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Challenging, tough, hard, impossible these are words that can be used to describe dieting. While some diet plans are verysimple, others have complex rulesregarding what you can and cant eat. When going on a diet, it'simportant to follow therules as best you can for the most promising results. From fasting to vegan diets,here are 10options you can choose to conquer the challenge of healthy eating.

Adding apple cider vinegar (ACV) to a glass of water can help suppress your hunger during a diet. Research has shown that drinkingACV is related to a lower body weight and body mass index (BMI) and obese adults consuming two tablespoons of vinegar per day via a drink lost two to four pounds over the course of 12 weeks.

Rebecca Lee, a registered nurse in New York and founder of the natural health resource, RemediesForMe.com, recommends starting with 1 teaspoon of ACV in 8 to 10 ounces of water and slowly working your way up to 2 teaspoons. Lee warns those who are considering the ACV diet to not drink more than 2 to 4 tablespoons of ACV per day.

No, you wont be dealing with protein deficiency if you suddenly switch to a vegetarian diet. There are plenty of alternatives such as tofu, beans, lentils and nuts. Tofu can be substituted for the same amount of meat, poultry or fish in almost any recipe, Cynthia Sass. RD,a vegan and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, told Vegetarian Times.

Sticking to a vegetarian diet can improve the health of your heart, help you lose weight and helps support animal rights. Individuals who choose plant-based diets often experience a decrease in blood cholesterol levels, which, according to studies, could drop by up to 35 percent, Medical Daily previously reported.

Standing for dietary approaches to stop hypertension, the DASH diet was originally created to help people lower their blood pressure by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Rather than following any specific rules or restrictions, the DASH diet recommends eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, including some low-fat dairy products, animal proteins, legumes, beans, and vegetable oil. Dieters are recommended they limit foods high in saturated fat, as well as sugar-sweetened drinks and candies all standard rules for healthy eating, Medical Daily previously reported.

In 2016, the DASH Diet was declared the best overall diet for the 6th straight year by the U.S. News & World Report. Additionally, this diet was recognized in the categories for Easiest Diets to Follow; Best Diet for Healthy Eating; and Best Heart-Healthy Diets.

Consisting of mainly fish, fruits and vegetables, portions of whole grains and small amounts of meat, the Mediterranean diet is healthy for your heart, and scientists believe it may protect against mental aging. A recent study consisting of 15,000 people diagnosed with heart disease showed those who maintained a Mediterranean diet hada decreased risk for heart attack and stroke.

The researchers gave the participants, who lived in 39 different countries, questionnaires about their diet and gave them points based on their answers in either the Mediterranean diet or Western Diet category. Over nearly four years, 1,588 (about 10 percent) of the study participants suffered either a heart attack or stroke, or died. Those who ate more foods in the Mediterranean diet category were 3.5 times less likely to experience one of these three events than people whose diets more closely resembled the Western standard, Medical Daily previously reported.

One of the top countries for the longest life expectancy is Japan, but why? It may relate to how much they adhere to the Japanese food guide. The guide recommends that every day people should consume 5 to 7 servings of grain dishes, 5 to 6 servings of vegetable dishes, 3 to 5 servings of fish and meat dishes, 2 servings of fruits and 2 servings of milk as well as some form of physical activity and water and tea, Medical Daily previously reported.

A recent study seeking to discover how the Japanese diet relates to longevity has found that balanced meals consisting of grains, vegetables, fruits, fish and meat contributed to a decrease in the risk of death and cardiovascular disease, Medical Daily previously reported. The study consisted of 36,624 men and 42,920 women between the ages of 45 and 75 over the course of 15 years. Participants who followed the Japanese food guide more closely had a 15 percent lower mortality rate over the 15 year period. The researchers determined the reduction in cardiovascular disease helped reduce the mortality risk.

A vegan diet consists of cutting all animal products out of your diet. It should be noted that vegan diets are not right for everyone; cutting meat out of your life can brings several health risks such as not getting enough protein, B12, calcium, vitamin D, iron and zinc among others. Researching alternative sources of nutrients and taking multivitamins are a good way of counteracting these deficiencies. Similar to the vegetarian diet, a vegan diet can also help you improve your hearth health and lose weight, Medical Daily previously reported.

Kendrick Farris, a competitor at the 2016 Rio Olympics in mens weightlifting, switched to a vegan diet in 2014. He consumes a combination of black beans, avocado and vanilla, chocolate flavored plant-based protein shakes, soy foods, seeds, tofu, lentils, quinoa and nuts.

Normally, those who suffer from celiac disease are the only ones who go on a gluten-free diet because they have to. However there are some benefits for those who are not sensitive to gluten or have celiac disease. "Yes, it's a popular diet of the moment, but it really does seem to provide some improvement in gastrointestinal problems for a segment of the population," celiac disease expert Dr. Daniel Leffler, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, told Harvard Health Publications. "It takes a long time to learn how to live gluten-free. You'll have to become a gluten detective, scouring food labels and looking for hidden gluten.

This diet has been debated about whether going gluten-free is healthy or can cause unintentional health problems for those who arent required to go on a gluten-free diet, Medical Daily previously reported. Because of this, you should consult a medical professional before starting.

In a recent study, 220 men and women were divided into two groups. One group was told to cut 25 percent of their daily calories over the course of two years, while the second group could cut as many calories as they desired each day. The results showed the group who cut 25 percent of their daily calories lost an average of nearly 17 pounds and the other group lost less than a pound, Medical Daily previously reported. Participants were a normal, healthy weight at the conclusion of the study.

"Calorie restriction among primarily overweight and obese persons has been found to improve quality of life, sleep, and sexual function, the researchers wrote. The results of the present study indicate that two years of calorie restriction is unlikely to negatively affect healthy adults. Rather, calorie restriction is likely to provide some improvement."

Celebrity and nutrition expert JJ Virgin has created a diet claiming users will lose weight in as quicklyas a week by cutting our seven foods. She formulated the plan after seeing her own patients losing weight by dropping certain foods from their diets. The key of this diet is the avoidance of food intolerances known to stress peoples bodies. Every day, you cut out a new food until you reach day seven via three cycles: elimination, reintroduction and sustaining.

Day by day you cut out gluten, soy, dairy, eggs, corns, peanuts, and sugar and artificial sweeteners. Following this, dieters are told to gradually add them back into their diet with the end goal to be finding a long-term balance to keep your body healthy and energized. Taking away each of these one at a time helps people lose weight, Medical Daily previously reported.

Similar to the Virgin Diet, the Atkins Induction Diet consists of several phases, gradually increasing the amount of carbohydrates the dieter can consume during the four phases. During the first phase (induction) people musteatless than 20 grams of carbohydrates a day for two weeks and are encouraged to eat high-protein,high-fat foods that are alsolow on carbohydrates. Ideally stay in this phase until you are 15 pounds from your weight goal because the longer you are in this stage, the more fat you burn.

In phase two (balancing) increase your carbohydrates to 25 grams per day and reintroduce nuts and seeds to your diet. Gradually increase this to 30 grams per day while reintroducing dairy products. Phase three (fine-tuning) occurs when you are close to your weight goal. Simply add more carbohydrates to your diet until the weight loss slows down. Finally, in phase four (maintenance) you are allows to eat as much carbohydrates as you want while keeping your weight goal, Medical Daily previously reported.

Read More:Weight Loss Health Benefits: Drinking Water Instead Of Diet Beverages May Help Diabetes Patients

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Best Diets 2016: 10 Weight Loss Programs That Work

The Promise

They're popular, but they aren't proven to do what they say they'll do: flush toxins out of your system. In fact, they may be risky and even backfire.

Still thinking about it? You should know this first.

That depends on the particular detox diet you're following. There are many of them. Some involve fasting, or just drinking liquids. Others allow some foods, like fruits and vegetables. They typically are short diets -- they're not a way of eating you can stick with in the long run.

You'll be hungry and may feel weak. Whether or not a detox diet is safe depends on the plan and how long you stay on it.

Most people dont feel good on low-calorie, nutrient-poor diets. Potential side effects include low energy, low blood sugar, muscle aches, fatigue, feeling dizzy or lightheaded, and nausea.

If the idea of detoxing appeals, you might try "clean" eating that focuses on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean protein -- basically, whole foods without a lot of processing. That's good for you and more likely to give you results that last, especially if you make exercise a habit.

Limitations: You're going to go without a lot of the foods you usually eat. Detox diets are typically very rigid and involve eating the same few things over and over.

Cooking and shopping: Depends on the detox plan you're following. Because there's not a lot you're allowed to eat, you won't have a long shopping list and prep work should be minimal.

Packaged foods or meals: Some detox plans recommend herbs, pills, powders, enemas, and other forms of colon cleansing. Methods vary and often include products that are only available from the authors web site.

In-person meetings? No.

Exercise : Not required, and you may not have the energy for it, because you're not getting that many calories.

Costs: Besides your grocery shopping, a detox diet may also call for some supplements and other products, which vary in cost.

Support: None, except for resources you may find online.

Does It Work?

If your goal is weight loss, a detox diet might help you drop a few pounds, but youll likely just gain it back. In the end, you havent accomplished anything, and its certainly not a healthy approach.

If your goal is to detox your system, dont waste your time or money. Your body is an expert at getting rid of toxins no matter what you eat. Toxins dont build up in your liver, kidneys, or any other part of your body, and youre not going to get rid of them with the latest detox wonder. Especially avoid diets that promise to detox your liver with supplements or cleanse whatever the diet determines needs washing out.

The only type of detox diet that is worthwhile is one that limits processed, high-fat, and sugary foods, and replaces them with more whole foods likefruits and vegetables. That clean-eating approach is your best bet to getting your body in tip-top shape.

Is It Good for Certain Conditions?

Not only are detox diets not good for people with certain medical conditions, they could be harmful. There is no research showing they improve blood pressure or cholesterol or have a positive effect on the heart. For people with diabetes, they may be quite dangerous. Any diet that severely restricts what you eat could lead to dangerously low blood sugar if you take medicine for diabetes.

The exception would be a detox diet that just focuses on clean-eating. This approach would be great for anyone living with high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, and even heart disease.

The Final Word

Weve heard a great deal about detox diets in recent years. But its all hype with no health benefits. There are many ways to get your body clean and healthy. This isnt one of them.

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Detox Diets: Do They Work? Are They Healthy?

If you've followed a fad diet, you have plenty of company. But have you been able to stay on these deprivation diets for a long time? And if you did lose weight, did the pounds stay off once you went back to your usual way of eating?

Fad diets don't help you keep off the weight in the long term. So what does work? The best diet is not a diet at all, but a way of life that includes food you enjoy, exercise, and healthy habits.

Here's some simple, straightforward advice.

Just as a car needs the proper gasoline to make it run, a body needs a healthy diet to develop properly. That means the right balance of protein, carbohydrates, and fat -- as well as a host of other nutrients.

When you go on a fad diet and exclude necessary nutrients, you're putting yourself at risk for becoming ill. Getting too little of any nutrient may not cause an immediate problem. But if it's lacking for a long time, you may find you have health problems.

Food servings have grown larger and larger over the years. And fast-food restaurants aren't the only places you'll find supersized meals. Researchers have noted that from 1970 through the 1990s, portion sizes of hamburgers, burritos, tacos, french fries, sodas, ice cream, pie, cookies, and salty snacks increased -- whether the foods were eaten at home or at restaurants.

What does a healthy serving size look like?

Here are some simple tricks to scale back your portions (and calories):

If you need more information on weight loss and dieting, talk to your health care provider or a registered dietitian. Ask your doctor about your "ideal" weight and the number of calories you must eat to lose pounds and maintain an ideal weight.

Also, ask friends, family, or co-workers to join you as you work to change your eating habits and pare down your weight. Sticking to a weight loss plan is much easier when you have someone to support you.

SOURCES:

Nielsen, S. Journal of the American Medical Association, Jan. 22-29, 2003.

Young, L. American Journal of Public Health, February 2002.

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: "Eat Right Nutrition Tips."

CDC: "Physical Activity for Everyone."

See original here:
Fad Diets: Why They Don't Work & What To Do Instead

Photo Credit Lydia Ortiz

BEAUTIFUL BODIES A Memoir By Kimberly Rae Miller 222 pp. Little A. $24.95.

On the very first page of her memoir Beautiful Bodies, Kimberly Rae Miller stacks the book with a lot of questions that dont have easy answers: What is the ideal human body? Why dont we all have it? Why do we come in different shapes and sizes, and when and why did we start hating ourselves for it?

Shes taking aim not just at the countless Americans who are attempting weight loss at any given moment, but at our culture that takes the body as an all-consuming improvement project with no end in sight.

For Miller, whose previous memoir, Coming Clean, was about growing up with hoarders, dieting started in childhood and has stuck around into her 30s as her only real hobby. She was a suburban Long Island kid who wanted to be exceptional, to be visible, but for her body to be nothing of note. She attempts to be a child model, loves the brief notoriety she gets as the first girl in her fifth grade class to get her period, spends two weeks skipping breakfast and aerobicizing at fat camp and ends up gaining an eighth of a pound.

And then there are the failed diets she reels off: eating nothing but meat, nothing but raw vegetables, nothing but fruit, nothing but juice. I loved the rigidity and lack of choice, she writes in her chatty way. Deprivation was awful but amazing.

By adulthood, Miller teaches indoor cycling classes, occasionally goes on acting auditions and maintains a blog about health and fitness. She still sees her body and her weight as her primary asset. I could maintain a size 8, but it took herculean effort, near starvation and a religious gym routine.

Which she tries when she starts dating Roy, an Israeli personal trainer she meets online. Then she finds an email he had written to a friend that called her lovely but chunky: She does have a big butt and a belly, which do bother me. To her face he says shes in possession of one of the most obstinate bodies Ive ever dealt with in my career. Instead of reacting with anger, she thinks its what she deserves. He advises her she could eat as little as 800 calories per day and helps her train. She shows up to a friends wedding in a size-6 dress thats too big and weighing the same as she did when she was 11. We are to believe their true test of love comes when she gains the weight back but he proposes anyway.

Despite the fact that Millers weight yo-yos frequently by dozens of pounds, her body size is always, by societal standards, neither very thin nor very fat. She keeps a photograph in her wallet of her at her fattest, 188 pounds, around the time she graduated from high school. She means it to be proof of my failure, my rock bottom. Describing the photo is where her writing is most vivid, her shame most palpable: My wet tank top clung to my body, accentuating my bloated breasts and stomach. My stomach formed a perfect 8, round everywhere except where my too-tight pants pulled my stomach in; my face, a perfect circle. She recounts publishing it online only to be mocked for her appearance: some echoing her own criticisms but others complaining shes not big enough to really be considered fat.

It is just another way to fail at measuring up. In this era of total body vigilance, there is no middle ground where one is neither too fat nor shockingly thin. Thats the story she should have pursued connecting her own lifetime of ambivalence and restriction around food and her body to a larger narrative. She does add in brief historical interludes about dieting the Rev. Sylvester Graham and John Harvey Kelloggs bland vegetarian plans, Inuits eating a lot of animal fat, and William the Conquerors alcohol-heavy regimen but they are about as long and detailed as the average Wikipedia entry. Over all, what we get is a book that reads at times like a mildly funny therapy session or a familiar memoir about the redemptive power of love.

Miller never comes close to answering any of the questions about ideal bodies she poses in the beginning of the book, but here are a few more: How does a person know when to stop? Or at least stop trying?

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A Memoir of Dieting in the Age of Total Body Vigilance - New York Times

All year round, Adam Carriker is taking the pulse of Husker Nation. In the "Carriker Chronicles" video series, he breaks down the latest NU news, upcoming opponents, player updates and recruiting information, and he offers his insight into the X's and O's and more.

In Wednesday's episode, Carriker shares his post-NFL weight loss story, gives his workout plan and diet for successful weight lossand more.

Want more Chronicles? Follow Carriker on Twitter and Facebook and sign up to get an email whenever a new show is posted.

When Adam Carriker talks, you'll want to listen. Get every episode of the "Carriker Chronicles" in your inbox.

Here's the transcript from today's show:

"Welcome to the Carriker Chronicles, the peoples show and today is Workout Wednesday and I wanna tell you about how I put on 100 pounds and then, I lost 100 pounds. So from the time I graduated high school, 13 years later from when I was done playing in Nebraska and in the NFL. 13 years later, I gradually went from 220 to 320 from lifting in the weight room, Husker power and playing in the NFL, playing 3-4 defensive end and nose guard in the NFL as well. I just gradually got bigger and stronger and stronger as the game and my job required me to do.

Now, when I retired, I decided I didnt want to be 320 anymore. Just wasnt healthy for life, been through a lot of aches and pains in football, just what it is. And so I decided I wanted to take about six months and lose that 100 pounds. So what I did is I got a diet. I got a workout regimen cause this is unlike anything Ive ever done in my entire life. I mean one week ago you fine folks at home watching me bench 550 pounds. I like to bench press refrigerators, and I like to squat mobile homes. Thats what I like to do. Ive never liked cardio. Ive never liked anything over five reps. I hate taking I like taking a lot of rest in between my sets. Thats just how you lift heavy. Thats how Ive always liked to train. Thats just me. This is completely different.

To lose weight, you wanna do high reps, starting 20 reps, to 10 reps, to 15. Anything below 10, you dont really wanna go below that if you are trying to lose weight. Anywhere from 10 to 20 reps. You want low rest. You want at the most 90 seconds in between your rests and your sets, or 30 seconds, which is a lot of what I did a lot of the time and I would super set. So Id do a set of bench, Id go do a set of pull-ups. Id wait 30 seconds. Well, that was foreign to me, but thats what I did. I did a whole lot of cardio. I did six days a week of cardio. I did upper body twice a week, lower body twice a week, and then twice a week Id do cardio with core. So for you fine folks at home, I would suggest four to six days a week, and I would suggest lifting and cardio and core involved in those. And Ill just tell you a little bit about what I did. So for me, Mondays and Thursdays was upper body and cardio. Tuesday and Fridays was lower body and cardio.

Im looking at my old workout right now that I used to have, and Wednesday was cardio and then it was core. And Im gonna put this whole entire workout in the transcript for you fine folks at home to see, so I dont have to detail it all out on the show. So you can check it out at your leisure at your own depth in the transcript. Thats my workout. Thats the gist of some of the things you wanna take from the workout aspect of it.

With the cardio, I would suggest mixing it up. I mean theres stair climber. Theres elliptical. Theres treadmill. You can do plyo box jumps. You can play basketball, make sure its an intense game. You can run outside. Theres all sorts of different things you can do. Mix up that cardio so that you dont get bored and intervals. While youre doing your cardio, intervals is the best way to lose weight. So run hard for 90 seconds, rest. Run hard for a minute, rest. Run hard for 30 seconds, rest. Thats kind of how you want your intervals to be, anywhere from 30 seconds to 90 seconds.

Now, as far as the diet, which is important, probably more important than anything else. Even if you arent able to work out because theres something bothering you physically, just follow the diet aspect of this, which I also have right here. My same diet. Im gonna put that up on the transcript as well and you can check it out at your own leisure and depth as you want to do so in the future, or immediately following the show would absolutely be the best. But, the things is the diet is more important than anything because what you put into your body, its like fuel in a race car. You put and Ive done this before, Ive put kerosene in my car one time by accident. Its like putting kerosene in a race car instead of premium leaded gas or unleaded gas or whatever the best gas is, Im not much of a mechanic.

But as far as the diet goes, that was foreign to me as well because Ive never done drugs, Ive been drunk once in my life and Ill just confess right now. It was at my Washington State recruiting visit and my dad was there. I was hungover the next day, sick as a dog and we managed to fool them. Dad if youre watching this, Im sure you know by now. I think I told you years later. But anyways, my vice was food. I would go into Burger King, Hey, Adam. How you doing? I would go into Taco Bell. Adam, do you want your regular? Like to me everyone had a vice. Food cant be the worst thing in the world, so that was my vice. So for me, Id never eaten like this before in my entire life either. It was a great challenge and something Id never ever done in my entire life.

Now, Im just gonna briefly cover the diet aspect of this. You want your breakfast to be your biggest meal of the day because you need your energy, you need to have some healthy carbs, some healthy sugars so you have a little pep in your step for the entire day, so youre not dragging. And also, as the day goes along, your body digests what you ate in the morning. If you have a big supper, it stillit wont be as digested, so the scale isnt gonna like you as much. So as the day goes along, you want to eat less and less and less.

So my breakfast was the biggest meal of the day, Id have a green smoothie. Thered usually be a couple fruits in there, a banana, blueberries, goji berries, raspberries, some of the super fruits. Id put a serving of greens in there whether it be kale, spinach, power greens, something of that nature. A little bit of protein powder, it helps give it a little thickness, a little flavor to it as well. The other thing that I would put in there was some nuts. You know whether it be almonds, Brazil nuts, or walnuts. Those things are really good. Thatd be my green smoothie, and I would either have some scrambled eggs, or Id have, and Im not gonna lie to you this was not the best tasting thing under Gods hot sun, but I would have those little packets of grilled chicken breasts. I would take it out and I would just eat it. Its not very many calories, and its 42 grams of protein. Bam, just like that. Not the best tasting thing in the world, so you can do scrambled eggs instead. And for those healthy carbs have some whole grain toast or possibly some oatmeal.

And after Id go workout, what I just talked about a little bit, Id have a post-workout shake. You know, three scoops of protein, maybe some keratin, some glutamine, put a couple of scoops of some of the greens powder mix that Id had discovered that I really like really well called Green Greens X, free plug right there for you. You owe me fine, fine company of, of nutritional supplements you. But thats what Id have afterwards also with fish oil supplement Id take a tablespoon of it. Give you a little extra energy. Help you recover as well. And you can read the rest of whats in this diet that I ate, but gradually as the day went along, I ate a little bit less and less. You want more in the morning for energy and gradually your body digests and you wanna eat less throughout the day.

Now the main thing you wanna do is you wanna eat protein four to five times a day. That helps your body recover. You also want to eat greens four to five times a day. That helps your body heal from these workout and from what youre putting your body through at the moment to try to lose this weight. And when you have just straight protein and greens those are called fire meals because that is exactly what you need and its nothing more. So youre still supplying your body nutrients. Yet, youre giving it the minimum amount that it needs, so thats how you can lose the weight.

And the things you need to keep track of, keep track of calories, carbs and your sugars. Those are the three things to keep track of the most, and if youre gonna get some supplements, which I highly advise, a multivitamin, a digestine, and as I previously mentioned before fish oil, glutamine, and some keratin as well.

And on Sundays you do get a cheat meal ladies and gentlemen. For me, that was my sanity. Id start planning that thing on Monday. Where I was gonna go, what I was gonna do, what I was gonna eat. Dont obsess about it. It just gave me something to look forward to and helped me personally keep my sanity. And I could enjoy it every single Sunday.

But now, one of the biggest things Ive found was that this was a six month process for me, and about two months in, I lost a ton of weight, and I took an unload week. I chilled for a week because I want, I dont want it to be a diet. Dont go on a diet. Do not go on a diet. Take The Biggest Loser. More often than not, the winner from that show will, way more often than not if you go back and do your research, the winner from that show from each season that they had now weighs more or as much or more than before they lost all that weight. Diets dont last because you go mentally crazy, and sometimes they can alter your metabolism and make things way worse.

So, I wanted a lifestyle change. So, I mentally enjoyed working out and eating like I had never done in my entire life. For me, it was a brand new challenge, and I was excited about it. I enjoyed it.

After unload week, my biggest concern was putting on weight during that week, and I did not. But, I just had a hard time coming back. In fact, I was posting every Wednesday, working out. It was weight loss Wednesday at the time. People were following me, and I quit posting about it because I decided I needed to take a little bit more of a break. Now, just cause your tired. Just cause its hard. Just cause youre hungry dont give in. Dont beno, no, no, no. Keep going, but if you feel yourself starting to go crazy and coo-coo, that ladies and gentlemen, thats when you gotta make a lifestyle change and not just go for a fad diet.

Now, so, I took a little bit more time off, and when I came back, I was a little bit more rejuvenated. It still wasnt easy because it is challenging. But gradually over the rest of that time because I lost a lot of weight upfront, decided to chill out so I wouldnt drive myself crazy and then, over the last couple of months, over those six months, the remainder of that time, I lost the rest of the weight gradually, so that I would not go crazy and put it back on.

Now, its all based on what, how you feel. If you feel like youre good, keep pushing on. Four days a week. Six days a week. Six months. A year. Whatever you can do to last long term.

There was a guy, who was in the army, who hit me up. Sir, Adam, how do I lose weight? I sent him exactly what is on these papers, which will be in the transcript. He just hit me up about a couple months ago and he just hit me up about two weeks ago, about six weeks later and said, 'Ive lost 51 pounds. Thank you, sir.' Congratulations to you sir because you have done the work.

Now, full disclosure, I weight 260 pounds today. 220, 320, to 220. Why am I 260? Ill be brutally honest with you, when I got to 240, I looked in the mirror, and I didnt want to lose anymore. I was getting too skinny, but I wanted to reach my goal. As soon as I got to 220, I got right back to 240, and gradually over the last few months Ive discovered, so that I can enjoy food, lift the way I want, 260s where I am. Largest arms on the D-line baby. Check out the Carriker Chronicles. omaha.com, my Facebook and Twitter, easiest way to access the show. Sign up for the email notifications, have it right at your finger tips. That was your Workout Wednesday with tip of the week. Youre welcome."

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Carriker Chronicles: Adam's weight loss story, workout plan and diet for weight loss - Omaha World-Herald

Most vegans are happy to list the reasons why a plant-based diet is superior. Going strictly animal-free can reduce ones carbon footprint, cut risk for cancer and chronic diseases, prevent animal cruelty and provide an excuse to make a really great dessert.

But one thing thats probably not on your average vegans list is that this restrictive diet improves the quality of ones poopat least according to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). This week, the animal rights organization issued a call for more healthy vegans to consider becoming stool super donors (i.e., providing specimens on a regular basis) in order to serve the growing demand since fecal microbiotoa transplant is now considered the gold-standard for treating recurrent clostridium difficile (c.difficile) infections and other potentially life-threatening gastrointestinal illnesses. In this experimental medical procedure, stool from a healthy person is transplanted to the gut of an ailing patient either in encapsulated pill form or through colonoscopy.

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found 81 percent of patients with c.difficile who underwent transplantation made a full recovery from their illness. Research since has shown the cure rate after follow-up transplants may be evenhigher, as much as 90 percent.

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The problem, however, is that good poop is actually pretty hard to find, and stool banks such as OpenBiome and Advancing Bio are quite possibly even more choosy than your average blood bank. PETA suggests that relying on fruits and vegetables as a main source of sustenance leads to a more diverse micriobiome, the complex ecosystem of bacteria freeloading inside your gut and nearly every part of your body. Manyor if one is lucky, mostare beneficial to health. Some of these microbes are even necessary for normal human function.

More and more research suggests that people with greater microbiome diversity tend to be healthier. Scientists have identified a link between certain gut bacteria profiles and just about every chronic medical condition, from ulcerative colitis and autism to common allergies, depression and certain cancers. More research needs to be conducted, which is another reasonwhy people withhealthy microbiomes are in high demand.

Vegan kitchens save 100 animals a year, and now, vegan bathrooms can be used to save some of our fellow human beings, PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said in a press statement. PETA is betting the farm that after meat-eaters experience the health and mood benefits of vegan stool, theyll go vegan themselves.

Fecal transplantation isnt yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. However, because it has been shown to be so effective for c.difficile, the FDA allows physicians to use it under their enforcement discretion guidelines for patients with c.difficile infections who do not respond to standard therapies. This essentially means the FDA wont go after a doctor who performs a fecal transplant once they have their patients consent. Last year, the FDA moved to tighten regulations by limiting the procedure only to large hospitals.

Zain Kassam, chief medical officer of OpenBiome, is a little skeptical of PETA's recommendation. Diet certainly has something to do with the quality of ones stool, but its not the primary deciding factor when he's deterimining if their poop warrants super donor status. Whether you're a 34-year old vegan lawyer who loves lentils or a 22-year old college student who craves a good hamburgerOpenBiome welcomes all healthy donors in the fight against C. difficile, he tells Newsweek.

OpenBiome, sometimes called the Red Cross of poop, recruits and screens stool donors, and then it filters and freezes the raw material for clinicians to use. A large list of factors go into deciding who is qualified to be a super donor, and Kassam says the research is ongoing to gain more insight on the medicinal magic of human waste. For the treatment of C. difficile, our studies and others suggest that all healthy donors are super donors, he says. For other diseases, such as ulcerative colitis, a type of inflammatory bowel disease, preliminary research suggests there may be certain donors that seem to work best. But, the jury is still out on what makes one donor work and another not.

In 2015, he conducted a study that proved just how hard it is to find suitable donors. Out of a pool of 459 people, only 27 actually passed clinical assessments and were permitted to submit stool samples for more extensive analysis. A study Kassam conducted the following year examined the diets of OpenBiome donors and compared it to the average diet of almost 5,000 Americans. The people at PETA will probably be disappointed to learn their findings: Beyond a small increase in fiber, the diet of OpenBiome stool donors is largely the same as the average American."

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PETA Wants Vegans to Donate Their Poop to Improve Life-Saving Medical Treatment - Newsweek

Adding encapsulated active dried yeast to the diets of grain-fed cattle may improve intestinal digestion of nutrients, say researchers.

An international team of researchers from Canada, China and the UK examined the use of encapsulated and non-encapsulated dried yeast in the diets of beef cattle. The team published its work in the journal of Animal Feed Science and Technology.

The objective of this study was to determine whether feeding ruminally protected active dried yeast (ADY) exhibits post-ruminal activity in comparison with feeding non-protected ADY assessed by measuring feed intake, ruminal pH and fermentation, and site and extent of feed digestion in finishing heifers, the researchers said.

The authors said they found feed intake and ruminal digestibility were not altered by the feed additives. However, post-ruminal digestion of organic matter (OM) and neutral detergent fiber (NFD) was improved when encapsulated yeast or both non-encapsulated and encapsulated yeasts were added to the diet.

The improved digestibility of OM in the intestine appeared to primarily result from the improvement of NDF digestion, they said.These results indicate the potential post-ruminal activity of ADY, and benefits to feeding protected yeast on improving intestinal digestibility of nutrients.

Adding an antimicrobial as a feed additive to promote growth in high-producing cattle has been a common practice in North America feedlot operations, said the researchers. Monensin is an ionophore often used for that reason.

However, feeding of antibiotics has been scrutinized owing to the concerns around increasing antimicrobial resistance, they said. Finding an inexpensive alternative to antibiotics that maintains end-product quality is of interest.

Probiotics are living microorganisms, often yeast or bacteria, that are considered safe to use in feed. Probiotic yeasts are increasingly fed to ruminants to boost animal health and production efficiency.

Previous research in that area regarding beef cattle production is limited compared to the amount done examining dairy cows, said the researchers. There is now overwhelming evidence that including probiotic yeasts in dairy cow diets can improve milk production and feed efficiency, they added.

Responses attributed to yeast are usually related to stimulation of cellulolytic and lactate-utilizing bacteria in the rumen that help stabilize ruminal pH, they said. However, the use of probiotic yeasts to improve beef production has been variable, possibly due to the diet composition, strain of yeast or yeast viability.

Most work with probiotic yeasts has examined rumen fermentation and areas including stabilizing rumen pH, encouraging growth of lactate-using bacteria, collecting oxygen from ingested feed, improving fiber digestion or promoting growth of ruminal protozoa, they said. Other benefits from adding yeast have also been noted.

Little is known about the influence the live yeast may offer post-rumen, they said. There also is a dearth of research looking at ways to protect live yeast through the rumen so it can reach the lower gut of ruminants, they added.

In the study, five cannulated heifers were given one of five diets for a period of 21 days before rotating to another of the trial diets, said the researchers. There was a one week adaptation period between each diet.

The diets included a control diet with no ADY or antibiotics; a diet (ANT) with 300 mg monensin and 110mg tylosin/d; a diet (ADY) with 1.5g active dry yeast/d; a feed (EDY) with added encapsulated active dried yeast at 3.5g/d (1.5g ADY and 2g capsule); and a mixed diet (MDY) with 1.5g ADY and 3.5g EDY/d.

ADY was encapsulated using a barley hordein and glutelin from barley grain, they said. Stability of the encapsulated yeast in the rumen was assessed during in vitro examinations.

Cattle received a total mixed ration including barley silage, corn dried distillers grain with solubles, dry rolled barley grain and a vitamin and mineral supplement, said the researchers.

Feed offered and refused were recoded daily, and samples of TMR were collected weekly, they said. Body weights were noted on the first and last day of each diet period, rumen contents were collected on days 19 and 20 and omasal samples were taken on the last four days of each feeding rotation.

Feed intake was established, flows to omasum, nutrient digestibility in the rumen and intestine were determined and microbial nitrogen was recorded, they said. Ruminal pH was checked for days 13-17 of each feeding period.

Dry matter intake was not altered by any of the diets, said the researchers. Ruminal pH, concentration of total volatile fatty acids (VFA), and NH3-N (ammonia) levels were similar for all the diets.

Similarly, no diet altered the flow of organic matter or starch in the omasum were found, they said. Flow of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) was highest with ANT but reduced when EDY was added to the diet.

Molar proportion of acetate and the ratio of acetate to propionate were larger when yeast was added to the diet rather than antibiotics, they said. OM digestion in the rumen tested to be lower when the EDY or MDY diet was fed, but no change in ruminal digestibility of starch or NDF was noted.

However, post-ruminal digestion of OM was found to improve for EDY and MDY diets compared to control and ANT, they said. Digestibility of both NDF and OM in the total digestive tract also improved with EDY or MDY diets.

These results demonstrate the post-ruminal activity of ADY and indicate the potential of feeding protected yeast to ruminants to increase intestinal digestibility of nutrients, the researchers said.

No alteration in the flow of nitrogen to the omasum or microbial protein synthesis was found, they said. But digestibility of N for the total digestive tract improved with dietary inclusion of EDY or MDY.

Supplementation of ADY or MDY tended to have greater gene copy numbers of R. flavefaciens compared with ANT, they said. Total protozoa counts were greater in the rumen of heifers supplemented with ADY or MDY compared with control or ANT.

Source: Animal Feed Science and Technology

Title: Comparison of non-encapsulated and encapsulated active dried yeast on ruminal pH and fermentation, and site and extent of feed digestion in beef heifers fed high-grain diets

DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2017.04.001

Authors: P. Jiao, L. Wei, N. Walker, F. Liu, L. Chen, K. Beauchemin, W. Yang

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Protected yeasts may offer digestion boost to grain fed beef cattle - FeedNavigator.com

While What the Health? gets some things right about plant-based diets, local dietitians were shocked by some of its overstatements and nebulous health claims.

When I watched the documentary What the Health? a few months ago, I quickly realized that I wasnt watching a documentary about the benefits of plant-based diets I was watching a propaganda film. What the Health? has a very strong pro-vegan agenda, with information tailored to support that agenda and footage edited for maximum drama. Whats more, the film makes a number of nebulous health claims, including miracle cure type testimonials that are literally too good to be true.

The final straw came when some of my patients who had watched the film told me they felt guilty and even scared that they had been poisoning themselves by eating milk, meat, poultry, eggs and fish. But before totally writing the film off, I decided to consult two of my favorite Seattle dietitians: Chris Vogliano, MS, RD, LD, who speaks frequently on how plant-based diets can improve the health of people and the planet, and Ginger Hultin, MS, RDN, CSO, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and past chair of the Academys Vegetarian Nutrition dietetic practice group.

After hearing rants and raves about this film for weeks, I decided it was time to check it out myself, Vogliano said. Within the first 20 minutes, I was shocked by the overstatements and bias presented. While there are sprinkles of validity, this film is ripe with cherry picking and over-exaggerations. What the Health? is promoting a 100 percent plant-based, vegan diet. Can vegan diets be healthy? Absolutely. Must we all be vegan to be healthy? Absolutely not.

Hultin said she loves to hear people becoming more interested in plant-based diets whether vegan, vegetarian or simply eating less meat. There are a lot of reasons to eat less meat but none of them should stem from fear, she said. I worry that this is the approach What the Health? took.

The research in support of plant-based diets is strong, likely because they are rich in vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and fiber, while being lower in saturated fat. Hultin said theres good reason to learn more about the benefits and versatility of plant-based meals. Vegetarians and vegans are at reduced risk of many health conditions, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, certain types of cancer, and obesity, she said. There are a lot of very valid, supportive resources on how to incorporate more plant foods or even become a vegetarian or vegan if that sounds interesting.

On the environmental front, Vogliano said the film makes a valid point that industrial animal mega-farms disproportionately affect the health of their neighbors. Animal agriculture is the leading source of water pollution, and one of the leading causes of air pollution in the United States, he said. As you can imagine, those living around these mega-farms are subject to higher rates of this pollution simply due to proximity. These neighbors are mostly of a lower socioeconomic status, and mostly people of color. This is an issue that needs to be addressed.

Also true, he said, are the films claims that dioxins are primarily found in meat and pose major health concerns especially for small children and pregnant women. Dioxins are a byproduct of our coal-based energy industry, and these chemicals settle onto cereal grains. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) states that dioxins travel up the food chain from cereal grain to animals, and most of our exposure comes in the form of animal fat. Trimming fat and eating low-fat dairy can help reduce exposure.

Dioxins aside, the film exaggerates what science says about health risks of animal foods while dismissing concerns about sugar. Research does show that excessive amounts of animal protein and fat may not do our health any favors, but the filmmakers make the leap that a little is just as bad as a lot. Research does not support that. The film also claims that processed meats are as dangerous as cigarettes because the World Health Organization lists both as Group 1 Carcinogens, which means that there is sufficient evidence of carcinogenity. It doesnt mean they carry equal risk.

The promotion of a plant-based diet is strong in this film, almost to a fault, Vogliano said. If you eat meat youre not going to die, consuming eggs is not as bad as smoking cigarettes, and cheese is not basically cow pus.

The idea that we can completely control our health based on how we eat is an enticing one. The reality is that a healthful diet can reduce but not eliminate our risk of disease. In todays food culture, its easy to demonize a specific food or food group, but the truth is that its your overall eating pattern that matters most. Studies show that diets without meat are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits for the prevention and treatment of certain diseases, Hultin said. That doesnt mean that if you eat meat, automatically you are unhealthy. And it doesnt mean that every vegetarian or vegan is automatically healthy.

Are food documentaries little better than entertainment or do they offer some valid food for thought? Hultin thinks they can inspire change and offer a new perspective, but that its important to assess whether the information is balanced and evidence-based.

Some documentaries take a black-and-white, all-or-nothing approach, but health and nutrition just dont work that way, she said. I hope that post-What the Health? people dont radically change their diets without assessing whether or not these changes are right for their bodies and their lifestyles. I also hope that people dont get frustrated and discredit vegans and vegetarians as extremists because of this one documentary.

Its a sentiment Vogliano echoes. There are some major truths in this film that are unfortunately hidden by overstated embellishments wrapped in fear, he said. Sadly, this is a missed opportunity for those like myself who advocate for a predominantly plant-based diet to improve the health of our bodies and reduce our environmental footprint.

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'What the Health?' documentary takes pro-vegan agenda too far - The Seattle Times

It will likely be some time before common wisdom admits that a proper diet, as it relates to health, is multifactorial. Scores of diet books released every month, which sell thousands of copies until the next crop of diet books is published, usually point to a single factor: sugar, processed food, blood type, ketosis, kale.

Nutrition is complex. Genes matter, but so does environment. What you ate growing up. How much sleep youre getting. Cortisol levels. The amount of sex youre having. Psychological stability. Microbiome. Fitness regimen. Technology addiction. Health is not just what you put into your body. This is why diet books, and diets in general, mostly do not work.

This is not to imply that your diet doesnt matter. Its an important factor, arguably more relevant for body composition, obesity, and mental health than others. While the benefits and detriments of what we eat is often debatable, there are certain facts we can be confident about, such as the damaging and deadly effects of too much sugar.

One major problem is study size. A sample of a hundred people is not going to be that trustworthy. But the recent Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE)study followed 135,335 adults in eighteen countries. It factored in what few other studies do: income level. And it followed each individual for over seven years, linking diet with mortality and cardiovascular disease, as well as strokes and non-cardiovascular disease mortality.

Specifically the team, led by Dr Mashid Dehghan, an Investigator for the Nutrition Epidemiology program at the Population Health Research Institute, looked at the effects of nutrients:

Participants were categorised into quintiles of nutrient intake (carbohydrate, fats, and protein) based on percentage of energy provided by nutrients. We assessed the associations between consumption of carbohydrate, total fat, and each type of fat with cardiovascular disease and total mortality.

Their conclusion upends decades of dietary guidelines:

High carbohydrate intake was associated with higher risk of total mortality, whereas total fat and individual types of fat were related to lower total mortality. Total fat and types of fat were not associated with cardiovascular disease, myocardial infarction, or cardiovascular disease mortality, whereas saturated fat had an inverse association with stroke. Global dietary guidelines should be reconsidered in light of these findings.

PURE participants who consumed at least 35 percent of calories from fat were 23 percent less likely to die than those who received 10 percent or less from fat. Interestingly, the higher the fat intake, the less their chances of a stroke. More revealingly, those who took in 77 percent of calories from carbohydrates were 28 percent more likely to die than those who consumed under 46 percent.

Being an observational study, researchers stopped shy of speculating on cause and effect. They point to previous advice regarding lower saturated fatty acids being key to health is based on only one ecological study and a handful of observational studies in only a few countries. They also challenge the notion of a linear relationship between cardiovascular disease and LDL cholesterol.

Interestingly, researchers even challenge the wisdom of eating too many vegetables. There was no difference in mortality rates between those who ate three-four servings of veggies and those eating eight or more every day. Instead they placed emphasis on the role of fruit and seeds.

In a nutshell, a healthy diet based on the PURE results would be rich in fruits, beans, seeds, vegetables, and fats, include dollops of whole grains, and be low in refined carbohydrates and sugars.

As stated, health is multifactorial. Income levels matter. Employment conditions matter. Stress matters. But the more researchers tease apart these factors and hone in on an optimal diet, its clear that a carbohydrate-heavy diet, especially one including processed foods and added sugars, is not leading anyone on the road to optimal health.

--

Derek is the author ofWhole Motion: Training Your Brain and Body For Optimal Health. Based in Los Angeles he is working on a new book about spiritual consumerism. Stay in touch onFacebookandTwitter.

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New Study Reveals a Diet Rich in Fats and Fruits Is Optimal - Big Think

In the ever-more masochistic world of wellness-boosting, pound-shedding diets, the latest trend involves putting your body into a controlled state of starvation known as ketogenesis, by cutting out nearly all carbs. If that doesnt sound like your particular brand of torture, guess what? Youre already on it. Well, at least while youre sleeping.

Two independent studies published Tuesday in the journal Cell Metabolism raise hopes that ketogenic diets, if followed full-time, do more than just slim waists. They also appear to improve the odds of living longer and remembering better if youre a mouse. The same effects have yet to be proven in humans, and plans for that are in the works. But in the meantime, self-experimenting biohackers (i.e. dieters) are collecting anecdotal evidence all around the world.

Every time you wake up from a solid snooze and exhale out the fiery iron breath of a thousand rotting apple cores, thats the taste of the keto lifestyle. That smell is acetone, and a little bit of it in the morning is a normal sign of a healthy metabolism. Over millennia, humans evolved a backup energy production system, for when glucoseyour bodys main fuel sourcegets depleted. Like during a famine, or just a good long nap. The goal of keto diets is to switch your body over to to this alternative metabolic pathway not just at night, but during your waking hours as well. By limiting carbs to just a few grams per day, your body begins to rely on its fat stores instead, and voila, epic weight loss.

That works pretty well for things like your heart and lungs and muscles. But your brainthat electrical power suck, which consumes about a quarter of your daily caloriescant burn fats. So in the absence of glucose, it snacks on something called ketone bodies, which are a byproduct of fatty acid metabolism in the liver, hence keto diets. Now, you dont have to run a clinical trial to start selling keto cookbooks, and you dont have to present statistically sound results to buy out late-night infomercial slots for bulletproof coffee. But the popularity of keto lifestyles has so far outstripped the scientific evidence for not only how it works, but even whether or not it works at all.

(Unless you're an epileptic; the altered metabolism reduces levels of glutamate in the brain, which has been proven to lower the risk for seizures. In fact, the first ketogenic diet was developed by the Mayo Clinic as an epilepsy treatment.)

There have been some clues though, over the years, that ketone metabolism might have some additional benefits. Back in 2010, molecular biologist Eric Verdin changed the way people thought about ketone bodiesin particular, one called beta hydroxybutyrate, or BHB. Scientists in his lab at the Buck Institute for Research and Aging observed that BHB wasn't just a passive fuel floating around the brain. It was sending out signals and modifying molecular pathways in the brain to reduce inflammation and other damage caused by free radicals. That got researchers thinking that BHB could have anti-aging propertiesand so would ketogenic diets.

So three years ago, Verdin and other scientists at the Buck and UC Davis began raising young mice, feeding them standard lab chow until they were a year old. For some of them, that was the last time a carb ever crossed their lips. About a third of the mice went on a ketogenic diet, spending the next few years consuming 90 percent of their calories from fats and the rest from protein supplements. In one of the studies, that steady supply of soybean oil and lard made them live longer by about four months. In the other, the sugar-starved mice performed better than their carbed cohort at a variety of maze problems designed to test their memory and ability to recognize new things.

Were very excited to see such a profound effect on brain function, says Verdin. But he says its important to remember that mice studies are just the first step. Our results dont imply this is going to work in humans. For that, well need extensive clinical trials.

In some ways, the mouse brain is a very good model for what happens inside a human skull. After all, electric signals zipping around a mouse brain have to follow the same laws of physics that they do inside a persons. But there are some key differences when it comes to ketones. For one thing, humans have more capacity to metabolize the molecules than almost any other animal. Thousands of years ago, as early humans were gathering tubers and greens and learning how to kill big game, mice were doing what theyd done since the demise of the dinosaurseat seeds and grains. With such different systems for digesting and breaking down proteins, fats, and sugars, it's far from sure that human brains will respond identically to an all-ketone-all-the-time routine.

Its a harder question to ask in humans, one that hasnt been studied very extensively, says Emily Deans, an evolutionary psychologist who specializes in the connections between nutrition and mental health. We dont have a good way to get into the brain to see exactly whats happening with metabolism. Healthy people arent exactly going to line up for elective brain biopsies.

Deans says what scientists really need are some well-controlled clinical trials to see how ketogenic diets impact people over the long term. She has hopes they might one day help some of her patients, who suffer from things like bipolar disorder and PTSD. But getting people to participate in a trial that takes away things that help to cope with their diseaseslike candy and other pleasure-center-hitting foodsis no small task. Thats something Verdin has thought about too. Which is why his lab is already moving forward to capture the protective effects of ketogenic diets in something more palatable: a pill.

Theyve begun synthesizing precursors to BHB and feeding them to mice. After following the rodents for a few years, they'll look to see if the molecule on its own provides the same protective effects as an all-Crisco diet. If it works, clinical trials would be next. And unlike a diet, which can't be patented or easily monetized, a supplement could be something pharma companies (and bread-lovers) can get behind.

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These Mice Stopped Eating Carbs So You (Maybe) Don't Have To - WIRED

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