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Load it up with as many colourful plants as you can, toss in some berries and smoked tofu, top it with pumpkin seeds and sprouts.

Alexander Raths/iStockPhoto / Getty Images

I started lifting weights in high school, but youd have never known until about 10 years ago. Thats when I decided to get serious. Thats when I stopped spending money on stupid supplements and started following programs designed by legit trainers with decades of success. Instead of looking for the easy way out, I invested in myself. I started paying attention to my diet and lifestyle and addressed the many shortcomings with both.

And wouldnt you know it, things changed! These days, no one is ever going to mistake me for a CrossFit champion, but Im in dramatically better shape than I was in college (that would be my first go-round, back in 2000, when I weighed all of 130 lbs). I dont believe for one second Id be saying the same if I stuck with the Gym Bro mentality that supplements solve everything.

Excluding pharmaceutical agents, most of which can indeed work miracles, there is no life hack for getting healthy and strong. This is not to say supplements are entirely useless. Some, like creatine, have a proven record of delivering the goods. But if your monthly budget has a line item dedicated to GNC, consider donating that money to charity instead.

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Im telling you, here and now, that a few simple lifestyle adjustments will increase your workout gains (sorry, gainz) more than any cocktail of supplements. But these recommendations arent sexy and glamorous, so few will take them to heart. If you can, give them a shot for a month.

Bookmark this TED Talk and watch it after youre done here. Yes, getting eight hours of sleep each and every night is the single most powerful thing you can do for your health, not to mention your physique.

Get to bed before 11 p.m. and wake up eight hours later. Do this every day, even on weekends. Take daily naps (20-40 minutes, max). Make sleep a priority and you will reap a whole lot of rewards.

In a column last year, I talked about the effects of stress and why its so important to become masters of the parasympathetic nervous system. This is the rest and digest system, the calming counterpart to the sympathetic nervous systems raging fight or flight response.

I cant emphasize enough how important it is to get your stress under control. To say stress manifests physically is an understatement. I had to learn this the hard way; up until the early spring of 2019, I pretty much had a full head of hair and a not-too-shabby beard. Then patches began to appear, first on my face, then my head. Tiny patches that quickly grew in circumference and number, until, in June, I had to shave my face and head or risk being mistaken for an extra out of 12 Monkeys.

Doctors dont know for certain what causes alopecia, but stress is the main suspect. It could be worse. I still have my eyebrows.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a mere 8.9 per cent of Americans meet the minimum recommended intake for fruits and vegetables. Forgive me, but thats bananas.

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I can remember a time when I would throw a fit if a stalk of broccoli so much as touched my plate. Children can do that. Adults cannot. Grow up and eat a damn salad for lunch. Load it up with as many colourful plants as you can, toss in some berries and smoked tofu, top it with pumpkin seeds and sprouts. Plants are often calorie-free so you can go to town here, just take it easy with the dressing.

Paul Landini is a personal trainer and health educator in Toronto.

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Original post:
Forget about supplements when working out eat your veggies instead - The Globe and Mail

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GAME OF THRONES star and deadlift world record holder Hafthor Bjornsson's 10,000-calorie diet has been revealed.

The 31-year-old Icelandic strongman is set to take on fellow strongman Eddie Hall next year in a boxing fight.

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BJORNSSON'S 10,000-CALORIE FEAST

Fish

Chicken

Good fats like cocoa butter

Almonds

Greens - spinach, avocado, broccoli

Steak

Rice

Carrots

Peppers

Days ago Bjornsson broke the world deadlift record after successfully lifting an incredible 501kg (1,105 pounds).

It broke the record of 500kg previously held by Hall.

Bjornsson, who plays The Mountain in Game Of Thrones, then called out his rival for a scrap.

This was gleefully accepted by Staffordshire strongman Hall, who promised to "rip his f***ing head off".

And as the days tick down to the two beasts meeting in a boxing ring, Bjornsson has revealed how he lives his life being a strongman.

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And as expected, it involves a lot of fuel - namely 10,000 calories and six meals a day.

Speaking to Stuff.co.nz, the 31-year-old said:"Diet is very important to stay in shape, to stay strong. So I'm very consistent with my meals.

"I eat six meals every single day. I eat mostly steak, rice, carrots, with some peppers, sometimes chicken.

"I eat so much, really. And definitely the hardest part of being in these competitions really is the diet.

"There's a lot of eating, if you want to stay the best. I have to eat every two hours, I have to fuel my body.

"And there's a lot of timing, prepping meals, when I eat them. I think sometimes, 'Is this worth it?'

"I'm always eating, and I'm never hungry. I'm always eating and working out."

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He also previously opened up on his diet in an interview with GQ.

And it followed the same line that to keep up his power he can eat "what he wants".

He said: "I eat a lot of sweet potatoes, a lot of meat, fish, chicken, good fats like cocoa butter, almonds.

"I love greens, like spinach, avocado, broccoli. I eat very healthy overall - but because of my weight, I need fast carbs, easy carbs.

"So maybe before a training session or after a training session, I eat what I want."

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Due to the coronavirus pandemic, 'Thor' carried out the record at his gym in his native Iceland.

The world record attempt has been hit by controversy in recent weeks with Thor not doing the deadlift in a competition.

But the lift - that was carried out using a standard deadlift barbell - was sanctioned, with respected strongman official Magnus Ver Magnusson refereeing the attempt.

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Visit link:
Game of Thrones star Hafthor Bjornssons gut-busting 10,000 calories a DAY diet revealed ahead of Eddie Hall f - The Sun

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More than two weeks before Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued a March 24 stay-at-home order to stop the spread of coronavirus, Paige Jackson got sick.

I was having a really bad migraineto the point where it was hard to keep my eyes open, Jackson, who lives in the Detroit suburb of Southfield, recalled.

An employee of an Amazon store and a restaurant, Jackson initially shrugged off her symptoms. But the headache, which lasted days, turned into body aches. When she developed a cough and a 101-degree fever, Jackson went to urgent care, where the staff prescribed medications to treat the flu and sent her home. Her symptoms, however, worsened, and the 26-year-old spent several days in the hospital, ultimately receiving a COVID-19 diagnosis.

Today, Jackson is feeling 100 percent better. But as an African American, a frontline worker, and a resident of a state hit hard by coronavirus, Jackson knows that shes one of the lucky ones. According to a Johns Hopkins University analysis of 26 states that have provided racial data about the virus, Black people make up 34 percent of COVID deaths, despite comprising just 13.4 percent of the U.S. population.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found that African Americans account for 33 percent of COVID hospitalizations, largely because Black people have high rates of chronic health conditionscalled comorbiditiesthat weaken the immune system and make them more vulnerable to the virus. But much less discussed is how food, class, and race have intersected in ways that perpetuate the health disparities and social inequities unfolding today.

Outside of being Black, obesity, diabetes, and hypertension have been identified as the comorbidities that make coronavirus more deadly amongst anyone worldwide, said Daphene Altema-Johnson, the food communities and public health program officer at John Hopkins Universitys Center for a Livable Future. When you look at the United States, Blacks have higher rates of these chronic conditions and the reasons they have those comorbidities are driven by poverty and by food insecurity.

Communities of color have long struggled to access fresh and unprocessed food, and minority workers make up a disproportionate percentage of the food industry, often working for low wages and without medical benefits. All the while, traditional cuisines, such as soul food, have taken blame for the health problems African Americans facea critique that overlooks how obesity and Type 2 diabetes werent widespread in the Black community until after makers of processed and fast foods established a foothold in minority neighborhoods in the late 20th century. Moreover, stress from racial discrimination and other sources has been tied to heart disease, hypertension, and obesity.

Theres also the psychological aspects of being Black in America and the environments of communities of color, where you have lack of access to care and disparities that exist in the healthcare system, including unconscious racial bias as it relates to COVID-19, since Blacks are less likely to be referred for testing in the healthcare system, Altema-Johnson said.

It all boils down to a simple fact: structural racism in the U.S, and particularly in the food system, has left people of color more susceptible to the health and economic crises of the coronavirus pandemic.

Social Determinants of Health: Food Swamps and ZIP Codes

Although the social determinants of healththe conditions in ones workplace, neighborhood, home, or schoolhave a significant impact on well-being, the perception persists that African American lifestyle and cultural influences are to blame for the racial disparity in coronavirus casualties.

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams faced widespread criticism in April for specifically urging the Black and Latinx communities to avoid alcohol, tobacco, and drugs during the coronavirus pandemic, even though these groups dont abuse substances at higher rates than others. And speaking during CNNs April 18 town hall about coronaviruss disproportionate impact on people of color, retired NBA star Charles Barkley said, There is systematic racism, but that does not give you a reason to go out and be overweight.

These remarks discount how the nations food system uniquely makes people of color prone to COVID complications. Kristen Cooksey-Stowers, an assistant professor in the University of Connecticuts Department of Allied Health Sciences, has researched the link between food access and health problems in Black neighborhoods. She co-authored a 2017 study that concluded food swampsareas with a high-density of establishments selling high-calorie fast food and junk food, relative to healthier food optionsbetter predicted obesity rates in a community than food deserts, a term describing the absence of a full-service grocery store.

Its more important than ever to have food thats good for our immune system but its easier to get the high-fat, high-salt, and high-sugar foods that compromise it.

The coronavirus pandemic has revealed how imperative it is for cities and counties to limit the number of unhealthy food retailers in neighborhoods, Cooksey-Stowers told Civil Eats.

When we get into this sort of crisis, its more important than ever to have food thats good for our immune system, she said. But its easier to get to the food that actually compromises our immune systemthe high-fat, high-salt, and high-sugar foods. Its awful. Now is the time for food equity.

Her research demonstrates that where a person lives has a direct impact on ones well-being, with white neighborhoods offering more health and nutrition benefits than communities of color. Accordingly, the African-American obesity rate is 49.6 percent, the Hispanic obesity rate is 44.8 percent, and the white obesity rate is 42.2 percent, the CDC reports.

Studies that look at health disparities in the Black and Hispanic community are consistently finding these patterns, Cooksey-Stowers said. Its about a lot more than whether theres a grocery store or not. Its about the brown bag, fast-food greasy carryout place and the stores with the blue juice and 25-cent chips. Its a manifestation of structural inequality.

Three years before Cooksey-Stowers published her study on food swamps, Reginald Tucker-Seeley, a University of Southern California assistant professor of gerontology, coauthored a study concluding that Black neighborhoods had higher access to fast-food restaurants, a circumstance associated with obesity.

We have been discussing these kinds of disparities for decades, Tucker-Seeley said. But he wants these conversations to also examine the societal forces that led communities of color to house so many harmful food retailers.

The decisions around retail in these neighborhoods are not random, he said. They are the result of municipal policy. The conversation is incomplete if it just places the responsibility on the individual consumer but not on the choices people have.

His research has found that the zoning policies allowing unhealthy food retailers to accumulate in certain neighborhoods may be more motivated by race than income. Tucker-Seeley compared economically disadvantaged areas across the country and found that fast-food retailers were more common in Black neighborhoods of all incomes than in low-income non-black neighborhoods. (Cooksey-Stowers made a similar finding about food swamps.) And the legacy of redlining and racial segregation means that middle-class African Americans frequently live in neighborhoods without the resources and protections found in even poor white ones.

We cant underestimate the power of neighborhood segregation, Tucker-Seeley said. Which homes do individuals get to live in? What kind of lending is available? What is the power of racism throughout the process, and how can it potentially sort people into neighborhoods with fewer resources and more health risks?

Changing the retail composition of a neighborhood is difficultbut not impossible, according to Tucker-Seeley. It requires residents who are aware that their community perpetuates food inequity and, from there, addressing municipal-level zoning policies, he said. Less clear is the ideal retail mix for good health.

Thats going to require collaboration with health and housing and economic development officials, he said. Until zoning policies limit the amount of fast food and replace it with healthier food, its going to be challenging.

Abandoned by Grocery Stores, Many Communities of Color Are Food Insecure

The pandemic has made these zoning policies and their present-day consequences clearer than ever. Take South Los Angeles, where a 2008 ordinance limited the opening of new fast-food restaurants but did not stop more convenience stores from opening or increase the number of grocery stores in the area. When Californias March 19 stay-at-home order took effect, people flocked to the few supermarkets there.

There was already not enough food access [in South L.A.], and the stores that do exist have lines around the block, activist Olympia Auset recalled. People were letting us know there was no rice and beans.

In response, Auset stepped up the work she began in 2016 as the founder of Sprmarkt, an organic grocery that aims to bring more low-cost organic food to communities like South L.A. The organization estimates that area has roughly 60 grocery stores for 1.3 million people.

To meet the demands for food in South L.A. during the pandemic, Sprmarkt has grown its operational capacity, picking up and delivering 96 boxes of food weekly rather than the typical 20. It has also donated groceries to the needy and amassed dried goods, such as quinoa, beans, rice sunflower seeds, and cranberries, that families can use for the long haul.

Sprmarkt is not alone in its efforts. YMCAs throughout the country, including in Massachusetts, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia, have served tens of thousands of meals during the pandemic. And the COVID-19 Fresh Food Fund has announced plans to provide communities in need with hundreds of thousands of servings of fresh produce. Additionally, the animal rights group Mercy for Animals (MFA) recently partnered with community advocacy organization I Grow Chicago to deliver 250 meals from five local vegan restaurants and food trucks to residents of Chicagos West Englewood community, which is predominantly low-income and African American.

Without access to affordable, healthy foods, it is extremely difficult to maintain a strong immune system, Erin Kwiatkowski, MFAs corporate partnerships manager, who believes the food system sees some communities as worthy of having nutritious food and others as not.

The Problem With Blaming Soul Food

The mountain of research showing the correlation between environment, racial segregation, and health disparities hasnt stopped some people from blaming Black culture for the chronic health conditions that can lead to COVID complications.

The American Conservative recently suggested that soul food, and more specifically, a greens-cornbread-and-pork-chops culture, bore responsibility for the high rates of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension in the African American community and, thus, the high rate of Black people dying from COVID-19. Its not the first time soul food has been blamed for these conditions; research studies, the 2012 documentary Soul Food Junkies, and even the 1997 theatrical release Soul Food have all linked the cuisine to chronic health conditions.

This argument overlooks that soul food can be prepared without pork fat, salt, or sugar, says Adrian Miller, author of Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine One Plate at a Time, winner of the 2014 James Beard Foundation Book Award. Pathologizing African-American cuisine also ignores that soul food predates the nations obesity crisis, which grew as the number of fast-food restaurants in the U.S. doubled between 1972 and 1997. It disregards the rising popularity of vegan soul food as well.

If you look at soul foodthe dark leafy greens are a superfood, Miller said. Okra is a superfood. Hibiscus is a superfood. Fishall these things are the building blocks of soul food.

Black dietitians are teaching African Americans how to prepare healthful soul food, but just 3 percent of dietitians are Black.

Miller added that the term vegan soul food isnt an oxymoron, as the traditional soul food diet contained more vegetables than meats; enslaved people had more access to the former than the latter. It was celebration food, he explained of soul food. It was the food you got on weekends when the work day slowed down enough. It was seasoned vegetables, maybe a little bit of meat and cornbread.

Black dietitians like Fabiola Gaines, coauthor of The New Soul Food Cookbook for People With Diabetes, have been teaching African Americans how to prepare healthful soul food by relying more on seasoning than animal fat for flavor. Shes been a dietitian for more than 40 years, but points out that fewjust 3 percent of dietitian and nutrition professionalsare Black.

If you have diabetes, we wanted to show you that you can still have the same food but lower in fat and sugar, Gaines said. Healthy soul food can taste good.

Today, soul food remains celebration food, meaning that its typically not eaten on a daily basis. And, increasingly, African Americans arent making it at home but patronizing restaurants that do, Miller posits. Given this, he questions why soul food, eaten only once in a while, could singlehandedly be responsible for the obesity, hypertension, and diabetes epidemics in the Black community.

Lytisha Wyatt, an assistant grower at Soul Fire Farm, a community farm in Petersburg, New York, focused on ending injustice in the food system, questions why diet has become the focus of the racial disparities in COVID-19 deaths.

Its been really frustrating the ways in which people are trying to distract from the systemic factors that are playing a role in the disproportionate amount of Black deaths from coronavirus, she said. There wasnt that much talk about peoples diets, and all of sudden, diet has come up. Its another way of avoiding talking about the societal conditions that make it so Black people are less likely to thrive.

Miller suspects the culprits for the chronic health problems among African Americans are fast food and other highly processed foods, convenient and plentiful in communities of color. A CDC study found that almost 40 percent of Americans ate fast food on any given day from 2013 to 2016, and doctors have blamed processed foods for the rise in chronic medical conditions that make COVID-19 deadly.

For racial reasons, for class reasons, our food has long been stigmatized, Miller said. Its been reduced to either slave food or poverty food, which ignores its rich history as a fusion of food from West Africa, Western Europe, and the Americas.

Food Workers Will be More Vulnerable After the Pandemic

Those suggesting that cultural and lifestyle factors make people of color more vulnerable to COVID-19 havent been as outspoken about how the workplace contributes to racial disparities in coronavirus cases. Black and Latinx people are more likely to work in occupations, including food service, that require them to interact closely with others. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, African Americans make up 12.3 percent of the workforce but comprise 21.9 percent of animal slaughterhouse and processing workers, 14.2 percent of grocery workers, and 13.4 percent of restaurant workers. They also account for 26.5 percent of employees at Amazon and 21 percent of the staff at Walmart, the nations largest grocer.

Paige Jackson isnt sure where she contracted coronavirus, but she acknowledges that being a frontline worker and interacting with lots of people at two jobs has made her vulnerable. There is a possibility that somebody I came into contact with at work was sick, she said.

While Jackson has recovered from coronavirus, she now has no job to return to, since both of hers closed during the pandemic. She is among the estimated two-thirds of restaurant workers who have lost their jobs since the pandemic led to statewide lockdowns across the nation.

I hope this leads to an evolution in the ways in which we get our food.

The economic impact of COVID-19 will have long-lasting consequences for restaurant workers, who are now facing Great Depression-era levels of poverty and merging households just to survive, according to Saru Jayaraman, president of One Fair Wage, an advocacy group for the nations restaurant workforce. For food workers of color, she noted, the financial instability is even more serious, since they typically earn less than their white counterparts.

Workers of color are often segregated into lower-paying positions and segments of the [restaurant] industry, Jayaraman said. They work as kitchen staff or as bussers and runners rather than as waiters, so they really might have nothing to fall back on. They may not be eligible to qualify for unemployment because their wages are so low. They dont have a way to take care of their basic needs. Not only are they at high risk of getting coronavirus, theyre much less able to take care of themselves if they do get it.

Soul Fire Farms Lytisha Wyatt said the pandemic has revealed how broken the food system isand hopes that lawmakers can improve it for workers and consumers alike.

Im hoping this leads to an evolution in the ways in which we get our food, she said. Hopefully, the disproportionate number of [people of color] dying will help expose the role the food system plays in health outcomes and usher in more protections for grocery store workers, people in meat-packing facilities, people making food deliveries. Its clear theyre essential, and if theyre essential, this pandemic needs to generate momentum for them to be protected.

Originally posted here:
People of Color are at Greater Risk of COVID-19. Systemic Racism in the Food System Plays a Role. - Civil Eats

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A dietitian breaks down what you need to know.

By Sukriti Wahi

Although multivitamins and health supplements have been popular amongst wellness enthusiasts for quite some time, there's arguably none more prominent than the highly Instagrammable greens powder.

While the colour is arguably the most obvious qualifier for a greens powder, most variations of the supplement tend to feature the same ingredients.

"The ingredients are usually a mix of different dried vegetables, herbs and spices with barley grass, wheatgrass and broccoli all commonly used," McLeod told BAZAAR.

"Some also contain probiotics and different seeds, such as flaxseeds or chia seeds [and some have] also started to add prebiotic fibres as well."

The biggest benefit of adding a greens powder to your diet is less about what it contains, and more about the convenience it offers, from a nutritional perspective.

"The vitamins you're most likely to find in them are from the B group as well as A, K and C."

While a greens powder can be a good way to bolster your micronutrient consumption, they aren't functional as a replacement for a healthy, balanced diet, McLeod emphasised.

"Powders aren't yet at the stage where the complex interactions between different compounds in the foods we eat are able to be replicated," she noted.

"The other thing to think about, is that these powders usually lack fibre, which is one of the most important parts of your fruit and veggies because of how it feeds your gut microbes and keeps you feeling full."

"[Again] while they can be a helpful supplement, they are not a replacement for making great nutritional choices each day," McLeod said.

"I think they can lull some people into a false sense of security. For example, having that extra burger or glass of wine, with the misconception that the green powder negates making lower quality choices. Also, the usual lack of fibre means you are unlikely to feel satisfied."

Even though greens powders aren't the 'magical potions' they are often made out to be, that isn't to say that they can't have a place in a well-rounded diet.

"If you're in a phase where your nutrient needs are higher, or you know that your usual healthy diet has not been as on-point of late, they can be a fabulous 'helper'but still not a replacement for eating your minimum five serves of vegetables each day," said McLeod.

If you are considering adding a greens powder to your diet, McLeod recommended paying attention to the nutrition label before purchasing to ensure its quality before you invest.

"Look for where it is madeideally in Australia," she said.

"[Avoid] if there are any 'fillers' used, such as maltodextrin. Also look out for synthetic dyes, artificial sweeteners, sugar or emulsifiers."

Keep scrolling for the best greens powders you can buy in Australia.

Read the rest here:
The 5 Best Green Powders On The Aussie Market - Harper's BAZAAR

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BOSTON (May 5, 2020)Older adults who consumed small amounts of flavonoid-rich foods, such as berries, apples and tea, were two to four times more likely to develop Alzheimers disease and related dementias over 20 years compared with people whose intake was higher, according to a new study led by scientists at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (USDA HNRCA) at Tufts University.

The epidemiological study of 2,800 people aged 50 and older examined the long-term relationship between eating foods containing flavonoids and risk of Alzheimers disease (AD) and Alzheimers disease and related dementias (ADRD). While many studies have looked at associations between nutrition and dementias over short periods of time, the study published today in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition looked at exposure over 20 years.

Flavonoids are natural substances found in plants, including fruits and vegetables such as pears, apples, berries, onions, and plant-based beverages like tea and wine. Flavonoids are associated with various health benefits, including reduced inflammation. Dark chocolate is another source of flavonoids.

The research team determined that low intake of three flavonoid types was linked to higher risk of dementia when compared to the highest intake. Specifically:

Low intake of flavonols (apples, pears and tea) was associated with twice the risk of developing ADRD.

Low intake of anthocyanins (blueberries, strawberries, and red wine) was associated with a four-fold risk of developing ADRD.

Low intake of flavonoid polymers (apples, pears, and tea) was associated with twice the risk of developing ADRD.

The results were similar for AD.

Our study gives us a picture of how diet over time might be related to a persons cognitive decline, as we were able to look at flavonoid intake over many years prior to participants dementia diagnoses, said Paul Jacques, senior author and nutritional epidemiologist at the USDA HNRCA. With no effective drugs currently available for the treatment of Alzheimers disease, preventing disease through a healthy diet is an important consideration.

The researchers analyzed six types of flavonoids and compared long-term intake levels with the number of AD and ADRD diagnoses later in life. They found that low intake (15th percentile or lower) of three flavonoid types was linked to higher risk of dementia when compared to the highest intake (greater than 60th percentile). Examples of the levels studied included:

Tea, specifically green tea, and berries are good sources of flavonoids, said first author Esra Shishtar, who at the time of the study was a doctoral student at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in the Nutritional Epidemiology Program at the USDA HNRCA. When we look at the study results, we see that the people who may benefit the most from consuming more flavonoids are people at the lowest levels of intake, and it doesnt take much to improve levels. A cup of tea a day or some berries two or three times a week would be adequate, she said.

Jacques also said 50, the approximate age at which data was first analyzed for participants, is not too late to make positive dietary changes. The risk of dementia really starts to increase over age 70, and the take home message is, when you are approaching 50 or just beyond, you should start thinking about a healthier diet if you havent already, he said.

Methodology

To measure long-term flavonoid intake, the research team used dietary questionnaires, filled out at medical exams approximately every four years by participants in the Framingham Heart Study, a largely Caucasian group of people who have been studied over several generations for risk factors of heart disease.

To increase the likelihood that dietary information was accurate, the researchers excluded questionnaires from the years leading up to the dementia diagnosis, based on the assumption that, as cognitive status declined, dietary behavior may have changed, and food questionnaires were more likely to be inaccurate.

The participants were from the Offspring Cohort (children of the original participants), and the data came from exams 5 through 9. At the start of the study, the participants were free of AD and ADRD, with a valid food frequency questionnaire at baseline. Flavonoid intakes were updated at each exam to represent cumulative average intake across the five exam cycles. Researchers categorized flavonoids into six types and created four intake levels based on percentiles: less than or equal to the 15th percentile, 15th-30th percentile, 30th-60th percentile, and greater than 60th percentile. They then compared flavonoid intake types and levels with new diagnoses of AD and ADRD.

There are some limitations to the study, including the use of self-reported food data from food frequency questionnaires, which are subject to errors in recall. The findings are generalizable to middle-aged or older adults of European descent. Factors such as education level, smoking status, physical activity, body mass index and overall quality of the participants diets may have influenced the results, but researchers accounted for those factors in the statistical analysis. Due to its observational design, the study does not reflect a causal relationship between flavonoid intake and the development of AD and ADRD.

Authors and funding

Additional authors on the study are Gail T. Rogers at the USDA HNRCA, Jeffrey B. Blumberg at the Friedman School at Tufts, and Rhoda Au at The Framingham Heart Study, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston University School of Public Health.

This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Agricultures Agricultural Research Service, awards from National Institutes of Healths National Institute on Aging (R01AG008122, R56AG062109, R01AG016495), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01NS017940), and National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (Framingham Heart Study) as well as the Embassy of the State of Kuwait.

Citation

Shishtar, E., Rogers, G.T., Blumberg, J.B., Au R., and Jacques, P.F. (2020). Long-term dietary flavonoid intake and risk of Alzheimers disease and related dementias in the Framingham Offspring Cohort. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqaa079

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About the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University

For four decades, the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University has studied the relationship between good nutrition and good health in aging populations. Tufts research scientists work with federal agencies to establish the Dietary Guidelines, the Dietary Reference Intakes, and other significant public policies.

Read more here:
More berries, apples and tea may have protective benefits against Alzheimer's - Tufts Now

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On many occasions we seek how to burn that fat that we have in the abdomen and that we can not get rid of, no matter how much we exercise or eat better. Many of us have tried to get hold of smoothies to lose weight, reduce fat, purify our body, in short, feel better. For this we propose a fruit-based smoothie and an ingredient that often goes unnoticed and that, in addition to flavor, is beneficial for the kidney and digestive system, alleviates flatulence and cramps and that is none other than parsley.

For this we will need half a melon, two cucumbers, two pears, the juice of two lemons and about 20 grams of parsley. In addition, we will use 250 milliliters of water to better liquefy all the ingredients. It is also advisable to use some chia seeds. This seed contains twice as much protein as any other similar type of seed. To use them we must leave them to soak for about 20 minutes. We can also leave them overnight and when we discover them we will see how they have acquired a gelatinous texture that will soften their flavor. This smoothie will help us lose weight easily and quickly and it is also one of the cheapest that we can do in our own house and thus be able to lose weight easily and without starving. These types of shakes also help improve skin and hair by being packed with vitamins and antioxidants.

In our blender We will start by adding the two cucumbers totally peeled, the two pears peeled, without seeds and in more or less medium pieces. We will cut the melon half so that it enters the blender glass without problems and we will also pour it into the blender. We will use between 10 and 20 grams of parsley and the juice of the two lemons. When beating we must make sure that the mixture is as liquefied as we want. As for parsley, the more we use it will be better for the properties of our smoothie, although it must be recognized that perhaps the flavor can be very strong. This smoothie can substitute for breakfast or dinner, You can not abuse this type of drinks so much as to substitute them for a meal, the main one of the day. With these ingredients we will have about a liter and a half of this drink. It is best to refrigerate it so that it can be used if we have not finished it the first time it was taken.

This smoothie helps detoxify the body, to burn localized fat and thanks to the properties of the fruit, parsley and chia will even do our kidneys good.

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MOST of us understand the importance of attaining and maintaining the healthiest weight for oneself.

However, there is something far more important that will help you avoid pain and increase your quality of life, and even the length of your life that thing is developing healthy habits.

Good habits have better medical outcomes

There are a few individuals who are heavier than the texts say they should be, but they are healthy. They maintain consistent activity, eat natural food in reasonable portions, and avoid processed foods or late-night eating.

Conversely, there are an increasing number of slim individuals who are regular drinkers, fast food and processed food eaters, who are now suffering from all the ailments which have been previously associated with gross obesity.

Under controlled circumstances, a fat person with good eating habits will easily outlive a slim person with poor eating habits.

Now, do not get it twisted; many studies have proven that body mass index and body fat levels are strong determinants for survivability and health complications. Tragically, the data on SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has driven home the negative impact of being overweight.

All things being equal, a healthy person of closer to optimal weight is far more likely to have less pain, fuller physical and a longer life than an overweight individual. But, ultimately, the person with the healthiest habits will most likely have a more optimal weight and the heathiest life.

Changes in habits more important than scale changes

Without habit modification, all diets will fail; ninety-five per cent fail and end in increasingly less healthy situations.

Those dieters who failed to change their habits:

Perpetually crave the foods they feel deprived of, longing for the day when they can reach their goal weight and finish the diet;

Long for the day they can eat normally again.

Ironically, these are the exact things which put their health at risk in the first place, with every added pound.

Eventually, the weight loss cycle begins for those dieters who failed to change their habits. The cycle of yo-yo dieting, cravings, unhealthy/binge eating, weight gain, shame, restriction, back to dieting, and so on. Each time, losing more muscle, damaging their metabolism, and training their mind and body to resist healthy change.

Yes, they managed to lose weight for a while, but in the end the habits damaged their bodies.

Change the habits

When you choose to eat healthier, it is critical to concentrate on changing your eating habits.

Motivation, friends and family support can waiver. Managing your wellness under stressful conditions is what a diet system should be about.

That is ideally what InteKai is about, because it's under these conditions that we are most at risk. We have seen from reports and studies that habits determine the chances of relapse or of long-term success and healthy outcomes.

Choosing to learn habit changes will determine your long-term wellness outcome.

Embrace habit changes

Knowledge truly is power. Know that dis-comfort foods are tied to an unhealthy relationship, one which pulls you in by pretending to be a loved one, always available and pleasing you in the short term, but the only intent is to abuse you to death.

As with any abusive relationship, you must separate from the abuse, no matter how long you have been together or how it started.

These eating habits are as difficult to break as addictions. You must maintain a mindset and stick with it until you succeed.

Consciously, make the changes a part of your healthy daily routine. It is not as difficult as you believe. Think of washing dishes a simple process, but some people's habits, mindset or upbringing make them fight against it. They end up with a roach-filled, unhealthy kitchen.

Get help if you need to; figure out what your poor habits are and why they are threatening your life. Get on the path to change them.

Modern life is like shifting sands, only good habits and positive routines will keep you solid.

Even more than weight or even weight change, altering one's eating habits is the key to long-term weight control success.

Take control, change your habits. Stay in control, get your joy, save your life.

Fitz-George Rattray is the director of Intekai Academy, which is focused on helping people live a healthy lifestyle through nutrition and weight management. If you are interested in losing weight or living a healthier lifestyle, give them a call at 876-863- 5923, or visit their website at intekaiacademy.org.

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Looking for some help on your health and wellness journey this year? Or simply enjoy using technology to guide and monitor your activities? Here are some great health and wellness apps to try out in 2020.

MyFitnessPal constantly pops up on best app listings, and for good reason. It features an easy-to-use food diary with access to a large database of more than 6 million different foods and restaurant meals. Import nutrition information from your favourite recipes and learn about healthier options.

MyFitnessPal is popular for those looking to lose weight, gain weight, or maintain weight, and who want to track calories to do so. It also connects with over 50 other apps and devices, allowing you to log exercise. A large online community also offers support and motivation.

Cost: Free, with paid upgrade optionsRatings:4.7 on App Store4.5 on Google Play

Headspace is a mental health monitoring app focusing on meditation and mindfulness. Whether your aim is to manage anxiety, relieve stress, learn breathing skills or improve your focus, happiness and serenity, the app has options for everyone.

A basic course on the app is free, while subscription offers access to hundreds of guided meditations, mindfulness training and breathing exercises.

The app also has a separate sleep section with sleep meditation, music and sleepcasts, along with darker screen and buttons, and a kids meditation course for the little ones.

Cost: Free, with paid upgrade optionsRatings:4.9 on App Store3.8 on Google Play

To read the full article on our sister publication Cayman Healths website, click here.

If you value our service, if you have turned to us in the past few days or weeks for verified, factual updates, if you have watched our live streaming of press conferences or sent an article to a friend... please consider a donation. Quality local journalism was at risk before the coronavirus crisis. It is now deeply threatened. Even a small amount can go a long way to sustaining our mission of informing the public. We need our readers financial support now more than ever.

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The pounds keep on piling on in lockdown? Going on keto can kick start your weight loss: research shows that following a keto diet is an efficient way to send your body into 'fat-burning mode' so you will be slimmer faster, even without exercising. We put together a 1-week keto meal plan to help you get started in your weight loss journey. Starting the keto diet can be daunting but with the sample keto meal plan below, you can start shedding pounds faster.

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When you try to put your own keto diet meal plan together, you will need to remember that in order for your body to go into ketosis a metabolic state when your body mainly uses ketones from fat for fuel as opposed to glucose from carbohydrates you will need to keep your carbs levels low each day. And we mean really low: calories from carbs should be under 5% of your total calorie intake and definitely under 50 grams a day. Strict keto even goes a step further and requires you to keep the carb levels as low as under 20 grams a day.

Best keto meal delivery services: ketogenic diet made easier with freshly prepared keto snacks and foods

Sure, following an effective keto diet meal plan means you will have to say goodbye to potatoes, rice, fruits and sweets, but in return, you can also say goodbye to body fat, cravings, mood-swings, insulin spikes and much more. Once you get over the initial 'keto flu' which is only a possibility, not a certain side effect you will feel more balanced overall and won't miss any of the sweet treats you used to have as a pick-me-up.

Best jerky: beef, vegetarian and vegan jerky and biltong for high protein and low guilt

And although you have to let go some of the popular food items when you're on keto, you will be rewarded with being able to eat more cheese and meat than you ever thought you could. Better still, even if you follow a relatively strict keto diet meal plan, you can still have a wide variety off food and take in ample amount of micro and macro nutrients.

How to get a six pack: a six-pack of top tips plus the best abs exercises to tone up to a flat stomach

(Image credit: Fresh n Lean)

Modern day ketogenic diet was introduced and still use for today to treat neurological diseases like epilepsy and therefore it has been researched extensively. Apart from epilepsy, there are studies showing that following a keto diet meal plan can help reduce risk of heart disease, treat cancer, reduce symptoms of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease and even to treat acne.

As well as all that, keto can reduce insulin levels in the blood (lack of carbs/sugar spikes throughout the day) and many people claim keto diet made them more relaxed and "less on the edge".

From a dietary point of view, the effects of keto is similar to fasting: due to lack of carbs, your body will start breaking down fat into ketones and use that as fuel. Once you are on keto for a while, your body will get more efficient in breaking down fat, let it be dietary fat or the ones stored in your body, making you lose weight faster.

Most types of meat and cheeses are allowed on keto, so are eggs, cream, butter and healthy oils like avocado or olive oil. You could also have black coffee and green tea without any sugar.

Things to avoid: processed and low fat dairy products have additives and plenty of sugar in them, making them unsuitable for keto (and generally not healthy). Milk also has lactose (milk sugar) in it so be careful not to introduce too much milk into your keto diet meal plan.

Most of the green vegetables are good to go but bear in mind that many types vegetables will add to your carbs mainly, so thread them lightly. Try to keep them varied, even throughout the day so you won't get bored with any one of them.

Things to avoid: root vegetables such as potatoes, carrot, parsnip etc. All types of grains and rice.

Pro tip: spinach is best to have raw (washed, however), since wilted spinach just doesn't have the same mouthfeel. 100 grams of raw spinach with some olive oil, salt, pepper and a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar makes an excellent base for a salad.

PLEASE NOTE: The below carbohydrate content is /100grams.

Modern day fruits have been engineered through selective crossbreed crops to be super sweet and less fibrous so popular fruits such as apples, pears, grapes, oranges are not allowed on keto diet. Good news is, after the initial period of sugar deprivation, you won't crave for these anymore.

Either way, even the fruits listed here should only be eaten in small portions throughout the day.

Things to avoid: banana, grapes, mango, pineapple, pear, apple, kiwi, orange, peach etc

Pro tip: berries are great in smaller quantities and contain plenty of vitamins and some fibre too

PLEASE NOTE: The below carbohydrate content is /100grams.

Feel free to snack on dried meat like jerkies or biltongs

(Image credit: Getty Images)

You won't find any sugary sweets here, but you can have plenty of nuts, dark chocolate and a range of dips, too. Try making your own dips to avoid at home from fresh vegetables and avoid processed food with preservatives and high sodium content.

Things to avoid: sugary snacks, biscuits, milk chocolate, cashews etc.

Pro tips: to make the best salsa, cut up a larger, ripe tomato and make sure you don't waste pulp, that'll make the salsa less dry.

PLEASE NOTE: The below carbohydrate content is /100grams.

(Image credit: Bulk Powders)

Should you feel the need to supplement your diet, there are plenty of keto-friendly supplement options on the market today. These high fat and most usually high protein products can effectively top your vitamin and micronutrient levels. We have also listed some options to replenish electrolytes and introduce even more green goodness into your keto diet.

(Image credit: Fresh n Lean)

When assembling this 1-week keto meal plan, we followed these guidelines:

Each day has around 2,000 calories-worth of food

Daily carbohydrate amount is under 40 grams

We used a low-carb, moderate-protein and high-fat template for each day (5% carbs, 20-25% protein and 70-75% fat)

Pro tip: try to portion your food out into five 400-calorie rations so you can eat five times a day which will help you feel more sated in the initial transition period.

PLEASE NOTE: this is not a medical diet and if you need to go on a keto diet for medical reason, please consult your doctor first. Also, going from a high-carb diet to a low-carb one can result in side effects such as nausea, light-headedness and headaches. The preferred way is to gradually reduce carbs in order to reduce the impact of keto diet on your metabolic system.

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Between slow-carb, keto, and intermittent fasting (IF), there are so many buzzy diets these days that its almost hard to keep track. One of the latest eating styles to gain steam isn't exactly new, but has resurfaced recently with the rise of IF and more protein-based diets. It's called the Warrior Diet, and tbh, just the name itself is pretty intriguing, huh?

The Warrior Diet was originally created in the early 2000s by Ori Hofmekler and based on his own experiences with the diet, which are outlined in his book by the same name. The diet initially revolved around very small "underfeeding" meals of dairy, eggs, fruits, and vegetables for 20 hours of the day and a four-hour "overfeeding" window.

Essentially, it was a very early version of intermittent fasting and said to mimic ancient warriors' lifestyle of training and battling throughout the day and consuming a majority of their calories during the evening in one massive feast, explains Joel Totoro, RD, a sports dietitian and director of sports science at Throne Research in Scottsdale, Arizona. Hofmeklers original plan also had exercise suggestions built into it.

Okay, the Warrior Diet does sound interesting, albeit pretty dang intense. So is it actually healthy, safe and effective for weight loss? Here, experts break down everything you need to know about the Warrior Diet style of eating.

The diet has actually evolved from its original format since it was first created and the name was coined. More recently, the Warrior Diet has been interpreted as a strict 20-hour food fast and a four-hour fueling window, with various exercise requirements, says Totoro. This is also sometimes referred to simply as a 20:4 diet or 20:4 fasting.

The current version doesnt have any food restrictions for the fueling period, but youre not supposed to eat at all during the fasting period. While this might sound similar to the popular IF diet known as the 16:8 diet, in which you fast for 16 hours and eat during an eight-hour window, it's actually very different. First, it's much easier to fit your daily calorie needs into eight hours instead of four, and in the Warrior Diet, you fast during the majority of the day, which is much more challenging than fasting overnight and into a short portion of the day, like you would with the 16:8 diet.

That depends which version of the diet you're following. The original Warrior Diet plan called for small meals of low-carbohydrate, naturally occurring foods such as eggs, dairy and nuts, paired with high-nutrient carbohydrate sources such as fruits and vegetables throughout the day, says Totoro. The daytime underfeeding period was followed by mass quantities of high-protein and high-fat foods paired with whole grain and whole-food carbohydrate sources during the overfeeding period at night. The more modern take on the Warrior Diet allows you to eat whatever you want during your eating window.

While the original diet stressed nutritious and naturally occurring foods even during the feast stages, the more modern, free-for-all mentality can lead to overeating high-fat foods that are often lacking in nutrients, says Totoro.

If youre still intrigued enough to try it, he recommends easing into a fasting period a few days a week to assess how your body responds.

Because many people consume fewer calories than they normally would by only eating during a small window with this diet, this may lead to weight loss over time, Totoro says. However, theres no scientific evidence at this point to support the Warrior Diet as an effective method for weight loss. And because the diet is so extreme, it may not be sustainable for many people.

Additionally, any evidence of potential health benefits related to the Warrior Diet is more based on the benefits of intermittent fasting in general, he says.

With IF, theres emerging evidence that for some people, shrinking the eating window may help with GI issues, blood sugar control, inflammation, and other conditions, says Totoro. But it's important to remember that everyone responds differently to fueling and activity and what works for some will not work for others.

The Warrior Diet is restrictive and pretty extreme, which means it could lead to disordered eating habits for some people, says Amanda A. Kostro Miller, RD, a registered dietitian and advisory board member at Fitter Living.

This diet promotes binge eating during the four-hour non-fasting period, which can lead to stomach distension, exacerbation of heartburn and many other GI symptoms, she explains. Some at-risk people may become obsessive about the binge session and may engage in harmful behaviors like purging to remedy feeling too full.

Like any IF diet, you may also experience feelings of fatigue and hunger during the fasting period, which are signs the diet probably isn't a good fit for you.

This type of diet isn't sustainable for an extended period of time, so it's probably not a good idea for anyone, really. But its particularly dangerous for people who take medications that should be taken with food or are time-released, says Totoro. People with diabetes should also be extra cautious, since this type of diet could mess with your blood sugar.

Athletes who are training at a high or very competitive level should consult with their coaches and health care providers before trying this diet well, he adds.

Lastly, pregnant women, children, and people who have been diagnosed with eating disorders or dealt with disordered eating patterns in the past shouldnt try this diet, says Kostro Miller.

The bottom line: The Warrior Diet is extremely restrictive and while it may lead to weight loss, it's likely not sustainable. Consult with a dietitian or health care provider before trying this diet.

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