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Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon are opening up about their favorite dieting tips. The actresses, who joined forces for Apples new television series, The Morning Show, just revealed that they are both big believers in the new dieting trend known as intermittent fasting. Based on how they have both managed to say fit over the years, it is pretty clear that the technique is working for them. But experts caution that intermittent fasting is not for everyone.

Ahead of the premiere of their new show, Aniston andWitherspoon sat down and talked about how they are able to maintain their trim figureafter all these years.

The co-stars revealed that they both practice intermittentfasting in the mornings and that the diet has worked wonders over the years.

For Aniston, she usually stays up late at night and wakes up around nine in the morning. When she gets up, she usually skips breakfast and opts for a small juice instead. She also drinks coffee, but not before feeding her dogs, working out, and doing a little meditation.

I do intermittent fasting, so theres no food in the morning, JenniferAniston shared. Today, I woke up and had a celery juice. Then I started tobrew some coffee, but I dont drink coffee that early.

According to Insider,Witherspoon added that she usually enjoys a juice and coffee in the morning aswell but stays away from solid food. This gives her and Aniston a full 16 hourswhere they are not eating anything solid.

Her day also starts a lot sooner than Aniston and she isnormally out of bed before six in the morning but mainly because her 7-year-oldis also up at that time.

For those that do not know, intermittent fasting is the practice of going through cycles of fasting and eating. This includes eating regular meals five days in a row and then cutting your calories by 25 percent over the next two days.

Some people also do 16-hour fasts in which they do not consume any type of solid food. This is the approach Aniston and Witherspoon are using when they skip out on breakfast.

Witherspoon also noted that she usually turns to Aniston fordieting and workout advice, so it is possible that the Friends star introduced her to intermittent fasting in the firstplace.

While some people may dismiss intermittent fasting as justanother dieting trend, there are benefits to fasting on a regular basis.

Scientists have done multiple studies on the effects ofintermittent fasting and have found that it does offer some benefits.

This includes lowering blood pressure and boosting longevity. Some people also, of course, lose weight while practicing intermittent fasting but usually this is because they are more likely to consume fewer calories.

If you are interested in trying intermittent fasting, thenskipping breakfast in the morning is an easy way to start. The only key is toget 16 hours between your last meal of the night and your first meal of thefollowing day.

While intermittent fasting has its benefits, it is not theright choice for everyone looking to shed a few pounds.

There are plenty of nutritionists that argue against intermittent fasting and caution people to follow whatever dieting plan works for them. Everyones body is different, and while intermittent fasting is good for Aniston and Witherspoon, it might not work for you.

Depending on your body type, you may operate better if youfeed your body throughout the day. Whatever the case, you should always consulta dietitian before trying out a new plan.

Fasting can be a slippery slope to unhealthy habits and a screwyrelationship with food, registered dietician Jessica Cording shared.

Cording added that intermittent fasting is not the easiestdiet in the world and that some people may find it challenging. And if you arethe type of person who loves breakfast, giving it up might not be in the cards.

That said, intermittent fasting does work for some people, so if you are looking for a new way to switch things up it is not a bad thing to try. There are also several ways you can incorporate intermittent fasting into your schedule, so there is some flexibility there.

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Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon Love Intermittent Fasting, But It May Not Be For Everyone - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

High blood pressure naturally fluctuates throughout the day and this is normal, but when it remains consistently high, even when resting, this can spell trouble. It means that your heart has to work harder to pump blood around your body, and, while this process may seem harmless, over time it can cause hike the risk of developing deadly diseases like heart attack or stroke. To prevent the condition from escalating, it is important to make healthy lifestyle changes to lower your blood pressure.

Eating a heart-healthy diet plays a key role in lowering blood pressure and studies have found an association between drinking certain beverages and lowering blood pressure.

Here are three blood-pressure friendly drinks:

In a study published in Food Science & Nutrition, drinking unsalted tomato juice lowered blood pressure and LDL cholesterol in Japanese adults at risk of cardiovascular disease.

LDL cholesterol is a waxy substance found in your blood and having high levels of LDL cholesterol in your blood poses the same risk as having high blood pressure, such as heart disease and stroke.

In the study, 184 male and 297 female participants were provided with as much unsalted tomato juice as they wanted throughout one year.

READ MORE:High blood pressure: Three natural supplements proven to lower your reading

Beetroot juice may help lower your blood pressure, according to one study, which found that people who drank eight ounces of beetroot juice daily lowered both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

Nitrates, compounds in beetroot juice that convert into nitric acid in the blood and help widen and relax blood vessels, are thought to be the cause.

Furthermore, another study found that participants who drank 17.6 ounces of beet juice had a lowered systolic blood pressure within hours of drinking it, suggesting it has an immediate impact.

Hibiscus tea, an herbal tea that's made by steeping parts of the hibiscus plant in boiling water, have also been shown to lower blood pressure in several studies.

In one study, 65 people with high blood pressure were given hibiscus tea or a placebo. After six weeks, those who drank hibiscus tea had a significant decrease in systolic blood pressure, compared to the placebo.

Echoing the findings, a 2015 review of five studies found that hibiscus tea decreased both systolic and diastolic blood pressure by an average of 7.58 mmHg and 3.53 mmHg, respectively.

High salt intake remains the biggest culprit of high blood pressure so cutting the amount of salt you eat is one of the quickest ways to lower your blood pressure.

According to Blood Pressure UK, an adult should eat no more than six grams of salt a day, but most people eat much more than this.

Part of the problem stems from the fact that salt is often hidden in processed foods such as bread, biscuits and breakfast cereals, and prepared ready meals or takeaways, so it is best to eat foods that are low in salt and stop using salt when cooking or at the table, advises the health site.

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High blood pressure: Include these three drinks in your diet to lower your reading - Express

Actress Kate Hudson, 40, has four businesses, three kids and two upcoming movies. But she still finds time to prioritize her health and wellnessand eating well is a big part of that.

In her interview for the cover story of the December issue of Women's Health, Kate said she eats around five times a day. She starts each morning by drinking celery juice, followed by a protein shake, oatmeal, an acai bowl, or eggs. Her other meals are mostly plant-based and include squash or zucchini noodles. And occasionally, she'll add chicken, fish, or steak to the mix.

Her new eating routine is motivated in part by Kate's daughter, Rani, who she had with boyfriend Danny Fujikawa in October 2018. Kate told WH that losing weight after having Rani was much harder than when she had her two sons.Unlike with the other two, I didnt really have time to work out. It took a different kind of discipline, Kate said.

This time around, Kate had to rely on stricter eating habits with the help of her Weight Watchers (now WW) partnership. Within just four months of healthy eating, Kate says she had almost hit her goal weight. Kate posted this photo updating followers on her progress in April. She wrote, "Im a couple lbs. from goal weight! Ive done it without stressing on food or working out like crazy although I have been disciplined."

Looks that celery juice is really working, Kate. Brb, running to Whole Foods!

A version of this article originally appeared in the December 2019 issue of Womens Health. Pick up an issue on newsstands November 26.

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Kate Hudson's Diet Includes Celery Juice And Five Meals A Day - Women's Health

The Boston Transportation Department has halted design work on a proposal to reduce Centre Street from the Holy Name Rotary to Spring Street in West Roxbury from four lanes to two and add pedestrian islands, bike lanes and new turn lanes so that it can study an alternative plan from a newly formed neighborhood group to keep four lanes but add pedestrian crossing lights at some intersections, re-stripe cross walks and step up police enforcement of traffic laws.

Interim BTD Commissioner Gregory Rooney told a packed meeting of the West Roxbury Safety Association at the Irish Social Club tonight the department should never have simply rolled out the proposed "road diet" plan at a June meeting without additional meetings with local residents and business owners. He said he now expects BTD to release a new proposal, or proposals, in January.

Residents who have been calling for increased enforcement are about to get a feel for that, good and hard. New E-5 Capt. Darrin Greeley, himself a West Roxbury resident, told the group he plans a traffic-safety crackdown along Centre Street - starting with all the double-parking residents and Uber Eats drivers who now infest the westbound side of Centre as they pick up food at the take-out places clustered along Manthorne Road. He said he knows only too well what happens between the Continental and Christo's from personal experience, because that was his route home from his previous job as a detective in the BPD homicide unit.

Greeley said he also plans to step up "Operation Crosswalk," in which officers will pull over drivers who blow through intersections without stopping for pedestrians there - and that he will bring in additional resources if necessary to get miscreants under control. He added, however, that, at least initially, most people will likely get warnings, rather than tickets. "We want to educate people," he said. "We don't want to fine people."

Steve Morris, who helped form the safety association, said the group agrees with proponents of the road-diet plan that the end goal is to make Centre Street safer, but that members felt the road-diet plan would only force drivers onto side streets. And citing what they said were stats from other cities, members said the plan would actually lead to increased pedestrian and bicyclist deaths, that the plan would put residents of the neighborhood's seven nursing homes at risk because it would slow first responders and that it would drive businesses out of the neighborhood. And besides, hardly anybody rides bicycles on Centre Street, they said.

Morris and other members conducted "audits" of all the intersections along Centre from the rotary to Spring Street and while he acknowledged they were not traffic engineers, he said they had something valuable - common sense. And that common sense led them to believe that the answer to greater pedestrian safety was to install pedestrian-crossing traffic signals that would only activate when a pedestrian pressed a button at certain intersections. such as at Hastings Street, where Marilyn Wentworth died in February and another pedestrian suffered a traumatic brain injury when it by a car a few years ago.

The group also called for replacement of the brick crosswalks Tom Menino was enamored of with more traditional and easier to spot striped crosswalks - something BTD crews recently have begun doing. And despite their disdain for the members of an alleged "bicycle lobby," they said they support signs along the road alerting drivers that they have to share the lane closest to the curb with bicyclists.

Although the group's founders spoke calmly and said they wanted to engage in dialog with both BTD and road-diet supporters, once they turned the room's microphones over to the audience, the anger spilled out towards bicyclists, people not from West Roxbury and the federal government, all of whom they accused of foisting the road-diet idea on West Roxbury for reasons that some said were quite sinister indeed.

The very first resident to get a mic said the city doesn't give a damn about safety and that the road diet is part of a plot to reduce Boston's carbon footprint. He accused the city of installing Blue Bikes stations along Centre Street - and even down by the Star Market on Spring Street - as part of this plot.

To applause, he said it's time to license and fine bicyclists who "cut cars off, they drive down the sidewalk and they hit people."

He was followed by the owner of a Centre Street business who said the road diet would drive her out of business. Besides, she yelled, "This isn't Amsterdam!"

Another resident said bike lanes on Washington Street in Roslindale and Beacon Street downtown have turned those roads into gridlocked hellscapes.

City Councilor Matt O'Malley (West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain), was booed when he said there are parts of the road-diet proposal he thinks are good, but that he wants to hear other proposals, too. "You're tap dancing, Matt!" one resident jumped up to yell at him. The resident then accused O'Malley of acting like a socialist whenever he's in the Jamaica Plain end of the district.

Nobody mentioned that the road-diet idea sprang from a study by a civil-engineering team at Northeastern University about Centre Street two years ago - which started when a graduate student from West Roxbury complained to her professor about Centre Street safety - and which basically gathered dust on a shelf somewhere until a February meeting at the Elks Club at which Wentworth's husband and son pleaded for the city to do something so that nobody would ever again have to go through what they did.

A Roslindale resident, who first joked he wasn't sure if he would make it out of the room alive, was, in fact, booed into sitting down when he explained how he thought the road diet would improve safety by forcing motorists to slow down and how the ultimate answer was to get more people onto public transit.

A West Roxbury resident essentially told bicyclists they can just shut up until they start paying taxes for roads. After asking car owners to raise their hands, he said, "These are our roads!"

One West Roxbury resident did rise to support the road-diet proposal, saying he owns both a car and a bicycle and that he and his wife both "drive all over the place." He said his top concern are crashes in which one driver stops for a pedestrian and a second one then plows into the person.

He tried to rebuke the notion of some "Bicycle Lobby" sinisterly pulling strings to destroy West Roxbury.

"We're people just advocating for safety," he said. "I"m a dad, a brother, a husband and a son, I'm not just a [bicyclist]."

Morris, who had earlier called the road diet "a stupid idea," said his group's plans would reduce such crashes through better sight lines - in part by having police deal with the issue of double parkers. And he said he and other founders felt "bushwacked" at the July meeting, when he said it seemed like outside bicyclists and other non-local agitators had had a series of secret meetings to prepare.

One mother of two young children, who live up at Lagrange and Keith streets, said she wasn't even sure what the fuss was about - she walks up and down Centre with her kids in a double-wide stroller and finds it "extremely safe." But if people don't agree, "why can't we put it on a ballot?" she asked.

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City tables plan to reduce car lanes on Centre Street in West Roxbury to study other possible ways to keep pedestrians from getting mowed down -...

As winter approaches, some producers are questioning if their hay inventories will last until spring. Cornstalks can extend hay inventories, but their use comes with some important considerations.

Residual corn left in the field is not going to be captured in the bales, which lowers the feeding value compared to grazing the field, notes Jeff Lehmkuhler, University of Kentucky extension beef specialist.

The best forage quality from the corn crop residues is in the leaves and husks, he says. The cobs and stalks are lower in digestibility with protein concentration ranging from only 3 to 6 percent, which is too low to meet the needs of cattle. The highest quality forage portions of corn crop residues are the leaves and husks.

Lehmkuhler explains that energy levels in cornstalk bales vary depending on the stalk to leaf ratio within the bale. Typical ranges are from 48 to 58 percent. Additionally, the high moisture levels of the stalks make baling and storing corn residue more difficult.

Feeding cornstalk bales can result in high levels of waste, according to Lehmkuhler. Cattle will pick through a bale, eating the leaves and husks while leaving behind the stalks. For this reason, the best way to utilize corn crop residues for feed is having the bales processed or by flail chopping the residue in the field to improve drying. Processed bales can be fed in a total mixed ration or along a feedbunk.

The extension specialist recommends feeding baled corn residues to dry, mid-gestation cows, remembering to supplement nutrients to meet diet requirements. Cattle fed cornstalks should be in good body condition and not be experiencing any environmental stresses, such as cold and mud. Environmental stresses on cattle will require additional supplementation.

Lehmkuhler offers an example diet for a mid-gestation cow of 15 pounds of cornstalks, 1.5 gallons of condensed distillers solubles (distillers syrup), and 2 pounds of soybean hulls plus minerals to meet requirements.

Significant energy and protein supplementation are needed for lactating, fall-calving cows, Lehmkuhler notes. Producers should work with a nutritionist to ensure nutrient needs are being met.

Lehmkuhler recommends hay for lactating cows, but he notes that cornstalks may be worked into the diet to stretch hay supplies with proper supplementation.

To extend hay inventories, feeding cornstalk bales is a reasonable option. Remember to work with a nutritionist to meet all nutritional requirements and supplement as needed. Lehmkuhler advises to not overpay for cornstalks since supplements, along with additional feed costs, will often be needed.

Michaela King

Michaela King served as the 2019 Hay & Forage Grower summer editorial intern. She currently attends the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and is majoring in professional journalism and photography. King grew up on a beef farm in Big Bend, Wis., where her 4-H experiences included showing both beef and dairy cattle.

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Baled cornstalks offer another feed option - Hay & Forage Grower

Hacks for Eating Healthier Lunches at Work

The American Heart Association News knows its difficult to make work lunches nutritious. Here are a few reasons why most people struggle to eat well during lunch and how you can change that.

Lunch at work can be unexciting, and unhealthy. Youre often in a rush and looking for something quick, the cafeteria only has so many options, and the microwave is the best means for a hot meal. However, it doesnt have to be a miserable experience if you listen to what the American Heart Association News has to day.

The Harris Poll for the American Heart Association and the food service company Aramark conducted an online survey to gauge workers attitudes about nutritious lunches. The results showed that over half of workers said they struggled to make lunch healthy, while 91 percent were interested in making their work lunches healthier.

But have no fear, said assistant professor of nutrition and food sciences Maya Vadiveloo. People can find many ways to make their work lunches healthier, and solutions involve both habits by workers and the places that serve them.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, yes. But lunch is also incredibly important for keeping the body fueled and energized throughout the day, and for getting proper healthy nutrition. Assuming people do not often get much nutritional value out of their breakfasts during the week, lunch is the next best way to get your healthy serving recommendations, according to Health Day.

Vadiveloo agrees this is easier said than done, though. If you only have 15 minutes to eat between responsibilities, youre probably not eating a balanced meal. This issue is worsened when a company cafeteria or fast-food eatery is offering unhealthy, quicker options.

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Hacks for Eating Healthier Lunches at Work - Occupational Health and Safety

When it comes to weight loss, there are a whole lot of diets available to choose from. What seems to make news now is the lunar or moon diet. A little trivia, this is also called the werewolf diet by some enthusiasts! As the name suggests, this diet involves eating as per the phases of the moon. So how does it work exactly?

According to the standard moon diet, you should be sticking to the plan on certain days, based on moon phases. On the full moon or the new moon, each of which occurs twice a month, you will need to follow the stipulations of the diet a liquid diet with only fluids like water and various juices. If youre up for a more gruelling diet, opt for a four-day diet.

So why does this diet work? The moon has a gravitational pull on the water bodies on earth. It also has a similar pull on our bodies. So your body weight changes marginally, based on the influence of the moon, and what you eat or drink during this time matters.

The downside, as with all crash diets, is that theyre only temporary, and need to be offset with a healthy balanced diet on other days not that you can binge extensively otherwise! Give in to cravings once in a while and in moderation, otherwise, follow a sensible diet plan for the moon diet to actually work.

Continue reading here:
What is the moon diet? - Femina

For business travellers who often fly halfway around the world for work, dealing with jet lag, stress and fatigue is bad enough. But theres also another hurdle they often have to overcome eating healthy and keeping fit.

Sticking to regular routines on business trips can be challenging for various reasons, such as limited options or tight schedules," saidBindu Bhatia, Asia Pacific's managing director of CWT, a travel management platform.

"Youre focused on your work and trying to make the most of your trip, so you dont have time to search for a gym or affordable healthy eating options if theyre not easily accessible.You may be stuck having to eat whatever is available at the hotel restaurant."

It's no better for those who make short trips around Southeast Asia,often flying back on the same day, said Bindu. This could mean having a very tight schedule thats often at the expense of proper meals and sleep.

And it seems Singaporean business travellers are the worst of the lot. A survey by CWT on 2,700 business travellers aroundthe world found that they fare badly at stayinghealthy on the go compared to their regional counterparts.Only 35 per cent of respondents keep to their wellness routines when travelling (no, going to the spa doesnt count).In comparison,52per cent in Asia Pacific work hard at maintaining their routines.

Whats more, 42 per cent of business travellers from Singapore eat less healthily when on the go, which is way higher than the average of 27 per cent in the Asia Pacific region.

Only 35 per cent [of Singaporean business travellers]keep to their wellness routines when travelling.In comparison,52per cent in Asia Pacific work hard at maintaining their routines.

But you can still minimise disrupting your sleep, wellness routine and diet. CNA Lifestyle spoke to business travellers and a fitness expert for their tips.

FLY IN THE DAY AND ARRIVE AT NIGHT IF YOU CAN

If your company lets you choose your flight, opt to fly in the day and arrive at night, so you can head straight to bed upon landing something that Nicholas Lim does on long-haul flights. This always work for me as the body system adjusts naturally to fight off jet lag, said the 45-year-old managing director of The Travel Corporation, Asia.

EAT DURINGTHE MEAL TIMES OF YOUR DESTINATION

Other than updating your PowerPoint presentation once youve settled down in your seat, set your watch to the local time of your destination, said Dzul Dinie Ng, Fitness First Singapores fitness manager. Then, eat your meals according to the meal times of your destination. Diet plays a significant role in resetting our body clocks. This is especially useful when travelling to faraway countries with a wide time difference, he said.

PLAN WHAT TO EAT

Nicholas plans his meals for each of his business trips. Keep in mind that theres going to be some dining and entertaining to do, so balance your dinner with a healthy breakfast or lunch. If all else fails, excuse yourself from that second glass of wine during dinner, he said.

Ensure that you have one scoop or a minimum of 20g of protein powder per day. This will also help cover the gaps in your protein intake should you be in a country where the food is high in sugar and carbohydrates.

Another way to avoid over-eating at dinner is to havea shakemade of protein powder beforehand, said Dzul. It not only fulfills your post-workout protein needs, itll also fill you up so youre less likely to over-eat at dinner.

Ensure that you have one scoop or a minimum of 20g of protein powder per day. This will also help cover the gaps in your protein intake should you be in a country where the food is high in sugar and carbohydrates, he said.

No time to join your business associates for dinner? Dont order the greasy burger and friesthrough room service either. Increasingly, more hotels have started to offer a wider range of vegetarian-friendly dishes, said Nicholas. Also, room service menus usually have soups, salads and fruits, and you could always order a combination of these.

KEEP TO YOUR WORKOUT TIMINGS

The last thing on your mind after getting off a flight is to exercise. But if its 7am where you are, even though its 10pm in Singapore, head for a jog if thats your usual morning routine. I try to squeeze in a workout to stay energised and keep my mood elevated, said 50-year-old Anthony Lim, managing director of Insight Vacations & Luxury Gold.

I typically jog and I especially enjoy a morning run outdoors around the neighbourhood, or sometimes further out to a route with views. Alternatively, I will do a 10- to 15-minute energy-boosting workout in the hotel room without gym equipment, he said.

MAKE USE OF THE HOTEL GYM

Most business travellers stay in big-chain hotels with well-equipped gyms, and if youre in one of them, take advantage of the equipment. For basic exercises, Dzul recommends doing a series of squats and deadlifts. To rev things up, grab a pair of 4kg dumbbells (or theusual weight you use) and perform shoulder presses with squats, he said. To balance this out, do four sets of lateral pull-downs (with a minimum of 4kg on the machine) to keep your muscles engaged."

NO TIME? WORK OUT IN YOUR ROOM

This works, too, if the gym isnt well equipped. Lie down on the floor in a spot where theres enough space to swing your arms and implement the Tabata routine(a form of high-intensity interval training; see video below), said Dzul.

He recommends these exercises (only the first eight for beginners; and all 10 for advanced exercisers): Planks, mountain climbers, CrossFit burpees, roll back jumps, jumping jacks, ice skaters, reverse snow angels, tabletop toe-touches, tug jumps and bomber push-ups. Perform each for 20 seconds with a 10-second rest in between for a total of eight rounds. Youll have a four-minute workout that should see you through your day and giveyou the right energy levels, said Dzul.

If morning is too rushed for you to squeeze in a workout, do what Nicholas does: Exercise just before dinner. The oxygen you get from your exercise helps you think and feel better even towards the end of the day when youre starting to feel tired, he said.

CANT EXERCISE FOR TWO WEEKS? ITS OKAY

On the upside, a break from your gym routine isnt always detrimental to your fitness goals, said Dzul. There is a study that found that you can actually not train for two weeks while maintaining the strength level that you are at. So, if youre in a location or circumstance thats just impossible to fit in your exercise routine, when you come back and do your gym workouts, you should be seeing the same strength you left with.

Continued here:
How to stay healthy while on a work trip - CNA

Within minutes this week, two articles crossed my Twitter feed, both telling me how difficult it is to study some very important things.

One was on diet (Why Diet Research Is So Spectacularly Thin, by David S. Ludwig and Steven B. Heymsfield) and the other was on teaching writing (Scientific Evidence on How to Teach Writing Is Slim, by Jill Barshay).

The similarities beyond the headlines ("Thin"/"Slim") are striking. Both articles focus on the lack of high-quality research in their respective areas.

Conducting research on the effectiveness of diets is apparently quite difficult. While we may think that theres an easy metric against which were measuring (weight loss), the confounding variables make it very difficult to attribute any single outcome to a change. As the authors say, High quality trials are hard to do because diets, and the behavior of humans who consume them, are so complicated.

Diet interventions that may work in the short term may do long-term harm. Contestants on the reality show The Biggest Loser lost hundreds of pounds in a matter of months, but many of them quickly gained the weight back, sometimes surpassing their previous levels.

The extreme amounts of exercise and highly restricted diets are not sustainable. Theyre probably not healthy, either. Conflating weight loss with increasing health is probably a category-error mistake to begin with.

The authors close with a call for a Manhattan Project to find definitive answers to epidemics of diet-related disease. They want the research to have the same quality and rigor as pharmaceutical research that is meant to treat disease, rather than prevent it, as good diet can.

Im not in medicine, but I am a researcher. I wonder about that last bit, but lets table it while we look at the article on the research on teaching writing.

Jill Barshay quotes Robert Slavin of the Center for Research and Reform of Education at the Johns Hopkins School of Education, saying, Theres remarkably very little high-quality evidence of what works in writing.

The research problems in measuring writing are similar to dieting. It is difficult to find a true control group. And unlike diets, where we at least have weight loss (as problematic as that may be as our criteria), evaluating writing is inherently subjective.

Tested methodologies for writing show mixed and/or inconclusive results. What works in one group may not in another.

The commonality that Slavin did find is that Motivation seems to be the key: If students love to write, because their peers as well as their teachers are eager to see what they have to say, then they will write with energy and pleasure.

The research shows that the atmosphere in which students are learning makes a difference. What they are doing and who they are doing it for goes a long way to helping students write better because theyre more engaged to write more.

As to the lack of high-quality research, Im wondering if this is truly the problem we should be tackling or rather if we should expand our notion of what high-quality research looks like in these sorts of complicated human endeavors.

Isnt it possible, even likely, that in realms where human variability is at play, we are unlikely to find a single common approach that works best for all, or even most? As anyone who has tried diet and/or exercise has experienced, the chief problem is not necessarily whether or not the diet works -- the principle of taking in fewer calories than your body burns is pretty rock solid -- but whether or not the person can maintain the program itself.

The limiting factor on the success of a diet is not the quality of the diet, but the attitudes and experiences of the person.

The same is true, in my view, of writing. The key to improving as a writer is persistence. Good writers simply keep writing, and anything that keeps one writing is good. Trying to design experiments around these complicated things that meet these "high-quality" standards often involves moving the participants further and further away from the genuine, organic behaviors that attach to these activities in the real world. The diet or writing method that seems to work in the controlled lab experiment may not translate to the wider world. This is the exact problem with the highly prescriptive practice surrounding the use of the five-paragraph essay. Training students to pass the assessment that has become privileged has made them less capable as writers in general, while killing their spirits to boot.

Now that my own approach to teaching writing is out in the world, as embodied in Why They Cant Write and The Writers Practice, I am confronted with questions about how I know if my approach works.

I mean, I know it works. Ive refined it over years of working with students through a continuous process of qualitative research. Because it is not generalizable, qualitative research is not considered high quality, but this does not mean it is inherently low quality. When were looking at these complicated things where solutions are unlikely to be wholly generalizable, it is, in fact, invaluable.

One of the ways I measure the effectiveness of my approach is to ask students whether or not they think theyre learning. I find this to be meaningful data.

Another method I use is to ask students how they would approach an unfamiliar writing task. Here I am assessing the development of the writing practices, the skills, attitudes, knowledge and habits of mind of writers. If they can articulate an approach to a new writing problem, I know that eventually, through practice, the written artifact itself will become better and better.

I want to know how students feel about their writing abilities, whether or not they perceive an increase in their writing power. If I were a nutritionist, I would also want to know how my patients feel when on my program of diet and exercise. If they feel like crap and the experience is miserable, how could I ever expect them to persist?

A generalizable, quantifiable measurement simply doesnt apply here. It is a mismatch between desired information and methodology. The problem were studying is too complex, and what happens when it comes to writing and developing as a writer is a little different inside everyone.

I suspect this is why the available research finds that the writing atmosphere is important seem to be the most promising. Inside a good atmosphere, different students can travel different paths toward similar (yet still different in important ways) destinations.

As to the evidence I look for to see if The Writers Practice is working as I hoped, Im feeling pretty good about this.

Read more:
When "High-Quality" Evidence Maybe Shouldn't Be the Goal | Just Visiting - Inside Higher Ed

Share on PinterestKendrick James Farris at the weightlifting event at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Getty Images

Packed with record-setting athletes displaying cut physiques and explosive power, The Game Changers, a new documentary on Netflix, has a clear message: Vegan is best.

The film aims to make the case that a vegan diet isnt only the most advantageous diet for long-term health, but for an athletic edge as well.

From Olympic weightlifter Kendrick Farris and cycling champion Dotsie Bausch to top distance runner Scott Jurek and Arnold Schwarzenegger (a producer of the film), the documentary chronicles several professional athletes who attribute getting faster and stronger, and recovering from injury more quickly, to adopting a plant-based diet specifically vegan.

Vegans dont eat meat or products derived from animals, like eggs or milk.

While theres not much data to back a trend of professional athletes going vegan or vegetarian, Barbara Lewin, RDN, CSSD, LDN, a sports nutritionist who works with professional athletes, including Olympic athletes and members of the NHL and NBA, certainly sees her pro-athlete clients embracing a plant-based diet.

My clients see so many benefits to eating a plant-based diet that postseason, they dont go back to eating as an omnivore or a carnivore, Lewin noted.

Healthline asked that question to David C. Nieman, DrPH, FACSM, a professor of health and exercise science and director of the Human Performance Laboratory at Appalachian State University in North Carolina, where he studies athletes and diet.

Nieman is a vegetarian and marathon runner who sees many reasons someone would want to become vegan. Still, he had a clear answer: No.

The only possible way it [a vegan diet] may help some people is if theyre involved in a sport that takes more than an hour, Nieman stated.

And thats only if they were on a low carb, high fat diet and switched to a vegan diet, which would mean theyd be taking in more carbs. Those people would see improvement in endurance not sports skill, he said.

Studies on the correlation between performance and vegan, vegetarian, and meat-eating diets are rather limited.

One recent study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition tracked the maximum exercise capacity of 76 recreational runners, 18 to 35 years old, for 6 months. Of the group, 26 followed a diet that included meat and plants, 26 ate a vegetarian diet, and 24 ate a vegan diet.

The results suggest that there are no differences in exercise capacity between vegan, lacto-ovo-vegetarians and omnivorous recreational runners, the studys authors wrote.

The bottom line: All kinds of diets are compatible with performance, Nieman said.

Thats if you make healthy choices compatible with whatever diet you want to follow.

Lewin agrees that any diet needs to include wise choices if youre eating for health or performance.

If youre living on crackers, vegan cheese, and other processed foods, its not a good choice. For a vegan diet to be healthy and to work for the elite athlete, it has to have a strong foundation in vegetables and fruits, legumes, whole grains, nuts, and seeds, she told Healthline.

The Game Changers shares stories of both long-term health on a vegan diet and immediate improvements in performance. Bouncing back quickly between workouts is also important for professional athletes and many more casual athletes too.

According to Nieman, youve got to look at nutritions effect on three areas to get an overall sense of how diets affect athletes: long-term, acute, and post-workout recovery.

Long-term health is important for athletes. Plant-based dietary choices are at the heart of all healthy eating patterns, Nieman explained, whether your diet of choice be vegetarian, Mediterranean, or DASH, for example.

The 3-day period before a sports event matters a lot. Athletes should eat a high carb diet, with most carbs coming from grains and dried fruit.

What you eat every day counts towards your health and overall performance. However, the pre-workout or prerace meal is extremely important, Lewin said.

A high fat meal can leave you feeling sluggish and is not a good fuel for the muscles, whereas a meal with the right balance of carbohydrate and protein will digest efficiently and provide good energy, she said.

Finally, Nieman points to an area of study called metabolic recovery, or bouncing back to normal after a race or workout.

This area of study has discovered what you eat can improve your return to homeostasis. The simplest snack? Fruit. Niemans research has found bananas, pears, and blueberries all support your bodys recovery after exercise.

Fans of the vegan diet claim that if you eat vegan, its easier to bounce back between workouts with plant protein since its less inflammatory.

Nieman, whos currently studying athletic recovery after 90 minutes of hard exercise when someone eats pea vs. whey (dairy) protein post-workout, strongly disagrees.

Its nonsense that plant protein will help you recover any differently, he said.

But Lewin believes the anti-inflammatory effect of plant foods help with recovery.

With higher levels of exercise intensity you produce more free radicals and byproducts that can cause inflammation in the body. A vegan, plant-based diet rich in antioxidants can have an enormous impact on reducing inflammation, she said.

Lewin and Nieman agree on one point, though: Its not at all necessary to consume animal products to excel in pro sports.

Whether youre biking or training for a Tough Mudder, weekend warriors can experiment with vegan meals thatll fuel your body.

The prerace meal needs to be high in carbohydrate, low in fat and fiber (which both slow down the digestive process), and can contain moderate amounts of protein, according to Lewin.

Try:

A game-changing takeaway from the film? Its not at all necessary to consume animal products to excel in pro sports.

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Elite Athletes Are Going Vegan. Will It Help You? - Healthline

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