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With flu season approaching and the coronavirus epidemic still very much a threat, a healthy immune system is one of the most important defenses we have to stay resilient and strong.

Our bodys immune response depends on a complex series of steps aimed at identifying, attacking and eliminating substances that invade our bodies and threaten our health. The overall immune system involves different cell types that work together to defend the body. We have innate immunity, which is the hand of the immune system that acts quickly to fight off threats but does not have the ability to specify those targets. The other hand of the system is our adaptive immunity, which takes longer to develop, but does act on specific targets and potential threats. Our adaptive immunity also has the ability to remember previous threats and act accordingly.

Its no secret that improving lifestyle habits around exercise, sleep and nutrition can result in a host of health benefits, one of those being immune protection. Nutrient status correlates with immune status, and it is important to note that overnutrition and undernutrition can equally impair immune response and function. Overnutrition, or the consumption of excessive amounts of some nutrients, may especially inhibit our bodys immune response when paired with an inactive lifestyle. Undernutrition, or inadequate consumption of some nutrients, can be a result of too few calories or not enough intake of the vitamins and minerals we can obtain through food. Its important to fuel our immune systems with adequate energy in the form of calories, while strategically including certain micronutrients, to be armed and ready for attack against illness.

Here are some immunity-boosting vitamins and nutrients than can help keep you healthy this flu season:

Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that enhances immune function by helping to regulate the overall immune response. Vitamin As precursor, beta carotene, is a powerful antioxidant and phytonutrient. You can find vitamin A in carrots, sweet potato, butternut squash, pumpkin, spinach, apricots and dried herbs.

Vitamin D is another fat-soluble vitamin that plays a role in both the innate and adaptive immune responses. Through sunlight, cholesterol in our bodies is converted to vitamin D. Midday sunlight exposure for 10-30 minutes several times a week can boost vitamin D levels, but this may not be possible for individuals in self-quarantine. In research studies, low vitamin D intake has repeatedly been associated with increased risk of respiratory tract infection and common cold. Look for vitamin D in mushrooms and oil-rich fish such as salmon, trout and mackerel. Because there is not a huge selection of food sources high in vitamin D, many products, such as cereal, juice and milk, have vitamin D added, or fortified. When grocery shopping, look for food labels that clearly say fortified with vitamin D.

Zinc is an element that cannot be produced or stored by the body; therefore, we must get zinc through food. Zinc plays an important role in growth, development and immune maintenance. As with other nutrients, zinc deficiency is associated with increased susceptibility to disease and infection. Foods high in zinc include lean beef, lean lamb, cooked oysters, tahini, legumes, dairy foods and natural cocoa powder.

Selenium is also a trace element that boasts a wide variety of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Inadequate selenium levels lead to a greater risk for poor immune function and cognitive decline. Lentils, Brazilian nuts, spinach and most proteins such as beef, chicken, turkey, fish and eggs are all high in selenium.

Omega-3 fatty acids are anti-inflammatory powerhouses that exert favorable health benefits on a number of biological processes, including improved immune status, enhanced cognition and optimized neuromuscular function. EPA and DHA are the most studied omega-3 fatty acids, which can be found in oily fish, such as salmon.

Phytonutrients are foods with strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The unique pigment that comes with a particular fruit or vegetable signifies different phytonutrient powers. All phytonutrients are equally important and work together to provide maximum health benefit, which is why it is crucial to consume a variety of fruits and vegetables every day. Phytonutrients can also be found in herbs, spices, onions, garlic, red wine and natural cocoa.

To set your immune system up to be strong and resilient, it is recommended to regularly consume a variety of the foods listed into your diet to achieve better immunity. A great starting point is to incorporate one of these foods into each meal. Try to get nutrients through food before turning to pills and powders. Scientific evidence suggests that the health benefits of fruits and vegetables are because of the interactions of phytonutrients working together to target potential physiologic threats this cant be replicated by supplements.

The role diet plays in promoting a strong immune system begins before you get sick eat for immunity to prevent illness and infection this fall.

Emma Willingham is a registered dietitian who practices in an outpatient hospital clinic and through her private practice, Fuel with Emma. Willingham specializes in sports-performance nutrition, weight management and nutrition counseling, and aims to promote a resilient relationship between food, mind and body.

Read the original:
Here's what to eat to stay healthy this flu season - Houston Chronicle

If you have found your way to this article, I can only assume that we have something in common: both of us want to see a better world where humans and all life on earth is thriving.

Having dedicated many years to researching and communicating the science behind an optimal diet for humans, I understand first hand how our health is inextricably tied to the planet's (as detailed in my upcoming book).

Put simply, there are no healthy humans without a healthy planet. With that said, any time a new study, book, documentary, or other media publication is published I read or watch with great interest.

And of course, having interviewed the co-founders of Kiss the Ground, Ryland Engelhart and Finian Makepeace, in early 2020, I was particularly excited to watch the Kiss the Ground documentary (and I recommend you watch it too if you havent already).

Before we get into a few major claims made inKiss the Groundthat are directly at odds with scientific knowledge, I want to preface this entry by saying that I wholeheartedly support regenerative agriculture as a goal and think the documentary did a great job bringing light to the detrimental impact that intensive animal agriculture is having on our planet.

A degenerative system that decimates life in our soil, releases immense amounts of greenhouse gas emissions into our atmosphere, pollutes our waterways, and disrupts the biodiversity and biology on our land and in our oceans.

I was also pleased the documentary shone a light on food waste and composting these are two things that many of us can introduce into our daily lives with minimal barriers to entry.

Above all, it's great to see this conversation growing from what has very much been a fringe movement to now entering the mainstream.

Talking about the importance of being better stewards of our land, and why we must do a better job at protecting our natural resources and ecosystems, is absolutely crucial if our species is to not just thrive on Planet Earth, but survive. It's within this context, that it becomes so vividly apparent, that in this conversation we are not just talking about planetary health, but at its core, human health.

Where I think the documentary falls short is in three critical areas. I've listed these below in short, and then we will go through each together looking at the claims made and where the science lies: (These have also been covered in detail with Environmental Researcher Nicholas Carter (co-author of this article) in episode 104 and 111 on the Plant Proof podcastavailable below).

1 Claims that holistic grazing can reverse climate change. This form of regenerative agriculture is by no means the 'silver bullet' that its so often portrayed to be and is certainly not what the worlds leading climate scientists are most excited by.

2 Creation of a false dichotomy. The documentary carefully positions holistic grazing as the answer to intensive animal agriculture (including the mono-cropping that occurs to feed factory-farmed animals). I'm sure we can all agree that factory farming is a blight on humanity, and there is far too much mono-cropping, but assuming that it's either this intensive form of animal agriculture or holistic grazing, is not accurate. For a great deal of land, there are other, more evidence-based ways to sequester carbon. Unfortunately, these incredibly superior solutions are less sexy because they are not tying livestock, and more specifically the consumption of beef, to the solution.

3 Unclear about how the proposed solutions would affect our diets. Regardless of the above claims being scientifically supported or not (we'll come to that) if one is to advocate for a shift to holistic grazing this will inevitably result in a dramatic reduction in global meat supply. In turn, this means shifting to more plant-based diets.

(Photo: Adobe. Do not use without permission)

There is enough evidence to support regenerative agriculture being a more environmentally friendly form of agriculture to how we are currently farming, but on the other side, I am also weary whenever a solution is proposed as a panacea for tackling climate change what is arguably one of the most complex problems that the human race is faced with.

There are three main points I want to make about holistic grazing that are important for you to understand.

The first point that I think deserves our attention, before getting into the science on the reversal claim, is the way the producers wanted you to see holistic grazing. It was very much positioned as absolutely crucial to confronting this climate emergency we find ourselves in.The sort of solution you might suspect is at the top of all climate scientists lists.

This positioning starts with the documentary's focus on the Drawdown Report by Environmentalist Paul Hawken from Project Drawdown. This is a review Im very familiar with having read through it front to back a handful of times.

I also thoroughly enjoyed Pauls episode on Rich Roll's podcast where he speaks at length about Project Drawdown. Essentially, Hawken and his team have created a long list of approximately 100 solutions, which when implemented together, would be capable of drawing down more carbon than we are emitting by 2050. And as the documentary states, shifting us from climate warming to climate cooling.

Focussing on this review was a clever move by Kiss the Ground - Paul Hawken and the Project Drawdown are incredibly well respected. However, there is a 'slight' problem with the way they presented the information from the Drawdown report. What's glaringly clear from Hawken's report is that when it comes to our food and greenhouse gas emissions, the two areas we can make the biggest impact are reducing food waste (number 1 solution)and moving to a plant-rich diet (number three solution).

In fact, if we look at the solutions outlined in the Drawdown Report and their potential to draw down carbon from our atmosphere, shifting to a diet that favours calories from plants is twice as powerful compared to shifting to silvopasture and four times as powerful compared as shifting to managed grazing two forms of regenerative agriculture that involve livestock.

There was also no mention of tropical forest restoration which has significantly greater potential at pulling carbon out of the atmosphere compared to grazing cows on land no matter what practice is employed. You can see all of this here for yourself

I'm not suggesting we should only be changing our diet but given it has greater potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions you would think it would have been given more emphasis than putting cows on pasture.

The documentary tiptoed around this, failing to make it explicitly clear that the food on our plate has to change, while seemingly wanting us to believe that holistic grazing on its own can reverse climate change.

It only takes a quick read of the Drawdown Report to realize that this is absolutely unfounded - it's going to take an enormous amount of solutions to radically transform our energy and food systems to reverse climate change, and holistic grazing, while certainly better than intensive farming, is not the miracle carbon-sequestering practice that those watching are led to believe. There's nothing 'Netflix and chill'about that.

The next thing I want to address, and perhaps the most important take-home message here, is the science underpinning holistic grazing is flaky at best. Kiss the Ground gave the microphone to Ranchers Alan Savory and Gabe Brown, but we didn't hear about any legitimate science testing out whether the claims they were making truly hold up?

Sure, it's easy to see with our own eyes that there is more life on land that is managed in a regenerative way, but in order to really know that it is a climate solution, we would need evidence that carbon levels in the soil are not only increasing but increasing by more than the emissions emitted by the animals involved in the system. I thought it was odd that this was left out.

Although, when I watched it for the third time, it became obvious that the biology 101 lessons from 'Ray' were cleverly used to dance around the fact there is no solid science to back up Savory and Browns claims. This is where a report written by Dr. Tara Garnett for the University of Oxford becomes very interesting a report title Grazed and Confusedthat I have written about before here.

After looking at all of the available evidence on holistic grazing, and claims made by the likes of Savory, the report concludes that 'grass-fed livestock are not a climate solution'. Grazing livestock are net contributors to the climate problem, as are all livestock. Rising animal production and consumption, whatever the farming system and animal type, is causing damaging greenhouse gas release and contributing to changes in land use. Ultimately, if high consuming individuals and countries want to do something positive for the climate, maintaining their current consumption levels but simply switching to grass-fed beef is not a solution. Eating less meat, of all types, is.

And when it comes to the Savory Institute and Savorys claims Dr Garnett states that they are 'generally anecdotal, based on surveys and testimonies rather than on-site measurements'.Sounds pretty ambitious to champion this form of animal agriculture as a climate solution without strong empirical evidence?

Estimated annual soil carbon sequestration potential from grazing management, per hectare.

This isn't the only literature review that has found a lack of science to support Savory's claims about holistic grazing with another detailed review of the literature out of Sweden by Maria Nordborg, coming to the same conclusion. Savory's claims dont stand up when you put them under the microscope. Or this breakdown of the many myth's he perpetuates in The International Journal ofBiodiversity.

Now all debates have two sides and Savory has been confronted with this information before. His response: "holistic management does not permit replication", and "you'll find the scientific method never discovers anything."

In other words, his claims cannot be supported by data, replicated by others and he doesnt believe in science. Makes sense why the documentary didn't go there! This is a huge problem. There seems to be an incredibly fine line between grazing just enough and overgrazing, which speaks to potentially whycrediblepeer-reviewed science has to date, failed to produce results that come close to what Alan Savory claims.

This is why science is so important. Anecdote and expert opinion or theories are at the bottom of the evidence hierarchy, and it's not until we see the findings from higher levels of science, reproduced on scale, that we can begin to have confidence in what we are observing. If he is the only one that can achieve the carbon sequestration that he claims, I fail to see how thats a hopeful solution. And let's not forget, this is the same man who ordered 40,000 African elephants to slaughter because he incorrectly thought they were damaging the land.

A major strategy deployed in the documentary is offering two distinct choices for where consumers should source their food: conventional chemical-filled monocrops, or lush open fields of regenerative agriculture.

This is a major oversimplification of our complex and varied farming system. Firstly, just so we are clear, the majority of the world's mono-crops are fed to livestock. So what we are talking about here is how to better use the land dedicated to animal agriculture (83 percent of all agricultural land) that is responsible for 80 percent of food-related greenhouse gas emissions yet provides only 18 percent of our total calories.

The elephant in the room during the documentary is that they completely failed to mention that a significant amount of the land dedicated to animal agriculture across the world (not all but certainly a lot) needs to be restored to forests (the number one driver of deforestation is animal agriculture) to get anywhere close to meeting our climate goals.

Why? Because not only does this mean less greenhouse gas-emitting ruminant animals, but it means we can draw down more carbon from the atmosphere - forests are typically far better at doing this than grasslands.

In fact, in the Drawdown Report, when you factor in the land that would be freed up if the entire world shifted to a plant-rich diet, this becomes the single biggest lever that each of us can pull to lower our individual environmental footprint. So really, the idea of conservation and restoration, needed to be absolutely front and center if Kiss the Ground truly wanted to educate the masses about how agriculture can help tackle climate change.

They also failed to make it clear why ruminants were required. Yes, there's no doubt ruminant poop can help improve soil quality, but there are many types of regenerative agriculture that do not involve animalsor animal manure and others that act as sanctuaries using animals on their land without sending them to slaughter.

One can only presume that the slaughtering of the animal is not about soil quality, but about profits. Dont get me wrong. Farmer's need to make profits but we need to be transparent here and lay down all solutions on the table to have an open discussion. Until then, it's going to be hard to truly transform our agricultural system to benefit all life on the planet.

As a side note, the documentary routinely employed uses numerous fear-mongering tactics to scare the viewer into grasping for whatever solution comes next. A prime example of this is their claim that there is only 60 years of farming left. That sounds catastrophic. However, this was taken from a United Nations speech, which leading soil scientist's say is absolutely not supported by science.

Finally, the 'elephant' / 'cow' in the room (not sure which is more fitting) during Kiss the Ground is how are we going to produce enough meat using holistic grazing to meet current demands?

There are a few clues within the documentary that speak to this but they are by no means overtly clear to the viewer. The first clue is when the documentary makes mention of the natural history of Bison roaming the United States. They correctly state that Bison would pass through land and not be seen for around a year. To rotate cows like bison, it means leaving land free from roaming animals for at least six-nine months a figure that Alan Savory states himself in the documentary.

This means that compared to factory farms, or traditional grazing where cows are overgrazing and destroying the soil, a regenerative farm using holistic grazing would require a lot more land for any given number of roaming cows.

Unfortunately, overtly telling people they need to cut down on their meat consumption for this change in agriculture to work isnt going to help with the documentary's popularity. But it's the reality we face. Factory farms are good at one thing producing a lot of meat in a short period of time to feed a growing appetite for meat.

If we pull the pin on that, it means one thing and one thing only.Less meat to go around and significantly higher prices per unit. And this isn't just my own speculation. If the U.S shifted away from intensive livestock farming to traditional grazing, it's been calculated that the available grasslands would only be able to produce 27 percent of the countries current beef supply.

In other words, a 73 percent reduction in beef available per person in the U.S. For holistic grazing, that figure would be even higher because it requires far more land per cow and thus produces significantly less beef than the traditional more intensive grazing systems.

As prices go up, pending one spends the same budget they had previously set aside for meat, their consumption naturally falls. Unfortunately, Savory seems to have led himself to believe that his unscientific approach should be expanded across the world - really, tear down more forests to make room for holistic grazing? This sounds like something else that he would likely regret in the near future.

While, there were very subtle hints that people would have only caught if paying very close attention, it was not made overtly clear by the documentary that the proposed solutions means transitioning the world to plant-rich diets.

There was mention of a 'regenerative diet' but what does that mean? Why not let the viewer know what the world's leading climate scientists have to say about diet? Data from almost 40,000 farms, and 119 countries, clearly shows us that a plant-based diet results in less greenhouse gas emissions, less pollution, less ocean acidification, and uses less water and land - land which we can therefore 'free up' and convert to forests to rapidly sequester carbon from our atmosphere. This seems like pretty important information that was left off the table.

Despite the documentary not spelling it out, it's very clear. If we want to lower our environmental footprint the single most important thing we can do is eat more plants. Yes, whats on our plate is even more important than where it's come from or 'buying local'. As Hannah Ritchie, Phd (Geosciences) puts it: "Whether you buy it from the farmer next door or from far away, it is not the location that makes the carbon footprint of your dinner large, but the fact that it is beef."

The bonus being that plant-rich dietary patterns just so happen to also be what major health institutions and progressive Government departments like Health Canada are advocating for to tackle rising rates of obesity and chronic disease, and improve quality of life.

Photo: OurWorldinData.org

The problem is, the lay viewer who is not across the science, and blinded by the message of 'hope', is likely to confuse the role of cows in holistic grazing with instruction that we should continue eating meat at current rates (as long as it's 'grass-fed') and perhaps even double down on our meat consumption.

As long as it's 'grass-fed'. After all, this method of grazing, which Gabe Brown and Alan Savory speak about at length, is being positioned in the documentary as the solution we have all been waiting for to reverse climate change. A powerful message during a time where the climate emergency is without a doubt causing climate anxiety. But what good is hope if it's false?

And as we all know, this creates a slippery slope. Consumers falsely see meat as part of the solution, and although they may do their best to seek out regenerative meat (

Despite all of this, my fear is that many will be left with a complete misunderstanding of where environmental science truly lies. Why? Because where Kiss the Ground lacks in science, it makes up in celebrity power with the likes of Woody Harrelson, Jason Mraz, Ian Somerhalder, Gisele Bndchen, and Tom Brady all featured.

The documentary is well-produced and in the eyes of a layperson an extremely compelling case for changing the way we grow food. However, given the notable absence of well qualified environmental scientists discussing evidence to support their ambitious claims, in favor of anecdotal experience from ranchers, just how much of the information in this documentary can we trust and reliably use to shape our food system and inform our food choices? Unfortunately not as much as I had hoped.

So if Kiss the Ground had taken a more evidence-based approach and included dietary recommendations what would it have looked like?

I would simply build on the work of Michael Pollan, a well-known science writer: "Where possible eat regenerative food, not too much, mostly plants."

Practically speaking this looks like the plate below perhaps this could be The Regenerative Plate that Kiss the Ground adopts in their communication going forwards.

A plant-rich dietary pattern that places emphasis on regeneration but really could be chopped in a number of ways to suit the individual Mediterranean, paleo, pescatarian, vegetarian, vegan, etc can all be done in a plant-predominant manner. The central tenant is that its a diet that places enormous emphasis on calories from plants and de-emphasizes calories from animal products. I'd be willing to donate it to them.

If I was to describe this plate in short I would simply build on the great work of Michael Pollan. Where possible eat regenerative food, not too much, mostly plants. An adaptation from his famous quote "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants."

Regardless of the label that we choose to adopt, eating this way will nourish the soil, reduce emissions from agriculture, and at the same time reduce the burden of chronic disease in our communities.

For me, it's a plant-exclusive diet and for you it might be eating plant-based before dinner - often the perfect place for people to start.

Either way, shifting the typical diet in such a way is a certain win for humanity and all life on Earth, and thus something that not only should have been made clearer in Kiss the ground, but something that everyone reading should strongly consider.

See the article here:
OPINION: Is Documentary 'Kiss The Ground' Just A Last Ditch Effort To Keep Meat Relevant? - Plant Based News

There's nothing more satisfying than downing a glass of cool water when your throat is seemingly on fire. But if you find yourself unable to quench that urgent sense of thirst whether you've worked your way through eight or eighteen cups of water in a given day there may be a larger issue at hand. Feeling super thirsty is totally normal if you've just powered your way through a long workout, have spent the day outside under a hot sun, or are working on upkeep around the house (dehydration can manifest itself in cramps or fatigue as well). But endless thirst isn't something that anyone should be living with in the long run.

Many people sip on water throughout the day, thinking they're sufficiently hydrated; but for the majority, the simplest explanation for feeling thirsty is just that they're not drinking enough. "You want to aim for half of your body weight in ounces of water each day," says Stefani Sassos, MS, RD, CDN, the Good Housekeeping Institute's registered dietitian, highlighting a rule of thumb that most can stick to. "If you weigh 160 pounds, as an example, you'll want to aim for about 80oz based on that math just about 10 cups of water a day. Get from ounces to cups by simply dividing by eight, since 8oz is one cup."

If you find that your water intake is close or even above that recommended benchmark, it's time to consider other factors that have you reaching for your water bottle. Believe it or not, it's a condition all its own: polydipsia. "It's an excessive amount of not only thirst but drinking, and it indicates a pathology, which is much different than dehydration," says Ron Weiss, M.D., a board-certified internist and assistant professor of clinical medicine at Rutgers' New Jersey Medical School. Your diet may play a role in potentially developing polydipsia or related symptoms, certainly, as can other lifestyle factors; sometimes, thirst may be an indicator of a larger issue that requires a doctor's help. Below, we review nine more common reasons for constantly feeling thirsty, plus expert tips to finally help you quench that thirst.

Reminder: Consult your physician right away if you're experiencing excessive thirst as it could be a signal for an underlying condition.

Let us explain: If you normally have had plenty to drink throughout your routine, but that routine has adapted in some way recently, it may require you to increase the amount of water you consume in a given day. Most often, people don't account for weather changes, new exercise routines, or a change in career and new daily physicality into upping their water intake. In hotter climates where you may sweat more, or if you've recently started playing a new sport or joined a new club, it's crucial to drink more throughout the day, Sassos explains especially for seniors and the elderly.

You may want to reevaluate your water intake if you are experiencing these symptoms regularly:

Especially one that's angled for dramatic weight loss. "In general, low-carb or keto diets put you at greater risk for dehydration. Carbohydrates retain fluids and electrolytes, so when you drastically decrease the amount of carbs in your diet, that results in extra water being removed through your urine or more trips to the bathroom," says Sassos, who has previously declared keto diets as one of the worst diets for many more reasons.

If you're new to a diet where you're drastically reducing or eliminating a food group entirely, it's important to remain focused on how much water you drink every day, because of that risk of low-carb diets leading to dehydration (and if left unchecked, kidney stones or constipation). "The most important thing, regardless of your diet, is to drink according to your thirst and listen to your body," Sassos adds. "You can also look at your urine to gauge your hydration; you want to see a light lemonade or pale straw-type color, which indicates you are properly hydrated."

It's also important to take a closer look at the food you're already eating. Just like your body processes excess glucose, your kidney processes excess salt and redirects it into your urine, which in turns pulls liquids away from your blood. "And then you would pee an excessive amount," Dr. Weiss says, adding that this process can happen in as little as a few hours if you've eaten a high-sodium meal. "Then, your brain would make you feel thirsty, to take back free water."

While it's natural (and good!) to drink lots of water after enjoying a salty meal, if you're frequently eating meals that are overly high in sodium, chronic dehydration may not be the only condition you could battle later on. Overdoing it on sodium can lead to high-blood pressure over time, and may also lead to kidney or heart damage in the long run. The American Heart Association recommends that Americans eat less than 1,500mg of sodium each day, so if you already know you may be doubling or tripling that limit, talking to your primary care provider about a low-sodium diet is a good idea.

Think salt might be the culprit, but aren't sure? Sassos advises doubling down on fruits and vegetables for a couple weeks to see if your frequent thirst disappears. "Fruits and vegetables naturally have a ton of water content and can help you reach your hydration goal without having to down an extra bottle," she says. "Watermelon, celery, and cucumbers are some of my favorites, and all are over 90% water."

We're sure that you've heard that hunger can sometimes be mistaken for thirst, but did you know that the opposite is also true? "Many symptoms of dehydration, like fatigue and dizziness, can feel similar to feelings of hunger," Sassos says. "It's very important to listen to your body and get in touch with your hunger and thirst cues."

If you've downed a few glasses of water and can't get rid of the feeling that you should be drinking more, it might be time to reach for a snack or think about lunch or dinner. "But if you just had a balanced meal or snack reach for a glass of water [first] to see if hydration is what you really need."

It may be due to new medication or because of high-blood pressure (or a myriad of other health reasons), but dry mouth can also be mistaken for thirst. Dr. Weiss points out that caffeine intake, smoking, and over-the-counter antihistamines or cold medicine can aggravate a case of dry mouth. But medical experts at the Mayo Clinic say that those suffering from dry mouth can get some relief by chewing sugar-free gum to stimulate saliva, in addition to sipping water as frequently as possible. There are medications that can help relieve dry mouth if neither of these solutions work.

When it comes to Dr. Weiss's patients, he says that those who have complained of excessive, constant thirst often end up having complications related to diabetes. Mostly, type 2 diabetes, otherwise known as diabetes mellitus in the medical community, as the kidneys are under more stress to absorb excess glucose, Dr. Weiss explains. When the kidney can't keep up, the glucose ends up in your urine, dragging water along with it, making you feel awfully dehydrated. It can happen quite regularly if your diabetes is undiagnosed or undetected.

Diuretic foods (like celery or asparagus) or drinks can work to make you thirsty over time because they encourage more urination than usual. "Diuretics force sodium to be eliminated by your kidneys it's the laws of osmosis, so you lose water in the process, and then your brain signals that you need more water," Dr. Weiss explains. When it comes to diuretic supplements, he says, "It's the physician's job to make sure the patient isn't getting too much diuretic It'd be drying them out, making them thirsty, if they were being overmedicated with diuretics."

Sassos explains that caffeinated beverages are known to be mildly diuretic, and if you are drinking too much coffee or soda over the course of the day, it may trigger innate thirst. "I recommend no more than 400mg of caffeine daily for healthy adults, or less, if you're sensitive to caffeine like I am," she says. Alcohol is also a diuretic and can be equally harmful for your body, especially if you already aren't getting enough water during the day.

Yulia ReznikovGetty Images

Sometimes, you can be drinking TOO much water yes, really! "Overhydration is a real issue, though less common because normal healthy kidneys easily excrete excess water," Sassos says. "It's more common a problem for people who have kidney issues and can't excrete urine normally." If you have any chronic condition that affects your kidney, your doctor may have already spoken to you about adapting your hydration and beverages you should avoid (and if you haven't had that discussion yet, it's time!).

Kidneys aren't the only organ that can influence your thirst and water regulation in your body. Dr. Weiss points out that your thyroid (which also can influence your appetite, temperature, and even your hair) can greatly impact how thirsty you feel if the gland's hormone production is impacted. Hyperthyroidism and other thyroid issues can contribute to period irregularity and anxiety, among other things, all of which influences thirst. The National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases also report that those with thyroid issues may also be more likely to suffer from type-1 diabetes, anemia, and other conditions, which may be the root cause of raging thirst.

It's much more rare than having issues related to type 2 diabetes, but some individuals may develop a disorder that doctors know as diabetes insipidus, which triggers a sustained imbalance of fluids in your body. "It has to do with an inappropriately high production rate of a hormone called ADH, which stands for antidiuretic hormone, and how it affects your brain overall," Dr. Weiss explains. "What this does is, it forces your kidney to dump water out of your body, beyond what's appropriate; then, this hormone abnormality would force the person to seek water, like with a raging thirst. I've only confirmed it twice in my life, as it's relatively rare."

Those with diabetes insipidus would also be frequently urinating. But you wouldn't be able to confirm the condition unless you discussed the issue and had a full set of blood work done by your provider which hopefully would be in your plans long before you ever were worried about diabetes insipidus.

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Why Am I Always Thirsty? - 9 Health Explanations for Excessive Thirst - GoodHousekeeping.com

We asked the people vying for our votes how theyre keeping their minds sharp and bodies fuelled for the final stretch of the campaign marathon.

What New Zealands political party leaders eat isnt usually something many of us give much thought to, but come election time, when theyre out and about winning votes, politicians kai is in the public eye.

Food is political, as we witnessed during Wednesdays Newshub leaders debate, when moderator Paddy Gower asked Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins how often they eat meat. Both said twice a week, then demurred when Gower clarified that fish counts as meat. When asked whether they thought New Zealanders should eat less meat for the good of the planet, both leaders answers Arderns eat New Zealand meat! and Collins Im not a communist! showed how politically sensitive the issue is.

Tuckers not always as controversial, of course sometimes food simply provides a way for politicians to show theyre ordinary people and meet their constituents. Collins visited a farmers market in Napier yesterday, telling supporters via a Facebook video that she bought sourdough, coffee, cheese and olive oil. The Herald was there too, and reported that the women running the dumpling food truck were disappointed Collins wasnt a customer, so the National leader had to explain she would have indulged if it werent for the threat of a picture of her eating ending up in the press.

Who can blame her, really, when you think of the photos of former National prime minister John Key tucking in that will exist forever on the internet and burnished into our brains.

But of course food is also just fuel, and it must be a bit rough at times keeping crazy hours as you flit from town to town, event to event, and you cant even sample a dumpling without fear of an unflattering snap ending up in the media. Its enough to make anyone hangry.

On that note, we asked the leaders of Labour, National, Act, the Green Party and NZ First about their campaign diets. We received answers from all but Winston Peters, who we can only presume subsists on the odd cheeky dart and an occasional sip of apple juice.

Jacinda Ardern buys a sandwich during a walkabout at Riverside Market in Christchurch in September (Photo: Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images)

My campaign diet is terrible. I go from being really earnest about having a healthy breakfast, to the campaign period where I just have coffee and a muesli bar (and when I say muesli bar, I mean hash brown). I carry food in my bag. None of it especially appealing, which is why I probably eat things like toasted sandwiches and pies more during a campaign than usual I skip meals, end up hungry, and go for fast comfort food. I hope my mother doesnt read this (shes often the reason I have healthy snacks in my bag).

Kieran McAnulty [Wairarapa Labour list MP] almost lost his place in caucus when he neglected to stop at my favourite bakery in his electorate. Im still miffed. But I recently visited The Golden Kiwi, the fish and chip shop in Morrinsville I worked at from when I was 14 years old until I left school, every single Friday night. They have a small restaurant. I had fish, chips, sausage, and a token salad. My old bosses Carol and Grant still run the show, and it was as good as I remember.

Judith Collins checks out the pastries at a stall at the Napier farmers market yesterday (Photo: Kerry Marshall/Getty Images)

Other than drinking a lot of tea and water, my diet hasnt changed at all. Im trying to eat healthily during the campaign, although occasionally I do indulge in a no-sugar cola and have even had a kombucha.

Marama Davidson, probably thinking about RJs raspberry chocolate twists (Photo: Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

My daily diet is sometimes terrible, and has included a dinner of a day-old muffin from a dairy because I had a very small window after a late night event to eat anything before I had to get to sleep for a 5.30am taxi. I do try to at least start off right, with my own homemade smoothie of greens and fruit and egg, but I dont always get to pop that in, especially when travelling. I think in short, my campaign diet has room to improve. A petrol station pie is sadly a menu regular. The nights that Im with whnau are normally the best people who make food for me with aroha and care are the strongest part of campaign resilience. RJs raspberry chocolate twists are also a campaign trail winner for me, and New Plymouth Airport caf saved my puku rumbles recently after hopping off a plane one morning without having had breakfast and about to head out on a full day.

James Shaw cooking breakfast at Waitangi on Waitangi Day this year (Photo: Fiona Goodall/Getty Images)

There is no pattern to my campaign diet on any given day Ill eat a healthy lunch prepared for me by Green Party volunteers between events, fish and chips at a pub round the corner from the next meet-the-candidates evening, anything in between, or nothing at all. I stopped by the Clareville Bakery outside of Carterton recently and had a steak and red wine pie. It was exceptional. But everything in the cabinet looked exceptional too. If I lived anywhere near there Id die a death-by-baked-goods. And be happy about it.

David Seymour celebrating the All Blacks World Cup win with a beer in 2015 (Photo: Toby Manhire)

My campaign diets pretty bad Im down to 70kg. The two burgers Wisconsin and Fuel are fuelling my campaign. I regard that as a form of health food, given the quality of the vegetation on it. You get some really fresh lettuce on some of those burgers. And a lot of Red Bull.

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Pies, kombucha, burgers and Red Bull: The party leaders reveal their campaign diets - The Spinoff

Watching the first presidential debate, many things stood out. Among them, one crucial but still largely overlooked issue was the absence of any meaningful questions or discussion on one of the most important challenges and opportunities facing our nation.

As cardiologists from Michigan and Massachusetts who study how policy can be leveraged to save lives, we have a message for the candidates and the debate moderators: its time to fix food.

At current rates, COVID-19 will claim a quarter of a million American lives by Election Day. The current national plan to address the virus is heavily focused on creating a vaccine: $12.6 billion committed to-date. We need a vaccine. Yet, at the same time, comparable focus should be given to treatment to reduce the severity of COVID-19 infections. Unfortunately, treatment has received relatively little national emphasis or investment. For our country to successfully conquer COVID-19, the current nominees, and the next president, must make this a top priority. Figuring out how to leverage healthier eating tops the list.

The powerful linkages between diet-related poor metabolic health and how sick a person becomes when infected by COVID-19 are now well documented but widely underappreciated. A 35-year old infected with COVID-19 who also has obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, or a handful of other less common conditions, has the samerisk of hospitalizationas a75-year oldinfected with COVID-19 who has none of those comorbidities. These diet-driven metabolic conditions are a top risk for critical illness with COVID-19; each independently increases risk of severe illness about two-fold. And these risks are cumulative:a person with diabetes, high blood pressureandobesity would be expected to have about aneight-foldhigher risk of hospitalization.

What if we start reversing these conditions in the U.S.? Can you imagine if we identified a drug that might reduce the risk of being hospitalized from COVID-19 by many fold, within a few months? Our national government would be investing billions of dollars to test such a drug. Such a treatment, by greatly reducing the severity of COVID-19 infections, would also help schools and universities to reopen, businesses to restart and help our lives and economy to return toward normal. Notably, even when an effective vaccine is developed, it could take many more months and would likely take even longer to be widely delivered. Despite development of a vaccine, an effective, safe treatment to reduce the severity of COVID-19 among those who still get infected will remain incredibly important.

Better nutrition holds this promise. COVID-19 is like a heat-seeking missile for poor metabolic health. This fast pandemic is far worse because its hitting us on top of a slow pandemic of diet-related diseases, like diabetes, obesity and other conditions. More Americansdie prematurelyfrom a poor dietthan any other risk factor. This year, about 500,000 Americans will die from diet-induced diseases. These deaths, like COVID-19, also disproportionately affect Black and Brown Americans, through long-standing systems of structural racism that are in large partmediated through lifestyle and diet-related metabolic risk factors.Its time to address these inequities.

Crucially, healthy eating doesnt require years to work. Changes in our food choices can alter metabolic health within six to eight weeks, even with no weight loss. And, of course, improving diet can also significantly improve our weight over just a few months. Were not talking about years, but just months to see and test potential benefits.

The potential for food-related actions to bend the curve of COVID-19 must be prioritized by federal, state and local governments. For our nations presidential candidates, we call for the following actions:

Sensible food and nutrition policy can help reduce the severity of COVID-19, restore our shattered economy, improve national resilience toward future threats and be a major step toward health equity. Such policies can also save hundreds of thousands of Americans from premature disability, suffering and death each year. Governments in theU.K.andMexicoare recognizing this need and they are taking action. Its time we demand the same from our presidential candidates and the next administration.

Eric J. Brandt, MD, MHS., is a clinical lecturer for the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and the University of Michigan Medical School.

Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, DrPH, is dean and professor at Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and professor of medicine at Tufts School of Medicine.

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COVID-19, food and nutrition, and the presidential debates | TheHill - The Hill

Bismack Biyombo, #8 of the Charlotte Hornets reacts during the second half of a game against the ... [+] Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on December 11, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

Bismack Biyombo gives a whole new meaning to the saying, listen to your gut. The 28-year-old Congolese NBA star has combined the power of instincts and education to personally design a bespoke high performance diet.

When Biz, as he is called, moved to Florida to play for the Orlando Magic in 2016, five years after moving to the United States as a top pick in the 2011 NBA draft, the forward/center embarked on a dietary overhaul with an emphasis on digestion and gut health.

The catalyst was some much-needed counsel from two-time NBA Champion, Ray Allen, who introduced him to the concept of enhanced performance through a plant-based diet, when he was with the Toronto Raptors.

At the time, the concept of extreme self-deprivation as a choice was incredulous to him.

Having grown up poor with six siblings in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), food was a luxury. I was always in survival mode, he recalls. If I ate today, I didnt know if I was going to eat tomorrow. Id eat whatever was given to me.

In the early years after leaving the DRC to play basketball in Yemen and Spain and then the United States, his relationship with food would rapidly transition from need to want.

I enjoyed a diet rich in dairy, gluten, meat and a lot of sugar, he recalls.

Back then, I used to eat like five times a day. My body never got a break, says Biz. It takes time for certain foods to be digestedsometimes up to four hoursbut within a window of two hours I would be loading my system again.

Between 2016 and 2017, Bismack began to try removing certain foods from his diet and stopped eating red meat. He even attempted to go completely raw at one point.

After signing with the Charlotte Hornets in 2018, he would begin to experiment with eliminating meals.

As soon as I cut out breakfast and snacks, that was a major breakthrough for me, he says of his aha moment. I started feeling so energetic!

Today Bismack does not begin to eat until 1:30pm and he finishes his last meal at 6 oclock in the evening.

Lunch is his most critical and strategic meal of the daythe source of the majority of his daily nutrientsand the reason has no urge to snack between meals.

My chef and I decided, rather than focus on calories, we would focus on nutrients, he explains. When you get enough nutrients in your system, your body isnt craving snacks.

The cornerstone of his plant-based diet plan is to consume copious (but regulated) amounts of water, fruits and vegetables, while eliminating large food groups such as animal products, wheat, beans, lentils, processed foods and even some fruits and vegetables.

The principle behind these restrictions is to rejuvenate cells by removing toxic waste through blood alkalization. As a rule, Bismack tries to eliminate everything acidic. If its acidic, my body will reject it. It will slow my digestive process and my energy, he says.

Heres what a day in the life of Bismack Biyombo looks like:

When I wake up, all I consume is water; like a liter and a half, he says. I try to get in as much water as I can, more than three liters a day.

An ideal lunch contains at least ten different fruits and vegetables.

A typical afternoon meal is a smoothie with papaya, mango, ginger, turmeric, coconut water, coconut milk and agave, accompanied by a soup with six added vegetables as well as extra turmeric and ginger (for cleansing and anti-inflammatory properties) and a bowl of grilled vegetables as an entre.

Bismack in the kitchen making a smoothie.

Dinner typically consists of a bowl of vegetables.

A self-described treat and secret ingredient that Biz swears by is teff, an ancient grain from East Africa that is ground to make flour. I love teff pancakes and cookies, says the pro-athlete of his cheat day treats. Other foods enjoyed on special days include fish and plant-based meats.

On low-energy days, or if he is bloated, Biz takes spirulina and seamoss supplements to cleanse his system. Ive learned how to pay attention and tell whether my gut is blocked, he says.

As a center in the NBA, Bismacks diet is extremely difficult to follow, and he admits that he has the strictest diet on his team. Given the physical demands of professional sports and the need to maintain body mass, his diet was a major concern.

People thought that I would get skinny and slow down, he says. But nothing could be further from the truth.

Bismack has experienced a 20-pound increase in muscle mass since he began the diet and his performance has also improved. Last season, according to Sports Illustrated, the 68 athlete had his best offensive season in the league.

With an average of 7.4 points per gamethe first time he averaged more than 7 points a game in a seasonhe concluded his ninth NBA season on the highest note of his career.

Over the past few years Ive gotten stronger, he says. Most people go to bed feeling exhausted. I go to bed feeling great. When I wake up, Im happy and energetic. I dont need caffeine to get me going. My face used to break out a lot. My skin is now breathing.

The Charlotte Hornets forward/center says he does not depend on food and a peek into his childhood gives credibility to these words.

When I was a kid in Africa and youd give me anything, Id eat it because of the circumstances. Now thankfully, Im living a much better life and I can choose what I want to eat. I dont depend on food. I can go a whole day without eating. Ive lived it, you know?

Described as one of the most knowledgeable and humble players, Bismack has used memories of struggle to give back to the community in which he was raised.

Bismack at home.

My experience with hunger has made me appreciate what I have. I dont waste food. If I never went through that process I would not be able to connect with the kids back home, through my charity. I fit in to their story and so I can help them to overcome it.

Bismack travels to the Democratic Republic of Congo each offseason to visit his family and run basketball camps with The Bismack Biyombo Foundation, which he formed with a platform of athletics, education, health and a vision that the opportunities we receive arent intended for our benefit alone; they are meant to be multiplied through the lives of others.

Bismack Biyombo has proven that limited food intake can take the form of both oppression and freedom. By seizing control over what you consume, food can become a source of empowerment.

The more I pay attention to my body, the better I perform, he says. Once my colon is free, so am I.

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The NBAs Bismack Biyombo On His Plant-Powered Diet Overhaul - Forbes

The Indian film and modelling industry has quite a reputation, both good and bad, with people sharing experiences of lifelong friendships and burnt bridges that made, or ended their careers. However, over the past few months, over thirty models who worked with Mumbai-based talent agency TFM/360 India, owned by designer Ashish N Soni, have alleged that the company owes them lakhs of rupees (more than Rs 70 lakhs) in unpaid dues for shows, events and shoots that in some cases took place years ago and that the company has no intention to pay.

The incident was first brought to light when several models took to their social media handles and shared their experiences working with TFM, sharing how they hadnt been paid for months on end, some have even claimed they were threatened with gundas by upper management when they said theyd make the issue public. The incident was picked up by self-appointed Instagram-based fashion industry watchdog, Diet Sabya, which shared a post which revealed another side of the glamourous modelling industry. The post elaborated how TFM had deprived its talent of their rightful payment since 2018, often discrediting the model by claiming breach of contract, misbehaviour as a cause of non-payment.

The post read, Over the last couple of months, weve gone back-and-forth between 20+ creatives (models, make-up artists etc) and their talent agency, TFM. Mumbai-based agency, TFM allegedly owes them lakhs of rupees in unpaid dues. Multiple rounds of clarifications later the fact remains unchanged: Money is still owed! The bitter industry truth is that modelling/talent agencies are notorious for withholding money and TFM has been pulling this stunt since 2018 (shocking!). The models have finally had it and are no longer willing to wait for their own money. TFM agents did give us multiple reasons/explanations for the delay citing Covid economy, breach of contract, models misbehaving etc etc. Most of these explanations seem to be just excuses to buy time. Moral of the story? Its a messy, and incredibly heartbreaking situation for these creatives, who are dependent on agencies for their livelihood. Discuss!!

ALSO READ | Dark and Lovely: Padma Lakshmi posts about colourism, Diet Sabya demands ban on Fair and Lovely

Since then, several models came forward with similar stories, and Diet Sabya has also shared videos of models that have worked with TFM and are still awaiting payment. While Diet Sabya has always been a page that calls out copycats and gandi copies, over the past few months the page has racked up a new reputation for calling out companies, brands and employers for the mistreatment of employees, as well other social issues like colourism. Several models, in their testimonies, shared that given that they had their own bills and werent getting paid, they had to end their contract with the agency, which states that they cannot work with another agency during the three months after their contract with TFM is terminated, however, the contract allows them to work independently.

Diet Sabya, models get blocked by Ashish Soni, TFM on Instagram

In an interview with MidDay, model Arlette Grao, who was at TFM from 2016 to 2018, claimed that the company owes over Rs 70 lakh to the models, and that she didnt receive any payment for all the assignments she did during her time there, which racks up to Rs 8 lakhs. I have bank statements to support this. She went on to add that she ended up quitting the agency and after the contractual cooling-off period (three months) was complete, she began to freelance, Once I started freelancing, I realised there are multiple models whose payments are stuck with the company. Arlette mentioned that make-up artist Donald Simrock who worked for Lakme Fashion Week two years ago is waiting on a payment, which according to Diet Sabyas post comes up to Rs 9 lakhs. The model also added that in her case TFM cited breach of contract as the reason for non-payment of dues, When I havent breached any clause. They are putting similar false allegations on my other colleagues.

Another model, Shivani Bafna, who also worked with TFM, took to her YouTube channel and shared her experience working with TFM. She spoke of her time at the agency in 2018, and having to wait on payments for months in 2018, she added that she clarified with her manager as well as one of the owners Rishy Bartariya, that she needed to be paid. After months of polite following up and not getting anything except excuses, Shivani got exasperated and decided to share her experience with other models via a group text on WhatsApp. This however, did not sit well with Rishu, who allegedly threatened Shivani saying that if she puts anything on social media, or speaks up she would send gundas after her. They even discredited everything Shivani said by saying she had breached her contract which is why she wasnt paid. However, after filing a lawsuit, and a lot more persistence, Shivani got her payment of Rs 5 lakhs.

Ashish Soni and TFMs side of the story

There are several such instances, and many models have already filed police complaints and sent legal notices to the agency, or are planning to. A written statement mailed to LiveWire by TFM stated, Ashish Soni, on behalf of TFM/360 India, reassures everyone that TFM/360 India shall clear its dues as soon as possible as has also been done in the past.

MidDay reached out to Soni, who said that the firm has been running in losses since it was set up five years ago, on account of which the foreign partner, who was the parent company, decided to pull out leaving Soni, a 40% investor in TFM, struggling to keep the company afloat. He added, They wanted to shut it down. I took on their debt and ensured that the models income stays afloat. It was a liability and I have been running it for two years. Company records that are public will tell you that I havent drawn a single salary from the company. I hope to find an investor with deeper pockets for this agency. Till March, we had a regular cash flow but the business has been affected due to COVID. People are not in a position to pay up. To malign someone(for that), is out of line. I am willing to open this up for audit and if to prove my integrity, if I have to take a loan, I will do so.

According to the written statement by TFM to Livewire, TFM/360 India has paid Rs 2.65 crore to several models in payments. The statement added that when the foreign partner pulled out TFM tried to recover as much as it could, but due to the fact that TFM/360 India was owed a great deal of money and such money was not recovered within a considerable amount of time, the financial and economic health of the company worsened. The statement also added that TFMs management was never in Ashish Sonis purview and that there were other people running the show, and in some instances clients also failed to pay the company on time. The statement also went on to say that now Soni is taking steps to mitigate the damage caused by earlier mismanagement.

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Over 30 models accuse TFM talent agency of non-payment of dues racking up to almost Rs 1 crore. Heres... - Hindustan Times

There are a zillion reasons humans eat beyond capacity were bored, tired, distracted, starved for kindness, feel that leaving food behind is wasteful, or were once food insecure and do it instinctively, to name just a few. And if youve ever dieted to lose weight, restricting certain foods or trying to blot out hunger until your intermittent fasting window opens at precisely noon makes it really hard not to overeat on the rebound.

As for me, I had a serious eating disorder in my teens and early 20s (bulimia, if youre curious). With therapy and practice, I figured out healthier ways of managing my emotions than binging, purging, and obsessively dieting. My weight has been stable and mid-range for decades.

Still, food was always a thing I have had to be careful with, the way some are vigilant around alcohol. I dont consciously diet to be thinner, but I am preoccupied with eating "right," and often feel like I've screwed up when I dont follow my own rules. Even long recovered, the disordered mean-girl voices bicker with each other in my head, wagging a finger at me when Im up a few pounds, giddy when my jeans are a little loose. I tell them both to STFU, but they whisper in the background on a loop.

Then, after decades of being on the wagon when it came to bingeing, the wagon officially tossed me into a drainage ditch and landed on top of me. A debilitating divorce, perimenopause, raising two kids in an increasingly dystopian world, aging parents, and instability in my field saw me regularly eating to excess as a way to escape.

Anyone who has eaten compulsively knows what comes next: the shower of shame at losing control, a stab of panic over gaining weight, followed by a familiar resolve to do better. This usually includes avoiding foods that I think might trigger another binge which leads to feeling deprived.

I knew I needed a way off this shamey-go-round, and had heard of intuitive eating. So I picked up a copy of Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program that Works, by dietitians Elyse Resch and Evelyn Tribole.

Introduced by Resch and Tribole in 1995, intuitive eating is a philosophy made up of 10 principles, which reject traditional weight-loss diets and encourage you to get in touch with how truly hungry or how satisfied you are in a given moment. You then use that information to inform how, what, and when you eat. The 10 "anti-diet" principles are:

Today, the benefits of intuitive eating are supported by lots of research and intuitive eating-certified nutritionists all over the world. One of them, Christy Harrison, MPH, RD, author of Anti-Diet: Reclaim Your Time, Money, Well-Being, and Happiness Through Intuitive Eating, adds that intuitive eating principles are often part of an eating disorder recovery treatment plan, although she cautions that if you do have an eating disorder, it can skew your hunger and fullness cues, so relying solely on these signals may not be wise until you're further along in your recovery.

Anyone feeling like they are suffering from an eating disorder can and should reach out for help immediately. The NEDA helpline at (800) 931-2237 is available daily, and officials also are on standby in digital chats, ready to help you find resources in your area. If you are concerned about a loved one, learn more about how you can help.

But for the rest of us, these principles are part of a process of learning how to listen to your body, and tuning out the drumbeat of "diet culture," which equates thinness with virtue and success and health, demonizes some foods and slaps a halo on others, and oppresses people who don't fit in to the skinny (white) ideal.

"We are all born knowing how to eat," says Harrison. We un-learn it through what we're told by well-meaning parents, a culture that thinks fitting into your high school jeans is the highest feminine achievement, our own internalized quest for control, and other powerful economic and social forces. That's why paying attention to your body and not giving it celery juice when it wants a turkey sandwich with mayo or yeah, I said it an Oreo or three is critical, and yet so fraught for many of us. Hunger is a biological cue, similar to the urge to go to the bathroom," says Alissa Rumsey, registered dietician and certified intuitive eating instructor, who owns Alissa Rumsey Nutrition and Wellness. "We never say, I just peed an hour ago so Im not going to go again, but we do that with the need to eat. Hunger is designed to help our bodies get enough nutrients to stay alive.

Peace with food, no more bitter psychological aftertaste! Bring it, I thought.

As of this writing, Ive been eating intuitively for about eight months, and I can tell you that it is incredibly simple and it's gotten to be almost second nature to me. And the payoffs worth it. But easy, it wasn't, especially in the first few months. It took constant awareness of how I was thinking about food, because diet-type thoughts were so ingrained. I am not exaggerating when I say I could have used a diet culture deprogrammer (luckily there are some great resources out there.) Heres how it went down for me.

Following the advice of Tribole and Resch, I bought a bunch of things that I ordinarily wouldnt have in the house because I'm afraid Id hoover them. (This is in keeping with principle 3, giving myself unconditional permission to eat, and not elevating certain foods over others.) I picked up Nutella, trail mix, and that maple square cereal from Trader Joes, which Id last scarfed straight out of the box during an incredibly scary experience a while back. I told myself that these foods would be there if I wanted them, that no one is going to take them away, and that I can go out and get more if I need to. Im truly allowed to eat them.

I kid you not: The Nutella sat unopened because knowing I could have it whenever I wanted made me forget about it. When I was hungry and saw it raising its smooth, chocolatey hand in the cabinet, I asked myself if I wanted Nutella. The answer was simply never yes.

One afternoon I snacked on some cereal, which was sweet and yummy, and I ate it slowly and consciously so Id really enjoy it. But eating it with so much awareness rather than inhaling it, I noticed it was a harsh texture and awfully dry how had I eaten half a box without seeing how raw it left the roof of my mouth?

As for the trail mix, I had some every day until I lost interest in it. This has to do with habituation, or our natural tendency to find stuff we were once excited about kind of meh if its just a normal thing. Research has found that this makes us eat less of the foods were used to eating.

At work, instead of making sure my plate was three-fourths veggies and a quarter lean protein as was my ritual at my offices salad bar (this was pre-COVID), I asked myself what sounded good for lunch. The answer was variously sushi; hummus and pita; and one day, it was spinach salad with eggs and bacon bits with blue cheese dressing.

It was all satisfying (principle 5 talks about how striving for satisfaction helps you make good choices for your body). Each time, when I checked in with myself mid-meal, which is an intuitive eating suggestion, I often didnt see the need to have more than a couple more bites to feel full. I resisted the habit of judging food as "good" or "bad" and myself as "good" or "bad" for having eaten it, and noticed that overall, my body was telling me to make pretty decent choices. Principle 10, practice gentle nutrition, points out that you don't have to eat perfectly to be healthy.

I finished a bowl of formerly-avoided pasta at a restaurant. Principle 6 is to feel your fullness, that it's a signal to stop eating, but I ate the whole thing. I was full in a heavy kind of way, which made me want to do something about it. My mind sprinted to a plan to exercise more the next day, to cut back on "unhealthy" foods, to be more careful youre supposed to stop when youre satisfied, I scolded myself, not brick-in-the-stomach full.

Danielle DalyGetty Images

When I spoke with Harrison about it, she asked me if it felt like a fight-or-flight response. It had. She said that eating disorders are traumatic, and that dieting can be as well. If it happened again, she suggested doing whatever I needed do to calm down deep breathing, meditation. You might try a mantra fullness is okay, it doesnt mean anything bad about me, Im allowed.

She also pointed out that the diet culture has taught us to be so rule-bound that its natural for new intuitive eaters to turn the practice into another set of rules that weve failed at if we dont follow them.

Don't worry there will come a time when youll choose to eat to Thanksgiving-full and it will feel like no big deal, she says, adding that Im in the hardest part of the adjustment. It makes sense: After 35-plus years of fullness equalling weakness in my own mind, It takes practice to get used to eating intuitively, says Harrison. It should feel gradually easier, she said.

Principle 1 is to reject the diet mentality, which Harrison says flows from the diet culture. Now that I am attuned to it, I see diet culture everywhere. Its always been on billboards and Instagram, but it is the water we're all swimming in, which is why we don't even notice.

Then, a friend from work said to me: "You look so thin! I reflexively said thanks, which immediately felt wrong. She meant it as a compliment, but if thin is a synonym for pretty it shouldn't be and I don't even believe it is. This is why principle 8 honor your body is so important. All bodies deserve dignity, Tribole and Resch write. If I said thank you and someone in a larger body heard me, it likely wouldve reinforced weight stigma in their minds, reminding them that thinner bodies are valued in our society and their bodies are not, says Harrison.

I havent had a full-on binge since I started this, and even better, I havent had the urge to. Harrison uses an the analogy of a pendulum when you dont pull it so far back into the deprivation zone, it doesnt swing so hard in the other direction. When I ate a little more than I intended and felt that pang of tsk-tsk, I kicked into nonjudgmental mode. I jotted down: I had more food at dinner than I meant to. But cmon, it was good. Its okay it happens to everyone. You didnt commit a crime.

With a little sadness at how hard Id been on myself for so many years, I then let it go.

Im gaining weight. Im not weighing myself but the leather pants Ive had since before my children were born are definitely tighter. Id be lying if I said Im comfortable with it. Im not. In fact, all day at work Im preoccupied with the waistband squeezing my belly. I unbutton my pants and pull my sweater down.

Not cool, I telepathically message the Goddess of Intuitive Eating. So totally not cool. Im giving my body what its asking for! Shouldnt that mean no weight gain? And maybe even a bit of weight loss, given that Im not eating whole pints of ice cream?

Some people gain weight with intuitive eating, some people lose weight, and some stay the same, says Harrison about her clients. I would say most people gain, because theyve been restricting. It stabilizes over time, but at first, most people do. I complete the sentence in my head and there's nothing wrong with that to help myself learn to believe it. Because there isn't.

I am surprised at how uncomfortable and scary even this little weight gain feels to me. I always have had and still have what Harrison calls thin privilege, which means I am not subject to the judgments and discrimination thrown at people who carry more weight on their frames. Why is even a few pounds freaking me out?

Harrison believes it has to do with a hard-wired sense of fear that well be expelled from the group. All of our security is threatened by not belonging, so a fear of weight gain is really fear of being rejected or ostracized, she says, even if you believe that wouldnt literally happen, especially among the people who care about you. A very irrational and childlike part of us is fearful, so try to parent that side of you and talk to yourself in a compassionate adult way.

Oh, and buy new pants, she adds.

I bought new pants. Theyre cute and have Lycra and it helps to not be reminded of my body every second by not being able to exhale. In fact, I dont think about my body at all.

And geez, since buying those now too tight leather pants, Ive aged 20 years and carried twins. Come on, already, with the ridiculous standards for women! Our bodies are not meant to stay the same year over year theyre meant to change, says Rumsey. Your weight at 25 is not going to be the same at age 45, and that is okay! God, that sounds so sane. Of course it's okay. And buying new pants rather than forcing myself to endure too-tight ones as a reminder/punishment that I'm out of control is in keeping with intuitive eating principle 7, which is to cope with your difficult emotions with kindness.

But you dont even need to adore every roll and pucker to have a healthy body image, says Rumsey. It starts by understanding and internalizing that your physical appearance is not what makes you worthy, she says. I'm proof that you can know that rationally but still feel you want your body to be cookie-cutter perfect, not that mine ever was. Ill keep reminding myself.

Im sitting at the Feast of the Seven Fishes with my boyfriends family. Its an Italian-American Christmas Eve tradition, and its more like 15 fish courses all amazing and 35 desserts. Normally, the combo of a crowded house, lots of socializing, and endless food would send me into a must try everything overwhelmed binge.

I felt zero compulsion. Eyeing the abundance, I ate what looked especially appealing, wasnt tempted to try what wasnt, and left the table solidly full but not sick.

My boyfriend got me one of those giant Hersheys Kisses for Christmas, and Ive been chipping mindfully away at it. One night, however, it looked especially like our country was falling to fascism, and when I peeled my terrified eyes from the TV, I saw that the Kiss was mostly gone.

The bad news? Id binged (and we still might lose our democracy). The good news? I didnt panic, at least about food, or even feel bad about it.

Instead, an automatic compassionate response came to me: I asked myself, with nonjudgmental curiosity, why I ate so much chocolate. The answer was obvious: anxiety, and a fear on some level that we would end up in a nuclear war and this would literally be the last chocolate I ever ate. Its okay, I told myself. It's a scary time. And then I forgot about it. Progress.

UPDATE: Its been five months since that last entry, and intuitive eating is happening more, well, intuitively. Unless I'm under great stress, I dont contemplate every bite or think about it after, and my discomfort with my extra couple of pounds has diminished noticeably (or it could be that they've gone awayI'm not weighing myself, which is part of intuitive eating.) That Nutella in my pantry eventually got eaten, and enjoyed, rather than guiltily snarfed. Im not eating 100% freely like a little kid again, but I do have that sense of control that you have when there really isnt anything to control at all.

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Does Intuitive Eating Work? What Happened When I Tried Intuitive Eating - GoodHousekeeping.com

When trying to slash carbs from your diet, the hardest meal to make that happen for may be breakfast. For one, breakfast has traditionally been something rich in carbohydrates, which tend to be convenient to make, says Emily Spurlock, RD, whos based in Boise, Idaho. Cereal and toast are quick, easy options, she says.

However, switching up your morning meal to a dish where carbs arent the main event can lead to benefits you may not expect. I find that people have more sustained energy and avoid the midmorning slump when they move away from high-carb breakfast options, she says. A lower-carb meal is better for helping you feel full and satisfied compared with a low-fat one, according to a randomized, controlled trial published in June 2016 inNutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases. Whats more, youre also likely eating higher-fat foods (like nuts or seeds) at the meal, which can keep blood sugar stable and thereby help decrease cravings for sugary foods, theHarvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health points out.

There are various types of low-carb diets, including a standard low-carb diet, the Atkins diet, the ketogenic, or keto, diet (both low carb and high fat), and a low-carb Mediterranean diet. (For some of the below recipes, we include net carbs, which signify the total carbohydrates minus fiberand sugar alcohols,according to Atkins, and are often counted on diets including keto.) Each of these plans has different guidelines and rules, but in general, if you are following a standard low-carb diet, you will likely aim for 20 to 60 grams (g) of carbs per day, according to theMayo Clinic. Spurlock recommends keeping breakfast to less than 20 g of carbohydrates. (If youre following keto and aiming for 20 g of net carbs per day, as some people do, you will need to adjust accordingly and will be more limited in recipes.)

Easier said than done, you may be thinking. But you dont have to eat eggs cooked in butter, topped with cheese, and paired with bacon to go low carb. For healthier (and more varied) options that are still low carb, think plant based and balanced. That means your meal will contain lean protein, unsaturated fat, and fiber from veggies, recommends Bonnie Nasar, RDN, of Freehold, New Jersey.

RELATED: 12 Popular Low-Carb Diets, and Their Pros and Cons

For creative ideas that snap you out of breakfast boredom, turn to food bloggers, who are always up for easy, simple, and accessible meals that work for various taste preferences, diets, and budgets. Here are 15 great, healthy low-carb breakfast ideas:

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15 Healthy Low-Carb Breakfast Recipes - Everyday Health

WASHINGTON, ( WDVM ) A new survey from weight watchers say 36% of Americans have gained a significant amount of weight during the covid-19 pandemic however in efforts to reduce that weight some people have turned to the keto diet, but some experts suggest that diet is not always the best way to lose weight.

Typically when you enter someones kitchen you might see bread or even juice, but the keto diet is a type of diet that significantly restricts carbohydrate intake.

According to Medical News Today, usually the body breaks down carbohydrates into the sugar glucose, which it uses for energy. When there are not enough carbs in the body, it goes into a stage called ketosis.

Instead of relying on sugar that comes from carbohydrates like fruits and vegetables, the keto diet relies on ketone bodies, which is a type of fuel that the liver produces from stored fat.

However, experts say getting the liver to make ketone bodies is tricky and can be potentially harmful.

A keto diet needs to be done very carefully and monitored, because it can cause all sorts of interesting phenomena, you may have heard of whats called the keto flu. Thats when people get inducted in the process and they feel kind of awful and lack energy for a while. It also could cause significant shifts of fluid or water in the body so that can create problems as well Said Andrew Freeman , MD, a cardiologist from National Jewish Health.

This restrictive diet is not for everyone but it can work for some, however experts suggest contacting your primary doctor before trying any new diets.

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Some health experts suggest the Keto diet can cause harm - WDVM 25

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