Category Archives: Diet And Food

Better memory. Improved focus. Lower odds of developing dementia. Brain health is big business. A 2019 report by the Global Counsel on Brain Health projected that by 2023, people will spend more than $5 billion a year globally on brain health supplements.

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But can popping a pill really boost your brainpower? The research in this area is in its infancy, says dietitian Maxine Smith, RDN, LD. We dont yet have the data we need to make a recommendation about whether brain supplements work. And there are some safety concerns.

Heres what you should know before you buy supplements for your brain.

Many of the ingredients in brain health supplements have been tied to brain health in some way. But much of the evidence comes from research on food and diet, not supplements, Smith says.

There are more than 25,000 bioactive substances in food, which work together to protect your body including your brain and processes that affect your brain, Smith says. Taking just one or two of those vitamins or chemicals isnt going to be a cure-all.

Still, you might be wondering about the link between common brain booster ingredients and brain health. Heres what the science says.

Omega-3s are a type of healthy fats that are important for several body functions. Theyre found in fatty fish, shellfish and plant sources like walnuts and flaxseed. Omega-3 fatty acids are important for heart health, and scientists are studying whether they may also benefit the brain.

But theres not enough research to say that a supplement has the same benefits as omega-3 fatty acids from foods, Smith says. Its probably a better bet to just order the salmon.

Researchers have explored the link between cognition and vitamins B6, B9 and B12. But so far, there isnt evidence that B vitamins improve cognition or prevent dementia. Most people get plenty of B vitamins from their diet, Smith says.

Some older adults are deficient in B12, however. In that case, a supplement could benefit overall health, including brain health. If you are taking a daily multivitamin, its likely providing enough B-12, but its always best to discuss supplements with your physician before taking, she says.

Vitamin E is an antioxidant that protects your cells from damage. In people who already have dementia, a daily supplement of vitamin E may slow the rate of decline.

And theres some evidence that people who eat a diet rich in vitamin E may be less likely to develop dementia. But its not clear whether supplements would have the same benefit.

Whats more, too much vitamin E can be harmful. High doses of vitamin E supplements are associated with an increased risk of death, Smith says. Instead of supplements, she recommends a vitamin E-rich diet, with foods like nuts, seeds, dark green leafy vegetables and vegetable oils like sunflower and corn oil.

Vitamins A, C and D are often included in products that claim to benefit the brain. But while these vitamins are important for overall health, theres no evidence that they boost memory, cognition or brain health. That being said, vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin and many of us arent getting enough. Vitamin D is a good one to discuss with your physician.

Ginkgo is an herb thats long been popular as a supplement for cognitive health. But a large study of more than 3,000 participants found that ginkgo was no better than a placebo at preventing dementia in older adults. And in people who already had dementia, ginkgo didnt do anything to slow the rate of cognitive decline.

Plus, ginkgo could interact negatively with other medications. In other words, you should probably skip this herb.

What about all those over-the-counter brain supplements that claim theyre proven to benefit your brain? Take those claims with a grain of salt, Smith says.

Supplements are loosely regulated in the U.S., so theres no guarantee they do what they claim to do. The studies done by manufacturers arent always well-designed, Smith says. And some supplements might contain ingredients at doses that could be harmful. They might even be tainted with contaminants like heavy metals that can be dangerous, she adds.

Someday researchers might identify a blend of ingredients that does wonders for your gray matter. But in the meantime, there are more effective ways to keep your brain healthy:

As were living longer and our population is aging, more people are concerned with protecting cognition, Smith says. Theres no magic pill, but healthy lifestyle choices can do a lot to benefit your brain.

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Do Brain Supplements Actually Work? - Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic

If Google searches held their weight in gold, "How to strengthen your immune system" would be the equivalent of the great California rushparticularly since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although there's no magic bullet for improving your immunity, you can take one easy step to seriously shore up your body's defenses against disease. Here's what experts say is the #1 way to build immunity. Read on to find out moreand to ensure your health and the health of others, don't miss these Sure Signs You May Have Already Had COVID.

Experts say you can do several things to support your immune system, including:

But there's one habit that's probably the best to add to your routine.

The #1 thing you can do to aid your immune system is to eat a healthy dietone that's rich in a variety of fruits and vegetables, and low in processed foods, added sugar, and sodium.

Fruits and vegetables contain nutrients that directly support the immune system, including two of the most important: vitamin D and vitamin C. Look to whole foods, not supplements, first. "While vitamins and supplements can help fill in the gaps in your diet, the best way to load up on essential nutrients is to get them straight from food," says the Cleveland Clinic. "Your body absorbs and uses vitamins and nutrients better when they come from a dietary source." Additionally, fruits and vegetables contain many micronutrients and natural plant chemicals that may work together synergistically to produce benefits in the body.

Diets high in processed foods, added sugar and sodium increase your risk for overweight or obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, and high blood pressureall conditions that tax the immune system.

RELATED: Delta Symptoms Usually Appear Like This

There's strong evidence that Vitamin C supports immunity. "Vitamin C contributes to immune defense by supporting various cellular functions of both the innate and adaptive immune system," wrote researchers behind a 2017 study published in the journal Nutrients. "Vitamin C deficiency results in impaired immunity and higher susceptibility to infections supplementation with vitamin C appears to be able to both prevent and treat respiratory and systemic infections."

Good food sources of vitamin C include citrus fruits, peppers, berries, and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and brussels sprouts.

RELATED: This Blood Type Puts You at Risk for Dementia

The National Institutes of Health notes that vitamin D helps regulate immune function, while the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health says that lab studies indicate vitamin D can help control infections, reduce inflammation, and slow cancer cell growth.

Good sources for vitamin D include fatty fish like salmon, herring and mackerel; egg yolks; liver; and fortified milk. That said, it can be difficult to get enough vitamin D from food alone, so taking a vitamin D supplement (after consulting your doctor) can be beneficial.

Vitamin D has a fan in Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert. "There is good evidence that if you have a low vitamin D level, that you have more of a propensity to get infected when there are infections around," he said last fall. "Those data are pretty good data." And to get through this pandemic at your healthiest, don't miss these 35 Places You're Most Likely to Catch COVID.

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The #1 Way to Build Immunity, Say Experts | Eat This Not That - Eat This, Not That

By Gege Li

The foraging of Hadza honey inTanzania is under threat due toincreasing demand for land

Katiekk2/Getty Images

Book

Eating to Extinction

Dan Saladino

OUR diets are more homogenous than at any other point in human history, says food journalist Dan Saladino. Particularly in the West, a revolution in farming methods since the second world war has led us to a point where much of what we eat comes from just a few established varieties of crops and animals, controlled by a handful of companies.

This has undoubtedly had many benefits for humanity, making food supplies more predictable, cheaper and more accessible, and helping to curb malnutrition. Yet in his new book, Eating to Extinction: The worlds rarest foods and why we need to save them, Saladino argues that it has also pushed thousands of little-known foods, many with beneficial characteristics or rich historical and cultural significance, to the brink of extinction.

The human diet has undergone more change in the last 150 years (roughly six generations) than in the previous one million years (around 40,000 generations), he writes. This is worrisome, because restricting ourselves to such a narrow range of varieties diminishes the genetic variation that might protect crops and livestock from disease.

It also narrows the diversity of our gut microbiome, which is vital for our health and well-being, and risks the loss of entire culinary traditions forever. As Saladino puts it, where nature creates diversity, the food system crushes it.

Through a narrative that weaves science and history with stories spanning every corner of the globe, Saladino makes an urgent call to protect the worlds rare foods. The alternative, he warns, is a future where we lose our grip on nature and the vital services it provides, perhaps permanently.

The book is split into 10 parts, each focusing on a different category: wild foods (hunted or foraged); cereals; vegetables; meat; fish and seafood; fruit; cheese; alcohol; stimulants (tea and coffee) and sweet foods. In every chapter, Saladino highlights a few ingredients and traces their origins, meeting the people who are championing food biodiversity. Often, these individuals represent the last line of defence between a food and its extinction.

Saladino covers so much ground that it is hard to touch on even a fraction of the foods he explores. Just one example of a rare food with a remarkable story to tell is Hadza honey, foraged by some of the few remaining hunter-gatherer societies the Hadza people of Tanzania.

Through a relationship forged over millennia, the Hadza have learned to work together with honeyguide birds so both can reap the rewards of the nutritious honey found high in baobab trees.

But this special dynamic is under threat: the rising demand for land for crops and livestock is spilling into Hadza territory, putting their livelihoods at risk and depleting the supply of honey and other wild foods on which they depend. Saladino makes the impact of these potential losses clear, often rounding off a chapter with a moving story that underscores how tragic it would be if these foods ceased to exist.

Packed full of knowledge about a host of ingredients that you probably didnt even know existed, Eating to Extinction captures the urgency (and cost) of heading towards a future that is less nutritionally diverse.

We cannot afford to carry on growing crops and producing food in ways that are so violently in conflict with nature; we cant continue to beat the planet into submission, to control, dominate and all too often destroy ecosystems, Saladino concludes. The endangered foods in this book helped make us who we are; they could be foods that show us who we become.

More on these topics:

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Eating to Extinction review: Are our bland diets bad for the world? - New Scientist

It started at the snack bar. When Jodi Gruhns kids came in from the playing field, she wanted to be able to offer them healthy, tasty food options but their choices were severely limited.

I was appalled when my kids were doing sporting events to see what kind of food was there for athletes and parents, Gruhn said. There were not very many options available just blue slushies and hot dogs.

Those options were bad enough, but Gruhns two children dont eat meat, so that meant that there was often nothing available to them after the big game. And she wasnt just concerned about her own kids snack choices: Every kid should have an option of being able to choose an apple or an orange or a hot dog that is not meat-based.

Gruhns desire for more options eventually grew to encompass all food choices available to kids at her childrens school. While her kids plant-based diets are ecologically motivated, Gruhn knew that many other children in their school had other reasons to want options.

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She began volunteering for Wholesome Minnesota, a program created by the nonprofit Compassionate Action for Animals that encourages schools and other institutions in the state to provide plant-based food options for their students and employees. And this spring, she was hired as Wholesome Minnesotas coordinator. The idea around the program is to build awareness about the health, environmental and cost benefits of increasing the number of plant-based foods in institutions in Minnesota, Gruhn said.

Jodi Gruhn

One of those people Gruhn spoke with was Michael Manning, director of food and nutrition at Richfield Public Schools, whose interest in the program was based on what he was hearing from students. Students and their families had been asking us for healthier food options, Manning said. They want more culturally appropriate food and many of those options are already plant-based.

This summer, Manning signed the Forward Food Pledge, and began rolling out plant-based options in the fall, making Richfield Public Schools the first K-12 district in the county to commit to the program. It seemed like a good idea, so I signed up and committed to do it, Manning explained. They provided us with recipes to help us get the program up and running.

Michael Manning

Manning said that he and his staff have committed to, Twenty percent of the main entrees, or at least one item a week, will be plant-based. We plan to run the new dishes two times, and if a dish isnt acceptable to our kids, well end up running something else.

Listening to students

Sonny Rodriguez, the Humane Society of the United States food service innovation team coordinator, said that his organization created the Forward Food Pledge in response to what they were seeing as a growing desire among young people to eat more sustainable foods. Many K-12 schools, universities and hospitals were saying they wanted to expand what they are offering in the plant-based realm, Rodriquez said. We thought wed put together the resources to help that transition.

Much of the interest seemed to be coming from younger people, Rodriguez added. They are more focused on sustainable options. They are taking the charge as far as plant-based foods.

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Manning said he sees that trend in his own workplace. We have a Green Team on campus. We started composting in the high school cafeteria. Our student body is very health conscious. They pay a lot of attention to environmental issues.

When he was growing up in Mississippi, Manning said that he and his fellow students rarely questioned the kind of food that was served in their school cafeteria. We just came in and ate, he said. But its a different story today: With the internet and popular culture, kids understand more. They are asking more questions.

Sonny Rodriguez

Richfield is home to families from around the world, Manning said. We have a large Latino population, a growing Somali population, a decent amount of Indian students. This is a diverse population, which makes it fun for us.

Manning said that he and his staff are committed to offering food options that represent all of the cultures of the student body. Many of those foods just happen to be plant based. When you look outside a normal American diet, you discover that many dishes dont include meat, he said. Manning and his team are already offering a few options: Theres a black-bean burrito bowl, lo mein, chana masala.

Not all school food-service directors have embraced Forward Food as enthusiastically as Manning has, Gruhn said. While she is getting some requests for recipes, she added, There hasnt been the full-on embrace like Michaels.

Rodriguez said that he and his colleagues try to emphasize that offering more plant-based options to meal plans is actually adding more options for students, not taking them away. Its important to make it known throughout the school that these changes are being made for a positive reason, he said.

Richfield Public Schools

Richfield Public Schools food and nutrition workers.

One upside, Manning said, was that with so many goods and industries affected by supply-chain shortages, plant-based food options so far seem to be easier to come by. When you start looking at the recipes, you realize that the products you need arent the things that weve seen strains in supply chains with, he said. Everyones ordering chicken nuggets. Were ordering some chickpeas, some black beans. Theyre much easier to get.

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Now that students are back in school full-time, Manning said that his staff is excited to try out the new recipes. We feed students breakfast and lunch every day. In some cases, these may be the best or even the only meals they get. So its fun to be able to give them options. Its great to see their faces again, and its great to offer them good food.

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Richfield Public Schools is the first K-12 district in the country pledging to offer plant-based food options - MinnPost

Drinking artificially sweetened diet sodas may lead to increase in appetite and weight gain, research finds. Pornchai Jaito/EyeEm/Getty Images/EyeEm hide caption

Drinking artificially sweetened diet sodas may lead to increase in appetite and weight gain, research finds.

The "diet" in diet drinks may be a false promise for some soda lovers. True, they deliver the fizz and taste of a soda experience, without the calories. Yet, new research shows they also can leave people with increased food cravings.

A study published recently in JAMA Network Open adds to the evidence that drinks made with sucralose may stimulate the appetite, at least among some people, and the study gives some clues as to why.

"We found that females and people with obesity had greater brain reward activity" after consuming the artificial sweetener, says study author Katie Page, a physician specializing in obesity at the University of Southern California.

Both groups also had a reduction in the hormone that inhibits appetite, and they ate more food after they consumed drinks with sucralose, compared with after regular sugar-sweetened drinks. In contrast, the study found males and people of healthy weight did not have an increase in either brain reward activity or hunger response, suggesting they're not affected in the same way.

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

The study notes that most earlier research focused on males and people of normal weight. But this finding suggests that diet drinks sweetened with sucralose could be disadvantageous to the people who could benefit most from an effective diet strategy.

"It is precisely people with obesity who disproportionately suffer from a strong drive to eat high-calorie foods," says Laura Schmidt, a professor of health policy at the University of California, San Francisco.

Page and her team measured the response to diet soda in three ways. They used functional MRI brain images of the 74 study participants to document the activation of parts of the brain linked to appetite and cravings. They used blood samples to measure blood sugar and metabolic hormones that can drive hunger. And they also tracked how much participants ate at a buffet table that was open at the end of each study session.

Determining whether diet soda helps or hinders dieters' efforts to lose weight has been tough. Some studies have shown benefits, but long-term research has found that diet soda consumption is linked to increased weight gain.

"This study offers some clues as to why," Schmidt wrote in an email to NPR. "Artificial sweeteners could be priming the brains of people with obesity to crave high-calorie foods."

There's ongoing research into the complex ways that artificial sweeteners may influence metabolism and weight, says Susan Swithers, a behavioral scientist at Purdue University who was not involved in the new study but reviewed the findings.

"These results are consistent with patterns that we've actually seen in my lab in [animal] studies," Swithers says.

One hypothesis is that it's not the artificial sweetener itself that has a direct effect on the body. The idea is that artificial sweeteners may confuse the body by tricking it into thinking sugar is coming.

"You are supposed to get sugar after something tastes sweet. Your body has been conditioned to that," explains Swithers. But diet soda may lead to a disconnect. The sugar never arrives, and this may blunt the body's anticipatory responses and throw off the ability to efficiently metabolize sugar that's consumed later.

This could mean that "when you get the sweet taste without the sugar, that changes how you respond to sugar the next time, because you don't know whether it's coming or not," Swithers says.

For instance, Swithers' lab has documented that when animals with a history of consuming artificial sweeteners get real sugar, their blood sugar levels rise higher than those of animals not fed artificial sweeteners. "It's a small effect, but over time this could contribute to potentially significant consequences," she says.

If this is happening in some people who consume diet soda, it could add to the risk of Type 2 diabetes, because when blood sugar rises, the body has to release more insulin to absorb the sugar. "So what you're doing is you are kind of pushing the system harder," Swithers says.

Given the new research, should diet-soda drinkers who are trying to reach a healthy weight give up on artificially sweetened drinks?

"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," Schmidt suggests.

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Diet soda may increase hunger and weight gain : Shots - Health News - NPR

Rosario Dawson has long been known for her plant-based, vegan dietbut the actress recently revealed shes been extra focused on her gut health. The 42-year-old got super into food and its connection to gut health since her fathers pancreatic cancer diagnosis and treatment, she said in an interview with Eating Well.

Though theres no formal connection between gut health and pancreatic cancer, Dawson learned the important role your gut health can have in your overall well-being. I learned a lot about gut health with my dads cancer treatment. Gut health is emotional, physical health, etc, she said in the interview.

Gut health is vital for absorbing and transporting nutrients all over the body, maintaining fluid and salt status, and expelling waste properly, Rushabh Modi, M.D. previously told Prevention. A healthy gut also improves the immune system, and research has indicated poor gut health is linked to neurological conditions such as Parkinsons and Alzheimers.

In fact, 70% of your immune system lives in your gut, and getting sick often could be a tell-tale sign that your diet isn't up to par, Brooke Alpert, M.S., R.D., C.D.N., previously told Prevention. A healthy diet will promote the growth of good bacteria in your gut, and encourage your immune system to keep fighting strong.

Wondering what Dawson's gut-healthy diet entails? She breaks down exactly what she eats on a typical day and the ingredients that help her stay balanced.

For breakfast, Dawson says that she loves overnight oats during the summer and heartier warm oatmeal or avocado toast when the weather turns cold, according to her EatingWell interview.

Meanwhile, for lunch, the star reaches for big salads or stir-fried vegetables which are choc-full of fiber and nutrients.

Finally, for dinner, she says she likes to change things up, opting for stir-fries, noodles, and ramen. She says, "I put turmeric in everything. I use a lot of ginger." A review in the journal Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition found ginger could quell nausea and vomiting, acting as a great at-home remedy for GI troubles.

"I love sauerkraut, kimchi, and vegan yogurt," Dawson said in the interview. All of which are gut-friendly foods. In fact, Sauerkraut is a probiotic-rich food full of potassium, vitamin C, and B vitamins, along with phytonutrients that have cancer-fighting properties, Tara Gidus Collingwood, M.S., R.D.N., previously told Prevention. And Kimchi is another type of fermented cabbage-based dish, which like all probiotic foods, can help create a more diverse microbiome and rebalance gut microbiota, Douglas A. Drossman, M.D. has said.

Gut health can also be what you don't eat. The actress has been vocal about cutting alcohol and marijuana use, too. I feel so contaminated by the planet, and seeing my dad going through this journey, I want to cleanse my body, she told Womens Health last year. I want to have as much clarity as possible and be very intentional about every day.

In addition to changing up her diet to feature probiotic-rich foods, Dawson uses walking as her main source of movement to keep her gut, and entire body, in tip-top shape. "I'm not a big workout-y person ... but as a born-and-raised New Yorker, I'll walk 100 blocks and not even think about it," she said in the EatingWell interview.

The actress is also a big fan of getting outside and in nature and says she likes to lie in the sun for 15 minutes a day to meditate and get her vitamin D, she said. Research has found deficiencies in vitamin D play a role in certain diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.

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Exactly What Rosario Dawson Eats in a Day for Her Gut-Boosting Diet - Prevention.com

It's generally advisable to have fewer junk, processed, fat-laden foods in one's diet, with hypothyroidism. Additionally, there are some more foods which have been seen to inhibit thyroid functioning in its optimum level, and interfere with the production of enzymes which synthesize hormones.

Phytoestrogens, or plant-based estrogen sources have been shown to inhibit enzyme production, and block iodine production. Foods like soy, tofu, soy milk, sauces should be something definitely minimized, or best avoided when you have thyroid issues.

Certain cruciferous vegetables, including brussel sprouts, cauliflower, peaches, plums, which have been found to contain goitrogens are also best consumed in moderated quantity. If you already have an iodine-rich diet, make sure you minimize intake of these foods. Needless to say, sugar-laden foods, saturated foods are also bad if you have any form of thyroid.

Link:
The best diet to have if you have hypothyroidism: Foods to eat and avoid - Times of India

Mediterranean Diet Roundtables are trade events meant to influence nearly all elements of the food industry. Yet, it appears the world doesnt need any further convincing these days: the diets popularity is irrefutable.

No matter how consumers define health, the Mediterranean diet fits their description, said Daniella Puglielli, founder of the Mediterranean Diet Roundtable, in an email to The Food Institute.

A new study provided evidence that a high-fat Mediterranean diet can boost heart health. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that people who ate low carbs with plenty of unsaturated fat had improved insulin resistance as well as cholesterol levels.

Unsaturated fat sources like fish and olive oil are linked to various health benefits in eating styles like the Mediterranean diet, which is popular in regions like Greece and typically consists of ample amounts of fruits, vegetables, fish, beans, grains, nuts and plant oils, as noted by Business Insider (Oct. 1).

Renowned New York City chef Maria Loi, who operates Loi Estiatorio, has long been a proponent of the Mediterranean diet because of its rich, bold flavors, as she told The Food Institutes Director of Digital Content Susan Choi in a series of new video interviews. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3. The video series touches on a wide range of issues, including how Loi led her team through the early stages of the pandemic).

Not only does the Mediterranean diet appear to improve heart health, but it also may help reduce cognitive decline in the elderly, and even slow to an extent the signs of aging due to the diets use of foods rich in antioxidants, reported The Daily Mail (Sept. 5).

Puglielli further explained the popularity of the Mediterranean diet in an interview with The Food Institute late Monday, an excerpt of which is noted below.

Why does the Mediterranean diet interest so many consumers these days?

Puglielli: The Mediterranean diet was recognized for the fourth year in a row in 2021 by US News as the best overall diet. I believe that helped in the popularization of this eating pattern. You also have to consider a good presence of Mediterranean heritage in the amazing melting pot we call America.

What are the main benefits, as you see it, of the Mediterranean diet?

Puglielli: First, let me make a distinction: the word diet is not intended as a weight loss program. Its root is Greek, and it means a way of life the entire ritual of consuming a meal together, the pride in culinary cultures. From a nutritional standpoint, the Mediterranean diet is: diverse; healthy because of the inverse proportion of vegetable/meats ratio and use of monosaturated fats such as olive oil; has a tradition of farm to table or freshly sourced food; varied; and with its strong emphasis on fruit, grains, and vegetables is naturally more sustainable.

How have high-profile chefs like Maria Loi helped the Mediterranean diet movement?

Puglielli: She is a powerful voice to echo our scientific and ethical messages, part of our advocacy effort.

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Dissecting the Popularity of the Mediterranean Diet - The Food Institute - Food Institute Blog

I lost over 100 pounds in one year. Jennifer Still for Insider

I started following the keto diet in 2018, and I lost more than 120 pounds in just under a year.

But the diet totally destroyed my relationship with food.

Read on for some of the ways it did more damage than good.

When trying to lose weight, it's important to stay in a caloric deficit - when the number of calories consumed is less than the calories the body burns to perform daily functions.

I still track my calories daily, but it's easy to take it too far.

It got to the point where I'd get anxiety if I ate a few too many calories, even if the food itself was relatively healthy.

Most low-carb, high-fat ketogenic diets recommend not exceeding 20 grams of net carbohydrates (carbohydrates minus fiber) a day.

That leaves very little room for much of anything besides a few servings of low-carb vegetables. You certainly can't have potatoes, rice, bread, or pasta.

Whenever I exceeded this number, I felt like a failure just because I'd eaten whole-wheat toast or a banana.

The more I restricted, the more I ended up binge eating. Shutterstock

Because the keto diet is so restrictive, I would do really well for a while and then inevitably binge when I couldn't handle it anymore.

Instead of indulging in a small baked potato, I'd have to have a large fry.

This might not be an issue for people who haven't had problems with binge eating, but knowing I can't have something only makes it more alluring.

I found myself relying on low-carb and sugar-free protein bars, cookies, and sweets as well as high-fat foods like sausage and bacon to feel full on a daily basis.

Story continues

I knew that protein was important for muscles, but without carbs, I had no choice but to load up on fats to try and stay satiated while enjoying my food.

I ended up with limited food choices and extremely elevated cholesterol levels.

I was a bit too encouraged by how quickly the keto diet helped me drop weight, so I started restricting even more. In addition to cutting carbs, I was also eating way fewer calories than I should've been - especially given my weight and activity levels.

I knew I was going overboard, but part of me clung to the success and wanted to keep making things harder for faster results.

The keto diet cuts out a lot of foods with good health benefits. istetiana/Getty Images

Eating under 20 grams of carbohydrates a day severely limits your dietary choices.

I couldn't eat sweet potatoes, butternut squash, brown rice, quinoa, bananas, oatmeal, beans, and many other delicious foods with suspected health benefits.

I was missing out on some tasty meals and the vitamins, minerals, and other macronutrients those ingredients provide.

Many who follow the keto diet insist that it's the best (and only) way to eat. Some believe carbs will kill you and insist that anyone who doesn't follow this way of eating is blind and ignorant to the divine truth they've discovered.

I know because I was one of them for a while.

But, in reality, keto comes with drawbacks, risks, and cons. And even though this way of eating can benefit people with certain conditions, many nutrition experts still dub it one of the worst diets.

Read the original article on Insider

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I lost over 100 pounds on the keto diet, but it totally destroyed my relationship with food - Yahoo News

In 2019, 37 leading scientists from across the globe attempted to design a diet that would balance the planets needs against our nutritional ones. Finding that unhealthy and unsustainably produced food poses a global risk to people and the planet, the Eat-Lancet Commission proposed a planetary-health diet involving a greater than 50 per cent reduction in global consumption of unhealthy foods, such as red meat and sugar, and a greater than 100 per cent increase in consumption of healthy foods, such as nuts, fruits, vegetables and legumes.

Picture half your plate piled high in fruits and vegetables, the other half primarily packed with whole grains, plant proteins (beans, lentils, pulses, nuts) and unsaturated plant oils. You are allowed a glass of milk every day, but your eggs are rationed to one and a half a week, while fish is limited to two portions a week, red meat to a weekly burger or a monthly steak.

In fact, the report concluded that because intake of red meat is not essential and appears to be linearly related to total mortality and risks of other health outcomes optimal intake might be 0g/day. It argued that it was best all round for you and for the planet to keep protein plant-based.

Not everyone, however, agrees that plants are the perfect fix. If you want to be a vegan, for personal or ethical reasons, then thats quite rightly a matter of personal choice, says James Goodwin, director of science and research impact at the Brain Health Network and author of Supercharge Your Brain. But do look at the science.

Cutting back on meat is a good idea for most people, says Goodwin, because too much of it can put oxidative stress on the body, leading to cell and tissue damage and poor cardiovascular health.

It is also beneficial if it helps you to diversify your diet, he points out, since around 75 per cent of the Wests food is now derived from just 12 plant and five animal species. In fact, he points out, the worlds longest living and healthiest communities eat meat only three or four times a week.

On the other hand, our dietary needs are embedded in an evolution that spans many millions of years of meat eating. Thus: essential nutrients that are either not available in a vegan diet or are unavailable in physiologically sufficient amounts include four amino acids (lysine, threonine, methionine, tryptophan); three Omega-3 fatty acids (DHA, EPA, DPA), Vitamin D3 and Vitamin B12. All of these are found naturally in meat, animal products like eggs, cheese, milk, yoghurt or in fish.

Childrens healthy development, Goodwin says, depends on adequate supplies of these nutrients, most easily available through eating meat. At the other end of our lives, meanwhile, our digestive systems become less efficient at extracting nutrients. So as we age, says Goodwin, meat may once again become a particularly valuable source of nutrition.

Evangeline Mantzioris, program director of nutrition and food sciences at the University of South Australia, points out that pre-menopausal women need particularly large quantities of iron in their diets (around 18 milligrams a day, compared with mens 8mg). To get that quantity in while limiting your red meat to the 14g daily serving suggested in the planetary health diet, she suggests, you would need to consume 100g of brown lentils or 150g of red kidney beans each day.

Men, meanwhile, need more zinc (14mg a day, compared with womens 8mg). Beef is high in zinc, but cut your meat back to the planetary diet ideal and you could get your daily requirement from 150g of red kidney beans, 30g of zinc-supplemented cereals, three slices of wholegrain bread, and a handful of mixed nuts.

Giving up meat entirely may have unintended consequences for your carbon footprint, however, especially if you struggle to resist a cheese board. According to analysis by the US non-profit Environmental Working Group, lamb and beef are the highest emitting foods by a long way, but cheese ranks third, generating 13.5kg of carbon dioxide equivalent per kg consumed.

In fact, a study published last year by Johns Hopkins University found that those who eat two exclusively plant-based meals a day, but allow themselves meat and dairy in their third meal, might have a smaller footprint than those who give up meat entirely but replace it with dairy products. The average healthy two-thirds vegan diet was found to contribute the equivalent of 762.7kg of carbon dioxide emissions per person, compared with 1,265.2kg for a vegetarian diet that included dairy.

Meanwhile, cows are staging a comeback in environmental circles, too, with some now arguing that the carbon hoof-print of a grass-fed cow is significantly lighter than that of its intensively farmed cousin, since their grazing lands actually store carbon, helping to offset their impact.

Sound complicated? Perhaps it neednt be. Prince Charless moderate approach may be just right. But Michael Pollan put it most pithily in his book In Defence of Food: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

Link:
How to do the Prince Charles diet - and eat the perfect amount of meat and dairy - Telegraph.co.uk