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You gobbled down your lunch while scrolling through your social media or watching your favorite show, and now you feel bloated and unsure of what your food even tasted like. Or maybe you feel guilty for eating leftover chocolate cake straight out of the fridge.

These behaviors and mindsets contrast with mindful eating, which means using all your physical and emotional senses to experience and enjoy the food choices you make without judgment, said Lilian Cheung, a lecturer and director of health promotion and communication in the nutrition department at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, via email.

It "stems from the broader philosophy of mindfulness, a widespread, centuries-old practice used in many religions," Cheung said. "Mindfulness is an intentional focus on one's thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations in the present moment."

Mindful eating and intuitive eating philosophies overlap, but they differ in some key ways. While mindful eating is about being present to experience your food as you eat it, intuitive eating focuses more on improving one's relationship with food and body image by rejecting external rigid diet messaging.

Whether one method is better than the other depends on individuals' needs, said Lisa Young, an adjunct professor of nutrition at New York University, nutritionist in private practice and author of "Finally Full, Finally Slim: 30 Days to Permanent Weight Loss One Portion at a Time."

Mindful eating fits with all types of counseling and strategies for eating, weight and health. "It's more user-friendly for a larger audience because it's a tool that can be incorporated into a lot of different methods," Young said.

These experts cautioned that mindful eating isn't a panacea for food- or health-related issues, but small studies have suggested some benefits of the practice, largely based on its meditative aspects and abilities to help people distinguish physical hunger cues from emotional hunger. Some people have experienced weight loss or stability, anxiety and stress reduction, normalized eating habits, and relief from irritable bowel syndrome and gastrointestinal symptoms, Young said.

If you want to try mindful eating, here's what else you should know about getting started and potential hurdles.

The goal of mindful eating is to become more in tune with all your senses -- sight, smell, hearing, taste and feeling -- and thoughts during your eating experiences without distraction, said Teresa T. Fung, a professor and director of the Didactic Program in Dietetics at Simmons University in Boston, and adjunct professor of nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

"When I'm going to eat breakfast, I'm not going to be holding my iPad and reading today's news. I'm not checking my email on that. I'll just sit in a quiet place -- it could be a couch. I don't have to sit at the dining room table," Fung explained.

Fung walked CNN through her morning coffee experience: She would pay attention to the sound of her coffee brewing, then the scent. She would notice the color of her drink, its balance between cream and coffee. Then she can focus on whether the coffee itself feels as warm in her mouth as the mug does in her hands, or the liquid's texture. As she sips, she could mentally note the flavors.

Gratitude is both an aspect and potential outcome of mindful eating. Heightening your awareness beyond yourself while eating, you could also think of "where the food came from, expressing gratitude for the environmental elements and individuals involved in the food's journey to the plate," said Cheung, the editorial director of The Nutrition Source, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health nutrition department's online resource for science-based guidance for healthy living.

You might be used to using your phone, watching television or reading while eating, but you can break the habit by gradually cutting out mealtime distractions. "If you eat dinner while watching TV most nights of the week, can you start by reserving Sunday night to eat mindfully? Then Monday, and so on?" Cheung said.

The same goes for those who have a busy schedule that complicates being able to solely focus on eating. Just try to practice mindful eating as much as you can -- whether that's for five minutes during lunchtime or during each meal and snack, doing what you can is better than nothing at all, these experts said.

If you feel impatient or the urge to grab your phone while eating, that's OK, Cheung said. Just notice those feelings, take a few deep breaths, and return your attention to your meal. Take small bites and chew thoroughly, too. If you eat slowly, you're more likely to recognize when you're satisfied -- rather than stuffed -- and can stop eating.

"Sharing a meal or eating alongside others is certainly encouraged," Cheung said, and mindful eating "doesn't have to mean consuming your food in silence. Rather, aim to set aside a few minutes at the start of the meal: Smile to your peers, express your gratitude for the food and the company of others, and try the first few bites without talking to focus on the eating experience."

Once you have been mindfully eating for a while, the mindset can apply to other areas of your life. "It can apply to mindful living and doing one thing at a time," Fung said. "I'm going to check my emails now; I'm going to watch TV later. So often, we're doing so many things at the same time that we're multitasking, and we're not paying attention to anything."

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How to practice mindful eating, the useful tool for every diet - KTBS

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Bryant Stamford| Special to Courier Journal

Recently I emphasized that a major benefit of a keto diet,a very low-carb, very high-in-fat diet,is avoiding garbage carbs. That is one key to success. In other words, and this is a critical point that is largely misunderstood, consuming lots of fat is not, in and of itself, a good thing. Gorging on fat does not in some mysterious way promote health and help you lose weight. On the contrary, if you consume lots of saturated fat, which typically is the case on a keto diet, you open yourself to a host of health risks.

OK, so why consume all that fat? It is a means to an end, and the end is producing ketones an alternative fuel that is made in your liver when there is not enough glucose (sugar) for energy.As discussed last week, ketones provide a way of burning off fat while dieting, which is exactly what you want to do.

You may like: What is the keto diet? Why it works for some but may not be right for you

This raises an interesting question. Is there a way to produce ketones without consuming outrageous quantities of fat? In other words, is there a better way, a healthier way to go keto than a keto diet? The answer is yes, with intermittent fasting.

The key to intermittent fastingis when you eat, rather than an emphasis on what you eat, which is the basis of the keto diet. Intermittent fastingemphasizes prolonged periods of fasting in which you consume nothing other than water, black coffee or unsweetened tea no juice, etc.

How long should you fast? That depends on the approach you choose. One approach is to fast for 24 to 36 hours periodically, like one day per week. Another approach is to fast each day for 14 to 20 hours. The longer the fast, the greater the impact to create ketones and reap other benefits.

You may like: Did you gain the COVID 19? Intermittent fasting could help you shed those pandemic pounds

When COVID-19 hit big time last year, I noticed so many folks gaining weight almost immediately from the lockdowns. In response, I decided to go in the opposite direction. I had been dabbling with intermittent fastinghere and there, but not taking it too seriously. So, I set two goals.

One was reducing my body weight back to what it was in high school (190 pounds), a loss of about 12 pounds. The second goal was getting rid of stubborn fat from my waistline and hip area (love handles). This is something I have been working at for years, but my healthy diet and copious amounts of exercise were not enough.

I had concluded that age was my enemy, and despite hours of cardio exercise and resistance training each week, combined with all kinds of sit-ups, crunches, leg lifts, planks, etc., fat on my waistline never budged.

I have long been a believer in eating when Im hungry, rather than eating according to a schedule. This means that skipping breakfast or lunch was no big deal for me, and I began the intermittent fastingprocess by fasting 18 hours each day, eating everything (meals and snacks) in a six-hour window from about 4-10 p.m.

This worked well and although I had not decreased my food intake, my weight began to drop. Seeing this initial success over the first few months, I decided to take the next step and increase my fasting time to 20 hours each day, and at times 22 hours a day, eating no earlier than 6 p.m.Thats when things really began to happen.

Ironically, I had to consciously emphasize eating more and more, because I didnt want any changes that occurred to be due to simply eating less. Although I ate more, my bodyweight dropped, and the fat on my waistline dwindled to the point where my old six-pack resurfaced and my love handles disappeared. Anita, my wife, was concerned that I was getting too thin and constantly urged me to eat more, which I happily agreed to do to stay at 190 pounds.

You may like: 'My health was off the rails and I knew it': How intermittent fasting changed everything

So, what is a typical day of eating for me? In brief, I envision what I normally would have had for breakfast and lunch, plus snacks (power bars, nuts, etc.), and consume these after my first meal of the day at 6 p.m.I drink black coffee periodically throughout the day, which satisfies me comfortably until my dinner.

And, let me add, if I feel like cheating at night with a treat like a hot-fudge sundae, I dont hesitate.

In addition, my workouts are great, with no loss of energy, even though I am fasted for many hours prior to working out.

When you fast you produce ketones, and you also increase the production of human growth hormone. This is important, because beginning around the age of 30, there is a progressive decline in HGH, and in my 70s, I assume my HGH level was very low before intermittent fasting.

HGH helps increase muscle and bone mass while decreasing body fat. These potential benefits really captured my attention, because in recent years, despite intense workouts, my muscle mass was declining. But with intermittent fasting, I have been able to reclaim some muscle mass and strength, while slashing body fat and revealing my former six-pack, and I think HGH is a key factor.

Intermittent fastingworks better than any dietary approach I have attempted or recommended, and it offers several advantages over the typical keto diet. Its contrary to a lifetime habit of eating throughout the day and it takes lots of discipline and commitment, especially at first, but once you are in the groove, it becomes second nature.

A note of caution. Start easy, like a 14 hour fast, eating between, say, noon and 10 p.m. or whatever time frame fits best for you, then build gradually from there. If you have a medical condition, be sure to check first with your doctor before proceeding. Also, if you are on certain medications that have to be taken with food and at certain times, intermittent fastingprobably will not work for you.

Reach Bryant Stamford, a professor of kinesiology and integrative physiology at Hanover College, at stamford@hanover.edu.

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Keto might be more popular, but is intermittent fasting a better diet? Here's what to know - Courier Journal

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The artificial sweeteners used in diet drinks may stimulate the appetite and cause increased cravingsespecially for women and people with obesity, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open.

Want to help your patients lose weight? 3 reasons why commercial diet programs alone won't cut it.

For the study, researchers conducted a randomized crossover trial involving 74 participants over the course of three visits to determine if higher BMI and female sex are associated with increased brain reward activity or hunger response.

All participants were right-handed, nonsmokers, non-dieters, not taking medication, had a stable body weight for at least three months, and had no history of eating disorders, illicit drug use, or medical diagnoses. In addition, 58% of study participants were women. The average age of participants was 23.40 years old, and the BMI range was 19.18-40.27.

Notably, according to the study, most previous research on diet soda has focused mainly on males and people of normal weight.

As part of the randomized crossover design, participants consumed drinks containing sucrose, sucralose, or water. Then, the researchers measured the participants' responses to diet soda three ways, including:

According toKatie Page, a physician specializing in obesity at the University of Southern California and co-author of the study, the results showed that "females and people with obesity had greater brain reward activity" after they consumed the artificial sweetener.

Both females and people with obesity also experienced a reduction in the hormone that inhibits appetiteand they consumed more food after they had drinks with artificial sweeteners, compared with after they had drinks with sugar.

In comparison, male participants and people of healthy weight didn't experience an increase in brain reward activity or hunger response, which the researchers said suggests they aren't affected in the same way.

"I think what was most surprising was the impact of body weight and biological sex," Page said. "They were very important factors in the way that the brain responded to the artificial sweetener."

While some previous studies have shown benefits of artificially sweetened beverages, long-term research suggests that diet soda consumption islinked to increased weight gainand experts said the latest study should shed some light on this "false promise," NPR's "Shots" reports.

"This study offers some clues as to why," Laura Schmidt, a professor of health policy at the University of California, San Francisco, said. "Artificial sweeteners could be priming the brains of people with obesity to crave high-calorie foods," thereby disadvantaging people who may benefit most from a lower-calorie diet.

According to NPR's "Shots," one hypothesis as to why this disconnect occurs posits that the body may be confused by artificial sweeteners, making it believe sugar is coming.

As Susan Swithers, a behavioral scientist at Purdue University who was not involved in the study, put it, we're "supposed to get sugar after something tastes sweet. [Our bodies have] been conditioned to that." As a result, when we consume artificial sweeteners and the sugar never comes, our body's anticipatory responses are confusedwhich could throw off our ability to efficiently metabolize sugar that we consume later.

If this consistently happens to individuals who drink diet soda, it could increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes because when blood sugar rises, so does the body's insulin levels, Swithers added. "So what you're doing is you are kind of pushing the system harder," she said.

Given the results from this new research, Schmidt suggested, "People with obesity might want to completely avoid diet sodas for a couple of weeks to see if this helps to reduce cravings for high-calorie foods." (Aubrey, "Shots," NPR, 10/7; Yunker et al., JAMA Network Open, 9/28)

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Is the 'diet' in diet drinks a 'false promise?' Here's what one study suggests. - The Daily Briefing

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Metabolism is oxygen and oxygen comes from breathing, most of us have come actress this quote at some point in our lives. We can't deny that good metabolism is a key to overall well-being. And, we have met a lot of people, in our social groups, who have been blessed with a good metabolism. But are you among those, who are struggling to find ways to boost their metabolism? Well, you would be surprised to know that there are some food items that can help boost you here. And, to make things a bit easier, we have prepared a list of easy diet tips.

Load up your meals with protein-rich food items. It may help burn calories and boosts your metabolic rate. Eat eggs, broccoli, nuts, or even kidney beans that are high in protein. In fact, you can also munch almonds and walnuts. Now, if you are confused about where to start, try these spinach pancakes with walnuts and oats for your next breakfast.

If your meals don't have enough lentils and whole grains, it is high time you include them in your diet. The variety of dal you eat on daily basis goes a long way when it comes to enhancing your metabolism. Not just proteins, lentils and grains are rich in carbohydrates and fibres that help you with digestion. Masoor dal, also known as red lentils, is a delicious way to include the powerhouse of nutrients in your body.

The green leafy vegetables have iron, an essential mineral that may help to speed up the metabolism rate. You can include green vegetables like beans, broccoli, spinach in your diet. So, without much ado, give a healthy punch to your daily meal and quickly make roasted bell pepper and broccoli salad for yourself and your family this afternoon.

You may not know this but studies have suggested that spicy food can help in increasing the metabolism level in the body. For this, include chilli and pepper in your daily meals. For those who are new to the world of spicy food, try this chilli pepper with mushrooms. You can also include kidney beans, bell pepper while making this.

This tip would surely interest coffee lovers, if not anyone else. If you are a hardcore coffee lover, you must know that the caffeine in your coffee is helping you burn extra fat for energy. It increases the metabolic rate in the body. So, what are you waiting for? Quickly head to the kitchen and make a cup of cappuccino for yourself.

Include dairy products in your diet. Milk has calcium that's good for the body. Similarly, curd is a natural probiotic that will help you stay cool and is a good source of vitamin D and protein. Hung curd has numerous health benefits. You can make it at home easily.

It is advisable to drink plenty of water if you want to increase your metabolism. Make a small lifestyle change and add more to the amount of water you are consuming already. This will speed up your metabolism.

Follow these tips that can help to improve metabolism!

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Want To Boost Metabolism? Here Are 7 Quick And Easy Diet Tips To Follow - NDTV Food

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Vegetarian and vegan options are standard on restaurant menus these days. But that wasnt the case decades ago.

One book sits at the center of generational change in food and eating: Frances Moore Lapp's "Diet for a Small Planet." First published in 1971, the book argues that a plant-centered approach promotes healthy people and a healthier planet.

Since then, Diet for a Small Planet has sold 3.5 million copies and gone through 10th and 20th-anniversary editions. For the new 50th anniversary version, Moore Lapps daughter, Anna Lapp, brought the original recipes into the 21st century.

For Moore Lapp, the recipes are central to the book.

The book is an invitation to enjoy, to experiment, to be healthier, to really excite people about this way of eating, Moore Lapp says, and not thinking of it as giving up, but as embracing.

The book includes tasty, filling recipes like Frankies Feijoada, which Lapp only slightly tweaked. Some updated recipes now include butter instead of margarine or omit 70s ingredients like soy grits.

A lot of the refresh of the recipes was really looking at all that we've learned about nutrition and plant-centered eating, and bringing in a lot more fresh ingredients, Lapp says.

The notion that people cant get enough protein from eating plant-based diets is a myth one Lapp says her mother has battled for 50 years. Now, Lapp feels like more people understand that plant foods can provide ample protein.

Michael Pollan, the author of The Omnivore's Dilemma, calls "Diet for a Small Planet one of the most visionary books of the last 50 years. Many of these ideas went from counterculture in 1971 to mainstream in 2021.

In the original edition of the book, Moore Lapp argued that the food choices individuals and nations make from how public money is invested to what celebrated chefs cook have ramifications for individuals and the planet, her daughter says.

As time goes on, Lapp says more people understand Pollans famous quote: Eat food, mostly plants, not too much.

What we eat is a political act, she says, and these choices we make about our food as individuals and societies have such global implications."

The realization that shes not powerless woke Moore Lapp up, she says.

I believe that every human being needs to feel that we have power, that we're not powerless, and that our acts have meaning and that we're connected to others in that meaning, she says. What better way to experience that than through food?

Moore Lapp says she was shocked when she first learned about the incredible waste built into the grain-fed, meat-centric diet.

Livestock takes up 80% of the planets agricultural land but only accounts for 18% of the calories people consume. And in the Amazon rainforest, 80% of deforestation is due to livestock.

This grain-fed, meat-centric diet was driven by this very simple mechanism of what I call a one rule marketplace that only returns wealth to the wealthy, Moore Lapp says. And so it drove this system that made no sense in terms of our health or people being able to eat or maintaining the agricultural richness.

The decisions people make every day can help awaken others and start a conversation around these important issues, she says.

Americans can afford meat in a way many poor people around the world cant. But with consumers in the U.S. eating more meat per capita than any other country in the world, this unhealthy diet is killing us, Moore Lapp says.

Indigenous diets, however, have focused on plants for generations. Moore Lapp encourages all Americans to value these traditions. And the combination of legumes and grains can be found throughout the world, she says.

Moore Lapp hopes that as Americans continue to amass wealth, the idea of meat consumption as a status simply will end. Its a necessary shift to decrease the up to 37% of greenhouse gas emissions that come from the food system, she says.

I read this wonderful estimate in a peer-reviewed journal saying that as we turn to a plant-centered diet, it would be the equivalent of taking all the cars and trucks and even planes and boats out of the way in terms of saving greenhouse gas emissions, she says. That's the kind of impact it could have.

For people starting to shift to a plant-based diet, Lapp recommends trying Anthonys Leek, Shiitake, and Miso Butter "Casserole and Soy-Pickled Peppers. Her favorite recipe in the book, this pasta dish combines an unexpected array of flavors. And Moore Lapp says to try the Walnut Cheddar Loaf, which she fondly remembers cooking with her daughter for Thanksgiving when Lapp lived in Brooklyn.

Emiko Tamagawaproduced and edited this interview for broadcast withTodd Mundt.Allison Haganadapted it for the web.

Frankies Feijoada

6 servings

This recipe was one of the favorites from the first edition, with updates from a Brazilian friend for the 20th anniversary edition.

Heat the oil in a large pot and saut the onion, garlic, scallions, green pepper, and tomato until the onion is translucent. Add the beans, stock, bay leaf, vinegar, celery, sweet potato, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

Mash some of the beans in the pot to thicken the mixture and continue cooking for 5 more minutes. Remove the bay leaf and top with chopped cilantro and orange slices. Enjoy with rice and greens.

Anthonys Leek, Shiitake, and Miso Butter "Casserole and Soy-Pickled Peppers

4 to 6 servings

This is a comfort food mash-up of Honk Kong noodles and leek chowder that plays to the strength of the angel hair-like pasta, fideo. The final result is a savory umami bomb. The Soy-Picked Serrano Peppers (recipe follows) provide a good counterpoint. If youre serving it with the peppers, start those pickling before you begin making the pasta dish. Anthony Myint

Clean the leek thoroughly and reserve the tough greens for stock or other use. Cut the tender interior lengthwise into quarters, then slice finely crosswise and place in a microwave-safe bowl. But the butter into small pieces, toss it with the leeks and a generous pinch of salt, microwave for 30 to 60 seconds until the butter is melted and the leeks are completely relaced. Add more time as needed. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Remove the shiitake stems. (You can reserve them for stock as well). Slice the shiitake caps into thin strips. Heat a large pan large enough to eventually toss all the pasta on medium-high heat, spoon 4 or more tablespoons of the butter from the melted leeks into the pan, and salt generously. Saut the shiitakes until golden brown, about 6 minutes, tossing occasionally.

In a small pan, melt a bit more butter, about a tablespoon, and add the shallots, frying them until golden brown and crispy, 2 to 4 minutes. Set aside.

Wash, drain, and cut the spinach into - inch-wide strips.

Add the leeks, butter, and miso to the large pan with the shiitakes and break up any miso clumps. Add the half-and-half and chopped spinach and simmer until spinach has just softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off the heat.

Meanwhile, boil the pasta until just cooked, approximately 2 minutes. Drain, reserving about a half cup of the pasta water, add the pasta to the large pan, and toss and fold to incorporate. The result should be a slippery and savory pasta. Add salt to take and another generous splash of half-and-half or reserved pasta water right before serving to ensure slipperiness. Garnish with cilantro and the crispy shallots and serve with soy-pickled peppers.

Soy-Pickled Serrano Peppers

Halve the peppers lengthwise, remove the stem and seeds, and thinly slice them crosswise. In a small bowl, combine them with the soy sauce. These soy-picked peppers are a great complement to the mild leek pasta. Theyre also delicious atop tacos and sandwiches.

Walnut Cheddar Loaf

1 loaf, about 6 servings

This vegetarian version of meat loaf is especially nice served with whole walnuts sprinkled on top.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Heat the oil in a pan and saut the onion until translucent. Mix the onion with the remaining ingredients in a bowl and put the picture in an oiled 9 x 5 inch loaf pan, smoothing the top. Bake for 30 minutes, or until edges are browned. Allow to cool and cut into slices.

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Celebrating 50 years of 'Diet for a Small Planet' with Frances Moore Lapp and daughter Anna Lapp - Here And Now

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If you are feeling tired on a vegan diet, there might be something off with what you are eating. Tiredness is a common issue among new vegans, but it doesnt have to be! With just a few tweaks to your diet, you can start to feel energized and ready to go.

With the right balance and understanding of what the body needs, a vegan diet can be just as, and probably more, realistic and nourishing as any other way of eating. There is usually a simple solution to help get your energy levels back where they should be. But first, you have to find out why you are tired to start with!

The most obvious problem that you might be having is that you simply arent eating enough. This is a common problem, especially if you lept straight into veganism, due to vegan portion sizes being way different than what you may be used to

Because a vegan diet is often lower in calories, protein, fat, and carbs. You need to consume more food to make up for those losses. This means ignoring conventional portion sizes and eating until you are full.

This is a very important adjustment to make in your diet if you want to maintain a vegan diet.

Another common reason why you are tired on a vegan diet is that you are deficient in a vitamin or mineral.

This is a common problem, especially if you have not started to eat a balanced vegan diet full of a wide variety of plant foods.

Without animal products in your diet, you will have to get your nutrients from different plant foods. If you only eat a limited amount of plant foods, you could be missing out on important vitamins and minerals.

If you are feeling very tired on your vegan diet it might be because you arent eating enough protein.

This can happen if you are eating too many light foods, like tomatoes, celery, fruit, or cucumbers. You have to branch out from produce into more food options, such as grains, beans, and tofu.

Without a variety of different food groups, it can be very easy to miss out on the protein that your body needs.

If you arent getting protein, your body can start to break down muscle, resulting in tiredness, weakness, and a loss of muscle mass.

Carbohydrates are another thing that could cause you to be tired on a vegan diet. This is because your body needs carbs to turn into energy. Without carbs, your body doesnt have enough fuel to keep you feeling good and active.

This is a common issue on a vegan diet, so you will need to work your meals around a healthy source of carbs. This can be potatoes, bread, beans, or whole grains.

Fiber is what often helps to keep you full. Our body can quickly burn through protein and carbs, but fiber is there to stay until you eat your next meal.

If you are feeling overly tired and sluggish, you might not be getting enough fiber in your diet. A lack of fiber can cause you to be hungry all of the time and give you dips in energy. It can also make you constipated, which can result in tiredness.

Fiber also helps your body to better digest food, making the process harder when you are not eating enough fiber.

Fiber is good for many aspects of your body and can easily begin to cause tiredness if you arent getting enough of it.

If you are not eating enough, what are you fueling your body with?

Our body relies on food for the ingredients needed to make energy for you to live off of. A vegan diet is already lower in fat, protein, and carbs, so you have to eat more food to balance it out. While some people thrive off a few larger meals during their day, others do better with smaller meals and plenty of snacks, or some combination of this.

One great way to do this is to eat small snacks throughout the day. This way you arent stuffing yourself at mealtimes but still eating enough.

Snacks are an easy way to get in some extra nutrients that your body can turn into energy. Some great options are nuts and seeds, sugar from fruit or dates, or some form of complex carb. These are great snack options that your body can transform into energy.

If you are new to veganism, you might be relying too much on vegan substitutes, such as meats, cheeses, and milks.

This is a common problem for new vegans as they feel like they need these items in their diet. But you really dont, at least not in a day-to-day way. These foods are great occasionally, but they should not make up the bulk of your diet.

These foods, though vegan, are highly processed. They may be healthier than their non-vegan counterparts, but its still good to eat more whole foods.

These kinds of heavily processed foods can actually become very unhealthy if eaten too much. They can start to drain your energy instead of giving you more.

For more Animal, Earth, Life, Vegan Food, Health, and Recipe content published daily, subscribe to theOne Green Planet Newsletter! Lastly, being publicly-funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high-quality content. Please considersupporting us by donating!

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7 Reasons Why You Are Tired on a Vegan Diet - One Green Planet

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Lenny Henry is a well-known British comedian. The actor impressed fans after he went through a dramatic body transformation. But how did he manage to lose so much weight?

"Well, its eating broccoli and not much else.

"It has worked!" the star explained.

Lenny also admitted his secret was not only a healthier diet but a consistent workout routine.

"Ive also been running a lot," he said.

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The actor explained that after being diagnosed with diabetes in 2014, he realised he had to change his lifestyle completely.

Im a bit diabetic, so I was put on a very strict diet.

Ive lost between two and a half and three stone.

"I was big.

"You cant Hobnob your way through the day, he explained.

He also decided to cut out sweet treats like biscuits during his weight loss journey.

Its lots of greens, lots of juice and lots of walking.

"Swimming is good, he added.

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Lenny Henry weight loss: Actor lost 3st by adding one thing to his diet - 'it has worked!' - Daily Express

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Lets face it, Americans have never been famous for their healthy diets and slender physiques. Now a new study out of New York University published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has found that the diet of the average United States citizen is including more ultra-processed foods than ever.

Ultra-processed foods are defined as industrially manufactured, ready-to-eat or heat foods that include additives and are largely devoid of whole foods. These ingredients form an equation that leads to obesity and heart disease.

The overall composition of the average U.S. diet has shifted towards a more processed diet. This is concerning, as eating more ultra-processed foods is associated with poor diet quality and higher risk of several chronic diseases, said Filippa Juul, an assistant professor and postdoctoral fellow at NYU School of Public Health and the studys lead author. The high and increasing consumption of ultra-processed foods in the 21st century may be a key driver of the obesity epidemic.

The study looked at 41,000 adults who took part in the Center for Disease Control and Preventions National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2001 to 2018. The survey asked the participants about their diet in the previous 24 hours. Despite movements to decrease intakes of processed foods and transition to a diet with more whole foods, the results didnt appear to show any such trend towards healthiness.

Ultra-processed food consumption grew from 53.5% of calories at the beginning of the period studied (2001-2002) to 57% at the end (2017-2018). The intake of ready-to-eat or heat meals, like frozen dinners, increased the most, while the intake of some sugary foods and drinks declined. In contrast, the consumption of whole foods decreased from 32.7% to 27.4% of calories, mostly due to people eating less meat and dairy.

Processing food changes it from its natural state. Processed foods, for the most part, only have two or three ingredients. They are also essentially made by adding substances such as salt, oil, or sugar. Examples include canned fish or canned vegetables, fruits packaged in syrup, and freshly made bread.

Some foods go a step further in their unhealthiness. These are highly processed or ultra-processed foods. These most likely have many added ingredients such as added sugar, salt, fat, and artificial colors or preservatives, as well as substances extracted from foods, starches, and hydrogenated fats. They may also contain additives like artificial flavors or stabilizers. These are your frozen meals, soft drinks, hot dogs and cold cuts, fast food, packaged cookies, cakes, and salty snacks.

Juul says that one of the best and maybe only ways to improve diets is to implement policies to reduce their intake, such as revised dietary guidelines, marketing restrictions, package labeling changes, and taxes on soda. The political landscape being what it is, however, it would be a very curvy and pothole-filled road to implement any of those changes.

In the current industrial food environment, most of the foods that are marketed to us are in fact industrial formulations that are far removed from whole foods, said Juul. Nevertheless, nutritional science tends to focus on the nutrient content of foods and has historically ignored the health implications of industrial food processing.

The study didnt see any correlation between income or ethnicity. The one outlier was Hispanic adults, who ate significantly less ultra-processed foods and more whole foods compared with non-Hispanic white and Black adults.

The study took into account diets pre-COVID-19, and Juul says that diets probably only got worse throughout the pandemic.

In the early days of the pandemic, people changed their purchasing behaviors to shop less frequently, and sales of ultra-processed foods such as boxed macaroni and cheese, canned soups and snack foods increased substantially. People may have also eaten more packaged comfort foods as a way of coping with the uncertainty of the pandemic. We look forward to examining dietary changes during this period as data become available.

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American diets consisting of even more ultra-processed foods than thought - ZME Science

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Four weeks on a diet of highly processed food led to a strong inflammatory response in the brains of aging rats that was accompanied by behavioral signs of memory loss, a new study has found.

Researchers also found that supplementing the processed diet with the omega-3 fatty acid DHA prevented memory problems and reduced the inflammatory effects almost entirely in older rats.

Neuroinflammation and cognitive problems were not detected in young adult rats that ate the processed diet.

The study diet mimicked ready-to-eat human foods that are often packaged for long shelf lives, such as potato chips and other snacks, frozen entrees like pasta dishes and pizzas, and deli meats containing preservatives.

Highly processed diets are also associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes, suggesting older consumers might want to scale back on convenience foods and add foods rich in DHA, such as salmon, to their diets, researchers say especially considering harm to the aged brain in this study was evident in only four weeks.

The fact were seeing these effects so quickly is a little bit alarming, said senior study author Ruth Barrientos, an investigator in The Ohio State University Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research and associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral health.

These findings indicate that consumption of a processed diet can produce significant and abrupt memory deficits and in the aging population, rapid memory decline has a greater likelihood of progressing into neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimers disease. By being aware of this, maybe we can limit processed foods in our diets and increase consumption of foods that are rich in the omega-3 fatty acid DHA to either prevent or slow that progression.

The research is published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.

Barrientos lab studies how everyday life events such as surgery, an infection or, in this case, an unhealthy diet might trigger inflammation in the aging brain, with a specific focus on the hippocampus and amygdala regions. This work builds on her previous research suggesting a short-term, high-fat diet can lead to memory loss and brain inflammation in older animals, and that DHA levels are lower in the hippocampus and amygdala of the aged rat brain.

DHA, or docosahexaenoic acid, is an omega-3 fatty acid that is present along with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in fish and other seafood. Among DHAs multiple functions in the brain is a role in fending off an inflammatory response this is the first study of its ability to act against brain inflammation brought on by a processed diet.

The research team randomly assigned 3-month-old and 24-month-old male rats to their normal chow (32% calories from protein, 54% from wheat-based complex carbs and 14% from fat), a highly processed diet (19.6% of calories from protein, 63.3% from refined carbs cornstarch, maltodextrin and sucrose and 17.1% from fat), or the same processed diet supplemented with DHA.

Activation of genes linked to a powerful pro-inflammatory protein and other markers of inflammation was significantly elevated in the hippocampus and amygdala of the older rats that ate the processed diet alone compared to young rats on any diet and aged rats that ate the DHA-supplemented processed food.

The older rats on the processed diet also showed signs of memory loss in behavioral experiments that werent evident in the young rats. They forgot having spent time in an unfamiliar space within a few days, a sign of problems with contextual memory in the hippocampus, and did not display anticipatory fear behavior to a danger cue, which suggested there were abnormalities in the amygdala.

The amygdala in humans has been implicated in memories associated with emotional fear and anxiety-producing events. If this region of the brain is dysfunctional, cues that predict danger may be missed and could lead to bad decisions, Barrientos said.

The results also showed that DHA supplementation of the processed-food diets consumed by the older rats effectively prevented the elevated inflammatory response in the brain as well as behavioral signs of memory loss.

Researchers dont know the exact dosage of DHA or precise calories and nutrients taken in by the animals, which all had unlimited access to food. Both age groups gained a significant amount of weight on the processed diet, with old animals gaining significantly more than the young animals. DHA supplementation had no preventive effect on weight gain associated with eating highly processed foods.

That was a key finding: Barrientos cautioned against interpreting the results as a license for consumers to feast on processed foods as long as they take a DHA supplement. A better bet to prevent multiple negative effects of highly refined foods would be focusing on overall diet improvement, she said.

These are the types of diets that are advertised as being low in fat, but theyre highly processed. They have no fiber and have refined carbohydrates that are also known as low-quality carbohydrates, she said. Folks who are used to looking at nutritional information need to pay attention to the fiber and quality of carbohydrates. This study really shows those things are important.

This research was supported by the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. Co-authors include Michael Butler, Nicholas Deems, Stephanie Muscat and Martha Belury from Ohio State and Christopher Butt of Inotiv Inc. in Boulder, Colorado.

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How highly processed foods harm memory in the aging brain - The Ohio State University News

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image:Regular cycles of a fasting-mimicking diet improved health and lifespans in mice that otherwise ate a high-fat diet (illustration by Jonathan Haase/University of Southern California) view more

Credit: Jonathan Haase/University of Southern California

In a newUSCstudy on thehealtheffects of alow-caloriedietthat mimics fastingin the body, researchers found regularfive-daycycles of the diet in miceseemed tocounteractthedetrimentaleffects of theirusualhigh-fat, high-calorie diet.The study, published today inNatureMetabolism, analyzedthe diet,healthand lifespan of three different groups of mice over two years.

The findingspoint tothe potentialofusingafasting-mimicking dietasmedicine, according to the researchers.A fasting-mimicking diet, or FMD,is a low-calorie diet that tricks the body into a fasting state.

One group of mice ate a high-calorie, high-fat diet(with 60% of their calories from fat)and became unhealthy and overweight.Asecondgroup of mice atethe samepoordietas the first oneforapproximately 4 weeks, followed byfivedays where they were fedan FMDand two days of a normal, healthy diet.

Study authors saythose brief diet interventions weresufficient for that second groupto return to normal levels of cholesterol, blood pressure and weight. Notably, the mice who ate the fasting-mimicking diet forfivedays out of each month livedas long asathirdgroupof micethatwas consistently fed a healthy diet.

In humans, obesitycaused by ahigh-fat, high calorie diet is a major risk factor for metabolic syndrome,diabetesand cardiovascular disease.

The study indicates that its possible for mice toeata relatively bad diet that is counterbalanced by five days of a fasting-mimicking diet, saidstudy seniorauthorValterLongo,thedirector of the Longevity Institute at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and professor of biological sciences at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.Our major discovery is that intervening with this diet made theirheartsmore resilientand better functioning than the mice who only ate a high-fat, high-calorie diet.

Thestudy authorssay cycles of FMDappeared to preventobesityin miceby reducing the accumulation of visceral and subcutaneous fatallwithout causing lean body mass loss. FMDcyclesalsoappeared to improveheart function andpreventhigh blood sugar and high cholesterol.

According to researchers, theeffect of FMD cycles on gene expression indicateda role for fat cell reprogramming in obesity prevention.Specifically, the diets impactonfataccumulationand cardiac aging could explainprotection from earlydeath caused by a high-fat, high-calorie diet.

Theresearcherscaution these results should not be misinterpreted.Theyemphasize that they dont recommend that humans should eat a high-calorie, high-fat diet thats mitigated by periodic fasting.

They say, however, the potential benefits ofcounteractingpoor diets in this way should befurtherstudied in clinical trials.These strategies could providepotential health benefits for people who may not be willing or able to change their diets on an everyday basis.

Themost effective dietsat preventing or mitigating obesity in humans, includingthe ketogenic diet,require oftenradical and daily changes in dietary habits, the study authors say. Those requirementsresultin very low long-term compliance.

Longo said the study may indicate a sweet spot for the FMDin miceof five days a month.

Even after the mice in experimental group went back to their high-fat, high-calorie diet, the improvedfat breakdownin their bodiescontinuedforafairly long period,Longoexplained. Isthere a similar sweet spotfor humans,whereyou canintervene for a few daysand stillkeep breaking down fatfor several weeks?

Early FMD trials indicate potential health benefits for humans,headded.Several clinical studies published byLongoandcolleaguesindicate thata monthly FMDcaused loss of fat masswithout loss of muscle massandimproved cardiometabolic risk factors,especiallyinoverweightorobesehumans.They say this newmouse study showsthat these monthly FMD cyclescanactually restorenormal heart and metabolichealth and lifespan in animals fed a high-fat andhigh-calorie diet, a lifelong study that cannot be done in humans.

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Additional authors includeAmrendraMishra, Hamed Mirzaei, NovellaGuidi,Gerardo Navarrete, Min Wei, SebastianBrandhorst, Stefano DiBiaseandTodd E. Morganof theLongevity Institute andtheUSCLeonardDavis School of Gerontology;ManlioVinciguerraof theInternational Clinical Research Center, St Annes University Hospital, Brno, Czech Republic;Alice Moutonof theDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biologyat UCLA;MarinaLinardicandMatteo Pellegriniof theDepartment of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biologyat UCLA;Francesca RappaandRosario Baroneof theSection of Human Anatomy, Department of Biomedicine, Neuroscience and Advanced Diagnostic (BIND), University of Palermo;S. Ram Kumarof theDepartment of Surgeryat theKeck School of Medicine of USC;Peter S. Contiof theMolecular Imaging Center, Department of Radiologyat theKeck School of MedicineatUSC;Michel BernierandRafael de Caboof theTranslational Gerontology Branch, Intramural Research Program of the National Institute on Agingat theNational Institutes of Health.

Funding for the study was provided by the USC Edna JonesChair fund and National Institutes of Health grant P01 AG055369-01 to Longo. The work was also funded in part by the Intramural Research Program of theNational Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health. The researchers also acknowledge support from the USC Molecular Imaging Center and USC Leonard Davis School Aging Murine Phenotyping Core Facility. Mouton was supported by UCLA QCB Collaboratory Postdoctoral Fellowship. Computational and storage services associated with the Hoffman2 Shared Cluster were provided by the UCLA Institute for Digital Research and Educations Research Technology Group.

Longo is the founder of and has an ownership interest in L-Nutra; the companys food products are used in studies of the fasting-mimicking diet. Longos interest in L-Nutra was disclosed and managed per USCs conflicts-of-interest policies. USC has an ownership interest in L-Nutra and the potential to receive royalty payments from L-Nutra. USCs financial interest in the company has been disclosed and managed under USCs institutional conflict of interest policies.

Nature Metabolism

Experimental study

Animals

Fasting-mimicking diet prevents high-fat diet effect on cardiometabolic risk and lifespan

14-Oct-2021

Longo is the founder of and has an ownership interest in L-Nutra; the companys food products are used in studies of the fasting-mimicking diet. Longos interest in L-Nutra was disclosed and managed per USCs conflicts-of-interest policies. USC has an ownership interest in L-Nutra and the potential to receive royalty payments from L-Nutra. USCs financial interest in the company has been disclosed and managed under USCs institutional conflict of interest policies.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

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