Category Archives: Diet And Food

With the New Year just days away, we may all be tempted to embark on a new diet in order to lose the weight gained during 2020.

Since the world shut down in March, we have all over-indulged and let our exercise plans go out the window.

So, when better than the New Year to get back on track?

Well, according to the experts, the New Year is the worst possible time to start a new diet.

Speaking to Extra.ie, Director of Nutrition at Viridian Nutrition, Aimee Benbow, noted that the idea of a New Year diet and fad diets could have a negative impact on our relationship with food.

After over-indulging during the festive break, much of the population feel the need to set strict boundaries and resolutions in relation to food consumption in January, she explained.

Although it is great that people feel motivated to get healthy, in doing so, this can impact our relationship with food and lead to unhealthy attitudes.

Restriction of certain foods often leads us to crave them even more. When we break our resolutions we mentally beat ourselves up and feel more discouraged.

This leads us to eat more unhealthy foods as a pick up and so creating a negative cycle of behaviour.

Fad diets are often popular for a moment in time but are often not formulated or designed by a trained nutritionist or dietitian.

They are devised to assist with fast weight loss and are often promoted as the magic bullet to weight management.

Usually, these types of diets cannot be maintained long term and in fact can lead to increased food intake and a higher consumption of unhealthy foods.

Aimee went onto explain that fad diets can also neglect some food groups and this, in turn, can impact both weight loss and our bodies.

If you do want to lose weight in the New Year, the nutritionist said there are some golden health rules to keep in mind when looking at your diet.

One of the most important considerations when wanting to lose weight is ensuring healthy dietary choices are adhered to, Aimee told Extra.ie.

Opting for a colourful diet rich in fruit and vegetables, plenty of fibre, good quality protein and essential fatty acids are all a step in the right direction in obtaining weight loss.

Work to eliminate highly processed foods rich in refined sugars and hydrogenated fats from the diet and if you need a snack, select unsalted, unsweetened nuts and seeds.

Exercise also plays a crucial part in the weight loss journey. Aim for 150 minutes of activity a week.

So, if you do want to embark on a new diet in the New Year, make sure you do it safely and dont be too hard on yourself.

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Expert reveals why New Years diets could do more harm than good - Extra.ie

After a near-fatal cardiac event and emergency heart transplant surgery, a 58-year-old woman experienced a series of severe complications that kept her in the hospital for 13 months. Preparing her to go home required a prolonged, coordinated effort by a multidisciplinary team of rehabilitation experts.

The patient was transferred to NYU Langone Health from NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue on October 1, 2019, after suffering cardiogenic shock due to unexplained infiltrative cardiomyopathy. She was treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) while awaiting a heart transplant, which she received eight days later.

By mid-December, the womans condition had stabilized sufficiently for her to be transferred to inpatient care at Rusk Rehabilitation. However, her persistently fragile medical conditionwith repeated episodes of nausea and vomitingprecluded significant improvement. In January 2020, diagnosed with a gastrointestinal bleed, she was moved back to acute care.

Over the following months, the patient experienced a cascade of morbidities. In February she pulled out her percutaneous endoscopic jejunostomy (PEJ) tube, leading to peritonitis and kidney failure; she was subsequently placed on hemodialysis. In March she developed a right chest seroma, pneumonia, and neutropenic sepsis. She underwent washout and debridement of the seroma, as well as a subclavian graft replacement. As the year wore on, she developed wound dehiscence in the right shoulder and hemothorax in the right chest, complicated by fevers, hypotension, a deep vein thrombosis in the left lower extremity, a mild stroke, spinal compression fractures, and recurring pneumonia. She underwent a tracheostomy and chest tube placement.

Having survived this succession of traumas under the exceptional care of NYU Langones clinicians and support staff, the woman was transferred back to the inpatient unit at Rusk Rehabilitation on October 29, 2020.

This was one of the most complicated patients Ive ever seen, says Jeffrey M. Cohen, MD, clinical professor of rehabilitation medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and medical director of Rusk Rehabilitations Medically Complex Rehabilitation Service. She had been through so much, and she was profoundly deconditioned. Our mission was to help her get her life back to the greatest extent possible.

When the woman arrived at Rusk Rehabilitation, she was barely able to roll over in bed. She required maximum assistance to go from supine to sitting and to transfer from her bed to a chair. Although she was able to eat orally, she needed nocturnal tube feedings to maintain adequate nutrition. Due to the tracheostomy and other factors, her speech was both hypophonic and dysphonic.

Physical therapy, led by Rusk Rehabilitation expert Jacklyn Ward, PT, began with a focus on bed mobility and transfers from sitting to standing. From there, the patient progressed to ambulating with a rolling walker; initially she could go no farther than 25 feet and needed contact guarding to prevent injury, but her distance and agility steadily improved. She underwent wheelchair mobility exercises to build her upper-extremity strength and endurance, and step-up exercises to enable her to negotiate stairs and curbs.

Occupational therapy, led by Brittany Cuthbert, OT, emphasized self-care. We worked on grooming while standing at a sink, Dr. Cohen explains. We also practiced toilet transfers and upper- and lower-body dressing skills, such as putting on a T-shirt, underwear, and pants. The patient was trained on adaptive equipment to help with shoes and socks.

The speech-and-swallow team performed a clinical bedside swallowing evaluation, which determined that she was able to tolerate regular solids and thin liquids. She was taught safe-feeding strategies and aspiration precautions, such as alternating small sips with small bites, and sitting upright for all meals out of bed.

The team also worked to improve the patients ability to communicate her needs and wants. She was fitted with a Passy Muir valve, which is designed to enhance voice and speech production, and therapists trained her in speech compensatory strategies. We worked on coordinating subsystems of voice production, including respiration, phonation, and articulation, says Dr. Cohen. The training incorporated video and audio feedback to enhance her awareness of her own speech quality.

The patient was followed closely by psychologist Catherine Atkins, PhD, supervisor of psychology for inpatient acute rehabilitation, to monitor for depression or other mood problems and to reinforce her ongoing emotional resilience.

After a month at Rusk Rehabilitation, the patient showed striking gains in strength, balance, endurance, and respiratory function. She no longer needed supplemental oxygen. She could walk 125 steps using a rollator, at 0.46 meters per secondnearly double her initial speed. She could climb as many as 7 steps. She could comb her hair, brush her teeth, and dress herself. Her speech was nearly normal, and with her dysphagia almost gone, she was able to maintain an adequate diet orally.

Still, she needed supervision for all these tasks and minimal to moderate assistance with most of themincluding such basic activities as entering and exiting a shower. She would require round-the-clock care indefinitely, and fortunately, the patients adult daughter and son were willing and able to provide it. During her time in rehabilitation, they participated in extensive education regarding functional mobility, fall prevention, wheelchair management, exercise protocols, goal-setting strategies, and other skills. They were also trained to set up and position assistive equipment around the patients home.

Once these preparations were completed, the patient was referred to the Visiting Nurse Service of New York for nursing, physical and occupational therapy, and home health aide evaluations. Outpatient hemodialysis services were arranged. And on November 30, she was discharged to her family.

Its remarkable how far this individual has come, says Dr. Cohen. At many points along the way, people who treated her didnt think she was going to make it. Now, after more than a year in the hospital, we were able to safely send her home. I consider it a huge success story.

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Helping a Heart Transplant Patient Recover from Devastating Complications& a Year in the Hospital - NYU Langone Health

The end of 2020 is finally upon us! As we happily turn the page on this year, heres a look back at the biggest stories we published. Not surprisingly, most of them were COVID-19-related. Even as we begin putting the pandemic behind us, the trends that arose this year will likely continue to influence the industry going forward.

A typical year sees the launch of 20,000 new food and beverage products. The pandemic changed that as consumers shifted away from adventurous eating and toward comfort food and many companies put their product launch plans on hold. But that doesnt mean innovation stopped it just looked a little different from before.

Read more.

The pandemic had an immediate and significant impact on the food industry, from disease outbreaks to supply chain disruptions and consumer stockpiling behavior. This article, published in March and updated in May, provides an overview of the early stages of the crisis.

Read more.

Early in 2020, we published a report based on a survey of respondents from across the food industry. Though the data are from before the pandemic, many of the trends, challenges, and opportunities are still relevant in todays climate.

Read more.

When it comes to purchasing priorities, the younger generations are different from their predecessors. But, regardless of generation, most consumers want convenience. This report, from before the pandemic started, provides a look at what consumers ages 28-39 want in a grocery shopping experience.

Read more.

In the early days of the pandemic, many food companies saw their production fall off considerably, especially those that sell to foodservice establishments. On the other hand, companies that supply grocery stores had a tough time keeping up with the increased demand.

Read more.

The pet food industry saw demand soar, in part because people have adopted more pets during the pandemic and in part because of stockpiling. This meant pet food companies had to act quickly to safely increase production.

Read more.

Sustainability has become increasingly important for food companies as both consumers and investors prioritize the health of the planet. As of early 2020, 80% of the top 25 largest CPG companies were working toward recyclable packaging for all of their products.

Read more.

The pandemic has spurred major growth in frozen foods as consumers sought to limit their trips to the grocery store. At the end of March 2020, frozen food sales were up 94% compared to the year before, with many people buying frozen for the first time.

Read more.

Its hard to believe, but 2020 is nearly over! This article summarizes what various industry experts believe will be the biggest trends for the coming year.

Read more.

Functional foods were gaining popularity before COVID-19. The pandemic has supercharged their appeal as more and more consumers see diet as a key contributor to their overall health and well-being.

Read more.

Thank you for engaging with us this year! We wish you a safe, healthy, and happy 2021.

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Food Industry Executive's Top 10 Articles of 2020 - Food Industry Executive

My infant looked at me and stubbornly turned her head, refusing the formula bottle I was offering her. At four months old, she had fallen off her growth curve. After a few weeks of monitoring, the doctor recommended that I start supplementing my nursing with formula. Since I had combo fed my first using breastmilk and formula I didn't hesitate. My baby, however, refused to drink the formula.

After a few days of offering formula only to be rebuked, I was frustrated and worried. I emailed the leader of a local breastfeeding group, asking if she knew of anyone willing to donate breast milk. A few days later, a local mom dropped off a large bag of donated breast milk at my house, and my daughter happily gulped it down.

That began a nine-months of milk sharing. My donor had a baby a few months older than mine. Whereas I was struggling to produce enough milk, she had an oversupply. She started pumping once or twice a day, and giving that milk to me.

While sharing breast milk might have an "ick" factor for some people, many parents are turning to donated breast milk to help feed their babies. Formal milk donation banks provide human milk that is critically important for micro-preemies, while informal milk sharing arrangements, like the one I was part of, spring up regularly in Facebook mom groups.

"As we continue to support breastfeeding mothers and focus on the benefits of breast milk, donor breast milk will become another acceptable and hopefully less costly way mothers will be able to feed their babies safely," Dr. Florencia Segura, a pediatrician specializing in infant feeding, told Insider.

There are two different types of donated breast milk. Formal milk donation has lots of oversight, similar to blood donation. It's done through milk banks, and the milk is dispersed to sick infants who have a prescription.

"Formal milk donation programs afford transparency to donor milk recipient families," Segura said. Donors are screened for their health history, and asked about their use of medications, alcohol, tobacco, and drugs. As an added layer of protection, the milk is pasteurized, killing most bacteria and viruses that may be present.

Breast milk distributed by milk banks generally goes to hospitals. It's most important for premature infants, who are born before 34 weeks. When these babies get breast milk, either from their mothers or from donors, they have fewer infections and are less likely to get necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a gastrointestinal disease that can be deadly for preemies.

"Premature infants significantly benefit from breast milk," Segura said.

Oftentimes, parents who are looking for breastmilk to supplement their children turn to informal donation. This is when two or more families make a decision to share milk, without oversight. In some cases, they exchange money, but often the person with the milk is donating it free of charge.

"Many moms turn to informal breast milk donation, whether community or internet-based, because it's often cheaper, more comfortable, and faster," Segura said.

It's up to the parents involved in the milk share to determine their comfort level with donation.

"Even among friends and family, informal milk donations can be riskier since the donor cannot be medically screened," Segura said.

The informal milk sharing group Eats On Feet maintains a guide to asking for and donating breast milk informally. The organization recommends that recipients ask donors a series of questions about their health history, diet, and substance use.

Luckily, my donor was incredibly up front with me. After connecting on Facebook through a mutual friend, we talked by phone. She shared a bit about her health history and diet, as well as her (lack of) drinking and drug use. When she had to start a medication during our milk share, she called me right after her doctor's appointment to relay information about the safety of that medication while breastfeeding.

Overall, I felt comfortable with how we handled the possible risks of donation.

When I gave my daughter a bottle of donor milk, I was happy knowing that someone else a woman who owed nothing to either of us was helping me keep my baby safe and fed.

Eventually my youngest started taking formula, which I used alongside donor milk to supplement nursing. There's nothing at all wrong with formula. Both my kids have relied on it. But there's also something sweet about moms helping moms with milk donation.

I stopped nursing when my youngest was a year old, which is also when I stopped using donor milk. My donor, through, was still nursing her toddler, and began donating to newborn twins whose mom was having difficulty producing enough milk. I'm still in awe of how she took the time and effort to help feed babies she barely knew.

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What to know about donor milk, and why some parents use it - Insider - INSIDER

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One of the most important components of recovery is nutrition. Over the past 20 years of my life, between ages 50 and 70, Ive made some significant changes to my diet. Until I was 50, though, I ate much the same diet during and after college. As I look back, Im appalled by all of the junk food in my daily dietcookies, potato chips, pastries, soft drinks, and more. The list is almost endless. I suppose I was just being a typical young American male. Yet despite the poor average quality of my diet, I still managed to train and race well. Could I have been a better athlete? Possibly, although there is something about being young that allows us to get away with a lot of dietary mistakes. Ive watched my son, Dirk, go through the same process as a road cyclist. Now that hes in his mid-40s, he is beginning to make adjustments to his diet in order to perform better after 30 years of top-level racing. Hes fixing his diet at a younger age than I did, and hell probably benefit from the change sooner than I did, too.

While what you eat is important to recovery, whatever foods and eating patterns you find work well for you shouldnt be compromised as you get older as long as you are getting good results. If you are seeing a decline in performance, though, you should look at your diet. A diet based largely on junk food will catch up with you at some point in the aging process. Its not a matter of if but rather when.

I expect youve already discovered that food quality has something to do with your recovery and performance. By age 50 its generally becoming apparent to most. Only a few, truly unique aging athletes can continue eating lots of junk food and still perform at a high level well into their 50s, 60s, and 70s. Most certainly cannot.

But simply eliminating junk food isnt the full story. If one source of energy is eliminated, some other source must take its place. So what should you eat more of after cutting out the junk? And of nearly equal importance, when should you eat it? If you havent discovered what foods and eating patterns work best for your recovery and training, then you may get some ideas in this section.

The two most common diets chosen by endurance athletes are high-carbohydrate and high-fat diets. By high I mean a chronic (daily) diet in which at least half of ones calories come from either carbs or fat. High-protein diets are rare, but protein plays an important and unique role in the recovery of senior athletes, so well examine that macronutrient in a separate section.

Our purpose is not to take your chronic diet in a new direction but rather to better understand how you can eat to speed recovery. Well do that by examining the types of foods you can choose at various times in order to produce the fastest and most complete recovery for you given the normal diet that you already eat. Were thinking only in terms of eating for recovery from exercise.

As mentioned, the chronic diets we are considering are those made up primarily of either carbohydrate or fat. For most athletes, a high-fat diet is hard to comprehend because it doesnt follow the normal set of nutritional rules for exercise and recovery. For example, the primary rule that most athletes accept at face value is that fuel must be frequently ingested during long exercise and in the hours afterward in order to produce movement and physical recovery. Another rule is that the tank must be topped off before starting to exercise. But the high-fat diet doesnt follow these rules. How can that be?

The starting point for understanding the high-fat diet is that the body has different sources of fuel that it can call on to produce energy. The two most common sources are carbohydrate and fat. (Protein is also a potential fuel source but is used in comparatively minute amounts.) Without going into all of the physiology behind the fueling of exercise, well condense the explanation to say that when eating the typical high-carb diet, the body relies heavily on glucose, a sugar, for fuel. Even when the tank is full, glucose is quite limited in the athletes body; depending on body size, high-carb athletes store around 1,500 to 2,000 calories of glucose in their bodies (most of it in the muscles). Thats enough to last perhaps 2 to 3 hours at a duration-specific, high-intensity effort. So fuel must be ingested before starting exercise in order to top off the limited levels. More fuel must be taken in during exercise to keep the muscles functioning, and carbohydrate also needs to be replaced soon after exercise to restock the depleted tank. These are the rules that most endurance athletes are used to following.

When fat is the primary macronutrient in the daily diet, however, ketones, not glucose, are the primary energy source. Ketones are produced by the liver from fat. For the athlete on a high-fat/low-carbohydrate diet, there is little in the way of glucose available; ketone production increases, and the athlete is said to be in a state of ketosis (not to be confused with ketoacidosis, which is a serious medical condition sometimes experienced by type 1 diabetics). The skeletal muscles along with the heart, brain, and other vital organs function normally on ketones once the body adapts, which can take a few weeks.

Since even the skinniest athlete has plenty of stored body fat, the source of energy is unlikely to run out during endurance events lasting even several hours. So in-race refueling is not an issue, as it is when eating a high-carb diet. For example, many ultramarathon runners follow a high-fat diet and take in little or no fuel during events of 50 kilometers (31 miles) or more.

Recovery is also simple on a high-fat diet. Normal meals and snacks, made up primarily of fat, are eaten after workouts with no need to consume extra fat. Theres also no need for loading before a long race.

You cant mix the two dietsits either a high-carb or a high-fat diet if you are to perform well. The body preferentially depends on either fat or sugar for fueling your aerobic exercise based on which it receives the most of on a daily basis. Eat a lot of carbohydrate, and the body burns a lot of sugar. Eat mostly fat, and the body is fueled mostly with fat. You also must follow the standard rules for recovery on your chosen diet. Eating a high-fat diet but recovering with lots of sugar is counterproductive, and recovering with fat on a high-carb diet wont cut it, either. Lets look into the role of protein in recovery and its implications for the senior athlete.

While the number of studies on the topics of food, recovery, and aging is small, all of those studies seem to indicate that older athletes need more protein, especially during recovery, than younger athletes do. There is evidence to suggest that we dont synthesizemeaning process in order to rebuild tissuesprotein as well as we get older, especially for the restructuring of the slow-twitch endurance muscles. The older athlete, therefore, needs more protein to ensure that there is enough to help with the rebuilding that takes place during sleep. It also appears that on the days of strength training and intervals, eating some protein about 30 minutes before going to bed helps to stimulate muscle building, at least in young athletes. This dovetails very nicely with what you read earlier regarding the University of North Dakota study on macronutrient choices late in the day to improve sleep. But bear in mind that a large late-evening snack may conflict with falling asleep, as we saw earlier.

Since simply eating more total calories in order to take in additional protein isnt a good way to increase this food type, it implies that there is a reduced need for either carbohydrate or fat with aging.

Protein has other benefits for the aging athlete when it comes to recovery. A 2014 review of the scientific literature related to protein intake and exercise by Stuart Phillips of McMaster University in Canada showed that when and how much protein you take in after a workout, especially a strength-building session such as lifting weights, has a lot to do with how beneficial the workout is for the muscles. To build or even just to maintain muscle mass, the rate of muscle protein synthesis must be greater than the rate of muscle protein breakdown as it happens during and after a strength workout. Fortunately, strength training stimulates muscle protein synthesis. But without adequate dietary protein to support this rebuilding process, the body is forced to cannibalize itself by taking protein from lightly used muscles to rebuild the highly stressed muscles. This suggests the need to take in protein after workouts to meet the bodys needs.

And it just so happens that eating protein also increases the rate of muscle rebuilding, especially if its eaten immediately after exercise. The benefit decreases the longer you wait. So I recommend that after a strength workout or any session that is highly stressful to the muscles, such as aerobic-capacity or lactate-threshold intervals, you eat some protein within 30 minutes of finishing. How much?

In reviewing the research on how much protein should be eaten, Dr. Phillips found that older athletes need a lot. While a young athlete benefits from eating 20 to 25 grams (about 80 to 100 calories) of protein after a workout, older athletes may need 40 grams (about 160 calories) to achieve the same level of muscle protein synthesis.37 Consuming 160 calories from protein is equivalent to eating about six boiled eggs (with 6.29 g of protein per egg) after a workout. Thats a lot of eggs. It may be less difficult to get your protein by also including protein powder in your postworkout recovery drink. In that case Id recommend using egg- or whey-based protein powder.

There are several amino acids in foods that together make up what we call protein. The individual amino acid that has been shown to be the most beneficial for muscle rebuilding during recovery is leucine, which has many good sources including whole eggs, egg whites, egg protein powder, and whey protein. Egg protein powder, however, can be quite expensive. Besides eggs, other common foods relatively high in leucine are most all dairy products, all animal products, dried figs, pasta, spinach, buttermilk, most nuts, most seeds, coconut milk and cream, avocado, most beans, corn, peas, spirulina, and succotash. These are good food choices for your postworkout recovery snack and the next meal after a hard workout to boost protein and leucine intake and muscle rebuilding.

Adapted fromFast After 50by Joe Friel, with permission of VeloPress.

Fast After 50

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Fast after 50: Nutrition and Recovery - VeloNews

As we look forward to 2021, many of us have started to think about New Year's resolutions. For those of us looking to lose weight over the next twelve months, a brand new diet can not only help us hit our weight loss goals, but also introduces us to new foods, raises our energy levels, and helps us live longer, more fulfilled lives. And yet, if you decide to embark on a brand new diet, figuring out which plan to follow can feel mind-boggling. Trying to sort between the best diets to live longer and the not-so-great fad diets only makes losing weight that much harder.

So if you feel overwhelmed by the world of dieting and have no idea of where to start, have no fear! To help streamline your weight loss process and guarantee a long and healthy life, we talked to a wide range of registered dietitians, nutritionists, and medical doctors to assemble the top six diets that help you live longer. By eating healthy and exercising regularly, you can stay one step ahead of weight gain and keep moving for decades to come.

Read on to learn which six diets can help you live longer, and for even more healthy tips, be sure to check out our list of The 7 Healthiest Foods to Eat Right Now.

"The Mediterranean diet has consistently been ranked by US News & World Report as the world's best overall diet," says Lexi Endicott, RD, LD, and culinary nutrition specialist for To Taste. "Rather than a diet in the traditional sense in which you go on it to eventually go off it, the Mediterranean Diet is a simple and sustainable eating pattern that can be followed for life. This eating pattern emphasizes consuming a variety of plant foodsa plant-forward diet, so to speak."

If you feel ready to take the plunge, the nutritional benefits of this eating plan can keep you healthy for years.

"These healthful foods [and] ingredients are rich in vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals (i.e. antioxidants) that decrease risk of developing many chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer's," says Endicott. "The more disease-free years someone can add to their life, the better!"

If you want to really super boost your chances for longevity, check out our list of 20 Foods You Should Be Eating Every Day for a Longer Life.

Eating less can definitely help you lose weight, but it might also keep you around much longer.

"The diet that has the most empirical evidence in regards to increasing life expectancy is intermittent fasting or even fasting in general," says Dr. Alexander Lightstone Borsand, MD. "Animal studies have shown that the less often animals eat, the longer they live in comparison to animals fed more regularly. The most notable study in humans followed 2,000 patients after cardiac catheterization and showed an increased lifespan in patients who regularly fasted."

"Another animal study showed that mice that were fed once a day had an 11% increase in lifespan as compared to the mice fed multiple times a day," says Dr. Borsand. "This is a significant increase in lifespan and warrants further human studies."

Here are7 Science-Backed Benefits of Intermittent Fasting.

If you haven't heard of the DASH diet, get ready for an eating plan that can change your life. The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet encourages the consumption of foods that lower blood pressure has taken off in recent years, and can do some wonders.

"The science is very clear that a plant-based or plant-forward diet is quite remarkable for its positive impact on longevity and healthspan," says Dr. Nicole Harkin, MD, FACC, founder and cardiologist of Whole Heart Cardiology. "This diet is high in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes/beans, nuts, and seeds while minimizing or eliminating animal products and processed packaged foods."

"Numerous epidemiologic studieshave demonstrated that an increased intake of plant-based foods results in reduced risk of cardiovascular and other causes of death," says Dr. Harkin. "We also see a decreased risk of obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and inflammation. While not all individuals may not be ready to go completely plant-based, working on incorporating as many plant-based foods and #meatlessmondays is a great first step!"

Here is Everything You Need to Know About the DASH Diet.

What do Greece, Japan, Italy, California, and Costa Rica have in common? These areas constitute Blue Zonesareas of the world with the highest concentration of centenarians. In order to live like someone who could reach 100, you need to eat like someone who can reach 100, and this diet helps you do just that!

"The Blue Zones have several lifestyle factors in common which appear to contribute to the longevity and increased likelihood of living to 100 years of age," says Dr. Christine Bishara, MD, founder of From Within Medical. "Their diets are composed of fresh whole foods which are primarily plant-based and also include nuts, legumes, and olive oil. They incorporate minimal red meat with the majority of the animal protein components coming from pescetarian options."

They do not eat heavy meals late in the day or close to bedtime," says Dr. Bishara. "They practice socially based eating and have strong ties to their community. This has been studied numerous times as a major factor in longevity including another study called 'The Roseto Effect'[ and] they live in areas with ease of daily walking as a form of exercise. This seems to also be another well-studied contributor to longevity."

People in the blue zone typically eat this One Food You Should Be Eating Every Day For a Longer Life.

"Though it sounds like the latest trend, the carnivore diet is a diet that was followed for ages," Dr. Rashmi Byakod said. "The human race evolved from eating raw and cooked meat. In the olden days, there was no agriculture, and plant food was the least consumed. Meat foods are highly nutritious and carry numerous health benefits."

If you ever considered yourself a "meatatarian" you might actually be onto something.

"The aging process indicates impairment of mitochondrial function, reduced antioxidant effect, and increased oxidative stress," says Dr. Byakod. "Selenium and Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) present in meats have antioxidant effects helping in longevity and wellbeingOther than these, meats are a good source of vitamin D, omega 3 amino acids, and various other nutrients. Adapting to a carnivore diet can help you meet all the nutritional requirements of your body."

If you love the idea of the Mediterranean diet, but don't want to cut our dairy, this diet will make you swoon.

"Dairy, especially full-fat dairy, contains healthy fats, calcium, and other nutrients that are recommended for a healthy diet," says Lisa Richards, CNC, and creator of the Candida Diet. "It is easy to integrate more servings of dairy into the traditional Mediterranean diet through cheeses, yogurt, and dairy-based sauces."

"Adding dairy to the Mediterranean Diet could make it more sustainable long-term, especially for women who need the added calcium and vitamin D," says Richards. "The fat content may deter some people as it adds additional fat to an already moderate fat diet, however, easy exchanges can be made to ensure a balance of fish and plant fat with added dairy."

"As with any diet, moderation is important," says Richards. "The foods recommended on the Mediterranean Diet are not shown to be unhealthy for your heart. However, the dieter should make sure they are still staying within their calorie limits, especially with fat content, to avoid any negative side effects."

For more on the Candida Diet: This Is Everything You Should Eat and Why, According to Experts.

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The 6 Best Diets That Will Make You Live Longer, Say Dietitians - Eat This, Not That

This has not been a very good year for sleep.

With the coronavirus pandemic, and school and work disruptions, contributing to countless sleepless nights, sleep experts have encouraged people to adopt a variety of measures to overcome their stress-related insomnia. Among their recommendations engage in regular exercise, establish a nightly bedtime routine and cut back on screen-time and social media.

But many people may be overlooking another important factor in poor sleep diet. A growing body of research suggests that the foods you eat can affect how well you sleep, and your sleep patterns can affect your dietary choices.

Researchers have found that eating a diet that is high in sugar, saturated fat and processed carbohydrates can disrupt your sleep, while eating more plants, fibre and foods rich in unsaturated fat such as nuts, olive oil, fish and avocados seems to have the opposite effect, helping to promote sound sleep.

Much of what we know about sleep and diet comes from large epidemiological studies that, over the years, have found that people who suffer from consistently bad sleep tend to have poorer quality diets, with less protein, fewer fruits and vegetables, and a higher intake of added sugar from foods like sugary beverages, desserts and ultra-processed foods. But by their nature, epidemiological studies can show only correlations, not cause and effect. They cannot explain, for example, whether poor diet precedes and leads to poor sleep, or the reverse.

To get a better understanding of the relationship between diet and sleep, some researchers have turned to randomised controlled trials in which they tell participants what to eat and then look for sleep changes. A number of studies have looked at the impact of individual foods, from warm milk to fruit juice. But those studies often have been small and not very rigorous.

Some of these trials have also been funded by the food industry, which can bias results. One study, funded by Zespri International, the worlds largest marketer of kiwi fruit, for example, found that people assigned to eat two kiwis an hour before their bedtime every night for four weeks had improvements in their sleep onset, duration and efficiency. The authors of the study attributed their findings in part to an abundance of antioxidants in kiwis. But importantly, the study lacked a control group, so it is possible that any benefits could have resulted from the placebo effect.

Other studies, funded by the cherry industry, have found that drinking tart cherry juice can modestly improve sleep in people with insomnia, supposedly by promoting tryptophan, one of the building blocks of the sleep-regulating hormone melatonin.

Tryptophan is an amino acid found in many foods, including dairy and turkey, which is one of the reasons commonly given for why so many of us feel so sleepy after our Thanksgiving feasts. But tryptophan has to cross the blood-brain barrier to have any soporific effects, and in the presence of other amino acids found in food it ends up competing, largely unsuccessfully, for absorption. Studies show that eating protein-rich foods such as milk and turkey on their own actually decreases the ability of tryptophan to cross the blood-brain barrier.

One way to enhance tryptophans uptake is to pair foods that contain it with carbohydrates. That combination stimulates the release of insulin, which causes competing amino acids to be absorbed by muscles, in turn making it easier for tryptophan to cross into the brain, said Marie-Pierre St-Onge, an associate professor of nutritional medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Centre and the director of the Sleep Centre of Excellence at Columbia.

St-Onge has spent years studying the relationship between diet and sleep. Her work suggests that rather than emphasising one or two specific foods with supposedly sleep-inducing properties, it is better to focus on the overall quality of your diet. In one randomised clinical trial, she and her colleagues recruited 26 healthy adults and controlled what they ate for four days, providing them regular meals prepared by nutritionists while also monitoring how they slept at night. On the fifth day, the subjects were allowed to eat whatever they wanted.

The researchers discovered that eating more saturated fat and less fibre from foods like vegetables, fruits and whole grains led to reductions in slow-wave sleep, which is the deep, restorative kind. In general, clinical trials have also found that carbohydrates have a significant impact on sleep: People tend to fall asleep much faster at night when they consume a high-carbohydrate diet compared to when they consume a high-fat or high-protein diet. That may have something to do with carbs helping tryptophan cross into the brain more easily.

But the quality of carbs matters. In fact, they can be a double-edged sword when it comes to slumber. St-Onge has found in her research that when people eat more sugar and simple carbs such as white bread, bagels, pastries and pasta they wake up more frequently throughout the night. In other words, eating carbs may help you fall asleep faster, but it is best to consume complex carbs that contain fibre, which may help you obtain more deep, restorative sleep.

Complex carbohydrates provide a more stable blood sugar level, she said. So if blood sugar levels are more stable at night, that could be the reason complex carbohydrates are associated with better sleep.

One example of a dietary pattern that may be optimal for better sleep is the Mediterranean diet, which emphasises such foods as vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes, whole grains, seafood, poultry, yogurt, herbs and spices and olive oil. Large observational studies have found that people who follow this type of dietary pattern are less likely to suffer from insomnia and short sleep, though more research is needed to confirm the correlation.

But the relationship between poor diet and bad sleep is a two-way street: Scientists have found that as people lose sleep, they experience physiological changes that can nudge them to seek out junk food. In clinical trials, healthy adults who are allowed to sleep only four or five hours a night end up consuming more calories and snacking more frequently throughout the day. They experience more hunger and their preference for sweet foods increases.

In men, sleep deprivation stimulates increased levels of ghrelin, the so-called hunger hormone, while in women, restricting sleep leads to lower levels of GLP-1, a hormone that signals satiety. So in men, short sleep promotes greater appetite and desire to eat, and in women there is less of a signal that makes you stop eating, St-Onge said.

Changes also occur in the brain. St-Onge found that when men and women were restricted to four hours of nightly sleep for five nights in a row, they had greater activation in reward centres of the brain in response to pepperoni pizza, doughnuts and candy compared to healthy foods such as carrots, yogurt, oatmeal and fruit. After five nights of normal sleep, however, this pattern disappeared.

Another study, led by researchers at Kings College London, also demonstrated how proper sleep can increase your willpower to avoid unhealthy foods. It found that habitually short sleepers who went through a program to help them sleep longer had improvements in their diet. The most striking change was that they cut about 10 grams of added sugar from their diets each day, about 2 teaspoons.

The takeaway is that diet and sleep are entwined. Improving one can help you improve the other and vice versa, creating a positive cycle where they perpetuate one another, said Dr Susan Redline, a senior physician at the Brigham and Womens Hospital and a professor of sleep medicine at Harvard Medical School who studies diet and sleep disorders. The best way to approach health is to emphasise a healthy diet and healthy sleep, she added. These are two very important health behaviours that can reinforce each other. New York Times

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How what you are eating is affecting how you sleep - The Irish Times

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a painful condition caused by swelling and inflammation in the wrist and tendons of the fingers that surround the median nerve.

When the swollen tendons squeeze or compress the median nerve, it causes pain, tingling, and numbness. Carpal tunnel syndrome is sometimes referred to as a repetitive motion syndrome.

Foods and supplements that alleviate inflammation may benefit this condition. In some instances, the right type of diet may alleviate symptoms enough so that other medical treatments are not needed. In other instances, it may be a beneficial addition to medical treatment.

Certain foods may also exacerbate this condition, by furthering inflammation in the body.

Read on to learn about the foods and supplements that help or hurt carpal tunnel syndrome.

Carpal tunnel syndrome has a number of known causes. These include:

Inflammation also plays a central role in the pain-related symptoms caused by carpal tunnel syndrome.

Inflammation is a natural process in the body that helps protect you from injury and infection. However, chronic inflammation has been linked to:

A diet high in processed foods may increase levels of pro-inflammatory proteins, called cytokines. Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFa) is a cytokine that has been specifically linked to carpal tunnel pain. Research shows that diets rich in processed foods may increase inflammatory proteins, like TNFa.

Foods that promote inflammation may make carpal tunnel syndrome worse. These include:

Refined starches are also referred to as simple carbohydrates, or simply, bad carbs. They include grains that have been stripped of fiber, nutrients, and bran. They also include desserts and sodas.

Refined starches and sugars include:

Many refined carbohydrates are also high in saturated or trans fat. These include desserts such as pie and cake.

Other foods high in saturated and trans fat include:

Fried foods are often high in trans fat and salt. They include many fast foods, such as French fries, fried chicken, and tacos.

Since salt can cause water retention, it may worsen swelling and pressure on the median nerve.

Avoid foods that are high in salt, including processed, packaged foods. Also avoid adding table salt to meals.

A too-heavy intake of alcoholic beverages can raise inflammation levels in the body.

A 2018 study found that long-term, excessive drinking could increase the risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome.

Foods that reduce inflammation have been shown in studies to be beneficial to health and may support a reduction in carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms. They include:

Omega-3 fatty acids have anti-inflammatory properties and are neuroprotective. A small 2020 study found that omega-3 fatty acids reduced numbness and pain caused by carpal tunnel syndrome. Foods containing omega-3 fatty acids include:

Foods high in antioxidants can reduce inflammation and may help alleviate the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. They include:

Vitamin B6 supplementation is a controversial treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome. Its sometimes recommended by healthcare providers because its optimal for overall health, plus it may help reduce carpal tunnel symptoms.

Its not completely clear how B6 works for this condition. One possible explanation is that it acts as an analgesic, by raising the pain threshold of people with carpal tunnel syndrome.

Foods high in B6 include:

Vitamin B12 supplementation may be beneficial for reducing the effects of nerve damage and relieving pain. Eating a diet high in this nutrient may also be beneficial. Foods high in vitamin B12 include:

Turmeric is a spice that contains curcumin, which has been found to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects for peripheral nerves.

In addition to scientific data, users of turmeric say its beneficial for reducing the inflammation associated with carpal tunnel syndrome and with other conditions, including arthritis.

If you decide to try turmeric, make sure to use it with black pepper. The pepper increases the bioavailability of curcumin, increasing its effectiveness.

You can also drink turmeric tea.

If your diet is lacking in the vitamins and nutrients found in the foods listed above, you may benefit from taking them as supplements. They include:

In addition, there are supplements that may be beneficial to take, as the nutrients are hard to get through diet alone. They include:

Home remedies for carpal tunnel syndrome may be useful for pain relief and for alleviating swelling. They include:

Carpal tunnel syndrome can be painful and debilitating. Since it can occur in both wrists, it may significantly reduce your ability to participate in daily activities.

If at-home treatments and dietary changes dont help, talk with a healthcare provider.

In some instances, acupuncture may be beneficial for alleviating this condition and reducing pain.

You may also wish to consider medical treatments, such as cortisone injections.

Surgical solutions for carpal tunnel syndrome may be highly beneficial.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a painful condition caused by the compression of nerves in the wrist and palm.

Eating certain foods and taking dietary supplements may help alleviate the swelling and inflammation caused by this condition. There are also some at-home treatments that can help.

If diet and at-home methods for treating carpal tunnel syndrome arent enough, speak with a healthcare provider.

Excerpt from:
Carpal Tunnel Foods to Avoid, and Foods That Are Beneficial - Healthline

Every time I start to feel hopeful that the anti-diet movement is gaining traction and more people are finally starting to reject toxic diet culture, reality seems to rain on my parade.

Whether its teenage wellness influencers using TikTok to promote massively restrictive eating plans or a magazine headline touting ways to outsmart your hunger cues, the truth is that disordered eating is everywhere. What is worse, its often praised as health-conscious or virtuous.

Depriving your body of the food it wants and needs is anything but healthy. Just because weve normalized things like chewing gum to avoid eating, or religiously weighing your food and logging it into an app, doesnt mean those things are actually good for us. And while its fair to say that silly diet tricks are pushed on us all the time, its also true that many people are especially drawn to these disordered eating habits at this moment.

Peoples concerns with foods are heightened right now, said Barbara Spanjers, a Las Vegas-based therapist and wellness coach. In a way, its easier to focus on food than to focus on the existential threats that we are facing, both the virus and the dire economic situation that some people are finding themselves in.

Of course, stressing about food instead of stressing about the pandemic isnt really a healthy coping mechanism. Here are a few common signs of disordered eating to watch out for:

1. You focus on clean eating.

Do you shy away from processed foods in favor of whole or clean foods? (Been there.) Many people view that as a healthy choice, but it isnt.

For starters, it draws an arbitrary line in the sand between what you can eat and what you cant eat. Think of the way clean-eating advocates demonize things like Kit Kat bars (because sugar!) but promote chocolate bars made with organic cocoa, organic coconut sugar and organic puffed quinoa (which contain just as much sugar). Or the way they avoid fresh bread made with wheat flour and yeast but deem fresh bread made with tapioca or almond flour to be A-OK.

The truth is, clean eating is a way to restrict food without much scientific rhyme or reason. Rachel Larkey, a New York City-based registered dietitian, described it as an unhealthy obsession. Its not smart to think or eat this way.

2. You avoid all the foods you actually want when you go out to eat.

Its one thing to say no to your favorite comfort foods when youre just not hungry, but its another thing to avoid those foods altogether, said Brittany Wehrle, a Dallas-based sports dietitian and owner of Fueled & Well Nutrition.

Avoiding all fun foods when out to eat, she said, is probably a sign of disordered eating, even its applauded as healthy. If you find yourself constantly scanning the menu for the lowest-calorie options or even looking them up on the restaurants website beforehand you might need to take a step back and think about why youre doing it.

3. You refuse to eat food outside your home altogether.

Avoiding social situations where there is fear of being around certain foods, so as not to fall off a diet plan, is a sign of disordered eating, said Alissa Rumsey, a New York City-based dietitian, nutrition therapist and author of Unapologetic Eating: Make Peace With Food and Transform Your Life.

Constantly forgoing dinners out (or even takeout) because there arent healthy choices on the menu isnt healthy at all. In fact, it can leave you feeling isolated and lonely.

Oscar Wong via Getty Images

4. You stress out about eating something thats not part of your plan.

Someone with disordered eating who is on a road trip with friends may be completely shaken by having to eat something that isnt part of the routine or plan such as grabbing lunch from a fast-food drive-thru, Wehrle said. In contrast, someone with a healthy relationship with food can roll with the punches and not be bothered by a change of routine.

Its fine to try to eat nourishing foods, but it shouldnt feel like an emergency when you have to stray from your usual eating habits for a short period of time.

5. Youre strict about portion control.

The idea of proper portion size is a popular one, but its not really true that you should stick to the same portions at every meal.

Deciding how much to eat based on an appropriate portion or external measurement rather than listening to the bodys needs can be a sign of disordered eating, Rumsey said.

Instead of putting arbitrary limits on the amount of food you eat at a given meal or snack, just eat until youre satisfied. That might take a while to figure out if youre not used to doing it, but youll get the hang of it.

6. You think of foods as good or bad.

A healthy approach to nutrition allows for flexibility and promotes a healthy relationship with food where there are no good or bad foods, said Rebecca Ditkoff, a New York City-based dietitian, certified intuitive eating counselor and owner of Nutrition by RD. Food is not black and white and serves beyond just nourishment, and is also considered a form of self-care as well as a source of enjoyment.

While a disordered approach to eating is rigid, a healthy approach takes into account not only the physical effects of food but also the social, emotional and mental effects.

7. You have feelings of guilt around food.

Another problem with this good-or-bad thinking around food is that it leads to guilt.

This moralization of food often extends to the person doing the classifying so that they start to feel they are a good or bad, healthy or unhealthy human based on what they eat, said Nina Mills, a Melbourne, Australia-based dietitian and founder of Feel Good Eating.

That should never be your mindset. As Spanjers said, Food guilt is very mainstream but is, in my opinion, pretty disordered. Did you steal the food from a baby? No? Then theres no need to feel guilty.

8. You use exercise to earn food.

Another tell-tale sign of early [disordered eating] problems is when someone frequently refers to exercise as a way to earn or burn off food, Wehrle said.

Theres a time and place to link food and exercise like if youre fueling up for an endurance event or youre trying to time a meal and a workout so that you wont feel hungry or stuffed. It might feel especially good to work out the day after a big meal. But you should never not eat something because you didnt earn it with a workout or schedule an extra workout to burn off something you ate.

9. You give weight-based compliments.

This ones a little more general, but if youre constantly giving weight-based compliments or analyzing other peoples bodies in your head, it could be a sign of your own disordered eating.

We often think its normal to tell someone they look great and ask if theyve lost weight or to compliment someones weight loss, Larkey said.

Really, though, its inappropriate. For starters, someone might have lost weight due to an illness, depression, eating disorder a whole host of reasons, Larkey continued. Plus, these comments reinforce the idea that body size is very important and weight loss is something we should all strive for.

That preoccupation with the body above all else is usually a sign that someone is having a messed-up relationship with food, Larkey said.

10. You have designated cheat meals or days.

Um, what exactly are you cheating on by eating food that you love? The practice of being good all week and then having a cheat meal on the weekend is often a sign of disordered eating, Mills said.

Plus, this invariably always backfires, and the cheat meal or day feels excessive and reinforces this idea that certain foods need to be controlled, when the actual problem is the restriction that comes with trying to be good throughout the week, Mills explained.

In other words, all of the rules you put around food during the week leave you feeling totally out of control when the rules get lifted, and you end up feeling much worse than if youd just let yourself have what you wanted when you wanted it.

Luis Alvarez via Getty Images

So how can you fix all of this? Heres some expert advice on how to improve your relationship with food instead of letting it become another source of stress:

Talking to a professional is the best way to work through disordered eating habits.

If youre really struggling with food, talk to a qualified therapist or registered dietitian who can help you recognize harmful behaviors and work through them.

If thats not possible for you at the moment, Mills suggested immersing yourself in podcasts, books and social media accounts that call out disordered eating habits and promote healthier ones. Podcasts like Love, Food, Food Psych and Food Heaven are great resources, as are the books Anti-Diet and The Body Is Not an Apology.

The difference between a healthy approach to food and a disordered one is flexibility.

Someone who has a healthy relationship with food can be flexible in what they eat. Mills described this as the willingness and ability to be spontaneous with food, so that it takes up some time in your day and some space in your brain but doesnt feel all-consuming.

A healthy approach to health and well-being comes when you approach nutrition from a place of self-care, rather than self-control or restriction, Rumsey added.

Bottom line: Theres nothing wrong with caring about your physical health and wanting to eat nutritious foods, but its not mentally, emotionally or physically healthy to stress about food all the time.

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10 Signs You Have A Bad Relationship With Food (And How To Fix It) - HuffPost

As a leader in the field of integrative medicine,Dr. Andrew Weil has mastered the secrets of living a good life.

By following his own five pillars of optimal health: eating right, exercising, neutralizing stress, maintaining social and intellectual connectivity and attending to spiritual well-being, at age 78 he is proof that healthy aging is possible.

To help others embrace healthier lives, Dr. Weil shares his philosophy on his website, drweil.com, which is the leading online resource for healthy living based on the principles of integrative medicine, and through his 15 bestselling health and wellness books.

On his website, Dr. Weil notes how he learned his family has some genetic factors that put him at an increased risk of heart disease. His father had a mild heart attack at the age of 49, and later two coronary bypass surgeries. He lived to the age of 81. Dr. Weils paternal grandfather died of a heart attack at 50, and his paternal grandmother also had coronary artery disease and angina.

Knowing he couldnt counteract his genetics, Dr. Weil chose to address the cardiac risk factors he could control, such as adopting a pesco-vegetarian diet (eating fish, along with a vegetarian diet), exercising daily, working to reduce stress, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. He says that implementing these changes have resulted in good heart health.

And while Dr. Weil, who has graced the cover of Time magazine twice, endorses making healthy resolutions, he also cautions against setting unrealistic goals.

One of the biggest mistakes people make with New Years resolutions is trying to do everything all at once, says Dr. Weil. Rather than setting too many expectations, I encourage pursuing smaller, realistic goals.

While conventional medicine treats chronic conditions with prescription medications, Dr. Weil, who trained at Harvard Medical School in Boston, explains that integrative medicine combines conventional medicine with natural and less invasive treatments, and looks at the whole person while emphasizing nutrition, lifestyle, naturopathic therapies (including herbs, massage and acupuncture), spirituality, and the mind-body connection.

According to Dr. Weil, good nutrition plays an important role in integrative medicine. Since processed and manufactured foods can lead to chronic inflammation, a contributor to heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer and other health conditions, Dr. Weil recommends following an anti-inflammatory diet consisting of lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, plant-based proteins, fatty fish and fresh herbs and spices.

An anti-inflammatory diet, basedon the Mediterranean diet, can help usall age gracefully and delay the onset of age-related disease and discomfort, Dr. Weil says.

For those who want to eat healthier in the new year, Dr. Weil recommends making one change at a time.

My top recommendation is to give up sweetened drinks of all kinds soda, sweetened teas and coffees, energy drinks and fruit juices, he advises. Consuming these sugary drinks can lead to weight gain, and an increased risk of diabetes and heart disease.

In place of sugary coffee or tea drinks Dr. Weil is a fan of traditional matcha, a powdered green tea known to have many health benefits that he discovered while on a trip to Japan. He went on to launch a company, MatchaKari with Andr Fasciola, selling high-quality matcha.

Matcha is a good anti-inflammatory coffee alternative and an important part of my morning ritual, Dr. Weil says, adding that it has been shown to help with anxiety, reduce cholesterol levels, and stabilize blood sugar.

In his book, 8 Weeks to Optimum Health: A Proven Program for Taking Full Advantage of Your Bodys Natural Healing Power, he offers specific and detailed information on other ways that diet, supplements, vitamins, herbs and other integrative medicine practices can lead to better overall health.

Small dietary changes can have a big impact and result in lasting change, Dr. Weil says. The basic principles of following an anti-inflammatory eating plan arent hard, but they do require shopping and preparing your own foods.

In his cookbook, Fast Food, Good Food: More Than 150 Quick and Easy Ways to Put Healthy, Delicious Food on the Table, he shares recipes that incorporate anti-inflammatory foodsand are also easy to prepare, healthy,and delicious.

Some of the unhealthiest foods are the cheapest and the most readily available, Dr. Weil says. I work to show peoplethat healthy meals can taste good and be easy to prepare.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in Weils True Food Kitchen restaurants, where the seasonal menus are guided by his anti-inflammatory food pyramid. True Food Kitchen currently has more than 30 restaurants nationwide, including their Town Center at Boca Raton location.

Eating healthy doesnt mean giving up the foods you like, Dr. Weil says, citing his restaurants healthy pizza entrees, family meals and decadent desserts as evidence. It means reducing the percentage of animal foods in your diet and incorporating more fresh produce and healthy dietary fats, such as olive oil, into your meals.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle canbe challenging even during the best of times, but with the COVID-19 pandemic,Dr. Weil says the uncertainty of the virus has added a layer of anxiety for many.

When people are feeling stressedor anxious, I recommend practicing the4-7-8 breath, he explains. Taking these five simple steps will put you in a more relaxed state.

Dr. Weil starts his own morning with meditation, followed by this 4-7-8 breathing exercise:

In addition, Dr. Weil says regular exercise is also an important part of emotional wellness and can help prevent and ease depression. One of his favorite integrative exercises is walking. He also enjoys swimming and working in the garden at his Tucson home.

I recommend 30 minutes of brisk walking five days a week, he noteson his website. In addition, I alsorecommend a strength or resistance training program using free weights or weight machines to strengthen and tone your muscles and increase the density of your bones.

He also offers additional free tools to help people maintain their health and wellness, boost immunity, and manage anxiety and stress during the pandemic on his website for the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

The center, which opened in 1994,trains healthcare professionals in evidence-based, integrative medicine practices. Dr. Weil says his goal is to one day see integrative medicine taught as part of the standard curriculum at medical schools across the country.

Weve instructed over 2,000 physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners in a wide variety of specialty areas and currently have a waiting list for our medical fellowship program, says Dr. Weil who serves as the centers director. Our website, awcim.arizona.edu, allows consumers to search our alumni directory to locate an integrative medicine practitioner in their area.

The center is currently in the process of constructing a new, 34,000-square-foot building that is expected to be completed by 2022.

Over the past 30 years, Dr. Weil has seen the practice of integrative medicine, which promotes prevention and the bodys natural ability to heal itself, evolve. Today, the practice has become more mainstream and continues to grow in popularity among both consumers and practitioners. He says he believes integrative medicine is the future of healthcare.

More people are taking prescription medications than ever before and this is cause for concern, Dr. Weil says. Americans now take 10 times as many prescription medications as they did in the 1950s and many are overused and misused.

All too often, Dr. Weil says, prescription medications simply reduce symptoms without addressing the root cause of disease.

Many other interventions exist that dont involve prescription drugs, but sadly, they arent taught in medical school, Dr. Weil notes on his website. When I write a treatment plan for a patient, my first recommendations always include food, what not to eat, what to eat more of, and what dietary changes to make to improve health.

According to Dr. Weil, an anti-inflammatory diet can improve health conditions such as allergies, asthma and other health conditions to the point where medication can often be reduced and in some cases, eliminated. In his book, Mind Over Meds: Know When Drugs Are Necessary, When Alternatives Are Better - and When to Let Your Body Heal on Its Own, he takes a deep dive into the problems of overmedication and integrative medicine approaches to treat health conditions such as high blood pressure, allergies, depression and more.

With integrative medicine, patients and practitioners are partners in their health and healing, Dr. Weil says. By working with a practitioner trained in integrated medicine, patients can develop a lifelong wellness practice.

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Living Weil - The Boca Raton Observer