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Prime Minister Shinzo Abe brushed off questions about his health on Aug. 19 as he returned to work after a three-day summer holiday that included a seven-and-a-half-hour visit to a Tokyo hospital.

Both ruling and opposition parties expressed concern over Abe's health following his hospital checkup.

Abe arrived at the prime ministers office shortly after 1:20 p.m. and met briefly with the media.

I earlier received a medical examination to ensure that I can maintain good health, he said, answering a reporter's question. Im returning to work and would like to do my best (in performing my duty).

Other than his roughly 15-second comment, Abe did not respond to other questions. He then departed to carry on his duties, including attending a meeting to discuss measures against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abe left the prime minister's office a little past 5:40 p.m. and went straight back to his private residence.

On Aug. 17, Abe stayed at Keio University Hospital in Tokyo for about seven and a half hours to undergo a one-day medical checkup. Hospital sources said it was an additional examination following a complete physical checkup in June.

His recent hospital visit wasabout one and a half hours longer than the one for his June checkup, fueling speculationthat he might not be in good condition raised earlier by a report in a weekly Japanese magazine.

During a TV news program broadcast by BS Nippon Corp. on the evening of Aug. 18, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said he repeatedly urged Abe, who has been overseeing the governments response to the pandemic, to take more days off.

Suga did not go into detail about Abes condition, but said his latest medical examination was nothing unusual because it had been scheduled and was not an emergency examination.

Abe may have become tired because of his pre-existing condition and failed to maintain good health a little bit, Koichi Hagiuda, education minister, told reporters after meeting with Abe at the prime ministers office on Aug. 19. He said he is fine.

But even lawmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party expressed puzzlement over the speculation concerning their party presidents health.

If the health of a leader of the country becomes a matter of concern, it could further cast a shadow of uncertainty over the future course of the governments pandemic response, said a mid-ranking LDP lawmaker.

If we keep saying Abe is tired too much, the public might start thinking he should give up his post if he's tired that much, a young LDP lawmaker said.

The Diet Affairs Committee chairmen of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and other opposition parties also held a meeting at the Diet building on Aug. 19.

Jun Azumi, the Diet Affairs Committee chairman of the CDP, said they also discussed Abes condition and shared the view that he should explain in his own words whether he is fit enough to carry out his duties and respond to questions in the Diet.

Abe needs to provide a proper explanation of all this, including his health condition, as many people have expressed concerns over the matter, said Yukio Edano, the leader of the CDP, at a meeting of party executives the same day.

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Abe returns to work, tries to dispel concerns about health : The Asahi Shimbun - Asahi Shimbun

Food manufacturers are racing to add probiotics and prebiotics to their labels as consumers are clamoring for more immunity and digestive health from the foods they eat. Do you know the difference? Here's how to choose the right ingredients to boost immunity, improve digestive health, and even promote weight loss.

Prebiotics and probioticsplay very different roles in your body, and both contribute to better gut health. This is especially essential now since research has shownthat over 70% of our bodys immune system resides in the gastrointestinal tract.

Probiotics:Living strains of bacteria that add to the population of good bacteria in your digestive system, which help generate antibodies to boost immunity.

Prebiotics:Plant fiber that acts as food for the good bacteria in the gut. Think of it as feeding the good immunity-boosting microbes tohelp them grow and outnumber the bad bacteria.

A huge proportion of your immune system is actually in your GI tract, according to a Johns' Hopkins study. The "good" gut bacteria that grows from eating healthy foods and plants create antibodiesin our intestines, which helps protect us from bad bacteria in the body.

In a survey of consumers interested in health benefits from the foods they eat, 45 percent of said digestive healthwas second only toweight loss or weight management (60 percent) as a priority, according to the International Food Information Council Foundations 2020 Food and Health Survey. The other high priority was energy(55 percent) and while mostpeople(65 percent) said they perceived probiotics as healthy, almost half of them (45 percent) also perceived prebiotics as healthy. So how do you get both? First, read the labels carefully.

The manufacturers have to decide which strain of probiotics to add to foods, and one that can withstand cooking and other processing in the making of your cookies, bars, drinks and other snacks include "Bacillus" species since they have the "broadest range" of resistance to the processing methods (including heat, etc), according to Joanna Wozniak, who works in special projects for Lallemand, in astory published inFood Business News Daily,

Probiotic claims on labels range from improving digestive health and immune health to specific life stages, like children, older consumers, or specific interests, Vanessa Bailey, global marketing lead for DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences, told FBN inan article by Jeff Gelski. Ultimately, probiotic strains that have been studied clinically can be promoted on food and beverage products as beneficial for digestive health regarding basic aspects of the structure or function of the body, Ms. Bailey said.

Don Cox, R&D directorfor the ProActive Health category atKerryIngredients and Flavors, says the best practice is for food companies tolist thespecific strain of probiotic on the label, including its benefits and the research supporting the claim. An impressive 79% of Americans associate probiotics with providing digestive health benefits, according to a Kerry survey, but not all products withstand the test of processing.

Unfortunately, many products containing probiotics dont live up to the hype, Cox is quoted as saying inFBN. Most consumers dont fully understand the important distinctions between strains."He added thatconsumers and food companies need tounderstand the "value of well-researched ingredients and make choices that support digestive health.

As a spore-forming probiotic, GanedenBC30 is highly resistant to extremes of pH, heat, cold, and pressure, Dr. Cox adds. It can remain viable through shelf life and the low pH of stomach acid, as well as processing conditions like shear and HPP (high-pressure processing) pasteurization. This resilience means it can be used in an extremely wide range of everyday food and beverage categories, including ready meals, snacks, cereals, energy bars, juices, smoothies, and even peanut butter. The application possibilities are virtually endless.

In a July article on whether probiotics in foods do what the labels claim, Eran Elinav, an Israeli expert on the microbiome says: "The public, rather than being advertised for claims that are not substantiated, should be told the truth, which is that these products (probiotics) in most cases are not sufficiently proven." And although probiotics in food are a multibillion-dollar industry, the efficacy of the supplements remains unclear in most cases.

"The only reason we can all consume probiotics is that it is regulated not as a medication as it should be, but as a food supplement, and this enables the industry to bypass any sort of medical and scientific overview," Elinav told Xinhua.The journal added:Elinav is a professor in the department of immunology at the Weizmann Institute of Science, where his team has been working for years to gain a better understanding of what probiotics are doing to the human body.

In one experiment where half of the people consumed probiotics and the other half didn't, those who took the probiotics "saw no colonization in their gut. They just came in from one side and came out from the other side," Elinav said.

In another study, the journal reports, Elinav and his researcherswere surprised to find that, in some cases, probioticsactually hindered the natural recovery of the natural gut microbes after antibiotic treatment.In response to this finding, the International Probiotics Association (IPA), stated: "just because the intervention did not recover the microbiota under the study conditions, does not mean that probiotics as a whole are ineffective."

Elinav added that the results were inconclusive:"I am not saying that probiotics are a bad idea or probiotics may not necessarily work," he added, concludingthat morestudy is needed.

Think of prebiotics as fish food and probiotics as baby fish. The little swimmers need specific fiber in prebiotics to grow and outnumber the bad bacteria in the gut (which grow on animal products and can stimulate the creation of TMAO(orTrimethylamine N-oxide) thought to be a precursor to cardiovascular disease.)Togrow your gut's healthy bacteria such as bifidobacteria and lactobacilli and promote healthy digestion, prebiotics help feed the "good" bacteria.

All fiber is good for you. But "prebiotics' are very specific types of fiber, added to food to help probiotics grow. Arrabina is an ingredient that food makers are adding to boost the fiber contentof processed foods; it is derived from farm leftovers such as stalks, leaves, and hulls. So you're basically eating the stalks of the food that farmers sell to manufacturers. Husks anyone?

Adding just three grams of prebiotic fiber per serving to products allows food and beverage companies to claim the products support the growth of beneficial microbiota (bifidobacteria) in the gut,according to Loula Merkel, vice president of business development for Comet Bio. Arrabina, a soluble powder made by Comet Bio, hasa low viscosity, and up until now, it has been usedin supplements and protein powders.

Merkel said she expects Arrabina to find its way into more food and drink products as consumer awareness about the importance of prebiotics continues to grow.

Prebiotics may be enjoying a surge in popularity but they have been around since the turn of the century: Inulin, a type of fiber from chicory root, became popular in the early part of the 21st century toimprove digestive health, help control diabetes, and promote weight loss.Plants naturally containinulin, and some food companies are adding it to their products.

Studies have shown that 5 grams of chicory root fiber per day not only add fiber... but can also help feed normal beneficial bacteria in the gut, according to Pam Stauffer, global marketing programs manager for Cargill, Minneapolis, as quoted in Food Business News. Consuming at least 5 grams of chicory root fiber per day supports a healthy microflora in the digestive tract.

As more people seek health benefits from every corner due to the current pandemic, companies are eager to meet demand. A survey released in April by FMCG Gurus, a UK market research company, asked 23,000consumers whether theywere more concernedwith the immunity benefits of foods they eat because of COVID-19, and 59 percent of North American respondents said they were.

So if you're most interested in probiotics that get into the gut and do the job you want them to do, bolstering your "good bacteria," the best bet is to eat a whole food plant-based diet and skip the processed foods, since there is no guarantee the probiotics in your foods are surviving the processing methods.

Instead choose foods that have naturally occurring probiotics, such as fermented foods such assauerkraut, pickles, miso, tempeh, kimchi,sourdough bread, apple cider vinegar, and some cheeses. For the probiotics in yogurt, kefir, kombucha check the label and look for naturally occurring ones, such asLactobacillus acidophilus in yogurt.

The Beet covered 15 Foods that Naturally Add Probiotics and Prebiotics to Your Diet

(This list is adapted froma list of prebiotic foods that appeared inMedical News Today.)

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Not All Probiotics Work as Well as They Claim, Says Food Insider - The Beet

Depression affects over 264 million adults, teenagers, and children worldwide. In the US, more than 7% of adults have experienced the symptoms of depression in a given year.

While major depressive disorder is the most common type, there are many other forms, such as seasonal depression or postpartum depression.

These types of depression, whether mild or severe, can all be successfully managed with a combination of therapy, medications, and lifestyle changes. But it's not always easy. Here's what you need to know about depression and how to deal with it effectively.

Depression is a disorder that affects how you think, feel, and act. It is defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), published by the American Psychiatric Association, as a period of at least two weeks during which you feel sadness along with other key symptoms, such as low energy and a lack of interest in daily activities.

While it's normal to feel sad occasionally, medical experts say that depression is a distinct condition.

"Sadness is a natural and brief response to negative life circumstances, but depression is a more persistent mental health disorder that requires treatment," says Andrea Wittenborn, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral medicine at Michigan State University.

For most types, the symptoms of depression commonly include the following:

Shayanne Gal/Insider

Postpartum depression may also have some of the following symptoms:

Women are almost twice as likely to have depression than men. And it may seem that men present different symptoms of depression than women, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). For example, men are more likely to appear angry rather than sad, and may have more sleeping difficulties than women.

For more information, read about the relationship between depression, insomnia, and fatigue.

Some of the main types of depression are:

What actually causes depression is not fully understood by scientists. However, research suggests that it may involve some of the following risk factors:

Medical conditions like Parkinson's disease or a stroke, as well as chronic illnesses like cancer or heart disease, may also increase risk for depression. And while common medications, like birth control pills or Adderall, may cause depressive symptoms or mood swings, research has found that they are unlikely to cause depression.

If you've experienced the symptoms of depression for at least two weeks, and it's affecting your daily activities, you should see your doctor. You can take this quiz first to help gauge the severity of your depressive symptoms:

A doctor may give you a similar assessment to learn more about your symptoms and medical history. They may also perform a physical exam and run blood tests to rule out any physical causes for your symptoms, such as a thyroid condition or nutrient deficiency.

Then, your doctor may refer you to a mental health professional, such as a psychiatrist or psychologist, who will ask you about your symptoms, feelings, and behavior. A mental health professional can make a diagnosis based on the DSM-5.

About 60% of people who have depression also have anxiety.

"Anxiety and depression are generally considered to be two sides of the same coin," Wittenborn says. "Just as some physical illnesses produce similar symptoms, some mental health disorders have overlapping symptoms, and the most striking example of overlap is among anxiety and depression."

It's not known for sure why having these two conditions is so common. Researchers who studied over 9,000 brain scans found that people with depression and anxiety both have the same abnormally low levels of activity in the areas of the brain responsible for emotional and cognitive control and abnormally high activity in the brain areas that process thoughts and feelings. This may make it difficult to stop the negative thoughts and feelings associated with depression and anxiety.

People with depression may experience some of the following symptoms associated with anxiety:

Although recovery is different for everyone, many people are able to effectively deal with depression. In fact, according to the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA), up to 80% of people experience an improvement in symptoms within four to six weeks after starting psychotherapy, support group attendance, medication, or a combination of these treatments.

"Early detection and treatment lead to a better prognosis and a better quality of life," Wittenborn says. "Unfortunately, people with depression often wait six to eight years before seeking help. Those who seek help can often recover or manage their condition."

Talking with a therapist can help you recognize negative beliefs and behaviors, and work to replace them with positive ones. There are many effective types of therapy for depression, such as:

No matter the type of therapy, your relationship with your therapist is the most important aspect, according to clinical psychologist Forrest Talley, PhD, who has worked with the US Army and at the University of California, Davis Medical Center.

"The client [should] feel that the therapist is understanding, genuinely cares about them, is competent, and has a deep understanding of their problem and goals," he says.

To find a therapist that's right for you, check out Insider Reviews' guide to the best online therapy providers.

The following lifestyle changes can also help improve the symptoms of depression:

For more information on the herbs and supplements that may help treat depression, read about other natural remedies for depression.

In some cases, antidepressant medication might be necessary for people with depression.

"When depression has overwhelmed a person's existing skills to cope and fully utilize the support and guidance a therapist offers, it is time to employ antidepressants," Talley says.

Research suggests that antidepressants are the most beneficial for treating severe depression, and are not as effective for mild depression. Scientists believe that antidepressants work by balancing the brain's neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and norepinephrine, which are associated with mood and behavior.

There are three main types of antidepressant medication:

About 63% of people taking antidepressants experience at least one side effect, especially during the first two weeks. Some of these side effects may include the following:

In addition, more harmful risks, such as increased suicidal thoughts or self-harm, can be more common for young people under the age of 25. You should talk with your doctor about your medical history and symptoms before taking antidepressants.

It can be very important to help a friend or family member with depression, although it may be somewhat challenging.

Low motivation and social stigma are among the factors that can prevent people from reaching out for help. "This can feel discouraging to friends and family members who are trying to help a loved one get the care they need," Wittenborn says.

Here are some of the best ways you can help someone who may have depression:

Depression is a common mental illness that can be successfully treated and managed. Whether it is affecting a loved one or yourself, it's important to reach out for social support and professional help. The sooner you recognize and confront depression, the greater the chance that you'll be able to recover.

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How to recognize the signs of depression and effectively cope with your symptoms - Insider - INSIDER

We all know that plastic is ending up in our oceans, but now scientists claim they arefinding evidence of micro- and nano- plastic particles in human organs and our bodies."It is concerning that these non-biodegradable materials that are present everywhere can enter and accumulate in human tissues," according to one of thestudy's researchers.

Plastic pollution is a dangerous 21st-century threat to animals and humans alike, as plastic particles and toxic chemicals are released into the air and water in the form of "microplastics," which are particles smaller than the eye can see. These tiny plastic shards break down and end up in the food we eat, the water we drink and then getstuckin ourbodies where they break down slowly, or worse, never break down at all and remain lodged in our organs, such as our lungs, kidneys, and spleen, where they can create toxic waste within our bodies.

"You can find plastics contaminating the environment at virtually every location on the globe, and in a few short decades, we've gone from seeing plastic as a wonderful benefit to considering it a threat," says Charles Rolsky, who is presenting the work at the American Chemical Society (ACS) Fall 2020 Virtual Meeting & Expo."There's evidence that plastic is making its way into our bodies, but very few studies have looked for it there. And at this point, we don't know whether this plastic is just a nuisance or whether it represents a humanhealthhazard."

If you can imaginehaving a body littered with tiny microfibers (from food packaging, your cell phone case, and other sources that get into our mouths) this can impact your long-term health.For a long time, we have been taught to recycle, reduce, and reuse materials such as plastic containers, but so far there is no playbook on how to purge plastic waste from your bodies.

TheArizona State University research team lead by graduates Charles Rolsky and Varun Kelkarwhich examined 47 tissue samples from a tissue bankatASU's Neurodegenerative Disease Research Center, under Diego Mastroeni, Ph.D,established to study changes in the brain during neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

"Using a procedure developed to extract plastics from the tissues, the researchers found traces of plastic contamination in each of the human tissue samples taken from lungs, liver, spleen, and kidneys," a report on the study in Phys.orgsaid. "To the researchers' knowledge, their study is the first to examine micro- and nano-plastic occurrence in human organs from individuals with a known history of environmental exposure."

"Thetissuedonors provided detailed information on their lifestyle, diet, and occupational exposures," Halden says. "Because these donors have such well-defined histories, our study provides the first clues on potential micro- and nanoplastic exposure sources and routes."

"The research team identified bisphenol A (BPA), a common chemical used to manufacture food containers, along with polycarbonate (PC), used to make laptop and mobile phone cases, CDs, DVDs and safety glass, as well as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), used to make clothing fibers, plastic bottles and food containers, and polyethylene (PE) in the human tissue."

The study noted that its findings are preliminary andpotential health risks from these microplastics,and the longterm effects on organs andhuman tissue, are not yetknown.

We never want to be alarmist, but it is concerning that these non-biodegradable materials that are present everywhere can enter and accumulate in human tissues, and we dont know the possible health effects, said Kelkar. He added: Once we get a better idea of whats in the tissues, we can conduct epidemiological studies to assess human health outcomes. That way, we can start to understand the potential health risks, if any.

The researchershave created a computer program to share information on plastic particle count by dividing the nanoparticles into units of mass and surface area. Theyare publishing the tool online so that others can reportsimilar results in a standardized format. "This shared resource will help build a plastic exposure database so that we can compare exposures in organs and groups of people over time and geographic space," Halden says.

While we've known for years that plastic water bottles contain possible hazardous chemicals that can leach into our water, this is bigger, broader and the findings show that plastics creeping into humans is more insidious. The researchers suggest that"the problem of microplastic contamination is far bigger than bottled H2O. These plastic particles are in our air, in our water and in our soil."

Kelkar and Rolskywill present theresults at the American Chemical Society's Fall 2020 Virtual Meeting & Expo.

"You can find plastics contaminating the environment at virtually every location on the globe, and in a few short decades, we've gone from seeing plastic as a wonderful benefit to considering it a threat," says Charles Rolsky. "There's evidence that plastic is making its way into our bodies, but very few studies have looked for it there. And at this point, we don't know whether this plastic is just a nuisance or whether it represents a humanhealthhazard."

Drinking water out of plastic bottles is just the start of the problem. Every time you take a sip of a plastic water bottle, tiny microplastics enter your mouth and end up in your body, where they can lodge in organs. "Nestl Pure Life had the largest average concentration of plastic particles out of all the brands tested; one sample from the brand was found to contain more than 10,000 microplastic particles per liter," according to onestudyof water bottles.

Another potential source of these plastic particles are re-packaged foods wrapped in plastic or sealed in containers, which canbe ingestedinto your body. "Studies have found that certain chemicalsin the plasticcan leach outof the plasticandinto the foodand beverages we eat," according to Harvard Health Publishing,of Harvard Medical School. "Someofthese chemicals have been linkedtohealth problems such as metabolic disorders (including obesity) and reduced fertility." Microwaving the food in the plastic container is one potential risk factor for the plastic leaching into the food, so when you heat up food, put it on a plate.

Avoid plastic water bottles, drink and eat off of class orporcelain instead of 'plastic, and seek outunprocessed food that is minimally packaged for your health, the environment, and to avoid consuming microplastics. In addition to plastic in your food, processed food contains preservatives and saturated fat, the kind that'slinked to increased risk ofheart disease. Eating a whole-foodplant-based diet is the easiest way to avoid these complications, and limit the amount of packaged food you consume since now that you know where tiny microplastics come from, you want to avoid them sneaking into your body. Opt for a whole-food, plant-based diet to live a cleaner, healthier, life, plastic-free.

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Researchers have found tiny particles of plastic in human organs - The Beet

When a famous rapper loses a leg to diabetes there is little to do but offer sympathy and give to the GoFundMe page set up for his treatment and follow up care. Today, as we listened to The Beet's Creative AdvisorJermaine Dupri being interviewedfor HipHopDX,we learned that Andre "Doctor Dre" Brown, most known for having starred in the MTV show Yo! MTV Raps with Ed Lover inthe late 80s to mid-90s, had his leg amputated earlier this summer, the result of complications from diabetes.

Doctor Dre not to be confused with the west coast producer, co-founder of Beats by Dre headphones and former member of NWA Dr. Dreis credited as having "exposedHip Hop to a whole new audience while introducing the genre into living rooms across the United States," according to a story in HipHopDX.

Doctor Dre made his mark in radio, television, movies and had worked as a DJ, composer, talent scout, program host, actor, critic, and author. But he is best known as co-host with Ed Lover of Yo! MTV Raps,"theTV show that did more than any other to make rap music and hip-hop culture global phenomena," according to ABCnews.com

From 1989 to 1995, Doctor Dr andEd Loverwere the co-hosts of Yo! MTV Raps. Dr had already teamed up with Lover in the early 1990s to co-host a morning radio show as part of the re-launch of Hot 97in New York City.

The pair starred in the1993filmWho's the Man?, directed byYo! MTV Rapsco-creator and co-directorTed Demme. Dr and Ed Lover also recorded an album in 1994 titledBack up off Me! Dr also served as a DJ for theBeastie Boys.Hehad his own clothing line calledBigga Stuffin the early 1990s. In 2003 Dr and Ed Lover participated in theComedy Central Roastof theirWho's the Man?co-star, comedianDenis Leary.

Dre also guest-starred onThe Fresh Prince of Bel-Airin the episode "Ill Will" as a figment ofWill Smith's nightmare of bad doctors. He then appeared on an episode ofThe People's Courtwith JudgeMarilyn Milianas a witness for a talent director suing former colleagues of his.

HisGoFundMe page reads:

Friends,

All of us who lived through the Nineties and care about music know and love Andre "Doctor Dre" Brown. He has made his mark on radio and television, in the movies and in print, working successively as a recording artist (as a founding member of Def Jam's Original Concept), hip-hop DJ (he was the Beastie Boys's DJ during the Raising Hell Tour in 1986) , composer, talent scout, on-air personality, actor, author, and critic. He's undoubtedly best-known as the co-host with Ed Lover of "Yo! MTV Raps" (1989-1995), the tv show that did more than any other to make rap music and hip-hop culture global phenomena. After "Yo!", Dre and Ed duo funneled their chemistry into major market radio. They held down the morning show on New York's Hot 97 (1993-1998), then on L.A.'s The Beat (2000-2001), and finally on New York's Power 105 (2003-2006).

Fans of Doctor Dre (whose real name is Andre Brown) is a big personality and well-loved in the Hip Hop community. He has suffered from type 2 diabetes for years, and when diabetes gets advanced it can cut off circulation to the capillaries that supply oxygen to the toes, eyes and other areas of the body that when damaged can not heal properly. One way to prevent and even reverse symptoms of type 2 diabetes is a plant-based diet, which lowers inflammation and helps keep blood sugar under control.

Even as recently as 10 months ago, he was trying to turn things around.Brownexplained that hes not completely blind, and has undergone retina reattachment surgery. The resulting scar tissue causes his vision to fluctuate. As a result, hes currently more focused on higher factors.

Im learning its better what you put in your mouth to help treat the situation, Brown said. But Ive learned to say I believe in a higher spirit, and he speaks to me all the time.

Now he is alsomostly blinddue to complications stemming from his condition. Back in 2016 when he was awaiting weight loss surgery to help him treat his condition, Doctor Dretold The New York Times:

My stubbornness put me where Im at. Now my energy is going to change that. We got young people, grown people, old, all having this. We can prevent this. We can cure this. I have an idea of how to do it.

Diet and lifestyle changes can help reverse and reduce symptoms of diabetes, as Eric Adams, Brooklyn Borough President, found out when he started to experience declining vision. He was overweight and in poor health until he switched to a vegan diet, lost 35 pounds and got healthier. He's recently written a book about his transformation, due out this fall, called Healthy at Last: A Plant-Based Approach to Preventing and Reversing Diabetes and Other Chronic Illnesses.

A new study just published this month found that a plant-based diet controls blood sugar and helps your body naturally metabolize carbs and fat, to help avoid diabetes. And another review study of diets showed that you reap the benefits of eating more plants when avoiding diabetes is the goal.Thisstudyfound that the more plants, the better.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Doctor Dre and his family. To contribute to his GoFundMe Page click here.

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Rapper Loses Leg to Diabetes and Friends Rally to Support - The Beet

My name is Elena Green (@elenagreen_fitness), and Im 34. I live in South Carolina, and I am a mom and personal trainer. After my doctor let me know that I was considered medically obese, I researched calorie counting, adopted the 80-20 rule for weight loss, started doing HIIT workouts, and shed the weight that was holding me back.

Before I started my weight loss journey, I had two pregnancies back to back. I also had not quite gotten back to my pre-pregnancy weight before becoming pregnant again. I am now a mom of four, so as you can imagine, balancing motherhood and finding the time to take care of my health was very challenging. Over time, the weight just kept piling on. I wasnt making the best food choices and was not really taking time to exercise.

I had tried many methods to shed the weight but nothing seemed to work. I had a very hard time finding something that was sustainable and that would work well with my lifestyle. I would end up just quitting various diet plans because they were unrealistic. At my heaviest, I was 258 pounds. I was 32 at the time.

Eventually I learned that I had high cholesterol, and my doctor informed me that I was now in the medically obese category. I was also experiencing bouts of depression and anxiety, and because of that, I sought comfort in food. I knew that it was directly related to the fact that I was unhappy with the state I was in health-wise. Finding comfort in food gave me a temporary escape from my reality.

I remember looking in the mirror and asking myself, what the heck happened? I shed some tears, had moments of honesty, and promised myself that I was going to change my life for good. I knew that I was capable of so much more.

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I wanted my confidence back. I wanted the energy to play with my babies. I just wanted to be free. I wanted to be happy with myself. I wanted to look in the mirror and be able to genuinely smile at myself and not say mean things. I committed to the process at age 33, even though I knew it wouldnt be easy.

But I did not want to be hungry all of the time due to eating less, so I started doing research like crazy.

I came across calorie counting and learned more about the concept of eating in a calorie deficit. So I incorporated the 80-20 rule: 80 percent of my foods consisted of whole nutritious foods, and the other 20 percent were my indulgences. Not only did this mindset allow me to lose weight, it allowed me to still incorporate foods that I really enjoyed, like cookies and ice cream, in moderation.

This approach was perfect for me because there are always snacks around considering I have kids. It worked well because I did not have to eliminate food groups, and it allowed me to get out of the dieting mindset. At the end of the day, its about creating a lifestyle that works best for you.

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The form of exercise that worked best for me was HIIT, or high-intensity interval training. It was very challenging at first, but I did my best and built up stamina over time. I started working out for 20 to 30 minutes, three days a week. I slowly increased it to five days a week and took the weekends as rest days.

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HIIT worked really well for my busy lifestyle. It was unrealistic for me to spend hours working out. HIIT workouts are pretty short, but they allow you to have a pretty intense workout in a short period of time.

I discovered HIIT by researching short, effective workouts. From that point on, HIIT has been my preferred method of training, along with incorporating weight training.

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These three changes have made the biggest impact on my overall weight loss.

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Ive since shifted my focus from weight loss to gaining muscle.

My journey was not easy, but it was most certainly worth it. Making the decision to put my health first has changed my life drastically. I reconnected with myself again. I restored my confidence and energy. Getting healthy and strong has improved every area of my life.

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One of the greatest things that has blossomed from my journey is being able to share the gift of health with other women through a community I created for women (EGFIT). Ive gone on to help other amazing women reconnect with themselves through active living, mind and body transformations.

I believe that one of the greatest gifts you can give someone is the gift of hope. Through sharing my story with other women that have found themselves where I once was, I want them to know that they can do it too. You deserve to walk in confidence and love the skin youre in. You deserve to be happy with who you are.

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'I Used The 80-20 Diet Rule And Did HIIT Workouts To Lose 120 Pounds In 2 Years' - Women's Health

Sam Darnold is entering a crucial third year in his career, and that meant making some changes.

First of all, it sounds like he had a diet that is not conducive to being a finely tuned professional athlete.

It turns out Darnold really enjoys his In-N-Out Burger. Darnold was born and raised in California, where the popular West Coast-based burger chain is most prominent.

Darnold gave it up, and it sounds like thatll take a big chunk out of In-N-Outs profit margin.

Darnold was probably just using a figure out speech when he mentioned how often he ate at In-N-Out. Still, its an impressive commitment.

Im making sure Im not eating whatever I want to eat. Im not having In-N-Out every single day and making sure Im eating good food, Darnold said, according to the New York Post. Putting the right things in my body, thats a huge part of it. Im working out four or five days a week. I dont have to worry about how much work I put in. Its really about what Im putting in my body.

Every single day, Sam? Its hard to blame him for being hooked on the burgers. Darnold told reporters his order, which is Number 1, grilled onions, Neapolitan shake. Easy. (For the uninitiated, the No. 1 is a double-double, which is two patties and two slices of cheese.)

But yeah, thats a lot of burgers, shakes and fries for an athlete.

Darnold talked about his workouts, too, keeping his lower body strong and his upper body flexible. Part of the changes in the offseason routine are just maturing Darnold turned 23 years old in June but there might be some urgency involved too.

Darnolds rookie year was up and down after the Jets made him the third pick of the 2018 draft, but there were clear positives. His second season is tough to gauge because he dealt with mononucleosis early in the season and that caused him to miss games. He did finish fairly well.

Still, its not like theres a lot of league-wide confidence that Darnold will be a star. Opinions change fast in the NFL, even for a 23-year-old who was once considered an elite prospect. So this is a big year for Darnold. Maybe if he plays well enough he can have some offseason In-N-Out to celebrate.

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Jets QB Sam Darnold ate better this offseason, which meant 'not having In-N-Out every single day' - Yahoo Sports

Pregnancy is a time for many healthcare visits. While its tempting to skip the dentist, thats one appointment you shouldnt put off.

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Why? Pregnancy puts you at risk for dental problems, so its important to continue getting oral care, says Ob/Gyn Julian Peskin, MD.

In this Q&A, he answers some common questions about pregnancy and oral health.

A. As most pregnant women realize, pregnancy ramps up hormones. And that increased hormone load can cause your gums to swell. Swollen gums can trap food and result in gum disease or infection.

The other hormone-driven concern is morning sickness. When you vomit, the acid that comes up from the stomach can eat away at tooth enamel. Morning sickness can also make you less likely to brush your teeth, because the gag reflex and nausea are so strong. Without proper dental hygiene, your oral health is in jeopardy.

A. Severe periodontal disease can result in potential complications to your pregnancy. Many studies link periodontal disease to:

We believe that gum disease results in bacteria getting into your bloodstream and causing an inflammatory response in the body. Proper dental care can stop this process from starting.

A. The benefits of seeing a dentist far outweigh the risks. If you need:

A. Some procedures cant wait, like treatment for an abscess. And the good news is, you dont have to wait. Its perfectly fine to have gum surgery or other major dental work performed during pregnancy.

Just alert your dentist so they can choose an antibiotic that is safe during pregnancy. Dentists will avoid prescribing tetracycline, which can stain your fetuss teeth.

A. The keys to good oral health are the same whether or not youre pregnant. Brush twice a day with fluoridated toothpaste and continue to floss. You can also use a fluoridated mouthwash that doesnt contain alcohol.

If you experience vomiting during pregnancy, protect your teeth by rinsing with a solution of water plus one teaspoon of baking soda. And if morning sickness makes you want to retch when brushing, ask your dentist for a bland-tasting toothpaste.

A. Continue to see your dentist for routine care every six months. Plus, eat a healthy, balanced diet that includes these vitamins and minerals:

Start your babys oral hygiene now! A babys first teeth begin to develop about three months into your pregnancy. Diets containing dairy products, such as cheese and yogurt, provide essential minerals and are good for your babys developing teeth, gums and bones.

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Is It Safe to Go to the Dentist While Pregnant? - Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic

For many years, researchers and clinicians assumed that nutrition was a one-size-fits-all affair. Everybody needs the same nutrients from their food, they thought, and a vitamin pill or two could help dispense with any deficiencies.

But now scientists are learning that our genes and environment, along with the microbes that dwell in us and other factors, alter our individual abilities to make and process nutrients. These differences mean that two given people can respond to identical diets in different ways, contributing to varied health outcomes and patterns of disease.

Until recently, scientists didn't fully appreciate that individual metabolic differences can have a big impact on how diet affects the risk for chronic diseases, says Steven Zeisel, director of the Nutrition Research Institute at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. The new knowledge is resolving long-standing mysteries about human health and paving the way toward a world of "precision nutrition," Zeisel writes in a recent article in the Annual Review of Food Science and Technology.

Although the findings are unlikely to lead all the way to hyper-individualized dietary recommendations, they could help to tailor nutrition to subsets of people depending on their genetics or other factors: Zeisel's company, SNP Therapeutics, is working on a test for the genetic patterns of 20-odd variants that can identify individuals at risk of fatty liver disease, for example. Knowable Magazine spoke with Zeisel about our developing understanding of precision nutrition.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Why has nutrition lagged behind other research areas in medicine?

Nutrition studies have always had a problem with variability in experimental results. For instance, when infants were given the fatty acid DHA [docosahexaenoic acid], some had an improvement in their cognitive performance and others didn't. Because some showed improvements, it was added to infant formula. But we didn't understand why they were responding differently, so scientists continued to debate why we did this if only 15 percent of children improved and 85 percent showed no response.

The confusion came from an expectation that everybody was essentially the same. People didn't realize that there were predictable sources of variation that could separate those who responded to something from those who did not. For DHA, it turned out that if the mother had a difference in her genes that made her slow to produce DHA, then her baby needed extra DHA and responded when given it. That gene difference occurs in about 15 percent of women and, it turns out, it's their babies that get better when given DHA.

How are researchers starting to make sense of this variability?

Studying differences in human genetics is one way. We conducted a series of studies that found a good deal of variation in the amounts of choline [an essential nutrient] that people required: Men and postmenopausal women got sick when deprived of it, but only half of young women became sick.

We found that some women can make choline because the hormone estrogen turns on the gene to make choline. Other women have a difference in this gene that makes it unresponsive to estrogen. Men and postmenopausal women need to get the nutrient another way by eating it because they have minimal amounts of estrogen.

If I had initially done the choline study and chosen only young women participants, I would have found that half needed choline, half didn't, and had a lot of noise in my data. Now that we can explain it, it makes sense. What seemed to be noisy data can be better described using a precision nutrition approach.

Are there other nutritional conundrums that suggest these sorts of variations are common?

There are some things for which we already know the underlying genetic reasons. For example, there's a great deal of information on genetic differences that make some people's cholesterol go up when they eat a high-fat diet while other people's doesn't. Researchers are discovering genetic variants that account for why some people need more vitamin D than others to get the same levels in their blood.

Every metabolic step is controlled by such variants. So, when we find people who seem to be responding differently in our studies, that's a hint that there is some underlying variation. Rather than throwing the data away or saying participants didn't comply with the study protocol, we can look at the data to discover some of the genetic reasons for these differences. Precision nutrition is really a change in how we do nutrition research, in that we're starting to identify why some people respond and some don't.

Besides genetic variants, are there other factors that precision nutrition needs to take into account?

Right now, much of our ability to be more precise comes from better tools to understand genetic variation. But genetics alone doesn't determine your response to nutrients. It interacts with other factors too.

The microbiome [the community of bacteria and other microbes that live in and on our body] clearly also affects how nutrients work. Most microbiome research until now has been to name the organisms in the gut, but it's now getting to the point where researchers can measure what microbial genes are switched on, what nutrients are made by gut microbes, and so on. As that research matures, we'll be able to get much better recommendations than we do now.

Our environment could be a very important factor as well. We're starting to be able to measure different environmental exposures by testing for thousands of chemicals in a drop of blood. Epigenetics, which is the science of chemical marks placed on DNA to turn genes on and off, will also likely contribute to important differences. It's been a hard field because these marks vary in different tissues, and we can't easily get a sample of liver or heart tissue for a nutrition test. We have to track these changes in the bloodstream, and estimate whether they're the same changes that occurred in the organs themselves.

We'll have to include each of these factors to improve our predictions of who will or won't respond to a certain nutrient. Eventually, precision nutrition will have all of these inputs at its early stages.

There are various precision nutrition tests now being sold by different companies. Do they have anything useful to offer?

Right now, most tests look at one gene at a time in a database and say, "You have this gene difference and it makes you more susceptible to something." But the metabolic pathways for most nutrients are not controlled by a single gene. There may be 10 or 20 steps that all add up to how you respond to sugars, for example, and any one of those steps can cause a problem. Knowing where you have variations all along the pathway can help us predict how likely you are to have a problem metabolizing sugar. It's more sophisticated, but it's also harder to do.

Are there ethical concerns with precision nutrition?

Once I know something about a person's genetics for nutrition, I may be able to predict that they're more likely to develop a disease or a health problem. That could change whether an insurance company wants to cover them. We have to try to make that risk clear to people, and also work on improving privacy so their information isn't available to anybody but them.

The other problem is that wealthier people can afford to do these genetic tests and others can't. But we can use precision nutrition to find alternate solutions. For instance, women who can't turn choline production genes on with the hormone estrogen are at higher risk of having babies with neural tube defects and poor brain development. If we need a test for only that one gene difference, a test like that could be reduced to a few dollars and made widely available. Or we might choose to just give everybody choline supplements, if that proves to be a more cost-effective solution.

In the long run, will these discoveries help prevent disease?

There is an advantage in seeking more precise advice for some problems right now. With obesity, for instance, we know that as people gain weight, they develop a group of problems called metabolic syndrome that's related to the accumulation of fat in the liver. We know that because of genetic differences, about 20 percent of the population is much more likely to develop fatty liver and is at higher risk for developing these related problems. If we can test for these gene differences, then we can identify those who will benefit the most from changes in diet and weight loss and treat them, either with supplements, drugs or lifestyle changes.

Salt sensitivity is another example. About 10 percent of people have higher blood pressure when they eat high-salt diets. Right now, because we don't know the metabolic differences that contribute, we say everybody should stay away from salt. But the truth is, only about 10 percent of people are benefiting from that recommendation, and 90 percent are getting bland food that they don't like. If we could do genetic testing and tell whether a person is salt-sensitive, then they know that effort is worth it for their health. I think that helps to make people comply with recommendations and change their lifestyles.

Unlike some drugs, which have an all-or-nothing effect, nutrition's effects tend to be modest. But it's clearly an important, easy intervention. And if we don't fix a diet, then we have to treat the problems that arise from a bad diet.

Nutrition is always going to be a tough field to get precise results. It isn't going to be perfect until we can get all the variables identified. Part of what precision nutrition is doing is helping to refine the tools we have to understand these complex systems.

This article originally appeared in Knowable Magazine, an independent journalistic endeavor from Annual Reviews. Sign up for the newsletter.

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'Precision nutrition': Are hyper-individualized diets the future of eating? - The Week Magazine

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From Bicycling

According to recent research published in the journal Nutrients, consuming extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) can lower your systolic blood pressureor the top number of a blood pressure reading that is important in determining your risk of heart disease.

Consuming two to four tablespoons of EVOO per day can keep your heart healthy in the long run.

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) has often been associated with its heart-healthy benefits, but a recent study in the journal Nutrients offers further clarification, emphasizing that the type of EVOO you use actually does matter.

Quick primer: There are three main grades of olive oilrefined, virgin, and extra virgin. The latter is the least processed, and it tends to be higher in a compound called polyphenols, which are micronutrients with antioxidant properties.

To determine whether polyphenols really make a difference on major cardiovascular measures like blood pressure and arterial stiffness, Australian researchers recruited 50 participants with an average age of 38, and had them consume 60 milliliters (mL) of either high polyphenol EVOO or a low polyphenol version for three weeks. Then, they took a two-week break and switched to the other kind of EVOO for three more weeks.

The researchers found a significant decrease in systolic blood pressurethe top number on a blood pressure reading that indicates how much pressure your blood is exerting against artery walls when the heart beatswith the higher polyphenol consumption.

Systolic blood pressure is considered more important when looking at risk factors for cardiovascular disease, particularly for people over 50 since the number tends to rise with age as your arteries become stiffer. The lower this number is (within a healthy range, of course, which is between 90 and 120 mmHg), the healthier your heart is.

Neither diastolic blood pressurethe bottom number on a blood pressure readingor arterial stiffness was affected, but the systolic results were enough to be promising, researchers concluded. They stated that this study provides evidence that a diet that includes EVOO can prevent cardiovascular disease in a multiethnic population.

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That last part is important, too, because the prevalence of high blood pressure in African Americans is the highest in the world, according to the American Heart Association. Plus, it develops earlier in life for African Americans than other races.

For everyone, though, high blood pressure increases risk of serious conditions and events like heart disease and stroke.

In terms of why consuming EVOO (like this one) would improve systolic pressure overall, the researchers noted that past studies have shown that polyphenols can improve function of the endothelium, the thin membrane that lines the heart and blood vessels.

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EVOO has been shown to have many other benefits as well, according to sports dietitian Joy Dubost, Ph.D., R.D. She told Bicycling that its central to the Mediterranean way of eating for a reason.

This is a healthy fat that does everything from improving heart health to making you full for longer to providing vitamin E and antioxidants, so its anti-inflammatory, she said.

Although the recent study utilized a low polyphenol version, be assured that the majority of EVOO has the good stuff, and adding two to four tablespoons to your diet can keep your heart healthy. Researchers noted that the extraction technique used to make the virgin version preserves polyphenol concentrations, while refined olive oil tends to use chemical processing, which significantly lowers the phenolic content.

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The Reason Olive Oil Should Be Central to Your Diet: Lower Blood Pressure - Yahoo Lifestyle

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