Search Weight Loss Topics: |
Charlotte Talks: You Can Have Your Cake And Eat It Too! – WFAE
Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020
Experts say diets don't work. Not for long-term weight loss, anyway. So why do we keep trying them and supporting the multi-billion-dollar diet industry? We explore a possible solution to escape "diet culture" intuitive eating.
America has a weight problem. We know it and 68% of us have dieted at one point or another.There are so many different approaches: keto, paleo, Atkins, South Beach, Weight Watchers all part of a multi-billion-dollar industry to help us become svelte again.
And lots of people have tried them all. Yes, they lost the weight but keeping it off turned out to be incredibly difficult. Some dieticians believe dieting is the wrong way to go. They suggest "intuitive eating."
One local woman took that approach and lost half her body weight and kept it off for over eight years. We discuss "intuitive eating" and how to evaluate our relationship with food.
Guests
Shelli Johnson, a woman from Lake Wylie, South Carolina. After yo-yo dieting for years, she lost over 160 pounds through intuitive eating. She was featured on the cover of People magazine's Half Their Size issue in January. She wrote a book about her experience, "Start Where You Are Weight Loss."
Elyse Resch, nutrition therapist specializing in intuitive eating, eating disorders, and "health at every size." She is the co-author of "Intuitive Eating: An Anti-Diet Revolutionary Approach," the fourth edition of which is due out June 23.
Read more:
Charlotte Talks: You Can Have Your Cake And Eat It Too! - WFAE
How the Mediterranean diet became No. 1 and why that’s a problem – The Conversation CA
The Mediterranean diet was voted by a panel of 25 health and nutrition professionals as the best diet for 2020. Characterized by plant-based meals, the diet emphasizes eating less red meat and dairy, and more fish and unsaturated fatty acids like olive oil. Red wine can be enjoyed in moderation.
Even if you are familiar with the Mediterranean diet, you may not know that it involves a set of skills, knowledge, rituals, symbols and traditions concerning crops, harvesting, fishing, animal husbandry, conservation, processing, cooking and particularly the sharing and consumption of food, as described by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In 2013, UNESCO added the diet to its list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
The Mediterranean area covers portions of Europe, Asia and Africa around the Mediterranean Sea. While many nations share that bio-geography and elements of the diet, only the nations of Cyprus, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Morocco, Portugal and Spain sponsored the diets addition to UNESCOs list.
Mediterranean food traditions have deep history, but different ingredients arrived at different times. Olives were first pressed for olive oil sometime before 2,500 years ago. Grapes were likely first enjoyed as wild harvests, but by 6,000 years ago full wine production was underway. Domesticated grains and legumes like wheat and lentils appeared between 9,000 and 10,000 years ago. Fish would have been one of the earliest resources, traded even into non-coastal areas.
In spite of the diets guidelines, various red meats and dairy products also enjoy a long history in the region. Domesticated herd animals such as sheep, goats, cattle and camels arrived on the scene at least 10,000 years ago, and dairying goes back at least 9,000 years in Europe. The prominence of red meat and dairy foods in daily meals may have varied regionally, but both are deeply rooted in Mediterranean history.
But these are just the ingredients. Defining a single Mediterranean diet is tricky business. The Mediterranean region encompasses hundreds of languages and cultures, culinary techniques and styles. The ancient past was equally diverse, with millennia of migration and trade across the region bringing new ingredients and culinary innovations. Ask someone in Lebanon if their food is the same as Spains, or someone in Morocco if their food traditions are identical to those in Greece.
And no one in the Mediterranean would agree that their diet is identical to that of their ancestors. The multinational group that nominated Mediterranean food traditions to UNESCO might agree on the broadest framework, but culturally each region in the Mediterranean is distinct.
We are anthropologists who study biological and cultural aspects of nutrition and past foodways as part of human gastro-heritage. And we are simultaneously excited and concerned about the Mediterranean diet in public health messaging.
Health professionals should focus on food traditions rather than just nutrients, and it worries us when one cultural food tradition is held up as superior to others especially one that has been associated with a history of Western political and cultural imperialism.
Historian Harvey Levenstein writes that the Mediterranean diet was created by physiologist Ancel Keys and his biochemist wife, Margaret Keys. In 1952, the Keys travelled to Italy and Spain and conducted some quasi-experimental surveys of blood pressure, blood cholesterol and diet.
Many epidemiological studies later, the couple promoted the Mediterranean diet in their popular diet book How to Eat Well, later repackaged as How to Eat Well and Stay Well the Mediterranean Way.
In the 1990s, the International Olive Oil Council promoted olive oil as a key ingredient in the diet, and the Harvard School of Public Health built the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid.
The promotion of the Mediterranean diet is an example of what anthropologist Andrea Wiley calls bio-ethnocentrism. Wileys study of milk argues that although milk has been promoted as a healthy and nutritious food for all, only a segment of the human species predominantly those whose ancestry comes from Europe, where there is a long history of dairying are able to digest the primary sugar in milk (lactose).
Bolstering one regions diet as universally ideal ignores the long evolution of social, biological and environmental human food traditions through the development and conservation of regional and local cuisines. This includes, as found in UNESCOs description of the Mediterranean diet, the production, preparation and consumption of food through human skills, knowledge, and social and cultural practices.
In a globalized world with increasing migration, retaining traditional cuisines may seem meaningless. But in fact, it may be more important than ever. Anthropological research shows that migrants work hard to maintain their traditional cuisines as part of their ethnic identity and to support their health and well-being. When a health-care provider suggests to their patient that they adopt a Mediterranean diet, there are several things that can go wrong. Unless the diet is explained in detail, a patient may have a very different idea of what constitutes the Mediterranean diet. More harmfully, if a patient believes that their own cultural food traditions are bad for their health, they may give those up to adopt a diet seen as medically approved.
A survey of global food shows that the core principles of the Mediterranean diet can be found in the traditional cuisines and food traditions of many people. In Mexico, for example, the combination of corn tortillas and beans accompanied by foods like squash and tomato salsas has yielded complete plant-based proteins that provide a nutritious and sustainable diet. Research on soy-derived and fermented foods found in traditional Chinese cuisines shows they are high in bioactive peptides that can provide protection against disease.
In a world where we are rapidly losing diverse biological and cultural heritage, we should be celebrating the plurality and unique qualities of traditional foods rather than attempting to promote and universalize one regional diet over another. Diverse traditional diets can and should be promoted through public health messaging that is culturally sensitive and inclusive.
Go here to see the original:
How the Mediterranean diet became No. 1 and why that's a problem - The Conversation CA
How these dudes ditched their beer guts and their dad bods – New York Post
These guys went from having dad bods to rocking rad bods.
Coined by a college student in 2015 and embodied by a shirtless Leo DiCaprio (whos not a dad at all) frolicking on a beach with a pint-sized paunch hanging over his board shorts, a dad bod has come to signify the physique of a middle-aged man whos just slightly let himself go.
But for these three fathers, being an average Joe with a dad bod had its drawbacks low energy, bad moods and the feeling that theyre missing out on quality time with their children. I realized I needed to be around for my son, and I wasnt doing a good job taking care of myself, says David Corcoran, a dad whos shed more than 70 pounds.
So, for their kids, their bodies and their mental health, they ditched the doughnuts and lost the weight. Heres how they did it.
Before: 252 poundsAfter: 175 pounds
In the summer of 2017, Corcoran, 35, was on vacation with his wife in North Carolinas Outer Banks when he saw some muscular-looking men walk by. I look like that, right? he asked his wife. Um, sure? she replied.
Corcoran, an accountant at an asset-management firm, says he was going to the gym frequently and lifting weights but didnt have any sort of fitness plan. He really did think his 6-foot-2 frame was muscular like the guys on the beach, albeit a tad less ripped, despite eating his offices catered lunches pasta, sandwiches, pizza Fridays daily with no regrets.
After the summer trip, he got a scale, and was shocked to see he weighed more than 250 pounds.
I started looking at my life. [I was] overweight, on medication for high blood pressure, [had] high cholesterol, a stressful job [and] a history of heart disease in my family, Corcoran recalls.
Corcoran decided to take up running, but didnt make weight loss a real priority until Christmas 2018. Hed lace up his sneakers and hit the pavement for at least 25 to 40 minutes daily, working his way up to 6 miles a day. He also started lifting free weights for at least 30 to 40 minutes a day.
I remember by [spring of] 2019, I had dropped down to 195 pounds, Corcoran says. I was so happy to go to my doctor for my six-month blood-pressure checkup, but my doctor said it was still too high.
Thats when Corcoran decided to take it to a whole different level, he says.
I told my doctor that I was going to run my blood pressure down, Corcoran says. I started doing 10-mile runs. I also completely overhauled my diet.
Corcoran started with some intermittent fasting, skipping breakfast and cutting out sugars and refined carbs. By the fall, he decided to go vegan.
I eat an avocado a day, says Corcoran, either sliced on toast, diced over quinoa, or over Just Egg (a vegan substitute brand). I eat a ton of fruits and veggies. I cut pasta and bread, originally, although I do eat some bread now. I eat two meals a day: basically a big grain bowl with a lot of veggies and a big salad with nuts and beans.
By the end of October 2019, it was time for Corcorans annual physical.
I was ready, Corcoran says. I felt invigorated, like everything was just working better. I felt more alive and more energetic. I had a lot more confidence.
Thats when he got the best medical news of his life: His blood pressure was the lowest it had ever been and his cholesterol was perfect.
My doctor was impressed with my transformation. Im off my medication, he says. Changing my diet changed my life, even more than exercising.
Corcoran has maintained his current weight loss for more than six months and says he is very comfortable with his current lifestyle, which includes quitting booze this past January.
I went through this phase where I was posting a lot of shirtless pics, Corcoran says. Its shocking to have a six-pack for the first time in my life at 35 years old. Its empowering. I feel like I can do anything.
You have the timeI did all of this while also working 60-hour weeks, Corcoran says. The easiest way to find the time is to wake up earlier then you normally would. On weekends, Ill wait for nap time and alternate with my wife. Its easier to make excuses to avoid the gym after work than in the mornings.
Switch it upCorcoran has experimented with a lot of different diets over the course of his journey, such as intermittent fasting, before going vegan in October. Since I switched [to veganism], I feel so good, he says. Not that it hasnt been difficult. My last night of [eating meat] I went to Dinosaur Bar-B-Que and spent like $100 on a last meal.
Before: 250 poundsAfter: 176 pounds
After 12 years in the Army, father of two Jay Dacanay, 43, joined the corporate workforce as an onboarding analyst at a bank downtown and watched his kids and his gut grow and grow.
My weight gain happened over 10 or so years, Dacanay, who is 5-foot-7, tells The Post. Every year, Id gain three pounds and the scale just got higher and higher. Im a traditional dad. Im up early, go into the city for work, and come home and want to spend as much time as possible with my kids. Exercise never really fit into that.
Bagel breakfasts, cookies and cupcakes in the office, sandwiches, and even a whole pizza would be a typical days meals. Hed snack on bread while waiting on line to order macarons at the French bakeries near his office.
I just really love pizza, meatball subs, hero sandwiches, cookies the size of my face, Dacanay says. I would call myself the Filipino Joey Tribbiani. I really thought that since I was never overweight by Army standards and could always, even at my heaviest, bang out 75 pushups without a problem or run 2 miles, that I was OK.
It wasnt until Dacanay was more winded than usual in his familys big Thanksgiving 2017 football game (We have a trophy and everything, he says) that he decided to make a change.
I jumped on the scale the next morning on Black Friday, and was like, Are you kidding me? he says. The scale read 250 pounds.
Dacanay spent the rest of the holiday season doing the typical eat-less, exercise-more diet and by Christmas, he has lost a little more than 10 pounds. Still, it wasnt enough.
I was always mad. I hated my life. [I was] just not happy in my own body, Dacanay says. My kids thought I was mean that Army man who babysat terrorists in Guantanamo Bay after 9/11, but my wife knew better, she knew the real me. She said, Instead of being a jerk, why dont you be the happier guy you were before. You snap at people. Youre snapping at the kids. Thats not cool. And she was right.
Around the new year, Dacanay downloaded an app from Al Kavadlo, a Brooklyn-based bodyweight strength-training and calisthenics expert.
I love it, Dacanay says. You dont need any special equipment. I could work out at home. Pushups, situps, cardio, HIIT [high-intensity interval training], planks. Eventually, I installed a pullup bar; thats the only equipment. I could be at home with my family but still get a workout in.
Next, Dacanay overhauled his diet, changing how and when he eats.
I started learning about intermittent fasting and at first, did a standard 16-hours-fasting, eight-hours-fed program for a while, he says. A few months later, I was walking around with my shirt off all the time.
By the summer of 2018, the regimented eating routine helped Dacanay get down to around 170 pounds. Today, hes maintained that weight loss for a year and a half and is still actively doing intermittent fasting even dabbling with an extreme version of the diet, known as OMAD (one meal a day), although he will allow himself treats like bubble tea with his family. He also tries to work out three to five days a week (a mix of HIIT, power yoga and calisthenics).
But even though his approach seems intense, it was just what this Army vet needed to stay on track.
Every aspect of my life is better now, he says. I have more energy, my mood has improved, my skin has cleared up. I feel like I just added a decade to my life.
Find your whyMy why is my wife and kids, he says. Find a strong why so when your mind goes to a bad decision, you can remember why youre doing it all in the first place.
Reward yourselfI used to be more strict, but Ive found if I stay away from processed foods and refined carbohydrates, I can have a cookie at a kids birthday party and its OK, he says.
Before: 189 poundsAfter: 145 pounds
At 189 pounds, Rocky Parejo was never considered fat. But he was far from fit.
It was all uncomfortable belly fat, Parejo, 40, tells The Post. Gross, weird-looking belly fat. Skinny arms, skinny legs and a huge belly.
He worked as a chef for 17 years, and only cared about flavor, not calories. I had no sense of portion control back then, he says.
A typical breakfast would include three pieces of toast, three eggs, a coffee and even maybe a cookie. Lunch usually happened while at work in the kitchen, where hed snack on chicken, rice and french fries. Dinner was always late like an hour and a half before I went to sleep, he says and would consist of pasta with alfredo sauce or a heavy beef stew. He estimates that hed down about 10 beers a week.
Id eat half a bag of Oreos for dessert, the 5-foot-7 Parejo says. I had an endless stomach ... salty chips and anything with chocolate.
Before long, Parejo was having trouble playing pickup baseball and basketball. But it was the birth of his daughter when he was 38 that gave him the real motivation he needed to create a new life.
I realized I wanted to be able to keep up with my child, Parejo says. Shell be in her 20s, and Ill be in my 60s. I wanted to be there to scare off her future boyfriends.
So Parejo started Googling everything he could on how to lose belly fat. He joined a gym and made simple changes to his diet, such as adding greens to meals hed make one-pot dishes and add loads of greens like kale or Swiss chard. Still, he regretted spending so much time away from his fiance while he was working out.
It felt weird for me, like, Oh, Im going to the gym, babe, you take care of the crying baby, he says.
So, he decided to make health his career. In December 2017, he quit his job cooking at an Italian restaurant, put the $700 fee for fitness certifications on a credit card, and signed up to be a trainer.
Everyone thought I was crazy, starting over completely, Parejo says. But I knew I had the enthusiasm and motivation to do it.
After completing his training, he still felt self-conscious about his mid-section, and was dismayed at being initially rejected for jobs. But after being hired at an F45 location in Toronto, a gym that specializes in cardio and resistance group training, Parejo went to work.
He gets up at 2:30 a.m. and is in the gym by 3:30 to work out at least five times a week without fail, he says a mix of cardio and strength training incorporating high knees, burpees, kettlebell swings, calisthenics, bodyweight exercises and more. Despite sounding insane, his routine is coincidentally on par with Mark Wahlbergs early morning habit, another F45 fan. He eats salads, veggie bowls and, if he eats grains, its always quinoa or couscous, never white bread or pasta. In fact, he cut pretty much all refined carbs out of his diet in August 2019.
Hes managed to keep off 44 pounds for about a year, and his abs are getting more ripped every day.
My wife says that she never thought my body would look like this, Parejo says. She makes a lot of comments about my abs like, Babe, Ive got some clothes to wash, can I use your abs?
Start your day strongParejo starts his day with 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar mixed with 1/4 cup of warm water because, he says, it suppresses his appetite, then dives into a bowl (or thermos) of oatmeal. I eat oatmeal almost every day, Parejo says. Its filled with fiber and it gives me the energy I need.
Stop eating at least three hours before bedThis simple trick really helped to jump-start my weight loss, before I spent any time in the gym at all, he says.
Link:
How these dudes ditched their beer guts and their dad bods - New York Post
Simple Diet Changes Helped This Guy Build Muscle and Get Shredded in 6 Weeks – Yahoo Lifestyle
From Men's Health
Jonny Cruz had two problems: Facebook and a fear of death by workout. The 36-year-old- actor from West Hollywood, California, had started working as a creative producer with the social media giant, only to find that free meals and snacks at work were an irresistible temptation. I have always had a lean frame, so I don't look heavy or fat per se, he says, but grazing all day had him taking in a lot of extra calories.
Meanwhile, hed stopped really exercising. It all started when he tried to get back in the gym after slacking off for a few years. Suddenly he found that any strenuous exercise left him feeling dizzy. I got really worried that I had something going on with my health but was too afraid to get it checked out, he says.
That left him in a bind, adding more pounds while not getting the exercise he needed to burn calories. To the naked eye you wouldn't really think anything about my weight, but I could really feel it, he says. Tired of feeling sluggish and dizzy, he finally talked to a cardiologist, who confirmed his heart was healthy. Cruz realized hed created his own barriers to getting back in shape; he felt especially guilty for having a girlfriend who runs marathons while he worried a workout might kill him. At 158 pounds, his body fat percentage was 19.24 percent.
His doctor told him that his dizziness would likely subside as he exercised. So Cruz threw himself into a six-week transformation at Ultimate Performance. His initial assessment rolled right into a workoutIt was great cause I didn't have time to freak out, he says. He felt on the brink of dizziness, but as he kept going the feeling disappeared. Soon he was training without fear.
Photo credit: Jonny Cruz/Ultimate Performance
To fix his diet, he switched to a macro eating plan, logging all of his intake in MyFitnessPal. Hed never done that before, and soon learned the value of tracking fats, carbs, and protein. It was a challenge, but he realized how important it was to know exactly what he was eating. He even signed up with a service called MacroPlate, which delivered meals designed to fit his plan.
Along the way, he un-learned some bad habits, including form that hadnt been serving him well. It was a lot of pain, but very rewarding to see how much more weight or reps I was doing each week, he says.
Within two weeks he could pinch his fat and notice it felt looser. In six weeks he lost nine pounds and dropped his body fat to just over 10 percent, giving him a super-cut look. I was amazed at how much muscle I gained, he says. I didn't think I would get lean and build muscle the way I did. Hes now bulking up, especially focusing on his legs.
For him, the transformation was all about diving in. Make a full commitment to what you want to achieve, he says. Find an environment that supports your dedication and keeps you accountable. The accountability will keep you grounded in the beginning, helping you shape a new habit.
You Might Also Like
Follow this link:
Simple Diet Changes Helped This Guy Build Muscle and Get Shredded in 6 Weeks - Yahoo Lifestyle
Why is nutrition so hard to study? – Medical News Today
Is dairy good or bad for health? Is cholesterol evil? Does red meat kill or cure? Is the ketogenic diet a godsend or a health hazard? Can the vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, or raw food diet extend disease-free life?
Nutrition is wrapped in multiple confusions. Why is it so hard to determine whether a food is good or bad for health?
In medical science, proving any theory is difficult. The science of nutrition is no different, but it also has some unique challenges. In this feature, we outline just some of these stumbling blocks.
Despite the many issues that nutrition scientists face, understanding which foods benefit or harm health is essential work.
Also, the public is growing increasingly interested in finding ways to boost health through diet. Obesity and diabetes are now highly prevalent, and both have nutritional risk factors. This has sharpened general interest further.
All areas of scientific research face the following issues to a greater or lesser degree, but because nutrition is so high on peoples agenda, the problems appear magnified.
Although the water is muddy and difficult to traverse, there have been substantial victories in the field of nutrition research. For instance, scientists have determined that vitamin C prevents scurvy, that beriberi develops due to a thiamine deficiency, and that vitamin D deficiency causes rickets.
In all of these cases, there is a link between a particular compound and a specific condition. However, the picture is rarely so clear-cut. This is especially true when investigating conditions wherein multiple factors are at play, such as obesity, osteoporosis, diabetes, or heart disease.
Also, nutrition-related conditions have changed over time: The most common threats to health used to be deficiencies, whereas in Western countries today, overeating tends to be the primary concern.
Understanding the role of food in health and disease is essential and deserves attention. In this feature, we discuss some of the reasons that nutrition research seems to be so indecisive, difficult, and downright confusing.
In an ideal world, to understand the health impact of a given food goji berries, for instance an experiment would go something like this:
Scientists recruit 10,000 participants (both males and females, from a range of nationalities and ethnicities) and house them in a laboratory for 10 years. The scientists feed each person the exact same diet for the duration of their stay, with one difference: Half of the participants consume goji berries surreptitiously perhaps blended into a mixed fruit smoothie.
Alcohol and tobacco are banned for the duration of the study.
The participants must also exercise for the same amount of time each day; if some people exercised more, they might become healthier, regardless of their goji berry intake. This would skew the data.
Neither the researchers nor the participants are aware of who is receiving the goji berry smoothie; if the participants knew they were receiving a superfood, they might benefit from the placebo effect. This so-called double-blinding is vital when running clinical trials.
During the decade-long study, the scientists monitor the participants health intensively. This might involve running regular blood tests and medical imaging.
Of course, the astronomical cost of this type of study is the very first stumbling block. Also, ethics and good sense say that this is beyond impossible.
Nutritional research has to make some concessions, as the perfect study is unachievable. So, in observational studies, nutrition scientists look for links between what a person consumes and their current or future state of health.
Observational studies can be incredibly useful. Using this method, scientists proved that tobacco causes lung cancer and that exercise is good for us.
However, these studies are far from perfect.
One issue with observational studies is the researchers reliance on self-reported food intake. They ask participants to note down everything they eat for a set amount of time, or to remember what they ate in the past. This could refer to yesterday or months earlier.
However, human recall is far from perfect. Also, some people might purposely miss certain food items, such as their third candy bar of the day. In addition, participants do not always know the exact size of their portions, or the full list of ingredients in restaurant or take-out foods, for instance.
Studies often ask questions about the long-term impact of a nutritional component on health. However, researchers tend to take dietary information at just one or two points in time. In reality, peoples diets can change substantially over the course of a decade.
The issues associated with measuring nutrient intake are so ingrained that some authors have referred to self-reporting as a pseudoscience.
These issues prompted a highly critical study, which appeared in the journal PLOS One, to pull apart data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
The NHANES, which began in the 1960s, is a program of studies designed to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United States. Experts use the findings to guide public health policy in the U.S.
The primary method of data collection for the NHANES are 24-hour dietary recall interviews. Researchers use this information to calculate energy intake.
The authors of the critical paper conclude that the ability to estimate population trends in caloric intake and generate empirically supported public policy relevant to diet-health relationships from U.S. nutritional surveillance is extremely limited.
In an opinion piece, lead author Edward Archer pulls no punches, explaining that their paper demonstrated that about 40 years and many millions of dollars of U.S. nutritional surveillance data were fatally flawed. In [] nutrition epidemiology [], these results are commonplace.
Here, we meet the double-edged sword of industry: The PLOS One paper declares that funding for the critical study was provided by an unrestricted research grant from The Coca-Cola Company.
Industry funding certainly does not invalidate the findings of studies, but it should prompt us to wonder what the funder might gain from such research. In this case, a company that produces sugary drinks might benefit from destabilizing peoples faith in the research that has deemed their products unhealthful.
Perhaps this example is a little unusual; more commonly, an industry with a vested interest will fund studies that demonstrate the benefits of a product.
As an example, the California Walnut Commission regularly fund research concluding that walnuts are good for us. Meanwhile, one study supported by the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council proudly states in its abstract:
[I]t is widely agreed that the regular consumption of tasty, ripe blueberries can be unconditionally recommended.
For more on this topic, read our article on the sugar industry and how it manipulated scientific discourse in its favor.
To reiterate, if a study secures industry funding, it does not mean that people should dismiss the findings out of hand. However, it should provide food for thought.
Another study in the journal PLOS Medicine looked at the impact of industry funding of research into soft drinks, juice, and milk.
The authors conclude, Industry funding of nutrition-related scientific articles may bias conclusions in favor of sponsors products, with potentially significant implications for public health.
To add to the confusion, media outlets tend to amplify these findings. If, for instance, a study funded by a chocolate manufacturer concludes that chocolate extends life, media outlets will faithfully reproduce the conclusions, often without a mention of the funders or a discussion of the studys limitations.
Another issue that seems to plague nutrition research is complexity. Sometimes, a study will focus on the impact of just one specific food item or compound on a health outcome. This is slightly easier to manage.
Often, however, studies will try to investigate the impact of a particular diet. The Mediterranean diet, for instance, has gained a lot of attention over recent years.
The difficulty here is that one persons version of the Mediterranean diet could be very different from another persons version. For instance, one person might have one small glass of red wine, 25 olives, and an artichoke each day, while someone else who may be in the same experimental group of a study might drink no wine and eat neither olives nor artichokes.
A related issue is that of replacement: If someone eats no meat, for instance, they are likely to replace meat with other sources of protein, such as beans or pulses. So, when comparing diets that contain meat with those that do not, any health effects might not be due to the lack of meat but the addition of other foods.
Every type of fruit and vegetable contains a vast array of compounds, and the type and amount of these can vary depending on where they grow, how people transport and store them, and how they process and cook them.
There are so many variables to take into account that even when a study does find a statistically significant result, it is difficult to determine if it actually came from the food under investigation.
Of course, humans are just as diverse as the foods they consume. Eating a single peanut might provide one person with beneficial nutrients, while that same peanut could be fatal for someone with an allergy.
One 2015 study makes the same point but in a more subtle way. The scientists continuously measured 800 participants blood glucose levels and found high variability in the response to identical meals.
The authors explain that this suggests that universal dietary recommendations may have limited utility.
To explain this issue, it may be helpful to describe the findings of an imaginary (but not entirely fanciful) study: People who eat a great deal of spinach live for 5 years longer than people who eat no spinach.
From that result, one might quickly conclude that spinach increases life span. However, before rushing out to stock up, it is worth considering the alternatives.
In this case, the extended life span might not be due to the spinach alone; someone who eats a lot of spinach might also eat a lot of other vegetables. Conversely, someone who eats no spinach might eat fewer vegetables overall.
Also, someone who regularly eats vegetables is possibly more likely to indulge in other healthful pastimes, such as exercise. Someone who never eats spinach might, perhaps, be less inclined to work out.
These are all assumptions, of course, but it is clear that other factors are linked to spinach consumption, and these might influence the results.
In most studies, researchers attempt to control for these variables. However, there is always a risk that some unmeasured factor is significantly altering the findings.
Confounding variables affect all areas of medical science, of course, but because diet and lifestyle are so intimately entwined, they are a particular hazard in nutritional research.
Nutrition is a minefield of confusion. Determining what is healthful and what is not can be a challenge. Although we can be fairly confident that fruits and vegetables are good for us while high fat, high salt, high sugar products are not, there are many gray areas.
One study that brings the confusion in nutritional science into stark relief involves a literature of research associated with 50 ingredients randomly selected from cookbooks. These included pepper, veal, lemon, carrot, lobster, rum, raisin, and mustard.
According to the paper, of these 50 ingredients, 40 were associated with either an increase or a decrease in the risk of cancer. In their conclusion, the study authors write that [m]any single studies highlight implausibly large effects, even though evidence is weak.
So, what can we do? Scientists should keep improving their study methods and adding to what we already know. Consumers, the public at large, and media outlets all need to be more critical.
Overall, there are no quick answers in the world of nutrition. However, because we all need to eat, interest is unlikely to disappear, and science will continue to forge ahead.
Read more from the original source:
Why is nutrition so hard to study? - Medical News Today
What would happen if you gave up your phone for Lent? I tried four ‘digital diets’ to find out – Telegraph.co.uk
I meet very few people who feel they have healthy digital habits locked down. I certainly dont. There have been days when my screentime tipped the six-hour mark.
When I couldnt focus on friends, family or the work task in front of me, because I was on high alert for the whooshing sound of a WhatsApp message, the ding of an iMessage, the tinkle of a notification on Facebook Messenger, the thud of an email.
Last year, I felt like I should constantly be checking something, like I might be missing something but the more time I spent on my phone, the more anxious I became. Scrolling mindlessly through Instagram, Facebook, Gmail, Twitter, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger was the last thing I did at night and the first thing I did after waking up.
The average British smartphone user spends three hours and 23 minutes on their phone every day, rising to four hours in the 16-24 age group, according to a recent poll. One in six smartphone users spends more than six hours a day staring at their mobile, like me.
The impact on our health and happiness is profound. An October 2019 study by psychologists at Kings College London suggested that one in four young people has a dysfunctional relationship with their smartphone, and that people with problematic smartphone use are three times more likely to suffer from depression, as well as anxiety, stress and poor sleep, plus poorer educational attainment.
Its important to note that this is not our fault, says Catherine Price, author of How to Break Up with Your Phone and founder of screenlifebalance.com.
Phones are designed to be habit-forming by offering rapid and repeated stimulation. Yes, I believe its possible to reap the benefits of this technology, but its very, very difficult for individual users to benefit from the positives of social media without risking behaviour change and addiction.
In his book, The Hacking Of The American Mind, Robert Lustig compares the addictive properties of technology to sugar and drugs. Lustig points out that dopamine (thereward neurotransmitter) hasevolved to overwhelm serotonin(the contentment neurotransmitter) because our ancestors were more likely to survive if they were constantly motivated.
In the past 40 years, large corporations have promoted ever-available temptation (sugar, drugs, social media, porn), which, combined with constant stress (work, home, money, internet), has the end result of an unprecedented epidemic of addiction, anxiety, depression, and chronic disease, says Lustig. The [mobile] phone is like a slot machine. With every ding, a variable reward, either good or bad, is in store for the user the ultimate dopamine rush.
Its no longer a secret that smartphones, and their apps, were specifically engineered to be addictive, to keep users coming back for more and generate more revenue through the advertising-based business model. Tristan Harris is a former Google employee, and one of Silicon Valleys most prominent whistle-blowers.
Never before has a handful of people working at a handful of tech companies been able to steer the thoughts and feelings of a billion people, he said in a talk at Stanford University. There are more users on Facebook than followers of Christianity. There are more people on YouTube than followers of Islam. I dont know a more urgent problem than this.
So far, so terrifying, but at least weve recognised that smartphone addiction or overuse is a problem. Half of the UKs smartphone users are hoping to reduce their screen time and Im one of them. But, rather than a complete digital detox, maybe Lent is the perfect time to try a digital diet.
I road-tested four of the best.
The Regime: This involves exchanging your smartphone for a simpler gadget with no online access meaning no social media, no emails, no apps.
Among Silicon Valleyites, net-free phones are now a badge of honour, up there with Wim Hof-inspired cold showers and Bulletproof coffee.
One high-achiever who swears by his low-achieving phone is entrepreneur Nick Boulos. After a prolonged period of anxiety and depression, I realised I needed a break not only from my everyday life, but also the white noise of social media and WhatsApp, he says. I decamped to Mexico with no plan and, more crucially, no phone. Armed with an antiquated handset, minus the SIM and all apps (I only kept Maps and Spotify), for the first two weeks I experienced moments of blind panic when I instinctively tapped my pockets and didnt feel my phone.
But he also felt more engaged, more creative, and more inspired. He set to work plotting and planning his new business, a citybreak planning platform called MakeMyDay.
Some net-free dieters proudly brandish their Nokia 3310s, but in US and European capitals, all the buzz is about the Light Phone.
Its the Light Phone II that I trial for a week, a sleek grey handset, reminiscent of a Eighties credit-card sized calculator albeit with a pricetag of $350 (270). This is one in-demand pricey little phone; the company more than doubled its $200,000 crowdfunding goal for the original version, with a waiting list of 50,000.
Like the original Lightphone, the Lightphone II has no access to emails, no social media, no browser, but in a few months theyll be enabled with Maps and a rideshare app like Uber. This is an interesting concession, because going cold turkey dumb phone is a mixed bag. Within a few hours, I feel less twitchy and as the working week progresses, Im able to focus more on the work in front of me. I have a lovely evening at the pub with friends, without the temptation to get my phone out. By Friday, I concede Ive had one of the most engaged, switched-on, productive and pleasurable weeks Ive had in weeks. But I did have to ask my friend to call me an Uber and give her a tenner to pay for it. I had to duck repeatedly into shops and bars to find my way to thetheatre.
The Verdict: The rewards of ditching social media, WhatsApp, emails and other distractions are abundant and immediately tangible, but going 100per cent net-free takes real commitment and adjustment.
The Regime: A similar strategy to the 5:2 diet, smartphones are a working week indulgence only; at weekends you switch your smartphone for a secondary dumb-phone without emails, social media apps.
This is where the Light Phone really comes into its own. As a secondary phone, its a dream. I was first introduced to the idea of a secondary, weekend phone by my friend Harriet Jordan-Wrench, founder of Secret Sessions, a live events company. S
he switched to a Sunday phone to try to take a break from relentless work emails in what was meant to be her precious downtime.
Running events means that I couldnt do a whole weekend without my phone, but my Sunday dumb-phone really works for me, she says. Initially I felt quite bare, but eventually it felt really liberating, and I began to actively look forward to Sunday, because I knew I could switch off.
In place of her iPhone, she uses an Alcatel one touch. Only three people have my Sunday phones number: my mum, my sister and my wife, shesays.
Like my friend, I immediately find that the Light Phone gives me a good old-fashioned weekend where I take a proper break from work emails, dont give a damn whats happening on Instagram, and dont suffer from FOMO after seeing what other people are planning on WhatsApp group chats. But the Light Phone requires one additional piece of kit: an understanding friend, family member or lover on your arm who wont mind excusing you from all social organisational duties.
On Saturday, I went out with my friend Robbie, who dutifully fielded calls from friends we were meeting, googlemapped our way there, and called the Uber. How are you finding the Light Phone? a friend asked, when we were finally assembled at the pub. Oh, its greatfor me, I said, chirpily. ForRobbie, I suspect, its working out less well.
The Verdict: Weekend phones work brilliantly for the user. They are less brilliant for your friends.
The Regime: Think of this as intermittent phone-fasting; you only use your smartphone for an eight-hour window every day.
A more moderate approach to switching devices entirely involved building digital blackout hours into your day. An editor I know swears by keeping her phone on flight mode until 11am, so she can clear her morning emails free from distractions, and turning it off again at 7pm as she arrives home so she can focus on her husband and two small children.
I was in real danger of being one of those working mums answering emails on my iPhone while spoon-feeding my two-year-old, she says. So now I make sure that by the time I get home, my phone is offline.
I start with the same 11am-7pm schedule, and after a couple of days, Ive realised that not going online first thing has transformed my mornings. I go for a run and enjoy my breakfast in peace, listening to the radio. I go to the office, open up my laptop, and this is my first taste of the net all day.
But Im able to plough through emails and finish straggly bits of work without being distracted by WhatsApp messages. A few procrastination-free days in, Im sold on net-free mornings. But its a different matter in the evenings, when Id normally catch up with friends and make plans, and I find the ban hard to stick to.
The Verdict: For those with a regular routine, this might work, but its tricky for those of us with fluctuating schedules.
The Regime: A little like calorie counting, users set limits for the screentime for different apps. This means that nothing is off-limits, but mastering moderation is key.
After the feast-or-famine approach of the eight-hour diet, theres something deliciously liberating about my next digital diet. I set a time limit of 120 minutes on my iPhone. My phone has the inbuilt Screen Time option, but there are a number of other apps such as Digital Wellbeing, Off The Grid, App Detox and AntiSocial for other smartphones.
Given that my screen time could hover around the four-hour mark, this is a major reduction in usage. I like the fact that it instils self-discipline if Im tempted to scroll through Instagram, I remember that Ill need to use WhatsApp to arrange my night later on. So every time I go online on my phone, I go in, do what I need to do, and extract myself as quickly as possible.
It forced me to think for myself and assess my priorities. But on the flipside, because I could always go online on my phone, I never had that feeling of true digital escapism.
The Verdict: The flexibility makes it less arbitrary than blanket-bans during certain hours of the day. But this freedom also means I didnt quite switch off and reap the benefits of a digital detox.
All four methods delivered the results I was after: a clearer mind, boosted productivity, increased creativity, reduced stress and more productive days. Im now religious about net-free mornings.
The Light Phone is a stress-reducing revelation, and Im counting the weeks until this model is enabled with Maps and Uber. Until then, Im keeping my iPhone on hand, too, mostly SIM-free.
It might sound contrary to digitally detox by getting two phones, but I now use my iPhone more as a separate device, a tool to be used as a camera, for social apps when the time is right. But my phone has gone back to being just a phone. And that feels great.
Go here to read the rest:
What would happen if you gave up your phone for Lent? I tried four 'digital diets' to find out - Telegraph.co.uk
What Is Skinny Fat? – How to Tell If You’re Metabolically Obese – GoodHousekeeping.com
The notion that weight determines your health is seriously disturbed. As a Registered Dietitian, I know firsthand that calculations like body mass index (BMI) are completely outdated and are a poor measure of health since they only look at weight and height. Looking beyond weight is important to understand what is going on inside your body. Just because you have a normal BMI doesn't necessarily mean you are healthy: enter the term "skinny fat."
The term first gained traction after a piece in Time Magazine profiled individuals who had "normal weight" but had some major underlying health issues. Medically described as metabolically obese normal weight, this refers to people who may have a normal weight or BMI but have risks for health problems in the same way as an outwardly obese person would. Although we don't like the term "skinny fat" as it is super shame-y, it is commonly used describe a serious health issue.
Does your diet primarily consist of excessive sugar, salt, and processed foods? Was the last time you visited a gym back in freshman year of college? Poor diet and lack of exercise, as well as a sedentary lifestyle, can lead to metabolic obesity. Most of us have a decent idea of whether or not we eat a balanced diet and stay active on a consistent basis.
Some more clinical indicators of being metabolically obese that you can discuss with your doctor include:
Diet, exercise, and lifestyle factors all play a huge part in maintaining good health and promoting longevity. Even if you have a normal BMI, high cholesterol and elevated blood sugar can put you at increased risk of heart disease and diabetes. Research has shown that poor diet and lack of exercise are also two key factors that can increase a persons risk of developing cancer.
A big danger for individuals who are metabolically obese is excess visceral fat. While subcutaneous fat (also known as "belly fat") is the layer of fat that sits directly under the skin and can be easy to see, visceral fat lies deeper and surrounds the internal organs. Visceral fat has been strongly linked to metabolic disease and insulin resistance, even for individuals with a BMI within the normal range. You may have heard of the apples and pears scenario that mimics body composition: pears tend to store fat in their lower extremities such as the hips and thighs, whereas apples tend to store fat in the belly. Individuals with an apple shape that store fat in the belly tend to have more visceral fat. Your waist circumference can give you a clearer picture: men should have a waist circumference of less than 40 inches and women should have a waist circumference of less than 35 inches. Cortisol, which is the stress hormone, can also increase how much visceral fat your body stores.
Stay hydrated: Did you know that up to 60% of the human adult body is made up of water? If there is one thing you can do for your health, its to start committing to your hydration. Try lining up your water bottles on your desk so you can see how much you need to drink by the end of the day. When you have a goal and can visualize it, meeting your hydration needs may be easier. You can even fill up a pitcher and keep it in your fridge as a reminder that it must be finished by days end.
Focus on fiber: Fibrous foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are loaded with vitamins and minerals. Plus, fiber can help lower cholesterol levels and also control blood sugar. Fruits and vegetables also are full of water and can help you meet your hydration goal without having to down another water bottle.
Get moving: How are you spending the majority of your day? Are you sitting at a desk or laying on the couch practically 24/7? A study published in 2019 by the European Society of Cardiology found that 20 years of a sedentary lifestyle is associated with a two times risk of premature death. Regular aerobic exercise can also reduce the amount of visceral fat in your body. Consider getting a standing desk at work or just making an effort to get up and move more throughout the day.
Commit to your sleep: Ongoing sleep deficiency is linked to increased risk for several chronic diseases, including heart disease and diabetes. Commit to going to bed an hour earlier and avoid skimping on sleep. Plus, the extra rest may give you more energy to workout the next day.
See the article here:
What Is Skinny Fat? - How to Tell If You're Metabolically Obese - GoodHousekeeping.com
How I lost 125 pounds, and the small changes that will make us happier – WSPA 7News
GREER SC (WSPA) By now, folks have noticed a difference. From late 2018 and through all of last year, Ive been losing weight. Ive lost a lot.
As of this morning, Im down more than 120 pounds from my all-time high. It feels good, and the comments from my family and friends and viewers have felt good too.
When youre as big as I was, you can lose a lot before anyone notices. Or, maybe, people do notice but theyre too polite to say it. Either way, I was down nearly 75 pounds before I felt the need to tell anyone whats up.
I promised myself years ago that Id never talk publicly about my weight again, mostly because it was too stressful.
My weight is the thing Im most sensitive about. Thats always been true. Even now, when Ive lost what amounts to small human in body weight and dropped my BMI from morbidly obese to just overweight, its hard to talk about.
Avoiding the topic isnt easy.
If you Google Gordon Dill, Googles algorithm suggests the following related searches: Gordon Dill WSPA weight loss, How did Gordon Dill lose weight and How did Gordon Dill lose weight 2019.
That last one is a real doozy for reasons Ill explain later.
Still, what I heard from viewers by phone, email and on Facebook led us to this story and, likely, more to follow.
Turns out, there are a lot of people who, like me, are not just struggling with weight and unhealthy food, but feeling as if we lack self-control.
Sometimes we wonder, Whats wrong with me that makes this so hard, when so many others seem to have no problem?
Its a helpless feeling.
So, in this story I will share the basic outline of my Keto Diet and how Ive made it work for me. But more importantly, I want to share what Ive learned from some of the best scientists in South Carolina about how we feel, and why that weight loss mountain seems so hard from some of us to climb.
I think the reason I liked Keto so much is because I really like bacon. Its almost that simple.
The truth about any successful diet is finding the right individual fit, and a plan that involves bacon is a really good fit for me.
It was my doctor who first suggested it during a checkup last March.
Keto works by dramatically cutting carbohydrates and replacing them with a lot of fat, which is harder than it sounds.
On Keto, about 70 to 75 percent of my daily calories come from fats, things like butter, olive oil and delicious bacon.
Another 20 to 25 percent of my daily calories are protein.
That leaves about 5 percent, only about 20 to 30 grams a day, of carbs. Thats about the same as two slices of wheat bread.
Carbs are sneaky though. For example, a piece of cheddar cheese may have zero carbs but shredded cheddar may have two or three grams. Those small amounts can add up quickly so it pays to be vigilant about every ingredient.
On Keto, we eat so few carbs that the body depletes its stored sugar and, essentially, runs out of fuel.
The body burns fats instead and produces a different fuel called Ketones, which is how the diet gets its name.
Then, like all successful diets, the critical step is keeping track.
I took a business class at Clemson years ago. The teacher liked to say, You cant manage what you dont measure.
For Keto to work, I had to write it all down.
Literally everything Ive eaten for the last 12 months every gram of carbs and fat and protein is logged in an app I downloaded for my iPhone. It was free, but costs a couple of dollars a month to re-subscribe.
I also quit sugar, the drug that was most responsible for my weight struggles. That meant cutting the fake stuff too.
Additives like aspartame are actually much sweeter than real sugar.
People find that the potency is higher so it leads to them eating more, sweeter things, nutritionist Katherine Nowakowski said. Theyve done a lot of studies that showed that patients who switched to diet sodas either ended up sustaining or gaining weight.
At restaurants, where I wont always have the nutrition information I need, Ill pick simple meals and break them down by ingredient.
A Caesar salad is romaine lettuce, parmesan cheese, and Caesar dressing for example.
I eat eggs for breakfast every morning fat and protein and keep almonds in my desk for a snack.
More than 100 pounds later, Im still not eating sweets and Ill never give up the eggs.
Like most obese people, Ive been back and forth a number of times.
When I started at WSPA in 2011, I weighed about 220 pounds. Im really tall, so thats a healthy weight.
By 2014, I was back up to 340.
I gained and lost as much as 50 pounds at least three other times. Always working hard to get healthy and always sliding back to something miserable.
By 2018, I tipped the scale at 374. Thats 44.3 on the body mass index. Its called morbidly obese and it made me depressed.
Theres been groundbreaking research on this topic the relationship between weight and mood at the University of South Carolina.
You can see that as body mass index goes up the rate of depressive illness in those individuals increases to a point that when you get to something like 40, a BMI of 40, now youre into something where you may to be two to three, four times more likely to develop depressive illness, Dr. Larry Reagan said.
Reagan is a professor of pharmacology who studies the hormonal relationship between obesity and depression.
But anyone who has struggled with severe obesity will understand what hes discovered.
That cycle of weight gain and loss triggers hormones that are more likely to make us depressed, and people who suffer from depression are often more likely to gain weight. Its a cycle that can be terribly difficult to break.
Every time I failed, my brain lied to me. It told me it was too hard to try again. That the next time would be like all the times before. Id fail and get fatter.
We think its a variety of changes which take place in the central nervous system, whether its chemistry changes, might involve neuroanatomical changes, it might involve all of those sorts of things that may be taking place, Reagan said.
But, Reagan learned something else that is great encouragement to folks like me.
Even very small changes, small changes in diet and exercise, can begin to reverse those hormonal changes.
Those deficits in neuroplasticity can be reversed with weight loss, he said. Even those small changes might be enough to elevate mood and elevate cognition.
For me, it was Keto that changed the way I thought and felt.
By making relatively small changes to each meal replacing the carbs with fat I felt better in a matter of weeks.
A reminder: I did Keto because my doctor suggested it. You should get the same advice.
Keto is not for everyone and, in some people, it can actually be quite dangerous.
According to studies published by the National Institutes of Health, people who have pancreatitis, liver disease, fat metabolism disorders or other health issues should not do Keto. Neither should anyone who has diabetes or who takes insulin.
In fact, for some people those conditions can cause life-threatening health problems on a Keto diet.
If you try something else, let me know. And if you try Keto, share that, too.
Ill keep you updated on my Facebook page: Gordon Dill WSPA.
See the article here:
How I lost 125 pounds, and the small changes that will make us happier - WSPA 7News
How to improve your work performance using brain science – Ladders
In these confusing and difficult times, performing at peak capacity in the workplace is more important than ever. With high caseloads, massive workloads, and constant meetings pecking away at your time, you may be more in need than ever of the energy, focus, and clarity necessary to excel at work. But how can you ensure that you are operating at peak performanceand meeting your professional obligations?
While some turn to aids like caffeine and energy drinks to support them in their work, the most sustainable and effective way to enhance your professional capacities is to work on optimizing the power of your brain. New doctors and clinicians are constantly developing approaches to brain science that allow you to improve your brain functioning and be more efficient and capable of work.
One of brain sciences most innovative thinkers is Dr. Daniel Amen. Founder of the Amen Clinics chain, Dr. Amen has written a series of books on holistic brain science, including the bestselling The Amen Solution: The Brain-Healthy Way To Lose Weight And Keep It Off. Dr. Amens work has helped hundreds of thousands of patients with their brain capacity, increasing focus, cognition, mood and energy levels and helping them manage their daily lives.
Read on for an introduction to Dr. Amens basic prescription for people seeking to improve their brain functioning for more effectiveness in the workplace. The tools he recommends include:
Did you know that different brain types express themselves as different personality types and require different nutrition and supplementation? At his clinics, Dr. Amen conducted over 150,000 brain SPECT scans and found that there were five different brain types, each with their own behavioral profile. These types were:
The balanced brain The spontaneous brain The persistent brain The sensitive brain The cautious brain
Each brain type requires careful stewarding with the appropriate diet plans, supplement regimens, and behavioral interventions for maximum effectiveness. Learn more by reading Dr. Amens book Change Your Brain, Change Your Life.
Dr. Amen offers a comprehensive introduction to nutritional supplements in his books, including regimen suggestions for a wide range of brain types. Some of his most trusted recommendations include:
Vitamin D3 for energy levels 5-HTP for sleep and mood Fish oil for healthy brain functioning Gingko biloba for cognition Melatonin for sleep
Eating healthy whole foods that assist in the production of energy and the process of toxin purification is essential to being able to function in the workplace. For the best results, eat a whole-food plant-based diet with copious amounts of fresh produce, lean vegetarian proteins, whole grains, and healthy oils like coconut oil and balsamic vinaigrette. You can also rely onfoods containing omega-3 fatty acids, which enhance the brains functioning. These foods include avocados, eggs, salmon, walnuts and mackerel.
These are essential tools for learning to train the brain to enter trance states, which allow for deep levels of focus and productivity. There are many apps that offer simple instruction in hypnosis and meditation, while other options for instruction include class settings, individual mentoring, or workshops.
Getting adequate exercise is one of the most important things you can do to keep your brain functioning at peak efficiency. While a daily gym workout is not necessary, you should try to work out for at least 20 minutes every day by doing something physical, whether that be yard work, walking or dancing in your living room. Even just a few minutes of daily exercise per day can reap amazing benefits.
Link:
How to improve your work performance using brain science - Ladders
5 Spring Diet Tips For Healthy Skin That You Can Flaunt This Bright Season – NDTV Food
Following a healthy diet may benefit your skin during spring.
Highlights
As the stark chills turn into mild nips, we know that the beautiful season of spring has arrived. The days are longer and our cosy blankets are no more trapping us inside the house. The days of binge-watching Netflix with winter desserts and ordered food are over; it's time to take stock of your diet. The transitional phase that braces us for summers makes our body go through many changes that affect us internally and externally. Our skin also has to brave the transformation in the environment and it may suffer through the drastic change in weather. A spring-special diet can spring up your health and help you wade through the season while flaunting a healthy and glowing skin.
The bright season of spring sees a selection of colourful seasonal fruits and vegetables lining up the local vegetable vendor stalls. Make sure to pick them and consume them to reap the benefits that they provide. Spinach, pineapple, and strawberries and many other foods are found in abundance during this season.
(Also Read:Spring Time Detox: 8 Amazing Natural Ingredients for Beautiful Skin)
Include seasonal produce in your diet.
It may be too much for our skin to adapt to this new weather. Drinking lots of water and fluids will keep it moisturised and will make sure it retains its sheen. Having coconut water that contains a lot of electrolytes is also a good option for maintaining your skin health during spring.
The change in weather makes our body vulnerable to flu and infections; same goes for our skin too. It's important to eat those foods that can naturally build our immunity and keep us away from skin infections. Have citrus fruits with vitamin C that are available this season; like grapefruit, pineapple and oranges. Try to include all the green leafy vegetables that you spot around.
During the spring, pollination occurs rampantly, which leaves pollen grains in the air that may cause skin allergies. Maintain the PH balance of your skin by consuming a healthy diet. Cleanse and detox your body and skinoff all the heavy, fatty winter foods that you gorged on till now. Increase your intake of foods and drinks that have detoxification properties. Have foods like avocado and beetroot and drink green tea and other such beverages to flush out the toxins from your skin.
(Also Read:Spring-Clean Your Body; A Detailed Guide To Readying Your Skin For The Summers)
Green tea can help your body detox.
After following a hefty diet during winters, going light now may be little difficult. But, doing this can work wonders for your skin. Do away with greasy meals and start eating light to keep your digestive system running smoothly. Have probiotic-rich curd every day to keep your gut healthy, which will have a positive effect on your skin health too.
Embrace the warmer and sunny spring with a smile on your face. Be mindful of what you eat or drink and let your skin too enjoy this pretty season, flawlessly.
About Neha GroverLove for reading roused her writing instincts. Neha is guilty of having a deep-set fixation with anything caffeinated. When she is not pouring out her nest of thoughts onto the screen, you can see her reading while sipping on coffee.
Link:
5 Spring Diet Tips For Healthy Skin That You Can Flaunt This Bright Season - NDTV Food