Category Archives: Diet And Food

When Sue Hoppin was in college, she met the man she was going to marry. "I was attending the University of Denver, and he was at the Air Force Academy," she says. "My dad had also attended the University of Denver and warned me not to date those flyboys from the Springs."

"He didn't say anything about marrying one of them," she says. And so began her life as a military spouse.

The life brings some real advantages, like opportunities to live abroad her family got to live all around the US, Japan, and Germany but it also comes with some downsides, like having to put your spouse's career over your own goals.

"Though we choose to marry someone in the military, we had career goals before we got married, and those didn't just disappear."

Career aspirations become more difficult to achieve, and progress comes with lots of starts and stops. After experiencing these unique challenges firsthand, Sue founded an organization to help other military spouses in similar situations.

Sue had gotten a degree in international relations because she wanted to pursue a career in diplomacy, but for fourteen years she wasn't able to make any headway not until they moved back to the DC area. "Eighteen months later, many rejections later, it became apparent that this was going to be more challenging than I could ever imagine," she says.

Eighteen months is halfway through a typical assignment, and by then, most spouses are looking for their next assignment. "If I couldn't find a job in my own 'hometown' with multiple degrees and a great network, this didn't bode well for other military spouses," she says.

She's not wrong. Military spouses spend most of their lives moving with their partners, which means they're often far from family and other support networks. When they do find a job, they often make less than their civilian counterparts and they're more likely to experience underemployment or unemployment. In fact, on some deployments, spouses are not even allowed to work.

Before the pandemic, military spouse unemployment was 22%. Since the pandemic, it's expected to rise to 35%.

Sue eventually found a job working at a military-focused nonprofit, and it helped her get the experience she needed to create her own dedicated military spouse program. She wrote a book and started saving up enough money to start the National Military Spouse Network (NMSN), which she founded in 2010 as the first organization of its kind.

"I founded the NMSN to help professional military spouses develop flexible careers they could perform from any location."

"Over the years, the program has expanded to include a free digital magazine, professional development events, drafting annual White Papers and organizing national and local advocacy to address the issues of most concern to the professional military spouse community," she says.

Not only was NMSN's mission important to Sue on a personal level she also saw it as part of something bigger than herself.

"Gone are the days when families can thrive on one salary. Like everyone else, most military families rely on two salaries to make ends meet. If a military spouse wants or needs to work, they should be able to," she says.

"When less than one percent of our population serves in the military," she continues, "we need to be able to not only recruit the best and the brightest but also retain them."

"We lose out as a nation when service members leave the force because their spouse is unable to find employment. We see it as a national security issue."

"The NMSN team has worked tirelessly to jumpstart the discussion and keep the challenges affecting military spouses top of mind. We have elevated the conversation to Congress and the White House," she continues. "I'm so proud of the fact that corporations, the government, and the general public are increasingly interested in the issues affecting military spouses and recognizing the employment roadblocks they unfairly have faced."

"We have collectively made other people care, and in doing so, we elevated the issues of military spouse unemployment to a national and global level," she adds. "In the process, we've also empowered military spouses to advocate for themselves and our community so that military spouse employment issues can continue to remain at the forefront."

Not only has NMSN become a sought-after leader in the military spouse employment space, but Sue has also seen the career she dreamed of materializing for herself. She was recently invited to participate in the public re-launch of Joining Forces, a White House initiative supporting military and veteran families, with First Lady Dr. Jill Biden.

She has also had two of her recommendations for practical solutions introduced into legislation just this year. She was the first in the Air Force community to show leadership the power of social media to reach both their airmen and their military families.

That is why Sue is one of Tory Burch's "Empowered Women" this year. The $5,000 donation will be going to The Madeira School, a school that Sue herself attended when she was in high school because, she says, "the lessons I learned there as a student pretty much set the tone for my personal and professional life. It's so meaningful to know that the donation will go towards making a Madeira education more accessible to those who may not otherwise be able to afford it and providing them with a life-changing opportunity."

Most military children will move one to three times during high school so having a continuous four-year experience at one high school can be an important gift. After traveling for much of her formative years, Sue attended Madeira and found herself "in an environment that fostered confidence and empowerment. As young women, we were expected to have a voice and advocate not just for ourselves, but for those around us."

To learn more about Tory Burch and Upworthy's Empowered Women program visit https://www.toryburch.com/empoweredwomen/. Nominate an inspiring woman in your community today!

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The 'Sioux Chef' works to return indigenous food to the forefront of the American diet - Upworthy

A giant ground sloth that lived during the last ice age was not largely vegetarian like its modern-day tree-dwelling relatives, but enjoyed munching on meat, according to a new study that has found telltale signs of its diet in fossilized hair samples.

Mylodon darwinii went extinct some 10,000 to 12,000 years ago along with most other megafauna, and scientists had presumed it ate only plants. But a comparison of chemical signatures in M. darwinii's hair to the diets of other extinct and living species of sloths and anteaters now suggests otherwise.

These results are the "first direct evidence of omnivory in an ancient sloth species,"sayspaleontologist Julia Tejada of the University of Montpellier in France. Along with other xenarthrans, such as anteaters and armadillos, these sloths were a major part of South American ecosystems over the past 34 million years.

Given that all six species of living sloths are plant-eaters, it was long thought that M. darwinii which was named after Charles Darwin who discovered its remains in Argentina in 1832 was also a plant-loving herbivore. Its teeth, jaw, large foregut and dung all suggest M. darwinii was no active predator.

But this new research upends that thinking and suggests M. darwinii could have been a meat-curious scavenger picking up scraps, or even an opportunistic omnivore, chowing down meat or other animal protein if it was available.

"Whether they were sporadic scavengers or opportunistic consumers of animal protein can't be determined from our research," says Tejada. "But we now have strong evidence contradicting the long-standing presumption that all sloths were obligate herbivores."

In the past, some researchers have speculated that the ancient ecosystems of South America had more herbivores than could be supported by the available plants. Although that idea remains untested, this new study provides some clues about what else hefty animals like Mylodon were eating to supplement their diets.

The findings also have scientists rethinking where M. darwinii sits in the food chain, and reevaluating the ecological structure of ancient mammalian communities that lived in South America millions of years ago, before most megafauna became extinct.

In the study, Tejada and colleagues analyzed hair strands plucked from two sloth fossils, five modern zoo-fed xenarthrans, and eight wild omnivore species, including the screaming hairy armadillo and the black-capped squirrel monkey.

Paleontologist Julia Tejada with a three-toed sloth (Bradypus variegatus) in Peru. (Carmen Capuay)

Like other megafauna, Darwin's ground sloths were truly huge creatures. Among hundreds of other fossil sloths that once roamed the ice-capped Americas, M. darwinii measured nearly 3 meters (10 ft) head to toe, and weighed in at an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 kilograms (2,200 to 4,400 pounds).

But these gentle giants, which lived near coastal areas, also had blond fur and skin riddled with bony deposits called osteoderms, and it's these types of tissues that preserve chemical markers available for analysis today.

Stable nitrogen isotopes in the sloths' hair were the target for Tejada and colleagues, as these chemical variants are found at different levels in foods such as plant matter and protein. As animals eat these foods, nitrogen isotopes are slowly incorporated into the building blocks of proteins (aka amino acids) and preserved in an animal's body tissues, including hairs.

Tejada and colleagues first analyzed amino-acid nitrogen levels in samples from modern herbivores and omnivores to find a clear signal of eating a mix of plants and animal protein versus plants alone, then analyzed the two fossils.

M. darwinii skin and dung on display at the American Museum of Natural History. (AMNH/D. Finnin)

Whilethe other extinct ground sloth in the study, Nothrotheriops shastensis, was likely an obligate herbivore, the data suggestM. darwinii was not and probably consumed a diet similar to the modern-day American pine marten a type of weasel found in the northern parts of North America.

"[Mylodon's]feeding behavior better fits that of an omnivore, consuming plant material but sometimesalso incorporating items of animal origin in its diet,"the researchers writein their paper.

Based on these results, and considering the icy conditions of the Americas whenM. darwinii and other megafauna lived, the research team suspects the giant slothsupplemented its diet with energy-rich meat to meet its high energy demands, as a way to increase its metabolism to maintain a constant body temperature in cooler conditions.

Knowing how large plant-munching herbivores greatly impact the vegetation structure, soil moisture, and the carbon cycle of an ecosystem, finding out that at least one extinct sloth species ate more than just plants could change our understanding of the types of vegetation that dominated ancient landscapes at the time.

"This would be the case in particular if, in addition to Mylodon, other fossil sloth species also had more versatile feeding behaviors than traditionally thought," the research team concludes.

The study was published in Scientific Reports. You can also view a 3D model of the very first specimen of M. darwinii found by Charles Darwin here, courtesy of the UK's Natural History Museum.

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This Ancient And Ginormous Sloth Had an Unexpected Supplement in Its Diet - ScienceAlert

Editor: COVID has been around for years and zoonotic diseases will continue to spread because they are caused by germs that spread between animals and people. Mad cow disease came from cows, swine flu from pigs, SARS (COV) and MERS from bats and civet cats, bird flu from poultry.

Live animal markets and factory farms warehouse thousands of animals that wallow in their own waste with limited or no airspace, routinely creating conditions for the proliferation of superbugs and zoonotic pathogens. Nearly the entire supply of animal products consumed in the United States originate from industrial factory farms.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) report factory farms are breeding grounds for more than 50% of human diseases. Factory farms routinely inject animals with antibiotics in order to prevent them from falling sick. These antibiotics enter the human food chain and systematically foster in humans a lethal resistance to the medicines that once subdued everyday infections.

Consider trying plant-based meats for your health and the environment. There is no way around it that raising animals for food causes death, and in the case of COVID-19, significant economic harm.

For more information go to pcrm.org of Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine or pcrm.org.

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Meatless diet will prevent pandemics | Letters to the Editor | citizensvoice.com - Wilkes-Barre Citizens Voice

Eating a nutrient-rich and balanced diet is important throughout every stage of life. As we age, our bodies naturally change, and with that comes different nutritional needs. Some changes may include absorbing less calcium, which can lead to loss of bone mass. Luckily, staying up to date with doctor visits will help you understand how to cater your diet to your unique needs. Here are some suggestions for how to navigate through your bodys changes and feel your best.

Eat smaller portions every few hours. In aging adults, a growing concern is a decreased appetite, which can be caused by a variety of factors. While older adults require fewer calories, this can lead to unexpected weight loss and nutritional deficiencies. Lower levels of hunger hormones can lead seniors to feel hungry less often and fuller faster. If large meals seem too daunting to finish, try eating several smaller portions a day. These smaller sized plates should contain nutrient-rich foods such as vegetables, lean protein, fruit, yogurt, and nuts.

Incorporate more nutrients. Older adults require more protein, vitamin B12, vitamin D, and calcium to maintain strength and prevent injuries. Incorporating more protein, such as eggs, in your diet can help combat weakness from muscle loss. Vitamin B12, found in enriched cereals and lean meats, aids in healthy blood production and DNA synthesis. Calcium helps build and maintain healthy bones, and vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium. Foods such as dairy products and leafy green vegetables contain calcium, while vitamin D can be found in salmon and egg yolks. These are just some of the nutrients that your body may need more of. Your doctor can tell you about your individual nutritional requirements.

Good fatty foods. Foods such as avocados, olives, walnuts, seeds, and fish have the unsaturated fats that your body needs for brain and heart health.

Hydrate. Staying hydrated becomes more of a challenge later in life when our thirst signals are not as strong. Lack of thirst is not a reliable indication that you do not need water. Older adults should build a habit of hydrating regularly by keeping a water bottle with them throughout the day or drinking a glass of water before every meal. Drinking other liquids such as milk/milk alternatives or eating high-water-content fruits and vegetables can count toward daily hydration goals, as well.

Your nutrition needs vary depending on factors such as age, weight and medical history. This advice is not a one-size-fits-all approach. For a curated care plan, speak with your physician and a clinical dietitian.

Marion Viglietta is a clinical dietitian at Wesley Enhanced Living Main Line.

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Dietary changes to help deal with aging | Expert Opinion - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Most of us could benefit from a more balanced diet rich in plant foods, and according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans theres also room in our diets to choose lean beef more often.

Lean steaks, roasts and ground beef provide high-quality protein, iron, zinc, B vitamins and other essential nutrients that help offset nutrient shortages at every life stage. Although, I didnt always know the nutrition science of beef.

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Leave room on the plate for beef in your diet - Herald Zeitung

Arthritis is an incredibly common condition in the UK, affecting more than 10 million people. If you've been diagnosed with arthritis, you could benefit from making just a few changes to your everyday diet plan - including drinking more ginger water.

Ginger water is essentially just water that's been infused with ginger.

It's been claimed to have numerous different health benefits, including protecting against joint pain.

The drink has anti-inflammatory properties which is particularly beneficial for osteoarthritis patients, according to medical website Dr Axe.

It works by helping to relieve joint pain and muscle strain, it added.

READ MORE:Arthritis: The environmental change which might make it worse

You can make your own ginger water at home, which saves you the hassle of popping out to the supermarket.

All you need is a two-inch fresh ginger root that's been peeled and rinsed.

Chop the ginger into small chunks and put half into a mug.

Top up the mug with boiling water, and then either drink the water warm or pop it into the fridge to cool down.

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Arthritis diet: The simple drink to reduce joint pain symptoms - how to make ginger water - Daily Express

Having adequate vitamin D levels is critical for overall health, but it's not the easiest nutrient to incorporate into your diet. That's why we called on the experts to share tricks on how you can add more of the vitamin in your meals.

As Sydney Greene, MS, RDN, and member of our medical review board points out, vitamin D is important for bone, nerve, and muscle health, as it plays a key role in controlling calcium and phosphorus levels in the body.

RELATED:One Major Effect Vitamin D May Have in Preventing Breast Cancer, New Study Suggests

"In addition to skeletal health, Vitamin D is critical for immunity, protecting us from bacterial and viral infections," she adds. "More research is needed but preliminary studies suggest it may be helpful in mitigating depression symptoms as well."

So, which foods contain the most vitamin D?

"Vitamin D is only found naturally in some foods, such as some fatty fish (mackerel, salmon, sardines), fish liver oils, eggs from hens that have been fed vitamin D, and mushrooms exposed to sunlight or UV light," says Greene.

However, she points out that most vitamin D found in food is added via artificial fortification. These foods include cereals, dairy products, and orange juice.

Another trick? "Don't skip the yolk in your eggs, they have 37 international units (IU) of vitamin D per yolk," says Tamar Samuels MS, RDN, NBC-HWC, and co-founder of Culina Health.

For context, the recommended amount of vitamin D for people ages 19 to 70 years old is about 15 mcg (600 IU) daily, per the National Institutes of Health.

"Vegans and vegetarians, as well as those who do not like fish, may be at risk for not getting enough Vitamin D," says Greene.

"The best way to ensure you are meeting your vitamin D levels is to take a supplement," says Greene. "A starting dose should be discussed with your doctor and will depend on lab values, however, chances are if you do not have a varied diet and do not get a lot of time outdoors, you will need to supplement."

For more, be sure to check outThe Worst Vitamin D Supplement To Take, Say Dietitians. Then, don't forget to sign up for our newsletter.

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Get More Vitamin D In Your Diet With These Secret Tricks, Say Dietitians | Eat This Not That - Eat This, Not That

Jorge Lemus/NurPhoto via Getty Images

New England Patriots lineman Lawrence Guy is a 6'4", 315-pound vegan.

Guy switched to a vegan diet "a couple of years ago" and said it made his body feel better.

A typical day for him involves eating pancakes for breakfast, a lot of cauliflower, and sweet potatoes.

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New England Patriots offensive lineman Lawrence Guy is one of the biggest vegans in sports.

Guy, who is six-foot-four, 315 pounds, told GQ his new vegan diet has helped him maintain his weight, feel energized, and stay fit despite the physical toll of football.

Guy said he and his wife decided to gradually remove meat products from their diet a few years ago, and they've reaped the physical benefits of the switch ever since.

Now, he says, they no longer feel groggy when they wake up in the morning, they don't get bloated. Guy says he also no longer feels pain in his knees and joints.

"Every offseason I wanted to truly help my body fully recover," Guy told GQ reporter Danielle Cohen. "My wife and I started taking out heavy red meat products and my body felt better, my joints felt better. I never really drank milk. Then we started taking out chicken. Then you go to the fish."

"We didn't cut it down immediately. I needed to make sure I slowly worked myself into this. When people jump straight into it, you get the headaches and you start losing too much. We did it over the years, constantly going towards a more plant-based diet," he added."

Vegan diets are associated with a number of health benefits, including a lower risk of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.

A 2019 review of 32 studies found that vegan diets can help improve markers of diabetes and reduce inflammation. According to a 2009 study, vegan diets can also help with weight loss due to increased fiber intake, in addition to blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Story continues

Guy's typical daily meal plan involves plant-based variations of popular foods like pancakes or pizza.

On workout days, Guy said he has pancakes or some cauliflower hash browns. (In 2020, he said, he had pancakes every single morning.)

Then, after workouts, he'll have a green smoothie or an acai bowl. His smoothies and acai bowls are made up of flax seeds, carrots, kale, spinach, mango.

Throughout the day, he'll snack on potatoes, sweet potatoes, and apples to keep up his energy. While potatoes are a big part of his diet, he says these days he prefers sweet potatoes as he believes they are "cleaner for his body," according to GQ.

Cauliflower is also a key ingredient in the meals Guy and his wife eat. They include cauliflower rice in a lot of their meals, and use it to make pizza crust with hummus.

"Last year everything was about cauliflower. She'd make cauliflower rice, she had cauliflower pizza, lasagna, those cauliflower hash browns," Guy told GQ. "Last night, it's gonna sound weird, we had a cauliflower hummus grilled pizza. The cauliflower crust, hummus on top, and grilled veggies on top of that."

Guy avoids regular white rice, saying it makes him feel bloated, so these days he mainly goes to cauliflower rice or brown rice.

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NFL lineman Lawrence Guy says he switched to a vegan diet, and he's fitter and healthier than ever - Yahoo News

NS: Our gym yoga teacher was talking about what is called a circadian diet. He says its good for your gut flora. Ive heard about circadian rhythms, but I dont know how they relate to the gut. What is a circadian diet anyway?

NS: At the beginning of the 18th century, astronomer Jean-Jacques Dortus de Mairans experiments on mimosa plants opened the door to the idea of biological clocks. Since then, researchers have been fascinated by this concept. Studies hundreds of years later have given them a better understanding of what eventually became known as the circadian clock, an internal cycle of approximately 24 hours that coincides with the flow from day to night.

This cycle is tailored to daily light and dark patterns, but is actually controlled by the body itself. Today, it is widely understood that in addition to the presence of a master biological clock in the light-sensitive part of the brain called the hypothalamus, individual cells in the body also operate in their own circadian cycle.

These timing mechanisms, which function as a whole, form a complex matrix. They play a role in virtually every physical process, including the sleep and wake cycle. Metabolism; Hormonal activity; Body temperature; Cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, nervous system; Organ function; and intestinal flora. When our internal clock and the external clues of light and darkness are out of sync, we suffer from physical consequences. Jet lag and the negative health effects of night shifts are good examples.

Recent studies have revealed a new and interesting relationship between the gut microbiota and the circadian cycle. Studies in mice have shown that microbes in the gut produce significantly more natural antibacterial compounds during the day than at night. It made it better to dodge food poisoning that could occur during the time they were most likely to eat. This may shed light on why people experiencing chronic sleep disorders are known to be susceptible to bowel infections. The results of another study that limited the amount of time food was given to rodents suggested that the way the body metabolizes fat depends on the time of day that food is consumed.

Humans generally eat during the day and eat fast at night while we sleep. This is basically a form of intermittent fasting, and studies have shown that it has a variety of health benefits, including improved glycemic control, lower levels of inflammation, improved blood pressure, and healthier blood lipid levels. I have.

A solar eclipse involves eating during the 12-hour period (usually from 7 am to 7 pm) and fast for the remaining 12 hours. Meal size is reversed, breakfast is the largest meal of the day and dinner is the smallest. Its 12-hour nightly speed eliminates post-supper snacks and midnight raids in the fridge.

At this point, while proponents of the circadian diet are very surely discussing its benefits, it is important to note that there is a lack of credible research to support their various claims.

Dr. Eve Glazier of the MBA is a physician and associate professor at UCLA Health. Dr. Elizabeth Ko is a physician and associate professor at UCLA Health.

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Circadian Diet Another Form of Intermittent Fasting | Blogs and Columns

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Circadian Diet Another Form of Intermittent Fasting | Blogs and Columns - Illinoisnewstoday.com

Prince Charles shared details about his weekly diet during an interview with the BBC regarding climate change. He also revealed that he understand's climate activists' anger and is "sympathetic".The heir to the throne has been labelled a "veteran environmental campaigner" for his work over the years.

Prince Charles spoke to the BBC's climate editor Justin Rowlatt in the garden's of Balmoral.

Justin asked the Prince: "What would you say to viewers of BBC breakfast, what would you be saying to people watching about diet?

"Should they be eating less meat, should they be flying less?"

Charles stated: "Well, flying is being done much less recently, most people, most of these people are doing things online. I've been trying to get used to that.

JUST IN:M25 traffic chaos: Huge delays as two lanes closed after serious crash - updates

Aside from his diet, The Prince of Wales has also launched a television channel onAmazon Primethat is dedicated to promoting programmes about the environment.

The channel, RE:TV, will highlight projects globally with the aim of promoting a more environmentally friendly planet.

The Prince said:"Ive spent a lot of my lifetime trying to engage people and businesses with the issues and solutions of the climate crisis."

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Prince Charles reveals he has adopted a special diet 'Have done for years' - Express