodies, our kids hear that and internalize it. It can become a part of their own internal voice, leading to negative self-image. When parents eat different food from their kids, kids notice and may wonder what is wrong with their food. Or they may come see healthy eating as a burden that you have to do as you get older.

A great resource on how to feed kids is Ellyn Satter. She highlights a division of responsibility. Essentially, it is the parents job to choose the food and create regular, pleasant mealtimes and model proper behavior. The child controls the amount they eat and learns to behave.

My personal approach is to celebrate the good. Yes, we all enjoy foods that are less healthy and that is OK, but there is also plenty to celebrate with healthy food. I love cooking for my family and share that love with them. I talk about where the food comes from, get excited about the different flavors, colors and textures coming to the table. If my kids are unsure about a food, I give them a chance to explore it, perhaps just taking a polite bite to help them get comfortable with something new.

It can take 15 exposures to a new food before a child decides to try it. When you are introducing a new food, it is good to have a safe, familiar food with the meal too so it doesnt feel overwhelming. And remember, what a child eats at dinner has nothing to do with whether there is a dessert or not. Using dessert as a reward reinforces habits such as eating when not hungry or a distaste for the nutritious food they are being forced to eat.

GAM: A great way for kids to learn about food is getting them in the kitchen. What are some good ways to involve them in food and meal prep?

RP: I have been involving my children in shopping and meal prep since they were in preschool. The more involved and familiar a child is with a food, the more likely they are to try something new. While Ellyn Satter states the parent chooses the food, it is great to get kids involved but with parameters.

I started with taking my kids to the farmers' market or produce department and asking them to pick out a fruit or vegetable they were interested in trying. I also tried to get them involved with my garden but that didnt take.

For those of you who have kids that are more inclined to dig in the dirt, it is a great way to build acceptance of a variety of foods. You dont need a lot of space - you can have herbs growing in a window box or have a container garden on your porch. (Find more on Poes website or at #PoeFit on social media.)

When my kids were little, they helped with small things in the kitchen - using safe scissors to trim green beans or herbs, stirring (parent tip - put a cookie sheet underneath the bowl when they stir to catch the spills) and washing. Now that my kids are older, they are involved in menu planning (again with parameters - plan a dinner with at least 4 food groups and can be made in X amount of time) and cooking. When kids first learn to cook, start as a team but let them lead. Make sure they select a meal within their skillset.

GAM: What are some of your favorite healthy recipes that are great for the cold months ahead?

RP: I love making soup and chili in cold weather. It is so comforting. It warms the house and your body. It also feels good to get all those veggies without having a heavy meal. There are many recipes for relatively quick soups to make. Homemade soup also has the perk of avoiding all the added sodium found in packaged soups.

Another go-to for me is roasted vegetables. I think just about anything tastes good roasted. It is also an easy thing to make that doesnt require a lot of attention. You just toss the veggies with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and whatever seasonings you enjoy (I always add garlic). Put the veggies in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake, tossing once partway through. Do not overcrowd the sheet or you will end up with steamed veggies instead of roasted veggies.

You can find a variety of healthy recipes at Poes website (the sweet potato fries recipe is the same basic concept as roasting vegetables) and at ChopChop Magazine.

The Poe Center offers a number of nutrition-focused programs for groups. Programs are now available online and can be booked for schools, youth groups, scouts, and other organizations by calling 919-231-4006. Additionally, there are a number of courtesy resources available on their website. #PoeFit is a weekly Twitter series with simple tips on nutrition, physical activity, and gardening. Poe also has several online interactive exhibits, including an interaction online kitchen and online garden. Educational and instructional videos are also available.

Go Ask Mom features local moms every Monday.

Continue reading here:
Skip the fad diets and find a better way to talk about food with your kids, get healthy in 2021 - WRAL.com

The remnants of a fast food eatery have been uncovered in Pompeii, giving archaeologists a glimpse into what some of the most popular takeaway dishes were for residents of the ancient Roman city.

According to Pompeii Archaeological Parks longtime chief, Massimo Osanna, as many as 80 fast foods have been found at the site, suggesting that takeaway culture was a big part of daily life there.

This was the first time, however, that an actual eatery, known as a thermopolium, had been uncovered at the site, he told Rai state TV, according to the Associated Press.

Part of the ancient fast food counter had been dug up in 2019 during restoration efforts.

Archaeologists kept digging and and eventually uncovered a multi-sided counter, with spaces for deep vessels of hot foods, much like you would have a modern-day takeaway stand.

A fresco on the countertop has also provided some insights into how the fast foods were advertised, with images of two upside-down mallards and a rooster painted in Pompeiian red, being featured at the takeaway stand.

The art also includes a figure of an undersea nymph riding a horse.

Meanwhile, another fresco depicts a dog on a leash, while vulgar graffiti was also said to be inscribed on the paintings frame.

Some of the paintings, Valeria Amoretti, a Pompeii staff anthropologist, said in a statement, represent, at least in part, the foods and beverages effectively sold inside.

Duck bone fragments had been found in a container at the site, while the remains of goats, pigs, fish and snails were also found, she said, according to AP.

Ground fava beans were also found at the bottom of a wine container, with the beans being added to wine in ancient times to add to the flavour and lighten the colour of the drink.

The Thermopolium, a well-preserved frescoed 'fast food' counter in the park's Regio V area, will open to visitors at Easter 2021

(EPA)

The remnants of fast food, Mr Osanna said, provide more of a picture of what was popular with the common folk, with street food venues less likely to be visited by the Roman elite.

Archaeologists also uncovered human remains near the site, as well as the full skeleton of a small adult dog, marking a rare discovery that researchers said attests to the selective breeding of dogs in ancient times.

A fast-food eatery discovered at Pompeii is now completely excavated, helping to reveal some favorite dishes of citizens of the ancient Roman city who liked to eat out

(AP)

The site, along with the rest of Pompeii, would have been destroyed in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.

The volcanic eruption saw the ancient city buried under a blanket of volcanic ash, preserving much of it as a time capsule of ancient life.

Now, Mr Osanna said, we know what they were eating that day".

See more here:
Pompeii excavation reveals fast food diet of ancient Romans - The Independent

The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the focus of research for scientists worldwide, probably making science nimbler once the crisis has passed. The coronavirus has also had implications for patient care that we are only just beginning to understand. While patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 typically present with a respiratory illness, certain individuals also report gastrointestinal symptoms that have been linked to changes in the gut microbiome.

Although COVID-19 has captured the worlds attention in 2020, relevant breakthroughs in gut microbiome science have also been made, which elucidate on the role of diet in managing diseases and conditions, not necessarily connected to the gut, through the gut microbiome. In addition, scientists have also re-classified the Lactobacillus genus, provided an updated consensus on synbiotics, and gained a better understanding of how microorganisms in fermented foods can be transferred to the human gut and impact health outcomes.

Here are some of the breakthroughs in gut microbiome science seen in 2020.

The respiratory symptoms of COVID-19, the ability of the virus to bind its receptor expressed along the gastrointestinal tract, and an altered gut microbiota composition in some patients means the gastrointestinal tract can be considered a potential target in the fight against COVID-19.

Although a study previously looked at the role of prebiotics and probiotics in reducing the incidence and duration of viral respiratory infections and improving the efficacy of the seasonal influenza vaccination, it is too early to recommend them as a means of tackling coronavirus. Fecal microbiota transplants also constitute another approach for targeting the gut microbiome, but can potentially transmit COVID-19 and can transfer extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing gut bacteria in immunocompromised elderly patients.

Diet is considered one of the biggest determinants of gut microbiome composition and, therefore, of an immune system in good shape, with gut microbiome heterogeneity becoming a relevant player in individual responses to diet, lifestyle and medication. COVID-19 is an external insult that can activate an immune response, which is accompanied by a higher demand for nutrients that support the functioning of the immune system. While we await an effective vaccine against COVID-19, consuming sufficient amounts of essential nutrients in the context of a plant-based diet to support the immune system seems to be an approach worth considering to help the host better defend itself against the virus if infected.

In 2020, scientists have improved their understanding of the therapeutic effects of diet mediated by the gut microbiome in both gastrointestinal conditions and systemic diseases. Different sources of evidence in humans have shown that peppermint oil, specific probiotics, psyllium supplementation and the low-FODMAP diet can aid in improving IBS symptoms. On the other hand, the inflammatory potential of diet has been linked to the risk of Crohns disease, a phenotype about which the gut microbiome might have a lot to say. Understanding how diet impacts the gastrointestinal ecosystem has also shed light on the importance of taking care of diet for tackling hypertension, the mechanisms underlying the keto diets health benefits, and identifying microbial signatures in the liver, adipose tissue and blood linked to type 2 diabetes.

Rather than focusing only on changes in gut microbiota composition, scientists have also become interested in how diet-derived or microbial-mediated metabolites play a crucial role in celiac disease, help identify patients at risk of inflammatory bowel disease that will develop into ulcerative colitis, and aid in the development of new antidiabetic drugs.

Altogether, the findings highlight that current guidelines for managing systemic conditions that apparently have no link with the gut should pay attention to diet as a central element of treatment, with the gut microbiome an important part of the puzzle.

Beyond diet, the herbicide glyphosate has drawn scientists attention, due to its impact on human health linked to changes in the gut microbiome.

Many oral-associated bacteria have been identified in the stomach and small intestine, but their association with the intestinal mucosa may not merely be a result of luminal contamination. Although the small intestine is a harsh environment for microorganisms to thrive and methodological challenges exist when studying the small intestinal microbiota, it has become a relevant area in the context of functional gastrointestinal disorders and enteropathies such as celiac disease.

It is also interesting to note that bacteria in the small intestine could also be involved in boosting inflammation that makes it harder for children to get the calories and nutrients they need.

Diet, probiotics, prebiotics and postbiotics are current evidence-based strategies for modulating the gut microbiome. A close look at bacterial whole-genome sequences of Lactobacillus species has enabled scientists to reclassify this genus into 25 genera, which include 23 novel genera. One of the main implications of this discovery is that a new explanation of the changes in genus names should be provided to academic journals and searches in the scientific literature should also consider this new classification.

When it comes to synbiotics, a panel of experts under the auspices of the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) has updated the definition and scope of the word synbiotic. One of the novelties of the definition is that the microorganisms that must be targeted by the prebiotic can include either members of the individual gut microbiota (complementary synbiotics) or microorganisms co-administered in the synbiotic (synergistic synbiotics).

It should also be acknowledged that not all diseases in which probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics have been studied exhibit the same degree of gut microbiota alteration. In addition, human microbiota-associated mice studies, considered a cornerstone model in microbiome research, are not free of limitations, which highlights the need for improving experimental rigor when testing for causality in the field.

The microbiomes of fermented foods are extremely diverse and their potential health-promoting attributes are superior when compared to nonfermented equivalents. In addition, consuming fermented foods rich in lactic acid bacteria has been shown to enrich the human gut with these potentially probiotic microorganisms, in a similar way to probiotics.

Although the health benefits of fermented foods have been known for centuries, the underlying mechanisms have only recently been elucidated. Yogurt is one example of that. Observational data have shown that health benefits associated with yogurt consumption may be explained as a result of improving gut barrier function. Indeed, in the light of current science, only some fermented milks such as yogurt and some kefirs can be considered a source of probiotics.

When it comes to the application of fermented foods for mental health, a meta-analysis of 22 randomized controlled studies has revealed that it is still too early to recommend fermented foods, probiotics or prebiotics for improving cognition.

Despite COVID-19 limitations, the Gut Microbiota for Health World Summit 2020 was held in Madrid, attracting a large turnout among online attendees.

GMFH will continue to cover the important progress made in 2021 in updating the latest cutting-edge science on gut microbiome, nutrition and immunity for better overall health and well-being. We will also bring you more information on the 10th edition of the GMFH World Summit, which we hope will be held in Washington in November 2021.

We wish you a very happy 2021. Dont forget to stay tuned over the coming year!

Originally posted here:
What major scientific breakthroughs have been made in gut microbiome science in 2020? - Gut Microbiota for Health

By Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of SciencesDecember 27, 2020

Why some people eat as much as they want and stay lean while others cant. In mice, genetic deletion of ALK resulted in thin animals with marked resistance to diet induced obesity while food intake was not changed. The researchers found that ALK in the hypothalamus controls energy expenditure via sympathetic control of adipose tissue lipolysis. The drawing illustrates how our genetic make-up determines body weight (gain). Credit: IMBA/IMP graphics

A noticeable impact on the waistline of many people is a side-effect of the quarantine due to the global COVID-19 outbreak. Reduced activity and lack of sports while consuming the same, or even elevated amounts of calories can quickly cause a substantial weight gain.

Strikingly, some individuals can make it through this period without gaining any weight we all know these people who can eat what they want but do not appear to gain weight.

A consortium of international researchers including scientists from IMBA, the University of British Columbia, Medical University of Vienna, and the Estonian Biobank have now taken a unique approach: thus far, the regulation of fat metabolism has mainly focused on finding genes linked to obesity. The team, however, went on a quest to discover genes linked to thinness, or the resistance to weight gain.

In order to identify candidate thinness genes, the research team conducted genome-wide association studies in an Estonian population cohort, profiling over 47,000 people. They compared thin to control individuals and were thereby able to pinpoint ALK, which codes for Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase, as a candidate gene for thinness. ALK was mainly known due to its involvement in cancer, as it is frequently mutated in multiple cancers. However, its physiological function was largely elusive.

To test the hypothesis of ALK being involved in thinness, the researchers inactivated the ALK gene in mice. Strikingly, despite normal food intake and activity, ALK deficient mice were skinnier because of a much-reduced fat mass and strikingly protected against diet-induced obesity as opposed to littermate controls. Interestingly, when knocking down the ALK orthologues in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, they also found significantly lower triglyceride fat accumulation, even when flies were fed a high-sucrose diet.

First author Michael Orthofer from the Penninger lab explains: By using a technique called indirect calorimetry, we could show that ALK deficient mice exhibit increased energy expenditure. This means that they burn more calories than normal mice and explains why they remain thin even if they eat the same amount of food. In addition to that, these animals also show improved glucose tolerance.

ALK is highest expressed in a very specific brain region called the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus. When the scientists depleted ALK in this brain area, a similar body weight reduction was observed compared to full-body ALK knockout models. The PVN is known to be involved in the regulation of energy homeostasis, both via hormonal pathways and the sympathetic nervous system, which uses norepinephrine as neurotransmitter. Indeed, levels of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine were elevated in both white and brown fat of the mutant mice, indicating that ALK deficiency increases sympathetic tone to adipose tissues. Consequently, ALK knockout mice showed increased breakdown of fat, which explains their low body adiposity and resistance to weight gain.

This strengthens the notion that ALK is indeed part of a larger brain circuit involved in energy expenditure. We are very excited about these results on the genetics of thinness and will further investigate the mechanisms of how ALK-expressing neurons are able to control weight. Our results also highlight the important therapeutic potential of ALK inhibition, says Josef Penninger, IMBA group leader and founding director, who is now director of the Life Sciences Institute of the University of British Columbia.

For more on this research, read Scientists Identify Gene Linked to Thinness.

Reference: Identification of ALK in Thinness by Michael Orthofer, Armand Valsesia, Reedik Mgi, Qiao-Ping Wang, Joanna Kaczanowska, Ivona Kozieradzki, Alexandra Leopoldi, Domagoj Cikes, Lydia M. Zopf, Evgenii O. Tretiakov, Egon Demetz, Richard Hilbe, Anna Boehm, Melita Ticevic, Margit Nukas, Alexander Jais, Katrin Spirk, Teleri Clark, Sabine Amann, Maarja Lepamets, Christoph Neumayr, Cosmas Arnold, Zhengchao Dou, Volker Kuhn, Maria Novatchkova, Shane J.F. Cronin, Uwe J.F. Tietge, Simone Mller, J. Andrew Pospisilik, Vanja Nagy, Chi-Chung Hui, Jelena Lazovic, Harald Esterbauer, Astrid Hagelkruys, Ivan Tancevski, Florian W. Kiefer, Tibor Harkany, Wulf Haubensak, G. Gregory Neely, Andres Metspalu, Jorg Hager, Nele Gheldof and Josef M. Penninger, 21 May 2020, Cell.DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.04.034

IMBA Institute of Molecular Biotechnology is one of the leading biomedical research institutes in Europe focusing on cutting-edge stem cell technologies, functional genomics, and RNA biology. IMBA is located at the Vienna BioCenter, the vibrant cluster of universities, research institutes and biotech companies in Austria. IMBA is a subsidiary of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the leading national sponsor of non-university academic research. The stem cell and organoid research at IMBA is being funded by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science and the City of Vienna.

Read more:
Scientists Discover a Gene to Stay Thin Protects Against Diet-Induced Obesity - SciTechDaily

New York :

As Cudate Plus points out, the macrobiotic diet is a diet that is committed to allow and facilitate a balanced diet based on the principles of Ying and Yang, giving this diet a very spiritual character.

As the following sections will indicate, the macrobiotic diet is a restrictive regimen that, however, yes it is capable of generating authentic benefits to the consumer and significantly improve their quality of life.

The main characteristic of this diet is the restriction of food into two groups. The classification departs from the nomenclature generally used in the dietary field as we have the Ying group and Yang group.

In the ying food group we have tubers, some types of fruits, certain foods of animal origin and their derivatives, processed products, spices, condiments and preservatives.

For its part, in the Yang group we only find whole grains, legumes, seaweed, fish and shellfish.

According to the Eastern precepts, the macrobiotic diet is a regimen that seeks balance body, mind and soul, having a deeply spiritual nature that is advanced with the nomenclature mentioned above.

It is not a recommended diet for weight lossAlthough it is possible to lose a few extra kilos with it, this is due to the food restriction that characterizes it. However, such loss may not be up to the users expectations.

The consumption of shellfish is part of this diet. Source: Unsplash

This diet significantly reduces the processed and ultra-processed foods, which affects a decrease in harmful substances such as refined flours, added sugars, trans fats, palm oil, and sodium.

Since the macrobiotic diet is essentially a seasonal diet with respect to the consumption of fruits and vegetables, its follow-up implies a responsible attitude towards the environment, which is also visible in the reduction of costs.

One of the main disadvantages of the macrobiotic diet is the anxiety that it generates in the person as a result of the foods that it prohibits to consume. There is also true Social isolation associated, since some people stop attending some places because of the food they eat.

On the other hand, the macrobiotic diet neglects the nutritional needs of the person in favor of their spiritual needsTherefore, it is a deficit regime that should not be maintained for a long period of time.

However, if it is planned by a professional, the macrobiotic diet can be much less harmful to the person compared to planning it on their own.

Roughly, the macrobiotic diet is not a regime that you should pursue if you have the goal of losing weight and losing weightThere are other diets that can help you much better in this regard than macrobiotics.

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New York : What is the macrobiotic diet for? - Explica

Although some might curse their fast metabolism, especially people who want to build muscle naturally, but for others, a high basal metabolic rate, or BMR for short, is beneficial as it can help in weight loss, among other things. There are a number of ways to speed up metabolism naturally, including eating spicy food and doing HIIT workouts, but admittedly, all these require some effort or at least some cooking skills. What if there was a way to kickstart your metabolism, one that requires less effort?

Why is metabolism important and why should you care in the first place? Having a high metabolic rate can help you feel more energised and it can also help you burn more calories without moving a muscle. Interestingly enough, exercising more in general can increase metabolism which in turn will increase your resting metabolic rate, the amount of energy your body requires to sustain itself.

(Image credit: Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels)

What might be this silver bullet that can increase metabolism and doesn't require any effort? It's sleeping. But not just any ol' sleeping, of course. Getting three hours of sleep every night won't help metabolism. On the contrary, sleep deprivation "can alter the glucose metabolism and hormones involved in regulating metabolism, that is, decreased leptin levels and increased ghrelin levels", as a study from 2010 mentions.

The research quoted above is called "Sleep and Metabolism: An Overview" and in it, researchers found that there is U-shaped relationship between sleep duration and metabolic dysregulation, meaning that both sleeping less and more than required could have a negative effect on metabolism. The paper goes on by saying: "Paradoxically a similar U-shaped relation is also noted in several studies looking at the relationship between sleep and weight, with both short and long sleep leading to weight gain."

(Image credit: Sleep Yoga)

Establishing a good sleeping pattern might not be the easiest task for everyone but it's beneficial for more than just one reason, especially when it comes to weight loss. Late night snacking can be avoided by not staying up too late in the first place and going to bed in time can also help in fasting for a bit longer without being hungry.

Intermittent fasting in itself is thought to have a positive effect on the body and can help boost metabolism and weight loss too. During fasting, "human growth hormone levels go up and insulin levels go down. Your bodys cells also change the expression of genes and initiate important cellular repair processes", according to Healthline.

(Image credit: Daria Shevtsova from Pexels)

Ideally, you would like to sleep for 7-9 hours a day. The NHS suggest that "most adults need between 6 and 9 hours of sleepevery night." The actual amount of sleep you need is also determined by your circadian rhythm, your activity levels and your age. Following a pre-bedtime routine can help transition into 'sleep mode' easier.

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Try this EASY diet tip to boost your metabolism effortlessly - T3

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