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COVID-19 is harming public health, clearly affecting those who have tested positive. But its reach is much more widespread.

I've seen an uptick in stress, a drop of physical activity, and dip in social interactions. The fallout is likely to exceed the direct harms of COVID-19, but worsening health and well-being also makes us more susceptible to the novel coronavirus and its complications.

It's a good time to take both a break from the news and a few deep, meditative breaths. One place to start is giving yourselftime and compassion around learning new social-distancing habits.

Behavior change can be frustratingly difficult and only happens slowly. In my clinic, I've found it hard to overcome my reflexive habit of greeting patients with a handshake. It has taken several weeks to switch to a reverential, hand-at-my-heart bow that I hope conveys at least as much respect and good will.

Among the most important behaviors to gradually learn or relearn: diligent and frequent hand washing, refraining from handshakes, avoiding touching your face, coughing or sneezing into a tissue or handkerchief, avoiding individuals showing signs of illness, and steering clear of crowded locations.

Many of these "new" practices are not at all new; they're just good advice for preventing typical viral infections that we should have taken more seriously in the past. For now, for most of us (and I recognize this could change), the risk of influenza exceeds the risk of COVID-19. Over the last decade, the CDC estimates that influenza kills between12,000 and 61,000Americans each flu season, compared to less than50 U.S. COVID-19 deaths and less than 5,000 worldwide.

It is critical to be physically active, possibly in new ways.

Regular exercise is an effective stress management tool. Maintaining or improving your fitness level can also reduce the risk of viral infection and even the chances of severe COVID-19 complications. Low intensity physical activities, such as walking, are helpful, especially for older people and those with existing chronic conditions. If you can, try to achieve the recommended goal of 30 minutes of moderate physical activity most days of the week.

Given that Americans made6 billion visits to gyms or studios in 2018, keeping active may require new strategies. This includes digital technologies that allow you to be active in your home rather than at the gym, yoga studio, or dancing venue. Many great online resources are available.

In this distressing time, maintaining or adopting stress reduction strategies is part of keeping healthy. Chronic stress can make us more susceptible to viral infections. Figure out what works for you. I find meditation, yoga, walking, strenuous exercise, relaxing with my partner, being in nature, and creative activities all to be calming and reinvigorating.

If you or a loved one needs more help, reach out to your health care provider or therapist for depression, anxiety, and other mental health concerns.

Social isolation is bad for your immune system and health, so we need to find new ways to maintain our connections to others, whether at work or in our communities. Connecting over Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat often isn't enough.

For me, video conferencing is more effective, but only when everyone uses the camera. To get the most of video work meetings, it's important to devote time to catching up on personal lives, so that the interactions aren't just about business. Try out innovative ideas: if you're hesitant to meet someone for coffee, plan a digital date instead.

Beyond remaining physically active, mentally calm (or aiming for it), and socially connected, pay attention to other health behaviors. Make sure you obtain seven or more hours of high quality sleep each night. Eat a heart-healthy, plant-predominant diet that emphasizes fibrous vegetables, fruit, and whole grains. Say no to that extra cookie.

COVID-19 has spawned unprecedented uncertainty, but it's also created new opportunities.

Be inventive and take advantage of new possibilities generated by the pandemic. Instead of eating out, for example, get back to cooking healthier meals for yourself and family. While working from home, take the chance to interact more with your partner, children and/or pets. If you're no longer commuting, use the extra time to schedule daytime exercise while you're at home.

Don't let protecting yourself against coronavirus cause your health to take a plunge. While it is important to keept the pandemic in perspective while taking it seriously, the usual strategies for keeping yourself healthy are themselves important precautions against COVID-19.

Randall Stafford, MD, PhD, is a professor of medicine at Stanford and practices primary care internal medicine. His research focuses on chronic disease prevention and treatment, but he also has broad experience in public health and infectious disease epidemiology.

Image by Shutterstock

Excerpt from:
Even if you are virus-free, COVID-19 is affecting your health. Here's what to do - Scope

Loni Love is getting used to making headlines.

Recently, her comments about the Black communitys relationship with eating poorly caused the latest viral debate on social media. On a segment during The Real last week, Love said through tears, I did not know how to eat. Growing up in the projects, we just had to eat what we could. I know it sounds funny, but a lot of women in the African American community, we dont know how to eat because we grew up that way.

The comment grew flack from many on social media, including a side-eye from her co-host Amanda Seales. Some even thought The Real co-host was generalizing and speaking for the all Black folks during the WW-sponsored segment, while others noted that food choices are tied to access.

The comedian, who is an ambassador for WW (formerly Weight Watchers), cleared the air in a recent interview with Madame Noire.

On her daytime talk show, Love said she was referring to her days growing up in a project environment back in Detroit back when she used to eat processed foods, including government cheese.

I didnt say all women and I dont speak for us. Im giving you a tool to try to help you. I try to work with brands that want to help our community, Love said, taking a minute to explain her comments.

She added that if people understoodmy heart they would know where she was coming from.

The comedian added that her goal was to start a conversation, not to put anyone on blast on lump everyone in the same category.

Thats more important to me to start the conversation, she said. And theyre conversations that we need to have as a community. Its not meant to embarrass. Its meant to have conversations. Thats my whole goal and thats what my platform is.

And while some tried to read into the side-eye Seales threw during the segment, Loni said its all love between the two and that the Insecure star is a welcome addition to the roundtable, which also features Tamera Mowry-Housley, Adrienne Bailon and Jeannie Mai.

Its hard being on a talk show when youve never been on a talk show, she told the site. For Amanda, this is new territory for her. And I think she is actually maneuvering it very well. You have to respect the space that shes in. She studies African American history. There was a reason they put her on the show. And we as a group have no problem with it.

The Real airs weekdays on Fox. Check your local listings.

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Loni Love Clears Up That Viral Clip Of Her Crying While Talking About Her Diet - Essence

A "reckless" and "opportunistic" businessman who dealt online slimming pills which caused the death of a Wrexham Glyndwr University student with bulimia has been jailed for seven years.

Bernard Rebelo, 32, from Gosport in Hampshire, was twice convicted of killing Eloise Parry, 21, after the Court of Appeal last year ordered a retrial at the Old Bailey.

He had already served almost 10 months in custody before being handed his second sentence on Wednesday.

Ms Parry, from Shrewsbury in Shropshire, died in April 2015 after taking eight "extremely toxic" pills containing the poisonous Dinitrophenol (DNP), described online as "the devil's cut agent".

Rebelo was accused of buying the yellow powder from a chemical factory in China and selling it on, in tablet form, to people around the world, including Ms Parry.

The court previously heard how Ms Parry had been diagnosed with the eating disorder bulimia at the age of 17, and became "psychologically addicted" to the chemical after she started taking it in February 2015.

Side affects of DNP included multiple organ failure, coma and cardiac arrest.

In part of a victim impact statement read to the court, Ms Parry's mother, Fiona Parry, said her hopes for her daughter had been "destroyed."

"Eloise had many problems in her life but I always hoped they would be sorted," she said.

"In the latter part of her life there were positive signs that things were getting better. She was working towards achieving her goals.

"She had plans for the future including travelling and seeing the world, not just a career.

"When Eloise died, her life was undone and her plans were unravelled. In that moment, my hopes were destroyed."

Following the sentence, she said: "It all feels unreal. It's still never a situation you want to find yourself in. It's overwhelming.

"If I really stop to think about it, I don't function."

She said that the person that would be most affected was her other daughter Rebecca, who had just turned 17 when her sister died.

She said: "At the end of the day, the sentence doesn't bring Eloise back. She doesn't get another chance, and as a family we have to go away and live with that.

"There hasn't just been one victim, to what he [Rebelo] has done. Although I don't know who they are, there must be many more families."

Mrs Parry added that she wished that people would "just remember the best" of her daughter.

"I hope they remember the good times, the smiles and the joy she brought to others, she said.

Sentencing Rebelo, Mrs Justice Whipple said that he had shown a "blatant disregard for risk of death" by selling the substance that was "not fit for human consumption".

"DNP is an extremely toxic substance. It is a yellow powder which was originally used in making munitions in World War One," she said.

"It was banned in the USA in 1938, because it was dangerous and unsafe and not fit for human consumption. DNP has a market in the UK amongst bodybuilders and those that want to lose weight.

"There is no safe dosage for DNP: even small amounts can have devastating consequences. In consequence, DNP has a staggeringly high mortality rate."

The judge said that taking DNP was akin to playing "Russian Roulette", adding: "You don't know if you are going to live or die.

"Eloise Parry had a distorted body image and a morbid desire for thinness. She had been a regular customer of yours in the weeks leading up to her death.

"By selling her the DNP, you caused her death - it is that simple."

Mrs Justice Whipple said that Rebelo had "encouraged" other customers to buy his product using "reckless sales talk", despite acknowledging the dangers in online posts.

She added that Rebelo had used "dishonest" business methods such as disguising the packages of DNP with false descriptions before selling them.

Rebelo, of Harrow, west London, was sentenced to seven years in prison, minus the 301 days he has already served.

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'Reckless' businessman jailed over sale of diet pills that led to death of young Shropshire woman - Border Counties Advertizer

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John F. Kennedy International Airport, March 7.

Last week I got back from a vacation in Vietnam. It was a lovely trip! I ate so much pho, rode a motorbike, and went to beaches and museums. I was also offline and not really following the news for about two weeks. Did I miss anything?

The coronavirus outbreak had been on the rise in China shortly before I left, but with no travel advisories in place for Vietnam (cases of the virus have been minimal there compared to surrounding countries), I went ahead with my travel plans. Imagine my surprise and confusion when I got back to New York and found everyone in full-on prepper mode.

Things got even more disorienting when I got an email from BuzzFeed HR the day I got back, saying that anyone who had been somewhere with a COVID-19 travel advisory was mandated to work from home for two weeks. That included me, as I had had a brief layover in Japan.

Id originally thought it overly cautious to stockpile food and supplies, but then my doctor suggested I stay indoors as much as possible. I wasnt totally clear how concerned I should be I was only in Japan for one hour! but just to be safe, I bought heaps of groceries, prepped a bunch of freezer meals, and readied myself for self-quarantine.

Then this week, all my colleagues at the New York office were told to work remotely out of an abundance of caution just as many other offices have been doing.

As coronavirus upends life for more and more people, you might be feeling uncertain or fearful about whats to come. When that anxiety is coupled with a sudden drop in social contact whether because youre quarantined or just working from home for who knows how long those feelings can feel even more heightened, said Laura Hawryluck, a critical care physician and associate professor at the University of Toronto.

We dont realize just how social beings we are until that contact is reduced or diminished because we can't leave our homes, Hawryluck told BuzzFeed News.

We dont realize just how social beings we are until that contact is reduced or diminished because we can't leave our homes.

Shortly after the SARS epidemic in China in the early 2000s, Hawryluck authored a study on the psychological effects of people quarantined for SARS. It showed there was a high prevalence of psychological distress for people who had been quarantined.

With SARS, there was that sense of isolation, Hawryluck said. People also didnt feel that they got consistent or accurate information, and that led to a lot of fear, a lot of anger, frustration, and stress. A lot of people felt very depressed by all of it, and a lot of people had nightmares.

Those symptoms can be worsened for people who have been exposed to the disease and live with other people, as they may worry about spreading the coronavirus to people they care about. Most people arent worried for themselves, because they think theyll get through it, which in and of itself is a coping skill, said Hawryluck. But worry about someone they love, that makes all those psychological symptoms more prominent.

Adilisha Patrom checks her stock of face masks in her coronavirus pop-up store in Washington, DC, March 6.

There are a whole bunch of reasons you may be staying home for a while due to coronavirus. At the least restrictive end of the spectrum are the many workers, like me, who are doing their jobs from home for the foreseeable future because their employer mandated it. More serious are those (like Sen. Ted Cruz) who are self-quarantining after coming in contact with someone infected with the virus, as well as those people self-quarantining after exhibiting flu-like symptoms. At the most severe end are people who are medically quarantined because they have been diagnosed with the coronavirus. You might also live in a country, like Italy, or a US county that's under lockdown, where travel is being restricted and people are being urged to stay home as much as possible.

If youre self-quarantining for any reason, working remotely, or just feeling anxious about having to do either of those things for a while, there are tons of little ways to prepare yourself that arent just buying up your grocery stores entire stock of beans (though heres a guide to making a coronavirus preparedness kit, in case you need that too).

We asked experts, consulted guides, and crowdsourced tips online. Here's some of our advice:

Just because youre stocking up doesnt mean you have to live on nonperishable foods and canned vegetables. Thats going to get tiresome real quick, and there are plenty of ways to eat the things you normally would.

Fill your freezer with fresh, flavorful soups. Keep pasta in your pantry and tomato sauce in your freezer. Think about the foods you would want to eat on a typical day; usually theres a way to keep those around. Personally, I froze a big batch of taco soup and a bunch of marinated salmon, and made a crunchy quinoa salad that lasts well in the fridge for the week. I also bought eggs, sweet potatoes, peanut butter, hummus, carrots, and a bunch of other things normal staples for my diet that will keep for a decent length of time.

You dont just need well-balanced meals! You need Cheez-Its, peanut butter cups, popcorn, gummy bears...really whatever snacks youll be craving if youre stuck inside for a while. There has never been a better time to have ingredients around to bake cookies. And if youre out here thinking meal prep time would be a good time to get super healthy and only eat lentils, get real. These are trying times. Buy the damn candy.

On that note, dont forget coffee and tea, if you drink them, and some booze if thats up your alley. You probably dont need to stockpile water, but I bought enough seltzer to tide me over for a while. Priorities.

A passenger wearing a protective mask walks at Sheremetyevo airport, outside Moscow, March 6.

Being forced to stay inside might sound like an introverts dream come true, but when its in the midst of a worldwide epidemic and everyone is panicking, its not such a fun and chill time. It took me one day stuck at home to get lonely and stir-crazy.

Check in with your people. Get on the phone or FaceTime and call your family and friends with some regularity youll probably need it, and so will they.

And if someone you know actually gets quarantined, or gets infected with the virus, be there for them as much as you (safely) can. Call them, or just send a playlist, some memes, or links. And even if you cant go hang out with them IRL, consider cooking them a meal and leaving it outside their door, which is safe to do.

People [need to] know who to call if they do start getting symptoms, [and] know there is somebody who is going to check in on them, that theyre not just going to be isolated and forgotten about, said Hawryluck. If youre afraid youre going to get sick, what you really need and want is to know that somebody is going to care for you.

There are plenty of workouts you can do from the comfort of your own home, and doing so can seriously help your mental health.

Here are a bunch of exercises you can do without any equipment, and YouTube has tons of channels that offer instruction in everything from yoga to Pilates to strength training.

And if you can still go outside, nothing beats a walk. Just avoid big groups of people.

Not only does it protect against the spread of illness, it also makes being cooped up in your home a lot more pleasant. Heres a big list of spring cleaning chores you may have been putting off.

When the SARS epidemic broke out in 2002, Facebook, Twitter, and even Myspace did not yet exist. Now, people are far more digitally connected, and the ability to keep in touch over social media and video chat can have major benefits on mental health during isolation. It shortens distances between people, Hawryluck said.

But the internet also creates issues that didnt exist during SARS namely, the spread of misinformation.

People are afraid, and thats okay we are human, there are things in our lives that are going to scare us, and this is one of them, said Hawryluck. But how we handle that fear, I think fear can be lessened if we have accurate information.

Heres a running list of misinformation about the coronavirus to keep on hand as you peruse social media. Also, be wary of those hawking fake cures online or trying to infect your computer with malware by sending you suspicious coronavirus-themed emails.

Watch the news, for sure, but dont just stay glued to cable news. The worst thing people can do is sit around and watch TV or watch their screens and look for the hourly update of numbers, Hawryluck said. I think that just exaggerates the symptoms of fear and its effects.

You know all those shows and movies youve been meaning to watch but never get around to? Make a list yes, an actual list of the titles, and youll never run out of things to watch.

But if spending too much time looking at screens is driving you nuts, shut it down.

Get out a bunch of books from your library. Pull out the board games and puzzles. Have some craft supplies on hand, if thats your thing.

Whether youve been to a therapist before or are just realizing you might need to see one, seeking help with your mental health doesnt need to wait till you can go outside again. Lots of therapists offer sessions over the phone or video chat. Here are a bunch of tips for how to find a therapist. There are also apps to help you with your mental health.

A self-quarantined resident who claims to have tested positive for COVID-19 listens beside his window as volunteers perform a Purim reading in New Rochelle, New York, March 9.

Working from home sounds like the dream pajamas all day, slacking off, working from the couch! but it can get bleak and unproductive pretty quickly if its not approached the right way.

Matt Greenwell, BuzzFeeds director of engineering, has worked from his home in Austin for six years. He advised people new to the WFH life to try to keep a regular routine as much as possible, including getting dressed and grooming yourself like you usually would, eating breakfast, and having a ritual to signal a transition into the workday, like taking a walk.

The getting dressed bit is a bit of a trope, [but] if you dont put effort into yourself, you wont put effort into anything else, Greenwell told BuzzFeed News.

And actually seeing and speaking to people matters too, he said. He suggested holding meetings over video chat and actually turning the camera on for them.

Luckily my wife is at home with me as well so we can chat with each other and have lunch together, but if she wasnt, Id be desperate for human interaction when she got home from work, he said.

Information is power, and having the right info can be helpful in stopping yourself from freaking out. You dont need to go overboard on research, but its a good idea to be aware of what you should do if you do think youve contracted the coronavirus.

And perhaps the easiest way to stay healthy is to maintain proper hygiene. You dont need a face mask (unless youre sick), but you should be washing your hands regularly (and remember, soap and water is just as effective as hand sanitizer).

Once thats done, just try to take it easy (and maybe order some dumplings to support your favorite Chinese restaurant). These are tough, uncertain times, and the best thing we all can do is be kind to ourselves and our neighbors as we all go through it.

Read the original here:
10 Tips For Preparing To Stay At Home Due To The Coronavirus - BuzzFeed News

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Gluten-free. Paleo. Intermittent fasting. Whole30. Keto. DASH. The list of trendy diets and their various rules and restrictions goes on and on. But the latest once-niche eating plan to edge into the mainstream is carb cycling. Heres how the practice of carb cycling stacks up with other buzzy diets, and if (or how) it can improve your running performance.

There is no formal definition for carb cycling, but the gist of this eating plan is that you alter your carbohydrate intake throughout the week, month, or year. There can be high-carb, medium-carb, and low-carb days cycled during a period of time. Figuring out how many grams of carbs to eat each day is an individual choice, but as a general guideline, high-carbohydrate days entail getting about 60 percent of calories from carbs (or roughly 300 grams of carbs for a 2,000-calorie diet). Then on low-carbohydrate days, this can drop like an anvil to 5 to 10 percent of calories. Thus, a medium-carb day would be about 40 percent of calories from carbs, but some just stick to a low- and high-carb cycles to simplify things (there is only so much number-crunching people are willing to do).

For athletes, carb cycling generally revolves around a persons training schedule. Your diet is tweaked based on day-to-day, week-to-week, and month-to-month ebbs and flows in training intensity and volume. On days when training is more intense, you consume more carbohydrates, whereas low-carb days occur when training is light. Some runners will taper down their carb intake during reduced-mileage periods like the off-season and then ramp up again when its time to pound out more miles.

Your body may not need as many carbohydrate calories during periods of lower volume training since you arent placing as much stress on it, but if you continue to load up on the same number of carbs as you do during periods of large training volumes, you may see your weight creep up. This could be due to two reasons: excess carbohydrates in the body that arent used for energy get stored as fat, but also, carbohydrates cling to water, so in some cases, this weight is simply water weight.

Also, many athletes consider themselves weekend warriors, meaning larger training loads take place on weekends with more downtime during the week. Periodizing your carbohydrate intake suggests you eat in a way to support these fluctuations. So you may not eat the same stack of pancakes on Tuesday morning as you do on Saturday morning when youre getting ready to do (or just got back form) a long run instead of sitting at your desk all day.

[Build your personalized and adaptive training plan for FREE with Runcoach.]

So why bother? The rationale behind carb cycling is that when your body receives limited carbs, it relies on fat as the primary fuel source, which can be helpful for weight control and fat loss and also helps your body be more sensitive to insulin to better utilize carbs when they are reintroduced. To that latter point, carb-cycling athletes believe that being strategic about how many carbohydrates are eaten at certain times can help you utilize carbohydrates (your bodys preferred fuel for higher-intensity exercise) more efficiently to power workouts and get closer to nailing a PR.

Many people find carb cyclings flexible see-sawing between periods of different carbohydrate intake less onerous than sustaining longer periods of low-carb dieting like what is required on the Keto diet. Its easier to march through a couple of low-carb days if you know that prerun bowl of pasta is on the horizon. Replenishing your bodys depleted glucose stores from carbohydrates (known as refeeding) can alleviate some of the loathed side-effects of low-carb eating such as brain fog and lethargy, making carb cycling a good middle ground.

But there are few downsides to carb cycling, too. The cycling period, as well as the amount and the type of carbohydrate is not defined, so you have to play around with this diet before figuring out what works best for your goals. The fact that it takes a lot of planning and tracking to do successfully means the diet can be mentally draining. And for some, obsessing about counting calories and macros can spiral into an unhealthy relationship with food.

Research on carb cycling for weight loss and endurance performance is pretty scant, and theres not a lot of data on the long-term benefits or drawbacks of this dieting approach. In other words, what you hear on social media or in training circles is likely anecdotal.

With that said, there is one version of carb cycling that has some research muscle behind itthe sleep low method. This method entails performing a bout of high-intensity exercise to deplete your muscles carbohydrate (glycogen) stores and greatly limit carbohydrate intake afterward. Then, you perform a morning training session in a fasted state. Research suggests that training in this way with low-carb stores can amplify certain metabolic adaptations from endurance training and perhaps bolster overall performance. But before you jump to try this, know that this dieting method needs to be implemented very carefully. Being carb-depleted only works when training is performed at lower intensities, during which fat is the primary fuel source to power the engine.

At high intensities, muscles require carbohydrates to meet energy needs. So if you lace up for a spirited morning workout (anything above 75 percent max intensity) after eschewing carbs for several hours, youll likely hit the wall fast, which in turn diminishes overall calorie burn and training benefits. Instead, you want to periodize your carbohydrates to match your intended training efforts.

Some call this method train low, compete high. If planning an easy-does-it workout, you could experiment with performing it after following a low-carb diet, but if you want to crank it up, make sure to eat plenty of energizing carbs beforehand to keep your energy stores well-stocked. Its important to note that this type of training diet should be undertaken under the supervision of a sports dietitian who can better help you pinpoint your carb needs based on your training schedule.

Bottom line: Carb-cycling isnt as harsh of a commitment as other trending low-carb diets, but we simply need a lot more research to know if its beneficial for performance gains or weight loss. If you want to give carb-cycling a go, consider working with a trained professional and make sure the majority of your carbs are coming from wholesome sources such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

High-carb days shouldnt be filled with muffins and candy. When you are trimming the calories you get from carbs, eat enough quality proteins and fats to help regulate hunger and ensure your body is getting the nutrition it needs. But remember that when carbs go high again, youll need to scale back your protein and fat intake to compensate for the shift in calories. And you should keep an especially close eye on your energy levels during your workouts. If they are consistently flagging, then messing around with your carb intake might not be best for you.

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What Even Is Carb Cycling (and Should You Try It)? - runnersworld.com

Theres a lot that scientists know about the benefits of zinc. The essential nutrient boosts the immune system, heals wounds and supports brain development in children. We even need zinc to smell and taste. Dive a little deeper, however, and the real mysteries of zinc emerge.

One of them how zinc is distributed to tissues and cells is the root of Prof. Shannon Kellehers research, which aims to reveal the role that zinc plays in the development of inflammatory bowel disease and food allergies.

Zinc is critical for intestinal health, but we have little information on what it actually does in the intestine, says Kelleher, who is based in UMass Lowells Biomedical and Nutritional Sciences Departmentin the Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences. Our goal is to understand how zinc affects intestinal function, the gut microbiome and the risk for intestinal disease.

We asked her to explain.

Q. What do we know about zinc and its effect on intestinal health?

A. We know that the right amount of zinc is critical to intestinal health. If we consume too much or too little zinc, the intestinal barrier falls apart. An over- or underabundance of zinc can cause shifts in the gut microbiome, and cause diarrhea and inflammation.

The only way that people can consume too much zinc is through supplements. If you get zinc only through foods in your diet, then you really cant consume toxic amounts. However, if you only rely on your diet, then you may not be consuming enough. So finding the right balance is important.

Q. Is zinc deficiency a big problem?

A. One study from the National Institutes of Health shows that 35 to 45 percent of adults over 60 years old had lower-than-average zinc intakes. Scientists believe that about 7 to 10 percent of the U.S. population is severely lacking in the nutrient. Women of reproductive age are most likely moderately zinc-deficient due to menstruation and not eating the right foods. Symptoms of too little zinc include dry and itchy skin, loss of hair, reduced ability to taste food and a compromised immune system that leads to more colds.

Q. How much zinc should we be consuming?

A. The recommended daily allowances for zinc are 11 mg for men and 9 mg for women. Foods high in zinc include red meat, oysters, poultry, fish and some fortified breakfast cereals. But since excess zinc is also not healthy, dont overdo it with supplements.

Q. Why is it important to find out how zinc travels through our bodies and cells?

A. If we knew how zinc gets into our cells, where it goes in our cells and what it does, then we could use this information to develop new therapies to fight a variety of diseases. These could include new drugs, delivery systems or personalized dietary recommendations.

Q. What else could your research results be used for?

A. Our research could also inform personalized nutrition. I teach an undergraduate course about an emerging field called nutrigenetics. We are now able to sequence your DNA and, based on your genetic blueprint, assess your risk for nutritional disorders and develop personalized diets that match your genetics. It helps to understand why individuals who eat similar diets can have different health outcomes. Your genetics play a crucial role in how you respond to what you eat.

Q. How does your work differ from nutritional science?

A. Nutritional science is often thought of as studies that look at how diet and foods affect human health and the risk for disease. The type of research we do is referred to as molecular nutrition. My research dives a little deeper to understand how specific nutrients in this case, zinc affect cellular and molecular processes that then cause the positive or negative effects we see in the body.

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The Role of Zinc: It's More Important than You Think - UMass Lowell

Staying healthy amid the COVID-19 outbreak is top of mind for a lot of people. While regular hand-washing and getting good rest are both essential to avoiding getting sick, registered dietician Nishta Saxena says feeding and nourishing our bodies with the best foods we can is another crucial way to keep our immune system well-tuned. She broke down four vitamins that should be a part of your diet in order to stay healthycheck them out below and watch the video clip above for more info!

Vitamin C is the classic vitamin we think of when we think of immunity. Its an integral part of how our army of cells that are immune fighters function. Eating foods daily that are rich in vitamin C is crucial, because your body cant store it, so these foods are foods we want to have every single day. Foods such as kiwis, spinach, white potatoes, broccoli, oranges, grapefruits, strawberries and bell peppers are all great sources. Have a spinach salad daily with berries and citrus and some potato and pepper skillet.

Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin and actual regulator of the functioning of the immune system.Its also known as the anti-inflammation vitamin, andis commonly found in a lot of popular delicious foods. Meals such as eggs with the yolk, carrots, sweet potatoes, salmon and even butter are great sources.

Vitamin B is part of the family of vitamins that work to keep biochemical processes going in the immune system. Salmon, cold-water fish, chicken, chickpeas and leafy greens are great sources of B6 as well.

A fat-soluble vitamin, Vitamin E is an example of why its so important to have healthy fats in your diet. You cant absorb these vitamins without fats in your diet! Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that helps in fighting off an infection once you have one. Its found in great levels in almonds and other nuts like sunflower seeds and dark greens like spinach.

Try having a spinach side salad with toasted almonds and mandarin pieces. Be sure to add extra virgin olive oil as dressing for health fat. Have baked salmon as a main dish with potatoes and carrots on the side.

Originally posted here:
How to get these key vitamins into your daily diet - The Loop

A promising new study has just been published, showing the potential benefits of weekly refeeds on maintaining lean mass for resistance-trained men and women.

The study, conducted by Bill Campbell, a physique scientist from the University of South Florida, came out on Sunday, in the latest edition of the Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology.

As Bill took to Instagram, where he has 36.6k followers, to explain, the research could be significant for lifters looking to optimise their mass retention.

Though he admits every scientist gets excited about their research and probably thinks that their work will change the [dieting] world he says I think this new study about Diet Breaks/Diet Refeeds is going to change the way a lot of people approach their diets in the future.

If you resistance train and want to lose fat, keep your muscle, and not damage your metabolism, this study is for you!

Howd it go down? Bill and his team took two groups of resistance trained people (males/females) and put them on a diet for 7 weeks.

Both groups were asked to reduce their calorie intake by 25% below normal maintenance calories, and to eat 1.8 grams of protein/kg body mass (0.8 grams per pound) per day.

One group (dubbed CONTINUOUS) maintained this restrictive diet continuously for 7 straight weeks, with no break.

The other group (REFEED) also dieted for 7-weeks, but every weekend they took a break and increased their calories (all in the form of carbohydrates) back to maintenance calories.

The REFEED group decreased calories by 35% Monday-Friday but did not diet on the weekends (ingested 100% of their pre-diet food intake) which resulted in a weekly average caloric deficit of 25% the same as the CONTINUOUS group, Bill explains.

We also supervised everyones workouts in our Physique Lab every exercise, every set, every rep.

Every subject also had a personalized nutrition coach to assist them with their diet, Bill reveals. We implemented a Flexible Diet approach, and each subject tracked their macros every day and were required to submit their macro tracking sheets every week.

The main finding? Both groups lost a similar amount of fat about 5.5 pounds but only the REFEED Group was able to maintain muscle mass during the seven weeks of dieting, losing less than a pound of muscle while the group that did not take a break from their diet every weekend lost nearly 3 pounds.

While this is a significant finding, further research is, as always, required, to better understand it. As Bills colleague, Brad Schoenfeld, points out, not everyone in the REFEED group maintained mass.

What I find most interesting is that the individual data seems to show that several subjects were responders to the refeed and actually gained lean mass, while others were non-responders and lost as much FFM as the continuous diet subjects.

The take-home, according to Brad, a PhD holder, fitness scientists and researcher in his own right, is to remember that studies generally report the means, but practical application is specific to the individual. It would seem that refeeds are beneficial for some, but not others. Thus, experimentation is needed to determine what works best for you.

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Study Finds Eating Technique That Could Boost Regular Lifters' Gains - D'Marge

Billie Eilish has given the music industry everything it could possibly want. An authentic new voice that appeals to teenagers and their parents. A debut album that has sold more than 2m copies in the US alone. A decisive stylistic evolution from the preceding decades dominant pop mode. A clean sweep of the four key categories at the Grammys. A copper-bottomed streaming success model. A James Bond theme that rejuvenates a tired franchise and extends her commercial and creative clout.

Until she offers up her prime commodity as a young female pop star, it will never be enough.

While 18-year-old Eilish is a beguilingly physical performer, she has never shown her body in service of her art. She prefers loose clothing because she feels comfortable in it, and has denounced the use of her image to shame female pop stars who dress differently. Not that its stopped anyone. Denying spectators the traditional metric by which female stars are judged sexiness, slimness; the body as weathervane that reveals how tormented or contented they must be when they lurch between the extremes of those states has created an obsession with her body and what it must stand for.

Eilishs world tour which opened last night in Miami underscores these contradictions: While I feel your stares, your disapproval or your sighs of relief, if I lived by them, Id never be able to move, she says in a video shown between songs, as she removes her top and sinks into a pool of black water. Would you like me to be smaller? Weaker? Softer? Taller? Would you like me to be quiet? Do my shoulders provoke you? Does my chest? Am I my stomach? My hips?

As if to prove her point, the Sun reported on Eilish stripping to her bra with zero mention of her speech or its message, and titled their story Thrilly Eilish. Again: Eilish is 18 years old.

Its hard to think of any previous generation of young female pop star getting away with making such a public admonishment at the height of their stardom. Motowns girls were taught comportment by an in-house employee. The anorexia that killed Karen Carpenter was framed as an effective diet. To have her art taken seriously, Kate Bush had to endure the objectification of male journalists who typed with one hand. The Spice Girls had to wait until after the bands demise to discuss their respective eating disorders, lest they disrupt the image of supportive female friendship. Britney, Christina and Beyoncs millennium-era abs were testament to their drilled work ethic; Katy Perry and Ariana Grandes burgeoning images were dependent on marketing their sexuality, while Taylor Swifts taut middle stoked her image as an American ideal. To acknowledge Amy Winehouses bulimia would have complicated a convenient media narrative of debauchery.

In that context, Eilishs freedom to speak out represents a kind of progress. Its symptomatic of the control that she has retained over her career, and its impact on her fans is potentially profound. But being anointed a liberating force in the body-image stakes is its own kind of prison, one that preserves physicality as the ultimate measure of a female stars worth and the standard by which they can be undermined. The music industry and the media like to pat themselves on the back for making stars of Eilish and Lizzo, who often joins her in headlines about body positivity, though if these women one day wish to change their physical presentation, they will be accused of betraying fans and squandering their authenticity.

It is a minority of female musicians who are permitted this limiting form of freedom in the first place. Beyond Eilish and Lizzos presence at this years Brit awards, the photos from the red carpet looked like scenes from 2002: female musicians and influencers bearing aggressively toned abs, low-slung sparkly pants, dresses with gaping cutaways to highlight those effects. The media may praise Taylor Swift for speaking out about the disordered eating that she experienced until a few years ago, but it still perpetuates the standards that mean record labels will subject young, female pop stars to the punishing diets and exercise routines that Swift has described from her past. Female musicians who gain weight rarely return to the prime of their careers. Dua Lipas new video features an exercise routine. The narrative around Adeles fourth album, due later this year, is already centred on her recent weight loss.

Ever since the pianist Clara Schumann proved herself a concert virtuoso, female artists have had their creative worth tied to their physicality. The standards are so punishing and contradictory that it is hard not to suspect that they are purposefully engineered that way, to guarantee obsolescence as they succumb to human fallibility, thus clearing the decks to wave in a new phalanx of young bodies to ogle. As long as the industries that depend on its exploitation continue to exist, and new generations of onlookers are trained in envy and contempt for those bodies, this wont change.

As the industry races to replicate Eilishs success and the media hungers for more young girls to compel views, youd hope they would heed how this treatment has evidently affected her and ensure that no young female star is ever again subject to these vicious standards. As if.

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Body of work: why Billie Eilish is right to stand her ground against shaming - The Guardian

With newfound independence comes the freedom to make ones own nutrition choices. For some college students, these choices can lead to bad habits.

After a long day of studying, the convenience of grabbing a hamburger from McDonalds or ordering a pizza can be a tempting, sometimes cheap and often practical choice. Resources on campus, however, can help mitigate this problem

The textbook The Nutrition in Life Cycle, assigned to students who take NHM 201 at The University of Alabama, says that adulthood is the most appropriate cycle of life to develop the most powerful nutrition habits possible. Between the ages of 20 and 64 is the time when the future course of health and wellness is influenced by diet, physical activity and body weight.

Five of the 10 leading causes of death related to diet and exercise behaviors include cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes (Type I or Type II) and liver disease. Chronic illnesses are most prevalent in old age. Hypertension, osteoporosis and metabolic syndrome are also worth mentioning in regard to special conditions caused by inappropriate diets.

Unhealthy eating habits can be dangerous in the long run, according to Cherie Simpson, an adjunct nutrition instructor and a registered dietitian at the University.

Consumption of meals higher in saturated and trans fats and decreased consumption of fruits, vegetables and whole grains contribute to chronic diseases, and weight gain is often the first signal that someones eating habits are headed in the wrong direction and would benefit from intervention before bad habits continue, Simpson said.

The sheer amount of junk food available makes healthy eating a difficult situation for students.

Healthy and fresh foods at the supermarket, restaurants and fast-food chains are sold at prices significantly higher than a hamburger value meal, and that poses issues for students already pressed for money. For many students, the choice boils down to money.

I definitely think money in college is a problem, especially in the college town like Tuscaloosa, because food vendors know that during big games, students might want to go out with friends for dinner or with family, said Erika Feurtado, a sophomore majoring in news media.

Junior Andrey Tretyakov, a civil engineering major and a former swimmer at the University, said the University could do a better job with meal plans.

If Im short on time, I will grab something that may be less healthy that will temporarily fill me until I can go cook for myself, he said.

To be healthier, there are strict diets some students choose to follow such as vegan, vegetarian and high-protein diets. Regarding exercise, students claim they try to include CrossFit, weightlifting or some type of cardio if they have the time.

Cathryn Antonacio, an advertising major on the rowing team, said its nice that the University provides Dining Dollars at certain restaurants, too. In the South, she noted, BBQ and fast-food places are more accessible, so it is hard for her to steer away from the easy drive-thru options sometimes.

Everyones eating pattern is different, but what goes into the body affects students mental, emotional and physical health. Dieting behaviors and student health have a strong correlation, and students are urged to adopt healthy eating habits.

I usually have a cereal bar for breakfast, then my lunch normally consists of some type of fast food or leftovers, said Janel Carr, a junior majoring in public relations and Spanish. For dinner, I usually eat some type of frozen meal or fast food.

Some students try to cut down on unhealthy options by cooking at home, but that requires keen time management skills. For Feurtado, its hard to carve time out of a busy schedule, but meal planning over the weekend has proven some success.

I have just recently started to cook at home to save money and to find new recipes to try out, Feurtado said. I try to cook over the weekends so that I already have food prepared for the week ahead. My diet in general consists of a lot of carbohydrates and starches, which can get unhealthy for your urinary tract, but I am used to a lot of pasta, bread, puddings and custards [since I ate them] as a child.

Tretyakov, however, noted the convenience of a separate dining hall, which was opened in the summer of 2018 and provides a variety of healthy options. This marks a key difference among student-athletes and traditional students: Most universities provide additional educational resources and keep student-athletes accountable for their diets.

[Student-athletes] often have separate dining halls and processes for monitoring their intake and weight changes, Simpson said. Traditional students have to make their own selections with meals. There is little to no education or monitoring as they may have had at home prior to entering a university environment. There is also little structure in their daily routine.

For traditional students who want to make healthier eating choices, Simpson said she would recommend following basic dietary guidelines, and if someone needs more guidance, they can make an appointment with the dietitian at the Student Health Center. In addition to a dietitian, the University provides students access to a health educator. There, students can get the necessary help regarding appropriate dieting and developing healthier habits, which can help prevent diseases in the long run.

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Student-athletes, traditional students talk healthy eating, access to resources - The Crimson While

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