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You know Dr. Mikeor Doctor Mike Varshavskias the internet celebrity doctor who gained popularity for his combination of smarts and good looks. And now Dr. Mike is serving fans a helping of Nutrition 101, showing how he makes sense of nutrition and diet in his own life.

In a video on his ever-popular YouTube channel, Dr. Mike explains the basics of nutrition using a healthy-eating triangle of sorts. He boils that ever-vague term healthy eating down to intake of appropriate calories, appropriate macronutrients, and appropriate micronutrients. To truly eat healthy, Dr. Mike says, you need a balance of all of these things.

In case you need it boiled down even further, Dr. Mike explains calories as necessary energy your body needs to function, which is a much better way to look at it instead of an evil number to restrict.

Macronutrients are protein, fats, and carbswhich are also much needed in a well-rounded diet. You already know protein is essential, as it builds and repairs muscle, skin, bone, and blood in the body. But fat is also neededand Dr. Mike says fats have gotten a bad rep. Fats give you energy, support cell growth, and protect your organs. They also help you absorb nutrients and helps you produce vital hormones. Now, Dr. Mike admits he personally isnt a huge fan of carbs, aka fibers, starches, and sugars. He says while fibers like beans, whole grains, veggies, and fruits are top-notch, he strays aways from sugar and starches in his own diet.

Lets move on to micronutrients, which are vitamins and minerals. These are essential nutrients the body doesnt make on its own and can only get from food. Dr. Mike explains being low on vitamins can negatively impact your energy levels, your immune system, and even your bloods ability to clot. If you are low on minerals, your bones could be impacted or you could develop conditions like anemia.

Something you have to know is that all diets are not created equal, Dr. Mike says after explaining these three pillars. To display this fact and his "triangle" at work, Dr. Mike talks in extremes.

There are two people in a given situation. They have the same maintenance calories and they are looking to lose weight, Dr. Mike says. Person A decides to follow the cookie diet, and they are going to aim to eat 1500 calories of cookies a day, which is 500 calories below their required maintenance. Person B is also going to be eating 1500 calories a day, but they are following the Mediterranean dietbasically a whole foods, plant-based diet.

Now, Dr. Mike says the answer of who is following the healthy diet is clear. But the reason why is not as simple as it seems.

Both people will actually lose weight. So you may say, If they are both losing weight, why is one worse than the other? Dr. Mike says. Go back to my little triangle I created.

Basically, Dr. Mike explains while both are eating a caloric deficit, which will result in the desired weight loss, Person A is getting virtually no macronutrients or micronutrients. And thats why weight isnt a tell-all factor when it comes to someones health status.

So what should someone do to lose or gain weight in a healthy, sustainable way? Its actually rather simple.

If you are trying to lose weight or if you are underweight and want to gain weight, heres what I recommend you do, Dr. Mike says. Calculate your maintenance calories. If you want to gain weight, add to the maintenance calories and eat that. If you want to lose weight, eat a little bit less than your maintenance calories and youre going to be losing weight.

Just remember to do eat those calories with macronutrients and micronutrients in mind. Dr. Mike recommends losing or gaining a pound a week maximum because going into extremes can really mess with your body, unless you are under the supervision of a nutritionist or doctor.

Trust me, there is a lot of nuance when it comes to nutrition, Dr. Mike says. I didnt want to bog this video down with controversy. In general, the field of nutrition research is an absolute mess. Well save that for the future. You got the basics.

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A Doctor Shared the Diet He Uses to Burn Fat While Building Muscle - menshealth.com

A person buys soda at a convenience store in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, on April 13. The country has high levels of obesity and medical conditions that health authorities warn are related to a diet high in soda and processed foods. Mauricio Palos/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

A person buys soda at a convenience store in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, on April 13. The country has high levels of obesity and medical conditions that health authorities warn are related to a diet high in soda and processed foods.

Picture this: You're 17, you walk into a corner store and grab a Coca-Cola and Doritos, but the cashier refuses to sell them to you because you're underage.

That rule is expected to soon become reality in parts of Mexico, as lawmakers in several states push legislation to keep junk food away from children, partly in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

First Oaxaca's state legislature passed a ban on selling or giving out high-calorie packaged foods and sugar-sweetened drinks to minors on Aug. 5. Less than two weeks later, Tabasco state approved a prohibition, too. Now at least a dozen other states are considering similar legislation.

"I know it can sound a bit drastic but we had to take action now," says Magaly Lpez, a lawmaker in Oaxaca's Congress who spearheaded the ban.

More than 70,000 Mexicans have died from COVID-19, the world's fourth-highest recorded death toll, according to tracking by Johns Hopkins University. Two-thirds of those who died in Mexico had an underlying medical condition such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular problems, according to Health Department officials. That has led to a new urgency to change diets so that the younger generation doesn't suffer those ailments.

"The damage of this kind of diet is even more visible because of the pandemic," says Lpez, who is a member of President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador's Morena party.

The party's critics, however, say its leaders are using preexisting health conditions in COVID-19 patients to distract from a weak government response to the virus outbreak.

Yet few would deny the country consumes large amounts of sugar-sweetened beverages and processed snacks with little nutrition or that Mexico has a major weight problem.

One-third of Mexicans aged 6 to 19 are overweight or obese, according to UNICEF. They may not be disproportionately affected by COVID-19 now, but they can suffer myriad health issues, especially in adulthood.

"Bottled poison"

Senior federal officials have been calling on citizens to cut back on junk food. Assistant Health Secretary Hugo Lpez-Gatell has called soda "bottled poison."

Mexico's assistant health secretary, Hugo Lpez-Gatell, speaks about plans for Mexico to produce an experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford, at the national palace in Mexico City, on Aug. 13. Hector Vivas/Getty Images hide caption

Mexico's assistant health secretary, Hugo Lpez-Gatell, speaks about plans for Mexico to produce an experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford, at the national palace in Mexico City, on Aug. 13.

The country's overweight health issue "is not the fault of individuals, it's the fault of this nutritional environment that has been developed to favor those [junk food] products instead of health," Lpez-Gatell, Mexico's coronavirus czar, said in July. He has since endorsed the Oaxaca bill.

Oaxaca congresswoman Lpez says legislators from all over the country have called her for advice. In addition to Tabasco, Chihuahua state is debating a junk food ban, and Mexico City's mayor says her administration is looking into something similar. A federal senator from Oaxaca says he wants to make it national law.

Oaxaca's governor approved the state's law last week. Legislators still have to draw up enforcement mechanisms, and punishment could include fines and even jail.

Business pressure

A nationwide law would not be easy. "There are powerful commercial interests that don't want it to happen, but we must prioritize the well-being of our children," Lpez says.

The business owners' association COPARMEX said the legislation "will be an obstacle to commercial freedom and will incentivize the informal economy."

Cuauhtmoc Rivera, the president of the National Small Businesses' Alliance, has been a vociferous critic. "Formal businesses will close and transition to sidewalks and street corners, where consumption of these products will continue," without regulation or oversight, he says.

A street vendor sells sweet snacks in Mexico City in 2016. Several states are pushing to ban the sale of junk food and soda to children to improve the population's nutrition levels. Eduardo Verdugo/AP hide caption

A street vendor sells sweet snacks in Mexico City in 2016. Several states are pushing to ban the sale of junk food and soda to children to improve the population's nutrition levels.

Rivera finds these laws particularly troubling at a time when coronavirus prevention measures have crushed small businesses. His group estimates 150,000 businesses had to close during the pandemic and it expects many will not reopen.

Business groups also say the bans would disproportionately affect the underprivileged.

"The daily battle of the average Mexican is to stretch the little money you have as far as it can go, to fill the stomachs of everyone in your house," Rivera says. The cheapest, easiest calories, especially in urban areas, he says, are things like soda, potato chips and white bread.

Power dynamics

There are power dynamics at play that helped make these kinds of foods so widely consumed, according to Ana Larraaga, of the public health advocacy group Salud Crtica ("critical health").

"We should not only be looking at the companies, the brands, that are involved in the processing in the food but also the political context that allowed the lack of regulations," she says.

Larraaga says the government failed to regulate junk food and soda for decades. She notes that a former leader, Vicente Fox, had once served as CEO of Coca-Cola Mexico before becoming president in 2000.

In 2013, Coca-Cola tried to buy goodwill by sponsoring a school fitness program in Mexico. Several public institutions adopted the program, but it's now widely seen as a failure.

Things began to change in 2014, when the government imposed a tax on sugary drinks. The tax contributed to a 6% drop in soda drinking in its first year, according to government research, while milk and water consumption climbed.

And last year, a new federal law passed. Starting in October, giant-font warning labels will be slapped on the front of food packages: "EXCESS SUGAR!" "EXCESS SODIUM!" "EXCESS TRANS FATS!"

Larraaga says the junk food ban for minors is another encouraging step toward nutrition, if it really catches on. "Whether this policy will work or not ... I definitely think it depends on the acceptance of the population," she says.

"Something healthy instead"

Oaxaca could be primed to embrace it. In the rural Oaxacan town of Villa Hidalgo Yallag, citizens have physically blocked chips and soda delivery trucks from entering since April, saying they don't want outsiders to bring in the coronavirus or junk food.

NPR spoke to several teenagers in Mexico City and Oaxaca state and found almost all knew about health problems related to junk food and agreed change was needed.

"I'd be frustrated at first if I couldn't buy a Coke," said 16-year-old Wendy Trevio, "but I'd adapt. And maybe I'd think twice and buy fruit or something healthy instead."

And 17-year-old Daniela Santiago in Natividad, a small town in the highlands of Oaxaca, said during a workshop with a nonprofit: "We learned about all the diseases associated with a bad diet, hypertension, diabetes, things like that, and I didn't know about all that."

Santiago thinks avoiding junk food should not be a problem, since Natividad's residents have easy access to fresh produce and can stick with traditional dishes based around beans, vegetables, fruit and corn tortillas.

But she knows it may not be so simple in urban areas.

"People in cities are always pressured by their work or school schedule and have no option but to eat junk," Santiago says, "even if they know it's unhealthy."

Excerpt from:
'We Had To Take Action': States In Mexico Move To Ban Junk Food Sales To Minors - NPR

The current push for social justice in America is nothing new. But the pressure of the pandemic has inspired more athletes to say, Enough is enough. The NBA strike grew from players need to hit pause. They made a concerted effort to support social justice causes, as well as use NBA arenas and commercial time to raise awareness for voting. This recalls a different era when NFL players used their eye black for self-expression.

RELATED: How Allen Iverson Changed NBA Fashion Forever

Most NFL players have worn eye black at some point. Purportedly, the black strips absorb some light before it hits the players eyes, reducing glare. Business Insider reports that theres no definitive research proving this works. But hey, it looks cool, and its a fairly non-committal way to get an edge that may or may not actually be there.

Some players added messages to their eye black. Shoutouts to friends, family, or meaningful phrases were common. The practice gained a huge boost in popularity when former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow put Bible verses on his. The Christian Science Monitor reports many of these were related to perseverance.

The NCAA and NFL banned the practice, despite the largely positive attention. Their reasoning, according to the Florida Times-Union, was about adherence to stringent, professional uniform standards. While there was some pushback among players, claiming it was a free speech issue, employers are within their legal rights to enforce particular dress codes. The ruling stands to this day, including for the 2020 season.

RELATED: How Do NBA Basketball Players Get Paid?

The eye black messages havent come back, but the ability for players to send personal messages has, in a sense. The NBA worked with the Players Association to come up with a list of pre-approved phrases players could apply to their jerseys. It has a similar effect as the eye black messages, with one major problem: Players dont have the freedom to add any new, personal messages to the list.

Even with this system in place, players managed to run afoul of the dress code in trying to get their personal statements across. Notably, Jimmy Butler was forced to change his jersey mid-game. He violated the rules by having no statement, nor his name, visible. He said his message was that he is, first and foremost, a black man not an NBA superstar. The NBA wasnt having it, so he ended up donning a jersey that had his famous name on it.

This could be an appropriate time for the NFL to roll back their 2010 ban of eye black messages. Its a touchy time, to be sure, but clearly one where many self-expression battles are being won. And if the first game of the season was any indication, NFL players need to find new ways to reach out to fans during these tense times.

The NFL could be touchy on this topic, given ratings were down as the season kicked into gear. Thats especially notable given that, according to The Score, other sports returning from pandemic breaks saw huge surges in viewership year-over-year. But players dont appear to be in a state of wanting to be seen simply as mindless performers.

While another strike might not be on the horizon, allowing more social justice expressions could be the best way to prevent one from fomenting.

See more here:
Are the NBAs Social Justice Jerseys Equivalent to the NFLs Banned Eye Black Messages? - Sportscasting

Im going to bring you guys in as much as I can on my plan to get back to myself, the Milkshake singer says

Congratulations are in order for Kelis, who is now a mother of three!

The Grammy-nominated singer announced in a Saturday Instagram post that she delivered her new baby girl a week ago.

Kelis, who welcomes her first daughter and second child with husband Mike Mora, described the experience as intense. Her eldest child is her 11-year-old son from her marriage with rap superstar Nas.

The Milkshake singer took to her IG to invite her fans to witness her health journey back to pre-pregnancy form.

Im going to bring you guys in as much as I can on my plan to get back to myself, she wrote in the caption.

Unable to exercise for six weeks, Kelis intends to lose weight with a special diet plan.

READ MORE: Kelis announces new cannabis cooking show on Netflix

Ive been doing a lot of thinking and, you know, Im generally a really private person with my personal life, but I wanted to kind of like bring my fam in, bring you guys in, to sort of like talk about all of these womens things that we go through that no one really tells us about, she said in the video explaining her steps to pull it back together, what she calls my snap back.

I want to show you, kind of, how I plan on getting back into my high-waist jeans, which you know I love so much, with just food, Kelis said in the video. Like, no exercise, because I cant yet, and with just food.

As an accomplished chef and food entrepreneur, she is offering a sale of her Gold Mine boxes, containing a collection of sauces and seasonings. She sells her boxes and food prep items via her website bountyandfull.com.

READ MORE: Houston woman loses over 100 pounds using keto diet

The Bossy singer said that shes 50 to 60 pounds away from her goal.

Im going to run a little sale to start because I want to show you what Im eating, and I want you to be able to get them all and be able to enjoy them with me while Im going through this process, she continued.

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Ill show you what Im eating daily, and what Im not eating and when Im eating it and all that stuff so you can sort of see, like, what it is Im doing, and we can do it together.

Kelis says her methods and food choices during the six-week period are anti-inflammatory, anti-bruising and will aid in joint and gut health as well as SKIN AND HAIR.

Her cooking web series Cooked with Kelis is available on her YouTube channel.

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The post Kelis shares snap back diet plan after birth of third child: Ill show you what Im eating daily appeared first on TheGrio.

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Kelis shares snap back diet plan after birth of third child: Ill show you what Im eating daily - Yahoo News

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Motorists driving along parts of Main Street in Plymouth will need to drive with caution along line of orange barrels.

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Equipment works on striping a layer of the road surface along Main Street in downtown Plymouth on July 13, 2020. (Photo: JOHN HEIDER | hometownlife.com)

Temporary pain for motoristswill result in long-term gain for drivers and bicyclists in downtown Plymouth beginning Tuesday.

Road crews are expected to begin road diet-striping operations on Main Street between Ann Arbor Trail and Ann Arbor Road on Tuesday, according to a statement released by the Plymouth Downtown Development Authority.

Motorists shouldexpect some delays and detours around rolling work crew operations, which are expected run a few days.

More: Former Starkweather School in Plymouth renovated into slick apartment complex

More: COVID-19 can't stop the music at the Plymouth-Canton Educational Park

The road diet will add two dedicated bike lanes and a left-hand turn lane on Main Street between Ann Arbor Trail and Ann Arbor Road, while reducing vehicular lanes from two in each direction to one in each direction.

This week's projected is funded by aroads improvement bond that Plymouth residents passed 1,028-728last November.The first phase of the ambitious road-construction project saw milling, fresh paving and re-striping of Main Street from Wing to Church streets.

Contact reporter Ed Wright at eawright@hometownlife.com or 517-375-1113.

Read or Share this story: https://www.hometownlife.com/story/news/2020/09/14/next-phase-main-street-road-improvement-project/5796317002/

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Major road construction returning to downtown Plymouth - Hometown Life

Extensively used in Ayurvedic medicine, giloy is often called the "root of immortality". The herb has numerous health benefits. It is a powerhouse of antioxidants, which fight free radicals and thus reduces your risk of deadly diseases like cancer.

Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, people have started using more and more ayurvedic herbs. And one of the most commonly used ayurvedic herbs to boost immunity, which is our prime concern right now is giloy.

Giloy removes toxins from the body, purifies the blood and fights bacteria. It is especially beneficial for people with liver disease. It is antipyretic in nature, which means it can reduce fever and ease the symptoms of life-threatening fevers like dengue, swine flu and malaria.

Here are five easy peasy ways to include this herb in your daily diet:

Link:
Giloy Health Benefits: 5 easy ways to include giloy in your daily diet and its health benefits - Times of India

Thirteen-year-olds who weren't very popular with their peers growing up, a new study released Tuesday has found, seem to have a heightened risk of developing circulatory system disease in later life. This includes higher risk for conditions such as narrowed and hardened arteries and abnormal heartbeat that affect the normal functioning of the heart and blood vessels.

"Although not many realize it, peer status is one of the strongest predictors of later psychological and health outcomes, even decades later, said Mitch Prinstein, the John Van Seters distinguished professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of North Carolina.

"Several early studies revealed that our likeability among peers in grade school predicts life outcomes more strongly than does IQ, parental income, school grades, and pre-existing physical illness," Prinstein, who wasn't involved with the research, said.

Prinstein, and the authors of the study, said that it's important to note that peer status is a specific form of popularity -- likeability rather than being the cool kid.

"Many would perhaps think of high-status kids as those who were highly visible and influential -- hanging out in the smoking area during breaks and partying during the weekends. That is another type of popularity, which is sometimes referred to as perceived popularity," said Ylva Almquist, an associate professor and senior lecturer at the department of public health sciences at Stockholm University and an author of the study, which published in the journal BMJ Open.

"Peer status is rather an indicator of likability, and the degree to which a child is accepted and respected by their peers."

Observational study

In this study from Sweden, the researchers used data from the Stockholm Birth Cohort Multigenerational Study, which includes everyone born in 1953 and residing in Stockholm, the Swedish capital, in 1963.

The health of 5,410 men and 5,990 women was tracked into their 60s. At age 13, they had been asked who among their classmates they preferred to work with. They used the results to determine "peer group status," which they divided into four categories: zero nominations, which they termed "marginalized"; one ("low status"); two or three ("medium status"); and four or more ("high status").

Thirty-three percent of the boys enjoyed high peer group status at the age of 13, slightly more than girls (28.5%), the researchers found. Some 16% of the girls were classed as "marginalized," compared to 12% of boys.

Circulatory disease was more common among the men than it was among the women, but the children classed as "marginalized" at age 13 had a 33% to 34% higher risk of circulatory disease in adulthood in both sexes, the study found.

In their analysis, the researchers said they accounted for factors such as number and position of siblings, parental education and mental health, socioeconomic conditions, and school factors, such as intellect, academic performance and any criminal behavior.

But as an observational study, it can only show a link, and Almquist said there could be many explanations for the association.

"A common dilemma in this kind of research is that we have the information we need to establish associations between conditions in childhood and health outcomes in adulthood, but we know quite little about whatever is happening in between," Almquist said.

Potential for chronic inflammation due to stress

Katherine Ehrlich, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Georgia, who wasn't involved in the research, said one explanation could be chronic inflammation linked to stressful experiences of relationships, both in adolescence and in adulthood.

"It is plausible that stressful social experiences (like being socially isolated) could lead to persistent unresolved inflammation, and if these levels are sustained over time, that could increase one's risk for plaques in the arteries, heart attacks, and other cardiovascular problems," said Ehrlich, who wasn't involved in the research.

"It seems likely that health behaviors also play a role in the progression from low peer status to circulatory diseases decades later. Individuals who are socially isolated may be more likely to have unhealthy diets, engage in excessive drinking, and lead sedentary lifestyles, all of which could also increase one's risk for cardiovascular problems."

"Our species is uniquely and remarkably attuned to our social position because many years ago we relied on each other for safety," he said.

"Research now reveals that social rejection activates the same regions of the brain that are known to respond to physical pain, and also expresses dormant DNA to prepare our bodies for imminent injury. Unfortunately, this response is no longer necessary, so the expression of these genes leaves us more vulnerable to viral infections and more likely to suffer from inflammation-related illnesses," Prinstein said.

He added that it was also possible that those higher in peer status are more likely to be afforded opportunities for learning and access to more resources -- including ones that could promote their health.

"We spend so much time, energy, and funding attending to factors we think can improve children's chances at a happy and successful life, but we have neglected the one factor that is perhaps most important of all: our children's ability to get along well with others and be perceived as likeable," he said.

For parents worried about their kids' social life, Almquist stressed that problematic experiences with peers do not automatically lead to health problems and having caring and supportive parents was a "protective factor."

Ehrlich agreed that strong ties between parents and teens could act as a buffer against problematic peer relationships. "It is understandable to see these findings and worry about the long-term consequences for teens who might be more socially isolated.

"Additionally, many adolescents struggle at one point or another with their peer relationships -- finding it difficult to fit in or 'find their people,'" she said. "The advice I would give to families is: keep trying. Join new clubs, try to meet people online, put yourself out there -- you never know who could turn out to be a lifelong friend."

More:
Unpopular teens could be at higher risk of heart conditions later in life, study suggests - CNN

Have you ever heard that losing weight is simply a matter of eating fewer calories than youre burning? This is whats referred to as the calories-in-calories-out method, or CICO. The idea is that a pound is equivalent to eating about 3,500 calories, so if you want to lose about a pound a week, youd need to shave 500 calories from your daily routine, either by eating less, exercising more or a combo of both.

It may sound reasonable, but peoples individual experiences vary considerably so its impossible to accurately predict how much weight youll lose based on this math. When it comes to managing your weight, calories count to some degree but they dont all count in the same way.

The CICO diet isnt a book or an eating plan endorsed by a health expert or celebrity. Its an approach that involves eating fewer calories than you burn. The idea is that as long as you stay within a calorie range that's in line with your body's needs, you can eat what you want and still lose weight (or maintain your current weight). To stay on track, people often use a calorie counter app when following a CICO diet. But managing weight with calorie restrictions isn't as simple as it sounds.

Heres what we know about calories and how they pertain to weight loss.

You can think of calories as the energy derived from food. Calories come from any food you eat, whether thats an orange, orange juice or orange soda. However, the way the food is processed makes a difference. In this example, the orange is much more filling than the orange juice or soda.

Certain foods are especially filling, which means that the calories from those foods give you a lot of bang for the buck. The satiety index is a ranking that indicates how filling a food is based on equal calorie servings of numerous foods. The rankings show, for example, that calories from boiled potatoes are seven times more filling than the same number of calories from a croissant. Calorie-for-calorie, fish is more filling than beef or eggs. Oatmeal is more filling than bran cereal.

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Rather than focusing solely on calories, its better to be aware of your calorie needs and to develop an understanding of how calories from various foods make you feel. Managing your appetite with filling foods that are also in line with your bodys calorie needs is a good way to manage your weight and your hunger levels.

Over time, weve been eating much more of our calories from heavily processed foods, like sodas and packaged snacks, such as potato chips. In fact, Americans eat about 60% of their calories from highly processed foods. While convenient, we rely on these foods at the expense of other, more nutritious foods, like fruits and vegetables. Some studies also report that processed foods may be linked to unintentional weight gain and related problems, such as higher blood pressure, cholesterol levels and blood sugar levels.

In a study published in Cell Metabolism in 2019, researchers pitted a whole foods diet against a processed one. Twenty people went on both diets for two weeks, and while the meals varied dramatically, the calories, sugar, fat, fiber, carbs and protein were the same on both. Once meals were served, people were allowed to eat as much or as little as they wished.

Heres what happened: On the processed food diet, participants ate many more calories (averaging an extra 500 calories per day) and they gained an average of two pounds. They ate faster, too, which may indicate they werent filling up sufficiently, or it may mean their brains didnt have a chance to compute that they were full. Theres also the possibility that its especially easy to consume these foods quickly. Think about how fast you can eat a snack bar made with oats compared to a bowl of steel cut oatmeal.

Meanwhile when those same people went on to eat the whole foods diet, the opposite occurred; they lost two pounds. In other words, the quality of those calories mattered when it came to gaining or losing weight.

One factor that gets ignored in a CICO model is the fact that there is some variability in the number of calories that you actually absorb from whole foods compared to processed ones. So for example, if youre tracking your calories, there may be slight differences in the number of calories that you think youre eating compared to the number youre actually absorbing. This can work to your advantage if youre eating mostly whole foods and potentially to your disadvantage if you arent.

Studies that examine dietary patterns point to the fact that adults who consume the most servings of whole grains have lower body weights. One possible explanation is that calories from whole grains arent absorbed as efficiently as calories from refined grains. In one study involving both men and postmenopausal women, participants were assigned to diets with varying amounts of fiber, whole grains and refined grains, but the diets supplied each person an amount of calories meant to keep weight steady. After six weeks, people who were eating whole grains experienced a lift in resting metabolic rate, which means they burned more calories when they were inactive. They also excreted extra calories in their stool. Together, this led to a daily deficit of 92 calories.

Studies involving nuts have similarly found that we dont absorb as many calories from these foods, which may be why as part of a Mediterranean Diet theyre also linked with healthier body measurements.

Liquid calories are especially problematic because theres good evidence that your body doesnt compute them in the same way it computes calories you chew, so sodas and coffee drinks arent as likely to fill you up. If you drink these routinely, you may wind up in a calorie surplus because you still need to eat (and therefore, consume calories) to combat hunger.

It's important to remember that regulating your body weight is a dynamic process that involves not only the calories and quality of food you eat, but other factors as well.

Some of the other factors that can affect your weight include:

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What is the CICO diet? All about the calories-in-calories-out diet - TODAY

To prevent future managed colony losses, the team will look for ways to strengthen bee colony immunity by feeding them more nutritious diets.

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A newly fundedTexas A&M AgriLife Researchproject seeks to slow population losses among more than 2.6 million managed honey bee colonies in the U.S.

Honey bees provide pollination services that uphold $16 billion in U.S. agricultural crops. However, managed colonies have seen annual declines. Those include a 40% decline as recently as 2018-2019, said Juliana Rangel, AgriLife Research honey bee scientist in the Department of Entomology, Bryan-College Station.

The declines are attributed to several general issues, including poor nutrition and susceptibility to pathogens and diseases, said Pierre Lau, AgriLife Research graduate assistant and a Texas A&M Universitydoctoral candidate in Rangels laboratory.

Lau is also the project leader. To prevent future managed colony losses, his team will look for ways to strengthen bee colony immunity to disease pathogens by feeding them more nutritious diets.

The project is supported by aU.S. Department of Agriculture pre-doctoral fellowshiptitled Optimizing Macronutrient Contents in the Honeybee Diet as a Mechanism for Pathogen Defense.

The research team includes Lau, Texas A&M graduate student Alexandria Payne, undergraduate students Cora Garcia and Jordan Gomez, and Rangel. Spencer Behmer, AgriLife Research professor in the Texas A&M department of entomology, is also part of the team, as is his postdoctoral research associate Pierre Lesne.

Cups with different macronutrient mixes are presented to bees in these small cups.

Texas A&M AgriLif

Researchers will focus heavily on macronutrients, which are those nutrients in the highest demand by a healthy body for proper metabolism and physiology, Lau said.

His teams work will be to first understand the varying amounts of proteins and lipids, or macronutrient ratios, present in bees diets. They will work to optimize an ideal diet with varying ratios of macronutrients, then they will observe physiological benefits to bees that receive increasingly nutritious dietary mixes.

Commercial honey bee colonies succumb especially to Nosema ceranae and deformed wing virus. Nosema ceranae, a fungal pathogen, causes a fatal intestinal disease, while deformed wing virus causes death due to developmental complications in heavily infected adults, particularly due to crumpled wings.

Besides pathogens and diseases, Lau said, honey bee declines within agroecosystems which describe most agricultural crop scenarios can also come from parasitization, poor queen health, pesticide exposure and landscape fragmentation.

As such, in addition to immunity, the researchers will investigate how nutritional changes affect expression of genes that mediate proper honey bee development and growth.

We know that pollen is the most important source of nourishment for bees, but as a field of research, we have a poor understanding of all the macronutrients that make up pollen, Lau said.

At the same time, Lau and collaborators, in an unpublished study, were able to determine the nutritional content of certain pollens. In the same study, they noted that honey bees preferred pollen with a lower ratio of protein to lipids, or P:L ratio, than what would be currently available in the beekeeping industry. Moreover, Lau said, existing research shows that organisms naturally seek out pathogen-fighting nutrients in their surroundings.

Does this mean that honey bees can alter their macronutrient intake to self-medicate and increase their tolerance to a pathogen, given the availability? Lau said. It could also be that the role of lipids is more significant than we understand.

Additionally, Rangel said, honey bees need certain plants in the vicinity to help them with physiological processes. Those include metabolizing certain macro and micronutrients.

We know that honey bees need variety in their diet, Rangel said. But, to what extent are certain nutrients required, or even sought after, by the bees for proper nourishment?

Can we introduce supplemental macronutrients that allow honey bees to self-medicate in the presence of pathogen infections? Lau added. This will be our focus for the next two years.

Read more about theTexas A&M Honey Bee Research Program , and follow Rangels lab onFacebook.

Read more:
Honey Bee Nutrition Might Be Key To Healthy Colonies - Texas A&M Today - Texas A&M University Today

Tom Palmer| Special to The Ledger

Add the diets of some birds to list of impacts from Floridas population growth, as more of the countryside gives way to new subdivisions.

It seems some wood storks in South Florida have been adapting toliving near urban areas by shifting from a diet that historically consisted of fish to whatever they can scrounge among human food leftovers or offerings, a group of Florida Atlantic University researchers found during a two-year study.

The study compared the diets and reproductive success of storks that nested near urban areas with those that nested in more natural areas deeper in the Everglades.

The results were that the urban birds were eating more regularly even if their diet and the food they brought back to their nests sometimes consisted of hot dogs, waffles and other human-related foods. As a result, they were producing more young.

Wood storks in more natural areas are at the mercy of water levels that sometimes make it difficult to efficiently forage because the fish are too spread out in wet years. They didnt prosper or reproduce as well as the urban birds during the study period, the researchers reported.

When I was reading this, I was thinking about the pair of sandhill cranes I saw last year in a convenience store parking lot near the edge of the Green Swamp.

When I first began birdwatching more than 40 years ago, you had to travel into the countryside or to a state park to see sandhill cranes.

Now thata lot of the former countryside is covered with rooftops, the cranes have adapted by learning to forage near populated areas because, to be frank, there isnt any place left for them to look for food in many parts of Florida.

The downside of this is that I see more road-killed sandhill cranes than I once did.

Im not the only one who has noticed this.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commissions Florida Wildlife Research Institute has been conductingresearch that involves fitting some cranes with colored leg bands or radio transmitters to get a better idea of their movements and their fate.

They are also accepting reports of sightings of either road-killed or banded sandhill cranes. To learn more about the program, go tohttps://tinyurl.com/y34o4res.

One more thing, keep in mind that it is illegal in Florida to feed sandhill cranes, and directly feeding wildlife is generally discouraged. Installing bird feeders is OK, though.

The main reason for this is that when wild animals directly associate people with food, they tend to lose their natural fear of humans and can become aggressive. There have been reports of cranes heavily damaging screened porches in search of expected food.

Besides birds can figure out how to find food, sometimes in unexpected ways.

I remember when some of were on a birdwatching trip in South Florida many years ago and found it entertaining to watch boat-tailed grackles pluckingdragonflies and other insects from the grilles of parked diesel rigs.

Another bird species that has become a common sight in urban areas is the white ibis.

White ibises were once proposed by state wildlife officials as a species of special concern until some legislators threatened to cut the agencys budget.

Now I see small flocksforaging in front yards all over my neighborhood in a fairly urban area of the county.

Like the cranes, they have fewer natural areas they can use, so they survive however they can. Their population is reportedly stable.

As I mentioned last week, the annual fall bird migration is well under way.

Some of the species that migrate through or to Florida are shorebirds.

If you see a flock of shorebirds at the beach, give them some space and do not do as some uneducated people do and run at them (or allow their children or pets to do so) and scatter them.

They have flown hundreds of miles and need all of their energy to survive the season until they return to their nesting grounds.

Observe any posted areas set up to protect bird colonies and urge others to comply.

This is especially important in Florida, where a combination of increased coastal development and increased population have combined to push wildlife including shorebirds out of their historic feeding and resting areas.

By all means watch birds, learn about them and enjoy seeing them, just do it from a respectful distance.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has launched a new website that provides a way to report gopher tortoise sightings anywhere in Florida to give state biologists more information on the location of tortoises and active burrows. The site also provides a way to report dead or injured gopher tortoises.

These animals occur in upland areas throughout the Florida peninsula. They are protected by state law/ Their burrows also provide refuges for a variety of other species of wildlife.

The site provides information on permitting information when gopher tortoises exist on proposed development sites to allow people to verify whether work in gopher tortoise habitat is properly permitted.

To check out the site, go to MyFWC.com/GopherTortoise.

Check out Tom Palmer's blog atwww.ancientislands.org/conservation.

See the rest here:
Nature of Things: Birds adapt to urban lifestyle as natural habitat shrinks - The Ledger

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