Category Archives: Diet And Food

Good evening, here are the coronavirus updates you need to know tonight.

Top headlines:

In Canada, there have been at least 124,279 cases reported. In the last week 2,621 new cases were announced, 2% fewer than the previous week. There have also been at least 110,600 recoveries and 9,062 deaths. Health officials have administered more than 5,359,807 tests.

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Worldwide, there have been at least 22,678,483 cases confirmed and 793,698 deaths reported.

Sources: Canada data is compiled from government websites, Johns Hopkins and COVID-19 Canada Open Data Working Group; international data is from Johns Hopkins University.

Coronavirus explainers: Updates and essential resources Coronavirus in maps and charts Lockdown rules and reopening plans in each province Global rules on mask-wearing

People wearing protective masks carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, for immersion off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India, on Sunday. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas

FRANCIS MASCARENHAS/Reuters

The number of coronavirus infections in India crossed the 3 million mark, with 69,239 new cases reported on Sunday. Federal health ministry data showed the countrys case total, 3.04 million, was behind only the United States and Brazil.

India on Sunday issued guidelines to open up its media production industry with norms for social distancing, crowd management and sanitization. Film production and theatres had been shut nationwide after Prime Minister Narendra Modi imposed a more than two-month-long lockdown in March to curb spread of the virus.

Deaths in India from COVID-19 rose by 912 to 56,706.

In Ottawa

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Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne is heading to Lebanon this week to get a firsthand look at the devastation caused by this months deadly explosions in Beirut.

The trip will mark Champagnes first overseas travel since March, when countries around the world, including Canada, closed their borders to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Conservative race: A record number of votes for the Conservative leadership race and malfunctioning mail-opening machines delayed the party from revealing the winner of the race on Sunday night. Results were initially scheduled to be revealed around 6 p.m. ET.

Even if an election doesnt come soon, the next Conservative leader will take over during a rocky time in Ottawa. As the governing Liberals turn their attention to economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Conservatives will seek to assert themselves as the countrys voice of fiscal discipline.

Canadas largest banks are expected to report improved third-quarter earnings thanks in part to deferred payments on troubled loans and easing pressure to build reserves against losses. But with persistent challenges still to come, the rebound could amount to a head fake, as one banking analyst put it.

The banks capital levels could also stabilize or even improve slightly after taking a second-quarter dip. And surging trading activity, as well as demand to issue new debt, could help capital markets divisions deliver generous returns for the second consecutive quarter.

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Yet some of the scars the pandemic is carving into banks balance sheets may be harder to erase.

Also today:

Distractions

For the bookworm : Margaret Atwoods September book club pick is Obsidian by Thomas King

Join The Globe and Mail on Thursday, September 24, for a livestream conversation between Margaret Atwood and Thomas King.

Margaret Atwood is returning to host the next Globe and Mail Book Club and has selected as her author-guest Thomas King, whose work she has championed since the early days of his career. Atwood first reviewed King long before he was named to the Order of Canada and won the Governor-Generals Award, the RBC Taylor Prize for his 2012 book The Inconvenient Indian.

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Originally posted here:
Coronavirus Update: B.C. toughens its tone on COVID-19 warnings as cases resurge - The Globe and Mail

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The Notorious Lehigh Valley Serial Vegan has struck.

Memphis Taproom owner Ken Correll came up with the name for the sender of a letter that arrived at his bar last week one he had to read three times before finally setting it aside with a head shake and a chuckle.

The typed note begs, beseeches and nearly demands the Kensington tavern bring back a discontinued item, referred to as the spaghetti and meatball hoagie.

Said sandwich, which is actually vegan (those meatballs are lentils) is semi-famous among Memphis many plant-based-diet customers, according to numerous complimentary social media posts. But it was taken off the menu at least two years ago, Correll confirmed.

Why did someone make the effort to send a notice about it now? Hes not sure.

Mailed anonymously, the letter offers few clues. It was stamped with a postmark from Lehigh Valley, Pa., where theres a big USPS processing and distribution center, and addressed simply to Owner on a printed address block taped to the envelope.

We get a lot of requests from local parishes and organizations that need fundraising help, so I thought it was one of those, Correll said. Then I open it and its this kidnapper-style letter.

One part of the message especially gave him pause. As part of the argument for bringing back the dish, the analog troller uses a racist Trumpism to refer to the pandemic. If anything is going to get us through this Chinese Virus, the note reads, it will be the Carbs on top of Carbs Hoagie.

Memphis Taproom recently received some backlash for posting in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, Correll said, which the hoagie-focused missive does not mention.

Either way, when he shared a pic of the note on his personal page, fans of the spaghetti sandwich immediately showed up in the comments, agreeing that it was a favorite. Good news if youre in that camp: you can still order it as an off-menu special.

We still make spaghetti and vegan meatballs, served [as an entree] with garlic bread, Correll explained, so its easy to turn that into the hoagie version, which comes with vegan mozzarella melted on top.

The bar, located at the corner of Memphis and Cumberland between Fishtown and Port Richmond, is currently serving lunch and dinner Thursdays through Sundays.

A spacious backyard beer garden considered one of the first in the city when it opened back in 2008 has made the pandemic business model tenable, according to Correll. About 80% to 85% of staff has been hired back, he said, with additional positions opening up now. The outdoor dining area, outfitted with some plexiglass barriers, will safely seat 50 or so guests.

Memphis may try indoor dining after Sept. 8, assuming the city maintains its date for allowing the expanded service, but they plan to take things slow. Were unsurewell dip our toes in.

As for the carbs-on-carbs monster, if theres high enough demand, it could also make a comeback. Its popularity doesnt approach another sandwich that has stayed firmly on the menu: a veganized BLT with smoked coconut shavings taking the place of bacon.

If we took off the coconut club, Correll said. I can only imagine the kind of letters wed receive.

Continue reading here:
Philly bar trolled with ransom note over spaghetti sandwich - On top of Philly news - Billy Penn

Alas, two long-known protective factors early childbearing (in the teens and 20s) and prolonged breastfeeding run headlong into the life goals of many modern women who seek graduate degrees and professional advancement, as well as young women financially unable to support a family.

Many older women run into another confusing and controversial decision: whether and for how long to take hormone therapy to counter life-disrupting symptoms of menopause. Barring an earlier history of breast cancer, current advice for women who have not had a hysterectomy is to take combination hormone therapy (that is, estrogen and a progestin) for as short a time as needed to control symptoms but no longer than a few years.

A recent study, published July 28 in JAMA, described the long-term effects on breast cancer risk among 27,347 postmenopausal women randomly assigned to take hormone replacement or not. The authors, led by Dr. Rowan T. Chlebowski at UCLA Medical Center, reviewed the health status of the participating women more than two decades later.

Among the 10,739 women who had no uterus and could safely take estrogen alone (progestin is typically added to prevent uterine cancer), menopausal hormone therapy significantly reduced their risk of developing and dying from breast cancer. However, among the 16,608 women with a uterus who took the combination hormone therapy, breast cancer incidence was significantly higher, although there was no increased risk of death from the disease.

In commenting on these results, Dr. Christina A. Minami, a breast cancer surgeon at Brigham and Womens Hospital, and Dr. Rachel A. Freedman, an oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Center, wrote that the new findings are unlikely to lead to the use of hormone therapy for the sole purpose of breast cancer risk reduction.

But Dr. Freedman said in an interview, If Im counseling a patient whos really miserable with menopausal symptoms and is a candidate for estrogen only, these findings are reassuring that her breast cancer risk will not be any higher over time.

Then theres the possibility of taking a daily drug to suppress a potential breast cancer in high-risk women who have not yet had the disease. Dr. Jeffrey A. Tice, an internist at the University of California, San Francisco, suggested that womens doctors use one of the several risk assessment calculators to determine how likely the patient might be to develop breast cancer within the next five or 10 years.

Go here to read the rest:
Medication and Lifestyle May Lower Breast Cancer Risk - The New York Times

August 10, 2020

Democrats around the country will gather around computer screens and smartphones next week for a strange new version of a timeworn political ritual: their partys presidential convention.

They wont flood into Milwaukee and crowd into a noisy sports arena on Aug. 17 for four nights of hoopla. They wont hobnob with party elders, campaign donors or up-and-coming politicians. They wont even wave placards or cheer, except in their living rooms.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made those traditions impossible and the conventions will almost surely be better for it.

Ever since 1948, when convention proceedings were first broadcast on television, the quadrennial events have slowly morphed from authentic political gatherings into slickly produced infomercials.

This year, the conventions can finally be honest about what they are.

There will still be roll call votes, but theyll only be for show; the nominees were chosen months ago. The last time a convention included a serious parliamentary battle was 1980, when Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts unsuccessfully tried to wrest delegates from President Jimmy Carter.

The old-style conventions werent particularly good TV; they were live pageants adapted for the small screen, often awkwardly. The live action make that live inaction got in the way.

This year, at last, that pretense can be dropped. There will be almost no live sessions, only speeches and video segments.

These will be television shows, pure and simple.

Instead of lame infomercials pretending to be conventions, they will openly and proudly be giant infomercials, a quintessentially American art form.

As a result, I expect theyll be more watchable, and maybe even more informative, than when they were staged in sports arenas.

Theyre being designed to serve the viewers, not the delegates, Chuck Todd, the political director of NBC News, told me. That should make for better television.

The change might even make the traditional set-piece speeches better, in the view of Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a political communication scholar and director at the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

A speech written for television is different than one for a live audience, she told me. With a live audience, you write for applause lines; you want to draw cheers. A speech for television can actually invite more reflection from the audience.

A made-for-video convention might even prompt broadcast and cable networks to scale back their habit of cutting away from speeches for analysis from pundits, she ventured.

Thats probably optimistic. Todd and other television planners said theyre largely adapting their traditional templates live coverage of major speeches, with punditry in between for the new format.

My fear is that theyre going to give us a lot of difficult choices, he said. Whats the line between serving the viewer, including the viewer who may want to cheer for his or her team, and simply screening an infomercial?

Making the infomercial so compelling that the networks want to keep it on the air is precisely what convention planners are aiming for.

Democratic strategists want their convention to reintroduce Joe Biden his biography, his family tragedies, his government experience to voters who have a blurry impression of him.

They will air a glossy biopic that emphasizes Bidens time as vice president under Barack Obama and his image as the nations most empathetic politician.

They express confidence that Bidens acceptance speech will dispel Trumps allegations that the 77-year-old candidate is, as the president put it recently, mentally shot an absurdly low bar he should clear without difficulty.

The online convention will feature a prime time appearance by Barack and Michelle Obama, and a tribute to the late Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. Biden plans to give his acceptance speech from his home in Delaware.

Thats not only to protect Bidens health; its to emphasize another Democratic theme, their insistence on following medical recommendations to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

Republican plans appear less certain beyond an in-person meeting of delegates in Charlotte, N.C., on Aug. 24 to formally nominate President Donald Trump.

Campaign officials say they will present granular details of Trumps plans for a second term, attack radical elements that they claim control Bidens team and present a nightly surprise.

Trump will deliver his acceptance speech on Aug. 27 possibly from the White House, he said last week. But he might also drop in (digitally) on one or two other nights; he did that in person at his 2016 convention in Cleveland.

The Trump team is also working on a biopic recounting his first four years. Its expected to argue that Trumps leadership prevented the pandemic from getting worse and echo his promise that the economy will boom as soon as hes reelected.

Both campaigns hope to produce a significant bounce in the polls that can serve as a springboard to victory on Nov. 3.

But like old-fashioned conventions, the bounce may be a thing of the past probably because, in a polarized age, fewer voters appear willing to change their views. In the four presidential elections from 2004 to 2016, the average post-convention bounce was only 3%.

Delegates, donors, journalists and others who once flocked to conventions may mourn the loss of the spectacle, the noise, and the chance to mingle at receptions and meals.

But the vast majority of voters, who never got invited, wont miss a thing.

Read more:
Mail-in voting is safe and secure - Wilkes Barre Times-Leader

While keyboard warriors have long debated whether or not electric bicycles provide a good workout, the science is conclusive: e-bikes can provide just as effective of a workout as pedal bicycles, and sometimes more.

But you dont have to tell Jon Treffert, a medical devices software developer from Knoxville, Tennessee. He already knows it.

Jon had enjoyed cycling as a grad student 30 years ago but gave it up after school. Fast forward three decades later, and Jon was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

Weighing 270 lb (122 kg) at the time, that diagnosis was the wake-up call he needed to change his lifestyle. Along with focusing on a healthier diet, Jon decided to get back into cycling. But hilly Knoxville was a tall order for someone who hadnt cycled in three decades. So Jon opted for an accessible, comfortable e-bike from the company Day6 Bikes and began putting on the miles. As time went on, he began increasing his rides and pushing harder.

As Jon explained to Selene Yeager in Bicycling:

Five months into my journey I reached a milestone of 1,000 miles [1,600 km]. I was riding primarily from home with a typical distance of 30 miles [48 km] and an elevation gain of 2,000 feet [600 m] at a brisker pace of 15.6 mph [25 km/h].

Just over a year into his e-biking journey, Jon had covered over 3,300 miles (5,310 km). But Jon didnt stop there. He kept riding, and now three years later, he is back to his high school weight of 165 lb (75 kg).

Of course Jons e-bike wasnt the only part of his impressive weight loss journey. Rather, it was part of an overall lifestyle shift that included becoming more active and eating healthier.

As Jon explained:

Cycling is so great for your mood, joints, and health. Its such a tonic every time Im out on the road. I want to motivate people by showing them an enjoyable sustainable pathway to change for which the e-bike is a catalyst and remains a key component. If we can replicate my experiment of one, we can, person by person, make a real change in our obesity and diabetes epidemic.

One of the reasons an e-bike was so useful in helping Jon change his lifestyle was because it lowered the barrier of entry.

Electric bicycles still allow the rider to pedal as hard as they want, offering an effective workout, yet they also provide a safety net to help returning riders cycle more safely when further from home. E-bikes are also helpful for taking the edge of off hills, which are one of the biggest obstacles preventing people from picking up biking a fear of cycling up hills.

Ive worked in the e-bike industry for over a decade, and I recently created a list of my top five tips for anyone who wants to get fit and lose weight with the help fo an e-bike. Check them out below:

Choosing the right e-bike is important, and weve previously discussed how to choose your first e-bike.

But dont let decision paralysis stop you. There are hundreds of interesting e-bikes out there. You dont necessarily need to drop $4,000 on a Specialized fitness e-bike (even though its a totally awesome e-bike).

My brother-in-law rocks the pedal assist function on his $1,199 RadRunner utility bike from Rad Power Bikes. Thats definitely not the first bike youd think of for fitness, but it works for him and gets him riding. He doesnt even touch the throttle, opting instead for a low pedal assist level so that he does most of the pedaling work.

Even an $899 Lectric XP would make an awesome e-bike for trail riding, and the pedal assist function would allow you to put in a decent afternoons effort while the bike simply assists you as much (or as little) as necessary.

So dont let yourself get sucked too far down the rabbit hole of comparing every single nut and bolt on every e-bike. Find something that fits you and your budget and get out there and ride!

Pedal-assist, or the ability for the e-bike to multiply your pedaling force, is what makes e-bikes such potent exercise tools for riders that are returning to cycling. And most e-bikes have between four to eight levels of pedal assist, allowing you to fine-tune the amount of extra power provided by the motor.

But I always advise new e-bike riders to avoid using the very lowest or very highest pedal assist setting.

Some riders mistakenly opt for the very lowest level with the goal of getting the best workout, but this can often leave new riders exhausted and in over their heads. The last thing you want is to find yourself totally spent while youre still many miles from home.

On the other hand, the highest pedal assist is often nearly the equivalent of full throttle and usually doesnt result in much of a workout at all. The highest pedal assist level is best for when climbing steep hills and usually isnt appropriate for casual riding on flat ground.

So like most things in life, moderation is key when it comes to pedal-assist. Try starting in the middle, then working down to a lower pedal assist level as your fitness level improves.

It might sound difficult to use your e-bike every day.

But the best way to achieve it is to incorporate your e-bike into your life as a form of transportation, not just as a piece of exercise equipment.

Try to replace as many car trips as you can with your e-bike. If you just need a couple of things from the store, toss on a backpack (or add a pair of panniers) and ride there instead of taking the car.

If youre visiting your friends at the coffee shop, consider riding instead of taking an Uber.

Find any way you can to fit the e-bike into your daily schedule. The more you ride, the more it becomes integrated into your lifestyle.

If you have the option of riding off-road, I highly recommend including it at least occasionally in your rides.

Bike lanes are great for transportation and roads are certainly easier for efficient pedaling, but theres nothing more enjoyable than pedaling down a nature trail with the sights, sounds, and smells of the earth around you.

You dont have to find a crazy, super technical single-track course; in fact, its better if you can ride on a relaxed, easy-going, and flat trail in the beginning. The point isnt to make the ride harder, but rather just to mix it up with a more pleasant atmosphere.

Whether youve got a local beach path, a forest trail, dirt roads, or any other piece of land that hasnt been paved, youll be surprised how big of a difference it can make if youre used to riding on the road.

And anything you can do to make the e-biking experience more relaxed and fun will go a long way towards ensuring that e-biking becomes integrated into your lifestyle and not relegated to the side as just some task that you know you should complete.

Lastly, try and find at least one other person to ride with. It could be a riding group or even just a friend that you convinced to get an e-bike after you discovered how much fun they are.

Riding with others can be another great way to ensure that youre getting out there more often. Both of you will keep each other honest since its harder to blow off a ride when you already told someone youd meet them.

You dont even need to find another e-bike companion.

A good friend of mine is a performance cyclist and we go on rides together all the time. I could never keep up with his fancy (non-electric) gravel bike on my own, but my e-bike helps me pace him and we enjoy rides together on the same trails, even though hes a much stronger cyclist than I am.

My e-bike helps level the playing field and allows us to ride together.

Ultimately, e-biking for exercise and fitness is all about putting in the time so that you can reap the rewards.

For some people, the reward is a lower number on the scale or a few holes down on the belt.

For others, those are just side benefits that accompany the main reward of finding a fun new hobby that brightens their day.

For me, e-biking has become a mixture of fitness, recreation, and transportation. I can do it all on just one e-bike, and I wouldnt have it any other way!

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Original post:
E-bikes and weight loss: How this man lost over 100 pounds (and how you could be next!) - Electrek.co

The pandemic is long over. You are not endangering your fellow man by opening your business. You are not endangering public health by opening your restaurant.

Gov. Phil Murphys lockdown killed many more people than would have died otherwise. How do I say this with confidence? Look at our nursing homes. Look at the proactive government edict that forced sick people back into the homes to be among the most vulnerable to the virus. Then look at states and countries that had less draconian measures put in place, in the case of Sweden, no lockdown whatsoever.

What weve learned from countries like Sweden is that the mortality rate is similar to the seasonal flu. We also learned from the numbers across the world that the highest impacted demographic is elderly people with health conditions to start. Younger healthy people are simply not in danger.

Finally, people are starting to come around and recognize that the extended lockdown and the universal mask-wearing has nothing to do with public health. Any politicians or medical professional using the word safe or safely reopen is lying to you. That is the new propaganda buzzword of the new American fascist. The goal is to justify government control and power, despite inconsistent enforcement and arbitrary measurements.

Can you imagine that despite the US Constitution and an elected legislature, the governor continues to rule by executive fiat preventing you from earning a proper living, practicing your faith and maintaining your health. All in the name of safety and public health.

If you are a student of history then you already know that history is full of propagandists willing to use your desire to stay healthy and your fear of the unknown to control your behavior. Take a look at the messaging in 1939 Germany.

The pull quote from the National Institute of Health Article:

Smoking was only one of the health related behaviours that received attention in Nazi Germany. The consumption of alcohol was also strongly campaigned against. Fruit and vegetable consumption was encouraged, as was the use of wholemeal bread and the avoidance of fat.1A keyfigurein Nazi medicine, Erwin Liek, predicted that cancer would come to be seen as a product of diet.2The consumption of whipped cream seems to have been a particular target of disapproval. The official newspaper of the SS,Das Schwarzes Korps, reported on German tourists in Austrian coffee houses and said that anyone would think Greater Germany was only created so that this raving Philistine rabble can wolf whipped cream. -National Institute of Health article

No, this does not mean that America is on the verge of collapse into totalitarianism. No, this doesnt mean that general health advocates are all disingenuous and focused on control. Some messaging is actually a positive. However, knowing that healthy people are largely unaffected by COVID and we have treatments that work to save lives, why does that message get buried by the media and politicians? If its truly about health and safety, wouldnt these successes against the virus be the basis for a well deserved victory tour?

Instead of celebrating the closing of the mobile hospitals, because not enough people were sick to need them, the governor changed the goal. Then accused everyone opposing him of not caring if people died, or saying they must think the virus is a hoax. What?!? This is our wake-up call to fight back against arbitrary government power and the abuse of power that NJ residents are currently living under.

Its also time to call out the complicit Democrats and weak Republicans, and their shills in the media, who really need to look in the mirror when they causally throw around Nazi comparisons for the 45th President and his supporters. Its disconcerting that the Democratic Presidential ticket actually questioned the patriotism of people not wearing masks. This is a dangerous trend that turns Americans on one another.

In New Jersey, these so-called safety & health measures are pushed to continue the lockdown with the government in Trenton exercising control over the economy, speech and general activities. Business owners arrested and fined. Religious leaders dragged from their homes. This is not Germany in 1939, this is New Jersey in 2020. What is going on here? The media is clearly part of the problem as they have been throughout history. Many national and local media outlets continue to spread the fear and uncertainly with endless reports of positive cases and using the word outbreak. Even though its all based on inaccurate tests and false positives. Were no longer talking about sick people and health dangers. Were talking about an arbitrary and inaccurate measure used to take away your civil rights. Scary actually.

The Holocaust Museum has an analysis of how dangerous propaganda and a complicit media can be to peoples freedoms. As the clich goes, those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Another version is from my yoga friend James, who said, Those who do not learn from history end up torturing those who have.

The good news is that we have freedom loving, normal people among our small business owners who are willing to step up and fight back. And its a great sign to see more business owners joining the cause and just reopening. Enough already. Even the Ocean County Sheriff expressed regrets that he tried to shut down the Lakeside Diner. He actually went so far as to order a cup of coffee and a muffin.

So its clearly time to sit back and turn against the "safety propaganda" message and reopen New Jersey fully, without restrictions. The health scare is long over. The virus is going to be with us like every other virus throughout history. We have the ability to protect the vulnerable and treat the sick. Continued lockdown of our lives and livelihood has no productive outcome other than to further enrich the medical establishment bureaucrats and empower the corrupt elitist politician like Murphy.

Tomorrow is Day 163. Are you ready to fight back for normal?

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Spadea. Any opinions expressed are Bill's own. Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015.

More from New Jersey 101.5:

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Day 162 of 15 days to stop the spread in NJ (Opinion) - New Jersey 101.5 FM Radio

Life goes beyond the digits on the scale and your body is capable of so much more. Yahoos #Fitspo of the Week series is dedicated to inspirational men and women in Singapore leading healthy and active lifestyles. Have someone to recommend? HitCheryl up on Instagram or Facebook.

Name: Clare Yau (@clareyau)

Age: 31

Height: 1.67m

Weight: 57kg

Occupation: Freelance events producer

Status: Single

Diet: Being a foodie with a sweet tooth, I am really bad with diets. There is really no way to pry a dessert out of my hands. In order to strike some form of balance, I try to cut down on carbohydrates instead.

Training: I do daily long walks with my dog and higher intensity workouts like hiking, running or HIIT (high-intensity interval training) at least three times a week.

Clare prefers doing sports and fitness out in nature, such as wakeboarding and hiking. (PHOTO: Cheryl Tay)

Q: What kind of sports did you do throughout your schooling days?

A: I did sports on both competitive and leisure level. I was competing in track and volleyball in primary and high school respectively. When I was younger, my father would bring me on weekly hikes as well on the weekends.

What other types of fitness or sports did you dabble into as you grew older?

I tried to gym regularly but I realised I function better in nature. I enjoy being out on the open waters wakeboarding and wake surfing. Due to COVID-19, I've gone back to hiking off the beaten paths of Singapore as well. Nature amazes me all the time.

You were very active in wakeboarding previously. How did you get into it and why did you stop?

I did wakeboarding and wake surfing for the past 10 years. I first got into wakeboarding during my university days and immediately fell in love with it. Then I got injured about three years into the sport with trapezius muscle palsy. The funny thing is, I don't recall having a major incident that caused my injury. It just happened over time.

Clare believes that being fit is being comfortable with your body. (PHOTO: Cheryl Tay)

How did you deal with the injury?

It never went away. Till today, it is still an ongoing process of daily stretches and mini exercises in order to manage the pain. I just have to make a conscious effort to be diligent about it.

Back then, when I first got injured, it was really demoralising not being able to enjoy the sport or even sit upright without hurting. However, I was able to do wake surfing instead as it does not require as much upper body strength as wakeboarding and I still have an equal amount of fun on the water.

You were one of the few female wakeboarding instructors and boat drivers in Singapore. How did you get into this?

It was an expensive hobby for me as a university student back then and I got an offer to be a part-time instructor and boat driver. One of the perks of the job is that I can get to wakeboard during the non-peak hours for free! Eventually I bought my own boat and ran it as a full-time business because I wanted to share my passion for the sport and the lifestyle.

What were some of the challenges?

There aren't many female boat drivers in Singapore because it is a relatively masculine job as we are constantly exposed to the natural elements like the harsh weather.

The biggest challenge though, was repairing and maintaining the boat engines. Through the years Ive become somewhat of a mechanic.

Why did you switch careers?

After spending a decade teaching wakeboarding, an opportunity arose for me to take on the role of an event producer for an amazing company and it felt like the right time for me to embark on a new journey. After all, life is about constant learning and growth.

Story continues

Clare believes it is important to differentiate being idealistic and realistic about one's fitness. (PHOTO: Cheryl Tay)

What does fitness mean to you?

I think being fit is being comfortable with your body and being able to physically execute your exercise programme safely. I actually have to go to a friend's place in order to weigh myself for this interview as I do not believe in weighing scales.

I believe in waking up every day and being happy with what I see in the mirror and if I don't, I'll work towards it. And if I would like to hike Bukit Timah, I don't have to worry about having a heart attack. That's fitness to me.

What are your fitness goals now?

Ideally, I would like to have a Victoria Secrets model body. Realistically speaking, I have a shoulder nerve injury and a knee injury that I am trying to condition right now.

What do you think are some of the misconceptions that people have about fitness these days?

You don't have to look like an Instagram fitness model in order to be categorised as fit. Like my answer to the previous question, it's important to differentiate being idealistic and realistic.

When did you feel the least confident about yourself?

It was exactly a year ago after I came back from a trip to Europe with extra holiday pounds due to binge eating. It's always disheartening to hear unwelcoming comments about weight gain. I stopped wearing body hugging clothes and swapped them out for oversized tops due to the lack of confidence.

It was when I realised my metabolic rate is no longer the same as compared to a decade back and made a lifestyle change to work out at least three times a week without any changes to my diet.

Are you contented with your body now?

Not at a 100 per cent but close. I got lazy towards the end of the circuit breaker period. Lost some of my stamina and gained some unwanted flab due to this laziness.

Have you ever received any comments about your body?

All the time! Some good, some bad.

Singapore #Fitspo of the Week: Clare Yau. (PHOTO: Cheryl Tay)

Read more:
Singapore #Fitspo of the Week: Clare Yau - Yahoo Singapore News

How do you know that you are overweight or obese? 10 tips to maintain a healthy weight  |  Photo Credit: iStock Images

New Delhi: There are over 1 billion overweight adults worldwide according to a 2020 study and obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally. At least 2.8 million people die each year as a result of being overweight or obese. Studies also found that about a third of the global populationincluding adults and children were overweight, of which 10% of people suffered from obesity. Obesity and being overweight can be linked to a number of health complications like Type-2 diabetes, heart disease, depression, respiratory problems, cancer and more.How do you know that you are overweight or obese?

BMI is an index commonly used for classification of obesity. Overweight is defined as a BMI (or body mass index) greater than or equal to 25.0 & Obesity as a BMI greater than and equal to 30.0.

Your eating and physical activity habits may raise your chances of becoming overweight and having obesity. If you are overweight or obese, here are things to keep in mind.

It is vital that your weight loss program is focussed more on well-being and overall health than rapid weight loss. This could be unscientific, unhealthy and cause many harmful side effects. Practices such as yoga lead not only to effective weight loss but also transforms you from the inside out. Let your aim be to lead a more wholesome, and healthy lifestyle if you want to enjoy sustained weight loss.

Grand Master Akshar is a guest contributor. Views expressed are personal.

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Replace, August 24, 2020 (02:30 PM ET):It seems the unwelcome outage of videoconferencing app Zoom is over (through Zooms Twitter). Zoom was down for a number of hours earlier as we speak, inflicting havoc for enterprise customers in addition to college students utilizing the software for digital courses.

Eric S. Yuan, the founder and CEO of Zoom, addressed the outage in an apology tweet. Weve mirrored that under:

Authentic article, August 24, 2020 (09:30 AM ET): We noticed Spotify go down for customers final week and Gmail and its productiveness suite expertise woes someday after. Now, its Zooms flip to endure from connectivity points.

A number of customers have reported points with the favored video conferencing service, with the corporate now noting a partial outage of its Zoom Conferences and Zoom Video Webinars options on its status dashboard.

Weve acquired studies of customers being unable to go to the Zoom web site (zoom.us) and unable to begin and be a part of Zoom Conferences and Webinars. Were at present investigating and can present updates as we have now them, learn an announcement on the dashboard.

Customers on in style outage monitoring web site Downdetector have reported that the service is disrupted within the likes of Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Romania, Russia, and the US. Some customers additionally notice that they had been capable of entry Zoom through the cell or desktop apps versus their internet shoppers. For what its value, I used to be capable of conduct a gathering right here in South Africa through the cellphone app with a colleague in Germany.

Well replace the article as quickly as we hear extra from the video chat service. Within the meantime, is Zoom down for you? Tell us within the feedback part!

Up subsequent: The highest eight Zoom options to contemplate

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Veganism in the UK has grown enormously in recent years. The number of people sticking to a plant-based diet is reported byThe Vegan Societyto have quadrupled between 2014 and 2019 to now total over 600,000 individuals. And just five years ago the Veganuary campaign had fewer than 13,000 sign-ups, whereas now it has over400,000.

All the research into veganism indicates that the numbers of people switching is growing year on year, before you even factor in all the vegetarians and flexitarians also making use of innovative vegan products, suggesting this is a longer-term movement rather than just another passing consumer fad.

So, the rise and rise of veganism clearly presents UK food manufacturers with some real opportunities. But, while the industry must gear up to meet new demand, it must also overcome significant and unprecedented obstacles in ensuring the highest possible standards are upheld.

Part of the increased adoption of veganism has undoubtedly been driven by environmental, health and ethical factors. Naturally, people want to do what they perceive to be the right thing for themselves and for the planet.

Moreover, the ingenuity of scientists in creating scores of incredible new products everything from meat-free burgers, soya and almond milks and baby foods to yoghurts, spreads, pet food and vitamins that appeal to consumers enamoured by the texture of meat has opened the door to a new world for millions worldwide.

But this is not simply a matter for food scientists. We need to meet the growing needs of vegans not only on the supermarket shelves but also in restaurants where demand will need to increasingly cater for their lifestyle choices. So, the knowhow weve built over several projects dictates that we will need to go back to the very fundamentals of the production process and plant design and draw on the experience of those already immersed in vegan food production.

If the industry is to capitalise on the growing plant-based opportunities in the market, it must overcome concerns about the validity of vegan claims on food labelling. For example, there have been many media reports about products making such claims having been contaminated by ingredients sourced from animals.

In fact, such is the uncertainty in this area, it is currently possible for a UK product, certified by the Vegan Society, also to bear a may contain statement about milk and eggs the kind of contradiction that turns off consumers conditioned to believe, rightly in the case of food allergen advice, that packaging claims are categoric.

Should further incidents come to light, the manufacturers or brands in question risk both eroding public confidence in vegan products and the claims they make, along with the potential for significant damage to their reputations.

In the absence of a defined legal framework around vegan claims, therefore, the onus is very much on them to go that extra mile in ensuring they can protect their integrity and ensure consumers buy precisely what they think they are.

We know from experience in supporting meat substitute and plant-based food manufacturers that there really are no corners to be cut, if they are to guarantee their customers that their products can be trusted.

The Vegan Society, for example, validates by product rather than facility and they set the bar understandably high for producers seeking their approval. So manufacturers need to prepare at the earliest stages of process design and partner with experts familiar with the societys precise requirements.

And, with Google searches on the topic only throwing up instances of Californian scientists successfully manipulating a protein in an experimental kitchen, there is scant information out there for someone looking to set up a vegan-only line or facility.

Our experience atadi Projectstells us there are several factors they have to consider. Not only should manufacturers conduct supplier approval processes but they will have to work closely with their partners to ensure on an ongoing basis that there is no risk of cross-contamination. This is, after all, a fast-moving sector and a supplier who previously did no such thing can suddenly start dealing with animal-based ingredients.

On a similar note, many manufacturers producing vegan, vegetarian and meat-based products on the same production lines can learn from the concept of allergen build to schedule their production runs in that order no animal-derived ingredients (vegan), before products containing eggs or milk (vegetarian), before products with meat to avoid cross-contamination.

In other set-ups, the production of those types of foods should be segregated into separate, dedicated lines. While that sounds ideal, it does require that controls are not only put in place to ensure one line isnt contaminated by airborne materials, such as powders, from another but the efficacy of the measure can be properly validated.

There are also myriad issues to be overcome in terms of cleaning controls, employee training and analytical testing regimes looking for the presence of animal DNA in samples, so the industry certainly has its work cut out in the years ahead.

But, while it cannot always be about ripping it up and starting again, it is also true to say that vegan-only facilities will necessarily be part of the solution for manufacturers looking to mitigate as many of the risks associated with vegan food production as possible.

With 52% of all new meat-free products launched in the UK in 2017 bearing a vegan claim according toMinteland with veganisms march showing no signs of slowing down, manufacturers would be well served in the long-term by building facilities dedicated to the needs of vegan food production.

And that takes us back to production process and plant design. Getting in the right experts to look at things differently from the outset to ensure that such dedicated facilities are purpose-built for a specific type of food production that remains in its infancy. Ensuring processes not only accommodate new categories of ingredients but do so safely and in transparent ways meet emerging regulatory requirements and breed public confidence.

With the right project partner onboard from even the pre-feasibility stages and right through to handover and ongoing maintenance, manufacturers can make this bold step, with certainty about their costs, programme and risks.

The food scientists have done wonders in recent years creating new ingredients and new possibilities. But, if consumer demand is to be met, essentially, a gauntlet has been thrown down to manufacturers.

Meeting that challenge will leave them safe in the knowledge that they are gearing themselves up effectively and before the competition to grasp one of UK food productions biggest new opportunities in decades. And the time to do it is now.

James Sopwith, Group Strategic Account Director at the multidisciplinary engineering business, adi Group, which serves among other things the Food and Beverage sector.

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Meeting the Challenges of Vegan Food Production - Produce Business UK