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Weight loss: Almond flour and coconut flour can be used to make rotis on keto diet

Weight loss: People on keto diet often crave basic staple foods like roti and rice. Roti and rice are two staples of Indian diet. Giving up on even one of them for weight loss or any other reason is not easy. The basic principle of keto diet is to give up on carbs and increase intake of fat and protein to achieve quick weight loss. When followed in the right manner, keto diet has proven to be effective in aiding quick weight loss. However, to follow it in the long run, or to continue with it for more amount of weight loss, you need to find solutions to rice and roti cravings to make the diet bearable and also easy to follow. So, in this article, we are going to talk about a variety of low-carb rotis that you can enjoy guilt-free on keto diet.

Nowadays, it is no longer difficult to get access to protein-rich flour options like almond flour, flaxseed meal, coconut flour etc. You can make a monthly budget and order these ingredients in bulk in the beginning of the month to enjoy rotis on keto diet as and when you want.

Also read:5 Food Swaps That Can Make Keto Diet Easy To Follow

When following a keto diet, the aim should be to get good amount of protein and fat in every meal. Almond flour is protein rich gluten-free alternative to wheat flour. It is also low in carbs, rich in monounsaturated fats, Vitamin E, manganese, and fibre.

Method to prepare:

Take 2 cups of almond flour, 1 cup of flaxseed meal, 3 tbsp of psyllium husk powder, 1 tsp salt, hot water and olive oil or ghee. Mix these ingredients well and knead them to form a dough. Let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes. Add some ghee to smoothen the texture of the dough and also add the fats you need in keto diet. Roll rotis with the help of a parchment paper. Use ghee to cook them and enjoy them guilt-free on keto diet.

Spinach rotis can provide you with the nutrition you need on keto diet, while satisfying your cravings for roti. Leafy green vegetables like spinach are good for heart health, blood sugar control, weight loss, high blood pressure regulation and much more.

Method to prepare:

You can take almond flour, flaxseed meal and psyllium husk in the same quantities as mentioned above. Blanch some spinach and add them to the dough. Spinach is a nutritious leafy green veggie that can provide you with magnesium, B vitamins, Vitamin K, Vitamin A and Vitamin C. Spinach rotis are going to be delicious addition to your keto diet for weight loss.

Add spinach to the dough for extra nutrients, texture and flavourPhoto Credit: iStock

Also read:Following Keto Diet? Try These 5 Tricks To Get Rid Of Keto Flu

Coconut flour is a glute-free flour that is made from coconuts. It is rich in fibre and medium chain triglycerides. It is good for digestion, heart health and even blood sugar control for diabetics.

Method to prepare:

Take coconut flour (2 cups), flaxseed meal and psyllium husk in the same quantities as mentioned above. Knead the dough with hot water and ghee. Roll them into flat breads and enjoy them with a coriander chutney and a dollop of ghee.

Now this is a perfect option for those who miss paranthas and rotis on keto diet for quick weight loss. It is rich in protein and fibre and low in carbs. They are going to make for a delightful chatpata addition to your keto diet.

Method to prepare:

Take 1 cup almond flour, 1/2 cup golden flax meal, 1 tsp chilli powder, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 2 tsp carom seeds, 3 tsp xanthan gum (optional), 1 tbsp sour cream and salt to taste. Mix all the ingredients well and knead into a dough. Cover and let it sit for 15 minutes. Cook rotis using ghee and enjoy masala rotis. You can also make a crispy version of these rotis as shared here.

Also read:7 Low-Carb Veggies That Can Help You With Quick Weight Loss And How To Include Them In Your Diet

The magic of almond flour, flaxseed flour and psyllium husk together can work for cheese and fenugreek rotis as well. While the cheese will provide you with the much needed fat, dried fenugreek leaves are low in carbs and delicious to taste. They are good for blood sugar control as well.

Method to prepare:

Take almond flour, flaxseed flour and psyllium husk in the same quantities as mentioned above. Take 1/2 tsp of carom seeds or ajwain, 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder, 1 deseeded green chill, salt to taste, hot water and ghee. Take 1 cup of parmesan cheese and 2-3 tsp of dried fenugreek leaves. Make a dough with the ingredients mentioned above. Use cheese and fenugreek leaves for stuffing. Cook them with ghee and enjoy these delicious low-carb rotis on keto diet for quick weight loss.

Cheese and Fenugreek Keto Paratha. Paratha , a category of popular unleavened Indian flatbread made of wholemeal wheat flour called 'atta', hails from the Northern region of India and is as diverse as the population here. Paratha is famously served in the Dhabas of North India, usually with yogurt, pickle and a tall glass of Lassi. Paratha is made in every house in India, and every house has it's own way of making it. You can either make a plain paratha and have it with a gravy, or you can have it stuffed. You can literally stuff the paratha with any stuffing of your choice - from potato to cauliflower, onion, Daikon, cheese, spinach, mixed vegetables, minced meat or even schezwan! Today, I made a Cheese and Fenugreek Keto Paratha. Dried fenugreek loves creamy cheesy flavors and this one here is a perfect amalgamation of the two. Recipe (No Egg, No Coconut Flour) . For the dough: 2 cups Almond flour 1 cup Flaxseed flour 3 tbsp Psyllium husk powder 1/2 tsp carrom seeds (optional) 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional) 1/4 tsp turmeric powder (optional) 1 green chilli, de-seeded and chopped (optional) Salt to taste Hot water Oil / ghee For the stuffing: 1 cup of any cheese of your liking, I used ricotta with parmesan. 2-3 tsp of dried fenugreek leaves. Instructions: Mix the ingredients listed under dough and roll it into small balls. Flatten the ball, spoon in cheese and sprinkle it with fenugreek leaves. Make sure not too put too much of the fenugreek leaves as they have a strong flavor. Carefully Wrap up the stuffing to form a ball. Now place the ball in between parchment paper and using a rolling pin, flatten it to form round paratha. Heat a little Ghee in a cast iron pan / tawa and cook the paratha on both sides till golden brown. Put a dollop of butter on the paratha and serve hot with pickle and yogurt. Hope you enjoy this recipe. Feel free to write to us @theketoepoch if you have any doubts. Happy Keto-ing Family!

A post shared by Hasika Prasad | The Keto Epoch (@theketoepoch) on Oct 26, 2018 at 5:51am PDT

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.

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Weight Loss Diet: You Must Try These 5 Keto-Friendly Low-Carb Rotis- Know Method To Prepare - NDTV News

The biggest struggle when it comes to losing weight is making sure it actually stays lost. We work so hard to rid ourselves of it, but when we say what we think is our final goodbye, it returns and often at full speed.

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2.Better for Blood Sugar

The glycemic index (GI) is a measure of the extent to which a food raises your blood sugar. It ranges from 0 to 100, and a GI greater than 70 is considered high.

A comparison study in humans found that purple potatoes have a GI of 77, yellow potatoes have a GI of 81, and white potatoes have a GI of 93.

While all potato varieties impact blood sugar levels because of their carbohydrate content, purple potatoes may exert less of an effect than other types due to their high concentration of polyphenol plant compounds.

These compounds may decrease the absorption of starches in the intestines, therefore minimizing purple potato's impact on blood sugar levels.

An animal study observed similar results, finding that feeding purple potato extract to rats resulted in better glucose tolerance and improved short and long-term blood sugar levels.

Summary

Eating purple potatoes instead of white potatoes is a good move when watching your blood sugar. While the starch in purple potatoes increases blood sugar, it does so to less of an extent than the starch in yellow or white varieties.

3.Packed With Antioxidants

Like other colorful fruits and vegetables, purple potatoes' bright color is a telltale sign that they're high in antioxidants. In fact, they have two to three times more antioxidant activity than white or yellow potatoes.

Antioxidants are plant compounds that can protect your cells from the damaging effects of oxidative stress.

Purple potatoes are especially rich in polyphenol antioxidants called anthocyanins. They're the same type of antioxidant found in blueberries and blackberries.

A higher anthocyanin intake is linked to several benefits, including healthier cholesterol levels, improved vision and eye health, and a reduced risk of heart disease, certain cancers, and diabetes.

In addition to their high anthocyanin content, purple potatoes pack other antioxidants common to all types of potatoes, including.

• vitamin C
• carotenoid compounds
• selenium
• tyrosine
• polyphenolic compounds like caffeic acid, scopolin, chlorogenic acid, and ferulic acid

A small study in eight people found that loading up on one meal of whole purple potatoes increased their blood and urine antioxidant levels. In contrast, eating a similar amount of refined potato starch in the form of biscuits caused a decrease.

Another study in men who ate 5.3 ounces (150 grams) of different colored potatoes each day for 6 weeks observed that the purple potato group had lower levels of inflammatory markers and markers of DNA damage, compared with the white potato group.

Summary

Eating purple potatoes can boost your antioxidant intake and reduce inflammation. They're especially rich in anthocyanins, which are antioxidant compounds linked to improved eye and heart health, as well as a lower risk of chronic disease.

4. May Improve Your Blood Pressure

Eating purple potatoes may promote blood vessel and blood pressure health. This may partly be due to their higher potassium content, as this nutrient helps reduce blood pressure, but their antioxidant content likely plays a role, too.

A small 4-week study in people with high blood pressure found that eating six to eight purple potatoes twice daily reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure (the top and bottom numbers of a reading) by 3.5% and 4.3%, respectively.

In addition, some studies suggest that compared with eating white potatoes, eating purple potatoes may reduce arterial stiffness. Having stiff arteries increases your risk of heart attack or stroke, as your vessels can't dilate as easily in response to changes in blood pressure.

In general, eating more polyphenol-rich foods, including those that contain anthocyanins like purple potatoes, may help relax and strengthen your blood vessels.

In fact, the polyphenol compounds in purple potatoes and many other foods work to reduce blood pressure in a way similar to that of some types of blood-pressure-lowering medications known as angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors.

Summary

Purple potatoes have been found to improve blood pressure. This effect might be related to their polyphenolic antioxidant compounds, which work in a way similar to that of some blood-pressure-lowering medications.

5. May Reduce Your Risk of Cancer

A few lab studies have indicated that some of the compounds in purple potatoes, including their antioxidants, may help prevent or fight cancer, including colon and breast cancer.

In one study, cancer cells that were treated with purple potato extract grew more slowly. In some cases, the extract even caused cancer cell death.

It's important to note that the research thus far has been limited to cancer cells treated in a lab and cancers in lab rats. Therefore, it's unknown whether eating purple potatoes would have similar effects in humans.

Summary

Some of the compounds in purple potatoes may slow the growth of or even kill certain cancer cells. The current research is limited to lab studies, so it's unknown whether adding purple potatoes to your diet affects cancer risk.

6. CanHelp Fill Your Fiber Gap

Most people don't meet the Dietary Guidelines for Americans' recommendation to consume 14 grams of fiber per 1,000 calories, but adding a few servings of purple potatoes to your diet each week can help fill the gap.

Dietary fiber helps keep you feeling full, prevents constipation, stabilizes blood sugar, and helps maintain healthy cholesterol levels.

The fiber content of potatoes varies slightly depending on the cooking method, but mostly depending on whether you eat the skin.

For example, a 3.5-ounce (100-gram) potato with the skin cooked in the microwave contains 3.3 grams of fiber, while a potato of the same size boiled without the skin has 1.8 grams.

Part of the starch in purple (and all) potatoes is a type of fiber called resistant starch. Resistant starch resists digestion in your gastrointestinal tract, but the bacteria in your large intestine ferment it.

During this fermentation process, compounds known as short-chain fatty acids are produced. These compounds contribute to improved gut health.

The resistant starch content of potatoes also varies depending on the cooking method, though it doesn't seem to vary much between the color of potatoes. Resistant starch is highest when potatoes are cooked and then chilled, but not reheated.

Summary

Adding purple potatoes to your diet can help increase your fiber intake and add some gut-healthy resistant starch to your diet. To reap the greatest fiber benefits, eat them with the skin on and cook them ahead of time, eating them chilled, such as in a salad.

7. Brighten Up Your Plate

You can use purple potatoes similarly to how you'd use white, yellow, or red varieties.

Substituting them for a lighter flesh potato is a great way to add more color and interest to your meals after all, you really do eat with your eyes.

Use them to make mashed or baked potatoes and add your favorite toppings for a side dish that everyone will want to try.

If you like them crispy like fries, slice them into wedges, toss them with olive oil, minced garlic, and rosemary, and roast them at 400F (204C) for about 20 minutes or until they're tender.

To reap the benefit of their resistant starch, use purple potatoes to make potato salad.

Leave the skins on, cut them into chunks, and boil them until they're tender. Then drain and toss them with thinly sliced onions, a handful of fresh minced herbs, and some Dijon-vinaigrette dressing. Chill them in the refrigerator and serve them cold.

Summary

Boil, mash, or roast purple potatoes just like you would any other light-fleshed variety. They don't take any additional time to cook and add interest and a bright pop of color to your meals.

The Bottom Line

Purple potatoes are a healthy and colorful member of the potato family that's worth getting to know.

You can prepare them similarly to how you would prepare white or yellow flesh potatoes, but if you swap them in, you'll enjoy quite a few health benefits.

Compared with regular potatoes, they have a lower glycemic index and may be better for your blood sugar.

Many of their health benefits, including those related to blood pressure and cancer protection, stem from their content of anthocyanins important antioxidants that are abundant in these colorful potatoes.

Next time you head to the supermarket, see if you can find this unique potato variety and give it a go.

From Your Site Articles

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What Will It Take to End Extinction? - EcoWatch

STEFANIE Moir is a vegan lifestyle blogger, avid gym goer and fitness website owner. Since 2015, the 26-year-old has shared tips on how to become stronger, healthier and happier on her blog, YouTube channel and Instagram. She has now written her first book, Naturally Stefanie, which will be published this week.

You do not have to go plant-based overnight, nor do you have to go to the gym and have a six pack, to benefit from my book, she says. My aim is to help you incorporate more plant-based meals into your life, and help you look and feel better along the way with workouts and routines aimed at people of all fitness levels.

A plant-based lifestyle is not a diet nor is the gym the only place you can successfully, and happily, get fit. I do not advocate diets in any way, shape or form. I believe in eating whole plant-based foods that are good for the body and soul and leave you feeling and looking your absolute best.

Moir, who grew up near Glasgow, has always loved sport and exercise. I was part of my local swimming club for more than 10 years. I went to university to study psychology in 2012 and it was around this time I moved on from swimming to weight training at the gym. Ive been hooked ever since.

As I progressed with my training, I started looking into how to complement my new gym regime with a healthy diet and found veganism. I soon found I was feeling better than ever before and started my blog and Instagram account, to document my vegan and weight training journey.

During her time studying at Strathclyde University, Moirs love of fitness and nutrition continued to grow. Once Id graduated, I decided to put my heart and soul into my Naturally Stefanie brand. I now run my vegan fitness site veganaesthetics.co.uk which has built an amazing community of like-minded individuals from across the globe who have all been inspired to transform their health and wellbeing.

Here, Moir answers some common questions about veganism and attempts to banish the myths.

What about protein in a vegan diet?

People often ask this in relation to nutrition or training, without quite knowing what protein does and how much we actually need. Ive found that its not difficult to meet your protein requirements as a vegan and there are plenty of quality food sources to choose from.

If people are still unsure about my health, my response is to ask (with a smile): Do I look undernourished? Do I look like theres not enough protein in my diet?

But what about cows ...

Dairy farming is centuries old, but factory farming, and farming on the huge scale that exists now, obviously isnt and this is where the problem lies. Whether you are concerned for animal welfare or climate change, the demand for beef and cheap dairy products is taking its toll on the environment and on the wellbeing of the cows themselves. There are plenty of readily available plant-based sources of calcium to choose from instead an optional, more ethical approach.

How will one person going vegan make a difference?

In an average lifetime, a meat eater in the Western world might well eat more than 7,000 animals. By choosing to reduce your meat consumption, animal suffering is reduced, and the worlds resources are saved.

In its simplest terms, the rule of supply and demand means that when demand decreases sufficiently, so does supply. As more people buy fewer animal products, supermarket chains will gradually reduce their orders, and so fewer animals will be bred and killed, and fewer resources used.

READ MORE:Burnistoun star Robert Florence on his new BBC Scotland show The State Of It

The key is reduction if you can cut your meat and dairy consumption down to once or twice a week rather than once or twice a day, youre hugely decreasing your impact on the planet and on animals.

But isnt veganism expensive?

Most of your cupboard essentials such as pasta, rice, beans, tinned tomatoes, lentils and fresh seasonal or frozen veggies are relatively cheap, and youre likely to be buying those anyway whether or not youre eating a plant-based diet. Granted, meat alternatives can be expensive but if you compare the price of tofu to responsibly sourced meat, you will notice that in most cases the tofu will be cheaper.

Isnt veganism too extreme?

Livestock farming contributes more to climate change than all the cars, planes, ships and trains on the planet combined. It is also a significant factor in deforestation.

A plant-based diet is kinder to the earth and all its animals, including the human race, while also having lots of health benefits. Unless you consider pasta, beans, peanut butter and bread to be extreme... there is nothing really extreme about not eating animals.

Instead of asking: Why dont you eat meat? perhaps the question should now be: Why do you eat meat?

Veganism is so restrictive. I cant eat my favourite foods.

When people tell me that they cant go vegan because theyll miss meat or cheese too much, I usually say:

But will veganism make me feel better?

For many of us, our relationship to food is complicated. Deciding to no longer eat certain foods that you love, that bring you comfort, or that your body has come to rely on, is hard.

READ MORE:Burnistoun star Robert Florence on his new BBC Scotland show The State Of It

However, as you transition to a more plant-based diet, the benefits of eating this way will eventually start to balance out the sadness you feel at no longer eating a meaty cheeseburger ... trust me, Ive never felt better. And, surprise, you can still enjoy vegan cheeseburgers.

In her book, Moir shares a series of recipes. Here are a couple of her favourites:

JALAPENO, LIME AND CHICKPEA BURGERS

Serves 4

I love this hearty burger patty with a salad or with some homemade fries. These burgers last well inthe fridge for up to three days and are also great in a nourish bowl or wrap.

Ingredients

1 x 240g tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

block tofu (approx. 150g)

red onion

60g jalapenos

30g oats or plain flour

1 tbsp paprika

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

lime, juiced

For the sriracha mayonnaise

1 tbsp vegan mayonnaise

1 tsp sriracha

To serve

burger buns

lettuce leaves

chopped tomatoes

extra jalapenos

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180C and line a tray with baking paper.

2. Add the chickpeas, tofu, red onion, jalapenos, flour, paprika, cumin, coriander, lime to a food processor and pulse until the ingredients combine to form a loose dough.

3. Using your hands, make four patties.

4. Place the four patties onto the tray and bake in the oven for 30 minutes, turning the burgers after 15 minutes to ensure theyre cooked evenly.

5. Make the sriracha mayonnaise by simply mixing together the sriracha hot sauce and mayonnaise.

6. Once the burgers are cooked, add the burgers to the buns, layering in the lettuce leaves, tomato, extra onion, jalapenos and top with sriracha mayonnaise.

READ MORE:Burnistoun star Robert Florence on his new BBC Scotland show The State Of It

CHOCOLATE AND STRAWBERRY LOAF

Serves 8

I made this on Valentines Day for my hubby, Marco, and it turned out to be quite a success.But it doesnt have to be limited to Valentines Day, I love making this on all special occasions.

Ingredients:

230ml almond milk

1 tsp vinegar

120g plain flour

90g coconut sugar

60g mashed banana

40g cacao powder

tsp baking powder

tsp salt

For the ganache

90g cacao powder

60ml melted coconut oil

60ml pure maple syrup

200g fresh strawberries (or any fresh berries of your choice)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line a loaf tin with baking paper.

2. Mix together the almond milk, vinegar and mashed banana in a bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cacao, baking powder, salt and coconut sugar.

4. Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir until fully combined to form the cake batter.

5. Pour the cake mixture into the lined tin and cook in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a knife comes out clean from the centre.

6. While the cake cooks, melt together the ganache ingredients in a saucepan or in the microwave.

7. Remove the cake from the oven. Leave to cool for a few minutes in the tin and turn out onto a wire rack to cool fully.

8. Transfer the cake to a plate or cake stand before pouring over the ganache and topping with the strawberries.

9. Place in the fridge to set for at least an hour before serving.

Why exercise?

Exercise is an integral part of living a healthy lifestyle. Many people view exercise as a way to look better, either to lose weight or change their body shape in some way. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but it is important to have reasons to exercise other than just the aesthetic benefits. If you only view exercise as a way to lose weight, the chances are you are not going to stick to it.

I was previously a swimmer and, as a teenager, I never viewed my swim training as exercise or a way to achieve a certain physique. I viewed it as a social club where I made friends, as a competitive sport, as a hobby and it was fun.

Dont get me wrong, the training was hard going, but I enjoyed it. This is why I also enjoy weight training in the gym because it is a challenge for me mentally and physically and I can push myself to do things I couldnt do before. Of course, I do train a certain way to gain aesthetic benefits from my work at the gym but that is not my only reason for going.

Exercise is often sold to us as a way to lose weight, burn calories and get in shape for summer. But, to really benefit long-term from exercising, it is important to shift your mindset and focus on all of the other health benefits it can provide. Focusing too much on weight loss and aesthetic goals can have negative effects on how you perceive exercise and will impact on the duration for which you actually stick with it.

Thinking of exercise simply as a means of weight loss can lead us to feel guilty if we do not stick to our exercise regime and this guilt can result in over exercising and restricted eating behaviours. In addition, it is typically found that the majority of individuals who do lose weight via exercise will regain it again because they are more likely to stop exercising when they attain their target weight.

READ MORE:Burnistoun star Robert Florence on his new BBC Scotland show The State Of It

Yo-yo dieting can have detrimental effects on both our mental health and physical health; thus focusing purely on weight loss as a reason for exercise can actually have negative effects on our overall health. Physicians often tell patients to work out to lose weight, lower cholesterol or prevent illness such as diabetes. Unfortunately, it can take months before any physical results of your hard work in the gym are apparent, which means that many people give up on exercise.

With this in mind, lets shift the conversation around exercise onto the many other benefits it can provide. You dont have to be a fitness fanatic to reap the rewards of working out. Research has suggested that small amounts of exercise can make a significant difference across all ages and fitness levels.

Naturally Stefanie by Stefanie Moir is published by Black & White on Tuesday, priced 16.99

Excerpt from:
Vegan and fitness expert Stefanie Moir on how to become stronger, healthier and happier - HeraldScotland

Former Real Housewives of New York star Bethenny Frankel is very attuned to eating healthy and staying fit. Author of the 2009 bestseller Naturally Thin. Frankel believes in working on a relationship with food rather than following a diet plan.

The Skinnygirl founderrecently posted some thoughts and advice on food and exercise what she prefers, and what she avoids.

In a previous interview with HealthMagazine, Frankel revealed that her background involveda dysfunctional relationship with food. Igrew up eating quality food but in a very obsessive household about being thinand eating disorders, she shared. Food was an obsession in my houseout torestaurants every nightbut then so was dieting. When I was in my 30s, I justunlocked the safe.

The former reality star realized that harsh restrictions and deprivation only lead to disappointment. I figured out how dieting doesnt work, Frankel said. Id been on every diet and it took me all those years to realize: Diets are hopeless. They are hope, and then they break your spirit.

Through her book, Frankel takes pride in sharing her message of balance. Naturally Thin will still be the greatest work accomplishment of my life, she said. Its learning how to allow and to indulge. That works.

Taking to Instagram, Frankel recently shared what works for her when it comes to health and wellness, and how she prioritizes whats important. My philosophy on eating & exercise is to do what you can when you can. I choose time with my daughter & sleep first. If Im near a beach, I take an hour walk. If I have the time, Ill do a yoga dvd, she wrote on Instagram.

She also revealed what doesnt work for her. Idont believe in fear based, torturous, aggressive exercise, she wrote. Lifeis too short and stressful to dread doing something for an hour. In addition,extreme exercise creates extreme hunger.

Frankel has previously spoken on how she doesnt place too much emphasis on exercise, but rather focuses on activities she finds enjoyable. I dont exercise that much, which people think that I do, she said in an interview with Talk Stoop earlier this year. I think theres a lot of things people think about me that are probably not accurate.

While Frankel considers herself a foodie andallows indulgences, there is one thing she doesnt allow herself to do. Ilovefood and eat whatever I want but I NEVER binge, she revealed in her post. Idont beat myself up about what Ive eaten or praise myself about what Ihavent.

Referring to her book, the former Real Housewife reminded her followers to focus on a healthy attitude toward what they eat. Food isnt your best friend or your enemy. Its just food, she shared. I have a good relationship with it. This is all in my book Naturally Thin written years ago but holds true today!

Frankel practices what she preaches, telling Hollywood Life earlier this year that she concentrates on healthy moderation. I do not eat a lot of fake foods. Ill eat cake and fries but nothing brightly colored or artificial, she said in April. No two days are the same, but I never deprive. I always have at least one sweet treat or dessert but I dont gorge. I dont believe in depriving or overindulging. I never ever binge and I eat a tremendous amount of variety.

She advised fans to treat themselves while having the self-controlto know when to stop. If you really want it, have it. No one ever got fat on acookie or a handful of fries, Frankel said.

Read more: BethennyFrankel Reveals How This One Word Helps Her Juggle Career and Motherhood

Read more:
Bethenny Frankel Says When It Comes To Food, She Never Does This - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

Cosby Stone, Vanderbilt University

(THE CONVERSATION) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently announced a preliminary finding that implicates a vitamin E additive as the potential cause of lung injury from THC vaping.

The agency examined fluid samples from the lungs of 29 patients with vaping-related illness and found vitamin E acetate in all 29 samples. This is a major development in the search for answers, and it was of great interest to me generally as a public health researcher.

Even more, it was of special interest to me because I previously researched vitamin Es role in lung health and development. For three years, as a post-doctoral research fellow, I studied the role of vitamin Es typical role in lung health, lung development and the epidemiology of childhood lung diseases when it is absorbed from our diet.

Free radical fighter

Vitamin E comes from oily foods in our diet. It has also long been known to be important for child development, especially in the womb, where it contributes to healthy lung and nervous system growth, among other things. Vitamin E has eight different isoforms, or types, and each may do slightly different things in our bodies. The kind of vitamin E you get from your diet can therefore vary widely based upon the types of oily foods that you eat.

When we eat vitamin E, it is absorbed by our gastrointestinal tract along with fats. It then travels throughout our bloodstream in the fatty molecules called cholesterol. Finally, it is taken up into our bodys fatty tissues and cellular membranes.

Once incorporated into the body, vitamin E serves as an antioxidant, protecting us from some of the harmful effects of our metabolism and respiration. Antioxidants stabilize what are called free radicals, unstable and highly chemically reactive compounds with extra electrons generated by our metabolism. Free radicals, when left unchecked, can destabilize other molecules around them and cause cellular damage.

When vitamin E comes into contact with certain kinds of free radicals, it transfers that instability onto itself and neutralizes those free radicals.

So, in the aftermath of the vaping illnesses and deaths, an important question emerges: What happens if, instead of eating vitamin E in your diet, you inhale vitamin E, along with a vaporized solution of THC?

I have no idea.

There are only a tiny handful of studies in which someone tried to nebulize, or vaporize, vitamin E in experiments related to lung health. All were animal studies with a small sample size, and none were combined with a THC vaping fluid.

Its also not clear in this case why vitamin E acetate was added to the vaping fluid, but reports suggest it is used as a cutting agent to make the THC oils less thick. Perhaps someone thought it was safe to do this in an inhaled product because vitamin E was a natural vitamin. Importantly, however, many substances that are helpful when taken orally can be harmful when inhaled.

No place for oily molecules

The fact that vitamin E typically has to travel in fat-soluble lipids may perhaps provide a clue as to the harms vitamin E acetate can cause when vaped. Physicians have long known that inhaling oils and other lipids can lead to the deposition of oily droplets in the lungs. They also know that this deposition can in turn can lead to inflammation and the potential for permanent lung scarring, respiratory failure or death. Its not a good idea to consistently inhale particles like small solids or oily liquid drops into your very delicate lungs.

We all know what it feels like to choke on something large enough to block our windpipe. But a small, inhaled particle can go past the large airways and lodge in the tiniest airways and the alveoli that transfer oxygen into our bloodstream, causing damage to these fragile structures.

We may not notice right away that we are being harmed. Only tiny segments of the lung are affected, and our lungs are designed to have some reserve capacity.

But over time, as these small injuries add up, more and more lung tissue becomes involved, and symptoms develop. Such injuries can become fatal. For example, think of the diseases caused by asbestos, silica from sand blasting, coal dust and tobacco smoke.

So, perhaps a vitamin E additive could cause damage in a similar way in this context.

A bigger issue

In addition, I believe this is actually a symptom of a broader problem, brought about in part by the 1994 law that allows dietary supplements and some devices to go to market without meeting stringent safety and efficacy standards. Supplement makers dont have to provide evidence that their products work, and the FDA allows them to monitor the safety features themselves.

Its a good business for the manufacturers; dietary supplements sales are estimated to be worth about US$120 billion by 2020. But it may not be good for the American public. By taking untested products, or by using products that are safe in one context but not studied in another, consumers end up participating in millions of uncontrolled experiments in which safety data are frequently absent. There is minimal quality control, minimal oversight and minimal knowledge of what might happen.

Any type of minimally regulated product that we inhale into our lungs on a regular basis clearly deserves a special level of scrutiny before use. I would argue that any inhaled product should have to demonstrate significant safety data prior to being allowed on the consumer market. Do these products even work? How do they work? If they do work, whats the right dose so that its safe, but still effective? How long can you safely use it? Without that knowledge, we are sailing in dangerous waters with no map.

So, until the day that our poorly regulated, uncontrolled market of self experimentation in lung health comes to an end, I will share a motto that experiments and experience have equally proven to be true. If you want your lungs to outlast your hair, please dont inhale anything but air.

[ Youre smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversations authors and editors. You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter. ]

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: http://theconversation.com/vitamin-e-and-vaping-injuries-whats-safe-in-your-diet-is-rarely-safe-in-your-lungs-126909.

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Vitamin E and vaping injuries: What's safe in your diet is rarely safe in your lungs - Thehour.com

On a bitterly cold January afternoon in 2011, Tom Gable was snowmobiling to his familys remote cabin near Killarney Provincial Park in Ontario.

Suddenly, on his right flank, a dark figure appeared across the frozen lake. Initially, I wasnt sure what I was looking at but then I realized it was a wolf, he said. I could hardly believe it I had never seen a wolf before, let alone watch one for a minute or so. I was enthralled.

It wouldnt be Gables last encounter. Far from it. Since 2015, Gable, 28, a Ph.D. student at the University of Minnesota, has been the project lead for the Voyageurs Wolf Project an ongoing research effort to uncover the secretive lives of North Woods wolves. It began as a small project in 2012 at Voyageurs National Park and increased in scope and intensity in 2015.

Gable said the project addresses one of the biggest knowledge gaps in wolf ecology: What do wolves do during the summer? The projects goal is to provide a comprehensive understanding of summer wolf ecology (number of pups born, where they den, what wolves kill and eat) in the roughly 218,000-acre Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem (which includes Voyageurs National Park) in northern Minnesota.

The research, Gable said, is conducted by trapping and fitting wolves with GPS collars that take locations every 20 minutes throughout the field season (April-October). When a collared wolf remains relatively stationary for more than 20 minutes, the site is investigated. By doing this we get all sorts of great information such as where wolves have their dens and where wolves are killing prey, Gable said.

The research is aided by remote trail cameras that capture photos and video of what Gable calls the unique and mysterious behavior of wolves in high-traffic parts of the study area. Since 2016, the wolf project has produced 13 peer-reviewed research papers. Last November, in an effort to reach a broader audience, Gable began posting findings from daily field work (including captured photos and video) on Facebook and Instagram. Its been a big hit. The wolf projects Facebook page alone has roughly 26,000 followers.

We wanted to give an intimate view into our research and the animals and ecosystem that we study, said Gable. We got a sizable following quickly. That confirmed our suspicion that the public is extremely interested in wildlife, wildlife research and wolf ecology. By maintaining our social media presence, we are able to provide content that entertains, engages, and educates the public.

Gable and his seven-person crew recently finished the 2019 field season in which the group monitored 11 collared wolves from seven packs. Now Gable begins analyzing the research and writing papers.

We had a wonderful crew this year, said Gable. Finishing up is very satisfying but also a relief because after seven months of continual field work, we are just running on fumes both physically and mentally. Our field seasons are pretty intense because we cover a lot of ground every day in all kinds of conditions.

The Voyageurs Wolf Project is a collaborative effort between the National Park Service and the University of Minnesota. Its funded by the states lottery-funded Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund and other sources.

In a recent conversation, Gable elaborated on some discoveries about wolves diets and their much-publicized pursuit of fish. The excerpts have been edited for length and clarity.

On research discoveries

Wolves hunt and kill beavers by bedding down around beaver ponds and waiting for many hours to ambush them. This has been a particularly fascinating finding because before our work, wolves were not really thought of as ambush predators. Most of the time wolves hunt their prey by outrunning and outlasting their prey, like chasing down a deer. Our study is the first to systematically show that wolves can ambush prey, and we are learning more every year about how they actually do this. We were the first to document wolves hunting and killing freshwater fish. Researchers had known wolves went after spawning salmon in coastal areas of Alaska and British Columbia, but that is categorically different from wolves catching suckers in a little creek in the North Woods. And not only did we document it, but we were able to get it on video footage.

On the varied diets of wolves

Wolves are adaptable predators. They have very flexible diets that change dramatically throughout the summer season. During winter, wolves diets are not nearly as varied because they are mainly hunting and killing whitetail deer. But from spring to fall, things are much different. We have shown that during this period wolves rely on all sorts of food sources including deer, beavers, blueberries, fish, trumpeter swans, bear bait piles, and hunter-killed bear carcasses. Typically, the diet of our wolf packs is different from month to month.

On using social media

Ultimately, our vision with our social media platforms is to couple cutting-edge wolf research with highly effective outreach, which allows the Voyageurs Wolf Project to have tremendous value to both the scientific community and the public. I think most in the scientific community know that effective public outreach is important, but this is something that researchers are often not great at. Part of this is because most researchers receive little to no training on how to effectively share their research. The other part is that good outreach, just like good science, requires time and effort. And there is little incentive for researchers to devote their often limited time or financial resources to developing materials or content for outreach.

On rigors of the work

We estimate that a typical person on our crew covers between 700 to 850 miles during the field season. And most of these miles are not on nicely maintained hiking trails. Instead, we are usually bushwhacking through the thick, dense and often swampy forests of northern Minnesota. June to August are by far the most challenging months for our crew because its hot, humid, and the bugs (in particular, the deer flies) are horrible. Thats in part why theres so little research on summer wolves.

On research in 2020

We basically have to start over. We start trying to collar wolves in mid-April. The reason is battery life. When collars take locations every 20 minutes (which is what we need for our work), it chews up a lot of battery life, so our collars only last one field season. To continue our work, we need to get fresh collars on wolves.

On the future of the project

Our goal is to secure permanent, long-term funding that allows the Voyageurs Wolf Project to continue for decades to come. We have published several research papers since 2016 and presented our results at numerous regional, national and international scientific conferences. I would like to write a book someday but think we need at least a few more years of research before that is something I would seriously consider.

Tori J. McCormick is a freelance writer. Reach him at torimccormick33@gmail.com.

Read more:
Uncovering the secretive lives of Minnesota's North Woods wolves - Minneapolis Star Tribune

As we enter the holiday season, Americans are abandoning their attempts to be healthy,as about half will break their diet andgive in to the temptation of holiday food, according to new research.

A survey of 2,000 Americans who celebrate the holidaysfound that 47 percent have succumbed tothe lure of their favorite treats, and ended up quitting their diet as a result.The biggest food temptations were found to be cookies (53 percent), pies or cakes (53 percent) and home-cooked holiday meals (44 percent).

Santa will eat 300 million cookies alone. (iStock)

NEIL CAVUTO 'CAN'T STAND' THIS ONE DISH AT HIS THANKSGIVING DINNER

But theyre not alone in making unhealthy decisions at the end of the year: The results of the second annual Writing Off the End of the Year survey have found that 41 percent use the holidays as an excuse to postpone being healthy, compared to 47 percent the previous year.

Commissioned by Herbalife Nutrition and conducted by OnePoll, the survey found that for those planning to start again in January,"a third start postponing their healthy habits by mid-November.

Fifty-ninepercent of respondents said it was hardest to stay healthy during the winter holiday season, and food is a major reason why. Forty-four percent also admitted to having eaten more than one dessert at a meal, while 36 percent have eaten more than one holiday dinner in a day. Another30 percent say theyve had to undo a button on their pants because of eating too much.

In fact, the average person expects to gain six pounds during the holiday season, according to both the 2018 and 2019 survey.

The biggest food temptations were found to be cookies (53 percent), pies or cakes (53 percent) and home-cooked holiday meals (44 percent). (iStock)

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And the survey found that three in 10 actually plan to eat more during the holidays specifically because their New Years resolution is to be healthier.

Staying on track can be hard especially if you are tackling it on your own,"says Dr. John Agwunobi, co-president and chief health and nutrition officer at Herbalife Nutrition."Developing a support system of people who know your goals, strengths and weaknesses can be extremely beneficial in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, especially during the challenging times of the year.

In addition to overindulging, not getting enough exercise was another reason respondents might be piling on the pounds during the holidays. Twenty-seven percent of respondents say they exercise less during the holidays and of those, the average time spent working out each week was two hours less than usual.

Interestingly, this years survey showed that respondents are less optimistic about their ability to stay healthy in the new year (45 percent)as compared to 2018 when54 percent believed their efforts would be successful.

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But with January comes a new year, new me attitude, and results found that 33 percent are planning to make a New Years resolution compared to 34 percent last year.

The top resolution for the second consecutive year is to exercise more. In 2018, however, that resolution ranked higher among respondents. (Just 59 percent listed it as their 2019 goal, as compared to 71 percent in 2018.) Eating healthier and saving more money accounted for the second and third most common resolutions, with59 percentand 53 percent planning to do so, respectively.

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Half of Americans plan to abandon their diets around the holidays, survey finds - Fox News

Dive Brief:

The growth of plant-based meat alternatives has created a new type of consumer: one who doesnt identify with any specialty diet but is nevertheless opting to integrate plant-based meat alternatives into meals. Although promising for growth of this segment, these new consumers are placing higher expectations on manufacturers when it comes to the taste and nutritional profile of available meat alternatives.

Plant-based meat alternatives have improved dramatically since the days of hockey-puck-like veggie patties. However, taste still seems to be a stumbling block for manufacturers. Considering taste is the top consideration for consumers purchasing plant-based meat, finding a solution to the continually pesky question of flavor is critical for producers if they hope to capture conventional meat eaters.

Thats not to say that manufacturers have not been working toward replicating the juicy, umami experience that is present in real meat. Impossible Foods and Beyond Burger are two exemplary companies that have been leading the charge in this arena. Impossible Foods took a chemistry-based approach to the problem and discovered the heme molecule that is responsible for the bloody juiciness in animal protein also exists in plants. Through extraction, the company can replicate the umami of real beef in its plant-based patties. Beyond Burger took a different approach using beet juice in its formulation to create a red hue and caramelize the burger patties on the grill. But neither burger is yet perfectly meaty.

Despite the undeniable advances in plant-based protein in the last 20 years, flavor remains a stickler for many manufacturers. Efforts to mitigate the off tastes of plant-based protein run the gamut. Pea protein supplier Roquette provides flavor masking solutions for its ingredients tailored for individual customers' products. Flavor manufacturer Edlong adds dairy or mock dairy to mask any notes that are off.

Other companies turn to processing techniques such as infrared heating, roasting, fermentation or thermal treatment before beans and peas are milled to help reduceundesirable flavors. And yet some companies such as Cargill, Ingredion and World Food Processing aim to cut back on inherent off flavors by developing blander tasting bean and pea cultivars.

In addition to improving flavors, industry leaders have also been forced to update their ingredient choices by consumers looking for cleaner labels and more functional nutritional profiles. Just this year, Impossible Foods updated its formulation to substitute soy protein concentrate for textured wheat protein to improve the burger's texture,as well as make it gluten free. Other changes included lowering the salt content and removing ingredients to clean up its label.

According to the Good Food Institute, consumer concerns about flavor and ingredient lists may fade. Senior Communications Specialist Matt Ball emailed Food Dive a draft report from the non-profit that showed healthiness of a product isnt determined by the number or ingredients. In fact, the group notes,listing all the ingredients associated with plant-based meat enhances transparency, whereas many of the foods and chemicals an animal consumes will never be found on an ingredients list.

Plant-based manufacturers could take advantage of this and highlight the benefits of certain ingredients or launch campaigns that share the values of the various protein sources in a product, and why they were chosen.

While the Kerry study indicated that clean labels can be a factor for consumers to select a plant-based protein consumers have proven to be wary of unpronounceable ingredients as well as GMOs they also care deeply about protein content. In the Kerry report, 84% of plant-based meat consumers considered meat to be a critical component of their diet, and 40% said high protein was the most important attribute when selecting a plant-based alternative.

In the realm of plant protein, there are numerous options including legumes, nuts, mushrooms, lentils, mung bean, seaweed, potatoes and peas. However, not each protein is the same. Some, like vital wheat gluten, can present issues for gluten-free customers. Pea protein outperforms many other sources in nutritional terms, but there are continued issues with its pea-like scent and taste, as well as questions about its sustainability as a protein source. In light of the different advantages of plant protein, most plant-based meat manufacturers have opted to blend a few of the proteins together in their products.

As more consumers opt to add plant protein to their diets, it is unlikely their concerns about protein will subside. But there may also be more options to choose from.

Right now, plant-based meat is using only a tiny fraction of available plant-proteins as ingredients. There is significant opportunity to optimize crops for use in plant-based meat, Good Food Institute Associate Director of Corporate Engagement Caroline Bushnell told Food Divein an email.

There is currently a shift toward the widespread adoption of plant-based protein. From June 2017 to June 2018, retail sales of plant-based foods jumped 20% to $3.3 billion,according to Nielsen data reported by Food Navigator. And it hasnt stopped there. Barclays recently forecastrising demand and an increase in population will boost the global market share for meat alternatives from 1% now to about 10% in 2029. In dollar terms, that represents a jump from $14 billion this year to $140 billion in 2029.

One of the reasons is that consumers view plant-based protein as a healthier alternative. Also, plant-based protein is sustainable. Compared to a burger made from cows, making an Impossible Burger takes about a twentieth of the land, a quarter of the water, and produces an eighth of the greenhouse gas emissions, according to the company.For the health-conscious, meat made from plants has less fat and no cholesterol.

If companies can lean on these advantages while they work through the kinks concerning taste, nutrition and protein content, it would not be surprising to see more consumers favoring plant alternatives in their diet.

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How taste, protein and ingredients are barriers to plant-based meat adoption - Food Dive

We love sweet treats. But too much sugar in our diets can lead to weight gain and obesity, type 2 diabetes, and dental decay. We know we shouldnt be eating candy, ice cream, cookies, and cakes and drinking sugary sodas, but sometimes they are so hard to resist.

Its as if our brain is hardwired to want these foods.

As a neuroscientist, my research centers on how modern day obesogenic, or obesity-promoting, diets change the brain. I want to understand how what we eat alters our behavior and whether brain changes can be mitigated by other lifestyle factors.

Your body runs on sugarglucose to be precise. Glucose comes from the Greek word glukos, which means sweet. Glucose fuels the cells that make up our bodyincluding brain cells (neurons).

On an evolutionary basis, our primitive ancestors were scavengers. Sugary foods are excellent sources of energy, so we have evolved to find sweet foods particularly pleasurable. Foods with unpleasant, bitter, and sour tastes can be unripe, poisonous, or rottingcausing sickness.

So to maximize our survival as a species, we have an innate brain system that makes us like sweet foods since theyre a great source of energy to fuel our bodies.

When we eat sweet foods the brains reward systemcalled the mesolimbic dopamine systemgets activated. Dopamine is a brain chemical released by neurons and can signal that an event was positive. When the reward system fires, it reinforces behaviorsmaking it more likely for us to carry out these actions again.

Dopamine hits from eating sugar promote rapid learning to preferentially find more of these foods.

Our environment today is abundant with sweet, energy-rich foods. We no longer have to forage for these special sugary foodsthey are available everywhere. Unfortunately, our brain is still functionally very similar to our ancestors, and it really likes sugar. So what happens in the brain when we excessively consume sugar?

The brain continuously remodels and rewires itself through a process called neuroplasticity. This rewiring can happen in the reward system. Repeated activation of the reward pathway by drugs or by eating lots of sugary foods causes the brain to adapt to frequent stimulation, leading to a sort of tolerance.

In the case of sweet foods, this means we need to eat more to get the same rewarding feelinga classic feature of addiction.

Food addiction is a controversial subject among scientists and clinicians. While it is true that you can become physically dependent on certain drugs, it is debated whether you can be addicted to food when you need it for basic survival.

Regardless of our need for food to power our bodies, many people experience food cravings, particularly when stressed, hungry, or just faced with an alluring display of cakes in a coffee shop.

To resist cravings, we need to inhibit our natural response to indulge in these tasty foods. A network of inhibitory neurons is critical for controlling behavior. These neurons are concentrated in the prefrontal cortexa key area of the brain involved in decision-making, impulse control, and delaying gratification.

Inhibitory neurons are like the brains brakes and release the chemical GABA. Research in rats has shown that eating high-sugar diets can alter the inhibitory neurons. The sugar-fed rats were also less able to control their behavior and make decisions.

Importantly, this shows that what we eat can influence our ability to resist temptations and may underlie why diet changes are so difficult for people.

A recent study asked people to rate how much they wanted to eat high-calorie snack foods when they were feeling hungry versus when they had recently eaten. The people who regularly ate a high-fat, high-sugar diet rated their cravings for snack foods higher even when they werent hungry.

This suggests that regularly eating high-sugar foods could amplify cravingscreating a vicious circle of wanting more and more of these foods.

Another brain area affected by high sugar diets is the hippocampusa key memory center.

Research shows that rats eating high-sugar diets were less able to remember whether they had previously seen objects in specific locations before.

The sugar-induced changes in the hippocampus were both a reduction of newborn neurons, which are vital for encoding memories, and an increase in chemicals linked to inflammation.

The World Health Organization advises that we limit our intake of added sugars to 5% of our daily calorie intake, which is 25g (six teaspoons).

Considering the average Canadian adult consumes 85g (20 teaspoons) of sugar per day, this is a big diet change for many.

Importantly, the brains neuroplasticity capabilities allow it to reset to an extent following cutting down on dietary sugar, and physical exercise can augment this process. Foods rich in omega-3 fats (found in fish oil, nuts, and seeds) are also neuroprotective and can boost brain chemicals needed to form new neurons.

While its not easy to break habits like always eating dessert or making your coffee a double-double, your brain will thank you for making positive steps.

Read more:
This is what consuming sugar does to your brain - Fast Company

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