Category Archives: Diet And Food

Stress levels have skyrocketed for everyone amid the pandemic, and no one can avoid the anxieties and frustrations that have come with a year of such uncertainty.

That includes country star Carrie Underwood, whose biggest stressor is one too many parents can relate to: keeping her kids entertained. They require different things than we do. My little boys are so social, and were so used to being around lots of people and lots of other kids all of the time, Underwood tells Prevention.

During quarantine, every day around 3:00 p.m., she would turn to her husband, Mike Fisher, and ask what one-year-old Jacob and five-year-old Isaiah should do next. You have your morning routine and theres breakfast, and then you get ready, and then its lunch, and now what? she says of her familys routine. So, its been a difficult time.

Through the struggles of parenting amid a global pandemic, the 37-year-old singer has been trying to stay positive in the best ways she knows how: keeping up with her fitness routine, spending time in nature, and focusing on creative projects. Ahead, Underwood shares her top self-care tips for stressful times.

Like most of us, Underwood admits finding motivation to keep up with her fitness routine has been tough. It can be a challenge to exercise, especially when youre having a rough year in the world, the CALIA by Carrie Underwood founder says. Yes, it would be easier to sit on my couch, but thats not going to make me feel good and thats not going to keep me healthy. I want to choose whats best for me so I just get up and do it.

Not only does it keep her fit, but it keeps her happy, too. Its so important on every level, not just from a physical standpoint because you want to do it to look goodthats just a byproduct and its awesome when youre feeling good about yourselfbut for your mental and emotional wellbeing, she says. Even if youre getting up and going for a walk... theres so many benefits to movement and working your body.

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To get her sweat on, Underwood usually heads to her home gym to squeeze in a workout with her husband. It served as extra motivation and helped the couple spend quality time together (sans children!).

She recently launched a fitness app called fit52 this year, which she uses anywhere from four to six days a week. Its been a saving grace for me, she says. We had no idea this year was going to happen like it happened. So to have this app thats focused on bodyweight and minimal equipmentdumbbells and a benchits been a blessing in my life to be able to have that.

Typical exercises include burpees, pushups, squats, and resistance training moves like bicep curls using dumbbells. fit52 also offers a range of all-encompassing circuit training workouts, which Underwood compares to CrossFit type fitness. On top of that, she adds yoga and Pilates to sneak in mobility moves.

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Underwood has been focusing on her nutrition at home, too. The vegetarian hasnt eaten meat since she was 21, which she calls a lifestyle instead of a diet.

While she joked about the old COVID nutrition (because who hasnt been snacking like crazy?), shes been keeping up with her healthy eats by growing some of her own food, which has been a huge stress reliever for her.

I have a garden outside, so Ive really gotten to get my hands dirty this year. Its such a wonderful thing to grow your meals, she says. We ended up eating a lot of zucchini, and I was finding all kinds of different ways to make zucchini because I had so much of it. Theres nothing like your own fresh tomatoes and basil.

In addition to gardening, Underwood found other ways to safely spend time in nature with her family. (For good reason: Even a short, 15-minute break outdoors is enough to lower levels of stress and fatigue, research shows.)

Most days whenever we could we got outside, wed go and have picnics or go for walks, and we have a four-wheeler that wed get on and ride around, she says. As for the ultimate family day out? She has horses at her home in Franklin, Tennessee, so shed take her kids out to feed and play with them.

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Underwood has also thrown herself into creative projects to keep herself busy. Were always working on things musically, she says. She even released a Christmas album during the pandemic, which brought a little joy to a difficult year.

That was just such a blessing for me to be able to go into the studio and shut out what was happening outside and just sing these songs that mean so much to me, so hopefully people can get that and hear that when they listen to the album, she says of My Gift.

Shes also worked on some new collections and pop-up shops for her athleisure brand, CALIA by Carrie Underwood. (Find them in Nashville, Santa Monica, and Austin through Dec. 31!)

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We just kind of wanted to bring something fun and new to those areas and see what happens! I want people to come and be like, Oh my gosh, Im loving this collection, or maybe spoil themselves with a couple of things or get gifts for people for the holidays, she says.

The pop-ups are following COVID-19 safety guidelines, she ensures. Were requiring employees and customers to wear masks in the stores and disinfecting high-touch areas, and just doing all the things we need to be doing to make sure everybodys safe as they come and check out what we have going on.

Overall, Underwoods finishing out 2020 feeling a bit more positive about whats ahead. Im excited to spend the end of this year, hopefully with family, and start a fresh year, she says. I feel like everybody is. Lets all be positive and look forward to what could be in the new year.

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5 Ways Carrie Underwood Stays Fit, Happy, and Motivated During Stressful Times - Prevention.com

In case you missed it: Ron Weasley is officially a dad! Rupert Grint and his longtime girlfriend, actress Georgia Groome, welcomed a daughter named Wednesday G. Grint on May 7. Although the couple requested privacy shortly after her birth, Rupert created an Instagram account on Nov. 10 just to post a photo of their new baby girl and share her name.

"Hey Instagram....only 10 years late, but here I am," Rupert captioned the post. "Grint on the Gram! Here to introduce you all to Wednesday G. Grint. Stay safe, Rupert." As for the inspiration behind the name? Since Wednesday was born on a Thursday, we can't be completely sure. But, considering that Rupert posted his daughter's photos on a Tuesday, it's clear that the new dad was eager to share her with the world. Seems pretty fitting for a Gryffindor! Congrats to this sweet new family of three.

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Rupert Grint and Georgia Groome Just Shared Their Daughter's Name and It's So Beautiful - POPSUGAR

From the moment Blaine Anderson grabbed Kurt Hummel's hand and ran through the hall, I was sold on Darren Criss being a part of Glee. Nov. 9 marked the official 10th anniversary of Criss's first appearance as Blaine on the show, and he celebrated it the only way a Gleek could: live-streaming his reaction as he rewatched his debut episode.

Throughout the IGTV, Criss let fans in on behind-the-scenes tidbits, including how he felt about the show picking Warblers to make him look as tiny as possible before singing along to the iconic "Teenage Dream" performance. He also shared a couple of photos from filming on Instagram, captioning the post, "People always tell me how Glee changed their life, and I'm always happy to remind them how yeah, it changed mine too."

What's even wilder than the fact it's been 10 years since Blaine first appeared and five years since the show went off the air, is the fact that Criss pretty much looks the same now as he did then. Now, if only he would bust out the Warbler blazer, I'd be a very happy Gleek.

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Darren Criss Gifted Us Some Glee Secrets in Honor of the 10th Anniversary of His Debut - POPSUGAR

Plant-based diets have been extremely popular all around the world due to which people are going vegan currently. But are they really healthy and nutritious? Check what nutritionist Mugdha Pradhan, founder of ThriveFNC, has to say.

In the last few years, theres a popular belief that exclusively plant-based or vegan diets are the key to achieving good health. While plant-based diets consist solely of consuming whole grains, pulses and legumes, fruits and vegetables, it cannot be regarded as a complete dietary practice. Some flaws and deficiencies are inherent to a solely plant-based diet.

Decoding the benefits and drawbacks of a plant-based diet by Mugdha Pradhan, Nutritionist and Founder of ThriveFNC:

Positive sides of a plant-based diet

Firstly, the concept that only plant-based diets are good for us, and animal foods are bad, needs to be challenged. Plant-based diets are effective in overturning the symptoms of diabetes such as insulin resistance primarily because they eliminate a lot of processed, junk food thats cooked with vegetable oils. This is also why they are efficient in helping people lose excess weight. Also, a vast number of plants are proven to carry medicinal properties that work like medicine for a lot of ailments.

But this comes with a caveat, just like you wouldnt eat medicines all the time, you wouldnt want to pop medicinal plants and herbs without reason into your body all the time either. Which is why it is seen that plant-based dietary approaches are great for encountering various diseases and their accompanying symptoms during the initial phase, but thriving wholly on a plant-based diet becomes problematic.

Why it can be dangerous?

It has been seen that people who are on a 100 percent plant-based diet revealed multiple deficiencies of essential nutrients such as iron, protein, B-12, selenium, iodine, calcium, etc. This persistent deficit of essential nutrients in their body only grew with time, as they continued to stick to a plant-based diet unless they supplemented heavily. The thing is, plants can seem like a rich source of essential nutrients and minerals; however, due to their poor bioavailability and presence of antinutrients, our body is unable to absorb most of these nutrients. So, adhering solely to a plant-based diet does make you prone to a whole lot of nutritional deficiencies.

There are numerous misinformed views and discrepancies when it comes to the science of plant-based nutrition. For instance, not all plants are medicinal and fit for consumption. Some of them can also be full of toxins and cause major harm. Moreover, even plants that are benign atoxin-free when alive can initiate last-minute defence mechanisms at the point of their death. As no life-form on earth dies without putting up some form of fight, the defence mechanism in certain plants ensures that their would-be consumer is unable to gain the desired nutrition from that plant.

The defence mechanisms of plants operate like toxins in the body of their consumers and can cause unrest or trouble. This can prove quite effective for a life-form that is devoid of the ability to fight-or-flight. For example, people are prone to feeling bloated or flatulent after consuming rajma (kidney-bean). This is due to the formation of certain compounds known as Lectins in the plant which can even cause inflammation as part of the defence mechanism. Similarly, peanut butter which is generally regarded as a rich source of protein can have mold which can release harmful aflatoxins in our body.

It is essential to understand that each individual reacts, digests, and absorbs each food differently owing to the principle of bio-individuality. The ingestion and absorption of each person depend on their genetic configuration. People who exhibit protein deficiencies due to sustained plant-based diets can significantly overcome these by adding small amounts of animal protein in their diet. Animal foods are loaded with nutrients that are easily absorbed in their most bio-available or easily accessible form.

It is important to understand your body and listen to its constant stream of feedback. With an emphasis on bio-individuality, it is also essential to be aware of what your body accepts and what it is likely to reject. Animal products also have a crucial role in fulfilling our nutritional needs. In case you are averse to eating animal products due to certain ethics or belief-systems, be ready to consume a significant amount of supplements as compensation for the same. But when it comes to choosing your animal protein, make sure it is not factory processed. It is highly recommended that you select only free-range pasture-raised animals.

Conclusion

Balancing our nutrition is a subtle phenomenon that requires a fine balance. It pays to know what your body lacks and how to fulfil that particular requirement. Diseases strike when the body is overrun with inflammation, nutritional deficiencies and toxins. Being disease-free involves primarily perceiving your body signals and eating what it needs. If you choose to maintain a plant-based diet for ethical or religious reasons then understand that you will need really good quality supplements to fill in the nutritional gaps that plant-based foods can create.

Also Read:Nutritionist and fitness expert share exclusive tips on how to have a guilt free Diwali

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Are plant based diets healthy? Nutritionist Mugdha Pradhan shares tips on its positive and negative sides - PINKVILLA

As any regular caf goer could attest, the popularity of gluten-free diets has been skyrocketing for many years. Research conducted in 22 countries around the world found that in 2018, 24% of respondents regularly avoided gluten. Asking that same question 20 years earlier would have netted a very different response.

This global trend has been linked to the controversial diagnosis of Non-Coeliac Gluten Sensitivity (NCCS), a condition in which sufferers experience digestive problems in response to gluten consumption. As you might expect, the link between gluten and digestive problems remains contested. Understanding how gluten affects the gut is a crucial part of assessing whether this dietary movement is merely a fad or based in solid science.

There are a wide range of symptoms that are attributed to NCCS, ranging from eczema to joint pain through to depression; however, one of the more common sets of symptoms resemble those of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). In a report recently published in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, a team of Australian researchers put the relationship between gluten and IBS under the spotlight.

The team ran an experiment with around 40 participants who self-reported as experiencing IBS-like symptoms as a result of NCCS. Before beginning the controlled diets they had their blood taken and were then moved onto a zero gluten, low FODMAP (another type of nutrient that has been implicated in IBS) diet.

FODMAP stands for fermentable oligo-, di-,mono-saccharides and polyols. They are short chain carbohydrates that are found in a wide range of foods, from fruits to grains and legumes. This group of nutrients is known to be poorly digested, however once again, their role in IBS is contested.

The participants diets were altered systematically. For a week at a time, the participants ate either a low gluten, no gluten, or high gluten diet. The participants were unaware of which diet they were on at any given time. Each participant tried each of the diets in a randomized order, and in between diets they reverted back to the no gluten, low FODMAP diet. At the end of each new diet, the patients had their blood tested for signs of digestive problems.

In order to test whether gluten does cause digestive problems, the first step is to agree on a way of measuring them. Commonly, this is done through assessing the symptoms that a patient presents with, but this approach can lead to a lack of precision when assessing the impact of different diets.

Another way to assess how gluten affects the gut is through inflammation, which can be measured with biological markers in the bloodstream. There are a range of candidates for this type of assessment. In order to make sense of the results of the Australian teams study, it is worth looking at what the biomarkers actually do. This involves a little bit of a deep dive into biochemistry, but bear with me.

The first biomarker is called I-FAPB-2, which is a protein that is expressed exclusively in the intestines. When the intestines are functioning normally, this protein transfers fatty acids across the cell membranes. If the cells that do this work get damaged and broken down, then these proteins can be found in the blood.

The second is called syndecan-1, which is another transmembrane protein, but it is expressed in many different cell types and tissues. It plays a role in cell proliferation, cell migration, and cell matrix interactions. In the context of the digestive system, these cell-matrix interactions are thought to be its key role. It is thought to help keep the layer of cells at the very edge of the intestines together. Like in the case of I-FAPB-2, when this layer is damaged, these proteins can be found in the blood.

The last two can be grouped together: LPS and sCD14. LPS is found in high concentrations in bacterial cell walls, and sCD14 is a human immune receptor designed for recognizing LPS. The theory here is that if the bacterial population in the gut is out of equilibrium or the intestines are damaged, then bacteria can be transported out of the gut into the blood stream. If this occurs, then the concentrations of both LPS and sCD14 will increase.

The key take-home message from this study is stunning in its simplicity. Gluten intake made absolutely no difference to the levels of any of the biomarkers. Whether a person was on the high gluten, low gluten, or no gluten diet, it had no impact on these markers of intestinal damage.

All of this would seem to act as a strong argument against the suggestion that gluten causes digestive problems. Of course, arguments could be made about whether these biomarkers are an appropriate proxy for measuring these issues. However, it is known that elevated levels of these biomarkers are present in other digestive diseases, like Crones disease. At the very least, these results show that gluten is unlikely to directly damage the intestines of healthy individuals.

There was only one biomarker that showed a significant increase as a result of any diet. When blood was taken at the end of the gluten free/low FODMAP diet, syndecan-1 levels were significantly lower than when patients were eating normally. Given that subsequent changes to gluten levels did not change syndecan levels, this suggests that lowering FODMAP intake lowers the amount of syndecan in the bloodstream.

A 2018 review of the studies into the link between FODMAPs and IBS found that there was insufficient evidence to recommend a FODMAP diet to IBS sufferers. This study examined nine earlier experiments that looked at the effect of altering FODMAP intake on the symptoms of IBS.

This same review found a large degree of variation between the different experiments, and commented that the three most rigorous studies showed the least variability in their results, but also the least improvement in symptoms.

This most recent data on the effect of FODMAPs on inflammation of the intestines certainly adds some weight to suggestions that these nutrients play a role in IBS. However, these results must be read in the context of earlier studies, and more work remains to be done.

Dietary science is inevitably a controversial field. The human digestive system is impossibly complex, poorly understood, and a great deal of money can be made selling particular diets as cure-alls to digestive ailments.

While the work reported in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research shows fairly conclusively shows that gluten does not cause damage to the intestines, the volunteers who participated in the study had digestive problems that they presumably thought were alleviated by removing gluten from their diets. Whether this effect is purely down to a placebo effect or there is some physiological process at play has not yet been resolved.

Understanding how gluten affects the gut is, however, a question that can be resolved and work like this, that looks systematically at the effects of nutrients like gluten and FODMAPs, is the only way that the questions in this space will ever be answered.

Reference: M Ajamian et. al. Effect of Gluten Ingestion and FODMAP Restriction on Intestinal Epithelial Integrity in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Self-Reported Non-Coeliac Gluten Sensitivity, 2020, Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, DOI: 10.1002/mnfr.201901275

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Changing gluten intake found to have no impact on gut inflammation in healthy individuals - Advanced Science News

We all know that when it comes to weight loss, dropping the pounds is the easy part. Its keeping weight off that's hard. In fact a 2001 meta-analysis of 29 long-term weight loss studies concluded that most dieters regain more than half the weight theyve lost within two years and pile 80 percent of it back on after five years.

There are all sorts of reasons staying slimmed down is tough, but in the final analysis they all boil down to one thing to keep the weight off you have to consistently eat fewer calories than you did prior to losing weight. Its been estimated that to maintain lost body weight over two years the average person needs to chow down on 170 fewer calories per day than before.

This is because when you lose weight, there's less metabolizable you meaning your resting energy expenditure drops. But the effect is often magnified by metabolic adaptationessentially your body becomes more energy efficientwhich magnifies the drop in metabolic rate.

So reverse-dieting, which claims you can train your body to maintain a new lower body weight at a higher calorie intake, is raising a few eyebrows in the nutrition world.

Social media is awash with before and after lean body pictures, with captions alleging you can increase your food intake by 200, 300 or even 500 calories a day while still maintaining a svelte frame, or even continuing to lose some pounds.

While this would be fantastic theres very little science to go on. But its an area that researchers are beginning to take a look at, and it may not be as crazy as it sounds.

Also referred to as the diet after the diet,reverse dieting has its roots in aesthetic sports where bodybuilders severely restrict calories to look ripped for a competition, then slowly increase food intake again in an attempt to go back to eating more calories without a disproportionate gain of fat mass.

But the practice is gaining traction among average eaters too, with reverse dieters increasing daily energy intake in a very controlled wayusually 30100 calories a weekafter the completion of a weight loss program. The aim, over several weeks, is to reach a higher level of food and calorie intake that (hopefully) becomes the persons new normal for weight maintenance.

Advocates assert that this can reignite a metabolism made sluggish by months or years of calorie restriction and yo-yo dieting, while restoring hormone balance in favor of better appetite regulation.

Among the more overblown claims are some nuggets of truth.

There is something to [reverse dieting] if it is done in a smart way, says Lilian de Jonge, PhD, assistant professor at the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies, George Mason University, Virginia, and collaborator on the weight loss trials POUNDS LOSTand CALERIE. Its well known that weight loss decreases metabolic rate beyond what can be explained by the loss of lean mass. There is some evidence that if you trick your body into eating more, metabolic rate can go up and this is especially true if this is done by increasing protein intake.

Dr de Jonge is planning to run a trial on reverse dieting, but for now it is on hold due to COVID-19. However her previous pilot study showed that reintroducing calories slowly over eight weeks prevented weight overshoot and preserved lean body mass in weight training athletes who had lost weight for competition.

A randomized controlled trial study into reverse dieting is already underway at the University of Colorado, with a scheduled study completion date of December 2020. This study has recruited normal subjects (not athletes), which is a crucial and interesting difference. It could be expected that the results hinge quite heavily on how well the participants adhere to the exercise portion of the intervention.

A downside of reverse dieting is the need to track calories so closely, which at best is a faff and at worst could trigger obsessional eating. You can certainly see this played out on Instagram where reverse dieting often barely disguises a dysfunctional relationship with food and fitness.

That said if youre a numbers nerd, reverse dieting might prove to be a weight maintenance approach that works well for you.

And when you strip away the hype, the tenet behind reverse dietingthat after you've successfully lost some weight, you absolutely need a plan to keep it off-is solid.

What we already know about who successfully keeps weight off comes from the U.S. National Weight Control Registry, a database of over 10,000 people who have shed at least 30 pounds and kept it off for at least a year.

This database shows that while there is no one way to slim or keep weight off, there are some common characteristics across successful weight maintainers. These include eating breakfast (78 percent of participants), stepping on the scale at least once a week (75 percent), watching TV less than 10 hours a week (62 percent) and exercising on average one hour per day (90 percent)

Of course managing to avoid weight gain in the first place is the ideal, as youll never then need the diet after the diet. But if that ship has sailed its good to know that putting weight back on doesn't have to be inevitable.

Reverse dieting might prove a way to make it easier.

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Back Up a Bit: Is 'Reverse Dieting' the Key to Keeping Weight Off? - American Council on Science and Health

Many people swear by the weight loss benefits of the ketogenic diet. 37-year-old Abhishek Lakhwani's transformation story is one such example. Shifting from a diet loaded with 'junk food to following a strictly homemade food diet, the lockdown made an immense difference to Abhishek's health and lifestyle. Read below to know how he lost over 31 kilos in 7 months time.Name: Abhishekh LakhwaniOccupation: Commercial managerAge: 38 years

Height: 6 feet

City: DubaiHighest weight recorded: 118 kilosWeight lost: 31 kilos

Duration it took me to lose weight: 7 months

The turning point:

I was always careless about my health. My friends and family always asked me to "lose weight" but I didn't really bother to correct it, before it started to impact my daily life. I felt uncomfortable sleeping and tired all the time. It got awkward to a point that finding clothes my size was difficult. Hence the decision to change. I realized I needed to be happy about my size, and not find excuses.

I started consulting a nutritionist who is a Keto expert. At the same time, I was also following home workouts, with the help of online sessions because of the lockdown. This combination really helped me a lot.

It's difficult following Keto but my wife helped me sail through. She used to look for recipes which turned familiar favourites into Keto recipes! Think Keto butter chicken!

I had three meals a day, no snacking allowed between the day. Everything I eat is high fat, moderate protein and minimal carb.

My breakfast: 1 glass of lukewarm water with a pinch of Himalayan salt in it. After that, just 2 boiled eggs and a cup of black coffee without sugar.

My lunch: I like to experiment with my lunch, alternating between Keto dishes. Here are some examples:Grilled salmon fish with veggiesKeto style butter chicken (made in unsalted butter)Keto style paneer makhanwalaOmelette with veggiesKeto pizza (made of almond bread)Whatever I ate, I used to add avocado with my lunch and dinner and it helped a lot in weight reduction as its a healthy fat.

My dinner: Similar to the meals I had at lunch.

Earlier, I used to eat a lot of junk. Now, I watch what I eat and count my calories. Internet helps you so much. I believe it's neccessary to watch your calories initially and once you familiarize yourself, you can go ahead without help.

Pre-workout meal: 1 cup black coffee without sugar to boost my metabolism

Post- workout meal: I have my dinner after 1 hour of my workout, the latest by 8.30 pm and go to sleep by 12 am.

I don't cheat on my diet since anything non-Keto I have will push me off to ketosis and bouncing back will take at least a week's time. It's tough, but a conscious choice you have to make if you want to lose weight.

My workout: My trainer is based out of Mumbai and he has helped me immensely. I am losing fat and building muscles following bodyweight training. I can perform great pushups now, which I once believed I would never be able to. It's a great achievement for me. I actually enjoy my training.

Fitness secrets I unveiled: Weight loss is easy! Pushing yourself to stay consistent will get you the results you want. Hard work and dedication is all that is required.

How do I stay motivated? When people tell you, "Earlier, you used to look like an uncle, and now a young boy", you are bound to feel motivated.

I also have a 2.5-year-old child to keep me company and play with, so that helps.Whats the most difficult part of being overweight? I faced problems sleeping well. More than that, it was the sheer embarrassment of getting clothes fitted for my size as I had to visit a tailor every time to stretch the waist size.

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Lockdown weight loss: 'I lost 31 kilos with the ketogenic diet' - Times of India

Barbecues and vacations followed by cooler temperatures and more time spent inside may have veered you off track from a healthy diet. But its not too late to get back to those healthy habits before the holiday season kicks in.

The changing seasons present a good opportunity to make changes to your eating habits. Rest assured, you can eat healthy while basking in the bliss of pumpkin-flavored delights and enjoying a couple slices of pie at Thanksgiving.

Weve partnered with Nature Made to bring you eight tips for sticking to a healthy diet as we move into colder weather.

Theres nothing like fresh, in-season veggies from your local farmers market. With cooler weather comes fresh leafy greens, like kale, Swiss chard, and spinach. Root vegetables, such as carrots, parsnips, and sweet potatoes, are also in season.

Pumpkin spice lattes and baked goods are delicious but often high in sugar, calories, and unhealthy fats. Substitute these pumpkin-flavored goodies for savory dishes made with pumpkin. For example, try making a pumpkin soup, pumpkin curry, or even a pumpkin quiche.

Pumpkin is full of fiber and beta carotene, which converts to vitamin A. This is an important vitamin for your eyes and skin.

Vitamin supplements, like vitamin D, may be beneficial for people who arent able to get enough sun in the fall and winter months.

If you dont think youre getting enough vitamin D from your diet or daily sunshine, talk to your doctor about taking a vitamin D supplement. Vitamin D supplements may also help support your immune system.* Nature Made D3 comes in gummies, soft gels, and chewable tablets.

The recommended dietary allowance for vitamin D is 15 micrograms (600 IU) for adults between the ages of 18 and 70, and 20 mcg (800 IU) for people older than 70 years of age.

As the temperature drops, theres nothing quite like a steamy bowl of soup loaded with vegetables.

Make a homemade soup filled with herbs, spices, and fermented veggies like kimchi to support digestion and keep you fuller for longer. Plus, itll make you feel warm and satisfied. Many soup recipes are low in calories and high in fiber.

Holiday season is often the time of cookies, pies, and cakes galore. But when it comes to Thanksgiving Day or a big family gathering, theres no need to deprive yourself of some dessert.

A slice of pie or cake, eaten without guilt or shame, can keep your spirits up. If you fear lack of self-control, consider setting a few ground rules. For example, allow yourself only two indulgent choices for the holiday meal. Maybe you have a piece of bread and a slice of pie, but you say no to the eggnog this time around.

A holiday party doesnt mean you need to bring a dessert loaded with sugary toppings.

Instead, share a healthy, delicious dish that you love making and eating. Your friends or colleagues will probably appreciate a break from the sugar overload.

Cooler weather may lead you to ditch your early morning run. Nows the time to set a new exercise goal, join a gym, start a yoga practice, or invest in home workout gear.

Even though youll be sweating less than you were in the summer months, staying hydrated is still important. Water is essential for your overall health, so dont forget to drink up.

As summer fades into fall and winter, synchronizing new habits with a seasonal transition can help you stick to a healthy diet.

With fall comes a plethora of fresh leafy greens and root vegetables, which are perfect for making healthy soups and veggie-based dishes.

Remember to continue exercising and stay hydrated. Even as daylight hours decrease, you can still create a routine that includes indoor exercise to keep you moving.

*This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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8 Diet and Lifestyle Tips for the Fall Season - Healthline

The holiday season is quickly approaching, and among with it comes more opportunity for gatherings centered around food and sweets. Regardless of whats being celebrated, eating during the holidays typically consists of family recipes and delicious desserts. Because of this, food can become a major source of anxiety for anyone trying to diet or even just maintain their current health goals.

Concern and stress regarding holiday food can lead some to completely concede their health goals -- swearing to themselves that when the first of the year rolls around theyll change their ways for good. But contrary to popular belief, you can still participate in all your favorite holiday traditions and foods without compromising your progress or goals.

Concern and stress regarding holiday food can lead to destructive comments like, Ill just not eat today so I can save up for an extra plate/dessert tonight, or Ill need to run this off later or Ill gain weight or I cant be trusted around this food, Ill eat the whole dish.

Most of us have heard or even said a variation of one of these phrases before. They sound innocent enough, but upon further inspection they all promote a restrictive mindset toward food.

Restricting yourself with food can be unintentional, hiding in the name of discipline. You might think that by holding back and not eating your favorite things youre being strong and controlled, not letting the holidays be a reason to break your diet. By holding yourself back from enjoying your favorites, you could be feeding into diet culture and end up doing more harm than good in the long run.

What is diet culture? It's a belief system that focuses on and values weight, shape and size over well-being. More often than not, toxic diet culture promotes an unhealthy pattern of eating with a sole focus on being skinny.

Diet culture can be a weapon, rendering those who fall victim to it to believe theyre not supposed to eat foods that aren't labeled good. It promotes an unhealthy idea of discipline and dieting thats unsustainable to follow for long periods of time, and leaves the person feeling guilty and unworthy of eating certain foods.

Labeling certain foods such as cookies, cake, pie, etc., bad is a move that traditional diet culture profits off immensely. Doing so can unintentionally lead you to subconsciously glorify these foods. If you hold yourself back from enjoying them, its more likely youll trick your mind into wanting the food more. At the worst level, this could lead into a permanent unhealthy relationship with food and diet culture.

So what does this mean you should do for the holiday if you have a goal of weight loss, but your most treasured part of the holiday season is enjoying the familiar flavors of a home-cooked meal? In short, enjoy your meal. Being a healthy person requires a delicate balance, and it is certainly attainable to eat a meal you mightve once considered bad and still lose weight.

Remember that while holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas are centered around eating a huge meal, lots of options are still bound to be healthy. Corn, turkey, green beans, potatoes, etc., are all traditional Thanksgiving foods that might even be healthier than a typical dinner.

Ultimately, whatever your holiday food is going to consist of depends solely on your personal goals and your relationship with food. The most imperative thing is to be in touch with your personal goals and what you want out of the holiday.

If you have a goal to lose weight, thats totally achievable even while enjoying yourself and treating yourself. Instead of punishing yourself the next day and attempting to burn off all the food you ate, simply treat the next day as you would any other day.

If youre not comfortable setting aside your usual dietary patterns for a celebration, or you know its impossible for you to eat certain foods without feeling guilty, thats okay too. If this is the case, it would be beneficial to talk to whoever youre celebrating with to make sure they know how much you value sticking to a certain diet. Portion control is key.

Its important to remember that just as one healthy meal wont make you skinny, one holiday dinner or dessert wont blow your diet or slow your progress. Its normal to fall off routine during the holidays, so dont beat yourself up for it.

Avoiding that all-or-nothing mindset is whats going to help keep you on track and get right back to your healthy habits when the holidays are over.

@BussertMaddie

mb901017@ohio.edu

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How to prioritize your health over the holidays without restricting, missing out - The Post

LONDON A new study is illustrating just how important a balanced, healthy diet is during childhood. Researchers from Imperial College London examined the height and weight of millions of school-aged kids from all over the world. Their analysis shows a staggering 20 centimeter (7.9 inches) height difference between adolescents of the same age living in the tallest and shortestcountries.

A childs height and weight are considered indicators of overall health and quality of diet. In all, researchers analyzed a dataset of 65 million kids (ages five through 19) living in 193 different nations between 1985 and 2019. That work reveals the nearly eight-inch gap between 19-year-olds living in the tallest and shortest countries.

Researchers say the numbers suggest an eight-year growth gap for girls and a six-year growth gap for boys. For example, the average 19-year-old girl in Bangladesh and Guatemala is about the same height as the average 11-year-old girl living in the Netherlands.

The studys authors stress that their findings clearly show why a healthy diet during school years is so important. Lack of proper nutrition during these formative years can lead to stunted growth and obesity.

So, where do the tallest 19-year-olds live nowadays? In 2019, that distinction belonged to central and northwest Europe. Teens living in nations like Denmark, The Netherlands, Montenegro, and Iceland all rank as the tallest on average. Conversely, 19-year-olds living in areas like Papua New Guinea, Guatemala, and Bangladesh come in as the shortest.

The research team noted that many children living in poorer nations show a healthy height and weight around age five, but start to show signs of poor diet (minimalheight increases, gaining too much weight) after that.

Children in some countries grow healthily to five years, but fall behind in school years. This shows that there is an imbalance between investment in improving nutrition in preschoolers, and in school-aged children and adolescents. This issue is especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic when schools are closed throughout the world, and many poor families are unable to provide adequate nutrition for their children, says Professor Majid Ezzati, senior author of the study from Imperials School of Public Health, in a university release.

Throughout the study, many countries in Asia such as China and South Korea showed big improvements in average adolescent height over time. It likely isnt just a coincidence that such countries have also emerged as economic powers over the same period. In comparison to 1985, the average 19-year-old Chinese boy is now three inches taller. On the other end of that spectrum, average heights among many African nationshave worsened over the past few decades.

Regarding body mass index, 19-year-olds with the largest BMIs live in the United States, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, and the Middle East. Researchers report the lowest BMIs are in nations including India and Bangladesh.

Our findings should motivate policies that increase the availability and reduce the cost of nutritious foods, as this will help children grow taller without gaining excessive weight for their height. These initiatives include food vouchers towards nutritious foods for low-income families, and free healthy school meal programs which are particularly under threat during the pandemic. These actions would enable children to grow taller without gaining excessive weight, with lifelong benefits for their health and wellbeing, says lead study author Dr. Andrea Rodriguez Martinez.

Thestudyis published inThe Lancet.

Link:
Poor nutrition in childhood linked to 8-inch height gap between nations! - Study Finds