Search Weight Loss Topics:

Page 1,490«..1020..1,4891,4901,4911,492..1,5001,510..»

Home » Page 1490

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) If your New Year's resolution is to lose a few pounds, it pays to pick the right diet.

The Mediterranean diet was just named the best diet in a new study because it's easy to follow and the food is tasty, according to Dr. Neil Skolnik, associate director of the family medicine residency program at Abington-Jefferson Health.

When talking about dieting with patients, he asks what they enjoy eating.

"Then we come up with a diet based on the kinds of food that they like. The other thing that I think is incredibly important: it's a marathon, not a sprint, and so we don't want to pick the best diet for three months. We want to pick a lifestyle approach," he said.

He said that's why the Keto diet was named one of the worst diets as it's hard to follow.

And don't forget the exercise component; that's just as important as what you eat.

Read the original post:
Doctor offers advice on picking the right diet - KYW Newsradio 1060

Read More..

Contributed by Joy Victory, managing editor, Healthy HearingJanuary 13, 20202020-01-13T00:00:00-06:002020-01-13T00:00:00-06:00

What you eat may playan important role in how well you hear, especially as you get older, according to the latest research.

In a 2019 study, women who reported eating healthier diets had lower rates of hearing loss than those who had a less-healthy diet.The study, from Brigham and Women's Hospital, included 3,135 women and was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

The researchers measured the women's hearing, and then three years later measured their hearing again. The women who reported closely adheringto commonly recommended healthydietswere 25 percent less likely to develop high-frequency hearing loss than those who didn't.

The team also found that "the odds of a decline in mid-frequency hearing sensitivities were almost 30 percent lower among those whose diets most closely resembled these healthful dietary patterns," according to a news release from the hospital.

"Given that hearing loss is so common, a 30% lower risk is considerable,"said lead author Dr. Sharon Curhan, MD, a physician and epidemiologist at Brigham and Womens Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston. "These findings strongly suggest that the development of hearing loss with age may not be inevitable and that eating a healthy diet may be helpful in reducing the risk."

The study was an extension of previous research published in 2018 that found a similar pattern when looking at a large group of women participating in the Nurses Healthy Study II. In that study, researchers saw a positive correlation with a healthy diet and lower rates of hearing loss.This pattern held true even after researchers accounted for physical activity and cardiac health status, according to a summary from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which helped fund the study.

The diets included the alternate Mediterranean diet (AMED), the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), and the 2010 Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI-2010).

There are several theorieswhy a healthier diet may protect against hearing loss, much of it related to our overall cardiac health, Dr. Curhan said.

A healthy diet is linked to a lower risk of heart disease and conditions that inflame or damage the arteries and veins, such as diabetes.Just as with overall health, blood flow to the ears is very important for healthy hearing. The inner earwhich is responsible for detecting soundis especially vulnerable to changes in oxygen levels, inflammation and blood pressure, for example.

"A healthy diet can also be an important source of antioxidants, which help protect against damage from oxidative stress," she said. (Oxidative stress is linked to cell damage.)Curhan also said that many fruits and vegetables provide essentialantioxidant vitamins and minerals that our bodies cannot make on their own.

In fact, there's been some research looking at how the vitamins and minerals in our diet may improve our hearing health.

One study, for example, showed that supplementing older men's diet with the vitamin folate (also known as folic acid) helped lower the risk of hearing loss. It is one of several vitamins linked to healthy hearing. Additionally, the minerals potassium, zinc and magnesium are all essential for preserving good hearing.

It's important to note that these two studies weren't designed to prove cause and effect, only that a pattern exists between a healthy diet and a reduced risk of hearing loss. And because hearing loss has many causesfrom exposure to excessive noise to geneticsa healthy diet can only offer so much protection. That's why it's important to know the other main ways forhow to prevent hearing loss.

Hearing loss is increasingly linked to not just struggles with communication, but also cognitive decline, depression and social isolation. If you or a loved one is worried about hearing loss, find a hearing care provider near you.

View post:
Can a healthy diet reduce your risk of hearing loss? Here's what the research says - Healthy Hearing

Read More..

Imagine this youre at a party having a conversation with a stranger. Within a few minutes, the stranger starts to bring up their diet and how they havent eaten an animal product in the last 11 years. You start to wonder what for? Does the absence of meat pose any problems for this stranger you met 12 minutes ago?

The vegan diet has made a sizable dent in the health and food industry in the last decade. According to a poll by Charles Stahler of the The Vegetarian Resource Group from earlier this year, about 20% of U.S. adults always or sometimes eat vegan meals when eating out and about 2% of U.S. adults consider themselves vegan.

The vegan diet excludes all animal-based products and uses plant proteins instead. So no meats, fish or poultry, eggs and dairy products, said Amy Drescher, Ph.D., a professor in the University of Arizona Department of Nutritional Sciences in an email. To be healthy on this diet it is important to have plenty of fruits, veggies, nuts and vegetarian protein sources beans, nuts, soy products, almond and nuts, milks and [vitamin] B-12 sources.

The hype around the diet mostly centers around the idea that greens must be a staple of ones diet in order to stave off certain diseases and live a healthy life. Other reasons for choosing to adopt a vegan diet include the ethics behind eating animals and unfavorable prior experiences with eating meat.

I decided to be vegan after awhile of being vegetarian, said Samantha Cantor, a senior at the UA, through a text message.

Initially, I chose to be vegan because I wanted to lose weight. The idea of [eating] meat always made me sick and queasy, but after being vegetarian for a couple of weeks, cheese and milk started making me feel the same way. I dont want to harm animals, and I truly think its disgusting to drink cow milk. Its unnatural and cruel.

Like anything in life, going to the extremes certainly comes with its downsides. Similarly, completely avoiding all types of animal products means missing out on some crucial nutrients, including iron and vitamins D and B-12. Certain foods that satisfy the vegan diet, like spinach and almonds, contain high amount of calcium but are often poorly absorbed in the human body.

There is more and more evidence about how healthy plants are for you to eat, Drescher said. They supply nutrients that help our hearts, reduce cancer and diabetes risk and help us with weight management.

Phytates are the major storage form of phosphorus and inositol in plants; however, they have anti-nutritional activities once in the human gastrointestinal system. They form insoluble complexes due to strong interactions (chelations) with certain ions, such as calcium, iron and zinc. Consequently, they are not absorbed as well in the human body, most likely in the small intestine.

The hardest part about being vegan is eating at other [families] homes, Cantor said. Also, eating what other people cook is challenging because you dont want to offend them, but you know theyre probably using butter or eggs.

Regardless of the downsides, in 2018, U.S. consumers spent nearly $1.9 billion on plant-based milks as well as $3.3 billion on plant-based foods. The vegan diet is becoming increasingly more popular in the United States, even with some potential downsides to such an important life decision.

Follow Amit Syal on Twitter

View original post here:
A fad across the nation: a plant-based diet - Arizona Daily Wildcat

Read More..

New research from Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future shows that no single diet can cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and that policymakers should support diets that fall in line with national nutrition requirements, culture, and trade.

Our research indicates theres no one-size-fits-all diet to address the climate and nutrition crises, says Dr. Keeve Nachman, senior author of the study, in a press release. Context is everything, and the food production policies for each country must reflect that.

The study, Country-specific dietary shifts to mitigate climate and water crises, looks at how shifting to diets with a lower carbon footprint in 140 countries affects emissions and freshwater use. The results could guide policymakers in providing enough, nutritious, climate-friendly food that fits national tastes, the authors say.

If all countries would adopt the typical diet of high-income countrieshypercaloric, and rich in meat and dairythen GHG emissions and water footprints related to diets would soar by 135 percent and 47 percent respectively, the researchers warn. Recent reports have shown fast industrialization in countries such as China is driving a strong shift towards the Western diet.

Switching to veganism which has the lowest footprint per capita across all 140 countries studied, could cut GHG emissions by as much as 70 percent per person, says the report. In the United States, for example, vegans would cause only 16 percent of the emissions of animal-based diets, even if they ate more to get all their nutrients. But it is highly unlikely that countries can shift entirely to a single diet, the authors say.

There will always be trade-offs. Environmental impact alone cannot be a guide for what people eat; countries need to consider the totality of the nutritional needs, access, and cultural preferences of their residents, says Dr. Martin Bloem, study co-author and director of the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future.

Researchers confirmed again that cow, sheep, and goat meat cause the highest emissions in meat production by a margin, with beef 316 times more carbon-intensive than pulses. But not all stakes are made the same, which can change a diets footprint; beefs contributions to emissions can vary for example, one pound of beef from Paraguay produces 17 times more GHGs than the same amount of Danish beef, as Paraguayans continue to clear their forests to make space for livestock.

But overall, eating meat once per day may be better than switching to vegetarian diets with dairy and eggs, the research shows. The dairy industry, along with meat, is on its way to becoming a bigger GHG emitter than the biggest oil companies, a recent report says. In 91 percent of the countries surveyed, choosing to eat mostly plants with a little meat was less than half as carbon-intensive than relying on vegetarian diets that included dairy and eggs.

The study shows that diets providing animal protein from small fish, mollusks, and insects had an environmental impact almost as low as a vegan diet across countries. In almost half the countries, eating so-called low-food chain diets also fulfills vitamin B12 requirements for adults, cutting out the need for supplements.

The good news is this research can be a part of the solution, as it now gives policymakers a tool to develop nationally appropriate strategies, including dietary guidelines, that help meet multiple goals, says Dr. Bloem.

See the article here:
Balancing Diets, Carbon, and Nutrition Takes More Than Changing the Menu - Food Tank

Read More..

Im Leah Carlson (@watchmewaistingaway), 31. I live in Asheville, North Carolina, and Im a customer experience coordinator. In 2014, I got a vertical sleeve gastrectomy to kick off my weight-loss journey and have kept over 180 pounds off since.

I remember being drawn to food even at a young age. At family get-togethers, all the other kids would go outside to play, and I'd sit near the food and listen to the adults talk. By the time I was 9 years old, I was sneaking and eating peanut butter in the middle of the nightand I was overweight. I continued developing this unhealthy relationship with food all through my school years.

In February of 2011, my first marriage ended. I was a 411-pound single mom with no job, no money, and no hope. But one night, I was at a friends wedding and happened to sit next to someone who was very passionate about fitness and health. He told me something that still sticks with me today: "If you want to change, stop blaming others."

That was really hard to hear, but a lightbulb went off for me in that moment. I had been blaming others for years. I decided to take responsibility and commit to change.

Change didn't happen immediately, though. I met my now-husband through friends of friends, and we got married in 2014 and knew we wanted to have a baby. But I was obese by the time I had my first child, and morbidly obese after my second child.

At my highest weight of 411 pounds, I realized I could not be left alone with my two young toddlers. I was unable to pick them up or chase after them in public. It was a safety issue at that point. I was really interested in weight-loss surgery and had done a lot of research on bariatric surgery. I knew that losing weight would be hard work, but I needed help.

Around this time, I also discovered the keto diet. When I was in high school, I got familiar with the Atkins diet, so I had been following a low-carb way of eating off and on for so many years. Going on the keto diet made sense for me. I was also eating keto for four months before my surgery.

What I love about ketowhich focuses on eating high-fat and low-carbis the freedom I have to get creative with cooking. It works well for me because of the accessibility. I know that I can go to a restaurant and find something that fits my needs.

One of the hardest things about trying to lose weight for me was the idea of starting a new diet that would be completely foreign to me. Thats why keto and low-carb, sugar-free eating is still such a good fit for me today. I love cooking and eating (and that is okay!). So I have learned over the years to prepare things I'm craving that fit my way of eating. I don't deprive myself.

I also try to shop the outer edges of the grocery storemeaning the produce, proteins, dairieswhile staying away from the processed items in the inner aisles. I love to get creative making sugar-free desserts and low-carb comfort foods.

For instance, I'll give myself the general goal of making sure I spend at least 30 minutes of my day doing something active. This can be anything from playing with my kids outside, working in the garden or with the chickens, or even cleaning. Just moving.

Weight-loss surgery may be a helpful too for some people. But I had to work hard to lose weight after my surgery. And I still struggle with the mental challenges of food addiction every day.

Throughout this journey, Ive realized the biggest part of losing weight isn't physical. It is emotional, mental, and even spiritual changes that you go through, too. Taking responsibility is surprisingly freeing.

Ask for and accept support and accountability help. We aren't meant to do this alone. It can feel intimidating at first, but you will be surprised at the willingness of others to help you on your journey.

Go here to see the original:
'After Bariatric Surgery, I Stick To Keto And A Sugar-Free Diet And Have Kept Off Over 180 Pounds' - Women's Health

Read More..

As early as third grade, Chlo Hilliards mother was sending her off to school with Slim Fast shakes for packed lunches. Albeit elementary school is meant to be a creative playground, scholastic adventure and perhaps brilliant season of discovery, coming-of-age wasnt as fun for someone like Hilliard. For as long as she could remember, her entire identity was shaped around her towering physical appearance.

Standing over six feet tall and wearing a size 12 in shoe and dress by the tender age of 12, Hilliard could hardly fit in while growing up in her largely Hasidic Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. Navigating such an overwhelmingly white and orthodox environment as a young, Black girl surely didnt soften whatever blows or bullies that came with her already-unique challenges.

After decades of fad diets, weight loss pills, and unrealistic expectations, Hilliard made the life-altering decision to stop punishing herself over what she thinks she should look like: I'm healthy, I work out, I have a trainer, I'm in good shape, but I may never have a six-pack and I just need to be fine with that.

Hilliards moment of truth set her on a path to self-actualization and the results are hilariously illustrated in her new book F*ck Your Diet (And Other Things My Thighs Tell Me), a collection of essays that explore race, feminism, and popular culture. Taking inventory of childhood trauma and societys reinforcement of Eurocentric beauty ideals, Hilliard, 39, turned her personal misadventures into gut-busting comedy and witty teaching moments.

When it comes to food and diet, it's a much more complicated conversation than we've been having when it comes to social and political influences, she explains to BET. And it's not just genetics; it's where you live, what you can afford, and what you have access to. Once you figure out the bigger picture, you kind of can breathe a sigh of relief, because youve realized youre not the problem.

She continues: You also have to factor in economically what do they have access to or don't have access to; a lot of people in this country live in food deserts.

In the spirit of #2020 vision, Hilliard looks to help young Black and Brown girls everywhere set their eyes on the horizon instead of the scalebecause why play small when you can live larger than life? Though she is not a doctor or a medical professional, she has done extensive research in the space and we are curious to know what works for her.

From eating better to dating wiser to working smarter, she gives us a few practical tips to a healthier lifestyle this year. Adapt the ones you think you can, and discard the ones you can't. Everything is all about balance.

F*ck Your Diet out now.

Originally posted here:
F*ck Your Diet Author Chlo Hilliard Wants To Give The Conversation About Black Women And Weight A Makeover - BET

Read More..

Its wellness, but not as you know it. This is the anti-diet movement, a liberating take on health that encourages its followers to stop demonising food and idealising weight loss. It might feel like a revolution but its not really new. Anti-diet culture, informed largely by radical feminism and thefatacceptance movement of the 70s, has been around for decades. But its recently hit the big time thanks to the likes of actress and activist Jameela Jamils iWeigh Instagram account (where youre invited to measure your worth in personal values and achievements rather than kilos) and UK-based nutritionist Laura Thomas, who in 2018 published a book called Just EatIt,emblazoned with the unofficial emblem of the anti-diet movement, a pink-glazed doughnut.

For anyone whos suffered through the lemon detox, the Atkins diet or even a clean-eating lifestyle, its a tantalising idea. Here is permission to eat the foods we crave, without a side serve of guilt. Diets, once considered the gateway to glowing health and a bangin bod, are being called out foroverpromising and underdelivering, and leaving a legacy of physical and mental health problems to boot. Like sugar and gluten before it, diet is now a four-letter word.

The anti-diet movement is about not being a victim of diet culture anymore, explains dietitian Lyndi Cohen, one of Australias most outspoken anti-diet advocates. I think in many ways its a female fight because women are so often targeted by the diet industry. Women especially end up tying their self-worth to how they look, and the diet industry teaches us that thats what matters most.

This message is so pervasive that author and vulnerability researcher Bren Brown ranks body image and appearance as the number one shame trigger for women. And that makes weight loss and dieting a complex beast for many of us.

We get so hung up on dieting because we believe that getting a thinner body will make us happy, says psychologist Glenn Mackintosh, founder of Weight Management Psychology and author of Thinsanity: 7 Steps to Transform Your Mindset and Say Goodbye to Dieting Forever (Hachette, $29.99). But if you talk to a lot of people in thin bodies, theyre not happy because the body image stuff is in your mind.

RELATED: 6 Reasons Not To Diet This New Year

Getty Images

Ask an anti-dieter and theyll tell you that the solution is to do away with diets altogether.

I dont think theres a place for the traditional diet anymore, says Cohen, because research shows us that a healthy lifestyle that isfree from restrictions and absolutes is more effective.

Clinical nutritionist Jessica Sepel, who has a program, app and books focused on what she calls un-dieting, agrees. Diets work for a little while, until they dont, she says. Theyre unsustainable. Giving up dieting is the beginning of finding freedom with food and your body.

But not all health experts are ready to bin diets for good. Take British-born, Sydney-based PT James Smith. The author of the upcoming Not a Diet Book (HarperCollins, $32.99), Smiths social media posts take sharp aim at trends like plant-based eating, the keto diet and intermittent fasting. Hes also known for his polarising weight-loss mantra, calorie fucking deficit.

I personally think the term dieting has been largely misconstrued due to the vast and growing amount of charlatans selling their special diet to the masses, proclaiming you need a certain tea, fasting protocol or workout to lose fat, he says. However, in my opinion, we cant lose sight of what a traditional weight-loss diet is. It is a period of sensible restriction. Thats it. After we enjoy lavish holidays, we come home to ... more sensible spending [and] no one ishaving an issue with that, are they?

The anti-diet message serves a purpose for those battling disordered eating, acknowledges Smith, but reckons it has the potential to leave a large amount ofpeople feeling a bit lost. He explains, Ive worked with thousands of clients and helped them lose fat, andtothem and to myself, counting calories is an exercise ofliberation [rather] than obsession. Dieting isnt always problematic for everyone, admits Mackintosh, adding that in our appearance-obsessedworld, its common to want to lose weight sometimes, and expecting people to simply banish those thoughts is unrealistic.

We do see that in our body-positive communities, that people end up feeling ashamed for thatvery normal desire [to lose weight], he says. Having a little bit of focus [on weight] and recognising your weight can be important for wellbeing and health is fine. Its when it takes over that it starts to be a problem.

There is a real argument for weight loss for health, too, says surgeon Dr Nikki Stamp, author of Pretty Unhealthy: Why our obsession with looking healthy is making us sick (Murdoch Books, $32.99). Its really important to differentiate the bad or fad diets from good nutrition ormedically and/or dietetically supervised and prescribed diets. I do wonder if that is a place where antidiet sentiment can be seen as going too far, she says. Whileweight management is not necessarily appropriate for reasons like aesthetics, there are times where even small amounts of weight loss are important for health.

Getty Images

Underpinning the anti-diet philosophy is intuitive eating,an approach that emphasises eating without rules or judgement and learning to listen to the bodys natural hunger and fullness signals. For many cruising Instagram for wellness advice, though, the idea of eating mindfully might be overshadowed by the more appealing concept of eating a slice of cake for breakfast if you feel like it.

Diets dont work, so here, have a doughnut, the memesseem to say. Confused much? Its one of the weak points of the anti-diet movement, acknowledges Mackintosh. Weve got people talking about the harms of dieting and what not to do, and nowwe have to step up and say, OK,well,hereisaviable alternative, he says. The problem is, the nature of Instagram all pretty pictures and snackable content makes it easy for thenuance of intuitive eating to be lost. The [idea]thatits eat whatever you want all the time is wayoff themark and doesnt account for one of theprinciples that is gentle nutrition, says Stamp.

Its also not another set of food rules to follow or a tool for weight loss. Intuitive eating is easily reshaped into a diet in disguise in the wrong hands, warns Cohen.

Theanti-diet movement has become really trendy andas a result there are a lot of people who are jumping on the bandwagon and while I think thats collectively awesome, I think theres a lot of confusing messages now, she explains. For example, you have people claimingto help you heal your relationship with food, but in their next post theyre talking about how to do intermittent fasting or telling you to stop filling your facewith food. And its hard to trust whosactuallygoingto help you find balance withfoodandwhos justusing it for marketing.

Some pointers for spotting undercover diet culture? Cohen suggests being wary of supposed anti-diet accounts spruiking before-and-after photos, telling youto cut foods, or encouraging cleanses or detoxes.

If anti-dieters and kilojoule counters agree on anything, its that theres no one-size-fits-all answer.

Its for each to ... figure out [on their own], but [dieting] should not be ruled out, says Smith; while Cohen says that the anti-diet movement isnt a magic cure for body dissatisfaction.

Until the [mainstream] culture shifts, weregoing to feel like were swimming upstream to get a sense of self-acceptance, she explains.

Whether youre pro or antidiet, learning tolet go of a thinis best mentality is the healthy balance we could all use more of, argues Stamp.

Rather than defining health from one number, shifting the focus to what we do what we eat, if we exercise will improve our health independent of a number on a scale.

For Sepel, its about kindness. When we treat our bodies with kindness, eat nourishing foods, restmore and stress less, our bodies naturally find their balanced weight, she says. And this looks different for everyone. There is no perfect shape or size. More kindness, less diets? Well raise a doughnut to that.

Listen to our chat with Lyndi Cohen on WH Uninterrupted below...

Read this article:
How Diet Became The Dirtiest Word In Wellness - Women's Health

Read More..

The University of Kent researchers carried out the study analysing food supply data for 171 countries from the 1960s to 2010s.

Research carried out by the University of Kent has shown that diets are changing in complex ways worldwide. International food supply patterns are supporting healthier diets in parts of the world, but causing underweight and obesity elsewhere, according to the research. They are also said to be having important effects on environmental sustainability, with potentially worrying consequences.

The team discovered that South Korea, China and Taiwan have experienced the largest changes in food supply over the past five decades, with animal source foods such as meat and eggs, sugar, vegetables, seafood and oil crops all becoming a much larger proportion of diet.

In contrast, in many Western countries the supply of animal source foods and sugar was found to have declined, particularly in high-income English-speaking countries such as the UK, US, Canada and Australia. The researchers also found that many countries around the world have seen an increase in vegetable-based diets. The sub-Saharan Africa region showed the least change, with a lack of diverse food supply, and this could be an explanation for the regions malnutrition.

The declines in diets based on animal source foods and sugar and corresponding increases in vegetable availability is said to indicate a possible trend towards more balanced and healthier foods in some parts of the world. However, in South Korea, China and Taiwan in particular, the increase in animal source and sugar availability has occurred at the same time as a dramatic rise in obesity, and also suggests that changes in diet may be having a substantial negative effect on the environment.

Dr James Bentham, Lecturer in Statistics at Kents School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science, who led the research, said: There are clear shifts in global food supply, and these trends may be responsible for strong improvements in nutrition in some parts of the world. However, obesity remains a long-term concern, and we hope that our research will open doors to analysis of the health impacts of global diet patterns. Equally, we must also consider carefully the environmental impacts of these trends.

Advances in science and technology, together with growing incomes, have allowed many nations to have access to a diversity of foods. We must harness these advances and set in place policies that provide healthier foods for people everywhere, especially those who can currently least afford them, added Professor Majid Ezzati from the School of Public Health at Imperial College, and part of the research team.

Go here to read the rest:
Research finds that global diets are converging, with benefits and problems - New Food

Read More..

Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food is a phrase credited to Hippocrates, an ancient Greek physician thought to be the father of medicine. In other words, the notion is nothing new.

But its hold over us is as strong as ever.

The way health influencers and diet gurus talk about certain trendy health foods, youd think they could cure cancer. In fact, there are people who say that certain foods can cure cancer and other illnesses. Anthony William, known as the Medical Medium, published a book about celery juice and told Goop that he has seen thousands of people who suffer from chronic and mystery illnesses restore their health by drinking sixteen ounces of celery juice daily on an empty stomach. Dr. Oz has promoted certain foods as having cancer-starving benefits, suggesting that eating them in particular quantities may literally prevent cancer from spreading in your body.

Though at first glance these claims might seem hopeful, or harmless, thinking of food as medicine can actually be dangerous. For one thing, it downplays the importance of actual medicine in the treatment of diseases. Not to mention its manipulative (and sometimes insulting) to suggest that a person could solve their health problems with a simple diet change.

Food does play a central role in the treatment of a few diseases, but these are relatively rare.

In the case of certain diseases, the effect of diet is well supported by evidence. People with diabetes need to be mindful of how food affects their blood sugar levels, and children with epilepsy might benefit from following a ketogenic diet.

Jeffrey Hamilton via Getty Images

Then there are specific conditions where you need to avoid a specific nutrient, said Christopher Labos, a cardiologist and epidemiologist at McGill University in Montreal. Phenylketonuria (PKU) occurs when babies are born without the ability to metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine. So, it must be removed from the diet to avoid the neural complications of PKU.

And there are allergies. The obvious example is celiac disease, which is an allergy to gluten, Labos said. That said, the gluten thing has been blown out of proportion people avoid it even though they dont have celiac disease, which is pointless.

Food also plays a role in digestive conditions. People with IBS, Crohns disease and ulcerative colitis may need to be more careful about their diets, because certain foods might trigger their symptoms, Labos said. Still, these conditions affect people differently, and its not true that avoiding one food or loading up on another will cure any one of them.

But for many diseases, theres not enough evidence to say that food is a part of treatment.

If you come across someone on social media claiming that a certain restrictive diet can prevent or cure a disease lately, this seems to be happening with low-carb diets and dementia there are plenty of reasons to be skeptical. Even if they cite a scientific study as proof of their claims, this doesnt mean those claims are legitimate.

Theres so much research being produced, and not all of it is good quality, Labos said. If you only look at one study and dont look at everything thats been done in that particular field, youre going to get a very skewed view of whats out there. Put another way: If the nine studies that came before you were negative, and yours came out positive, youre not groundbreaking, youre an outlier. If you ignore all the stuff that contradicts what were trying to say, youre just cherry-picking the data.

If you want to make sure youre getting legitimate, evidence-based information, you can look to sources like the Agriculture Departments Dietary Guidelines, the American Heart Association and the National Institutes of Health. If you do choose to follow health influencers, its a good idea to do some research on the claims theyre making. If they cite a study as evidence, make sure that the study was done in humans, that the sample size was large and that it was published in a legitimate journal. Then search for other studies on the topic to make sure that the results line up.

Conversations such as the one in the clip above can convince people that food can be as effective as medicine in curing certain diseases.

A quick look into those claims about low-carb diets curing and preventing dementia, for example, is illuminating. There is currently no evidence in the research that certain diets, such as low-carb, keto or whole foods, help in the treatment or prevention of neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS or Alzheimers, said Shannon Hughes, a Colorado-based registered dietitian and physician assistant. Whats more, when individuals with these diseases are placed on these kinds of diets ... harm may be done, as this population is already at risk for malnutrition. These diseases often cause unintentional weight loss due to increased metabolism, loss of appetite and difficulty swallowing, so adding a restrictive diet to the mix can be dangerous.

An overall healthful diet can help prevent certain health problems but cant replace actual medicine as treatment.

All of this isnt to say that nutrition doesnt play a role in health. A healthy diet overall is going to decrease the probability of you developing any number of medical problems because youll be an overall healthier person, Labos said. We know that trans fats are probably bad, unsaturated fats are probably better than saturated ones, and that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables is probably good.

Theres plenty of epidemiological evidence for this that is, large population-based studies have consistently found strong correlations between certain eating patterns and lowered disease risk. For example, a 2018 review of the literature looking at research on diet and heart disease found that dietary patterns that include a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains (mostly whole grain), reduced-fat dairy, lean protein foods (meat, fish, poultry and/or alternatives), nuts, seeds and vegetable oils can promote health and reduce a persons risk for heart disease. And a 2018 study of 776 American adults added to the already large body of evidence that eating a lower-sodium diet can help reduce blood pressure. Still, Lobos pointed out that correlation isnt the same as causation. Following evidence-based dietary recommendations can help manage and reduce the risk of chronic diseases but definitely cant guarantee prevention or cure.

Beyond this, theres really no evidence supporting any one food, or any specific diet, will be the magic bullet to the prevention of all maladies. People who are dogmatic about eat this, not that often arent backed by research, Labos said. Theres just not enough evidence.

And prevention is different than treatment. For instance, there is strong evidence that a high-fiber diet may prevent colon cancer, but that is not the same thing as saying fiber will treat colon cancer, Hughes said. Forgoing potentially lifesaving chemotherapy and instead looking to a high-fiber diet to cure colon cancer could literally be the difference between life and death.

The idea of food as medicine might seem empowering, but it holds individuals responsible for things out of their control.

Nutrition has gained a lot of traction in the popular and social media, and is a big focus of everyday life for many people, Hughes said. It gives people a strong sense of control and individualism in terms of their health.

The problem is, theres so much more to health than food and nutrition. Food as medicine elevates the idea that food and nutrition is a cure-all and that a person has complete control over their health, dismissing other factors such as genetics and social determinants of health, Hughes said.

Though advocates of the message sell it as empowerment, holding someone (and their diet) fully responsible for their health outcomes just isnt fair. For instance, it is your fault you got cancer because you did not eat a good diet, or you didnt care enough to eat right, Hughes said. Really, though, theres so much more to it. A person could eat a diet rich in polyphenols and still get cancer, or follow a Mediterranean diet and still get cardiovascular disease, she said.

Food is only one of many factors that influence health. Though a healthful overall diet can indeed help in preventing certain diseases, its not a bulletproof defense. And no food or diet is an adequate substitute for real medicine or medical treatment.

This piece has been amended to correct the location of McGill University.

Read the rest here:
Food Isn't Medicine. Here's Why It's Dangerous To Believe It Is. - HuffPost

Read More..

Lemon coriander soup is the ultimate comfort food for the winter recipe you need to try.

Highlights

Winters are for all kinds of indulgences - one of which is the indulgence of being lazy. Nothing beats the feeling of wanting to sit on the couch, binge watch one's favourite shows on the internet without having to move an inch. Entering the kitchen seems a Herculean task and the willingness to cook is at an all-time low. In such cold weather when one is at a loss of what to make for dinner, Thai food and recipes may be the unlikely champion. The delicious taste of lemon - which is integral to Thai cuisine - is just the taste you would want to try this season. For the people who resonate with these words, this recipe for Thai lemon coriander soup is just perfect!

(Also Read:Red or Green Thai Curry? All You Have To Know About The Two Before Ordering)

The health benefits of the soup are numerous such as making immunity stronger and keeping the body warm. The citrus content of the Thai lemon coriander soup is also high, thus enriching the dish with good amounts of vitamin C. This vitamin is even more important in winters as it helps naturally beat the cold. Coriander, too, is a great antioxidant for the body and adds an additional element of good health to the soup.

The best thing about the Thai lemon coriander soup is the fact that you can make it your own. Whether you like your soup plain or whether you prefer to add loads of veggies, meat or even condiments like vinegar or soya sauce - the Thai soup is yours to customise. The basic ingredients of lemon juice and coriander are the only ones that stay constant, and everything else can be fine-tuned to the Indian tastes.

(Also Read:Healthy Diet: 3 Low-Calorie Vegetarian Clear Soup Recipes For A Light Meal)

Talking about the taste, the reason this simple soup stands out in your winter menu is its lemony zing. The flavour that we get in abundance during summers in the form of lemonade or lime soda is something we crave during winters without even realising it. The additional crunch of coriander and veggies or meat is something that adds another layer of texture to the dish, and also satiates the appetite.

So try this wonderful recipe next time you're struggling to decide what to make for dinner!

Here is the original post:
Winter Diet: 3-Ingredient Soup To Keep You Warm This Winter (Recipe Inside) - NDTV Food

Read More..

Contact Us Today

Page 1,490«..1020..1,4891,4901,4911,492..1,5001,510..»

Home » Page 1490